Deploying a regional control centre model

Improving wastewater treatment compliance and regulatory standards by improving operational controls and standardising ways of working. 

Insights that Reson8

• Performance – EA rating improved from 3 stars to 4  
• Reducing Risk – Reduced the volume of repeat asset failures by 17%
• Improved Response Times – Reduced the volume of ‘out of hours’ callouts by 13% 

Challenge

The business operated with multiple regional control centres, each developing its own organisational structures, capabilities, and processes. Our client was looking to consolidate the number of control centres and standardise ways of working to ensure consistency and improve performance.

They had attempted to implement the change but encountered fierce resistance from frontline management, employees, and the union. Our client needed support to win the team’s hearts and minds, implement the new operating model and improve their ways of working.

Frontline managers were particularly resistant to the change. They perceived that it would result in a loss of operational ‘control’ while they retained full accountability for managing compliance.

Solution

• Used the analysis from a diagnostic assessment of the current model to create a ‘case for change’ critically addressing the issues for frontline managers and their teams.
• Agreed to pilot new ways of working in a region, enabling us to test the new ways of working, adapt processes and assess the impact of the change to ‘prove concept’.
• The pilot established a principle of ‘Freedom with a Framework’ that local managers could adopt to meet their local needs while operating within a common framework.
• The pilot area management team evaluated the impact of the trial using pre- and post-trial performance data.
• We used the pilot area and their team to ‘sell’ the principle of new ways of working. They hosted teams from other regions to share their experiences and the impact on performance.

Results

The new regional control centre model was deployed across the whole function, with the support of the frontline managers and their teams. This included a set of new ways of working, standard role designs and changes to role accountabilities.

The performance management systems across the areas were standardised, with a common set of KPIs. This enabled senior leaders to identify best practices and benchmark across areas to drive continuous improvement.

We deployed visual controls of ‘at risk’ assets to ensure managers had the most up-to-date view of risk to enable them to make more effective and timely decisions.

If you would like to know more about our experiences, please email dean.wheeler@reson8.group.