Operation and Maintenance

Effective O&M are crucial to prevent system failures, maintain public health and prolong the lifespan of sanitation infrastructure. Countless projects around the world demonstrate how newly built sanitation infrastructure, such as faecal sludge treatment plants and shared latrines, quickly deteriorate because appropriate O&M is neglected. O&M ultimately contributes to the provision of safe and sustainable sanitation services to communities.

O&M refers to all the regular activities needed in any sanitation intervention, except for the construction of new facilities. The overall aim of O&M is to ensure the efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability of sanitation facilities (CASTRO 2009). It includes the routine or periodic tasks required to keep a process or system functioning according to its performance requirements and to minimise delays, repairs or downtime. Many interventions fail due to the lack of appropriate O&M. Therefore O&M activities are considered throughout the project cycle, to ensure that the project is sustainable in the long-term.

O&M activities (which encompass not only technical issues but also managerial, social, financial and institutional issues) must be directed towards the elimination or reduction of the major constraints which prevent the achievement of sustainability (BRIKKE 2000). O&M is a crucial element of sustainability and a frequent cause of the failure of sanitation service facilities in the past. Many failures are not technical ones. They may result from poor planning, inadequate cost recovery, or the outreach inadequacies of centralised agencies (DFID 1998). If O&M of WASH services is not prioritised by humanitarian actors, infrastructure may deteriorate quickly and the affected population may lose access to facilities that serve their basic needs (EUROPEAN COMMISSION 2014).

The two activities of “operation” and “maintenance” are very different. Operation refers to the direct access to the system by the user, to the activities of any operational staff (e.g. operators of motorised pumps) and to the rules or by-laws which may be devised to govern who may access the system, when, and under what conditions. Maintenance, on the other hand, refers to the technical activities (planned or reactive) which are needed to keep the system working. Maintenance requires skills, tools and spare parts (CARTER 2009). Maintenance can be classified as follows (adapted from CASTRO 2009):

Preventive maintenance: includes work that is planned and carried out regularly to maintain and keep the infrastructure in good condition, such as network inspection, cleaning and greasing of mechanical parts and replacement of items with a limited lifespan. It sometimes includes minor repairs and replacement as dictated by the routine examinations.

Corrective maintenance: replacing or repairing something that was done incorrectly or that needs to be changed; an example is the reallocation of a pipe route or replacement of a faulty pump.

Reactive maintenance: a reaction to a crisis or public complaints; it normally occurs as a result of failures and the malfunctioning or breakdown of equipment.

To ensure the routine maintenance and health of the system, the technician should adhere to a routine check-up schedule and the project manager must ensure that the technician is doing his/her job. If done correctly and regularly, preventive measures can reduce the risk of costly repairs. The key to ensuring effective equipment maintenance is to make sure that responsibilities are clearly defined and maintenance personnel have the tools and skills to do their job effectively. It is also essential to schedule preventive maintenance.

To ensure long-term access and good standards of sanitation services in emergency settings, it is essential to Plan for O&M. The responsibility for O&M activities can be coordinated between local governments, sanitation service providers, WASH committees and representatives from the affected population. Community Mobilisation can be an important factor in improving the provision of services and encouraging participation in O&M. Additionally, Monitoring is vital to flag problems and to direct and prioritise future O&M activities. Budgeting for O&M should form an integral part of project planning. To properly plan for O&M activities and inspections, daily, monthly and long-term work plans need to be developed along with a clear procedure for reporting gaps or problems with the sanitation infrastructure to the service provider (UNHCR 2015).

Operational plans for infrastructure, in particular for faecal sludge treatment plants, need to be defined in Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). SOPs are written instructions that cover all tasks.  Additionally, a set of common roles and responsibilities for O&M administration, coordination and management should be created, agreed upon and then communicated to humanitarian staff, partners, local government and the WASH committees (UNHCR 2015). It is recommended that experts with experience in long-term O&M are invited to provide recommendations on the sanitation facility design, liaise with the affected population and identify O&M concerns (UNHCR 2015). Beneficiaries such as refugees, IDPs and other stakeholders should participate in the design process. They will be more likely to feel a sense of ownership over the facilities if they were involved in the conception and design phase. An Exit Strategy must always be planned and implemented to allow the community to take over and operate and maintain facilities after humanitarian actors reduce or end their assistance (EUROPEAN COMMISSION 2014).