SR 10-10-2017 3G
City Council Report
City Council Meeting: October 10, 2017
Agenda Item: 3.G
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To: Mayor and City Council
From: Gigi Decavalles-Hughes, Director, Finance Department, Risk Management
Donna Peter, Director, Human Resources Department
Subject: Expansion of the Pre-Employment Physical Program to Include Functional
Capacity Evaluation Testing
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Award RFP #112 to Integrated Injury Management Services, Inc., a California-
based company, for functional evaluation testing services for City employees;
and
2. Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute an agreement with
Integrated Injury Management Services, Inc. for five years in an amount not to
exceed $350,000, with future year funding contingent on Council budget
approval.
Executive Summary
The Finance and Human Resources Departments are proposing to expand the City’s
Pre-Employment Physical Program to include a “functional” evaluation testing
component. Functional evaluation testing allows the City to assess a job candidate’s
ability to safely perform the actual tasks of a given classification prior to being placed in
the position (e.g., a Motor Coach Operator candidate is tested to determine whether
he/she can board and secure a wheelchair passenger or manually deploy the handicap
ramp on a Big Blue Bus; a Tree Trimmer candidate is tested to determine if he/she can
safely complete such tasks as lifting up to 75 pounds, climbing a tree, or operating a
chainsaw, etc.). This type of testing has been proven to lower employee injury rates
and, over time, help control employers’ workers’ compensation costs. In order to
pursue the expansion proposal, staff solicited RFPs from vendors who specialize in
providing functional evaluation testing services. Based on this process, staff
recommends that the City enter into an agreement with Integrated Injury Management,
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Inc. in an amount not to exceed $350,000 over a five-year period. Funding for the
agreement will be provided out of the Workers’ Compensation Self-Insurance Fund.
Background
As part of the City’s efforts to create a safe workplace, all job candidates offered
positions that involve physical demands in excess of a typical sedentary office worker
are required to undergo a pre-employment physical exam. This includes such job
classifications as police officers, firefighters, street crew workers, solid waste equipment
operators, and code enforcement officers. The physicals are conducted by the City’s
contract occupational medical doctors and include a battery of job-specific medical
exams (e.g., treadmill tests, eye exams, hearing exams, etc.) that allow the doctor to
assess whether a candidate has any health conditions that could affect his/her ability to
safely perform a job classification’s essential functions (i.e., key job tasks). This type of
testing helps to ensure that employees hired into physically demanding jobs are
medically fit to perform their assignments and, therefore, less likely to get injured. Staff
is now proposing to add a functional evaluation testing component to the pre-
employment physical process. Functional evaluation testing, considered an industry
best practice, assesses whether a candidate possesses the requisite strength, stamina,
and flexibility to safely perform the essential functions of a job. Details of the proposal
follow.
Discussion
Functional evaluation testing occurs after the pre-employment medical exam and
requires job candidates to undergo a series of tests designed and validated by a
certified functional evaluation testing vendor that either simulate or replicate the key
tasks an incumbent in the job is required to perform. This two-step testing process
allows an employer to confirm that a candidate is both medically and physically capable
of safely performing the essential functions of a given classification prior to job
placement.
Industry data from certified vendors in this field assert that functional evaluation testing
significantly reduces the number and severity of employee injuries and, over time, can
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lower participating employers’ workers’ compensation costs by as much as 50%. These
findings were of great interest to staff in light of the City’s ongoing efforts to identify
innovative methods for keeping its ever-rising workers’ compensation costs in check.
Staff felt it prudent, however, to pursue a small-scale pilot program in the Transit
Services Department to test and validate the industry data before recommending a
formal program to Council.
Pilot Program
The pilot program was conducted between FY 2014-15 through FY 2016-17 using Big
Blue Bus Motor Coach Operators (MCOs). Staff hired a certified vendor to design and
validate a functional evaluation test for the MCO job classification that included actual
job tasks (e.g., boarding and securing a wheelchair passenger, manually deploying a
wheelchair ramp, completing a pre-trip inspection, etc.), and simulated exercises to
confirm lifting and push/pull force capabilities. The vendor tested 286 candidates at its
facility during the pilot period.
The results of the pilot were very encouraging. During the three-year period, the annual
injury rate for all MCOs hovered at 25 injuries per 100 employees. This compares to an
injury rate of 9.9 per 100 employees for the MCOs who underwent functional evaluation
testing. Further, average “total lost days” per injured MCO who underwent functional
evaluation testing was 2.4 days; this compares to 76 days for all MCOs. It is still too
early to precisely calculate the savings of the pilot program. However, if Big Blue Bus
could sustain the results achieved during the pilot, it is safe to project the City could
save millions of dollars in workers’ compensation expenses over the long-term.
Implementation
Based on industry data and pilot program results, the Finance (Risk Management
Division) and Human Resources Departments concluded that functional evaluation
testing could favorably impact the City’s injury rate and workers’ compensation costs
and, therefore, is worthy of pursuing. As proposed, the City will contract with a certified
vendor to design, validate, and administer functional evaluation tests. Staff from Risk
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Management and Human Resources, in turn, will jointly oversee program
implementation.
Vendor Selection Results
On April 3, 2017, the City published an RFP for pre-employment functional evaluation
testing services. The RFP was posted on the City’s online bidding site and notices were
advertised in the Santa Monica Daily Press in accordance with City Charter and
Municipal Code provisions. 199 potential firms were notified of the RFP; 13 firms
downloaded the document. The following four firms submitted a response:
WorkSTEPS, Inc.; Impact Medical, Inc.; Unify Health Services, LLC; and Integrated
Injury Management Services, Inc.
All four RFP responses were evaluated by a panel of staff from the Departments of
Finance, Human Resources, and Big Blue Bus using criteria from SMMC Section
2.24.073 including experience, results, value-added, and cost. The panel used the
criteria to narrow the field to two firms who were invited to make presentations. The
interviews confirmed that both firms were capable of competently fulfilling the RFP’s
scope of work and offered competitive pricing. Integrated Injury Management, Inc.’s
willingness and ability to conveniently provide the functional testing services on City
premises (as opposed to a clinic in a nearby city). Therefore, staff recommends
Integrated Injury Management, Inc. as the best-qualified firm to provide the functional
testing services requested in the RFP.
Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
The agreement to be awarded to Integrated Injury Management Services, Inc. is for an
amount not to exceed $350,000 over a five-year period. Funds are available in the FY
2017-18 budget in the amount of $70,000 in the Finance Department. Agreement
expenses will be charged to the account 59235.555060. Future year funding is
contingent on Council budget approval.
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Prepared By: Deb Hossli, Risk Manager
Approved
Forwarded to Council
Attachments:
A. IIM Oaks Agreement
REFERENCE:
AGREEMENT NO. 10561
(CCS)