WSP RWWSP Risk
Solutions (WSP) is part of the WSP Group, a global business
providing management and consultancy services across a range of
industries with a network of offices throughout the world. WSP
is a specialist consultancy providing strategic advice and
practical solutions from experienced professionals across
environment, health and safety and risk management.
WSP is a dynamic
and innovative niche OHS&E Consultancy with energetic, highly
motivated, experienced staff that ably assist organisations gain
real benefits from a practical and strategic approach to risk
management. Our value is demonstrated by the skills of our
professional staff and reflected in the depth and quality of our
customer base. We build successful teams around some of the
world’s leading experts and have a culture that promotes an
innovative and collaborative approach to problem solving. We
sell value not time, with an approach based on global best
practice.
In 2006, WSP
strengthened its existing presence in Australia with the
acquisition of three specialist consultancies: ARK Consulting
Group, Responsive Environmental Solutions, and RegConnect, a
business managing two internationally renowned on-line
environmental regulatory tracking services.
With this expertise
we are able to offer our clients a unique blend of regional
insight and global best practice in:
-
property and
liability risk management and loss control,
-
health &
safety solutions,
-
strategic
corporate services,
-
environmental
solutions,
-
EH&S due
diligence.
Personnel at WSP
continue to work for some of the world’s foremost corporations
as well as local Australian companies. We employ senior people
who work on the projects and develop strategy with our clients.
We are dedicated to putting our best resources into a project to
maximise the benefit to our customers’ businesses.
WSP Risk Solutions
have developed an “all risk" audit and reporting product that is
specific for the retail sector. The risk management protocol
comprehensively assesses and reports on all critical Property,
Liability and Operational exposures for retail property owners
and managers. The program has been delivered with great success
for a number of retail organisations in Australia, UK and New
Zealand
There is a duality
in purpose for the risk reviews. The main thrust of the risk
management program is to review, benchmark and make any
necessary recommendations for improvement on the total
operational and asset risks of a retail establishment. This
process also ensures that participants meet appropriate
compliance standards and are able to clearly demonstrate the
necessary due diligence with regards to life safety issues.
Equally
significant, WSP Risk Solutions are able to produce a separate
“Risk Profile” report for Insurance Underwriters and/or their
representatives – and where appropriate put forward a case for a
reduction in Insurance costs and/or an expansion of Insurance
coverage - based on the risk management standards of the
participating organisation. With the sizable insurance premiums
now affecting the retail industry and the contraction of
coverage to exclude such aspects as terrorist incidents and a
number of other activities - the cost-benefits and savings
involved are potentially significant.
WSP Risk Solutions
have developed a tailored risk management product that is
specific to the retail industry. Utilising its broad based
experience and expertise in mechanical, electrical, fire,
liability and risk engineering – WSP are able to offer a
total risk evaluation of a retailer’s facilities and
management systems in order to identify, assess and control all
insured and uninsured hazards.
WSP Risk Solutions
have developed a comprehensive risk audit and reporting tool
that is specific to Retail operations. Risk auditing addresses
all potential areas of loss exposure for Retail occupancy
including:
§
Systems and
Procedures
§
Self Inspection
Programs
§
Property and fire
risks
§
Asset Protection
§
Public Safety &
Public Liability
§
Security Systems
and procedures
§
Contractor
Management
§
Contractual
Liabilities
§
Risk transfer
§
Environmental
Management
§
Employee
Liabilities
§
Cleaning Operations
§
Car Parking
Services & Facilities
§
Tenant Activities
§
Plant & Equipment
Engineering
§
Electrical Safety
§
Elevators,
Escalators & Travelators
§
Walkways & Common
Malls
§
Water handling &
Treatment
§
Communication
Systems
§
Heating Ventilation
and Air Conditioning (HVAC)
§
Building Automation
Systems
§
Waste Handling and
Treatment
§
Recreational
Facilities Risks
§
Emergency &
Contingency Management
§
Business Continuity
Preparedness
§
Compliance
Monitoring
§
Incident and Claims
Management
As part of the risk
auditing process, WSP will produce a detailed risk register as well
as a comprehensive report that will itemise and prioritise all
observations and recommendations for improvement. A separate précis
report is also able to be provided for an establishment or Group’s
Insurers or their authorised representatives - in order to argue for
a measurable cost-benefit. This will be in terms of a reduction in
premiums and/or an expansion of coverage across the appropriate
lines of Insurance.
