Engineering and manufacturing

Water operations manager - Clean water treatment

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Manage the processes and assets that are essential for water production, waste water recycling, waste water recycling network or clean water

Summary

This occupation is found in the water industry. Water operations managers typically work for water companies regulated by the Water Services Regulation Authority (Ofwat). They may also work for companies that subcontract to regulated water companies. These organisations range in size from small to large and are responsible for providing water and sewerage services to homes and businesses in their area. Water operations managers may find themselves working in a range of facilities across different process areas and with a diverse range of assets, covering responsibility for an aspect of water treatment and distribution from source to recycling. For example, they may work on assets or processes in clean water treatment plants or water recycling (waste water) treatment plants alternatively, they may work on the clean water or sewerage network, or assets located on the network. This is a highly regulated industry so water operations managers need manage the processes, systems or assets they are responsible for in line with health and safety legislation and regulatory requirements. Failure to do so could lead to health or environmental concerns that affect their colleagues, customers or the wider community. This is a core and options apprenticeship proposal. An apprentice must be trained in the core and one option. The options are: Clean water network, water collection network, clean water treatment and waste water recycling.

The broad purpose of the occupation is to manage all aspects of their area of responsibility, ensuring efficient and effective operation to meet business needs and targets. Optimising processes and assets to achieve efficiencies or improve safety and reliability. Water operations managers normally line manage a team working in their area of responsibility and provide operational support and response to routine operational issues and non-routine emergencies or incidents. They carry out operational planning to ensure required people and resources are available where they are required. The water industry requires continued operation 24 hours a day, 365 days a year so water operations managers work shifts and an on-call rota to ensure that emergencies and incidents have an effective, efficient response whenever they occur. That could involve helping to maintain a supply for customers or mitigating the impact of a pollution or leakage incident. The assets and processes themselves are diverse so the role could involve working at height or working in a confined space depending on where the assets are located. Water operations managers usually require a driving licence to enable them to travel between sites and provide a rapid response to out of hours incidents.

In their daily work, an employee in this occupation interacts with their direct reports and wider colleagues, including senior leaders, health and safety advisors, scientists, corporate IT and procurement teams. Water operations managers also engage with external stakeholders such as supply chain partners, contractors, regulators and auditors. They would typically report to a senior manager and usually work with minimal supervision to ensure targets that have been set and regulatory requirements for their area of responsibility are achieved.

An employee in this occupation will be responsible for ensuring health and safety, environmental and regulatory compliance for their area of responsibility. They will use data to optimise operations, and are responsible for ordering equipment and managing a budget to meet key business targets. Water operations managers are critical to UK infrastructure in that they: contribute towards the green agenda through efficient management of natural water resources and manage the impact of climate change on supply; address leakage through effective management of network and treatment assets, employ innovative new smart network technologies; contribute to the reduction of pollution incidents through addressing aging assets and effective training and management.

Typical job titles include

Knowledge, skills and behaviours (KSBs)

K1:

Core - Overview of water and wastewater industry, structure, regulators and stakeholders: Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI), Water Services Regulation Authority (OFWAT), Consumer Council for Water (CCWater), Environment Agency (EA), Health and Safety Executive (HSE), and Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) Market Operator Services Limited (MOSL) (wholesale and retail)- roles and powers.

K2:

Core - External factors impacting on water industry operations, political factors.

K3:

Core - Water operations manager responsibilities, limits of autonomy and reporting channels. Different teams and functions involved in operations and how they work together.

K4:

Core - Awareness of water industry legislative and regulatory requirements. Consequences of non-compliance. Regulatory monitoring and reporting requirements. Retail and Wholesale requirements.

K5:

Core - Awareness of water and wastewater process theory from source to recycling.

K6:

Core - Water and wastewater science. Microbiological parameters. Chemical parameters. Aesthetic parameters. Prescribed concentration or value, or legal limits. Industry target standards: how they may vary across companies.

K7:

Core - Management of water resources.

K8:

Core - Water industry management basic scientific and mathematical principles, flow, volume and pressure. Hydraulic principles.

K9:

Core - Employment law, employee rights and responsibilities, staff management policies and procedures, recruitment, performance, development, discipline, grievance. Management of health and wellbeing.

K10:

Core - Management theories, strategies for managing, motivating and developing teams and individuals, managing performance.

K11:

Core - Change management techniques and approaches.

K12:

Core - Planning, prioritising, work scheduling and time management approaches. The impact of regulatory requirements and risk.

K13:

Core - Business operation considerations: how activities may impact customers, financial constraints, ethical business practices. Customer Experience Measure (CMEX). Developer Experience Measure (DMEX). Regulatory and legislative performance measures: Guaranteed Standards Scheme (GSS) and Director General (DG) - response to written complaints (DG7).

K14:

Core - Business planning practices, resource planning and management and the impact on the work area.

K15:

Core - Performance targets, Outcome Delivery Incentives (ODIs) and objectives for operational area, how they link to business planning. Key performance indicators and monitoring approaches.

