Improve Maintenance Practices Research Articles

Analysis of the Accessibility and User-Friendliness of Lavatory Facilities for Staff and Students in Naraguta Campus of University of Jos, Nigeria

Lavatory facilities in academic institutions are critical for maintaining hygiene, safety, and well-being, especially for staff, students, and persons with disabilities. This study assesses the accessibility and user-friendliness of lavatories on the Naraguta Campus of the University of Jos, Nigeria, focusing on availability, suitability for persons with disabilities, hygiene, and maintenance. Using a mixed-methods approach involving surveys and physical inspections, this study reveals the shortcomings in facility design, maintenance, and access. Recommendations for upgrading infrastructure, improving maintenance practices, and addressing water shortages are provided.

Human factors influencing the reliability and safety of vehicles, Kenya case study

This paper investigates how human decisions and actions in maintenance practices influence the reliability and safety of vehicles in the Kenyan transportation sector. It specifically addresses several human factors that play a crucial role in influencing the reliability and safety of vehicles. Neglecting the manufacturer's recommended maintenance schedule, employing inadequately skilled maintenance personnel, utilizing substandard replacement parts, and exhibiting poor driving habits emerge as key contributors to the compromised reliability and safety within the country's road transportation sector. The research underscores the substantial implications of these human factors, shedding light on their profound influence on the overall condition and security of vehicles in the Kenyan transportation landscape. This paper aims to contribute valuable insights for improving maintenance practices and fostering a safer and more reliable environment within the country's transportation sector, ultimately promoting enhanced safety standards and operational efficiency.

Building a Better Future: Strategical Approaches in Tackling Poor Maintenance in Nigerian Public Secondary Schools

Secondary schools have long been plagued by issues of poor maintenance, resulting in dilapidated infrastructure, limited resources and a subpar learning environment for students. To address this pressing issue, it is crucial to adopt strategic approaches that focus on improving maintenance practices and ensuring the long-term sustainability of these schools. This study aims to analyze the key challenges faced by Nigerian public secondary schools in terms of maintenance and presents innovative solutions that can help build a better future for education in the country. The research method uses Systematic Literature Review (SLR). A literature search was conducted through academic databases, such as PubMed, ERIC, and Google Scholar. It is essential to establish a comprehensive system for monitoring and evaluating the maintenance of public secondary schools. The government should allocate a significant portion of the education budget to address infrastructure maintenance and ensure that funds are properly utilized. This investment will help to improve the physical condition of schools and create a conducive learning environment for students. By involving the community in the maintenance process, a sense of ownership and responsibility can be fostered, leading to better maintenance practices.

Predictive Maintenance of Machinery with Rotating Parts Using Convolutional Neural Networks

All kinds of vessels consist of dozens of complex machineries with rotating parts and electric motors that operate continuously in harsh environments with excess temperature, humidity, vibration, fatigue, and load. A breakdown or malfunction in one of these machineries can significantly impact a vessel’s operation and safety and, consequently, the safety of the crew and the environment. To maintain operational efficiency and seaworthiness, the shipping industry invests substantial resources in preventive maintenance and repairs. This study presents the economic and technical benefits of predictive maintenance over traditional preventive maintenance and repair by replacement approaches in the maritime domain. By leveraging modern technology and artificial intelligence, we can analyze the operating conditions of machinery by obtaining measurements either from sensors permanently installed on the machinery or by utilizing portable measuring instruments. This facilitates the early identification of potential damage, thereby enabling efficient strategizing for future maintenance and repair endeavors. In this paper, we propose and develop a convolutional neural network that is fed with raw vibration measurements acquired in a laboratory environment from the ball bearings of a motor. Then, we investigate whether the proposed network can accurately detect the functional state of ball bearings and categorize any possible failures present, contributing to improved maintenance practices in the shipping industry.

“Employee Relations Practices in Bangladesh (private sector)”

Employee relations are important as they are concerned with people’s commitment to achieving their organization’s business goals and objectives and ensuring that organizational change is accepted. Maintaining effective relations between managers and employees are key to the success of any business or organization. This study traces the evolution of effective employee relation practices in the HRM domain as well as improper employee relations practices, to their present improved maintenance practices. They are now getting importance and doing their assigned job more effectively and efficiently. This paper highlights the relevant factors that have contributed to the rise of current improvised as well as improper employee relations practices, to their present improved maintenance practices. They are now getting importance and doing their assigned job more effectively and efficiently. This paper highlights the relevant factors that have contributed to the rise of current improvised employees .In recent management of diversity approaches, the necessity to adhere to the development of proper communication system by organizations, attached with enabling employee motivation such as attentiveness, devotion, lower absenteeism and enhanced human capital factors are the main causes of creating the effective employee relations. The study can be used to build effective HRM communication programs involves a few fundamental elements like top management commitment, effective upward communication, determining what is to be communicated, allowing for feedback and information sources in the organization and can be useful to the HR practitioners and policy makers.

