Creating a strategic communication plan that gathers no dust
This article argues that many organizations struggle to maintain a cohesive communication program, despite the existence of a communication plan. The problem often lies in the plan itself.
Tag:
Utilities
Establishing service levels
It's argued that, “The goal of strategic asset management is to achieve service-level targets within defined cost and risk constraints.”
Breaking organizational silos: Removing barriers to exceptional performance
This article explains that, “Water and wastewater utilities, like most organizations, are commonly organized into functional departments that tend to become organizational silos focused on achieving their own individual objectives.”
Building a successful workforce diversity program
The author states that, “From a melting pot to a salad bowl, there are many ways to describe the diversity of people that make up any large North American city. In a diverse urban workplace, different types of people can go beyond merely coexisting and, through their diversity, create exciting work environments.”
Building and sustaining human capital
Utilities have long focused on their physical infrastructures. Today’s management environment warrants growing attention to “human capital.”
Public affairs as a strategic management function
Most water utility managers don’t classify public outreach as an integral part of utility management. But, that’s an “unfortunate attitude because experience clearly demonstrates the value of devoting public outreach resources on major issues and projects early on instead of after the fact.”
Full-cost accounting for water supply and sewage treatment
It has been suggested recently that water and sewage utilities move to “full-cost” accounting as a means of addressing some of the challenges facing them. However, there are disagreements regarding how to implement this concept, and few estimates exist that show the impact of such a change.
Water reuse and recycling in Canada: A status and needs assessment
In this paper, the Canadian experience with water reuse and recycling is reviewed under five theme areas: technology; policy and regulation; research; public acceptance; and coordination. At present, water reuse and recycling in Canada is practiced on a relatively small scale and varies regionally depending on the availability of water supplies and regulatory flexibility.
Beyond greater efficiency: The concept of water soft paths
Even in “water-rich” Canada, many jurisdictions are having trouble providing adequate, clean fresh water as their populations not only grow, but also exhibit higher expectations for water availability and water safety. The conventional approach to such problems accepted the history of constantly growing demand for water and responded by extending pipelines, constructing more dams and drilling deeper.
Economic instruments and Canadian industrial water use
Water is an important input for many industrial sectors including manufacturing, mining, and energy generation. Industrial water use differs from other sectors in its high reliance on self-supplied water, the potential for internal water recycling and the possibility of use leading to diminished water quality.