The client undergoes a brief general screen of functional movement as well as an optional diagnostic-specific assessment of injured areas. Range of motion, strength, stability, sensation, and other diagnosis-specific testing can be correlated with demonstrated functional abilities performed later in the evaluation for consistency. The screen confirms diagnostic criteria, ensures that the client is safe to proceed with more physically demanding portions of the exam, and identifies specific deficits. During this component of the evaluation, grip and pinch strength data are also collected. This data is compared to population norms based on gender and age and is also used in determining the client's reliability of effort.

Whole-body lifting, pushing, pulling, and carrying capacity are measured both statically and dynamically. Static (isometric) testing is an excellent tool for quickly and safely assessing maximum strength in various work postures. Dynamic lifting is performed utilizing the PILE protocol (Progressive Isoinertial Lifting Evaluation) and has applications for both occasional and frequent demand levels of work. Heart rates are measured during static and dynamic lifting and provide physiological evidence of exertion (reliability of effort) by the client during these tasks. Strength abilities are rated using the standard categories defined in the Dictionary of Occupational Titles published by the U.S. Department of Labor.

The ARCON protocol uses methods of measurement (MTM) testing to measure a client's abilities in activities that involve movement, dexterity, and/or postural tolerance. MTM utilizes the Industrial Standard (IS) criterion as an objective basis for rating ability levels. The Industrial Standard is defined as the time it takes an average worker (male or female), between 18 and 65 with average skills, to perform a task at a rate that he or she can maintain over an 8-hour workday with appropriate allowance for rest and without undue stress or fatigue. This method of rating functional abilities is based on an extensive body of research published over the past 70 years. Some functional evaluation systems rely on clinical observation of functional tasks, with the rating of a client's ability based on the evaluator's clinical judgment. With MTM testing, the client's ability for each of the functional activities is objectively obtained through direct measurement. ARCON MTM results are reliable, valid, and not influenced by evaluator judgment or bias.

Another component used to predict a client's ability to perform work is aerobic capacity. Studies suggest that workers can sustain an energy expenditure rate of 33% of their maximum aerobic capacity (VO2 max) over an 8-hour day. The ARCON FCE system offers three sub-maximal aerobic tests that predict VO2 max and, thus, sustained work capacity. The Canadian Aerobic Fitness Test and the YMCA Step Test are both simple step tests that can quickly and safely predict aerobic capacity, while the Single Stage Treadmill Test uses a motorized treadmill that some clients find easier to tolerate than a step test. When a client has a job with a significant energy demand, the results of a cardiovascular assessment will indicate if he or she is capable of meeting that demand upon return to work.

Essential to every FCE is an objective assessment of the reliability of effort demonstrated by the client during the evaluation. It is also important to identify symptom complaints and/or behaviors that are inconsistent or exaggerated when compared to objective evidence. Reliability is determined based on evidence collected over the entire evaluation and not simply the results of a single test. Observed behaviors are compared and contrasted with the client's perception of abilities and self-reported symptoms. The ARCON system calculates up to 70 independent measures of reliability throughout an evaluation. These include statistical consistency of effort and movement, heart rate responses to exertion, quality, and speed of movement patterns, force curve analysis, distraction techniques such as isometric horizontal strength changes, rapid exchange grip testing, and Waddell's non-organic signs.