Safety performance
Boral's lost time injury frequency rate (LTIFR) for employees was 1.8, down 28% compared to 2007/08. Percentage hours
lost improved by 25% to 0.06 over the same period.
Our target is to reduce LTIFR and percentage hours lost by 25% on the previous three year average. The LTIFR of 1.8 and percentage hours lost of 0.06 both represent a 36% improvement on the previous three year averages.
Despite our improved safety performance and progress towards "zero harm", an employee in our Indonesian operations was killed during the year. Mr Hard Arapa, a security officer at our Jelambar concrete batching plant in Jakarta, died when he was struck by a reversing concrete agitator truck and crushed between it and a stationary truck. He was checking the security seal on the stationary vehicle
at the time. We deeply regret this tragic incident. Following a comprehensive investigation into the accident, improved vehicle management processes were implemented at the site and other locations across the business to minimise the chance of a similar accident happening in the future.
Boral’s LTIFR for contractors was 2.4, down 58% compared to last year and percentage hours lost was 0.03, down 67%. The significant improvement in safety performance reflects a more focused approach to contractor safety.
During 2008/09, Boral was prosecuted for one safety incident, and fined but not prosecuted for another. Both safety incidents occurred in New South Wales. In the first incident, a contract traffic controller was fatally injured in October 2005, when he was struck by a reversing light utility vehicle. Boral was
prosecuted and pleaded guilty and was fined $215,000. In the second incident, which occurred in January 2009, a contract operator was injured when he reached under a guard and his glove became caught in a roller pinch point, resulting in the loss of the tip of his little finger. Boral was fined $3,000 for failure to eliminate a health/safety risk.
Workers compensation
As shown on Figure 14, in 2008/09 Boral's workers compensation claim numbers decreased by 15% to 1,634, in line with 2005/06 and prior years. The Cement, Timber and USA divisions and Corporate had significant reductions in claim numbers.
Claim costs in 2008/09 increased by 15% to $5.6 million, with the average cost per claim up 35% compared to last year. This increase predominantly reflects an increase in benefits to injured workers under the various state workers compensation schemes and a more conservative approach taken by insurers in estimating claims in the current economic climate.
We remain self-insured in South Australia and we are currently awaiting renewal of Boral's self-insurance licence for a further two to three years following completion of a recent audit.
Risk management and injury types
Boral’s businesses are required to effectively integrate management of health and safety risks into all work activities
and processes. This requires a systematic process for hazard identification, risk assessment and development of control measures. Risks associated with identified hazards are assessed, taking into consideration both the probability of a hazard causing an actual incident and the potential severity of the consequences of such an incident. Control measures are then required to be implemented to effectively manage identified and assessed risks.
Boral uses statistical injury analysis to formulate action plans to address specific risks. As shown in Figure 12, nearly 50%
of injuries in Boral’s Australian workplaces in 2008/09 resulted from "hitting objects with part of the body" and "muscular
stress". As shown in Figure 13, over 50% of the injuries sustained were to the hand/fingers, back/neck or leg/knee.
Corrective actions including training and process redesign have been taken to reduce these types of injuries.
Employee health and wellbeing
Boral requires its employees to be fit for work, with the required level of fitness depending on the nature of the work.
Pre-employment medicals are conducted for most employees, to ensure that they are physically able to meet the demands of the job. In some higher-risk roles, regular employment medicals are also conducted.
It is Boral's policy to maintain a drug and alcohol-free work environment and Boral's operations have in place a range of activities to achieve this. The Company promotes drug and alcohol rehabilitation and will assist an employee who elects to enter a treatment program.
Beyond Boral's requirement for employees to be "fit for the job", Boral is committed to supporting the health and wellbeing of its employees. Boral's employee wellbeing program, BWell, is currently available to employees in Australia. In the USA, the program was put on hold in late 2008/09 due to cost reductions. In Australia, BWell provides three core services: annual or biennial health assessments, wellbeing awareness seminars conducted in working hours, and provision of educational information on health issues for employees and their families. BWell’s health assessments are widely accessed by employees.
The BWell program aims to improve the health status and awareness of our employees through improvements in their lifestyle and diet. Amongst Boral's employees who have had two or more health assessments, the average number of risk factors has reduced from 2.8 to 2.7. The number of employees at the high end of the health risk spectrum with five or more undesirable risks has reduced by 9%.
| BWell Program | FY2009 | FY2008 |
|---|---|---|
| Health assessments – Australia | 1,546 | 2,121 |
| Health assessments – USA | ~500 | ~800 |
| BWell seminars – Australia | 513 | 546 |
Many examples of improved health and wellbeing have been reported by employees as a result of increased health awareness and positive lifestyle changes. Boral also offers employees and family members in Australia a confidential, free counselling program called BEAP (Boral Employee Assistance Program). BEAP provides short-term assistance and/or specialist advice on a range of personal and work issues that may affect their wellbeing. During 2008/09, a total of 344 employees and family members accessed the service for a new issue. The BEAP service also provided professional support and coaching to 21 managers in dealing with difficult or complex people issues.
Improving OHS management systems
During 2008/09, Australian Construction Materials (ACM) commenced the roll-out of a national ACM Occupational
Health and Safety (OHS) Management System which will be fully implemented across its businesses over the next
three years. This national platform will ensure consistent standards across all ACM businesses and eliminate the
duplication of effort in developing and implementing health and safety strategies. Development of the national
ACM OHS Management System involved a comprehensive consultation and stakeholder engagement strategy.
This refocus and examination of OHS practices has led to revived interest and awareness of OHS, contributing to
a significant improvement in ACM’s safety performance in 2008/09. LTIFR of 2.6 was a 45% improvement.
Timber has made significant improvements to its foundation safety platform, Safe Mate, over the last 18 months.
This has resulted in closer alignment with Boral’s 14 Best Practice Elements; a subsequent increase of around 50%
in the safety activities within the program; and the development of a comprehensive intranet portal for storage and
sharing of safety information across the division. The annual rigorous Safe Mate Peer Audit process continues to
prove the capability of the program by identifying opportunities for further growth and improvement.
Managing security issues
The security issues facing Boral’s employees and joint venture staff working in countries of political and social unrest are closely monitored. Boral engages global security advisers and our travel and security policies are reviewed and adjusted in response to the changing global situations. Boral regularly considers emerging global health and security issues that may affect Boral's operations and employees abroad.
