&EPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Customer Complaint Surveillance Primer
For Water Quality Surveillance and Response Systems
Office of Water (MC 140)
EPA817-B-15-002C
May 2015
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Customer Complaint Surveillance Primer
Introduction
A Water Quality Surveillance and Response System (SRS) provides a systematic framework for
enhancing distribution system monitoring activities to detect emerging water quality issues and respond
before they become problems. An SRS consists of six components grouped into two operational phases,
surveillance and response. The surveillance components are designed to provide timely detection of
water quality incidents in drinking water distribution systems and include: Online Water Quality
Monitoring, Enhanced Security Monitoring, Customer Complaint Surveillance and Public Health
Surveillance. The response components include Consequence Management and Sampling & Analysis,
which support timely response actions that minimize the consequences of a contamination incident. The
Water Quality Surveillance and Response System Primer provides a brief overview of the entire system
(USEPA, 2015).
This document provides an overview of the Customer Complaint Surveillance
(CCS) component of an SRS. It presents basic information about the goals and
objectives of CCS in the context of an SRS. This primer covers the following
four topics:
• Topic 1: What is CCS?
• Topic 2: What are the major design elements of CCS?
• Topic 3: What are common design goals and performance objectives
for CCS?
• Topic 4: What are cost-effective approaches for CCS?
Topic 1: What is CCS?
CCS consists of information management systems, processes and procedures that collectively compile,
track and analyze water quality-related customer complaints indicative of a water quality incident.
Figure 1 illustrates the Funnel/Filter/Focus
surveillance approach of CCS. First, all complaints
arefunneled into one location, such as a call
management system, to ensure that complaints are
not missed. Next, water quality complaints are
filtered out from non-water quality complaints by
Customer Service Representatives (CSR) or other
water utility staff. Finally, water quality specialists
focus on the remaining complaints to assess
whether the complaints are related to a water
quality incident or to system operations, such as
main breaks or maintenance. CCS can track the
time, number and location of complaints that are
entered into call or work management systems, and
alert utility personnel of unusually high call
volumes or spatially-clustered complaints.
Figure 1. Recommended Funnel/Filter/Focus
Approach for Utility-managed Customer Calls
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Customer Complaint Surveillance Primer
Topic 2: What are the major design elements of CCS?
The major design elements for CCS are shown in Figure 2 and described under the remainder of this
topic.
Phone
Web
Information
Management
and Analysis
Algorithms Location Timing
Notification
Alert
Investigation
Procedures
Mobile Device
Figure 2. CCS Design Elements
Central Control
Center
Other Remote
Locations
Complaint Collection
A variety of methods are available to funnel all customer calls to
one point of contact. For example, a unified call center with a
widely publicized telephone number helps to ensure that the
majority of complaints are captured.
Additionally, procedures should be put in place for water quality-
related complaints that are initially received by external agencies,
such as a city-wide call center or a 311 system. These procedures
funnel calls to the CCS centralized complaint management system,
ensuring robust surveillance by accounting for all calls.
DID You KNOW?
Many utilities with CCS utilize a
311 system for complaint
collection. This allows them to
build on an existing system,
with only minor procedural
changes needed to implement
the design element.
Complaint collection has two design sub-elements:
• Communicating Water Quality Concerns: Activities implemented to ensure that customers are
aware of how to report their water quality concerns to the utility.
• Consolidating Water Quality Complaints: Systems or procedures that filter water quality
complaints to a central location, facilitating timely and efficient data analysis.
Information Management and Analysis
A key requirement of CCS is the ability to systematically track water quality complaints from receipt to
closure. Existing customer complaint processes used by a utility can typically be leveraged to develop a
CCS information management and analysis system. One of the most important decisions when
implementing CCS is determining which datastreams should be incorporated. Most of the CCS tracking
mechanisms work behind the scenes, limiting interference with day-to-day operations. Complaints are
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Customer Complaint Surveillance Primer
continuously analyzed for information indicative of a water quality incident in the distribution system,
such as an unusually high numbers of calls or clustering of complaint locations. CCS information
management and analysis has six design sub-elements:
• Complaint Descriptive Data and Categories: Capture and categorize complaint descriptions
for the purpose of data analysis and alert investigations.
