In 2010, an estimated six hundred to nine hundred New Zealanders died of work-related diseases and a further 30,000 people develop serious but non-fatal work-related ill-health (Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), 2013, p. 1). In the vast majority of cases, these events were preventable.
Through the Health and Safety at Work Act (HSWA) 2015, mandatory duties are placed on persons conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) to ensure that potential work-related health and safety risks are being eliminated or minimised, so as far as is reasonably practicable (WorkSafe, 2016).
Therefore, executives (e.g., CEO) and board directors must exercise due diligence on health and safety by profiling the risk of an organisation's operations, understanding the key controls in place and setting a system providing data on whether these controls are working.
Beyond these mandatory duties, leaders need to demonstrate to their employees and other stakeholders (e.g., suppliers, customers, shareholders) that they mean it by recognising the benefits of supporting the general health and wellbeing of their workers(The Institute of Directors, 2021).
Table of contents
1. Introduction
2. Strategic planning and decision making processes
3. The evaluation of the effectiveness of a specific organisational intervention designed to improve OHS
3.1 The case of Air New Zealand.
4. Conclusion
Objectives and Topics
This paper evaluates the effectiveness of organizational interventions in improving Occupational Health and Safety (OHS), using Air New Zealand as a primary case study to illustrate the integration of safety strategy into operational and decision-making processes.
- Legal framework and executive duties regarding OHS in New Zealand
- Integration of health and safety within corporate strategic planning
- Implementation of OHS frameworks and the "People Safety Engine" model
- Utilization of lead and lag indicators for measuring safety performance
- The role of mental well-being and employee assistance programs
Excerpt from the book
3.1 The case of Air New Zealand.
The national carrier with eighty per cent of its workforce in operational roles and seventy per cent belonging to a union fits the definition of HRO and has developed a series of controls as described early that have shown positive OHS results as the downward trend of risk levels of reported events continues (WorkSafe New Zealand, 2018).
Indeed, the airline has reported an increase in EAP utilisation rates from 9.8% in 2019 to 10.5% in 2020 (Air New Zealand, 2020). Over a six per cent utilisation rate, the EAP Association guidelines indicate that the scheme is a proactive well-being tool (Li et al., n.d.).
Around 1,165 unique visits per month (2019) to the organisation's wellbeing hub where several resources (e.g., diet, sleeping advice, weight loss, exercising, financial wellbeing ) are available to staff.
Since 2017, total recordable rates (TRR) of injuries have dropped from 15.22 million hours and 288 injuries (a fifteen per cent decrease from FY16) to 11.2 and 215 injuries (twenty per cent decrease from FY17) to 10.3 and 179 injuries in 2019 (thirty-eight per cent decrease from FY17) to a rate of injuries of 5.1 and 103 employee injuries in 2020 (sixty-four per cent decrease from FY17).
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: Outlines the prevalence of work-related harm in New Zealand and establishes the legal and executive responsibilities for organizations to prioritize worker health and safety.
2. Strategic planning and decision making processes: Discusses the necessity of integrating safety monitoring into corporate strategy to improve risk identification and management.
3. The evaluation of the effectiveness of a specific organisational intervention designed to improve OHS: Examines how high-reliability organizations use safety-driven data and specific indicators to measure and improve safety performance.
3.1 The case of Air New Zealand.: Analyzes the practical application of safety frameworks at Air New Zealand, highlighting positive trends in injury reduction and employee support utilization.
4. Conclusion: Emphasizes that OHS performance should be measured through a balanced combination of lag and lead indicators, stressing that safety culture is a core responsibility of senior management.
Keywords
Occupational Health and Safety, OHS, Air New Zealand, Risk Management, Strategic Planning, Workplace Wellbeing, High-Reliability Organisation, HRO, Lead Indicators, Lagging Indicators, Safety Culture, PCBU, Injury Prevention, Employee Assistance Programme, EAP
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this research paper?
The paper examines how organizations can effectively evaluate and implement interventions to improve Occupational Health and Safety, focusing on systemic approaches to risk management.
What are the primary themes discussed?
Key themes include the legal duty of PCBUs, the integration of safety into corporate strategic planning, the use of performance indicators, and the importance of fostering a proactive organizational safety culture.
What is the central research question?
The paper seeks to understand how specific organizational interventions and safety frameworks can be evaluated for their effectiveness in reducing workplace risks and improving overall worker health.
Which scientific methodology is primarily employed?
The study utilizes a case study methodology, examining corporate safety practices at Air New Zealand to illustrate the application of health and safety frameworks and data-driven improvements.
What topics are covered in the main section?
The main sections cover the regulatory environment, the pillars of decision-making (risk, relationship, resources), the use of OHS performance metrics (lead and lag indicators), and specific employee well-being initiatives.
Which keywords classify this work?
Key identifiers include Occupational Health and Safety, Risk Management, Strategic Planning, High-Reliability Organisation, and Safety Culture.
How does Air New Zealand act as a high-reliability organization?
Air New Zealand is characterized as a high-reliability organization due to its complex operating environment and its systematic approach to managing critical risks through controlled processes and continuous performance monitoring.
What role does the EAP play in workplace health?
The Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) serves as a proactive tool to support employee mental well-being, which is identified as an essential component of modern safety-sensitive work environments.
What is the significance of the "People Safety Engine" model?
This model visualizes the strategy for health and safety, facilitating easier understanding for the workforce and aligning daily operational behaviors with the overall corporate safety strategy.
- Quote paper
- Anonym (Author), 2022, The Effectiveness of Organizational Intervention to improve OHS. The case of Air New Zealand, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/1247258
