Human Factors Participation in the Return to Work Process

In late 1989, LTV Aircraft Products Group instituted a Return To Work Committee to review the cases of UAW-represented employees who have been disabled and cannot function in their original job. The committee is new and is still formulating the details of the process, but industrial ergonomics has already been established as an important contributor. In LTV s process, Human Factors Engineering evaluates the employee's original job to determine whether it is, or can be modified to be, within his/her functional capabilities. The contributions of Human Factors to the LTV Return To Work Committee's process and potential problems are discussed. The success of the program is also discussed.