Introduction
The New Zealand Aviation Security Service, referred to as AvSec,
is a government agency reporting through a Board of Directors
to the Minister of Transport. Avsec has approximately 700 staff located in eight
locations. In 2006/07 its budget is approximately $50m. AvSec
is almost entirely funded by third party revenue, namely fees
paid by departing international and domestic passengers.
AvSec has a strong commitment to quality and was the first organisation
of its type to achieve ISO 9002 certification, and has since been
upgraded to ISO 9001:2000. In 2000 AvSec was awarded the inaugural
SATS, Edith Cowan award for excellence in an aviation security
organisation.
As with any organisation, budget is an important consideration
for the Aviation Security Service. AvSec is a good and generous
employer and we demonstrate commitment to staff in a range of
areas including training and development, rewards and recognition
and health and welfare.
Restructuring
The events of recent years have had a major impact on AvSec and
in the last year alone it has increased by 80% in size and budget.
These changes have lead to a restructuring of AvSec and the creation
of a number of new positions.
Functions
AvSec is responsible for undertaking a set of duties listed in
Section 80 of the Civil Aviation Act 1990. Key duties are:
Locations
AvSec has branches at the following airports -
Northern Region:
Central Region:
Southern Region:
The National Office is located in Wellington.
Work with other agencies
In the performance of its duties AvSec works very closely with
the border agencies (Customs, MAF, Immigration) and the NZ Police.
It also works closely with the airlines and airport companies.
AvSec has an extensive international network and is in regular
contact with the international airlines and regulators, such as
the US Transportation Safety Administration.
It frequently conducts training courses in the South Pacific
region and is called upon to provide assistance and advice to
the region.
AvSec Quality/Audit approach
AvSec is strongly committed to quality and its' quality approach
is demonstrated in a number of areas.
-
Strong customer focus
-
Ongoing review of its systems
-
Recurrent testing of all officers every
120 days in key functions
-
Operation of work improvement team at
each station
-
Extensive external and internal audit
programme, involving
VNZ, airlines and external regulators;
-
Regular customer satisfaction surveys
with key clients;
-
Membership of the NZ Business Excellence
Foundation
Remuneration and Rewards
AvSec offers generous and competitive remuneration to all employees.
AvSec's philosophy is that officers are expected to grow and improve
their performance each year, thereby supporting the growth of
the organisation.
The salary bands for each position are reviewed every year as
at 1 July and placement on the salary bands reviewed as at 1 October.
AvSec has also introduced a long service recognition programme
that provides for a lump sum payment to officers who attain respectively
five, ten, fifteen, twenty and twenty five years service. There
are also long service badges that are worn as part of the uniform
and certificates presented to the recipients. It is important
to be able to recognise the contribution that loyal and committed
employees make to the organisation.
Other benefits include:
- Three weeks annual leave per year, increasing to four weeks
after six years of service
Performance Management
This is an area of ongoing activity for AvSec. In recent months
a new performance management system for employees has been developed,
consisting of the following elements:
Training and development
-
The health and welfare of AvSec staff
is of great importance to us. As a government agency, AvSec
is subject to a statutory “good employer’‘ requirement, which
encourages the development of strategies that enable us to meet
goals whilst being mindful of the welfare of employees.
Internal communication
-
Internal communication is an important
feature of AvSec’s management of its people. The general manager
and other managers maintain an open door policy, both physically
and virtually. The general manager spends on average at least
one day of each week travelling to one of the seven stations
meeting with staff and key external stakeholders.
- All staff are linked by e mail system and are encouraged to
exchange/convey their views and ideas to all levels of the organisation.
All significant memos and other internal publications are lodged
on the AvSec intranet for ongoing access by staff.
-
Generally, all AvSec staff have a sound
grasp of AvSec’s mission, values and goals and the role that
they have to play in achieving those goals. We just don’t play
lip service to this. All officers are expected to demonstrate
an understanding of AvSec’s mission and values in the conduct
of their duties and they are assessed on this and rewarded accordingly.
|
