BFOR - Lecture #16 Flashcards
What occupations are the most physically demanding?
Firefighters, Paramedics, and jobs that have fitness involved.
Is it a requirement to be fit for these jobs?
Depends on the level of intensity of the occupation because some jobs are physically more demanding than others.
Partitioning of Health and Fitness
Into Health and Performance
What can Performance lead into?
Performance in Sport & Occupation
BFOR (Bona Fide Occupational Requirement)
A requirement to meet the standards necessary for the performance of an occupation.
When can a job require you to achieve a specific minimum level of fitness?
Any Physically Demanding Occupations in which failure to perform the job or ineffective job performance can result in loss of life or property.
1999 - The Meiorin Decision
Firefighter was dismissed from job because she failed one aspect of minimum fitness standard even though she’s been performing well and safe for the previous 3 years.
What did the Supreme Court say?
When the Government of British Columbia testified that this aerobic standard was a BFOR for a firefighter position but the Supreme court determined the aerobic standard was not valid for a BFOR.
Criteria for a BFOR
- Failure of tasks results in death or property loss.
- Based on current ability to do work
- Task is non discriminatory
- Accommodation due to undo hardship not allowed
- Task deemed to be work related in good faith.
Steps for Developing a BFOR for Physically Demanding Jobs
1) Is Job performance critical for life and property protection?
2) Familiarization with job
3) Comprehensive job review
4) Physical and physiological characterization of job tasks
5) Identify representative sample of critically important, physically demanding tasks
Familiarization with Job
How well do you understand the occupation you are applying for?
Comprehensive Job Review
Going through what about the job might be physically demanding. As well as consult with experts who have done the job for a long time.
Physical and Physiological characterization of job tasks
How hard it is to do ranked tests. Measure and quantify. (i.e. Weights, distances, forces, oxygen consumption, environment)
Identify representative sample of critically important, physically demanding tasks
Have fitness assessments simulating those tasks and build in those physical demands to match the job.
6) Develop test protocol elements based on representative tasks
Putting list of physically demanding tasks into a protocol and have a battery of tests to check if person meets those tasks.
7) Scientific check
Going to check protocol through scientific approach. Run people through tests to see how reliable it is. Check if it measures for what must be measured and how close does it feel to actual job.
8) Develop a standardized assessment protocol based on results from a representative sample of incumbent workers
Make those who are currently in the job are able to do protocol effectively and clear it to know if they’re capable of continuing to work there.
9) Administer to incumbent workers
Evaluate pass/fail rate
10) Develop a standard of acceptability
Standard is set at incumbent mean times + 1 Standard Deviation
11) Ongoing Review and revision
Look at test and see how good the test is. If failed the test then do it again which minimizes discrimination and accommodates for those who want to try again.
What is Accommodation?
Obligation of an employer to take necessary steps to eliminate disadvantage to current or prospective employees
Two Exceptions
Exceptions that make an accommodation not a requirement
Exception 1
BFOR
Exception 2
Undo Hardship
- If accommodation of someone would create undue hardship for the person providing the accommodation in terms health, safety, cost.
(i.e. Tall person in a tank doesn’t mean employer needs to make changes to seat height of tank because that would cost too much)
Legislates that supervisors/employers would be criminally negligent if they fail to take reasonable measures to ensure bodily safety of persons doing task
Criminal Code of Canada
What happens if employees hire people that have not been screened based on demand requirement
Employer can be criminally negligible based on employee’s performance on the job.
The FITCO Test consists of
Pre-participation Screening
Cell Search
Emergency Response Circuit:
Aerobic Fitness Test (20m shuttle run)
Why can’t you fail any of the tasks in the FITCO Test?
Because it’s a BFOR.
Pre-participation Screening
Par-Q, Blood Pressure and Informed Consent
Par-Q?
Questionnaire determining who is capable of doing a field test physically. Proceed with caution if client says yes to one or more questions.
Cell Search
In this CASE Study, figured what correction officers do regularly, and characterize the demands of them.
Purpose of Cell Search for this CASE Study
Since the test is a fitness test to be a correctional officer, cell search was common thing done and it was implemented into fitness test to match the real thing.
Emergency Response Circuit (What tasks can be done to match the demands of a correctional officer responding to a code on the other side of an area)
- 60m (4x15) over stairs four times
- Body Control Simulator (Pushing or pulling someone)
- Arm Restraint Simulator (To restrain someone)
- Inmate Relocation (Recreating an altercation)
These were all appropriately measured and determined with consultation of correctional officers.
Create the circuit and put people through it while wearing equipment to collect data and figure out what’s reasonable for meeting the demands of a job
Scientific Validation of Test Protocol
Aerobic Fitness Test (VO2Max)
Decided the standard to meet was 5.5 and same people measured to set standards were also measured again to set the gold standard.