Team Member

Newsletter - July 2018

Upcoming Events
July 2018
I encourage all team members to attend our Board Meeting
Organisational meeting on Tuesday 31st July.
Organizational Meeting
We will have the pleasure of a guest speaker from
13CABS to talk about the strong relationship with SWCT WHS Election
and to provide an overview on taxi industry.
Other presentations include overviews on the Point 2
Point legislation, iHound GPS tracking system, dash August 2018
cams, WH&S and much more. Drivers Meeting
Client Focus Group
A BBQ lunch will be provided on the day. This is another
great opportunity to strength and celebrate the fantastic
team culture we have in the organisation. September 2018
Unit Meetings
I would like to take this opportunity to Farewell Linda who
has relocated down the south coast and finds traveling a Office Staff Meeting
bit tiresome – strange coming from a
transport
worker!!
Linda has had a major impact on the
organisation with not only her loud
laughter but her willingness to engage
in whatever role is needed on any
given day.
We wish her all the best and thank her
for everything. I am sure she will pop
up from time to time to ensure we are
leading the charge in the sector.

NDIS Website: www.ndistransport.com.au

Achievements 2017—2018
Congratulations to all staff on some of our achievements over the past
year.

 100% satisfaction rating from Client Feedback register

 2 staff members attended training in Atlanta
 Business Development Manager engaged
 Replaced CT5052 due to blown engine
 New Fleet Co-ordinator engaged
 Manual Handling courses conducted
 Driver refresher courses completed
 Commonwealth standards audit completed and passed
 Stress Management training conducted
 Continuous improvement with Taxi bookings
 New H.R. module up and running
 Successful in obtaining community transport parking in Moore St Liverpool
 Operations Manager completed the Certificate in Transport Management
course
 NDE Low risk driving course conducted at the Hawkesbury Campus
 Successful in obtaining $3000 grant from Trans urban
 Staff member attended mental health first aid course
 CTABS disaster recovery exercise (Darrin participated)
 Lyn and Darrin successfully passed the BOAS Course.
 Lyn was successful in being awarded employee of the year at the CTO conf.
 Attended the Routematch conference
 Staff member commenced a young leadership course at Parramatta\
 Wrapping 3 buses
 Office staff attended 13CABS to learn how their operation works
 Commenced operations in Victoria for NDIS with 13CABS
 Commenced operating as Accessible Transport Australia for areas outside our
catchment zone
 Became fully compliant with point to point requirements
 Conducted a CHSP client focus group
 Conducted a year 2 manual handling course
 Attended the NDS NSW Conference
 Finalist 2017 Australian road safety awards and received an award
 Received growth funding
 Completed WHS committee member training
 12 Volunteer drivers completed TAFE based safe driver course

Page 2
 Work, Health and Safety is every team member’s
responsibility!
5.15.6 Staff Amenities

Seating
Personnel should be provided with seating appropriate to the tasks being undertaken.
Ideally, personnel should have a mix of seated and standing tasks – neither prolonged
sitting nor standing is desirable.

Dining Areas
Personnel need to be provided with hygienic facilities for eating their meals and for
preparing and storing food. Appropriate system for the removal of rubbish associated
with eating and dining areas should be implemented.

Drinking Water
An adequate supply of clean drinking water must be provided at all workplaces, and
be readily accessible for all personnel. Drinking points should be separate from toilet
or washing facilities to avoid contamination of drinking water. Drinking water should be
at or below 24 degrees Celsius. To avoid the spread of germs, drinking water should
not be dipped from a shared container, and workers should not drink directly from a
shared container.

Washing Facilities
The employer must provide access to suitable hand washing facilities to enable
personnel to maintain standards of personal hygiene. Hand washing basins should be
separate from troughs or sinks used in connection with work process. Drivers shall be
provided with supplies for ‘dry’ hand washing

Page 3
Development Update

We have been very busy promoting SWCT to the Nursing Homes, Retirement Villages and Over 55
Villages in our region. This part of our strategy is to attract additional clients for our standard
services and shopping along with further social outings and day trip style business from these
organisations on the days where our fleet isn’t fully utilised.

We have had success with many new clients now being aware of and using our services and we
also have several new Nursing Homes using us for outings and Retirement Villages regularly hiring
our vehicles.

Our new vehicles have finally started arriving. We have received 5 or our new HiAce Commuters
and one of our new Rosa. The first of our new format Rosas will arrive on Friday 20 th July but it does
not go for wrapping until the 30th. The second Rosa should be with us in early August and it goes for
wrapping on the 6th August. I welcome any comments you may have about the new steps and
seating we have in these vehicles.

You should have all seen the new layouts and access improvements in the HiAces by the time you
read this. We believe our clients will find these improvements really help them as they enter and
alight from our vehicles. These vehicles have been a long time coming with the base vehicles taking
months to come from overseas and the new additions proving challenging for the modifiers, however
the final products are very impressive, to the point that the modifier will be using our design for the
HiAce and the Rosa as the basis for future modifications supplied to the industry.

