Trickling taps, clanging pipes, air bubbles in tap water — Mr Hashim Hayon has seen it all.

One call from a customer and he is on his way, covering the Bukit Batok and Jurong areas. On his missions to ensure good water supply 24/7 to residents, as he describes his house calls, Mr Hashim takes along a potable water testing kit so he can check the clarity and pH levels of water samples on the spot.

Mr Hashim has worked at the PUB, Singapore’s national water agency, for the past 38 years. When he started off as a handyman in his teens, it was not easy going as he did not have much work experience. But he says: “Having the heart to do something is what motivates me.” This has stood him in good stead over the decades, leading to his current position as an Assistant Engineer.

Mr Hashim’s frontline vocation means he sometimes faces tough customers, distressed about their water supply. However, he strongly believes that “there are no difficult customers, only those who are uninformed”. His strategy to handle them? First, let them have their say, then politely explain the issue.

His aim on every visit is “do it once”. After assessing the situation, he helps to resolve the problem, advises residents on the next step to take, and gives tips so they can resolve similar issues on their own.

Mr Hashim occasionally does simple repairs, such as tightening leaky fittings after water meters, despite such maintenance being customers’ responsibility. He looks out for senior citizens in particular. “I am just as old as them,” says the jovial 55-year-old, in a mixture of English and Malay. “If I help them, the problem can be solved in half an hour, and stop the leakages and wastage of precious water immediately.

And that is what Mr Hashim, who definitely has a big heart, does.