Status:
Complete
Location:
Da Nang - Vietnam
Region:
Asia
Total cost:
USD $65,000
Duration:
2 years 3 months
Start:
30 September 2019
End:
30 January 2022
Working Areas
Asset Management
Customer Relations
Human Resources/ Organizational Development
Non-Revenue Water (NRW 1): Commercial Losses Management
Organizations Involved
Da Nang Water Supply Company — Lead Mentee
Manila Water Company, Inc. — Lead Mentor
WaterLinks
Facilitator
The OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID)
Funder
The Global Water Operators’ Partnerships Alliance
Broker
SDGs
6.4Increased water-use efficiency and sustainable withdrawals and supply of freshwater
Project description

Following a first collaboration for 10 African WOPs in 2013-2015, OFID (the OPEC Fund for International Development) and GWOPA (the Global Water Operators Partnerships Alliance) had entered, in 2019 a new Agreement to help five water and sanitation utilities in Africa and Asia, to implement Short Term Action Plans and develop Medium Term Sustainability Improvement Plans (SIP) through WOPs. The African Water Association (AfWA) and WaterLinks coordinated at regional level the implementation of the WOPs projects with the utilities involved.  In Asia, 3 WOPs have been implemented : Chittagong Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (Bangladesh) with Suez India as a mentor, Khulna Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (Bangladesh) with Kota Surabaya, (Indonesia) as a mentor and Da Nang Water Supply Company (Vietnam) with Manila Water Company as a mentor (the Phillipines). In Africa, e-thekwini (South Africa) mentored both Blantyre Water Board (Malawi) and Sodo Town (Ethiopia).



During the 2.5-year long partnerships between the five pairs of utilities, “mentor” operators supported “mentees” with capacity development and change implementation in high-priority areas, ranging from improving billing and collection to energy efficiency, assembled in Short Term Action Plans (STAPs). The STAPs included originally a small investment component of 50,000 USD, such as a pilot project, to ignite long term changes towards sustainability.



Towards the end of the STAP implementation, the WOP partners conducted a more thorough joint analysis of the causes and potential solutions to their performance shortcomings and developed Sustainability Improvement Plans (SIPs) which would lay out a suite of longer-term improvement steps, combined with an investment component, to be implemented during a subsequent phase of improvement (lasting 3-5 years).



Throughout the process, the WOPs partners were supported by GWOPA to coordinate the partnering processes, on WOPs approaches and best WOPs practice; and with relevant technical training on themes requiring deeper learning. Key staff from participating operators shared their learning and showcased their experience through online Communities of Practice (CoPs) dedicated to various relevant technical issues and partnering issues as well, establishing bridges and fostering cross-fertilization between the regions.



The program was launched in May 2019, with a launching webinar and then a kick-off workshop in June 2019, organized in Barcelona, Spain, by GWOPA. Unfortunately, this was the last time GWOPA was able to hold an interregional workshop in presence of the participants, because of the Covid 19 pandemic. There were 2 intermediary interregional workshops held online, in November 2020, then October 2021 and eventually an online closing workshop in December 2021.



Project Description:



The projects all started with a diagnosis mission aiming at assessing the situation of the mentee utilities, discuss their challenges and identifying their priorities. GWOPA provided the SIP manual which guided the teams on the methodological approach for the planning of the projects. The mentees selected their priorities through participatory workshops and developed Short Term Action Plan on 3 to 4 working areas. Then the mentees visited their mentors to get some exposure on their good practices and working routines and refined their STAP. Unfortunately at this stage, the emergence of the Covid 19 pandemic put a halt to the field visits, and the teams couldn’t travel anymore. They had to switch to online activities for the rest of the capacity-building activities, training and monitoring of the implementation of the plans. This was quite challenging and the teams had to show some flexibility and resilience. The coordination work led by the facilitator was also much more intense as they had to lead the process of the transformation of field activities to online activities.

Project main objectives

Action Plan:



 



















Working Areas (WAs)​



Operational challenges identified with mentor​



Actions per STAP​





Major ​



Accomplishments​



Working Area 1: ​



NRW management​



- High NRW ​



- Ineffective leak detection​



- Lack of leak detection equipments​



- No Zero pressure test (ZPT)​



1. Calculation of Water Balance in pilot DMAs​





  • Training on WB calculation​




  • Submission of data to mentors (maps of DMA boundaries, network and customers) ​




  • Revised calculation​





2. DMA Management Program​





  • Training on ZPT​




  • Training on leak detection​




  • Customer survey in Hai Chau​




  • Zero pressure test in pilot DMAs to be conducted by DAWACO on Nov 2020​




  • Procure leak detection equipment​





1. Initial calculation completed​





  • Training done in Manila, Jan 2020​




  • Data submitted and reviewed by Mentor​




  • Revised calculation being reviewed by mentor​











2. Training on ZPT training held online on Sept 25​





Next steps :​





  • Leak detection training postponed for mentor visit​




  • Customer survey​




  • ZPT results to be reviewed by mentor once submitted​




  • Procurement of leak detection equipment. Tender dociuments being prepared​
















Working Area 2​





Customer service​



 ​



- Decision to establish a customer service call center has been taken​



- No customer service standards exist ​



- No dedicated call-in number for customers​



- Complaints manually logged but no analysis of the types of complaints nor tracking of complaints are made​





  • Complaints are received in all branches as well as HQ​





- No computerized customer reporting system in place.​



- Records of customer complaints done manually with no or limited analysis of the complaints ​



