Business Plan - donateblood.com.au · 2020–22 Business Plan 13 Australian ed Cross Lifeblood. Government Priorities and Partnerships We actively partner with the National Blood

2020/21 – 2021/22

Business Plan

Contents

Our Purpose and Values 1

Our Leadership Principles 1

Chief Executive Message 2

Strategic Performance Measures 3

Strategic Objectives and Initiatives

Business Optimisation 4

Customer Experience 7

Enhancing Healthcare 9

Strategic Foundations 12

Government Priorities and Partnerships 14

i2020–22 Business Plan

Australian Red Cross Lifeblood

Our purposeLife-giving blood, plasma, transplantation and biological products for world-leading health outcomes.

Through the power of humanity

Safety and Quality

We make safety and quality part

of everything we do.

Trust and be trusted

Be authentic. Keep your commitments and act with integrity.

Invest in relationships. Listen to understand. Talk straight and

communicate the why.

Inspire and be inspired

Be positive. Focus on the big picture. Delight our customers and

each other. Work together for a shared purpose. Celebrate success.

Challenge and be challenged

Be bold. Take ownership. Set high standards and focus on results. Step outside your comfort zone.

Handle tough conversations with respect.

Integrity We act honestly and ethically at

all times.

Service We focus on meeting the

needs of patients, the community,

customers, donors, stakeholders and

colleagues.

Collaboration We work together

to achieve our goals.

Accountability We take ownership of our actions and

behaviours to achieve our goals.

Excellence We strive to be

the best at what we do.

Our Leadership Principles

Our valuesOur values guide how we work with our donors, customers, communities and each other in pursuit of our purpose.

12020–22 Business Plan


From our Chief Executive

Who would have thought that this last year would become known for one of bushfires, floods and for the COVID-19 pandemic? Who could have seen that a health crisis of such immense proportion, one that would affect every aspect of our lives and our livelihood was coming, bringing with it a second economic crisis. Governments in Australia and abroad have had to take unprecedented steps to stem the spread of the virus, and organisations and individuals have had to transform rapidly in response to government restrictions. Indeed, the world as we know it has changed dramatically in just a few short months.

Australians responded well to the call to ‘flatten the curve’ and our nation is well placed as we begin the journey to the new normal. With the incredible support and generosity of our amazing donors, our health customers, government and our people, Lifeblood has also managed through the crises with a primary focus on ensuring the safety and security of our people, our donors and the supply of all our critical life-saving products.

As COVID-19 unfolded, we have responded with urgency, agility and flexibility, and in just two weeks, we enabled some 1,200 of our people ― nearly a third of the organisation ― to work remotely or from home. We also implemented physical distancing, infection control measures and donor wellness checks to keep safe those whose vital work requires them to continue working in our processing and donor centres. We also banned all unnecessary visitors from all of our sites, including moving to virtual regulatory inspections.

We are now positioned to execute the initiatives encompassed within the 2020/21- 2021/22 Business Plan continuing the delivery of our strategy, Blood and Beyond – Strategy 2023. We will do this under a new operating model that has been permanently altered from our response to COVID-19. Our response has included finding new ways of working, connecting with our customers differently, strengthening our partnership with governments, leveraging multi-layered transport networks to supply our product and services and engaging even closer with our critical suppliers. As we responded to the immediate crisis situation, we also had a team forward planning for the new normal ― how our organisation would operate as restrictions ease and we come to terms with living with the virus until such time as a vaccine or effective treatment is found. While we have had to work at pace and scale to respond and plan, we have also been reminded what remains unchanged. At Lifeblood we are privileged to have a strong purpose: we are an essential service providing life-giving blood, plasma, transplantation and biological products for world-leading health outcomes. Our strategy, Blood and Beyond – Strategy 2023 remains our framework for delivering our vision through the initiatives prioritised in the 2020/21 – 2021/22 Business Plan. In light of the changed post-COVID world, we have had to reflect on what has worked well, what we have learnt and what we should prioritise to ensure Lifeblood continues to deliver world-leading health outcomes for Australians, while not knowing exactly what the new normal will entail.

