The Matheson System

is an affiliation of allied health and safety professionals who approach ergonomic evaluation, work capacity evaluation, and rehabilitation from a common philosophy. Our affiliation allows us to contribute to the long-term success of occupational rehabilitation and ergonomic evaluation by training therapists and safety professionals to become "thinking evaluators". The premise of serving fairly the needs of the worker and the employer/fee payer guide our philosophy. Not being dependent upon the need to sell a canned evaluation package or a line of evaluation equipment gives us the freedom to pursue our philosophy rather than pursing a manufacturing goal.

Historical Background

The existence of The Matheson System is a direct result of the seminal work done by Dr. Leonard Matheson at Rancho Los Amigos Hospital in the 1970's and, subsequently, at the world renown Employment and Rehabilitation Institute of California (ERIC).The Matheson System traces its' roots to the research and training begun by Dr. Matheson.

The Ergonomic Evaluation Certification Program

Effective injury prevention programs are based on employer/employee education and a sound ergonomic evaluation program. To be effective, a program must work within the product goals of the facility while guarding the safety and well-being of the worker. Performing ergonomic evaluations requires a thorough knowledge of our physical abilities, our capacity to do work, the risk factors for disease development associated with poor ergonomic design, accepted evaluation protocols, and a sense of what is practical. Our training and certification program focuses on developing this knowledge base within our students.

The Functional Capacity Evaluation Certification Program

Accurate evaluation of work ability is based on fidelity to the Practice Hierarchy of Industrial Rehabilitation. Experience has shown that the hierarchy's tenets of Safety, Reliability, Validity, Practicality, and Utility are best achieved by trained evaluators who rely on industry, case management, and court accepted testing devices. Reliance on high-tech equipment, secret formulas, or under-trained technicians, has historically yielded evaluations that do not demonstrate safety, reliability or validity. Well-trained, thinking evaluators using well-researched tools provide defensible evaluations that lead to durable case resolution.

Advanced Courses

The Matheson System's advanced industrial rehabilitation and ergonomic evaluation courses are designed to keep the practitioner up-to-date with developments in the field. New research, techniques and legislation in both sciences are stressed in these highly interactive training programs.