1 changing long accepted work practices to reduce the number & cost of claims 2007 comcare...

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CHANGING LONG ACCEPTED WORK PRACTICES TO REDUCE THE

NUMBER & COST OF CLAIMS

2007 Comcare National Conference 24th October 2007

Delivered by: Dominic AndreacchioGeneral Manager – Human ResourcesAustralian air Express

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CHANGING LONG ACCEPTED WORK PRACTICES TO REDUCE THE NUMBER & COST OF CLAIMS

Changing long accepted work practices

Overcoming high injury rates and escalating costs

Dealing with productivity and morale Issues

Achieving significant improvements

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Australian air ExpressCOMPANY BACKGROUND

o Joint VentureQantas Airways Ltd &Australia Post

o Formed 1st August 1992 (integration of Australia Post

Express Courier & Australian Airlines Cargo)

o Ansett Collapsed September 2001 (Huge growth within short time

frame and limited framework)

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KEY STAKEHOLDERS

Qantas AaE’s largest supplier “Belly Space” access to over

300 Qantas flights per day.

Australia Post - Largest customer

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COMPANY OVERVIEW

Approximately 1360 FTE employees nationally

Union Coverage - TWU & ASU

Operate own dedicated freighter aircraft network

Extensive fleet of over 500 courier vehicles

Expansive regional service network

Operational sites “ON” & “OFF” airport locations

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SELF INSURED SINCE 1999 UNDER THE COMMONWEALTH SCHEME

AaE took the decision to self-insure under the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 (SRC Act) because it offered our company, our employees and our shareholders substantial long-term advantages, such as:

Quicker response times on decision making

Greater flexibility with injury management and return to work strategies

Greater control of managing corporate risk

Reduced workers’ compensation costs

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WHERE WE WERE IN 2001/2002

Claims received 111

Claims per 100 FTE’s 8.2

Frequency of Lost Time Injuries per 1,000,000 hours worked 34

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AaE WORKERS COMPENSATION CLAIMS RECEIVED

2001/2002 TO 2006/2007

111107

86

6567

58

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

No

of

Cla

ims

Period

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WORKERS COMPENSATION CLAIMS PER 100 FTE’S2001-2002 to 2006-07

8.18

9.2

7.2

4.7

4.1 4.2

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Ra

te

Period

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LOST TIME INJURY FREQUENCY RATE 1998/1999 to 2006/2007

104

4047

34

2124.8

14.5 15.410.2

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

PERIOD

RA

TE

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AaE PERFORMANCE SUMMARY

Over a 6 year Period :

New Claims trended Down by 48%

Claims per 100 FTE’s trended down by 49%

Frequency of Lost Time Injuries trended down by 70%

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CHANGING LONG ACCEPTED WORK PRACTICES

AaE OHS Management System was developed and implemented in early 2000/01 without anticipating the impact of the Ansett collapse in September 2001.

Key elements of the OHS management system included:

Commitment and leadership by the AaE Board, Chief Executive Officer and senior executives;

Integration of prevention, rehabilitation and claims management -linking them to the company’s business plan; and

The development of policy and risk management based procedures.

Integration of HR & OHS strategic workshops.

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DRIVING CHANGE TO LONG ACCEPTED WORK PRACTICES

The most significant ‘building block’ that allowed us to move

forward with changing long accepted work practices and cultural

change was the commitment of the AaE Board, Chief Executive

Officer and Senior Executive to ensure that change occurred across

all aspects of the business.

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DRIVING CHANGE TO LONG ACCEPTED WORK PRACTICES (cont)…

AaE took the following initiatives:

1. Engaged external consultants to drive cultural change through the “Extraordinary Leadership” program which included OHS.

This program targeted: Senior Management Middle Management Line Management

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DRIVING CHANGE TO LONG ACCEPTED WORK PRACTICES (cont)..

2. Increased resources were made available nationally to assist in the prevention and injury management activities, including the appointment of State OHS Advisors and dedicated state Case Managers.

3. An increased commitment to Case Management training.

4. Strong push that early intervention was the key to success in managing injured employees.

5. Increased reporting to the Board and Senior Executive, ie. LTIFR, Costs and Time Off Work etc.

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WHAT DID AaE DO TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE:

Some actions taken by AaE which we believe have made a difference are:

1. Demonstrated ‘seriousness’ about addressing major manual handling concerns, such as transportation of tuna fish, including the influencing and education of our customers.