The need to work remotely brought forward our digital enablement roadmap; we accomplished in weeks what we once planned for over a much longer timeframe. We’ve also discovered more flexible ways of working that has enabled quality decision making and execution with a high degree of success at speed. This time of crisis has also allowed new leaders to emerge. Our challenge going forward is to embed these learnings and accelerate best practices around collaboration, flexibility, agility and accountability and this will be our focus as we deliver the 2020/21 – 2021/22 Business Plan.

Despite the many challenges of the past year we have been fortunate. We have delivered on our promise of meeting our targets, and delivering on our purpose of providing life-giving blood, plasma, transplantation and biological products for world-leading health outcomes to the Australian community. We have reflected on our key learnings and embedded them into our planning for the next year. It is within this context that we have set the business plan to encompass the two years to 2021/22. This plan is one which will enable us to deliver on our contracts with those who fund our activities, to deliver against our strategic plan and to shape the organisation’s resiliency for the uncertainties ahead of us as we continue to fulfil our purpose.

Ms Shelly Park Chief Executive

As I write this message I do so emerging from a year of crises and disruption.



Strategic Performance Measures

Business OptimisationWe’ll continuously improve our operations across all products and service lines through our entire supply chain to deliver value for money to governments.Our 2023 targets:1. Maintain cost increases at less than

75 per cent of the Health Consumer Price Index

2. Achieve top quartile international performance in waste minimisation and productivity in collections, processing and testing

Our 2020–21 targets:• To grow our donor panel to

an active panel size of 520,000• To meet our annual budget targets• To achieve collections to plan

(whole blood, plasma, platelets in doses) of ≥ 98%

• To achieve a Manufacturing preventable wastage cost per collection target of ≤$4.05

• To achieve a Donor Services preventable wastage cost per collection target of ≤$14.36

Customer ExperienceWe’ll deliver exceptional experiences for our customers: our donors, health providers, clinicians, recipients and our people.

Our 2023 targets:1. Provide exceptional experiences

for all of our customer groups - including achieving over 88 per cent in Donor Net Promoter Score and more than 90 per cent on our Health Customer Satisfaction Score

2. Achieve our target of a less-than-one Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate with the ambition to reach zero workplace injuries

3. Maintain safe, high-quality products and services for our customers

Our 2020–21 targets:• To have a Donor Net Promoter Score

of greater than ≥ 87%• To deliver clinically acceptable

blood products in full and on time ≥ 99% of the time

• To deliver pasteurised human milk in full and on time ≥ 98% of the time

• To maintain a Health Customer Satisfaction Score of ≥ 92%

• With the ambition to reach zero workplace injuries, reduce our Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate by 30%

• To have zero overdue external audit actions

Enhancing HealthcareWe’ll invest in growth areas that will make a greater contribution to healthcare, secure Australian plasma and develop our genomics capabilities.Our 2023 targets:1. Establish with governments

and deliver on an agreed cost-competitive plasma policy that ensures the ongoing security of the nation’s plasma for fractionation supply

2. Leverage our skills and capabilities to deliver new and enhanced health products and services to achieve improved health outcomes addressing patient needs and increasing end to end health sector capability

Our 2020–21 targets:• To increase our supply of plasma

for fractionation to 883 tonnes• To meet our 2020–21 plasma cost

commitments• To genotype 7,000 donor samples,

approximately 1% of our donors• To supply 2,650 litres of donor

human milk to hospital neonatal intensive care units



Business Optimisation We will continue to improve our standing as a global leader in best practice production of safe, high-quality, secure and affordable biological products.In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Australian health sector has had to rapidly pivot to new ways of working. It’s critical now more than ever that we continue to deliver efficiencies across our entire business.

This continued focus will enable us to help secure Australia’s plasma security by both bringing down the cost of locally sourced plasma and providing value for money to governments and taxpayers. This means continually optimising our business across all of our operations, product lines and services.

Over the next two years we will continue our strategic investment in our people, systems and technology to deliver improved business optimisation. This will include launching our marketing automation platform to effectively deliver personalised communications to our donors and continuing to implement a smart supply chain to automate manual processes and provide capability to track products across our operations. We’ll also continue our strong focus on waste reduction and ensure that the continued health and safety of our workplace is a fundamental requirement for our people, our donors, our customers and suppliers, in the face of the evolving pandemic.