In addition to the
initial base auditing function, it is the aim of the WSP Retail risk
management process to:-
-
Provide information to Executive Management so that it can
make informed decisions on prioritising risks.
-
Initiate action to mitigate or reduce the adverse effects of
risk.
-
Manage the treatment of risk in a systematic way so that it
becomes acceptable to the organisation.
-
Monitor the actions taken to manage risk.
-
Identify any problems in implementing the risk management
process
It is the goal of WSP
Risk Solutions to assist participant organisations to develop
strategic Risk Management plans. The driving purpose in
developing such strategic plans is to:
·
- Direct operations towards realisation of the
organisational mission, vision, goals and objectives;
·
- Provide a standard by which Retail/Operations
Managers’ progress can be measured; and
·
- Allow for the effective implementation of Risk
Management programs that will improve both performance and value.
The Retail Risk Management plans that are developed
by WSP Risk Solutions are done so in close consultation with their
clients. These plans illustrate the means by which the various
Managers can achieve the goals that are set – based on an analysis
of the implemented programs. Since each plan documents what is
expected and from whom, it inevitably provides an invaluable
communication and performance measurement tool for both management
and staff. The resulting model provides the framework necessary for
Executive Management to assess the effectiveness of Risk Management
performance and to anticipate future opportunities for improvements.
The WSP Risk Solutions
Retail Risk Management Product allows for a total review of
risk as it impacts upon all aspects of a site’s operations.
These risks range from the potential liabilities attached to injured
or ill customers & the damage or loss of their property, to the fire
protection of the asset as a whole. Such reviews allow for
participating organisations to have all areas of potential exposure
identified and addressed – and for necessary corrective action to be
taken prior to a loss occurring.
Unlike many other risk
management companies, WSP Risk Solutions combine technical
engineering know-how with a comprehensive understanding of the loss
control expectations of the Insurance Industry. This unique skill
set not only allows for the complete identification and assessment
of retail related risks – but also to convey to the relevant
Property, Casualty (Liability), Professional Indemnity and Worker’s
Compensation Insurers the positive aspect of findings and how
effectively such risks are managed.
The process also serves
to:
-
Protect and conserve the human, property, and financial
resources of the Retailer or Shopping Centre – as well as their
brand.
-
Instill Management confidence that functions under their
responsibility are being properly managed, are effective - and
are free from ethical lapses, waste, fraud, abuse, and threats
to the health & safety of customers, employees, tenants and
contractors
-
Build credibility with Line Managers as well as data and
information to make a case for improvements or the support of
additional or reallocation of resources
-
The
better accomplishment of mission objectives. To ensure economy,
efficiency and compliance across all front and back of house
operations, avoidance of waste and mismanagement - and avoidance
of undesirable resource drain
WSP Risk Solutions
personnel have extensive experience in the Retail Industry
particularly in Australia, UK, New Zealand and the South East Asia
Region.
Our Manager, Liability
Program, has over 20 years experience in this sector. He has
undertaken Property and Liability Insurance Surveys and Risk
Management Audits for major Retailers and Retail Managers including
Centro, Westfields, Stocklands, Yu Feng, Best & Less, Harvey Norman,
Coles Myer, Woolworths, CB Richard Ellis, Byvan and Jones Lang
LaSalle.
For any additional
information about WSP Risk Solutions Retail Risk management
programs, please contact
us:
SHOPPING CENTRE CASE STUDY
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Reducing property and public liability
risks
This case study shows how a retail
shopping-centre complex established a risk management program to reduce
its property and public liability risk exposures and achieve savings to
its cost of risk. All data given in this case study is fictitious,
though based on an actual case and representative.