K16:

Core - Financial statements and reporting, spend profile. Budget management, forecasting and control of direct and indirect costs. Capital expenditure (Capex), Operating Expenditure (Opex) and Total Expenditure (Totex).

K17:

Core - Supply chain principles. Contractual arrangements and procurement practices. Awareness of tendering processes.

K18:

Core - Awareness of health and safety regulations relevant to the occupation and the technician's responsibilities. CDM regulations. Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH). Display Screen Equipment (DSE). Due diligence. Electricity at work regulations (EaWR). Emergency evacuation procedures. Health and Safety at Work Act – responsibilities. Isolation and emergency stop procedures. Legionella. Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations (LOLER). Lone working. Management systems of occupational health and safety ISO 45001. Manual handling. Near miss reporting. Noise regulation. Provision and use of Work Equipment Regulations (PUWER). Reporting of Injuries, Diseases, and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR). Safety equipment: guards, signage, fire extinguishers. Situational awareness. Slips, trips and falls. Types of hazards. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). Working in confined spaces. Pressure Systems Safety Regulations (PSSR). Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations (DSEAR). Security and Emergency Measure Directive (SEMD).

K19:

Core - Hygiene risks and requirements.

K20:

Core - Safe systems of work.

K21:

Core - Health and safety audits, procedures and requirements.

K22:

Core - Management of contractors and work authorisations.

K23:

Core - Water industry process safety and process risk assessments. Incidents and emergency situations (internal and external): pollution, loss of process, security, weather, and accidents: their potential impact.

K24:

Core - Water industry sustainability and environmental principles and requirements. Environment Protection Act. Requirements for managing discharges and waste, segregating for recycling or disposal. Monitoring emissions to air, land and water. Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Regulations. Water Industry National Environmental Programme (WINEP) Environmental Performance Assessment (EPA).

K25:

Core - The impact water industry operations have on the environment.

K26:

Core - Stakeholder management approaches.

K27:

Core - Communication techniques, written and non-written. Barriers to communication and how to overcome them. Adapting style to audience.

K28:

Core - Collaboration, negotiation and influencing techniques.

K29:

Core - Conflict management techniques and approaches.

K30:

Core - Technical report writing.

K31:

Core - Continuous improvement principles and techniques.

K32:

Core - Management systems and approaches. ISO9001, ISO14001, ISO18001.

K33:

Core - Internal and external quality audit requirements and approaches.

K34:

Core - Risk assessments, risk management techniques and approaches, the hierarchy of control. Method statements.

K35:

Core - Incident management and emergency response procedures. Resource and welfare management during incident response. Environmental incidents. Trigger points for escalation. Wash up sessions, lessons learnt and procedures for returning to normal operation.

K36:

Core - Contingency planning and business continuity arrangements. Provision of alternative service supplies.

K37:

Core - Asset management principles, approaches, strategies and requirements. The asset lifecycle. Asset safety, compliance and the impact of business planning. Whole life asset costing and commerciality.

K38:

Core - Maintenance strategies and the implications of non-adherence.

K39:

Core - Project management principles and techniques. Awareness of project delivery lifecycle and associated hand off points. From identified need to decommission.

K40:

Core - Manufacturer’s instructions, what they are and why they are important.

K41:

Core - Awareness of engineering standards and regulations, relevant to the occupation and manager’s responsibilities.

K42:

Core - Problem solving and fault finding techniques. Root cause analysis, diagnostic techniques and corrective action.

K44:

Core - Teamworking theories and principles.

K45:

Core - Principles of equity, diversity, and inclusion in the workplace. Unconscious bias.

K46:

Core - Documentation: methods and requirements – electronic and paper.

K47:

Core - Information technology and digital, email, digital collaboration and work sharing platforms. Word processing, spreadsheets, presentation software. Management information systems. Cyber security and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

K48:

Core - The smart network and GIS. Digital maps and plans.

K49:

Core - Data analysis techniques and reporting systems.

K50:

Core - Emerging technologies and their impact on operations.

K70:

Clean water treatment - Abstraction processes (ground and surface water) and permitting regulations. Licenced Abstraction Rates (LARS) and SWORPS returns. MCERTS. How processes affect compliance with permits. What each permit is for.

K71:

Clean water treatment - Water treatment, simple groundwater to complex surface water, principles of screening, clarification, filtration and disinfection. PH correction and sludge treatment. Water distribution, boosters, pumping stations, service reservoirs and towers. Waste management

K72:

Clean water treatment - Materials in contact, Regulation 31, for example WRAS approved. Food grade lubricants. National Water Hygiene.

K73:

Clean water treatment - Water demand and yield forecasting.

K74:

Clean water treatment - Asset security requirements and procedures.

K75:

Clean water treatment - Types of maintenance: planned preventative and reactive, requirements and frequency. Asset management and maintenance schedule and planning requirements. Maintenance backlog.

K76:

Clean water treatment - Water quality requirements. Drinking water safety plans. Water quality parameters and the role of water quality alarms. Exceedance procedures. Water quality incident investigation requirements. Water quality records. Consequences of failure.