Strategic objectivesOptimise donor panelTo strengthen our understanding of our donors and the impacts of shifting demographics to enable us to effectively and efficiently meet product demands

Optimise business operations To be a leading international biological manufacturer across collections, processing, testing, distribution and supporting services

Deliver a smart supply chain To optimise our whole-of-business supply chain with automated business processes, digital touchpoints for data-driven decision-making, electronic linkage with health customers and the ability to track products in real-time.

It’s critical now more than ever that we continue to deliver efficiencies across our entire business.



Strategic initiativesMarketing Cloud – Phase 2The Marketing Cloud, the system that supports Marketing Automation Platform (MAP), will continue to support the growth and optimisation of our donor panel by further integrating additional channels by which we communicate with our donors. Phase 2 enables us to further personalise what a donor experiences as they move between desktop, tablet and mobile devices, allowing a rich contextual and personalised experience through better targeting and greater insights into donor behaviour. In turn this will deliver increased benefits from our marketing effort across retention and acquisition activities.

LabNetLabNet is a Laboratory Information Management System to support operational capabilities across the Red Cell Reference, Transplantation and Immunogenetics and Manufacturing laboratories. It will deliver technology that can support the complex and expanding functions our future laboratories need. LabNet will deliver processing efficiencies, reduce errors, provide faster turnaround times and provide more robust data to meet customer and regulatory reporting requirements.

Processing Future State Program This program will define the best practice future state for the processing of our blood and plasma products. Critical to this is the integration of new technology such as robotics, automatic labelling and conveyors into our processing laboratories. This will significantly reduce manual handling, improve traceability and real time data capture and provide improved system control during the manufacturing process. Current initiatives include an automated system which will deliver labelling to reduce errors and a sortation system which will use robotics to receipt inbound blood shippers.

Testing Future State ProgramThis program will deliver full laboratory automation through implementing new blood screening technology. This will include upgrading to next generation platforms and equipment that will improve our testing and sample handling processes, remove repetitive manual tasks to reduce both employee and product safety risks while improving system control. The current program of work includes extending the bacterial contamination screening (BCS), replacing nucleic acid testing (NAT) systems, further laboratory automation, a laboratory middleware solution for instrument and result management, and replacement statistical process control software to provide additional quality monitoring of our manufacturing processes.

Bacterial Contamination Screening (BCS) SystemThe implementation of the new bacterial contamination screening system will be extended to increase capacity to handle large volume delayed sampling processes. Evidence-based options for BCS have been developed which would allow for the safe extension of platelet component shelf life to 7 days with a resulting reduction in discarded product and to ensure adequate platelet supply during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nucleic Acid Testing (NAT) SystemThe new NAT screening solution introduces pooling which enables testing of apheresis plasma for fractionation donations in mini-pools rather than individual donor testing. This provides operational flexibility with versatile testing capabilities and scalability to meet our future demands in plasma growth.

Smart Supply Chain ProgramThis program will deliver a smart supply chain through automation of processes, digital product tracking and customer and supplier e-linkages, to provide greater end-to-end visibility, reduce waste and improve our decision-making to maximise product availability and effectively meet demand for our products and services. The first initiatives within this program include the introduction of Single Step Picking and Packing for all fresh and fractionated product to speed up our process and Auto-replenish Stock Automation which facilitates the re-ordering of product and to provide improved inventory control.

Component Future State Program This program provides oversight and alignment of key initiatives that underpin the serum eye drop and irradiator replacement projects, while also pursuing opportunities for improved plasma yield from whole blood donations. The program will also develop and implement a framework to ensure the successful adoption of new/modified processes, equipment and consumables.

eBusiness Suite ReplacementFollowing the review of our finance systems, the current Finance system implemented in 2013 is at end-of-life and will be replaced with an alternative Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) suite. Through the support of an implementation partner, alternative ERP technology will be evaluated and implemented prior to the end of standard support for the existing version in December 2021.



Strategic initiatives (continued)Innovation CentreThis project will establish a facility to replicate collection and processing environments. This will facilitate accelerated development, prototyping and thorough testing of new processes, products, equipment and systems prior to implementation into operational Lifeblood environments, thereby minimising operational disruption. This facility will also provide an alternative pathway for some deferred donors to contribute to healthcare by donating for research.

