OzCare - Case study

Challenged by needing to remain compliant with the Building Fire Safety Regulation:2008 and Australian Standard 3745:2010 without risking taking staff away from providing crucial care to residents, leading Queensland health and human services provider Ozcare turned to Concept Safety Systems (CSS) for a resolution to this issue.

With the added problem of staff also working day and night shifts and making compliancy training a challenge, CSS developed a flexible 24 hour emergency training solution that addressed all the needs of Ozcare and ensured it met all the necessary regulations.

Operating in an industry that is required to pass stringent annual accreditation checks and in which emergency situations occur more frequently, Ozcare needed to ensure that its 55 facilities were compliant and that its 2,500 employees were properly trained for every emergency, quickly and with minimal disruption.

“Our previous programme consisted of a fire trainer undertaking annual training sessions at each of our facilities,” explains Contract Administration Officer at Ozcare, Tracy Colledge, “but given that, in most of our branches, we are a 24 hour service with staff that work varying shifts, this was ineffective and difficult to monitor.”

However, Mrs Colledge saw incredible potential in CSS’ online Fire Evacuation Program (FEP) that, for the first time, gave staff access to a 24/7 training and safety management system.

“The FEP has benefited Ozcare greatly,” she says. “It is far more convenient for staff who can now undertake their training wherever they are and whenever they have the time. It is also cost effective in that we don’t have to pay for trainers to visit our facilities or overtime for staff that have to complete their training outside of their shift.”

Pleasing staff whilst also proving beneficial to Ozcare as a whole, the FEP means the organisation’s staff can better focus on the most important aspect of their job, the needs of their residents and clients, rather than worrying about if they are compliant with safety regulations.

It is this heightened efficiency that Mrs Colledge states is most valuable to Ozcare as it creates a better working environment and means managers no longer have trouble coordinating staff to come in, outside of working hours, for training.

“The FEP takes pressure off of our facility managers who, as you can imagine, have had to facilitate night staff to come into work during the day to complete their training,” she says. “It’s now much easier as staff can simply log on during their shift and become accredited on their own accord.”

Implemented seamlessly throughout all Ozcare facilities, CSS developed a tailored FEP for each, not only ensuring that Ozcare was compliant but that the needs of each individual branch were met.

“The needs of our staff vary and the safety protocol for each facility is very different,” says Mrs Colledge. “We have some employees who don’t speak fluent English or find working on a computer challenging and so those facilities have a system that trains staff through imagery and icons. It’s these seemingly simple factors which often go unnoticed that CSS’ FEP meets and that is what is invaluable.”

Officially rolled out in July 2010, CSS’ FEP has increased efficiency and ensured compliancy for Ozcare with Mrs Colledge stating that the accreditation process is simplified by the ease of accessibility to training records.

“When the Queensland Fire and Rescue Service conduct a check now, all we have to do is log onto the FEP, print out an updated report that shows all the staff that have undertaken training to that date and hand it to the representative,” she says.

Ultimately creating a safer working environment for Ozcare, Mrs Colledge continues saying the organisation is pleased to have peace of mind that all employees now know how to act in an emergency and is reassured that it is doing all in its power to ensure the safety of its residents.

“At the end of the day the core philosophy of Ozcare is to provide a safe and comforting living environment for our residents,” she says. “The FEP works in line with this and allows us to continue our commitment to upholding that promise.”

Contact:

Mike Kidwell
Client Manager
Concept Safety Systems
1300 738 461