Despite the continuous evolving world of technology, maintenance has responded tremendously in meeting this rapid technological change. Nevertheless, inadequate maintenance has become one of the most issues faced by organizations in developing countries. Maintenance is seen as an unimportant activity in most developing countries thus, it is not given high priority due to insufficient/ minimal knowledge about the concept. Hence, the purpose of this thesis (submitted for Total Quality Maintenance at the Department of Terotechnology) is to enhance the perception and maintenance in developing countries. A case study was performed at Power Holding Company of Nigeria (National Electric Power Authority). The company is responsible for the production, transmission and distribution of electricity in Nigeria. The analysis shows that proper education and training can facilitate or increase the perception of maintenance in developing countries.  However, for the case company, the study shows that not having appropriate maintenance in place is the major problem behind the company’s inability to achieve its objectives. Thus maintenance practice can be improved significantly with proper maintenance education and training. The result from the study shows the concept of maintenance education and training program and who it should address. One major conclusion that can be drawn from the analysis is that major developments in developing countries are associated with modern technology from developed countries. Thus, maintenance should be given a top priority because keeping the proper functioning of the technologies depends greatly on DCs proficiency, in order to ensure viability of the development policies so as to obtain the benefit from modern technologies.

The main objective of the study was to determine the risk(s) associated with lockout/tagout of hazardous energy and propose a new LOTO procedure which tracks the implementation of LOTO to mitigate against identified risks as a basis for promotion of safety. The study focuses on electrical personnel working in PHCN. Only electrical accident risks are examined, not other types of risk e.g. mechanical, chemical, and nuclear. To gather material for this study, a questionnaire was distributed amongst electrical workers in PHCN and their supervisors were interviewed. Relevant literature and publications were studied as reference. According to electrical personnel experience, electrocution, arc flash, arc blast, burns and lockout and tagout of the wrong electrical circuit are seen as the biggest electrical safety risk with regards to LOTO of hazardous energy. The research reveals new information about electrical accident risks. This information is used to create a procedure for tracking LOTO of hazardous energy. The procedure can be utilized in the mitigation of electrical risks and promotion of / Thesis (MIng (Development and Management Engineering))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

The main objective of the study was to determine the risk(s) associated with lockout/tagout of hazardous energy and propose a new LOTO procedure which tracks the implementation of LOTO to mitigate against identified risks as a basis for promotion of safety. The study focuses on electrical personnel working in PHCN. Only electrical accident risks are examined, not other types of risk e.g. mechanical, chemical, and nuclear. To gather material for this study, a questionnaire was distributed amongst electrical workers in PHCN and their supervisors were interviewed. Relevant literature and publications were studied as reference. According to electrical personnel experience, electrocution, arc flash, arc blast, burns and lockout and tagout of the wrong electrical circuit are seen as the biggest electrical safety risk with regards to LOTO of hazardous energy. The research reveals new information about electrical accident risks. This information is used to create a procedure for tracking LOTO of hazardous energy. The procedure can be utilized in the mitigation of electrical risks and promotion of / Thesis (MIng (Development and Management Engineering))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), responsible for generating, transmitting and distributing electricity in Nigeria is being faced with an apparent huge maintenance problem which seemingly contributes greatly to the power demand problem of the country. This apparent maintenance problem is investigated by surveying its root causes through interviews, questionnaires and data gathered from selected case studies. Questionnaires were used scientifically with a confidence level of 95% and interval of +-5% and +-4.4% to establish a high level of integrity on data gathered. Findings and deliverables are compared to South Africa’s power utility company Eskom for validation of the final deliverable. With the findings of this survey, the research problem was overcome by developing a new maintenance strategy and work authorization system for the company while making some recommendations on the training being given to its maintenance personnel. The New strategy called ‘Utility Availability Centered Maintenance Strategy’ or UACMS is presented in the form of a flow chart/ block diagram with its different sections fully explained. It mainly combines preventative, predictive and corrective maintenance strategies alongside other modern maintenance techniques. It’s all linked to a computer database support to ensure high effectiveness. Furthermore, the work authorization system called ‘Internal Task Authorization form’ serves to ensure responsibility in task execution within the company. During the course of this research, an excessive application of corrective maintenance strategy, lack of root cause analysis and unavailability of computer based applications were discovered in PHCN. / Thesis (M.Ing. (Development and Management Engineering))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), responsible for generating, transmitting and distributing electricity in Nigeria is being faced with an apparent huge maintenance problem which seemingly contributes greatly to the power demand problem of the country. This apparent maintenance problem is investigated by surveying its root causes through interviews, questionnaires and data gathered from selected case studies. Questionnaires were used scientifically with a confidence level of 95% and interval of +-5% and +-4.4% to establish a high level of integrity on data gathered. Findings and deliverables are compared to South Africa’s power utility company Eskom for validation of the final deliverable. With the findings of this survey, the research problem was overcome by developing a new maintenance strategy and work authorization system for the company while making some recommendations on the training being given to its maintenance personnel. The New strategy called ‘Utility Availability Centered Maintenance Strategy’ or UACMS is presented in the form of a flow chart/ block diagram with its different sections fully explained. It mainly combines preventative, predictive and corrective maintenance strategies alongside other modern maintenance techniques. It’s all linked to a computer database support to ensure high effectiveness. Furthermore, the work authorization system called ‘Internal Task Authorization form’ serves to ensure responsibility in task execution within the company. During the course of this research, an excessive application of corrective maintenance strategy, lack of root cause analysis and unavailability of computer based applications were discovered in PHCN. / Thesis (M.Ing. (Development and Management Engineering))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.