Wastewater Operations Assessments for Owners/Managers

Hemphill Water Engineering, teamed with specialist partners, has extensive experience working with municipal agencies in managing operations. They can help with these common questions:

• Is your wastewater utility being operated and maintained efficiently?
• How does your operation compare with other similar systems in this area?
• Are best practices for energy use minimization being followed?
• Are your laboratory practices and procedures meeting industry standards and providing the best data?
• Is your contract operations firm meeting their contractual requirements and providing good service to your agency and ratepayers?
• Are appropriate maintenance management practices being followed?
• Is the staffing level appropriate for your facilities?
• If publicly operated, does it make sense to consider contract operations?
• If privately operated, does it make sense to consider taking back the operation?
• Is your current operations contract complete and fair to both parties?

• Staffing reviews
• Compensation competitiveness
• Process capacity review
• Management practices
  • Records management
  • Training plan
  • Emergency response plan
  • Facility appearance standards plan
  • Regulatory reporting
  • Strategic planning
  • Performance measurement
  • Organizational structure
• Compliance review, including analysis of permit excursions and/or violations
• Operations practices
  • Data management
  • Sampling program
  • Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)
  • Process control program
  • Optimization
• Maintenance practices
  • CMMS usage
  • CM/PM/PdM review
  • Work order generation
  • Data security
  • Critical equipment emergency plan
  • Inventory
  • Maintenance reporting
  • Condition assessment
• Laboratory practices
  • Sampling
  • QA/QC
  • Analytical methods
  • Procedures
  • Documentation
  • Permit
• Benchmarks

• Staffing reviews
• Compensation competitiveness
• Process capacity review
• Management practices
  • Records management
  • Training plan
  • Emergency response plan
  • Facility appearance standards plan
  • Regulatory reporting
  • Strategic planning
  • Performance measurement
  • Organizational structure
• Compliance review, including analysis of permit excursions and/or violations
• Operations practices
  • Data management
  • Sampling program
  • Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)
  • Process control program
  • Optimization
• Maintenance practices
  • CMMS usage
  • CM/PM/PdM review
  • Work order generation
  • Data security
  • Critical equipment emergency plan
  • Inventory
  • Maintenance reporting
  • Condition assessment
• Laboratory practices
  • Sampling
  • QA/QC
  • Analytical methods
  • Procedures
  • Documentation
  • Permit
• Benchmarks

The scope items listed above are all relevant to contract operations. Additionally, the assessment can include a review of the overall effectiveness of the contract operations service provider. These types of audits are routine in the industry, and can serve many useful purposes.

The scope of these provider assessments can take on many different approaches:

• Compliance with the stipulations of the service agreement
• Overall competency of the staff
• Stability of staffing
• Review of draft service agreements or RFPs
• Analysis of compliance issues; i.e., whether or not excursions or violations were preventable or a result of inadequate process capabilities
• Review of the completeness and accuracy of routine reports
• Consultation regarding the advisability of renewing current contracts, versus issuing an open RFP
• Consultation regarding the potential benefits and/or disadvantages of converting to public operations