Maintenance management practices and operational Performance in electricity producing stations in Kenya
Abstract
The study was entitled ‘Maintenance Management Practices and Operational Performance in
Electricity Producing Stations in Kenya’. The overall objective of the study was to determine
how the extent of application of maintenance management practices and management support
impact on the operational performance on the stations which generate electricity in Kenya. The
specific objectives of the study were: To establish the extent of application of the various
maintenance management practices and to establish the level of top management support in
maintenance management, Further, it sought to determine the impact of the adopted maintenance
management practices on operational performance and to establish the challenges faced in
maintenance management in the electricity producing stations in Kenya.
The statement of the problem has explained why the study was necessary. This was because
there was a maintenance management jungle which had not been solved hence the need of this
study. The jungle relates to lack of universally accepted maintenance management practice (s),
contradicting theories and lack of clear cut information relating to costs of maintenance,
challenges and impact of human factor on operational performance. The various maintenance
management practices have been outlined and discussed. Further, theories that are applicable to
maintenance management have been discussed and linked to maintenance management practices.
A summary of the literature review and maintenance management conceptual framework have
been provided.
The research methodology used was descriptive cross sectional survey design. The data,
collected by mean of a questionnaire was analyzed by measures of central tendency and simple
regression analysis through graphs drawn using Microsoft excel. The extent of application of
maintenance management practices, level of top management support and challenges
encountered in maintenance management were ranked in percentages and displayed by means of
bar graphs. To determine the relationship between operational performance and maintenance
management practices and management support, regression analysis using SPSS (Statistical
package for social sciences) was used. The developed model was found to be insignificant since
the p value obtained was above 0.05 at the adopted 95% confidence level.
The findings of the study were that; maintenance costs were high in relation to the organization
total running costs at 15 to 33 % and at an average of 27%. The study further found that there
was no one particular practice which was largely applied in relation to the others. However
broadly, preventive maintenance practices were largely been applied than reactive maintenance.
The study found out that the level of top management support for maintenance management was
low. This was causing a decline effect on operational performance. Further, it was observed that
the extent of application of maintenance management practices had a positive impact on
operational performance. Inadequate training of maintenance personnel, spares acquisition
procedures and delay in delivery of spares were the greatest challenges encountered in the
stations producing electricity in Kenya.
The study concluded that, maintenance costs are higher in stations producing electricity. Further,
there seems to be other factors which affect operational performance which need to be
determined. The study limitations were time, below 60% response level and scope of the study.
The value of the study was that it generated both theoretical and practical maintenance
knowledge. This knowledge can be used by maintenance professionals and those charged with
maintenance activities to improve maintenance management practices hence productivity of their
stations.
Publisher
University of Nairobi