Benchmarking Water Services

Benchmarking Water Services
Author: Enrique Cabrera Jr
Publisher: IWA Publishing
Total Pages: 185
Release: 2011-03-01
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1843391988

Benchmarking has become a key tool in the water industry to promote and achieve performance targets for utilities. The use of this tool for performance improvement through systematic search and adaptation of leading practices, has expanded globally during the past decade. Many ongoing projects worldwide aim to address different needs and objectives, in varying contexts, with outstanding results and impact. Benchmarking Water Services provides valuable information to everyone interested in benchmarking in the water industry. The text is aimed at utilities considering joining a benchmarking project, experienced practitioners in charge of organizing a benchmarking exercise, consultants, regulators and researchers. The document is presented with a clear practice oriented approach and can be used as a how-to-benchmark guide presented from different perspectives (participants, organizers, supervising bodies). Readers will gain practical insight on real life benchmarking practices and will benefit from the experiences gained in some of the leading benchmarking projects of the water industry (including the IWA-WSAA benchmarking efforts, the European Benchmarking Co-operation and the several benchmarking projects carried out in Austria and Central Europe). The manual also presents the new IWA Benchmarking Framework, which aims to harmonize the terms used to describe benchmarking and performance indicators practices in the water industry, guaranteeing a more fluent and efficient communication. This Manual of Best Practice is edited by the IWA Specialist Group on Benchmarking and Performance Assessment, and co-published by AWWA and IWA Publishing. Praise for Benchmarking Water Services: "The continual trend of conceptual to specifics throughout the book provides for an educational experience each time the book is either casually perused or carefully studied." "The authors (Cabrera, Haskins and Fritiz) diligently pursue the focus of improvement." "Benchmarking Water Services is an in depth and practical ‘must have’ guide for any utility currently engaged in or planning to develop a benchmarking process" - Gregory M. Baird (2012) Benchmarking: An International Journal 19:2. More information about the book can be found on the Water Wiki in an article written by the author: http://www.iwawaterwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Articles/TheNewIWABenchmarkingFramework A Spanish language version of this book is available as a free eBook: http://www.iwawaterwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Articles/eBookTitlesfromIWAPublishingFreetoDownload-Volume2#HBenchmarkingParaServiciosdeAgua

Performance Indicators for Water Supply Services

Performance Indicators for Water Supply Services
Author: Helena Alegre
Publisher: IWA Publishing
Total Pages: 404
Release: 2016-09-15
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1780406320

The IWA Performance Indicator System for water services is now recognized as a worldwide reference. Since it first appearance in 2000, the system has been widely quoted, adapted and used in a large number of projects both for internal performance assessment and metric benchmarking. Water professionals have benefited from a coherent and flexible system, with precise and detailed definitions that in many cases have become a standard. The system has proven to be adaptable and it has been used in very different contexts for diverse purposes. The Performance Indicators System can be used in any organization regardless of its size, nature (public, private, etc.) or degree of complexity and development. The third edition of Performance Indicators for Water Supply Services represents a further improvement of the original manual. It contains a reviewed and consolidated version of the indicators, resulting from the real needs of water companies worldwide that were expressed during the extensive field testing of the original system. The indicators now properly cover bulk distribution and the needs of developing countries, and all definitions have been thoroughly revised. The confidence grading scheme has been simplified and the procedure to assess the results- uncertainty has been significantly enhanced. In addition to the updated contents of the original edition, a large part of the manual is now devoted to the practical application of the system. Complete with simplified step-by-step implementation procedures and case studies, the manual provides guidelines on how to adapt the IWA concepts and indicators to specific contexts and objectives. This new edition of Performance Indicators for Water Supply Services is an invaluable reference source for all those concerned with managing the performance of the water supply industry, including those in the water utilities as well as regulators, policy-makers and financial agencies.

The IBNET Water Supply and Sanitation Performance Blue Book

The IBNET Water Supply and Sanitation Performance Blue Book
Author: Caroline van den Berg
Publisher: World Bank Publications
Total Pages: 176
Release: 2010-12-23
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 0821385887

This book aims to raise awareness of how the International Benchmarking Network of Water and Sanitation Utilities (IBNET)can help utilities identify ways to improve urban water and wastewater services. It provides an introduction to benchmarking and to the objectives, scope and focus of IBNET and describes some of its recent achievements. The methodology and data behind IBNET are elaborated, and an overview of IBNET results and country data are presented.