Blood Mixer ReplacementThe current fleet of blood mixer machines used in collections are nearing the end of their working life. This project involves the tender, trial, validation and replacement of all of the existing machines across our donor centre network. New generation machines automatically weigh whole blood donations, mix the collection with additive solution and enable recording of all key donation data in accordance with good manufacturing processes. Future phases of the project will include integration with our National Blood Management System.

Shipper ProjectAll of our blood packs and other products are packed into shippers with the appropriate coolants and monitoring devices before being distributed. With the current shipper having been in use for over 15 years, this initiative seeks to identify a suitable replacement. A new shipper will address the temperature problems which cause product discards and provide appropriate validation data for the packing configurations in use. This will reduce deviation occurrences, and improve the safety and experience of our people and customers.

Virtual Reality — Lab Design & Staff Training ExperienceVirtual Reality (VR) technology was trialled in 2019 through a prototype laboratory design application that provided the ability to virtually modify the laboratory layout, replace or relocate equipment. This new concept activity will further develop this VR application from prototype to a usable tool for Manufacturing teams to visualise and understand the impact of the proposed Testing & Processing Future State laboratory designs. This includes ensuring equipment and services are positioned appropriately to maximise staff safety and ensure optimum laboratory workflow design and laboratory efficiency.



Strategic objectivesImprove our people’s safety and experienceProvide exceptional experiences for our people and ensure their safety and wellbeing remains our top priority

Improve health customer experience An in-depth understanding of our health customer expectations, delivering outcomes that solve their problems and provide personalised services

Improve donor safety and experience A human-centred organisation, using digital engagement and real-time insight tools to continuously enhance the donor’s experience and ensure their safety

Customer Experience We’re recognised as an exceptional organisation that delivers a genuinely personalised connection to donors and to the recipients of our products and services.We continue to strive to be a customer-first organisation for our key customer groups: our people, health customers and donors. We will strengthen our focus on the things that matter most to all of our customers and continue to develop insight into their needs and wants to deliver outstanding customer experiences.

Over the next two years we’ll deliver on our digital enablement roadmap and continue to communicate with our customers by leveraging the success of our Brand Transformation and injecting our messaging with a fresh, powerful and unique voice.

We’ll improve the safety and experience of our people through a comprehensive safety and wellbeing program and through our recently launched human capital management system, People Central.

We continue to strive to be a customer-first organisation for our key customer groups: our people, health customers and donors



Strategic initiativesCheck Me Program — Electronic Donor Questionnaire to Mobile UnitsWith the electronic donor questionnaire (eDQ) now operational in our donor centres, in 2020-21 we will complete the implementation with the rollout of tablets, associated software and processes to Donor Mobile Units and Pop Ups. The eDQ is part of our digital transformation to improve the experience for our donors and will also lead to improved productivity as a result of faster average interview times.

Check Me Program — Couch Side Check InThe second phase of the Electronic Donor Questionnaire project is Couch Side Check In. This technology enables donor collection information to be performed at couch side rather than in interview rooms. This will enhance the donor’s experience by shortening the time in centre by having them go straight to couch. This also supports improved productivity and improves our data quality.

Check Me Program — Online at HomeThrough learnings and collaboration with our international counterparts, this project will design, develop and implement an online at home version of the Electronic Donor Questionnaire. This will benefit donors by allowing them to complete the questionnaire in their own time and reduce their overall time spent in the donor centre.

Lifeblood Website RedevelopmentThe redevelopment of our website is an important part of raising the awareness of the Lifeblood brand and the diversity of our business. This project will consolidate a number of individual websites into a single, best in class corporate website showcasing Lifeblood’s products and services, simplifying navigation and improving the experience for our online customers.

People Central - Phase 2People Central is our enterprise Human Capital Management system. Following the successful implementation of the core foundation module, which included a new master record system for all workforce information and self-assist and support functionality, Phase 2 will implement Recruitment, Onboarding and Learning into our integrated suite of modules. This will further rationalise a number of disparate legacy and non-integrated systems currently in use and provide an enhanced user experience for our people.