- Absence of tracking of complaints and actions taken​











  1. Training on MWC’s customer service management program in Manila: Jan 2020​




  2. Creation of a Call Center​




  3. Drafting a process of receiving and solving customer’s complaints in Call Cente​




  4. Drafting Customer FAQs​




  5. Development of Customer Service Standards and Protocols​




  6. Drafting a Questionnaire on customer satisfaction​




  7. Surveying the customers in the pilot of Hai Chau district​




  8. Analysing survey results​








Note: all activities on track for completion in 2020​





  1. Mentee visit to Manila Water (January 2020); learned about the advantages of Manila Water Call Center and apply them appropriately at Dawaco Call Center.​




  2. Completed on time and currently operational Completed on time. The process has been approved and issued.​




  3. Reviewed by the Mentor and will be finalised.​




  4. Reviewed by the Mentor. The final version has been submitted.​




  5. Reviewed by the Mentor. The final version has been submitted.​




  6. Questionniare on customer satisfaction reviewd by mentor​




  7. Postponed due to Covid-19 pandemic. It is proposed to be done by the end of Oct, 2020.​




  8. Analysing survey results: Dec 2020​







Next steps:​





  • Conduct of customer survey in Hai Chau and analysis of survey results​
















Working ​



Area 3:​





Asset management​



- Need for a Condition Assessment Report due to old data in FMECA software no longer being used  ​



- GIS data for WTP exists but don’t have an Asset Management program​





  1. Development of a Condition Assessment Report (CAR) for Cao Do WTP: first draft in Oct 2020 and final draft in Dec 2020​




  2. Implementation of Asset Management Program​







  1. Following a training on asset management and sharing of templates by mentor, the CAR for Cao Do WTP will be completed on November 2020.​




  2. The existing draft Asset Management Guidelines of DAWACO will be adjusted after receiving the sample asset management Guidelines from MWC. Expected to completed in Dec 2020.​








Next steps:​





  • Final CAR for Cao Do ​




  • Final Asset Management Guidelines for Cao Do​
















Working Area 4: ​





Human resource development​



 ​



- Need to translate company targets into KPIs​



- No Guidelines for Annual Staff Evaluation​



- No an annual staff evaluation​



- No a staff training plan​



- No a HR management software​





 ​





  1. Develop KPIs for DAWACO as an organisation ​







  • Introduction to MWC KPIs and training on on how to translate corporate KPIs to staff KPIs: Jan 2020 ​







  1. Development of training plan for staff ​







  • Training needs assessment ​




  • Formulation of training plan ​




  • Implementation of plan​







  1. Corporate BEIs submitted to People’s Committee and aproved, DAWACO built these KPIs based on BEIs approved.​







  • Training on KPIs done in January 2020​




  • Mentor provided templates of KPIs and Business Enterprise Indicators (BEIs).​




  • MWC provided DAWACO with examples of their own KPIs and BEIs for reference and guidance of mentee.​





2.  Training plan for staff submitted by​



      DAWACO on Oct 2020 for review of mentor​



Next steps:​





  • Conduct training needs assessment​




  • Finalize training plan​




Most significant results

NRW Management: 





  • Successfully reduced NRW levels in the 2 pilot DMAs in Hai Chau beyond the 3% target as follows:​





            DMA 4.10- original NRW of 43.38 on Oct 2019 to 15.57 % by end of Feb 2021; ​



             DMA 4.11 with original NRW of 28.98 in Oct 2019 to 20.76% be end of Feb 2021​





  • Gained knowledge and experience  on proper Water Balance calculation, delineation of DMA boundaries with hydraulic modeling in pilot sites, and conduct of Zero Pressure Test





Customer Service:





  • Creation and operationalization of a Customer Call Center with complete equipment including hiring of staff​




  • Developed SOPs for receiving and monitoring  customer complaints and actions;  FAQs on DAWACO operations and Customer Service Standards and Protocols – all intended to improve customer engagement​




  • Established a monthly computerized monitoring report system for complaints and action tracking​




  • Conducted the first Customer Service Satisfaction Survey in Hai Chau​





Asset Management:





  • Gained knowledge on the 10 Basic Steps of Asset Management Planning including appreciation of the importance of Asset Management as part of the overall effective management and operation of a water utility​




  • Completed the review of current DAWACO asset management policies and manuals in order to identify ways for an improved asset management program ​




  • Completed the preparation of the Asset Condition Report  or Condition Assessment Report (CAR) for Cau Do Water Treatment Plan. The report listed all asset in the Cau Do WTP with complete information such as asset ID and code, description, year installed, type, criticality, condition grade, and performance status





Human Resources Development:





  • Development of DAWACO organizational KPIs and Business Efficiency Metrics​




  • Completion of DAWACO PESTEL (Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental, Legal), SWOT and Customer Profile ​




  • Gained knowledge on Goal Setting  and Total Management System​




  • Gained knowledge on training needs assessment process and completed the initial exercise on TNA with guidance from mentors




Challenges
From mentee perspective:
-COVID 19 pandemic affected implementation of most field activities , thus the shift to online WOP activities implementation from April 2020​.
-Progress of WOP related activities was affected by lockdowns and travel restrictions​.
-Internet connection is not good all the time that online meetings are affected​.

From mentor perspective:
-Travel restrictions constrained us to maximize virtual platforms but onsite training is still different especially when teaching operations best practice​
-Language barrier is heightened by sessions being conducted virtually​
-Compounded adjustment to new normal​