The Quality in FSM project was undertaken by the WASH Institute with support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. With rapid uptake of FSM in India, the sector needed a quality framework to ensure quality in planning, procurement, implementation and operation of FSM services in India. The project delivered following key outputs:

Definition of Quality, Standards and Benchmarks :

Mainstreaming of FSM as an approach to ensure safely managed sanitation has received attention very recently, due to which the sector lacks standards and benchmarks to ensure quality in service provision. A review of Quality frameworks for related sectors in India and internationally was conducted. Standards for treatment of solids and liquid in fecal sludge, process technologies, specification for construction materials and processes of FSTP and equipment used for treatment and Emptying and Transport of fecal sludge were developed.

Model Tender Documents :

To ensure ease of procurement and standardization of FSM services procured by the municipalities, a review of tenders developed by 13 states in India for FSM services was undertaken. Based on the review, key issues in the tenders were identified such as limited participation of the private sector, risk allocation, penalty and incentives for executing performance contracts and bid parameters for long term sustainability of the FSM operations. A total of 10 procurement options were identified and of which WASH Institute developed 6 model tender documents for procuring Emptying & Transportation and FSTP services. These documents are used by practitioners, DFIs, donors etc. to adapt them to procure FSM services in their respective FSM projects. WASH Institute is translating them into training modules to build capacity of municipalities to procure FSM services and ensure quality in contract management.

Quality Assurance Tool :

To ensure quality in execution of FSM projects, WASH Institute has developed detailed checklists for every step of the project cycle and each component of the sanitation value chain. These checklists are embedded in an online tool to guide the municipality and practitioner in assessing quality and key risks to be addressed in their respective FSM projects.