Benchmarking with DEA, SFA, and R

Benchmarking with DEA, SFA, and R
Author: Peter Bogetoft
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 362
Release: 2010-11-19
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1441979611

This book covers recent advances in efficiency evaluations, most notably Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA) methods. It introduces the underlying theories, shows how to make the relevant calculations and discusses applications. The aim is to make the reader aware of the pros and cons of the different methods and to show how to use these methods in both standard and non-standard cases. Several software packages have been developed to solve some of the most common DEA and SFA models. This book relies on R, a free, open source software environment for statistical computing and graphics. This enables the reader to solve not only standard problems, but also many other problem variants. Using R, one can focus on understanding the context and developing a good model. One is not restricted to predefined model variants and to a one-size-fits-all approach. To facilitate the use of R, the authors have developed an R package called Benchmarking, which implements the main methods within both DEA and SFA. The book uses mathematical formulations of models and assumptions, but it de-emphasizes the formal proofs - in part by placing them in appendices -- or by referring to the original sources. Moreover, the book emphasizes the usage of the theories and the interpretations of the mathematical formulations. It includes a series of small examples, graphical illustrations, simple extensions and questions to think about. Also, it combines the formal models with less formal economic and organizational thinking. Last but not least it discusses some larger applications with significant practical impacts, including the design of benchmarking-based regulations of energy companies in different European countries, and the development of merger control programs for competition authorities.

Utility Benchmarking and Regulation in Developing Countries

Utility Benchmarking and Regulation in Developing Countries
Author: Silver Mugisha
Publisher: IWA Publishing
Total Pages: 211
Release: 2011-05-14
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1843392577

Utility performance, especially in developing countries is still working toward the standard necessary to deliver best practice. Utility Benchmarking and Regulation in Developing Countries examines performance monitoring and regulation as a prominent efficiency enhancement tool and clarifies many of the unknowns regarding the design and approach surrounding the area of utility management. Principles and practices are linked in a way that is informative and accessible, highlighting the challenges facing those who are trying to improve performance in the water sector. Operational settings are complex and unpredictable in developing countries due to inadequate infrastructure planning and this book makes clear which systems work best in these situations. Utility Benchmarking and Regulation in Developing Countries discusses performance monitoring in the critical areas of utility management that achieve sustainable performance goals: Performance development planning Modes of performance monitoring Provocative approaches to incentives creation Monitoring through high incentive plans Customer relations monitoring Pro-poor oriented monitoring Careful use of partial performance indicators Proposed indicators for assessing governance incentives A case study on the National Water and Sewerage Corporation, Uganda is included in the book detailing the difficulties in discerning performance progress based on partial performance indicators. It underlines disparities in basing performance conclusions on partial performance indicators on one hand and aggregate analysis using modern benchmarking toolkits on the other. This is an excellent handbook for utility monitors or regulators whose primary duty is to oversee performance management. It is a valuable resource for decision-makers, analysts, and policy-makers and can be used in capacity-building programs (both in-house and in universities) around the world.

The IBNET Water Supply and Sanitation Blue Book 2014

The IBNET Water Supply and Sanitation Blue Book 2014
Author: Alexander Danilenko
Publisher: World Bank Publications
Total Pages: 168
Release: 2014-08-06
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1464802777

Well-run water utilities play an important role in ending poverty and boosting shared prosperity. Consumers need reliable access to high quality and affordable water and sanitation services. To deliver these basic services efficiently and effectively requires high-performing utilities that are able to respond to urban growth, to connect with the poor, and to improve wastewater disposal practices. The International Benchmarking Network for Water and Sanitation Utilities of the World Bank's Water and Sanitation Program (IBNET) has been involved in water sector monitoring since 1997. IBNET works to improve utility performance through enhanced sharing of critical knowledge and expertise, to expand access to comparative data among utilities globally, and to promote best practice among water supply and sanitation providers. By delivering access to technical and financial information on utility performance, IBNET enables key stakeholders to do their jobs better: utility managers and employees can identify areas for improvement; governments can monitor and adjust sector policies and programs; regulators can ensure that customers get value; investors can identify viable markets and opportunities for creating value; and customer groups and NGOs can exercise 'voice' in an informed way. The IBNET Water Supply and Sanitation Blue Book 2014 summarizes the water sector status from 2006 to 2011. Since 2006, municipal water performance has improved despite accelerated urbanization and the impacts of triple crises (food, fuel, and financial). Overall coverage has increased and piped water and wastewater services became accessible to more people. An increasing number of utilities now actively handle the water billing, collection, and water management through metering. IBNET tools, such as data collection instruments and protocols, the IBNET database, and the IBNET tariff database, enable enhanced sharing of information on close to 4,500 utilities from more than 130 countries and territories.