Setting
The shopping centre is typical of a
retail complex, comprising a number of tenancies encompassing shops,
cafeterias, food courts and public areas. There are also regular casual
tenancies displaying stands and trestles of various goods and services.
On occasions, special events and promotions are conducted in the
centre's public areas, and fixtures for these are usually set up by
contractors for that purpose.
Centre management consists of four full
time persons, namely a centre manager, a marketing manager, a
maintenance officer and a receptionist. Part-time rostered staff include
three contract cleaners and two contract security guards present during
trading hours.
When closed out of trading hours at
night, the premises are monitored by drive-by patrols carried out by a
contract security firm.
The shopping centre is a complex of
buildings on two levels, of concrete, steel and brick construction, with
a basement area primarily used for storage and maintenance functions. T
he centre is 25 years old though it has
undergone a number of refurbishments and extensions in that time. It is
fitted with fire sprinklers throughout.
Major plant and equipment includes
airconditioning systems, a dock leveler in the cargo bay, a compactor
available to all tenants, a goods elevator and escalators. These systems
are regularly maintained by various specialist contractors.
Background and risk management context
The centre manager is concerned to
improve their risk management program. Specifically, he wishes to:
- Ensure that any significant
liability exposures are identified and addressed
- Reduce the centre's current cost of
risk, primarily its cost of insurance and the cost of claims
- Establish a more formalised and
systematic risk control program, but one that is efficient and
commensurate with the skills of centre management and tenants
Currently, the centre's risk management
program largely consists of hazard spotting and immediate response by
the maintenance officer and cleaners. The centre manager has a good
understanding of the potential hazards to public safety and the
associated issues of liability. A register of all incidents is kept and
reviewed monthly by the centre manager. This regular review also
encompasses assessment of costs and trends. The centre's insurer and
insurance broker have not been involved.
The centre's cost of risk has steadily
risen over recent years. This cost is primarily made up of insurance
premiums plus the cost of claims under the deduction paid by the centre.
At present, the centre's cost of risk is 3.2 per cent of revenue
(excluding its workers compensation premium). Property cost of risk is
0.81 per cent of revenue and this cost has generally remained stable for
the past few years. The centre's cost of public liability risk is
presently 2.26 per cent of revenue, up by 14 per cent over the previous
year. The manager feels that this cost could be markedly reduced and
should be nearer 1 per cent of revenue.
Method and approach
Risk identification
Centre management decided to call in a
risk management advisor to appraise the centre's risks, review its
current risk management program and establish a set of procedures for
better risk control where necessary.
The advisor first reviewed the centre's
claims, incident and loss experience from its records for the past five
years. Loss rates and costs for workers compensation and property had
remained steady and the centre's performance in this regard was judged
to be satisfactory. In contrast, the loss rate, incident rate and cost
of public liability had steadily risen. Closer assessment of these
public liability losses indicated the
following breakdown over the past three-year period.
A major proportion of incidents and
losses were related to slips and falls. Causation appeared to be debris
and slippery floor and step surfaces. This breakdown argued, inter alia,
for improvements to the centre's cleaning procedures, especially in the
food court areas and at the centre's entry/exit doorways.
For example, by way of improvements in
view of these data, extra waste receptacles were installed in the food
courts. Mats were fixed to the floor at the centre's entry points and
adjacent to escalators, in particular to enable centre patrons to dry
the soles of their shoes on rainy days.
Secondly, the risk management advisor,
together with the centre manager, carried out an inspection of the
centre, including a risk assessment of all tenants' premises, work
areas, plant, equipment and the centre's external surrounds.
