Maintenance Human Factors in the South African Electricity Transmission Industry

• Main Author: Peach, Rina Helena
• Format: Dissertation
• Language: English
• Published: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses 01-01-2021
• Subjects: Asset management; Automation; Aviation; Business metrics; Communication; Delphi method; Electricity; Electricity distribution; Enterprise resource planning; Ethics; Fatigue; Heart rate; Human error; Human performance; Information Technology; Maintenance management; Management; Nuclear engineering; Nuclear power plants; Performance evaluation; Personal information; Physiology; South African Studies; Statistics; Stress; Sub Saharan Africa Studies
• ISBN: 9798380815444

The introduction of Industry 4.0 highlights a strong focus on the social dimensions within Maintenance 4.0. Highly skilled staff will be required to interpret data analytics, perform smart work procedures and do maintenance planning with a systems perspective. Maintenance performance measurements have always reflected the changes in industry and maintenance revolutions. To enable the move to Maintenance 4.0, a clear strategy will be needed to include these social dimensions into a maintenance performance measurement framework.Theory on maintenance human factors are mainly based in the aviation sphere. It focusses on training managers, supervisors and accident investigators to identify and mitigate maintenance human factors that can lead to severe and fatal accidents. Significant maintenance human factors outside of the aviation sphere are rarely studied. Literature on how these maintenance human factors should be measured and incorporated into maintenance performance measurement frameworks has been greatly neglected. This thesis aims to address these shortcomings.The aim of this thesis was to determine measurements for maintenance human factors, that when applied to a maintenance measurement framework, will have a significant impact to improve both maintenance performance, reduce maintenance errors and the maintenance technician’s mental state. It additionally aimed to expand the body of knowledge on maintenance human factors to include the South African electricity transmission industry.To achieve the inclusion of significant maintenance human factors into a maintenance performance measurement framework, possible measurements had to be determined for each maintenance human factor. This was done through an explorative literature review that applied to all industries. To determine the most mentioned maintenance human factors, a systematic literature review was done. The outcome of the systematic literature was used as a starting point for data collected from maintenance technicians within the South African electricity transmission industry.High workload, time pressure, fatigue and communication were found to have the most significant impact on personal maintenance errors made from maintenance technician’s perspective. A maintenance human factor performance (MHFP) framework, MHFP indicators (high workload, time pressure, fatigue and communication) and weightings was developed. A total maintenance performance (TMP) framework for the South African electricity transmission industry was developed. The TMP consisted of 9 indicators: system performance, equipment performance, maintenance planning, maintenance completion percentage, maintenance human factor performance (MHFP), maintenance cost ratio percentage, maintenance errors, personnel cost ratio percentage and safety.Measurement methods for the MHFP indicators were chosen: eight questions from the chronic work overload scale of the Trier Inventory of Chronic Stress (TICS), the adapted time pressure scale questionnaire, the Fatigue Severity Scale and the adapted Downs-Hazen Communication Satisfaction Questionnaire were chosen to be used as measuring methods for these maintenance human factors.The MHFP and TMP frameworks were included into a proposed hierarchical maintenance performance framework for the South African electricity transmission industry. The frameworks provides a methodology to calculate a measurable value by using measuring methods.A two-round Delphi method was used to validate the proposed hierarchical maintenance performance framework for the South African electricity transmission industry, inclusive of maintenance human factors.