Standard Operating Procedure (SOP)
Last updated
Last updated
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The programme's scope includes rolling out the DIGIT-based FSSM platform across all the 115 ULBs of Odisha, covering 119 FSTPs, in a phased manner. The choice of the FSTPs within phases will be based on their operational readiness and the availability of TRPs in the state.
Pilot ULBs
PHASE-1 ULBs
PHASE-2 ULBs
(upcoming)
PHASE-3 ULBs
3
33
33
46
The multi-step approach that commences with go-live readiness planning across all ULBs is showcased below:
Training and capacity building is considered to be an important aspect of this rollout. The Odisha Water Academy (OWA), which has been established as a Centre of Excellence under the Water Corporation of Odisha (WATCO) and the Housing & Urban Development Department (HUDD), Government of Odisha, is playing an important role in ensuring the sustainability of the programme by taking up the training and capacity building responsibilities. The participants from the 33 ULBs of phase-1 have successfully completed the training programme held under the Odisha Water Academy (OWA) at Unnati Bhawan, Bhubaneswar, on September 20th and 21st, 2022.
Empowering the FSSM stakeholders with the knowledge of the platform, the various services that are going to be delivered through it, and its key features and functionalities, is going to be key to driving the adoption of SUJOG-FSSM at all levels of the service delivery chain. With this objective in mind, the multi-tier training structure has been designed.
It is proposed that the complete training plan and the creation of the training assets will be owned by eGov Foundation, while the master trainers for training the ULB FSSM executives and TRPs will be provided by OWA from its pool of resources with the support of eGov Foundation. These master trainers will be trained by eGov Foundation, and they will further disseminate the knowhow to ULBs, first at a central location, and then by physically visiting each of the ULBs within a cluster for refresher sessions.
eGov to onboard and train the master trainers identified by Odisha Urban Academy.
Master trainers will help in training the ULB employees with support from OWSSB and eGov during the go-live training sessions.
Master trainers will hand-hold the ULB and collect feedback from them post training.
Nominated participants from the ULBs will be trained by OWA master trainers at a central location, which would be Bhubaneswar. The training will be conducted in two batches.
The master trainers (MTs) will train the ULB nominated persons (1 nominee from each ULB and 1 technical resource person) to become field trainers in their ULBs. In turn, these field trainers will be responsible for training all the other users, that is, the ULB operators, FSTP operators, PSSO staff, etc.
After training the field trainers, MTs will be expected to conduct assessments to ensure the effectiveness of these trainers. The MTs will also inform the ULB nominees about the adoption metrics and how to track these metrics on an ongoing basis.
In case the ULBs are not able to send the participants to a central or cluster location, the OWA MTs will need to travel to each of the ULBs to conduct in-person training. All the expenses associated with such travels undertaken by the MTs will be borne by the OWA. MTs will be expected to carry their own laptops.
If the ULB nominees are traveling to a central location, the to and fro travel cost will be borne by the individual ULBs, while the stay and local commute within Bhubaneswar will be borne by the OWA.
If the ULB nominees are traveling to a district/cluster location, all the costs (travel, stay and any other expenses) will be borne by the individual ULBs.
Resource requirements (to be arranged by OWA) for central or cluster location:
Training venue/hall with computers and internet connectivity with a capacity of hosting tentatively 95-100 persons (central location).
Big screen TV.
Projector.
Refreshments and other basic amenities for trainers and trainees.
Entity
Roles and responsibilities
State FSSM PMU+ eGov team
Train to all the OWA master trainers.
Provide training material/assets in a soft format.
Post training query resolution and handholding for MTs.
Create of a training plan and calendar based on project schedule.
Attend sessions by master trainers and field trainers as observers whenever possible.
Monitor the effectiveness of the training and providing inputs for improvement.
Conduct weekly reviews with MTs to track effectiveness of the training and software adoption.
OWA
Conduct training for all the ULB FSSM executives and TRPs at a central location (Bhubaneswar), or cluster locations, or by visiting each ULB.
Collect post training feedback from the ULBs.
Refresher training for the ULB users post launch by visiting each of the ULBs or via on-line mode.
Adoption monitoring: To ensure effectiveness of the training by looking at platform usage within the ULBs and reporting the status to the FSSM-PMU on a regular basis.
Participating in weekly reviews with eGov FSSM-PMU team to track effectiveness of the training and software adoption.
Query resolution and hand-holding for the field (ULB) users regarding the usage of the software application.
Arrange training infrastructure in Bhubaneswar and at a cluster level.
Make arrangements for the travel and accommodation of the MTs.
ULBs
Nominate participants from the ULBs who would be trained by the OWA MTs.
Arrange travel and accommodation for ULB participants traveling to Bhubaneswar.
Provide training infrastructure for training which is happening within ULBs.
