WorkAbility Mark III: functional assessment of workplace capabilities

Abstract

Standardized measurement of workplace performance or the functional assessment of an individual's capabilities, especially by occupational therapists, is often critical before injured workers are returned to work, placed in new jobs, or evaluated for job incapacity. A direct link between a clinician's systematic findings and the detailed requirements of the workplace is desirable. There are a range of vocational evaluation systems available. This study examines how one of these systems, WorkAbility Mark III, incorporates a work measurement technique of industrial engineering into occupational therapy practice. The results of this study suggest that functional assessment with WorkAbility Mark III has benefits for the major stakeholders in occupational rehabilitation; that WorkAbility Mark III tests and uses six activity groups of workplace elements throughout the work assessment process; and that computer technology in this area of occupational rehabilitation can assist the clinician in his or her assessment, planning, intervention, and evaluation.