Assessment of Treatment Plant Performance and Water Quality Data: A Guide for Students, Researchers and Practitioners

Assessment of Treatment Plant Performance and Water Quality Data: A Guide for Students, Researchers and Practitioners
Author: Marcos von Sperling
Publisher: IWA Publishing
Total Pages: 668
Release: 2020-01-15
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1780409311

This book presents the basic principles for evaluating water quality and treatment plant performance in a clear, innovative and didactic way, using a combined approach that involves the interpretation of monitoring data associated with (i) the basic processes that take place in water bodies and in water and wastewater treatment plants and (ii) data management and statistical calculations to allow a deep interpretation of the data. This book is problem-oriented and works from practice to theory, covering most of the information you will need, such as (a) obtaining flow data and working with the concept of loading, (b) organizing sampling programmes and measurements, (c) connecting laboratory analysis to data management, (e) using numerical and graphical methods for describing monitoring data (descriptive statistics), (f) understanding and reporting removal efficiencies, (g) recognizing symmetry and asymmetry in monitoring data (normal and log-normal distributions), (h) evaluating compliance with targets and regulatory standards for effluents and water bodies, (i) making comparisons with the monitoring data (tests of hypothesis), (j) understanding the relationship between monitoring variables (correlation and regression analysis), (k) making water and mass balances, (l) understanding the different loading rates applied to treatment units, (m) learning the principles of reaction kinetics and reactor hydraulics and (n) performing calibration and verification of models. The major concepts are illustrated by 92 fully worked-out examples, which are supported by 75 freely-downloadable Excel spreadsheets. Each chapter concludes with a checklist for your report. If you are a student, researcher or practitioner planning to use or already using treatment plant and water quality monitoring data, then this book is for you! 75 Excel spreadsheets are available to download.

Performance Assessment and Benchmarking of Gondar Water Supply Services, Ethiopia

Performance Assessment and Benchmarking of Gondar Water Supply Services, Ethiopia
Author: Yirga Alemu Azene
Publisher: GRIN Verlag
Total Pages: 74
Release: 2020-10-26
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 3346281795

Master's Thesis from the year 2019 in the subject Organisation and administration - Public administration, grade: Very Good, , course: Business Administration, language: English, abstract: The main objective of the study is to establish the performance of GWSSS in terms of quality of water services, economical efficiency, and operational sustainability against widely accepted key standard performance indicators and benchmarking the water utility against other well-performing utilities around East Africa for purposes of development of decision support tools for better management of the system. The last eight-year data from the annual report and from the management information system of the Gondar utility are used in the analysis of indicators and to see the performance trend. Performance evaluation of water supply services for Gondar city was carried out using thirteen key performance indicators. From the first category six indicators in the quality of water services, one indicator on water quality compliance has the utility performing well. The other five indicators that are water supply coverage, average total per capita consumption, average per capita domestic consumption, continuity of piped water supply, and the number of persons per domestic connection are the performance of the utility is poor and much below the benchmarked utilities. From the second category of four indicators in improving economic efficiency one indicator in improving personnel expenditure has moderate performance; one indicator on tariff cost recovery has shown low performance, and two indicators in improving bill revenue collection efficiency and operating cost coverage are well performed. The third category of three indicators in improving operational sustainability; one indicator in staffing level is poor performance and two indicators in nonrevenue water and treatment capacity utilized the utility is performing well compared to benchmarked utilities. In general, GWSSS is performing well in five indicators, moderate performance in one indicator, and the rest seven indicators the performance of Gondar is poor and much below the benchmarked utilities. Therefore, it is highly recommended that Gondar utility should take much focus on improving: the water supply services, water production, number of water connections, water consumption, tariff cost recovery, and staffing level.