The process is set up with the ULBs to meet and discuss the challenges, issues and insights from experiencing the platform and field, and to share it across with fellow ULBs. It is conducted at regular intervals with the help of the eGov team and ULB nominated individuals. This call is utilised to resolve issues (L1) from and bridge the knowledge gaps, if any. L2 issues are immediately raised as JIRA tickets and assigned to the impel team for quick resolution. This weekly call for capacity building also acts as a clear communication channel directly with the team for addressing portal, knowledge, and policy level issues.
Adoption goals
Metrics
Dependency
Real-time recording of the requests
95%
1. Government holidays and Sundays: Usually no recording from the ULB side - Back entry.
2. Medical leave or absence of ULB or FSTP personnel.
3. Change of the ULB or FSTP personnel.
Recording all the requests received from the citizens
95%
Functional status of the cesspool vehicles and FSTP.
Recording the trips reaching the FSTPs every day for both registered and un-registered vehicles
95%
TRPs on holidays or leaves.
Requests are recorded from all the property types: Institutional, commercial and residential
100%
Coverage of properties.
Volume of sludge from HH to volume of sludge disposed at FSTP
100%
Currently captured as volume of the vehicle.
Recording all the requests received for all property types and sub-types
Number of tickets with zero pricing = increase in ~50 tickets per week across 36 ULBs (30% increase)
NA
UI-based management of vendor, driver, vehicle data
Reduction in the number of tickets to impel for adding/updating vendor/driver/vehicle data
If a vehicle of new capacity in added, the pricing has to be added in the backend from impel.
URC - Inclusiveness in service delivery
Increase in the number of administrative units getting access to services
URC
Rise in the number of tickets - 10 per week across ULBs from rural areas.
TQM
Percentage of plants with output quality as per benchmarks.
State to use and adopt SUJOG as a single platform for TQM as well.
Type of meeting
Mode
Duration
Agenda
Output
Chaired by
Attended by
Daily standup review (Internal)
Online
30 mins
Daily progress monitoring and issue resolution.
JIRA Tickets status
Abhisek
Program, impel, product
Engg (Need basis), eGov CC’s (Interns)
Weekly status review (internal) post go live
Online
60 min
Status review
Publishing the weekly status report
Aveek / Shrija / Abhisek
Programme team
Review of bottlenecks. Seeking executive-level intervention.
Weekly status review (External)
Online
60 min
Status review with ULBs.
Publishing the weekly status report
eGov + OWSSB + ULB executives and TRPs
Programme, impel, ULB SPOCs, eGov CC’s (interns), state TSU
Review of bottlenecks. Seeking executive-level intervention.
Bi-weekly review
Online
60 min
Status check on the progress.
Executive summary and action items to be closed within specified time
HUDD + OWSSB + Eos/COs
Programme, HUDD, OWSSB, ULB EOs, DUDA reps
(External)
Leadership interventions.
Risk assessment and mitigation.
Weekly call to review the data submitted by DUDA officials
Online
60 min
Review and correction of the data sheets submitted by the DUDA officials.
Final data sheet
EIC/Shrija/Abhisek
eGov programme team, OWSSB and DUDA officials
State handover - SUJOG integration (Weekly tracking)
Online
60 min
A gradual handover of the module to the state for integrating it with SUJOG.
Tracker
Programme team
Sushant Mishra, PwC team and eGov programme team
State handover (Weekly tracking)
Online
45 min
Gradual handover of the module to the state to drive adoption and help in issue resolution, identifying the blockers, etc.
-
Programme team
State-nominated individuals, OWSSB, eGov programme team
Weekly monitoring and support: All the state officials involved in the rollout of SUJOG-FSSM are part of weekly mentoring/monitoring sessions, which act as a channel for the ULBs to discuss insights, on-ground challenges, and issues related to the platform to obtain quick resolution. This ensures sustained adoption, resulting in over 90% of incoming requests being recorded on the platform across ULBs.
Bi-weekly reviews with ULB representatives: The EOs and COs were involved in the bi-weekly calls, which is chaired by the additional secretary and engineer-in-chief, to discuss and identify gaps in FSSM service delivery and SUJOG-FSSM adoption. Additionally, identified issues, policy change requirements, and challenges facing ULB workers were also highlighted for immediate resolution.
Learnings from the pivotal problems
The pivotal problems that were explored during the pilot phase are listed below:
eGov, in partnership with the Government of Odisha, abstracts the challenges and pivotal problems that the SUJOG-FSSM platform will address.
Broken chain of custody from waste generation to safe disposal.
Non-availability of verifiable, trusted data at various levels of aggregation to all actors.
Absence of well-defined standards for sanitation.
Stakeholder behaviour is often misaligned with safe sanitation practices.
Initial gaps in driving adoption
The initial gaps in driving adoption during the pilot phase are mentioned below:
Infrastructure gaps across ULBs.
Lack of regular monitoring and understanding the gaps in usage.
Change in personnel handling the application.
