Factors influencing performance of repairs and maintenance projects. A case of Kenya power company Meru county, Kenya

Abstract

Despite the importance and emphasis on projects, the end results for most projects have not been exciting with majority of projects across different countries, industries and sectors registering poor performance. Projects in power utilities such as KPLC suffer from failure to achieve optimum performance due to decisions made by its personnel while undertaking projects attributes the source of the problems to the following-overconfidence, faulty analysis and processes, biases and assumptions. The purpose of the study was to establish the factors influencing performance of repairs and maintenance projects in Kenya Power Company Meru County. The study was guided by the following objectives; to examine how community participation, financial availability, availability of materials and management support. The study was grounded on the empowerment theory, public participation theory, resource base view theory and strategic leadership theory. The study adopted a descriptive research design. The population under consideration which was the unit of analysis comprises of management staff in Kenya Power Company, Contractors and the residents in Meru County. A sample population of 121 was arrived at by calculating the target population of 177 with a 95% confidence level and an error of 0.05 using the below formula taken from Kothari (2004). The study selected the respondents using stratified proportionate random sampling technique. Primary data was obtained using self-administered questionnaires. The questionnaires were self- administered through drop and pick later method. Data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS Version 24.0). After data cleaning, which entailed checking for errors in entry, descriptive statistics such as frequencies, percentages, mean score and standard deviation was estimated for all the quantitative variables and information presented inform of tables. Inferential data analysis was done using multiple regression analysis. In testing the significance of the model, the coefficient of determination (R2) was used to measure the extent to which the variation in performance of repair and maintenance projects is explained by the variations of the factors. The study found that community participation, financial availability, availability of materials and management support significantly influence the performance of repairs and maintenance projects in Kenya Power Company Meru County. The study concluded that management support had the greatest effect on performance of repair and maintenance projects in in Kenya Power Company Meru County followed by availability of materials, then community participation while financial availability had the least effect on the performance of repair and maintenance projects in Kenya Power Company Meru County.