Vancouver Airport Authority manages and operates the Vancouver International Airport (YVR). The airport is operated under the provision of a long term lease with the Government of Canada. All excess of revenue over expenditures is re-invested in the business of the airport. YVR is Canada's second busiest airport, with an estimated 16.4 million passengers, 223,100 tons of cargo and 278,500 aircraft movements in 2005. The airport is located 12 kilometers south of the Vancouver central business district, on Sea Island in the City of Richmond.
The Authority has eight core business objectives. The first one is "Keeping Safety, Security and Environmental Excellence as Its # 1 Priority". The Authority has been recognized many times for its achievements in creating a healthy and safe workplace, namely:
1999 and 2001 by The Canadian Society for Safety Engineering for having the best safety program for organizations 50 to 500 staff
In 2003, the Canadian Labour and Business Centre recognized the Authority as one of the top ten healthy workplaces in Canada
In 2004 the BC Society of Psychologists awarded the Authority the Psychological Healthy Workplace Award for having one of the healthiest workplace in British Columbia.
Twenty-five years of research into organizational effectiveness points to the conclusion that too many organizational and workplace factors directly contribute to poor safety and health, and lowered productivity. In general, these factors can be linked to the quality of leadership and management practices, work climate and culture, work processes, and promotion activities existing in the workplace. Fostering a healthy and safe organization requires comprehensive strategies. We know that in some combinations:
High demand
Low support
Poor involvement and
Low reward
Dissatisfaction
Ergonomic injuries
Drug abuse
Commitment
Decline in health and
Cardio-vascular disease
Low collaboration
Absenteeism
More accidents
Higher turnover
Poor engagement
Poorer productivity and
Customer dissatisfaction.
