  
7. Reasons for the savingsThe savings have resulted from amended Board policies, coupled with EWLG savings made as a direct outcome of combined staff and management commitment to the objectives of the Strategic Plan. The Board amended its policies in relation to publicity programmes, dissemination of information and worker competency auditing. Following the establishment of the Board in 1993 arrangements were entered into for publicity programmes and the dissemination of information. During the six-year period between 1995 and 2001 the Board spent approximately $2,100.000 on publicity campaigns and the dissemination of Board information. Five providers co-ordinated the publicity programmes and the main dissemination of information was done through ElectroLink magazine. In March 2001, following a "zero based" budgeting exercise, the Board agreed to: - curtail its publicity spend and engage the EWLG to co-ordinate publicity programmes;
- engage the EWLG to produce and distribute the Boards own ELECTRON newsletter;
- further develop its World Wide Web functions.
In the area of worker competency auditing the Board reduced its auditing function under the Certificate of Compliance programme and highlighted the auditing of registered persons who did not uplift practising licences. A Memorandum of Understanding was also developed with the Electrical Contractors Association of New Zealand, which in part entitles the Board to rely on the Association to have systems in place to ensure that the organisation's participating (branded) membership, and employees of that membership, maintain the level of competency required by regulation. Fundamentally the Memorandum of Understanding requires practising licences to be uplifted where required, prescribed electrical work to be certified where necessary and appropriate supervision of workers to be undertaken. It is considered that such agreements have positive outcomes and cost benefits for both parties. From a Board perspective, less money is expended auditing an organisation compared to individuals while the Association's participating membership, and employees of that membership, are afforded low risk status in the Board's audit strategies. The EWLG, in accordance with the Strategic Plan, aligned its personnel structure with the strategy and in so doing reduced its personnel costs by approximately $320,000 per year for comparable functions carried out before and after the implementation of the Strategic Plan. This reduction has been achieved whilst the EWLG continued to carry out all administration functions and provide professional services to the Board. The EWLG has integrated its financial management, call centre and IT functions into the Ministry. This has resulted in improved financial management and improved client service. An average of one hundred and fifty telephone calls per day are being answered for the Board through one call centre and a "state of the art" on line licensing system. In conjunction with the licensing system fully revised licence issuing techniques have been introduced through one processing centre. The practising licence initiatives have resulted in the costs of licence issuing being reduced considerably. The EWLG has established new procedures and agreements for Board examinations following the Boards decision to continue with the administration of registration examinations. Examinations which were conducted in the United Kingdom and South Africa have been discontinued. New policies have also been introduced for the issuing of provisional licences and the handling of registration applications from overseas trained electrical workers. An agreement was entered into between the Board and SiteSafe that enables electrical workers to attend one tuition course to satisfy both the Board practising licence and SiteSafe Passport requirements. Again lower costs have resulted from the new policies and procedures.
|
Return
to Top