Risk evaluation and analysis
Specifically this risk assessment focused
on public safety and encompassed the following parameters:
- Management awareness,
responsibility, understanding and training
- Hazard management systems,
inspections, documentation and procedures
- Incident and claims management
system, documentation and procedures
- Specific identification and control
of public hazards
- Tenants' hazard and risk controls
- Contractor risk controls
- Security – trading and non-trading
hours
- Building and plant maintenance
- Building health and hygiene
- Emergency systems and contingency
response
Current risk controls were assessed on a
three-point scale as 'good', 'fair' or 'poor'.
Examples of the assessments of the
parameters listed are presented as an
Excel spreadsheet.
Risk treatment and risk control
improvements
Thirdly, the risk management advisor and
the centre management team reviewed the risk assessments outlined above
and formulated improvements to the centre's risk management program.
These improvements produced a program consisting of the following six
elements:
- A risk control framework comprising
a self inspection checklist and log for use by the maintenance
officer, a contractor safety plan and checklist supervised by the
maintenance officer, a hot work permit procedure for all welding and
brazing on the premises and an external specialist contractor to
improve and monitor the centre's emergency organisation and response
procedures
- Incident reporting and recording
improvements agreed in writing with the centre's insurer. In
addition, the hazard inspections and reports carried out by centre
management included a record of the corrective actions taken and
were extended to include food safety assessment of food service
tenants
- Procedures to ensure written
contracts and agreements for all leases, hires, works and services,
with standard minimum provisions for indemnities and insurances to
better protect the centre management and owner. For example, a
minimum $5 million public liability insurance cover was required of
all service and works contractors
- Periodic external audit by a
recognized risk management advisor. This audit invited and involved
the centre's insurance broker and insurer. The aim here was to have
both these parties fully understand the insured risk and the risk
management program operated by the centre
- A 'risk-o-meter' included in centre
management reporting in appropriate formats to the property owner,
insurer, broker and tenants, showing changes and trends in risk
performance, loss rate, cost, causes and the like
- A 'blitz' program, whereby a
specific risk issue was targeted and emphasized for a quarter (three
months), akin to a promotional or marketing strategy. Gains of the
blitz program are attributed to a 'Hawthorne effect' on staff and
tenants.
Outcomes
- Centre management and its insurance
broker were able to negotiate a significant decrease in the centre's
insurance premium on renewal at the end of the insurance period (end
of financial year in this case). It was felt that this was due
primarily to the insurer's better understanding of the insured risk
and the quality of risk controls in place.
- The risk management advisor
conducted a review of the risk management program some two months
after its inception. As a part of this review, an appraisal of the
centre's fire risk was made by the advisor and a professional
building surveyor. This appraisal used a property fire risk
evaluation software model. The appraisal indicated that the risk
management improvements made by the centre to hazard mitigation,
staff training and housekeeping reduced its fire risk by over 50 per
cent – a substantial risk reduction! It also showed the centre
manager a tangible benefit from the risk management actions.
- The attachments overleaf show the
model results before and after these risk management improvements.
The model results formed a part of the centre's submission to its
broker and insurer and no doubt contributed to the reduction in the
centre's insurance cost.
Case study guidelines
The approach taken to risk management in
this case study followed that outlined by the Australian standard
AS/NZS 4360 on risk management. In particular, this case
demonstrates the following items for risk management in practice:
- Clearly defining objectives and
focus for the risk management effort
- Setting targets for risk reduction
and risk control improvements by reviewing past incident/loss
performance and combining this with a risk evaluation
- Using the performance review and
risk evaluation to highlight the key needs for application of risk
controls
- Applying existing control measures
in conjunction with a management system
Back to case studies
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Page last updated: Tuesday, 20 February
2007
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By:
Steve Hanson
There is no way a cleaning company can
effectively do its job without using chemicals. Your company may use just a
few basic products or a multitude of cleaners for various situations. No
matter how many or how few chemicals you use, it’s important that you have
the Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) for each different product that your
company uses. These data sheets contain information on how to handle the
product as well as the emergency measures - just in case there is a mishap
with the product.
