16 April 2019

Safety and O&M Planning

Author/Compiled by
Sandra Nicolics (BOKU University)
Guenter Langergraber (BOKU University)

Executive Summary

The third and last factsheet in the 'guide to successful NaWaTech projects' on designing, implementing and/or managing a 'NaWaTech project' focuses on “Safety and O&M planning”. In this factsheet, an approach for systematically addressing operation and maintenance, spare-part management and trouble-shooting is presented. The Safety and O&M planning approach shall support the long-term operation of the NaWaTech system. Besides general considerations, the experiences gained during the implementation of the 'NaWatech case studies' is described.

The contents of this factsheet are results of the Indo-European Project NaWaTech- “Natural Water Systems and Treatment Technologies to cope with Water Shortages in Urbanised Areas in India”, co-financed by the EC and the DST – India.

Main Considerations

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Efficient and effective operation and maintenance (O&M) is necessary in order to guarantee the long-term operation of any sanitation system. Maximum health and environmental benefits can only be achieved in case the facilities operate continuously and at full capacity, while complying with acceptable quality standards (MÜLLEGGER et al. 2012).

Key learnings concerning designing sustainable O&M services can be summarised as follows:

  • Staff/officers engaged for O&M should be fully familiar and aware of the subject of wastewater treatment as well as the key functions of the respective treatment units.
  • All parties directly (operators and supervisors) or indirectly (system designers, construction companies, facility owners, service companies and authorities) involved need to understand and agree on their role in the context of long-term O&M and monitoring. Thus, active involvement of all parties when planning and organising O&M is essential. This can also foster “ownership” of the project and the facilities with all the relevant parties.
  • Economic benefits derived from the systems (e.g. faecal compost, irrigation water, etc.) can be used as incentives for operating parties and system owners to carry out and monitor the O&M. The ecological benefit of treating wastewater might not be beneficial enough for owners to guarantee the sustainable long-term operation of the system.
  • Mechanisms for long-term cost recovery for O&M, system monitoring and major repairs have to be discussed and agreed upon with all relevant stakeholders.
  • O&M needs to be considered already in the design and implementation phase – including both “technical requirements” (e.g.: assuring the accessibility for maintenance works, assurance of continuous and stable power supply, planning of supply of certain consumables and spares) and staff and institutional requirements (e.g.: assuring that the skills needed for maintenance works are available, cost recovery mechanisms for expected costs, etc.)
  • “O&M knowledge” should not be bound to single individuals, but made available and transparent to all staff. Through systematic collection of O&M experiences (e.g.: via documentations, regular staff meetings, refresher trainings, regular review of staff routines), knowledge transfer among O&M staff can be fostered and loss of “operational knowledge” due to staff rotations can be kept to a minimum. Moreover, learning processes on improvement of O&M routines can be established.
  • O&M manuals (or other related supporting materials) need to be comprehensible enough to include standard operating procedures (SOPs) and other guidelines to be followed during day-to-day plant operation and in incident situations (“trouble-shooting”).

 

Safety and O&M Planning

Safety and O&M planning can support the development of effective O&M routines and improve their formalisation. Planning of O&M – instead of only addressing it once the systems are already in place – can allow to systematically face the aspects mentioned above.

Depending on the setting of each project and involved parties, this task can be carried out either by the system designers, the O&M contractor or an external party providing this as a service for the system owners or the designer or the O&M contractor. Ideally, the “planning” process should be initiated as early as possible during the design phase and continue along with the implementation and of course the operation phase. However, in the majority of projects, discussions around O&M might only be started when the systems are close to commissioning or even already handed over for operation. Thus, the actual implementation of the planning process can look very different from project to project.

