ABSTRACT
It was emphasized in the previous chapter that the ability of a worker to perform a job is dependent on the physical demands of that job and the capacity of the worker to perform the tasks that go to encompass the job. Thus, to establish whether a worker is fit to do a job it is necessary to determine the demands that the job makes upon a worker, or the abilities required of a worker to do that job. Although related, these are different processes from those described in Chapter 3 under ‘Classification’, ‘Points rating’ and other forms of job analysis. The purpose, and hence the orientation, are different. Whereas conventional and structured job analyses are intended to discriminate amongst jobs and tasks for such purposes as allocation of pay, comparison and grouping of jobs and so on, a physical demands or physical abilities analysis is intended to define those characteristics of a job which impose specific demands on workers such that, without change, they might find them beyond their capacity. Physical demands analysis is described in this chapter and physical abilities is described in Chapter 5.
