Abstract
The need to understand the skills value inherent in a project in the South African electrical power sector lies at the core of addressing various skills-related challenges in this sector; and this can hamper the effective implementation of projects. In this study, a model was developed, based on the analytic hierarchy process (AHP), in which three different power generating projects were compared for their skills values at the feasibility stage. A hierarchy was developed, based on identified criteria and sub-criteria. This model was applied by various specialists in an industry-based scenario, where three different types of power generating projects (coal-fired power, nuclear power, and wind power) were compared for their skills values, with the goal of identifying the project that had the highest skills value. This process was conducted through individual guided survey questionnaires with each participant, together with tests, to determine the consensus of the participants. A sensitivity analysis determined that the validity and accuracy of the final result were acceptable. Coal-fired power generation projects were adjudicated as having the highest skills value, followed by nuclear, and then solar.
Highlights
Apart from rapid human population growth and the associated need for additional infrastructure development, South Africa is in need of additional energy sources to stimulate economic growth [1]
This measure must take into account the level and complexity of skills necessary to complete the project — that is, what level is available in South Africa, and which skills can be developed through the project
This means that the specialists judged that a typical coal-fired power electricity generating project has the highest potential to address all the criteria and sub-criteria successfully that were developed as part of the study. These criteria were identified to form part of a way to determine the skills value a project has at the feasibility stage; and, through the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) process, these criteria have been weighted to determine at what magnitude each of them contributes to the overall result
Summary
Apart from rapid human population growth and the associated need for additional infrastructure development, South Africa is in need of additional energy sources to stimulate economic growth [1]. A measure needs to be developed to assist decision-making when adjudicating the feasibility of a project. The AHP is a model that aids decision-making in both the physical and psychological domains by offering a non-linear framework that can carry out both deductive and inductive thinking. Not knowing all the details of a problem should not be debilitating; rather, the ability to measure these intangibles through numerical measurement and the relationships between various components should aid in understanding the relationships between these variables. This reduces the complexity, and allows the user to engage more effectively with the problem at hand
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