Environmental Monitoring SystemInstalling an Environmental Monitoring System will automatically measure, monitor, record and alert on temperatures within the donor centres. This automation will replace the current manual system of recording min/max temperatures as well as simplify the process and reduce the time spent on the periodic recalibration of thermometers.

Genesys Phone Software for Manufacturing and Quality Customer Service teamsFollowing a pilot of phone software, this initiative will install the software as used by our National Contact Centre to our regional Customer Service teams and the National Recall Office. This upgraded software will provide tools for our people to provide greater customer service and deliver an improved experience for our healthcare customers in their interactions with us.

National Contact Centre of the FutureWe will continue to implement a number of changes to ensure we deliver a National Contact Centre of the future. This includes enhancements for platforms, technologies, structures and capabilities. With the call management platform upgrade completed last year, other key areas of the review for consideration include implementing further progressive dialling enhancements, web chat / live chat, a virtual assistant and a portal self-service upgrade. This work has, and will continue to be, critical in supporting our call centre operations during a pandemic.

Digital Enablement RoadmapOur digital enablement roadmap supports the delivery of our strategy, and our response to COVID-19, through a number of digital initiatives supporting the key areas of our strategy. This includes digital experiences for our key customer groups — our people, donors and health customers — our transformation towards a smart supply chain, and enhancement of our product development and service offerings. The roadmap considers all the interactions and touchpoints our customers have with us. It draws on the potential offered by digital technologies to help us identify and incorporate new ways of doing things and, ultimately, deliver an optimised service.



Strategic objectivesEstablish Australian plasma securityTo provide security of supply for Australian plasma that is cost-competitive

Empower genomics transformation To develop our genomics capabilities which integrate with our business operations in support of precision medicine practices that deliver benefits for donors, patients and the healthcare sector

Deliver a greater contribution to healthcare To enhance our contribution to Australian healthcare with the sustainable growth of new products and services

Enhancing Healthcare We are acknowledged as playing an intrinsic role within the Australian healthcare system and our valuable connections support internationally-recognised health outcomes.We continue to aim for improved health outcomes for Australians by leveraging our unique experience, infrastructure and capabilities. We continue to support plasma product demand in Australia to protect the security of the nation’s supply.

Over the next two years we’ll grow our contribution and add value to Australian healthcare by exploring opportunities and continue to invest in plasma, our highest volume supplied product. We’ll build our expertise and capacity in meeting our customers’ needs and leverage the advancements made in precision medicine and the emergence of genomics.

We continue to aim for improved health outcomes for Australians by leveraging our unique experience, infrastructure and capabilities.



Strategic initiativesPlasma Growth StrategyPlasma is the most versatile component of human blood and its use plays a vital role in our healthcare system. A significant number of patients have an acute or ongoing need for therapeutic products made from plasma, especially immunoglobulin (Ig), to maintain their quality of life. With escalating international demand for plasma and derivatives placing pressure on global Ig supply, the move towards greater self-sufficiency and security of supply is a key objective for Lifeblood. Our Plasma Growth Strategy outlines our role in supporting governments to collect and supply life-changing plasma by increasing our capacity to cost-effectively deliver an increased supply of domestically sourced plasma.

Batched Plasma Tracking and Release SystemThis project seeks to enhance technology to give us greater traceability and visibility of plasma for fractionation to be processed. In addition, we’ll use automation and robotics to replace the manual handling aspects of releasing and issuing of plasma for fractionation. This will lead to efficiencies, keep our people safe and enable us to further scale-up for the projected increase in plasma growth in a cost-effective manner, resulting in a lower cost per kilogram of plasma.

Batch Plasma Processing — Blast Freezers and ShippersThis project will continue the roll-out of Blast Freezers which have been validated as suitable for freezing plasma for fractionation, and ensuring that the component quality of plasma sent to the fractionator, CSL Behring (CSL) is maintained. In addition, an improved shipper for transporting plasma from processing centres to CSL will allow more units of apheresis plasma to be shipped per pallet.

Processing Future State Program – Rapid Plasma Freezers We will continue with the replacement of the existing custom-built Rapid Plasma Freezers which are at end of life. Rapid plasma freezers are used in Manufacturing to freeze cryoprecipitate components, apheresis plasma and whole blood derived plasma (clinical and non-clinical), to the specified core temperature and within timeframes as specified by the Council of Europe guidelines.