Our old vehicles have all been sold to a specialist dealer who will move them on to disability service
providers so that they keep being operated to support those who need transport in
specialised vehicles.

Our new radios are now installed in all of our vehicles. As with all new systems we have had a few
minor issues however the improved coverage, the more reliable communication and the more
compact size, particularly in the cars, are all major improvements over what we have worked with in
the past. Whilst there are still a few items to arrive or resolve, like the proper microphone for the
radio operator, the new radio system is proving to be a real winner.

Page 4
 Operations Manager Update
The year is officially half over and hopefully soon we will start to see
some warmer weather return. Traditionally we slow down a bit due to
the cold weather and our clients not wanting to venture out and about
when it is cold windy and raining.
As we increase our commercial arm, I am finding we are taking more
bookings for young people and so those casual drivers who have a
working with children check current and registered with me will receive
more work than those who do not, This might be a good opportunity to
apply for a WWC if you would like to be able to be considered for more
hours.
We have welcomed 5 new casual drivers on board this quarter and 1
Permanent Part Time driver on a 12 month contract. This brings our
driving numbers back up to a healthy number and allows us and you
the flexibility to ensure we have enough drivers while still allowing you WE WISH TO
to nominate what days you are available to be considered. This is WELCOME THE
working well for weekdays but we are still striking problems with not
enough casual drivers making themselves available for weekend work. FOLLOWING TO SWCT
This is problematic as I need to ensure I have enough drivers in the
pool to cover all the organisation’s needs.  Simon S (Driver)
I am asking casual drivers to please consider making yourselves
available more on weekends and I will monitor this, if however it  Ken S (Driver
continues that I cannot fill weekend work then I will hire more casuals
to increase the pool and this will have a diluting effect on the number  Warren S (Driver)
of hours available during the week.
We completed more trailer training and now have a good pool of  Sharon C (Driver)
drivers able to tow the trailers. (Please remember to put the wheel
chock’s into the box on the A frame in case you need to unhook the  Wayne C (Driver)
trailer in the field.) Also under WHS, the hooking up and unhooking of
the trailer is a 2 person procedure, please do not get caught out doing  Sandi (Customer
this on your own. Service Rep)
I am slowly getting drivers coming to me with completed electric
wheelchair training booklets but there are still a number of drivers who  Sia (Customer Service
have failed to complete this. I will be doing a review at the end of July
and speaking to drivers individually about this issue. If you are having Rep)
trouble please come and see me.
We are also in the process of re-structuring our office staff  Saba (Office Volunteer)
requirements and welcome Sia into our Bookings unit on a
casual contract. FAREWELL
I would like to end this segment by thanking all areas of the
organisation for your efforts, patience and perseverance while we  Mark T (Driver)
continue to venture into uncharted waters with the NDIS and our
commercial arm. Page 5
 Excerpt from CTO article on Travel Training
Helping community get out and about
Sometimes, it’s hard for people to get out of their homes, for even the of simplest chores. Think
about it, you’re in a wheelchair, you’re not sure if you can get on a public bus or train, a shopping
centre or even to a medical appointment – how do you get around?

Well that’s an issue that South West Community Transport has been tackling with their Travel
Training Program, supporting and helping clients with travel buddies, who help them navigate the
logistical nightmare of getting out and about for people with disabilities.

South West Community Transport, Chief Executive Officer, Lyn Bright said we have some
wonderful team members who teach our clients how to navigate footpaths, cross the road and even
help catch public transport. “Clients are able gain freedom by being supported by our team, who
help them gain the confidence they need to eventually travel out in the community by themselves,
it’s a brilliant program.” Ms. Bright said.

Casula Resident Paula is one of South West Community Transport’s happy customers. Thanks to
her travel trainers Keith and Linda, she’s been able to combat anxiety, gain confidence and find a
new-found freedom to get out of her house and into
the community. “Keith has been awesome with me,
he has helped me gain confidence using my electric
wheelchair and patiently help me overcome all the
fears and anxieties I had,” she said.

“They helped me gain my freedom, they organised

with my local bus company for me to have a practice
session getting on and off an out-of-service bus, at a
variety of bus stops which gave me so much
confidence,” she said.

“My life had closed in on me, the more my mobility

reduced, and I didn't realise how much I felt isolated
until Linda and Keith opened my world up. Now, I
believe I can catch a bus, I can go out into the
community and I have the confidence to use time
tables, to deal with issues if they crop up.” she said.
“Every time I do something now, it just builds on my
self-esteem and nothing is more important than that.”
Paula says next up, with the right support she’ll be
tackling public trains, her real phobia - but we’re
pretty sure with the right help from South West
Community Transport, she’ll get all the support she
needs.

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