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Self‐Assessment Puts Quality Back on Track
Author(s) -
Jeffress Heather B.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
opflow
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1551-8701
pISSN - 0149-8029
DOI - 10.1002/j.1551-8701.2005.tb01795.x
Subject(s) - restructuring , strengths and weaknesses , process (computing) , key (lock) , quality (philosophy) , process management , public relations , track (disk drive) , engineering management , service (business) , business , engineering , knowledge management , operations management , computer science , political science , marketing , computer security , psychology , mechanical engineering , social psychology , philosophy , finance , epistemology , operating system
This article describes the Bedford County Public Service Authority (BCPSA), a midsized water utility located in Virginia, and its participation in AWWA's QualServe program. BCPSA conducted the self‐assessment survey in February 2003 and presented the self‐assessment report to the staff in April 2003, which identified the utility's strengths and opportunities for improvement. In September 2003, a peer review was conducted by a team who represented utilities that had previously participated in the program. The process did not discover any faults or weaknesses that were not already known; rather, it corroborated the weaknesses and helped identify a mission and direction for the organization. The most important key to implementing changes was top‐level buy‐in. The article discusses the comprehensive organizational restructuring that improved its internal communications, an electronic call‐out system, and the incorporation of drawings and survey data of as‐built documents to BCPSA's system, which all helped the utility respond to growth demands.