Genomics Transformation RoadmapThis program explores the growing applications of genomics technology as part of the broader emergence of precision medicine within the healthcare sector. This includes opportunities to continue developing our genomics capabilities in supporting new practices and improving operating efficiencies to deliver world-leading health outcomes. A roadmap has been developed which included recommendations to develop a high throughput donor genotyping array and the development of a mathematical model to determine the optimal proportion of our donor panel that should be genotyped.

Blood Transfusion Genomics Consortium (BGC) Transfusion ArrayLifeblood will collaborate with the Blood Transfusion Genomics Consortium to assess their genotyping transfusion array (which includes up to 50,000 transfusion relevant genetic variants) to determine whether it is suitable for high throughput donor genotyping at Lifeblood. This initiative will confirm costs, assess assay performance and scalability, and if suitable, progress with the validation and registration of the assay for implementation. This array has the potential to provide valuable red-cell antigen information at a fraction of the cost of current genotyping platforms.

Human Erythrocyte Antigen (HEA) Beadchip GenotypingThe demand for phenotype matched red cells is rising (50% over 2 years) and expected to continue to rise. To meet the growing demand for phenotype matched red cells, the Red Cell Reference team is also working towards a target of having 1% of the red cell inventory HEA genotyped and is performing blood group genotyping on selected donors. Genotyping tests for 38 different blood group antigens in a single test will help meet the growing demand for phenotype matched red cells, and identify donors with rare blood groups.

Human Leukocyte Antigens (HLA) Compatible Red Blood Cell PilotIn this pilot we are partnering with leading Australian hospitals to deliver the HLA Compatible Red Cell Transfusion Pilot Study. This is a world-leading clinical study to investigate if the provision of HLA compatible red cells can reduce the risks and improve transplant outcomes for patients with end-stage kidney disease waiting for live donor kidney transplants.

Component Future State Program — Allogeneic Serum Eye DropsThis initiative represents Phase 2 of the Serum Eye Drops Project. It will develop and assess the viability for supply of an allogeneic serum eye drop component prepared from volunteer blood donations. The supply of allogeneic serum eye drops would improve equity of access and reduce the overall cost to supply these components to the Australian community.



Strategic initiatives (continued)Lifeblood MicrobiomeOur Lifeblood Microbiome pilot will leverage our existing infrastructure, skills and capabilities in order to meet a critical unmet need in the Australian healthcare sector. In this pilot, we’ll provide Fiona Stanley Hospital in Perth, WA with a reliable supply of faecal microbiota transplants, to treat patients suffering from the debilitating and life-threatening recurrent Clostridium difficile infection.We’ll also supply product for research into other related conditions where it may be of benefit (such as Ulcerative Colitis, Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Crohn’s Disease), and develop a plan to potentially supply clinical trials and research programs nationally.

Anti-D ReviewThe anti-D donor program is an integral part of our operations which has helped protect the babies of over two million Australian women. This initiative is a review of process and current systems examining the availability of product supply and the number of active donors on the anti-D panel to ensure the efficiency and sustainability of the program.

National Milk InfrastructureSince establishing Lifeblood Milk, eleven hospitals across South Australia, New South Wales and Queensland can order milk “on demand”. Building on this success, the next stage looks to expand the infrastructure for the collection of donated breast milk and supply of pasteurised donor human milk nationally to meet unmet patient need in Neonatal Intensive Care Units.



Strategic Foundations Our five strategic foundations underpin the way we operate as an organisation and enable us to work towards the successful delivery of our strategy.

Workforce and CultureOur people are vital to our success, both in delivering our strategy and providing additional value for Australian healthcare. Our working environment, culture, career development, job design and engagement all enable the transformational changes we envision.

People and Culture StrategyThe People and Culture Strategy covers our people’s experience at work while keeping an unrelenting focus on one of our top priorities: workplace health, safety and wellbeing. This work helps us to align organisational objectives with an understanding of what motivates our employees and this is especially critical in light of the impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic. This strategy reflects our continued investment in building sustainable workforce capability to enable business continuity, ensure delivery of our products and services and delivery of our strategy.

