London Luton Airport
Food donation case study
How we uncovered a little gem at Luton Airport
Days before lockdown, we ran a series of successful RESILIMAP Learning Team sessions for our client at London Luton Airport (LLA). Facilitated by expert coaches, the Resilimap analysis method is based on engaging with “normal work”, in order to understand what’s helping, and what’s hindering, successful and safe work.
As part of the discovery process prior to the Learning Team sessions, Art of Work uncovered a real gem of an idea, that had recently been instigated by the security team to turn a common problem and a big operational headache, into a successful, positive business solution.
Thousands of prohibited items such as drinks, toiletries, wrapped ambient food and gifts, are confiscated by the security team from passengers every year. Faced with the accumulating waste, the security team came up with an innovative solution.
Confiscated items redistributed to local food banks and charities
Waste reduction of around 100,000 items per year
More positive experience for airport staff and passengers
A simple resolution for a recurring issue
So what did they do?
Based on an original idea from a member of the frontline security team, the majority of these confiscated items are now being redistributed to local food banks and charities around Bedfordshire. Toiletries, drinks, soup and packaged foods are among an estimated 100,000 items per year confiscated from passengers and redistributed to charitable causes, thereby reducing waste and avoiding landfill.
"...confiscated items are now being redistributed to local food banks and charities around Bedfordshire."
The initiative also reduces LLA’s storage and disposal costs, and the confiscated items, including a substantial proportion of high-value items, are being put to good use by those in need. Furthermore, the safety and wellbeing of the team at LLA have been positively impacted. Having to deal with frustrated passengers who must handover their non-compliant items only to watch them being thrown away, is common and unpleasant. Redirecting the confiscated items to charitable causes makes the whole exchange with passengers more positive, significantly improving the level of staff engagement, reducing stress and creating a better customer experience.
Daniel Cartwright (Security Operations Manager) and Joanne Johnstone (Head of Health, Safety and Environment) share their insights about the programme and their experience of getting it up and running.
The LLA food donation project provided a solution to a problem that airports globally have faced for a long time.What started the conversation that resulted in this innovative solution?
The original suggestion came from a frontline colleague as a way to put the items confiscated from passengers to better use, rather than simply being binned.
We’ve seen firsthand, how our frontline team ‘on the ground’ can provide really valuable insights regarding everyday operational challenges. Not all great ideas come from senior management!
When prohibited items are confiscated, how has the interaction between staff and customers changed since the introduction of this programme?
Before this programme was implemented, a passenger carrying prohibited items or oversized liquids was given two choices - to bin it or keep it in storage until the passenger could return to collect it, with a storage bill waiting for them. It was the source of a lot of passenger complaints and LLA colleagues were uneasy with the confrontational conversations that they were often drawn into. Since the launch of the programme, the interaction between passengers and the team at LLA has become far more positive. Once passengers learn that they can donate their confiscated item to a local charity and help those in need, they are much more supportive. After the security check, passengers are free to purchase a replacement for the confiscated item at the airport stores if they choose to.
This programme has not only improved employee morale, but there has also been a significant drop in customer complaints.
What kind of items are being donated to charity?
Donated items range from liquids in oversize containers to speciality items like chutneys, perfumes and snow globes, commonly confiscated during the holiday season. This is a happy coincidence as the food banks have a luxury table at special times of the year when people are encouraged to donate items like chocolates, jams and pickles.
We started the programme with food donations only and later moved on to toiletries. At first, we didn't realize that non-food items were so desperately needed, but we now know that toiletries are in high demand, and help people in crisis maintain dignity and feel human again.
Were there any surprises whilst rolling out this programme?
The biggest surprise is the sheer number of items that are being donated. Our storage strategy and donation frequency have been altered to accommodate the increased volume of donated items - now items are being collected three times a week by charities instead of the initial once per week.
Another surprise has been understanding how food banks work and who their customers are. Food banks are used by individuals and families in genuine crisis situations, not only financially disadvantaged people using it for their weekly shopping.
What challenges did you face while rolling out this programme?
We thought that there would be more challenges than we actually experienced!
We thought that staff engagement would be challenging as this would be yet another initiative they were asked to embrace while dealing with customers. To the contrary, our colleagues jumped at this opportunity to help people.
Good internal communication regarding this community programme coupled with extensive media coverage on food banks at the time of the launch greatly encouraged our team to engage. As the idea was generated by them at the grassroots level, they were more invested in the roll-out.
We have seen the programme grow from strength to strength. Initially, we started with a simple plastic box with a sticker detailing different food names on the side, and now we have purpose-made boxes with professional signage that are collected by charities three times per week. It has been amazing to watch the programme take off so quickly.
What advice would you give to other airports considering implementing such a programme?
Go for it! But to implement such a programme on a large scale, a number of factors need to be taken into account.
First, you need to nominate a project sponsor, someone who will support the programme at a senior level in the organisation.
You will also need a day to day project champion to get stuck in and have weekly meetings with food banks, make sure that the deliveries and collections are happening plus incorporate learnings along the way. At LLA, our Continuous Improvement Manager is responsible for this.
The legal risk and regulation side needs to be looked into as you are essentially giving an item away that belongs to someone else. Effective signage and explanations displayed at LLA ensure there are no issues. The storage and logistics of the items require consideration as well. We partnered with a commercial outlet at the airport to support us with this.
Finally, upbeat internal messaging is really important so that our colleagues understand what the programme is about, how they can help and what progress is being made along the way. We started with a simple poster on the wall with an update on how many items had been donated each week, and it’s grown into a regular company-wide update from our internal comms team.