Benchmarking for best practice


	Welcome to the BPIR blog Latest news: Common Qualities of Success: BPIR.com advice concerning successful safety programmes March 11th, 2010 Terry Mathis, founder of U.S. ProAct Safety, writes [1] that it has been found that successful safety improvement initiatives are: 1. Proactive: the successful implementation of reactive safety programmes will inevitably generate the need for the development of proactive safety programmes. 2. Focused: traditional initiatives commonly lead to the development of many rules and procedures, and these tend to overwhelm and to diffuse employee attention. Truly successful safety efforts focus upon the most important dangers and the appropriate ways to avoid these. When employees begin to automatically take precautions themselves then accidents rates tend to drop permanently. 3. Transformational: precautions that have the potential to produce a significant positive impact upon accidents are termed transformational precautions. Truly excellent safety efforts do not seek for modest gains, but for goals that will transform accident rates using minimal and practical levels of effort. 4. Employee Centric: safety improvements are often limited through a lack of worker involvement. Effective safety initiatives must approach risk from both a management and an employee perspective. *5. Clearly Communicated:* effective communication is a trademark of successful safety initiatives, and when deeds and words don't match then the message becomes unclear. 6. Results Oriented: some safety initiatives have emphasised process metrics over results metrics. A profound knowledge of safety is found using both process metrics and result metrics along with an understanding of the relationship between the two. *7. Multi-dimensional:* successful safety efforts benefit from contributions from quality, technology and behavioural science approaches. *8. Integrated:* successful safety initiatives must become integrated into everything that an organisation does. Safety programmes that do not mesh with day-to-day activities are seldom successful, and they are certainly not sustainable. Integrated safety needs to become an organisational value. *9. Practical:* safety success can be advanced by theories, but ultimately it can not be achieved if it does not fit the cultural, procedural and the real conditions that are found in the workplace. *10.Humanistic:* Successful safety programmes need to win the hearts and minds of the people involved. Ultimately the reasons behind working on safety are just as important as the way it is implemented. Goals dominated by financial targets and benchmarks alone will not win the hearts of the people who are able make initiatives truly successful. [1] Mathis, T., (2008), What Does Safety Success Look Like?, Occupational Hazards, Vol 70, Iss 8, pp 43-47, Penton Media, Inc., Cleveland Members may read the full article which provides further advice about successful safety management. Not a member? read about our membership benefits , or click here to join now! Neil Crawford BPIR Write a Comment Posted in Business Excellence, Industries, Safety \| No Comments » It’s all about commitment December 10th, 2009 In their pursuit to be the best small nation navy in the world, the Royal New Zealand Navy has won the gold award of the New Zealand Business Excellence Award (NZBEA) for 2009. As a result of their commitment to excellence and achieving their vision the navy productivity doubled in ten years through organisational learning and teamwork. Well done to the Royal New Zealand Navy! Media press release: Navy Wins Gold, Productivity Doubles in Ten Years The Royal New Zealand Navy has become the first public sector organisation in New Zealand, and only the third New Zealand business in 10 years, to win an internationally recognised Baldridge Gold Award from the New Zealand Business Excellence Foundation. The award will be presented by His Excellency the Governor General, Sir Anand Satyanand this Friday at a ceremony in Auckland. Chief of Navy, Rear Admiral Tony Parr is delighted at the Navy’s success. “This award is both national and international recognition of the Royal New Zealand Navy as a world class organisation,” said Rear Admiral Parr. “It’s a significant milestone on our journey to achieving operational excellence and our vision of being the best small nation Navy in the world.” The Baldridge Gold Award has only been won by two other New Zealand companies in the last decade; Vero Insurance and NZ Aluminium Smelters. “The award recognises that the support organisation we have for our ships and people is as good as that of any business or enterprise. That organisation is essential for delivering the Navy’s operational capability by way of ships at sea,” said Admiral Parr. “We are now twice as productive for every person at sea as we were ten years ago. We’ve taken delivery of new ships since 2007 and will soon be operating a fleet of 12 ships that deliver the full range of maritime military capability from combat and security missions to peacekeeping, border patrol and humanitarian and disaster relief.” “To support a high operational tempo in a financial environment that is always constrained we had to focus on continuous improvement in technology, business processes and the training and employment of our people. As a result of this work we have achieved a significant increase in the number of days ships are spending at sea.” Rear Admiral Parr praised the work of Navy people over the period of involvement with the New Zealand Business Excellence Foundation. “This award demonstrates that the Royal New Zealand Navy is receptive to change and new ways of doing business, and that our people are high achievers. “It has been a journey of 10 years duration – a testament to the shared vision of successive Chiefs of Navy over that time, and indicative of an organisation that is responsive to change and achieving value for money for the Government and people of New Zealand. “Operational