• Detecting Abnormally High Complaint Volumes: Develop processes to identify complaint
volumes attributable to a significant change in water quality.
• Timeliness of Detection: Ensure data is reviewed with sufficient regularity to identify potential
water quality incidents as they develop.
• Establishing Thresholds: Develop alerting thresholds that are insensitive to normal variation in
call volume, yet low enough to detect potential water quality incidents.
• Spatial Clustering Analysis: Use spatial analysis to determine whether an unusually high
volume of calls is clustered, and to determine the area of the distribution system impacted by a
possible water quality incident.
• Alert Notifications: Develop reliable processes for informing utility personnel when alerting
thresholds are exceeded.
CCS can take advantage of existing information management
systems used in a typical call management process by filtering
water quality-related complaints. Utilities without formal call
management systems or software may still reap the benefits of
CCS by: 1) streamlining the manner in which water quality-
related complaints are managed, and by 2) instituting frequent
checks of the number of water quality-related calls received
overtime.
DID YOU KNOW?
Many utilities with CCS modified
their existing data management
systems by establishing water
quality-related complaint categories
and then tracking the resolution of
these complaints through their
customer service process.
Water quality-related customer complaint data that is collected should be analyzed in a timely manner for
conditions indicative of a water quality incident in the distribution system. This involves identifying
when the total number of water quality-related complaints is unusual compared to an established baseline.
The anomaly detection process can be automated using simple counting algorithms, which automatically
track the number of calls over a defined period of time. When the number of calls exceeds a pre-
determined threshold value, an alert is generated and utility personnel notified.
If spatial data is available, the frequency of complaints within hydraulically related areas, such as pressure
zones or service areas, can also be evaluated. In addition, mapping the location of complaints can
highlight clustering, which focuses investigation and response actions.
An example of a detection timeline is illustrated in Figure 3. The
delay times for detection shown in the middle row provide a sense of
how quickly CCS data is available. For this example, data is
extracted from existing call and work management data systems and
analyzed in near real time (every 15 minutes or less) using a simple
counting algorithm. Upon generation of an alert, notifications are
sent to investigators using an existing email server.
DID YOU KNOW?
USEPA's SRS Program has
published a Threshold Analysis
Tool that performs statistical
analysis of complaint data to
guide the development of
threshold values.
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Customer Complaint Surveillance Primer
Person perceives
change(s) in drinking
water characteristics
Customer
calls utility
CSR identifies
water-quality
issue and creates
work order
Event detection
algorithm
analyzes data
Alert generated;
notification sent
to investigator
Delay
Data
System
5 minutes
Call
Management
System
15 minutes
Work
Management
System
Mear
real-time
Utility
server
Mear
real-time
Email
server
Figure 3. Example of a CCS Detection Timeline
Alert Investigation Procedures
CCS alerts need to be promptly investigated by utility personnel to determine whether the alerts can be
explained by known factors, such as distribution system work near the area of the complaint locations.
Example steps performed during CCS alert investigations are described below.
1. A CCS investigation begins following receipt of an alert, signifying an anomaly in one or more
CCS datastreams.
2. Utility personnel use a CCS alert investigation checklist to guide them through a predetermined
procedure to determine if the complaints are related to a water quality incident in the distribution
system.
3. If it is determined the alert is not related to a water quality incident in the distribution system, the
investigation is closed and logged.
4. If a water quality incident cannot be ruled out, the investigation continues according to
procedures in the drinking water utility's Consequence Management Plan.
Topic 3: What are common design goals and performance objectives
for CCS?
