Veolia Transportation Case Study

Background

Veolia Transportation, headquartered in Paris, France, entered the US market in 2004 with the acquisition of Yellow Transportation.  By 2005, it had acquired Connex Industries and began a growth strategy through acquisitions of small to mid-market transit and para transit companies.  Soon after, they hired Drew Jones, one of our long-term clients, to take responsibility for safety and risk management.

Impetus

Until Drew joined, each acquired company had its own unique ways of working which resulted in consistency issues.  Results varied from location to location and costs were high.  Drew asked us to analyze the larger acquisitions, write standardized policies and procedures and identify processes that could reduce accidents and injuries and improve overall safety results.

Solution

Avatar completed its Compass™ Analysis concurrent with writing standardized policies, procedures and business processes.  We provided expert change management support and assisted in the implementation of these new processes, often facing localized resistance.  Eventually, we created a custom-designed, outcome-based New Operator Course, Safety Leadership and an on-going safety communication process.

Results

As a result of improved standardization and the implementation of synergistic best practices, Veolia was able to achieve operational excellence, lower accident and injury frequencies and improve bottom line results.