Working Areas
Asset Management
Business Planning
Non-Revenue Water (NRW 2): Physical losses management
Operation & Maintenance
Other
Organizations Involved
Battambang — Lead Mentee
Yarra Valley Water — Lead Mentor
- Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority — Mentor
WaterLinks
—
Funder
The Global Water Operators’ Partnerships Alliance
—
Broker
Funder
SDGs
6.4Increased water-use efficiency and sustainable withdrawals and supply of freshwater
Project description
In June 2017, with assistance from GWOPA/ UN-Habitat, Waterlinks and the Cambodian Ministry of Industry and Handicraft, Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority (PPWSA) and Yarra Valley Water (YVW) of Melbourne, Australia (co-mentors) engaged in a Water Operators’ Partnership (WOP) with Battambang Waterworks (BBWW) of Cambodia (mentee). This 6-month WOP aimed to assist BBWW to establish an Asset Register as a first step towards developing an asset management and a meter management program.
Through the WOP, the following was achieved:
1) Preparation and issuance of water meter replacement policy/procedure
2) Development of digital form to capture data on meter and pipe repair works
3) Better understanding and appreciation of data being collected by different departments (business and commercial)
4) Improvement of data collection pertinent to meters and pipelines (as an important input to asset management)
5) Start of activities towards asset management. Data sharing among various departments i.e. billing collection, operations, for improved asset management and service delivery
6) Stronger ties between PPWSA and Battambang Waterworks
WOP Inputs:
Total number of operator staff involved in the WOP (Mentor + Mentee): 6-20
% at Managerial Level: 26-50%
% of females: 0-25%
Through the WOP, the following was achieved:
1) Preparation and issuance of water meter replacement policy/procedure
2) Development of digital form to capture data on meter and pipe repair works
3) Better understanding and appreciation of data being collected by different departments (business and commercial)
4) Improvement of data collection pertinent to meters and pipelines (as an important input to asset management)
5) Start of activities towards asset management. Data sharing among various departments i.e. billing collection, operations, for improved asset management and service delivery
6) Stronger ties between PPWSA and Battambang Waterworks
WOP Inputs:
Total number of operator staff involved in the WOP (Mentor + Mentee): 6-20
% at Managerial Level: 26-50%
% of females: 0-25%
Most significant results
At the completion of the WOP in December 2017, the following results were successfully achieved:
(1) Completed Excel table of the pipe and meter inventory for Zone 3. While some issues remain i.e. better definition of pipe failure, missing customer data, etc. the inventory for Zone 3 is mostly completed. Mentors will need to follow up on the complete inventory in Q1 of 2018 to ensure that the inventory is correctly completed. The inventory forms the initial Asset Register of BBWW.
(2) Presentation of the draft Meter Replacement Procedure to the Director who agreed to implement the same through a formal directive. The meter replacement procedure takes guidance from the experience of PPWSA which had earlier studied the life of a meter averaging at 10 years. The draft will be formalized and translated into Khmer by WaterLinks and will be passed by Battambang Waterworks by mid-February 2018. The draft Meter Replacement Procedure is attached as Annex A
(3) In respect of the pipe replacement procedure, it was agreed by mentors and mentee that this will be put on hold considering that most pipelines are new and the need for replacement will not be relevant in the next 10 years. However, mentors and mentee agreed to continue recording all pipe failures in the Maintenance Information Sheet to better understand the failures and effectively manage the pipe network.
(4) The mentors worked with the IT staff to develop an application for meter testing to implement the Meter Replacement Procedure. The current form for meter testing was converted to digital format to allow better data management. There is a need to revisit the systems being created by IT and ensure that relevant data collected by the various divisions are shared amongst them to support their daily operations.
Other success factors include:
- Strong support from the Ministry of Industry and Handicrafts through his Excellency Ek Sonn Chan who has personally recommended Battambang Waterworks as the mentee and PPWSA as co-mentor.
- Positive attitude and commitment of Battambang Waterworks personnel from the Director to the technical staff who had devoted the time needed to carry out the agreed assigned tasks to ensure the success of the WOP.