Systematic O&M planning should target at:

  • Identifying all relevant stakeholders and initiate stakeholder involvement at all levels (authorities, management and operative level) and foster agreements and understanding on the different roles and responsibilities involved in O&M and system monitoring. A template list, which was developed and used in the NaWaTech project to discuss and assign general roles and responsibilities in the context of O&M and safety management, is provided under the further readings section (NICOLICS 2015a).
  • Identifying and understanding critical O&M requirements – both technical and institutional/organisational - which need to be addressed during the design, construction and operation phase. Integrating these into the design and construction process as well as into standard routines for normal operation conditions.
  • Preparing general routines for incidents to shorten the time until returning back to normal operating conditions.
  • Identifying critical monitoring tasks involving both inspections and quality measurements.
  • Supporting the preparation of O&M materials and routines. E.g.: provide a basis for the development of the O&M manual and additional supporting materials for operators and supervisors (such as work plans, check-lists and documentation forms). A template for daily logging of sampling and inspection activities as well as for problem documentation is provided under the further reading materials section (NICOLICS and EDATHOOT 2014).
  • Identifying site-specific focus topics for trainings of operators and supervisors.

The NaWaTech Safety and O&M Planning Approach

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This approach was developed during the NaWaTech project in order to implement O&M and safety planning based on the principles from the WHO Water and Sanitation Safety Planning concepts (DAVISON et al., 2005; BARTRAM et al., 2009; WHO, 2015), following a risk-based sanitation system approach (TILLEY et al., 2014). The underlying idea of using a risk-based planning approach is to make use of the way of thinking to tackle O&M through “prevention instead of reaction”.

The safety and O&M planning approach developed in the NaWaTech project aims to break down key ideas of safety planning to practical steps:

  1. Establishment of the safety and O&M planning team.
  2. Definition of system boundaries, stakeholder identification and system description.
  3. Identification of hazards, risk assessment and prioritisation.
  4. Identification of risk prevention and risk reduction measures (control measures).
  5. Identification of monitoring measures for surveying the efficacy of the control measures.
  6. Formulation of a generic trouble shooting and communication routine.

An overview on the main activities associated with these six steps is provided as further reading material (NICOLICS and LANGERGRABER 2015a).Moreover, a presentation used during a NaWaTech training to explain the background, key ideas and examples for safety and O&M planning is also provided as further reading material (NICOLICS 2015b).

 NaWaTech Training in Pune, building-up the knowledge base about NaWaTech technology and approaches in the region. Source: ESF 2015 

NaWaTech Training in Pune, building-up the knowledge base about NaWaTech technology and approaches in the region. Source: ESF (2015)

Furthermore, PDF prints of NaWaTech safety and O&M planning working materials are provided (NICOLICS and LANGERGRABER 2015b) which can be used for hazard identification and the identification of respective prevention (“control measures”) and monitoring measures as well as for starting discussions on general trouble-shooting procedures for the 31 technologies and supporting equipment implemented under the NaWaTech project.

Two case studies on the application of the approach for the NaWaTech sites in Amanora Park Town and COEP campus in Pune (NICOLICS et al., 2015a) and for the pilot site at the invalid link Nagpur (NICOLICS et al., 2015b) provide more details on the methodology and main outcomes.

Experiences from implementing the NaWaTech Case Studies

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Experiences made during the NaWaTech project with regards to preparing O&M management as well as during safety and O&M planning activities are listed in the following table in form of main challenges encountered and possible solutions to overcome these problems in future projects:

Challenge

Solution

General observations

 

Lack of awareness for need of O&M resulting in limited interest in O&M management.

Trainings on understanding system functioning should create awareness for O&M and shift mindsets.

Include “mogdrill” (“in-case-of-failure”) demonstrations into trainings; practical hands-on trainings instead of class-room training to foster understanding why certain O&M activities are important.

Promotion of preventative O&M and monitoring routines based on risk-oriented thinking. This means, preventive O&M and monitoring of prevention measures instead of “end-of-pipe-checks” only focusing on the effluent.

Create incentives besides wastewater treatment that can help fostering O&M, e.g. by designing systems that have additional benefits (such as producing water for reuse or other products like compost).

Establish performance-based “construct-and-operate” contracts to increase interest of contractors in not only constructing the facilities, but also operating them appropriately.

Institutional/organisational barriers: lack of capacities to monitor decentralised plants.

Consider O&M requirements already in design phase so that receiving stakeholders (e.g.: project employees) are better prepared for the operation phase and foster “internal auditing” instead of relying on “external auditing” through authorities.

