Home 
Topics Water Water Operations Partnerships SAWUN Continuous Improvement and Benchmarking (CIB) Workshop
 | |
South Asian Water Utilities Network-SAWUN
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
The South Asian Water Utilities Network's benchmarking program kicked off with a workshop that introduced 15 utilities from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, and Sri Lanka to the CIB process as applied to nonrevenue water. All 15 utilities agreed to embark on performance benchmarking. Read the highlights of the event. |
EVENT DETAILS
|
|||||||||||||||||
The benchmarking of water utilities involves collecting, analyzing, and comparing key performance data of one utility against those of other utilities in a country, a region, or globally. The process yields a detailed picture of the utility—its strengths and challenges, level of performance, opportunities, and more—and aids in developing strategies and initiatives to improve the utility’s performance.
In Asia, some of the ongoing programs in water utilities benchmarking are the benchmarking of water utilities in India and the ongoing second phase of the South East Asian Water Utilities Network’s (SEAWUN) benchmarking program.
The recently launched South Asian Water Utilities Network (SAWUN) began its benchmarking program with the November 2007 workshop to orient member utilities on the principles and applications of continuous improvement and benchmarking (CIB) program.
SAWUN’s vision is to measurably improve the delivery of water supply and sanitation services in the region. In July 2007, it finalized and approved its two-year business plan, which focuses on 3 themes—NRW, tariff setting, and connecting the urban poor. The CIB for its members is one of the ways it seeks to achieve its vision.
Thirty executives from 15 utilities in South Asia got together in Mumbai, India from 16 to 23 November 2007 to gain an understanding of how benchmarking techniques and continuous improvement can be adopted as a way of conducting their affairs. A major focus for immediate improvement is applying these management practices to the reduction of nonrevenue water (NRW), a major and common challenge for many utilities.
CIB methods involve collecting, analyzing, and comparing key performance data of one utility against those of other utilities in a country, a region, or globally. The approach typically focuses on a specific process whose performance can be enhanced. For the targeted process, each utility will exchange its performance indicators, process maps, work practices, results and other experiences that together enable other utilities to identify where it can improve its processes and what greater performance it should achieve.
The CIB Methodology includes ensuring that each utility has the organizational arrangements, senior management commitment, and skilled internal teams to conduct analyses of processes, establish meaningful indicators, evaluate others practices, develop then implement improvements that will deliver superior performance.
A. Government of Indonesia
Participants agreed to implement CIB techniques in their utilities. Their initial step would be to create CIB teams that will handle the benchmarking and continuous improvement for NRW. The participants agreed on a course of actions, with the indicative schedule as follows:
| Schedule | Activities |
| December 2007 | utilities to train team and commence data collection |
| January 2008 | finalize data collection |
| February 2008 | exchange data, compare performance and propose improvements |
| March 2008 | implement approved solutions (launch next team) |
| June 2008 | assess performance results (validate) |
Paul van Klaveren
Water Supply and Sanitation Specialist, ADB
E-mail: pvanklaveren@adb.org
Robert Hood
Lead Facilitator, Water Operators Partnership Program
E-mail: rhood@adb.org
| © 2008 Asian Development Bank Privacy | Terms of Use |
 Top of page |
