Maintenance Management Practices in Electricity Industry in Arab World: Case Study in Jordan

Abstract

Nowadays, power plants, generators, substations, and equipment are becoming technologically more sophisticated and difficult to control besides that any interruption in power supply will cause losses to the industry and economy. Therefore, the importance of maintenance with enhancing availability, performance efficiency, on-time deliveries, safety necessities, and overall plant productivity become more necessary. In this context, the electricity industry in Arab countries is increasingly realizing the importance of the maintenance role. The main objective of this paper is to assess the maintenance management (MM) practices, operational performance, and issues faced by maintenance functions in Jordanian power companies as a representative case study for all Arab countries. A comprehensive survey methodology was developed, implemented, and presented to collect data in this study. To achieve this goal, a questionnaire was developed to analyze the requirements, and service difficulties, namely, maintenance planning, automation implementation, maintenance barriers, productivity measurements, staff training needs, and assessment. We then distributed the questionnaire to a selected sample of Jordanian electricity companies which has been filled out mainly through text surveys and personal interviews. The main obtained results of this study, related to maintenance practices and procedures that promote equipment availability, are summarized as increased use of predictive, intensive maintenance, computerized maintenance management systems (CMMS), and maintenance troubleshooting techniques. Additionally, more understanding of the company's development strategy and maintenance automation. Thus, a more comprehensive maintenance program has to be implemented, so that the enhancement of performance in the equipment availability can be attained.