Gaps in refresher training to the ULB personnel.
Actions taken based on the learnings
The actions taken during the pilot phase and before the onset of phase-1 are listed in the below sections.
Pilot ULBs
Letters for procuring the infrastructure across all ULBs and FSTPs.
Regular monitoring of daily usage through the adoption tracker.
In-person refresher training across all ULBs.
A strong support system to resolve the issues, if any on a regular basis.
Phase-1 ULBs
Monitoring the infrastructure procurement across all ULBs and FSTPs.
Plan for hands-on-training to ULB SPOCs and employees who are going to use the application.
Adoption monitoring at all levels and a support system to resolve issues, real-time.
Recommendations for process standardisation across the state based on the ongoing engagement and field visit:
For a seamless state-wide scale up and adoption by the ULB employees and citizens, it is important to standardise processes and policies in the service delivery process. Following are the key recommendations for standardisation and steps to be taken to implement the same:
Allocating FSSM executives responsible for taking all desludging requests from the citizens: Within ULB, a single person should be made responsible for handling the FSSM requests coming from the ULBs own phone helpline/14420/walk-in citizens, and logging them into the SUJOG-FSSM platform and assigning them to desludging operators (DSOs). This person will be the designated FSSM Executive in the ULB. This person could be the sanitation dealing assistant (DA), or the single window operator or an ALF member as per the FSTP operations arrangement within the ULB. They should fulfill the following basic criteria:
- Have basic computer literacy.
- Work within the sanitation wing (FSSM) of the ULB.
- Have a sound understanding of the FSSM operations followed in the ULB.
Enabling private operators use the SUJOG-FSSM: ULBs need to ensure that all the private operators are empaneled to the ULB, and mandatorily start logging the applications in the SUJOG-FSSM portal or inform the ULB FSSM executive for each application and trip as they are using the services of the FSTP. This will bring the private operators within the ambit of the FSSM transformation and provide an oversight to the ULB administration. It will ensure that ULBs will have some oversight on the quantum of requests serviced by private operators and check any potential mishandling of sludge. The requests serviced daily can be reconciled against the number of trips at the FSTP end. For this:
- ULB EOs to issue notices to all private DSOs operating within the ULB to comply with rollout requirements (data and training) and start using the SUJOG-FSSM platform to record the requests.
- ULBs to ensure that mandatory usage of the SUJOG-FSSM platform by private DSO gets included in the licensing terms either immediately or at the time of renewal of license as per the rules of the current contract.
Standardising pricing of trips by cesspool vehicles: In phase-1 ULBs, there are certain ULBS where there are different pricing of trips by cesspool vehicles for multi-trips. For example, a ULB which has a 3,000 litre capacity of cesspool vehicle, the price of the first trip to an applicant’s location will be Rs 900 and for the second trip, it will be Rs 700. Besides, there are different pricing of the same volume of cesspool vehicles across ULBs. In case of urban-rural convergence, the pricing structure devised as of now is for panchayat areas within a certain radius (say 20 km) from the ULB boundary, and service charges include a base price plus fuel charge (say, base price is Rs 1,200 plus fuel charges @6 km per litre). Therefore, standardising the pricing of trips by cesspool vehicles will be explored.
Collation of details regarding entities where there is zero pricing: There are certain entities (such as a ULB itself, community toilets, etc.) from which no fees are collected for septic tank/pit cleaning. The same is also applicable for slums in certain ULBs. Therefore, ULBs will have a list of entities where zero pricing is there to avail cesspool cleaning services.
Streamlining and standardising the agreement between a private DSO and the ULB: Currently, there are three types of mode of operation of cesspool vehicles in ULBs that are “ULB Owned and ULB Operated”, “ULB Owned and Privately Operated” and “Privately Owned and Privately Operated”. However, in case of private DSO, there are scenarios that were explored during the phase-1 training session, which will be considered while designing/structuring the agreement of a private DSO with the ULB:
a. ULB Owned & Privately Operated:
i. Kashinagar Case:
Each trip amount is deposited by a private DSO daily at the ULB. At the end of month, a fixed amount (say Rs. 12,000) is given to the private DSO. (Cases may also arise where instead of a fixed amount, a trip-wise amount may be given to a private DSO daily or at the end of month).
ii. Khordha Case:
ULB & private agreement is done in which a private DSO pays a one-time amount (say Rs 5 lakh for 2 vehicles) to ULB for some years (say 7 years). During these 7 years, the manpower cost, and maintenance cost is taken care of by the private DSO, and it also keeps all the trip amounts with them.
b. Privately Owned & Privately Operated:
i. Angul Case:
Currently, the private DSO is taking the amount of all trips without giving any amount to the ULBs. But the ULBs are planning to send a letter to the private DSO to pay a certain amount to the ULB (at FSTP) for each trip that is being disposed of at an FSTP as the FSTP is a government property used by a private DSO.