Corporate Social ResponsibilityCorporate Social Responsibility is a priority for our people and for Lifeblood. This includes embedding best-practice ethical decision making to provide positive environmental, social and economic impacts for our stakeholders and customers.

Sustainability RoadmapUtilising a best-practice Environment, Social and Governance framework, our Sustainability Roadmap includes broad goals and objectives which will be further defined and reported. With over 40 distinct programs, initiatives and activities identified that deliver on our objectives, our first step is in calculating our carbon footprint to baseline the environmental impact of our operations. This will further support the development of environmental targets and strategies aimed at reducing our carbon footprint.

Reconciliation Action PlanWe’re developing our first Reconciliation Action Plan which will enhance our commitment to a reconciled, just and equitable nation for all Australians and will provide a framework for us to support the broader movement across the country. The action plan will help us strengthen our relationships and enhance respect between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians as we go about our day-to-day work of delivering life-giving blood, plasma, transplantation and biological products for world-leading health outcomes.

Energy OptimisationA number of energy optimisation opportunities were identified following detailed energy audits at our four processing sites. This initiative will implement energy optimisation technology focusing on solar as the primary intervention to reduce operating costs in our processing centres. It will also include installation of LED lighting, motion detectors within rooms of occasional use, upgrade of air handling units for consistent temperature control, heat recovery and cooling system upgrades.

Modern SlaveryWorking with the Australian Red Cross Steering Committee and Working Group, we continue to assess and address the risks of modern slavery practices in our operations and supply chains. We will further enhance our practices and procedures to assess, monitor and analyse the risks of modern slavery practices in our business and the effectiveness of our actions. Training programs and materials will continue to be rolled out to raise staff education and awareness.



Strategic Foundations (continued)TechnologyTechnology is the backbone of our business. Supporting our evolving customer needs, it provides modern supporting systems, infrastructure and digital enablement.

National Blood Management System (NBMS) Business Enablement — Semester Patch The National Blood Management System is our enterprise-wide platform for supporting all key operational processes, including collection, testing, manufacturing and distribution of blood products. To facilitate improved business capability and to maintain supportability of the underlying technology platform, a significant software upgrade will be installed in 2020–21.

Cyber Security ProgramWe’ll continue to implement our Cyber Security Program to further enhance our cyber security by investing in best practice tools to further strengthen the monitoring capability of our environment and through the continuous maturity uplift of our security operations. Through our cyber safety program we’ll continue to ensure our people are equipped with cyber safety front of mind, and that the organisation has the capability to be an effective front line defence to prevent, react to and manage security threats.

Enterprise Collaboration Tools (Office 365)This initiative is to complete the required licensing uplift and then deploy Office 365, SharePoint, cloud collaboration tools (i.e. Microsoft Teams) and products across all of the Lifeblood workforce. Microsoft Office 365 integrates our existing applications into a cloud service and offers a suite of tools designed to optimise teamwork, collaboration, communication, and information security. One of the main benefits of Office 365 is the capability to work from anywhere as long as internet connectivity is available, which is of great benefit for remote work.

Business Analytics and IntelligenceAs an insights-driven organisation, we support evidence-based decision-making. We use data, insights and research findings to convert knowledge to value.

DatathonsWe will continue to host datathons and engage across the field of advanced analytics. Through collaborating and engaging with sector leaders we gain industry knowledge, are exposed to best practices and learn new analytic techniques that we can apply to our business processes.

Robotic Process Automation (RPA)Lifeblood will explore the use of RPA to streamline or reduce standard and repeatable rules based business processes. These software robots can be programmed to undertake routine tasks resulting in a reduction in manual errors and increased efficiency, while enabling business users to devote more time to higher value work.

Modern Data and Analytics Platform We’ll explore the benefits of transitioning to a cloud-based Modern Data and Analytics platform through a proof of technology engagement. This platform will facilitate the ongoing development of machine-learning and autonomous intelligence, and provide a feature-rich and intuitive report development environment.

PartnershipsWe have strong links to clinical health providers and researchers, and are a trusted partner of choice for government. We help solve critical health challenges and contribute to wider population health strategies.