The MSDS is not only important to have on hand for safety reasons; it is
also an OSHA requirement that you have the MSDS on hand for every product
that your cleaning company uses. These sheets must be available to your
employees. In fact, an employee can refuse to work with a product if you
cannot show him/her the product’s MSDS.
The MSDS is prepared by the product’s manufacturer. They may appear
complicated, but they are broken into sections and are generally easy to
follow and understand. There is no specific format for an MSDS, however, it
must contain basic chemical information about the product. Included are
hazardous ingredients, health hazards, fire and explosion hazards, proper
use, storage, disposal, any other special precautions that you or your
employees need to know about the product. The MSDS must also have a 24-hour
emergency phone number of either the manufacturer or an outside company that
can answer questions about the product. The MSDS also includes technical
information that is required by law, but is not necessarily information you
will need to be concerned with.
You should get an MSDS sheet for every chemical product you buy. These
sheets are available from the manufacturer. If you buy your supplies from a
janitorial supplies distributor, they will either have the MSDS or be able
to get it for you from the manufacturer. If you buy supplies from a big box
store or over the Internet, the supplier might not have the MSDS for the
product. In this case, you will have to get it from the manufacturer or you
may be able to search for it on the Internet. Make sure that you always have
the most up-to-date MSDS for the product.
Once you have the MSDS, read it carefully before using the product for the
first time. To protect your employees and your cleaning company, what
information should you look for on the cleaning product’s MSDS?
1. Look for the overall summary of the product and the emergency phone
number. It is a good idea to highlight the product name and phone number in
case you need to find it quickly.
2. Pay attention to the chemical composition of the product. The ingredients
section will spell out information about the active and inert ingredients of
the product.
3. What are the hazards of using this product? The hazard identification
section will point out any potential harmful affects of the chemicals.
4. Read the first aid section carefully. It will point out the measures to
take if someone becomes ill when using the product. It will also indicate
the symptoms of exposure and what health conditions can be exacerbated when
using the product.
5. Look at the firefighting section. Is this a chemical that has
flammability concerns? This section will point out what media to use to
extinguish a fire and any other specific fire safety considerations.
6. The accidentally released section will spell out how to clean up a spill
of the material and if you need to contact emergency personnel in the case
of a spill.
7. What are the handling and storage requirements? General guidelines for
safe handling of the product and lists all storage requirements.
8. What protective measures do I need to take when using the chemical?
Besides personal protective equipment, this section will specify any other
safe practices (eyewash station nearby, ventilation, etc.) you should take
when using the product.
9. What does it look/act like? There is a chemical properties section that
gives information about the physical state, color, odor, solubility, and a
great deal of technical information. The technical information may not be of
importance, but it’s a good idea to know what the product should look like.
If for some reason the chemical is off-color or has a different smell than
indicated, you should not use the product.
10. Read the section that gives information about the stability of the
product and how it should be stored. This section will let you know if there
are special storage precautions and the compatibility with other products.
11. How do you safely and legally dispose of this product? There will be
guidelines to let you know how to dispose of any remaining product. However,
you should still check with your local city, county or state solid waste
department before disposing of the product.
12. Are there ecological impacts when using this product? Many products have
a harmful impact on the environment and there may be special concerns when
using it around plants, animals, and waterways.
Dedicate a few minutes to reading a product’s MSDS before using it and share
that information with your employees. Investing some time learning about a
product before using it can save you headaches, protect your employees, and
keep your cleaning company out of hot water in case a spill or accident does
happen. Being prepared is always better than having 20-20 hindsight and
wishing you had known the hazards of a chemical after something happens.
Copyright (c) 2007 The Janitorial Store
Article Source: http://www.articlerich.com
Steve Hanson is co-founding member of The
Janitorial Store (TM), an online community that offers weekly tips,
articles, downloads, discussion forums, and more for anyone who would like
to learn how to
start a cleaning business. Visit The Janitorial Store’s blog and get
inspired by reading
cleaning success
stories from owners of cleaning companies.
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