with what they expected. Four parameters that influence customers’ expectations are:
(1) word of mouth communications (2) personal needs (3) past experience and
(4) external communications. This chapter examines several facets of service in
relation to the infrastructure sector and discusses some approaches to improve the
perception of service to the customer.
21.1 Introduction
21.1.1 Customer Service from Infrastructure Services
Infrastructure services are provided by the operation of and complex interaction
between human, economic and technical systems and the environment. Within these
complex processes (Hall et al. 2016) identify:
(i) providers of infrastructure services (in the public and private sectors), who
commission and operate physical facilities and accompanying human systems
(these are, collectively called, ‘infrastructure systems’);
(ii) consumers of infrastructure services (businesses, government and households),
who demand services in order to go about their businesses or to enhance their
well-being;
(iii) externalities to the consumer-service provider relationship, which includes
people and the environment subject to the various positive and negative
(e.g. pollution) side-effects of infrastructure services.
Examining the ways in which infrastructure services are provided, Hall et al.
(2016) identify processes of conversion, storage and transmission as being inherent
in the provision of infrastructure services. However, the distinction between these
categories is not precise, as, for example, gas and water pipelines are a means of
storage as well as transmission.
Summarising these observations leads to the following definition:
An infrastructure service is the provision of an option for an activity by operating
physical facilities and accompanying human systems to convert, store and transmit resources (physical and virtual).
Depending on the specific infrastructure service, the resources under consideration
include different types of energy carriers, passengers, freight, water, waste products and information (data).
From this understanding of infrastructure services and the processes by which
they are provided, we develop a definition of infrastructure systems, recognising that
the human, communications and mechanical systems that control the operation of
physical infrastructure facilities are essential elements of the system:
An infrastructure system is the collection and interconnection of all physical facilities and human systems that are operated in a coordinated way to provide a
particular infrastructure service.
596
21 Quality of Infrastructure Service Delivery
(1) word of mouth communications (2) personal needs (3) past experience and
(4) external communications. This chapter examines several facets of service in
relation to the infrastructure sector and discusses some approaches to improve the
perception of service to the customer.
21.1 Introduction
21.1.1 Customer Service from Infrastructure Services
Infrastructure services are provided by the operation of and complex interaction
between human, economic and technical systems and the environment. Within these
complex processes (Hall et al. 2016) identify:
(i) providers of infrastructure services (in the public and private sectors), who
commission and operate physical facilities and accompanying human systems
(these are, collectively called, ‘infrastructure systems’);
(ii) consumers of infrastructure services (businesses, government and households),
who demand services in order to go about their businesses or to enhance their
well-being;
(iii) externalities to the consumer-service provider relationship, which includes
people and the environment subject to the various positive and negative
(e.g. pollution) side-effects of infrastructure services.
Examining the ways in which infrastructure services are provided, Hall et al.
(2016) identify processes of conversion, storage and transmission as being inherent
in the provision of infrastructure services. However, the distinction between these
categories is not precise, as, for example, gas and water pipelines are a means of
storage as well as transmission.
Summarising these observations leads to the following definition:
An infrastructure service is the provision of an option for an activity by operating
physical facilities and accompanying human systems to convert, store and transmit resources (physical and virtual).
Depending on the specific infrastructure service, the resources under consideration
include different types of energy carriers, passengers, freight, water, waste products and information (data).
From this understanding of infrastructure services and the processes by which
they are provided, we develop a definition of infrastructure systems, recognising that
the human, communications and mechanical systems that control the operation of
physical infrastructure facilities are essential elements of the system:
An infrastructure system is the collection and interconnection of all physical facilities and human systems that are operated in a coordinated way to provide a
particular infrastructure service.
596
21 Quality of Infrastructure Service Delivery