| 4. In which ways is the initiative creative and innovative?
|
|
In pushing forward its pipe mapping preparation in GIS through the Wmap 9.12 application, PWA has formulated strategies in each volume of its master plan on GIS development project, from volume 1 to 3 (2002 – 2011), by defining such significant factors leading to an implementation as a work plan, budget, workforce, including the transfer of strategy to implementation through the balanced scorecard (BSC) system.
PWA has started its pipeline mapping project in the geographic information system (GIS) since fiscal year 2002. In this regard, all 233 PWA branches’ staff concerned have been assigned to prepare the pipeline mapping, while staff of PWA Regional Offices 1 – 10, through their Pipeline Map Section, have been assigned to support, monitor and provide training on how to use the application to all the branches’ staff so that the latter can apply knowledge gained from the training to an improvement of pipeline maps.
In the implementation plan, GIS data has been collected and the system installed, while the training on how to use the new application has been offered to PWA branches’ staff across the country, beginning with 1 branch per PWA regional office in the first year to 2 branches per regional office in the second year. From then on, staff of more branches have been trained until all 233 PWA branches have been covered. Nevertheless, due to a constant review and revision of PWA GIS master plan, an implementation and installation of the system (Application) was fully covered in 2009, including an introduction of the modern management strategy that is popular worldwide like the balanced scorecard (BSC), which is the management and assessment system for an entire agency, not only an evaluation system but the determination of an agency’s vision and strategic plan prior to a transfer to all its departments for an implementation, making each staff member of all departments have an obvious operating direction and the same goal.
Concerning the determination of key performance index (KPI) for an evaluation of PWA branches’ accurate and real-time GIS data preparation, there are 3 indicators, namely, 1.distribution pipelines, 2.water consumers (Customers) and 3.pipe repair points, apart from a monthly and quarterly report on data preparation consequences submitted to PWA regional offices 1-10 and PWA geographic information division at the headquarters as defined so that the GIS data collected will be used to develop and modify the application, aimed at an accurate and real-time preparation of pipeline mapping, as defined in the project objective.
|
|
| 5. Who implemented the initiative and what is the size of the population affected by this initiative?
|
|
As for the project’s stakeholders, there are many people involved, both inside and outside PWA, which include the following.
Stakeholders in PWA
1. PWA’s top management, as ones who define PWA vision and strategies in the balanced scorecard to cover all aspects of implementation, whether they are finance, customers, internal work processes as well as learning and growth.
2. The geographic information division at PWA headquarters is the central work unit responsible for supervising and controlling the overall operation so that it goes in compliance with the defined plan, through an allocation of budget to PWA regional offices in order to procure necessary tools and equipment for PWA branches under their supervision, besides making an analysis of appropriate workforce for the project to fulfill its goal.
3. PWA regional offices 1 – 10, through their pipeline map section and geographic information technicians, take charge of arranging for and installing the system, apart from transferring knowledge by providing training on how to use the application to PWA branches’ staff throughout the country.
4. 233 PWA’s branches, through their service and non-revenue water control section, arrange for their staff for the training on how to use the application with respect to pipeline mapping and an application of their knowledge to the customer service process.
Stakeholders outside PWA
1. Pitney Bowes Software Inc. is a company developing the MapBasic language program, which is a freeware used by PWA to develop the application.
2. Service users/customers/communities obtain a better service owing to accurate data and higher service standard.
3. The government and private agencies/industries concerned may apply the concept derived from this project to their missions.
4. Society/country has a better quality of life due to higher quality of infrastructure.
|
| 6. How was the strategy implemented and what resources were mobilized?
|
|
For the development of this project, PWA has spent its financial, technical and personnel resources, which are described below.
Financial resources
As to the development of both versions of the application, there have been no expenses on the application development (Additional to staff’s salary) because PWA’s work teams are people responsible for a study and development of the project through PWA’s support on budget, tools and equipment required, in conformity with its policy of promoting and inventing innovations within the agency and developing it toward a learning organization to develop staff’s potential, for instance, offering training courses both inside and outside PWA. This stems from the fact that PWA’s water service is mostly carried out in rural areas while the scope of work is across the country. PWA thus focuses on supporting a simple invention or innovation but truly useful for an implementation, which is mostly found to have a low investment cost and help develop PWA’ s staff’s service performance.
Technical resources
1. Domestic materials and instruments such as 10 sets of computers and accessories.
2. Materials and instruments outside the country such as MapBasic language program (Freeware of Pitney Bowes Software Inc.)
Personnel resources
1. 3 PWA’s programmers.