Line out clear responsibilities of all involved stakeholders.

Lack of funding for O&M.

Consider O&M requirements in the design phase and plan O&M activities prior to system commissioning. This will allow for more realistic and target-oriented budgeting for O&M.

Lack of capacity of organisations/persons responsible for O&M.

Initiation of business development and capacity development of private contractors towards integrating O&M as one of their services; O&M as a business: e.g. one company can carry out O&M for several treatment plants.

Establishment of “Construct-and-Operate” contracts and/or “Design- and-Operate contracts” (e.g. for 5 years).

Learnings from Safety and O&M Planning

 

Lack of capacities and resources for O&M limit the number of people willing to contribute to the safety planning.

Underlining the benefits of preventive O&M could help raising the interest in the activities.

Supporting materials (e.g.: template hazard lists, example control measures etc.) can facilitate the process and limit the requirement of resources.

The identification of hazards is a delicate topic – especially when confronting system designers with it. Thus, the willingness to openly discuss potential bottlenecks or vulnerabilities can be limited.

Stakeholder discussions need to be carried out sensitively and should be based on the understanding that the activity is of mutual interest to ultimately optimise system operation and safety  – not for blaming system weaknesses.

The process can be facilitated if the discussions do not start from scratch, e.g. based on template hazard lists.

Some O&M manuals follow a “reactive” thinking by putting trouble-shooting at the centre of their focus with only a minor preventive perspective.

Risk-based planning can help to shift the mind set to a more preventive thinking through pointing out cause-effect relationships between O&M activities and failures-to-be-prevented.

The roles of different stakeholders in the context of O&M are not clear to all. O&M is often limited to “day-to-day” O&M activities at the plant rather than acknowledging the role of supervising staff, project owners and system designers and –implementers.

Systematic listing of roles and responsibilities to support awareness on the whole range of levels and people directly or indirectly relevant in the context of system O&M and monitoring.

Library References

Water Safety Plan Manual: Step-by-step Risk Management for Drinking-water Suppliers

In 2004, the WHO Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality recommended that water suppliers develop and implement "Water Safety Plans" (WSPs) in order to systematically assess and manage risks. Since this time, governments and regulators, water suppliers and practitioners have increasingly embraced this approach, but they have also requested further guidance. This much-anticipated workbook answers this call by describing how to develop and implement a WSP in clear and practical terms. Stepwise advice is provided through 11 learning modules, each representing a key step in the WSP development and implementation process.

BARTRAM, J. CORRALES, L. DAVISON, A. DEERE, D. DRURY, D. GORDON, B. HOWARD, G. RINEHOLD, A. STEVENS, M. (2009): Water Safety Plan Manual: Step-by-step Risk Management for Drinking-water Suppliers. Geneva/London: World Health Organization (WHO); International Water Association (IWA) URL [Accessed: 18.06.2019]

Application of the NaWaTech safety and O&M planning approach for resources-oriented wastewater treatment systems in Pune, India

This case study describes safety and O&M planning activities carried out for SBR and MBR systems at a NaWaTech project site in Amanora Park Town Pune and for the NaWaTech project site at COEP Campus Pune involving anaerobic treatment in combination with Vertical Flow Constructed Wetlands.

NICOLICS, S. ; EDATHOOT, A. ; PATWARDHAN, N. ; STARIBACHER, E. ; MASI, F. ; CABALLERO, A. ; PANSE, D. ; LABHASETWAR, P.K. ; MEINHOLD, K. ; LANGERGRABER, G. (2015): Application of the NaWaTech safety and O&M planning approach for resources-oriented wastewater treatment systems in Pune, India. In: Oral presentation at the IWA Water and Development Congress "Water Security for Sustainable Growth":

Application of the NaWaTech safety and O&M planning approach re-use oriented wastewater treatment lines at the Ordnance Factory Ambajhari, Nagpur, India

This case study describes safety and O&M planning activities carried out for the NaWaTech project site at Ordnance Factory Ambajhari.

