As the State's implementing arm for large-scale infrastructure and development projects, the Public Works Authority plays a vital role when it comes to the circular economy, protecting the environment and treating sewage water as it provides essential services to both consumers and businesses.
Despite the increase of 51% in Qatar's population over the last decade, Ashghal's data shows that there has been a significant decrease of 82% when it comes to Drainage Network Operation and Maintenance (DNOM) complaints, with complaints registered within Assets Affairs, falling from 16,522 as of 2013 to 2,995 by the end of 2023.
Eng. Khalid Ahmad Al Obaidli, Drainage Network Operation and Maintenance Department Manager shed the lights on the achievements and said: “Within ten years, the infrastructure network expanded by 180%, from 2,836 km in 2013 to 7,953 km in 2023. We have developed cutting-edge drainage systems, expanded the highway drainage, and established contemporary, effective treatment plants with vast capacities. These changes showed a progress in both responsiveness quality and time, exceeding customers' expectations while delivering first-rate customer service.
Optimising Operations and Prompt Customer Responsiveness
In the North Catchment Zone, notable advancements have been made in terms of customer service responsiveness and resolution times, including complaints related to weather-related incidents.
In the same token, Eng. Abdullah Mohamad Al Komah, Head of Doha North Catchment Zone commented: “These advancements can be attributed to several factors, such as optimized operational organization, strict adherence to maintenance plans and schedules, collaborative efforts among network teams, efficient scheduling, process optimization, and the introduction of new inspection tools."
As a result, there has been a significant development as Ashghal has met the initial response rate and demonstrated a 99.6% improvement. During the past 18 months, the TSE complaints average response time was 35mn and 49mn for other types of complaints, while all complaints were resolved within 1h 34mn, on average.
On another note, Eng. Thani Ali Al Khulaifi, Head of Emergency and Customer Service Section at DNOM, said: "We are constantly looking for innovative ways to modify and advance our technology, as well as our infrastructure, to make our customer services and operations more resilient to unanticipated events. Our complaint response rate increased by 99.9% and complaint resolved rate by 99.4%, except for the complaints related to rainy season."
Significant Numbers Resulting from the Grease Traps Campaign
Following Ashghal's successful awareness campaign, significant improvement was observed in the targeted areas with the highest number of complaints with blockages, after several local and non-local restaurants installed, and routinely maintained grease traps increased by 53% during the most recent inspection cycle done by customer service team in DNOM alongside with our partners from PFC (Primary Framework Contractors). This is presented as a milestone compared to the results of the inspection cycle that was implemented prior to the campaign.
The campaign that was launched in 2018-2023 was very effective and emphasized how grease traps should be installed, used, cleaned, and maintained to protect the drainage network and ensure its sustainability.
The overall compliance of a total of 2,973 restaurants and commercial kitchens resulted in lowering the amounts of fats, oils, grease, and solid organic waste that leaked into the local drainage system causing several interruptions within the network operational cycle.
Sharp Decline in House Connection Sewer Blockage Complaints
In keeping with the success of customer service, and as a result of continuous monitoring of the wastewater system, a significant drop of 64% has been demonstrated in customer complaints, which decreased from 3,416 complaints received over the previous four years to 1,240 complaints in 2023.
Moreover, house connection blockages have been reduced by 26% this year compared to 2022 due to the continuous assessment of the root causes and the efficient functionality of the blockage wastewater system.
The following are the percentages of the complaints drops in 2023 compared to 2019:
- 59% decrease in DNOM complaints
- 72% decrease in FOG blockage complaints
- 46% decrease in Flooding complaints
- 62% decrease in Rag Blockage/ Foreign objects complaints
How Ashghal's Assets Affairs deal with Customer Complaints?
Ashghal Assets Affairs prioritizes customer centricity and has committed to taking proactive measures. Their top priority is handling consumer complaints received via media, social media, the customer service hotline 188, and the Ashghal 24/7 application.
After receiving complaints, their tasks zeroed on responding to all inquiries, dispatching specialized teams to inspect and investigate various locations, managing complex and ordinary queries, and lastly, implementing immediate solutions. Further, they integrate digitally customer complaints data, calls and SMS, location photos and plans for historical and future referencing. By implementing agile and multipurpose strategies and a long-term roadmap in response to customer complaints, the offered services have shown a heightened improvement.