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WHAT DID AaE DO TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE (cont)

2. National Manual Handling Program

Risk analysis of all manual handling activities

Production of a DVD for competency based training

Introduction of on site physiotherapy services

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WHAT DID AaE DO TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE (cont)

3. Injury Management:

Suitable Duties manual to assist injured employees returning to work

The introduction of Case Managers at all key ports in the organisation

The introduction of Company nominated doctors

The introduction of preferred rehabilitation providers

Shared accountability between the employee and AaE Management

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WHAT DID AaE DO TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE (cont)

Injury Management (cont):

The introduction of an Early Intervention Program to assist injured employees by the provision of suitable duties, payment of some medical expenses and early referral to nominated facility doctors

Communication to all AaE employees of what the injury management processes are.

Improved reporting to the Board and Senior Executive ie. LTIFR, costs and time off work.

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WHAT DID AaE DO TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE (cont)

4. The inclusion of OHS key performance indicators in the senior executive appraisal process, example:

LTIFR (set by the Board on recommendation of CEO)

Personal Performance Indicators

OHS as an agenda item on all executive meeting agendas Workplace inspections Attendance at OHS committee meetings

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WHAT DID AaE DO TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE (cont)

5. Conducted a Staff Survey which included HR and OHS issues:

Results:

High satisfaction levels associated with all OHS and prevention activities within AaE.

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WHAT DID AaE DO TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE (cont)

6. The importance of actioning HAZARD/INCIDENT REPORTS in a timely manner and feeding outcomes to all parties leads to:

Increased confidence Increased Trust Belief that the organisation cares Positive safety culture

NOTE: you get 600 free lessons before a serious incident occurs

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To succeed in changing Work Practices and CREATE an improved Safety Culture:

You MUST have:

Commitment from the CEO and the Senior Executives;

Push from the top down and from the bottom up;

Buy in from those employees doing the job;

Integrated performance indicators;

Line Management Training to support the change processes;

Established review processes ie. Staff surveys, and

Patience – it takes time.

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ACHIEVING SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS

Between 2001/2002 and 2006/2007 AaE achieved:

48% reduction in claims

49% reduction in claims per 100 FTE’s

70% reduction in Frequency of Lost Time Injuries

What happens now?

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ACHIEVING SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS (cont)…

AaE is in the process of going through a number of significant challenges, including:

Optimisation of National Business Processes;

Introduction of Boeing 737 freighter aircraft;

Introduction of new, state-of-the-art freight handling facilities with advanced logistics technology;

Increased competition;

Increased scrutiny from the AaE Board, and

Increased scrutiny from Comcare

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ACHIEVING SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS (cont)…

We now need to take the next step to drive down our injury rates even further.

We have identified the following key factors as barriers to be overcome:

o Resistance to continued change by Supervisors & Line Managers;

o Acceptance that injuries are an expected outcome of our working environment;

o Moving freight without acknowledging the risks; and

o Ageing workforce

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WHAT ARE WE DOING TO MOVE TO THE NEXT STAGE

In 2006/07: We introduced “Safety Week” and launched “Safety is

no Accident” Program

Safety is no Accident logo appears on all safety documentation

CEO contacts Line Managers in respect of all Lost Time Injuries;

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WHAT ARE WE DOING TO MOVE TO THE NEXT STAGE (cont)…

In 2006/07 (cont):

We introduced “Line Manager” competency based training aimed at up-skilling line managers in supervision and injury reporting;

OHS, HR and Training & Development Officers have been involved in change management associated with new facility committees during 2007 & will continue into 2008, and

We introduced fortnightly telephone conferences with OHS Coordinators & Return to Work Coordinators.

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WHAT ARE WE DOING TO MOVE TO THE NEXT STAGE (cont)…

In 2007/08: We issued AaE’s new Safety Card

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WHAT ARE WE DOING TO MOVE TO THE NEXT STAGE (cont)…

In 2007/08 (cont):

We conducted an OHS Strategic Workshop

We launched a Safety Observation Program involving management and peers;

Introduced focused pre-employment assessments, and

We launched AaE’s ‘Environment Policy’

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WHY CHANGE THE LONG ACCEPTED WORK PRACTICES

To do nothing condones current performance - we can always do better.

Risks can be managed and incidents should not be seen as inevitable given the nature of our business.