If you're looking to be the best then benchmark against the best. For municipal wastewater operations the most competitive combination of cost and performance is typically achieved by private contract operations firms who must compete to win and keep O&M contracts every year. The true benchmark for any wastewater system is a firm, fixed-price, guaranteed proposal for contract operation of the system. Sometimes this is not practical or desireable, and it is certainly inappropriate to requrest proposals if there is no intention of selecting an operator and proceeding with a contract.

For a municipality considering contracting out their O&M, or looking for practical approaches to becoming more efficient, it may be helpful to get an independent evaluation first of what approaches a private firm would use to operate your system more efficiently. Conducted interactively with your operators and managers, and culminating in a review and challenge session with staff, this can provide information for an improvement effort from within, or help design the most effective RFP for contract operations services.

Some 90% to 95% of Public-Private Partnerships (contract operations) within the water and wastewater field are successful. However, if you're looking to improve performance of your partnership, are preparing for contract renewal, or considering a change in operators, then an Owner-Operator Audit may be a good idea. Reviewing performance from both perspectives, assessing the strengths, weaknesses and improvement opportunities for the current contract, offers the potential to greatly improve overall partnership effectiveness, enhance communications and trust, or set the stage for an optimal renewal and or competitive procurement process going forward. Working with an independent consultant/facilitator, experienced in public-private partnerships, and knowledgeable of water/wastewater systems may be helpful and even pay for itself many times over.