Of 8 CALMAC FERRIES LIMITED MINUTES of BOARD MEETING
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CALMAC FERRIES LIMITED MINUTES OF BOARD MEETING HELD AT THE CARLTON HOTEL, NORTH BRIDGE, EDINBURGH, AT 2PM ON WEDNESDAY 20 NOVEMBER 2013 ___________________________________________________________________________ Present Mr D C McGibbon, Chairman Mr S Hagan Mr N L Quirk Ms P J D Stark Mr M Dorchester Mr R L Drummond Mr S A Ure In attendance: Mr M Easton, Non-Executive Director, David MacBrayne Ltd Mr J Stirling, Non-Executive Director, David MacBrayne Ltd Mr B Fulton, Operations Director Mr A Collier, Chief Risk Officer Ms C Roberts, HR Director, David MacBrayne HR (UK) Ltd Mrs C Craig, Head of Marketing and E-Commerce Mr D Cannon, Public Relations Manager Ms K McGregor, Chief Executive, Firstport Mr C Paterson, Board Administrator ____________________________________________________________________________________ 1. PRELIMINARIES Mr McGibbon welcomed Mr Easton, Mr Stirling, Mr Fulton, Mr Collier, Ms Roberts, Mrs Craig Mr Cannon and Ms McGregor to the meeting. 1.1 Apologies for absence There were no apologies. 1.2 Declarations of interest There were no further declarations of interest, other than those previously made and known to all Directors. 3. CHAIRMAN’S REMARKS Mr McGibbon referred to the postponed meeting with the Minister for Transport and Veterans, Keith Brown, MSP. He highlighted the Minister’s five key requirements of the Company; the successful delivery of the CHFS and Gourock/Dunoon contracts; implementation of efficiencies; alignment with Scottish Government Purpose Targets and National Outcomes; the support of the implementation of the Ferries Plan; and the strategic development and business activities that support Scottish Government Purpose Targets and National Outcomes. Company DVD presentation Mrs Craig presented a DVD which she noted had been updated to be an infommercial and developed to be presented to any organisation to explain the Company’s operations. The Board commented favourably on the DVD. A suggestion was made that location captions could be added where particular scenic views were shown. Mrs Craig added that most of the content had been included in the Gotland Bid submission and the DVD could also potentially be used as a staff induction tool. Page 1 of 8 Minister’s Presentation Ms Roberts introduced the slide presentation that had been prepared for the Minister. She noted that all of the Executive Team had contributed to it. There was a focus on the awards that the Company had won. Other focuses included were; the Group’s Transport Strategy and Group Mission Statement; that the Government had identified 16 National Outcomes and the Group has identified many that the business can align to; the many island and network-based jobs, cadet training and investment in career progression and the Company being in receipt of an STUC Employer Learning Award for 2013; Route reliability and punctuality and high quality service provision; a Continual Improvement Programme; Port Operation efficiency and the successful introduction of new staff terms; and matching resource to requirement and revised absence management policy. Education Research and Innovation slide Mr Dorchester noted that ITIL Best Practice IT Service Management accreditation had been gained by all members of the IS Dept and suggested that this should be inserted into the presentation. He also noted that the Group regularly contributed to safety initiatives and the IMO. Mr Hadfield noted that best practice in Project Management was being implemented and that there was recognition by Transport Scotland of CalMac Ferries’ strategic development. Environmental slide Ms Roberts noted that it was important for the Group to emphasise corporate environmental responsibility. Strategic aims slide Ms Roberts noted that Strategic Aim 1 of the Group was to generate revenues, in hand with Strategic Aim 2 in addressing cost reduction efficiencies. Mr Ure noted that the cost of modifications and upgrades had doubled to maintain the reliability of elderly tonnage. Strategic Aim 3 addressed extending the reach of the Group, to develop contact with local councils, identify new contracts and increase international tourism. The Group should highlight how easy it is to reach destinations using the development of combined ticketing. Mr Dorchester noted that the ScotRail 2015 Contract contains a requirement for the operator to provide Smart Integrated Ticketing. He added that the Minister had yet to announce a smart ticketing standard and that the Group had been in early discussion with Transport Scotland in respect of national ticketing. Progress on delivery of Ferries Plan Ms Roberts noted that the Group had helped deliver the short term aspirations of the plan, and the MV Isle of Arran had been key in developing routes. It was noted that a very extensive amount of management time had been spent in delivering the new routes. The Board discussed the Group’s efforts and how they were recognised within Transport Scotland. The