K77:

Clean water treatment - Clean water treatment engineering and mathematical principles.

K84:

Waste water recycling treatment - Operation and interrogation of SCADA system.

Technical Educational Products

: ST1453: Water operations manager - Clean water treatment (Level 4) Development stage

Reference:: OCC1453B

Status:: Occupational standard in development

SOC 2020 code:: 0

SOC 2020 sub unit groups:

S1:

Core - Identify limits of capability and responsibility and escalate issues beyond them.

S2:

Core - Ensure compliance with regulations and manage work to meet regulatory and legislative requirements.

S3:

Core - Apply scientific and mathematical principles to work tasks.

S4:

Core - Contribute to regulatory reporting.

S5:

Core - Recruit and induct team members.

S6:

Core - Identify and agree objectives and work plans with teams and individuals. Monitor progress.

S7:

Core - Manage, motivate and develop teams and individuals.

S8:

Core - Assess team and individual performance and provide feedback. Apply disciplinary and grievance procedures where necessary.

S9:

Core - Authorise work.

S10:

Core - Apply change management techniques and approaches.

S11:

Core - Plan, prioritise and schedule work tasks. Apply time management approaches.

S12:

Core - Identify processes and procedures needed for work tasks and ensure compliance.

S13:

Core - Evaluate and deploy resources with the skills required for work tasks.

S14:

Core - Identify costs and manage budget. Produce a spend profile.

S15:

Core - Interpret financial statements.

S16:

Core - Manage health and safety within own area of responsibility. Ensure health and safety policies, procedures and safe systems of work are followed.

S17:

Core - Ensure hygiene requirements are followed.

S18:

Core - Apply sustainability and environmental principles and requirements. Manage discharges and waste, ensuring segregation for disposal or recycling.

S19:

Core - Establish and maintain productive working relationships, for example with colleagues, contractors or stakeholders.

S20:

Core - Negotiate with colleagues or stakeholders.

S21:

Core - Influence others to accept suggestions or recommendations.

S22:

Core - Provide advice and information to colleagues, customers or stakeholders.

S23:

Core - Apply conflict management techniques and approaches.

S24:

Core - Complete technical reports.

S25:

Core - Diagnose faults and solve problems. Carry out root cause analysis.

S26:

Core - Use continuous improvement techniques and make recommendations.

S27:

Core - Carry out and record learning and development activities.

S28:

Core - Carry out audits and provide feedback. Make and agree recommendations. Contribute data and information to external audit reports.

S29:

Core - Contribute to the assessment of process risk and apply process safety.

S30:

Core - Mitigate health and safety risks.

S31:

Core - Evaluate the risk and impact of different options to support business decisions.

S32:

Core - Manage incident response.

S33:

Core - Ensure fit for purpose contingency plans are in place.

S34:

Core - Analyse incident response, lead a wash up session and contribute to lessons learnt. Return to normal operations.

S35:

Core - Apply asset management principles, approaches, strategies and requirements.

S36:

Core - Contribute to the analysis of maintenance strategies and make operational recommendations.

S37:

Core - Apply project management principles and techniques.

S38:

Core - Ensure engineering standards, regulations and manufacturer’s instructions are followed.

S39:

Core - Carry out investigations.

S40:

Core - Apply leadership theories and principles.

S41:

Core - Apply and promote policies and practices to support equity, diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

S42:

Core - Ensure technical documentation is completed, maintained and current.

S43:

Core - Use information technology. Follow cyber security requirements. Comply with GDPR.

S44:

Core - Collect, record and interpret internal and external data and information. Use data and information to support business decisions.

S45:

Core - Interpret digital maps and plans.

S54:

Clean water treatment - Interpret and apply permits when making operational decisions.

S55:

Clean water treatment - Contribute to the development of asset management and maintenance plans and schedules.

S56:

Clean water treatment - Ensure scheduled maintenance is completed.

S57:

Clean water treatment - Monitor maintenance backlog.

S58:

Clean water treatment - Interrogate SCADA system.

S59:

Clean water treatment - Ensure asset security requirements and procedures are applied.

S60:

Clean water treatment - Contribute to the production of water demand and yield forecasting.

Technical Educational Products

: ST1453: Water operations manager - Clean water treatment (Level 4) Development stage

Reference:: OCC1453B

Status:: Occupational standard in development

SOC 2020 code:: 0

SOC 2020 sub unit groups:

B1:

Core - Respond and adapt to work demands and situations

B2:

Core - Take personal responsibility for and promote health and safety and wellbeing.

B3:

Core - Collaborate with others for example, within teams, across disciplines, and external stakeholders, promoting inclusion.

B4:

Core - Committed to maintaining and enhancing competence of self and others through Continued Professional Development (CPD).

B5:

Core - Take responsibility for the quality of work and enable others to work to high standards. For example, decisive, self-reliant, and motivated.

Technical Educational Products

: ST1453: Water operations manager - Clean water treatment (Level 4) Development stage

Reference:: OCC1453B

Status:: Occupational standard in development

SOC 2020 code:: 0

SOC 2020 sub unit groups: