WWEMA Window: Managing Disruptive Change
We operate today in a very disruptive environment where change is happening at unprecedented speed. Customers are demanding faster and more responsive service. Instantaneous information access is changing how end-users research and source products and services. Traditional working relationships are being supplanted. The next generation of worker has differing needs and expectations. Critical jobs in the trades are going unfilled leading companies to turn to automation and ways to increase efficiency. Conventional procurement methods are being replaced by alternative approaches. Regulatory action is being led by those at the state and local levels. The business environment is being tested by tariffs and pricing volatility.
In the midst of this disruptive change, the successful company of the future will be the one that recognizes these transformative dynamics, meets the challenges head on, and strategically positions itself to take advantage of new opportunities and ways to do business.
Fo more than a century, the Water and Wastewater Equipment Manufacturers Association (WWEMA) has been helping its members navigate disruptive change. WWEMA’s history dates back to 1908 when a group of manufacturing members of the American Water Works Association (AWWA) formed for the sole purpose of managing exhibits at national and regional AWWA conferences. At that time, outbreaks of typhoid, dysentery, and cholera were among the top five causes of death. Life expectancy was 47 years.
Based on earlier groundbreaking research by Dr. John Snow and Louis Pasteur, the connection between disease and sewage contamination of drinking water was taking hold and cities were turning to treatment to prevent illnesses. In the early 1900s, as the industrial revolution and the advent of indoor plumbing were bringing more people (and contamination) together, cities such as Philadelphia recognized the importance of water treatment and began using slow sand filtration to reduce turbidity and remove pathogens. In 1908, chorine was used for the first time as a primary disinfectant for drinking water in Jersey City, NJ. Over the next decade, thousands of cities and towns across the U.S. began routinely disinfecting their drinking water, contributing to a dramatic decrease in disease across the country. And WWEMA (then known as the Water Works Manufacturers Association — WWMA) was there, bringing the manufacturers and their technologies to conferences and exhibits throughout the country to educate city managers on the importance of water treatment.
Later incorporated in 1925, the mission of WWMA was to foster, encourage, advance, and protect the interests of manufacturers whose products relate to or are used in connection with water works; to establish friendly relations between members of the organization and delegates at the conventions held by the manufacturers; to secure freedom from unjust or unlawful exactions; to acquire and share information among the members; and to generally further and advance their interests. These basic tenants of the Association hold true, even today.
In 1941, the organization’s name was changed to the Water and Sewage Works Manufacturers Association, Inc. (WSWMA) to reflect its expanded scope of tradeshow service to the newly formed Federation of Sewage Works Association (now known as the Water Environment Federation). Throughout these years, WWEMA and its members were in the forefront of innovation, meeting the ever-growing and changing needs of drinking water and wastewater utilities, ensuring that technology kept pace with the ever-growing knowledge of drinking water and wastewater contaminants and related disease.
The final name change to the Water and Wastewater Equipment Manufacturers Association occurred in 1964 in response to the national perception of water as a “commodity” and the emerging environmental revolution. Emphasis greatly expanded from human health to environmental health concerns. During this time of active Congressional action with the creation of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (Clean Water Act) in 1972, and later the Safe Drinking Water Act, it was recognized by WWEMA members that action and influence was shifting to the Nation’s Capital and that a growing body of regulations had the potential to greatly impact drinking water and environmental protection as well as technology manufacturers. It was during this time that WWEMA transitioned from sponsoring exhibits to an organization focused on water quality and quantity improvement through advocacy.
Through two World Wars, the Great Depression, the Civil Rights Movement, the Environmental Revolution, and the Information Age, WWEMA and its members have continued to meet the needs of the drinking water and wastewater industry, meeting new challenges that call for innovation and new technology, and managing disruptive change.
This year’s 110th WWEMA Annual Meeting will be held November 7-9, 2018 at the Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa in Manalapan (West Palm Beach), FL. Appropriately, the theme of the meeting is Navigating Disruptive Change: Finding a Pathway to Success and the focus will be on many of today’s disruptive changes and what it means for the water industry and our members. Experts will present information on workforce challenges; the science, art, and speed of service; compliance with the European Union’s new General Data Protection Regulations; tariffs and trade; the psychology of the sale and state of marketing; the economy; the role of alternative procurement processes; and the changing regulatory environment — to name just a few topics. Plan now to attend to learn more about these disruptive changes and how you can find a pathway to success. To register, go to RegOnline; to book your hotel, go to Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa; and for the preliminary agenda, go to the Schedule of Events. We look forward to seeing you there!
Vanessa M. Leiby is the Executive Director of the Water and Wastewater Equipment Manufacturers Association (WWEMA). For more information about WWEMA or to join, go to www.wwema.org or contact Vanessa directly at vanessa@wwema.org.