What happens without this document
An employee claims a severe back injury from heavy lifting. Their job primarily involves sitting and light assembly work. Without objective documentation, that discrepancy is one party's word against another's. With a completed Physical Demand Analysis on file, you have measured evidence of what the job actually requires — and a clear basis for disputing a claim that doesn't align with it.
Ask most employers what the physical requirements of a given job are, and you'll get an estimate. "Lifting up to about 20 pounds." "Mostly standing." Something approximate. Something based on memory.
Ask a workers compensation adjuster, a treating physician, or an EEOC investigator the same question and an estimate isn't good enough. They need a measurement. A Physical Demand Analysis (PDA) is that measurement.
What separates a real PDA from a form someone filled out once
Here's what most people don't realize. A common shortcut involves sending someone to walk the job site, fill out a checklist, and estimate weights. "That looks like about 20 pounds." That approach is what the industry calls a "downgraded PDA" — and it won't hold up when challenged.
A legally defensible PDA captures actual frequencies, actual weights, actual measurements. It documents the postures required, the forces applied, the heights and distances of every meaningful task, and how often each one occurs across a shift. No guessing. All of it verified by a company representative before it's finalized.
A Physical Demand Analysis is conducted on-site, not from a desk. Every measurement reflects the actual job, not an approximation.
How we conduct a Physical Demand Analysis
Identify essential and non-essential job functions
We work with your team to document every function of the role. Distinguishing essential from non-essential functions is what allows the document to withstand ADA and EEOC scrutiny later.
Observe all tasks under normal operating conditions
We watch the job being performed, not a simulation. We observe at full production pace, across different workers in the same role where possible, to capture the true range of physical demand.
Record actual weights, forces, heights, and frequencies
No estimation. We measure what is actually lifted, carried, pushed, pulled, and how often. Tools are used to capture force requirements accurately.
Classify against Department of Labor work demand categories
The job is classified as Sedentary, Light, Medium, Heavy, or Very Heavy per DOL standards. This classification is what physicians reference when issuing return-to-work restrictions.
Employer review and sign-off
A representative from your organization reviews and approves all findings. This sign-off is what creates legal defensibility — it confirms the document accurately reflects the job as it exists.
The three things this document enables
What operations leaders ask us about PDAs
Only if the workstations, tools, equipment, and task frequencies are genuinely identical at each location. Using the same PDA for two facilities where the job is even slightly different creates legal exposure. For example, if one facility has a 40-pound maximum lift and another has a 30-pound maximum, testing both applicants against 40 pounds would be a problem in court. Location-specific PDAs protect you.
An authorized representative from your organization — typically a safety manager, HR director, or operations supervisor — reviews and approves the findings. Their sign-off confirms the document accurately reflects the job as performed, which is what makes it defensible in a legal or compliance context.
A job description is a written summary of what the job involves. A Physical Demand Analysis is a measurement of what the job physically requires. Job descriptions are often written once and rarely updated. A PDA is conducted on-site with tools, validated against what workers actually do, and classified against federal work demand standards. One is an HR document. The other is a legal one.