African water benefits from standards

Water Senegal (Sénégalaise Des Eaux – SDE) – now a reference in Africa – provides drinking water to a population of five million, giving Senegalese better access to potable water. Standards have allowed SDE to meet the needs of the Senegalese people for safe, clean and reliable water, increasing customer satisfaction in the process.

By implementing management standards, such as ISO 9001 for quality management and ISO 14001 for environmental management, the company was able to streamline its drinking water services and increase the quality of its water, which has reached a potability level of 99.1 %.

Mamadou Dia, the company’s CEO, elaborates: “The customer demanded adequate water supplies. Then once that need was met, they asked for quality of service. Even today, we regularly imagine the different avenues we would need to explore to ensure that the high quality of our service is maintained and customers are satisfied.”

ISO standards, used in concert with occupational health standards and some national standards, have served to improve the overall efficiency of the water utility’s business operations. What’s more, by ensuring positive health and safety conditions for its employees and suppliers, SDE has successfully reduced the number of work-related accidents – a surefire route to a better performing company.

Article & Image Reference: ISOfocus