Design guidelines for accommodating amputees in the workplace.

Abstract

Rehabilitation experts have been addressing the problem of accommodating disabled workers in the workplace for many years. When these disabled workers return to work, accomplishing the tasks they performed prior to their disability can present a serious challenge. Meeting this challenge successfully requires that employers provide accommodations at the workplace so that the disabled workers can continue to contribute efficiently to the operation of the enterprise. Disabilities that are caused by amputations are quite critical. The severity of the injury in terms of loss of a limb and the costs associated with accommodations make this type of disability extremely significant. This paper deals with accommodating "permanent partial" and "permanent total disabilities" due to amputations. The paper is divided into two main parts. The first part focuses on the causes of amputations, types, and difficulties that an amputee faces in the work environment. In this part, an understanding of the amputee physiology has been developed. The second part of the paper addresses the various measures that employers may take in accommodating the amputees at the workplace. Design guidelines are provided to make the workplace suitable for the amputees.