Government Priorities and Partnerships We actively partner with the National Blood Authority and governments to deliver on a number of government priority areas.One of our key areas of focus is working in collaboration with leading research, health and education organisations to contribute collectively to cutting-edge research that benefits Australian patients and improves health outcomes. We also partner with international blood operators, humanitarian organisations, not-for-profit organisations and government bodies to contribute to a healthy international blood sector.Central to our response to the impacts of COVID-19 has been ensuring consistency with Commonwealth, State and Territory Government public health guidelines. This has been key in how we have operated as an essential service provider for the health sector and Australian community, and in how we interact with our donors, hospital customers and our people.

Research and Development program Our leading-edge research and development activities continue to inform improvements to operations and ensure the sufficient supply of safe and cost-effective blood and blood products. This work is underpinned by five core programs: donor behaviour, donor health and wellbeing, product safety, product development and storage, and product usage.

Supply and Demand ManagementSupply and demand management is central to our operating model and provides direction across our supply chain from collections to processing and distribution. We continuously monitor and respond to changes in demand through our collection activities, production facilities and distribution channels. We will continue to invest and focus on our supply and demand management practices to keep pace with the evolving nature of product demand for blood and plasma products. This includes consideration of enhancements delivered through our strategic focus on Smart Supply Chain.

Business Continuity Planning Our Business Continuity Program provides a framework for crisis management planning and training for critical staff who are required in the case of national or regional emergencies where the supply of our products may be at risk. Our continuity plans are constantly tested and reviewed through scenario based approaches as well as in real practice, as is the case now with Lifeblood’s response to COVID-19. This leads to continuous improvement and strengthening of our ability to respond to emergency events. We also participate in NBA led contingency simulations in support of the broader National Blood Supply Contingency Plan.

BloodNet Integration This project is a joint initiative between Lifeblood and the National Blood Authority to improve the level of integration between BloodNet, the National Blood Authority’s online ordering and receipting system, and various Lifeblood systems, including the National Blood Management System. This is designed to lead to process efficiency in the provision of blood products for hospital customers.



Government Priorities and Partnerships (continued)Group O Negative Usage in HospitalsIn partnership with the National Blood Authority, Lifeblood is working with a selection of hospitals to understand the underlying challenges in the management of demand and usage of group O negative red cells. This is to determine strategies and practices for the alignment of demand with supply for this universal blood product.

Patient Blood ManagementPatient Blood Management optimises patient outcomes through individualised medicine. This involves a multidisciplinary team that places the patient in the centre of evidence-based decision making to better manage their blood. Through health partnerships with the National Blood Authority and other stakeholders, the PBM program aims to ensure responsible, sustainable and appropriate use of blood and blood products. This is done by providing a supporting role in the development and delivery of patient blood management education, resources and transfusion medicine clinical advice. We continue to provide support to the health sector to achieve best use of blood and blood products while at all times looking to improve patient safety.

Convalescent Plasma Trial In partnership with the Commonwealth Government and CSL Behring, Lifeblood is responding to the pandemic by collecting convalescent plasma donated by people who have recovered from COVID-19. This supports the clinical trials being undertaken by researchers in Australia with convalescent plasma as a potential treatment option, and the development of a COVID-19 Immunoglobulin.



Australian Red Cross LifebloodNational OfficeLevel 3, 417 St Kilda Road Melbourne, Victoria, 3004T: 03 9863 1600F: 03 9863 1601E: [email protected]

Imagery used in this document was taken pre COVID-19. Australian Red Cross Lifeblood is an organisation that is actively upholding social distancing.

© Copyright 2020 Australian Red Cross LifebloodNo person should act on the basis of the contents of this publication without first obtaining specific, independent and relevant advice. Australian Red Cross Lifeblood is not liable for any loss, damage, cost or expense incurred or arising by any person, or organisation, using or relying on the information in this publication. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole, or part, is not permitted without written permission. Australian governments fund Australian Red Cross Lifeblood to provide blood, blood products and services to the Australian community. Learn more at lifeblood.com.au

Documents

Business Plan - donateblood.com.au · 2020–22 Business Plan 13 Australian ed Cross Lifeblood. Government Priorities and Partnerships We actively partner with the National Blood