NICOLICS, S. ; HEWITT, D. ; POPHALI, G.R. ; MASI, F. ; NAGARNAIK, P. ; PANSE, D. ; LABHASETWAR, P.K. ; MEINHOLD, K. ; LANGERGRABER, G. (2015): Application of the NaWaTech safety and O&M planning approach re-use oriented wastewater treatment lines at the Ordnance Factory Ambajhari, Nagpur, India. In: Proceedings of the 9th International Workshop "Nutrient Cycling and Retention in Natural and Constructed Wetlands":

NaWaTech Safety Planning

This template document was prepared and used during the NaWaTech project to support hazard identification and the identification of respective prevention (“control measures”) and monitoring measures as well as for starting discussions on general trouble-shooting procedures for 31 technologies and supporting equipment implemented under the NaWaTech project.

NICOLICS, S. ; LANGERGRABER, G. (2015): NaWaTech Safety Planning. Working document. In: NaWaTech project:

Compendium of Sanitation Systems and Technologies. 2nd Revised Edition

This compendium gives a systematic overview on different sanitation systems and technologies and describes a wide range of available low-cost sanitation technologies.

TILLEY, E., ULRICH L., LÜTHI, C., REYMOND P. and ZURBRÜGG C. (2014): Compendium of Sanitation Systems and Technologies. 2nd Revised Edition. Duebendorf, Switzerland: Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag) URL [Accessed: 03.05.2023] PDF

Sanitation Safety Planning. Manual for Safe Use and Disposal of Wastewater, Greywater and Excreta

This manual provides practical step-by-step guidance to assist in the implementation of the 2006 WHO Guidelines for Safe Use of Wastewater, Excreta and Greywater in Agriculture and Aquaculture

WHO (2016): Sanitation Safety Planning. Manual for Safe Use and Disposal of Wastewater, Greywater and Excreta. Geneva (Switzerland): World Health Organisation (WHO). URL [Accessed: 28.03.2019] PDF
Further Readings

NaWaTech Safety Planning

This template document was prepared and used during the NaWaTech project to support hazard identification and the identification of respective prevention (“control measures”) and monitoring measures as well as for starting discussions on general trouble-shooting procedures for 31 technologies and supporting equipment implemented under the NaWaTech project.

NICOLICS, S. ; LANGERGRABER, G. (2015): NaWaTech Safety Planning. Working document. In: NaWaTech project:
Case Studies

Application of the NaWaTech safety and O&M planning approach for resources-oriented wastewater treatment systems in Pune, India

This case study describes safety and O&M planning activities carried out for SBR and MBR systems at a NaWaTech project site in Amanora Park Town Pune and for the NaWaTech project site at COEP Campus Pune involving anaerobic treatment in combination with Vertical Flow Constructed Wetlands.

NICOLICS, S. ; EDATHOOT, A. ; PATWARDHAN, N. ; STARIBACHER, E. ; MASI, F. ; CABALLERO, A. ; PANSE, D. ; LABHASETWAR, P.K. ; MEINHOLD, K. ; LANGERGRABER, G. (2015): Application of the NaWaTech safety and O&M planning approach for resources-oriented wastewater treatment systems in Pune, India. In: Oral presentation at the IWA Water and Development Congress "Water Security for Sustainable Growth":

Application of the NaWaTech safety and O&M planning approach re-use oriented wastewater treatment lines at the Ordnance Factory Ambajhari, Nagpur, India

This case study describes safety and O&M planning activities carried out for the NaWaTech project site at Ordnance Factory Ambajhari.

NICOLICS, S. ; HEWITT, D. ; POPHALI, G.R. ; MASI, F. ; NAGARNAIK, P. ; PANSE, D. ; LABHASETWAR, P.K. ; MEINHOLD, K. ; LANGERGRABER, G. (2015): Application of the NaWaTech safety and O&M planning approach re-use oriented wastewater treatment lines at the Ordnance Factory Ambajhari, Nagpur, India. In: Proceedings of the 9th International Workshop "Nutrient Cycling and Retention in Natural and Constructed Wetlands":
Training Material

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