presentation was also discussed and it was felt that there should be more focus on being dynamic and highlighting the passion that staff had for operating the Company. Mr Mc Gibbon thanked all concerned in the production of the presentation. Guest introduction Mr Dorchester introduced Ms McGregor, Chief Executive of Firstport. He noted that the body was a social enterprise organisation, which he chaired. He was keen for Ms McGregor to interact with the Board and highlighted that it offered a pragmatic opportunity to become involved in the development of community businesses. Page 2 of 8 2. MINUTES/MATTERS ARISING 2.1 Minutes of previous meeting and Action Point Mr Fulton noted that the reference to the Mystery Visitor programme in 1.3.1 should have noted that while it was due to end in September, the programme was being reviewed with an option to extend. Action point Mr Collier confirmed that the Action Point had been closed out, with Mr Thomson conducting a Project which would be reported on later. The Board had a short discussion on the funding of a Voyage Data Recorder installation programme. Subject to the amendment, the Minutes of the Board Meeting held on 17 September 2013 were approved. 2.2 Matters arising There were no matters to record. 3. CHAIRMAN’S REMARKS (continued) Mr McGibbon noted that he would be speaking to the Minister in order to re-arrange a meeting date and opportunity to give the presentation. Mr McGibbon that the National Mod had been a great success and congratulated the Company on achieving the Best Ferry Company 2013 award for a fourth consecutive year in the Guardian, Observer and guardian.co.uk Readers' Travel Awards. He also congratulated Mr Drummond and all concerned in the construction of the Gotland bid, assisted by Mr Easton and Mr Stirling. Mr McGibbon referred to the commencement of the new Ferries Plan route between Lochboisdale and Mallaig. Mr McGibbon noted that the new CalMac Pension Fund deficit reduction plan had been submitted to the Pensions Regulator. Mr Drummond noted that CMAL was to make direct payment to the Fund within the next couple of weeks and that the Company would be completing calculations on what needed to be paid to meet the agreement. Mr McGibbon noted that there had been some 65 applications to fill the post of Non-executive Director subsequent to Mr Quirk’s tenure being completed. 4. OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE REVIEW SAFETY and RISK REPORT Mr Collier presented his report on-screen. He noted that there had been no RIDDOR reports, no fatalities and no prosecution notices in the September-October period. Safety Performance Mr Collier noted that an incident involving a crewmember on the MV Isle of Lewis who had put his foot in the bight of a rope on the mooring deck and sustained injury when the rope was wound onto the drum, had been investigated and a comprehensive report written. Also, following a recent serious incident involving injury to a night-watchman, a report was being prepared and some aspects of concern had already been identified. Page 3 of 8 Mr Collier referred to a small fire which had broken out in a compartment while welding work was carried out on MV Loch Riddon while it was at Ardmaleish Boatbuilding Company’s premises. He noted that the incident raised the question of audits of 3rd parties’ management systems. There was a resource constraint – for example this year there had been 20 investigations, whereas last year there had been 4. Mr Ure referred to the fact that there would be a large number of fleet SMCs due for renewal in 2014. Shipyards should conform to the ISO9001 management system and it would be prudent to look more closely at smaller yards’ safety systems. Internal Audits Mr Collier noted that audits were being progressed as per timetable. He added that the more that was investigated presented the opportunity to identify what needed addressed. Mr Collier noted that Mr Wood, Chief Officer, was seconded to the office and was assisting with a number of projects. Mr McDonald, OSM, would be assisting with Waste Management plans in 2014. Following an ISO9001 Audit, four minor non-conformances were being closed out. Mr Collier noted that Mr De Wolff is considering options in respect of a management system to control company documentation. Tobermory incident Mr Quirk raised the matter of the incident at Tobermory slipway involving an excavator becoming submerged by the tide after being delivered in the evening. There had been some considerable risk to the haulier’s personnel and Company staff had become involved in rescuing the situation. Mr Collier had written to CMAL to inform them that the whole incident required to be reviewed by them as they had arranged for the delivery of the plant. Mr Drummond noted that the management of plant delivery would be referred to in future Contracts. Mr Collier noted that there appeared to have been an expectation by CMAL that Company staff would have been on-site to manage activities but that this had not been arranged prior to the incident.