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Establishing Service Levels—the Driving Force of a Utility
Author(s) -
Urquhart Tony P.,
Sklar David C.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
journal ‐ american water works association
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.466
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1551-8833
pISSN - 0003-150X
DOI - 10.1002/j.1551-8833.2005.tb10791.x
Subject(s) - service (business) , risk analysis (engineering) , process management , asset (computer security) , service level , business , service management , computer science , level of service , operations management , operations research , marketing , transport engineering , engineering , computer security , supply chain , supply chain management
This article discusses the ultimate objective of good utility management: achieving desired service levels within defined cost and business constraints. The article defines service levels as the performance goals of the utility, and as such they serve as the driving force of a utility. Four basic categories of service levels are discussed, along with establishing achievable service; obtaining senior‐level commitment; assessing and prioritizing business drivers; analyzing current capabilities, performance, and requirements; defining measures and setting targets; continuous measurement and improvement; and, using service levels to guide asset management.