2. 7 PWA’s program testers.
|
|
| 7. Who were the stakeholders involved in the design of the initiative and in its implementation?
|
|
Apart from fulfilling its major goal in using the application to do pipeline mapping and raising the potential of the service quality generation process living up to customers’ expectation, there are 5 other factors pushing the project toward its defined target, as listed below.
1. PWA’ management’s strategic formulation aimed at efficient achievements through an apparent work system and work process allowing for a transfer to an implementation.
2. PWA’s staff’s concerted effort, which has a clear division of duties, creating the development of staff skills in each part and their higher capability.
3. There has been commitment of all PWA’s project stakeholders throughout the project implementation period, contributing to a strong collaboration in pushing forward the project and stakeholders’ pride in taking part in organizational development.
4. Steps of performance in GIS data inputting can be reduced, for example, data calculated by the number of mouse clicks per record to create a pipe map in GIS, decrease on overage to 72 times per record inputting.
5. PWA’s operators have more knowledge and understanding of their operation of pipeline mapping in GIS. Based on a survey in 2013, it is found that 88.52 % of PWA’s staff are satisfied with the pipeline mapping using the Wmap 9.12 application for their operation.
|
|
| 8. What were the most successful outputs and why was the initiative effective?
|
|
Since the properties of the application have been defined to cover all aspects, whether they are system/software development life cycle (SDLC) or the transfer of project operation to continuous operation as a regular work, in the pipeline mapping, the application has therefore been designed to be able to make a monthly and quarterly report in order to follow up the consequence of PWA branches’ GIS data preparation in line with the key performance index (KPI) defined.
The evaluation criteria of GIS data have been defined in 3 areas listed below.
1.1 Distribution pipelines – The real-time data amount is derived from fixed assets incurred by pipe installation for water sale area extension project or installation of new pipes to replace old ones project.
1.2 Water consumers (Customers) - The real-time data amount is received from a report on a monthly increase in the number of people requesting for water supply service whose water meters have been newly installed, in customer database.
1.3 Pipe repair points - The real-time data amount is obtained from a report on a pipe repair.
Samples of quarterly reports on operation consequence from PWA branches’ GIS system.
2.1 The amount of inputting pipeline data (Meter) quarters 1 – 4 = 28,043 37,264 37,225 and 28,850 meters, respectively.
2.2 The amount of inputting water meter data (Set) quarters 1 – 4 = 274 637
1,071 and 1,230, respectively.
2.3 The amount of inputting pipe repair point data (Point) quarters 1- 4 = 381, 340 280 and 387, respectively.
For a comparison to assess the inputting of GIS data to find whether it is accurate and real-time or not, a comparison between the amount of data input in the GIS system in all 3 aspects and the real-time data based on a report on 3 aspects of evaluation criteria referred to above is made. The evaluation result will be presented as a GIS operation report to PWA’s management as defined.
Based on previous statistics in 2013, it reveals that the average value, in each quarter, of the number of PWA branches that can input accurate and real-time GIS data has steadily risen to 95.61% of the total branches.
|
|
| 9. What were the main obstacles encountered and how were they overcome?
|
|
PWA has started GIS pipeline mapping project since 2002, which is a new knowledge body. It is also a transfer of pipeline mapping role and duty of PWA regional office’s pipeline map section to 233 PWA branches’ service and NRW control section because the latter’s staff operate in water distribution areas and thus are well and swiftly informed of changing GIS data and are more appropriate to the job of revising pipeline map data so that it is accurate, complete and real-time. However, due to the branches’ staff lack of basic knowledge of GIS and computer skills, apart from having regular heavy duties in providing services to water consumers, making the branches’ staff unable to fully and continuously learn and practice the skills of pipeline mapping, resulting in GIS data’s incoherence with the data structure designed and accumulated outstanding workload that has not been input to the system.
To overcome the impediments referred to above, PWA has expanded its workforce who has knowledge of GIS, in the position of geographic information technicians, and is assigned to disseminate knowledge of as well as take care and maintain the GIS system. As far as this matter is concerned, PWA allocates the workforce to its geographic information division (A central unit for GIS at PWA headquarters), the pipeline map sections at PWA regional offices and PWA large-scale branches which have a large number of customers and spacious service areas. Subsequently, PWA’s geographic information technicians have played a significant role in development of the application, and design of the curriculum for training of civil engineers or technicians of branches’ staff, including follow-up plan for work system and suggestions for problem solution, both technically and academically, so that all PWA branches are able to do the accurate, consistent and real-time pipeline mapping.
|