- Dedicated mentors (Yarra Valley Water) and co-mentor (PPWSA) who provided time and technical advice during the WOP and who have committed to continue helping Battambang Waterworks even beyond the WOP completion.
- An existing ADB Loan with a capacity building component ( for 4 provinces in Cambodia including Battambang) who can be tapped to continue the work under the WOP and even extend to other 3 provinces.
Challenges:
- Sustainability and replication of work done to other zones within Battambang Waterworks
- The short duration of WOP limited coverage and scope
- Limited funding for the WOP limited the number of visits and location
Under the completed WOP, only the initial steps in building capacity in critical operational areas in BBWW were undertaken. This was due to the limited time and funding that effectively limited the duration and the focus area. In the regular WOPs that Waterlinks facilitates, the duration ranges from 12-18 months to enable to effectively demonstrate the improvements and metrics resulting from such partnerships. This was not the case in Battambang as it was only six (6) months given the time constraints. Furthermore, the limited funding can only accommodate 3 visits as compared to 5 visits in other WOPs facilitated by WaterLinks. Much more needs to be done to (i) embed the knowledge and skills gained, and (ii) complete the work initiated.
(1) Completed Excel table of the pipe and meter inventory for Zone 3. While some issues remain i.e. better definition of pipe failure, missing customer data, etc. the inventory for Zone 3 is mostly completed. Mentors will need to follow up on the complete inventory in Q1 of 2018 to ensure that the inventory is correctly completed. The inventory forms the initial Asset Register of BBWW.
(2) Presentation of the draft Meter Replacement Procedure to the Director who agreed to implement the same through a formal directive. The meter replacement procedure takes guidance from the experience of PPWSA which had earlier studied the life of a meter averaging at 10 years. The draft will be formalized and translated into Khmer by WaterLinks and will be passed by Battambang Waterworks by mid-February 2018. The draft Meter Replacement Procedure is attached as Annex A
(3) In respect of the pipe replacement procedure, it was agreed by mentors and mentee that this will be put on hold considering that most pipelines are new and the need for replacement will not be relevant in the next 10 years. However, mentors and mentee agreed to continue recording all pipe failures in the Maintenance Information Sheet to better understand the failures and effectively manage the pipe network.
(4) The mentors worked with the IT staff to develop an application for meter testing to implement the Meter Replacement Procedure. The current form for meter testing was converted to digital format to allow better data management. There is a need to revisit the systems being created by IT and ensure that relevant data collected by the various divisions are shared amongst them to support their daily operations.
Other success factors include:
- Strong support from the Ministry of Industry and Handicrafts through his Excellency Ek Sonn Chan who has personally recommended Battambang Waterworks as the mentee and PPWSA as co-mentor.
- Positive attitude and commitment of Battambang Waterworks personnel from the Director to the technical staff who had devoted the time needed to carry out the agreed assigned tasks to ensure the success of the WOP.
- Dedicated mentors (Yarra Valley Water) and co-mentor (PPWSA) who provided time and technical advice during the WOP and who have committed to continue helping Battambang Waterworks even beyond the WOP completion.
- An existing ADB Loan with a capacity building component ( for 4 provinces in Cambodia including Battambang) who can be tapped to continue the work under the WOP and even extend to other 3 provinces.
Challenges:
- Sustainability and replication of work done to other zones within Battambang Waterworks
- The short duration of WOP limited coverage and scope
- Limited funding for the WOP limited the number of visits and location
Under the completed WOP, only the initial steps in building capacity in critical operational areas in BBWW were undertaken. This was due to the limited time and funding that effectively limited the duration and the focus area. In the regular WOPs that Waterlinks facilitates, the duration ranges from 12-18 months to enable to effectively demonstrate the improvements and metrics resulting from such partnerships. This was not the case in Battambang as it was only six (6) months given the time constraints. Furthermore, the limited funding can only accommodate 3 visits as compared to 5 visits in other WOPs facilitated by WaterLinks. Much more needs to be done to (i) embed the knowledge and skills gained, and (ii) complete the work initiated.