The design goals and performance objectives established for CCS by the utility provide the basis for the
design of an effective component.
CCS Design Goals
Design goals are the specific benefits that utilities expect to achieve by implementing CCS. A
fundamental design goal of an SRS is the ability to detect and respond to water quality anomalies in the
distribution system. In addition to this fundamental SRS design goal, other CCS-specific design goals
such as improving the level of customer service can be realized. Examples of common CCS design goals
are listed in Table 1.
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Customer Complaint Surveillance Primer
Table 1. Examples of Common CCS Design Goals
Design Goal
Detect water contamination
Monitor the impact of system
operations on customers
Increase the level of customer
service
Improve the response to water
quality complaints
Description
CCS provides an early indicator of water contamination which may
impact the health of customers or utility infrastructure.
Some utility operations, such as changing sources and chlorine feed
levels, can impact the aesthetics of the drinking water. CCS can alert
the utility if these changes are noticed by customers.
CCS can alert the utility to distribution issues, such as main breaks,
through customer complaints. This can reduce utility response time
while providing the latest information to CSRs receiving customer
complaints.
Developing CCS procedures can streamline and standardize a utility's
decision-making process when investigating customer water quality
complaints.
CCS Performance Objectives
Performance objectives are measurable indicators of how well the SRS meets the design goals established
by the utility. Throughout design, implementation and operation of the SRS or its components, the utility
can use performance objectives to evaluate the added value of each capability, procedure or partnership.
While specific performance objectives should be developed by each utility in the context of its unique
design goals, general performance objectives for an SRS were defined in the Water Quality Surveillance
and Response System Primer (USEPA, 2015) and are further described in the context of CCS as follows.
• Incident coverage: Detect and respond to abroad spectrum of water quality incidents. CCS is
limited to detection of contaminants which alter the taste, odor or appearance of drinking water.
Within this subset of contaminants, CCS can detect incidents regardless of the source.
• Spatial coverage: Achieve spatial coverage of the entire distribution system. Theoretically,
CCS has the ability to cover every customer in the distribution system. Spatial coverage is
improved by educating customers about how to contact the utility.
• Timeliness of detection: Detect water quality incidents in sufficient time for effective response.
This performance objective is dependent upon how quickly data is available for analysis and how
often the analysis is performed.
• Operational reliability: Minimize downtime for equipment, personnel and other support
functions necessary for the component to meet the other performance objectives. Operational
reliability for CCS is achieved by ensuring that information management and analysis systems
continue to operate.
• Alert occurrence: Minimize the number of invalid alerts, which are not caused by abnormal
water quality, while maintaining the ability of the system to detect true water quality anomalies.
The balance between reducing the rate of invalid alerts while maintaining detection capabilities is
primarily a function of the quality of the data monitored by the system and the data analysis
method(s) used.
• Sustainability: Provide value to day-to-day utility operations and distribution system
management that exceeds the cost to deploy and operate the component. Because CCS involves
little to no physical equipment, it is relatively easy to sustain.
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Customer Complaint Surveillance Primer
Topic 4: What are cost-effective approaches for CCS?
Utilities can take the following simple steps to develop the foundation for CCS:
• Review historical customer complaint data, and estimate a threshold for the number of calls or
work orders that could be indicative of a water quality incident.
• Evaluate the daily volume of water quality complaints relative to the threshold, and manually plot
the locations of calls on a map with 'push-pins' to identify clusters.
• Establish procedures for investigating water quality complaint clusters and train staff on their
execution.
Next Steps
Visit the Water Quality Surveillance and Response Website at http://water.epa.gov/infrastructure
/watersecurity/lawsregs/initiative.cfm for more information about SRS practices. The Website contains
guidance and tools that will help a utility to enhance surveillance and response capabilities, as well as
case studies that share utility experiences with SRS implementation and operation.
References
USEPA. (2015). Water Quality Surveillance and Response System Primer, 817-B-15-002.
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