excellence in the delivery of maritime military capability is our ultimate goal but we know that we can only achieve this if we have excellent business processes to keep our ships at sea and our people trained, competent and motivated. The award, and the rigorous evaluation process it involves, demonstrates that the Navy understands its business, understands how its resources are allocated and is disciplined about its strategic direction.” Write a Comment Posted in Business Excellence \| No Comments » And the winner is… December 10th, 2009 The winners of New Zealand Business Excellence Award were announced on Friday 20th November, the winners were: Royal New Zealand Navy - Gold award New Zealand Fire Service - Silver award Western Bay of Plenty District Council - Silver award The New Zealand Business Excellence Award is based on the US Baldrige which gives the winners a global recognition. Congratulations for the winners Media press release: Navy sails to victory in NZ’s toughest and most prestigious performance excellence awards The Royal New Zealand Navy have achieved the highest accolade in the 2009 New Zealand Business Excellence Awards, to be presented at a gala luncheon today (Friday 20th Nov). Another state service, The New Zealand Fire Service is to receive a silver award, as will the Western Bay of Plenty District Council. The awards are administered by the New Zealand Business Excellence Foundation. Foundation CEO, Mike Watson, says “Being awarded a Gold gives the winner official World Class status. These awards are unique in that they are based on an international criteria and scoring system and a rigorous 4 stage assessment process. They are the only awards in New Zealand which are fully aligned to the internationally respected US Baldrige criteria. Only 2 other Gold level Awards have been presented in New Zealand in the past 13 years.” The presentation of the Gold Award marks the culmination of more than a decade of hard work by the Navy having already achieved 2 NZBEA bronze and a silver award. In their assessment the judges recognised: “The Royal New Zealand Navy have demonstrated a long term commitment to excellence and achieving their vision (to be the best small nation navy in the world). Organisational learning and a strong commitment to teamwork is well embedded in the Navy coupled with a passion for efficiency and innovation. The Navy have a number of world class systems and are recognised as a role model for many other organizations.” Chief of Navy, Rear Admiral Tony Parr said “This award is both national and international endorsement of the Royal New Zealand Navy as a world class organization. Operational excellence in the delivery of maritime military capability is our ultimate goal but we know that we can only achieve this if we have excellent business processes to keep our ships at sea and our people trained, competent and motivated. The NZBEA Gold Award, and the rigorous evaluation process it involves, demonstrates that the Navy understands its business, understands how its resources are allocated and is disciplined about its strategic direction.” The New Zealand Fire Service embarked on the NZBEA journey in 2002, winning a bronze award in 2005. NZFS Chief Executive and National Commander Mike Hall says "Achieving a Silver Business Excellence award is the culmination of a great deal of hard work and commitment from across the organisation. This award recognises that effort and encourages us to maintain our performance improvement focus for the Fire Service." The other organization to be awarded an NZBEA silver award is Western Bay of Plenty District Council. CEO, Glenn Snelgrove said the silver award validated his organisation's approach that integrated planning, service delivery and monitoring in local government was fundamental to delivering effective results. "Council's are inherently complex organisations that often have to meet the competing demands of providing an array of services within the bounds of a tight legislative, budgetary and reporting framework. The NZBEF model has been fundamental to ensuring every member of the council team is focused on meeting these demands through well planned, cost effective service delivery to Western Bay residents and ratepayers." Presented alongside the Business Excellence Awards will be the distinct second tier of awards, the NZ Business Achievement Awards. These are an abridged but still tough version of the Business Excellence Awards. Honoured in this category will be Saint Clair Family Estate and Recreational Services. Managing Director of Saint Clair Family Estate Neal Ibbotson said that achieving the highest level in the 2009 NZ Business Achievement Awards is due to the commitment of all of the quality Saint Clair team. “We commit to quality across all aspects of our business – quality people, quality vineyard management, quality wine making, quality marketing and quality distribution. We continually ask the question ‘How Do We Do It Better'? This award signifies the success of our philosophy while at the same time empowers us to continue to grow, develop, and improve. It is the team approach of our excellent people who are able to make a difference and ensure the highest possible standard within the business with the ultimate goal of producing world class wines of excellence”. Brett Turner, Managing Director, Recreational Services says “This is a great reward for all involved – more than ticking the boxes of a submission process we really took on board all the learnings, and have made significant changes throughout the company. It is great to have this formal recognition, but even better to know that we are now a more focused and dynamic organisation as a result of the process we went through to achieve it.” The 2009 New Zealand Business Excellence Awards Gala Luncheon takes place at the National Maritime Museum in Auckland, 11.45 – 3.30 today (Friday 20th November). www.nzbef.org.nz Write a Comment Posted in Business Excellence \| No Comments » rss Entries or Comments