Functional Capacity Calculator

Lift Category buckets Maximum Lift into five tiers -- Sedentary (up to 10 lbs), Light (11-20 lbs), Medium (21-50 lbs), Heavy (51-100 lbs), and Very Heavy (over 100 lbs) -- matching the U.S. Department of Labor's (DOL) standard physical-demand-level job-classification thresholds, first published in the Dictionary of Occupational Titles and still used today across occupational medicine and disability evaluation (including Social Security disability determinations). That DOL sourcing applies to Lift Category specifically. Overall Capacity Score and Work Restriction Level are this calculator's own synthesis, not DOL-defined determinations: Overall Capacity Score builds a single 0-100 composite from five tolerance tests -- lifting, carrying, standing, walking, and sitting -- each capped at 100% once it reaches a 240-minute (4-hour) continuous-tolerance reference ceiling (for standing/walking/sitting) or a 100 lb / 100 ft ceiling (for lift/carry), then weighted: lifting counts for 30% of the score, standing and walking tolerance 20% each, sitting tolerance 20%, and carrying distance 10%.

That weighting reflects that lifting capacity is typically the most limiting factor in physical work capacity, while carry distance -- which mostly tracks with walking ability already captured elsewhere -- gets the smallest independent weight. Work Restriction Level then translates the composite score into a rough self-assessment category, from no restrictions at a 65+ score down to unable to work below 25. This is a general self-assessment tool for exploring physical tolerances, not a workers'-compensation or disability determination -- those decisions should come from a qualified medical or vocational evaluator performing a credentialed functional capacity evaluation.