Human resources are one of the most important assets of water utilities (WUs), being responsible for assuring systems management and playing an important role in the tacit forms of organizational knowledge. In organizations with responsibility for managing extensive, diverse infrastructure with long life-cycles, with adequate service and acceptable risk levels, knowledge transfer between peers should be assured to maintain a stable human resources framework. In WUs, strategic asset management should include the long-term planning of human resources alongside urban water infrastructure assets, to ensure service sustainability. Based on these assumptions and driven by the legal obligations in developing infrastructure asset management plans, Administração e Gestão de Sistemas de Salubridade, S.A. (AGS) created and implemented a novel personnel aging index (PAI) with the main goal of evaluating the human resources framework, including employee ages and professional categories, and the remaining time needed to transfer knowledge to new members of staff. This paper describes AGS' approach to human resources management under the asset management policy and PAI's formulation. A case study with 10 AGS WUs is presented, aiming to evaluate their teams' maturity level and allowing comparison between WUs.

The aim of this research is assessment of the relationship between the adoption of social responsibility practices and the performance of the water sector companies. The complexity of challenges in the water sector means that innovative solutions are required, in the manner businesses are conducted and operated. In order to integrate sustainability into business companies, this investigation identifies performance indicators that recognise the main difficulties facing the water industry and contributes to define strategies sustainability for these companies, since the water market and the inherent value of water as a public good embrace all stakeholders. On the other hand, the financial crisis introduces in society, in general, the demand for greater interest on practices of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR); for this reason, the authors defend the implementation of CSR strategies to get sustainable success in the water sector.

Infrastructure asset management (IAM) gave a step forward in Portuguese water utilities due to recent legal obligations in developing IAM plans. An effort was made by AGS (Administração e Gestão de Sistemas de Salubridade, S.A.), private operator in 17 water utilities, to achieve a higher level of managing data. Data management was an important hurdle to be overcome in order to accurately assess performance indicators. An appropriate bridge to be made is the link between IAM methodological processes and current operational management; this link is crucial when alternative solutions are defined in the planning stage and decisions need to be made. In the past, through continuously hydraulic modelling collaborative projects, AGS achieved sufficient maturity in several processes, such as (a) update network maps, (b) link geographical information system with other information systems, and (c) profiling consumption demand. Nowadays, concerns related with energy savings are gaining importance; concepts as energy efficiency, reducing carbon footprint and gas emissions should be followed. This paper describes an approach to energy assessment in a real water distribution system, where performance indicators associated with energy efficiency were computed for three different operational alternatives. Results considering a balance between cost and performance dimensions were assessed.

No abstract

No abstract