Disability case management: An impact assessment in an automotive manufacturing organization

A multifaceted disability management program was instituted at an automotiv e manufacturing organization to control rising workers' compensation. costs . A pilot program showed major cost savings over a 9-month period. When tot al and component disability leave rates were calculated as a percentage of the available workforce and tracked on a weekly basis over the subsequent 3 years, total disability leave rates fell by nearly 50 %. This was largely attributable to an approximately 50 % decrease in the extended (>1-year) di sability leave rate and a 75% decrease in the workers' compensation leave r ate. A novel approach to biostatistical analysis showed a good fit of weekl y disability leave rates to a Poisson random variable distribution with an identifiable break point at about 1 1/2 years after observation for extende d disability leaves and at 2 years for workers' compensation leaves. This b iostatistical approach may prove generalizable to tracking leave rates in o ther organizations.