| dc.description.abstract | The state of building maintenance in Kenyan public institutions has stimulated a lot of research
and studies that seek to answer the questions of why built facilities in the institutions continue to
be in poor maintenance condition. Past studies and research work on this study agree on one
fundamental issue; that the status quo cannot remain and thus the need to find solutions to the
perennial problem facing our public institutions. A number of factors have been attributed to the
current maintenance condition of Kenyan public universities by these studies but few studies
have critically examined the maintenance management systems to establish whether their
ineffectiveness have led to the poor maintenance condition of built facilities in the universities.
In view of the above, this study was designed to 'critically examine and evaluate the maintenance
management-system in selected public universities to identify the inherent shortcoming of the
systems that may have resulted in the poor maintenance condition and make recommendations
towards the adoption of effective and efficient systems that would address the maintenance
problem evident in Kenyan public universities.
Currently there are seven public universities in Kenya namely: University of Nairobi (Nairobi),
Kenyatta University (Nairobi), Moi University (Eldoret), Jomo Kenyatta University of
Agriculture and Technology (Juja), Egerton University (Njoro), Maseno University (Maseno)
and Masinde Muliro University (Kakamega).
The case study approach adopted in this study has been proved to be the most appropriate for
evaluation of systems and especially in management systems research. Two public universities;
University of Nairobi and Kenyatta University were the-two case studies for this study. The two
universities are the pioneer public universities in Kenya and arguably with the largest and highly
diversified built asset portfolios.
Primary data was collected from structured questionnaires, interviews, observations and actual
condition survey of sampled buildings. Photographs of the buildings surveyed are annexed in
Appendix VI. The researcher employed both purposeful and random sampling methods to select
these buildings. In the condition survey of nine building elements of 30 buildings the mean
condition rating index was 3.76 implying that most buildings are in need of minor to serious
repairs. The Maintenance Management System in the two universities was the unit of analysis.
When compared best practice criteria on maintenance management systems, the systems
evaluated fell short of most of the criteria. The universities are also yet to adopt computerized
maintenance management systems.
It was also established that the universities do not have in place an elaborate and documented
condition assessment system which is the bedrock of an effective maintenance management
system. The study also established that the universities do not set building condition standards
for their buildings. It is challenging for maintenance managers effectively manage or prioritise
maintenance works without an elaborate system for setting building condition standards. There
was lack of consistent and periodic condition assessment of their built facilities.
The overall conclusion from the study was that the appropriateness of a maintenance
management system in Kenyan public universities has a significant effect on the level of
maintenance condition of buildings. The study is significant as it makes recommendation to
universities in addressing the shortcomings of the maintenance management systems. This will
go a long way in addressing the maintenance problem in Kenyan public universities. | en |