Simultaneous sensor fault diagnosis and reconstruction for intelligent monitoring in wastewater treatment plants: An explainable deep multi-task learning model

Sensor malfunctions in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) significantly disrupt process control and energy usage, highlighting the critical need for effective sensor fault diagnosis and reconstruction. This study aims to introduce a novel application of a multi-task learning network in WWTPs to address the challenge of sensor malfunction by enabling simultaneous fault diagnosis and reconstruction. The proposed approach introduces an explainable deep multi-task learning autoencoder network (DMTL-UNet), which effectively allows sharing information among tasks through attention gates and residual connections. The effectiveness of the DMTL-UNet model is validated using a real-world dataset from a WWTP in South Korea. The results demonstrate the remarkable capability of the DMTL-UNet model in accurately diagnosing multiple faults (F1-score = 99.08 %) and achieving superior reconstruction performance (RMSE = 31.1175 mg/L) for faulty WWTP sensors. Moreover, implementing the DMTL-UNet model offers significant energy savings of 37.44 %, corresponding to a reduction in the aeriation cost by 1154.91 USD. Therefore, implementing the DMTL-UNet model for calibrating faulty sensors can enhance sensor reliability, improve maintenance practices, and contribute to the sustainable operation of WWTPs.

Developing a framework for higher education institution building maintenance via soft system methodology

PurposeInadequate strategic planning and maintenance budget may undermine the maintenance of the Higher Education Institution Building (HEIB). Studies have shown that a customised maintenance concept such as Soft System Methodology (SSM) can improve public building maintenance operations. There is a paucity of studies regarding public HEIB maintenance in Nigeria via an SSM approach. Therefore, the research investigated the state of public HEIB and developed a framework to improve public HEIB maintenance practices in Nigeria.Design/methodology/approachThe research adopted SSM to understand Nigeria’s public HEIB maintenance practices. The SSM permitted a substitute approach to improve public HEIB maintenance practices via a developed framework. Data were collated via virtual interviews with experts, and findings were presented in line with the SSM seven steps.FindingsFindings show that besides the shoddy state of public HEIB maintenance, there is no public digitalised HEIB framework to improve maintenance practices across Nigeria’s higher education institutions. The study developed a digitalised framework with the support of Computerised Maintenance Management System from the findings. It would reposition the public HEIB and stir up various agencies/departments/units managing maintenance for better service delivery via integrated delivery, practical, methodological and managerial aspects.Originality/valueThe research investigated Nigeria’s public HEIB maintenance practices via SSM to identify the required document and propose a feasible framework to improve Nigeria’s HEIB maintenance practices. Besides the developed conceptual framework, Nigeria’s HEIB maintenance practitioners and higher institution chief executives can use the recommended framework as guidelines to improve HEIB maintenance practices.

Validating Sea-Level Altimetry Data against Tide Gauge for Coastal Risk Analysis in Mozambique

Satellite altimetry data provide a solution to the lack of in situ tide gauge data, which are essential for comprehending various marine processes worldwide. In the present study, we seek to validate ALES-retrieved sea-level data against tide gauge observations from four ground stations on the coast of Mozambique. The approach consisted of extracting data from selected tracks of the Jason-1, Jason-2 and Jason-3 missions, and processing it to (i) remove outliers, (ii) collocate alongside tide gauge data, (iii) remove the tidal component and detrend, and (iv) perform a set of statistical analyses. Good agreement was found between the altimetry and tide gauge data in three of the four stations (Maputo, r = 0.59; Inhambane, r = 0.87; and Pemba, r = 0.75), with the exception of Beira. The annual and semi-annual cycles in the two datasets revealed that the altimetry signal is smaller in amplitude and ahead (with a few exceptions) of tide gauge by a varying number of days in each location. Both the annual and semi-annual cycles are far more comparable in Pemba, where the amplitude in particular has the same order of magnitude, followed by the Maputo station. The study concluded that the selected altimetry data for Pemba and Maputo stations are valid and can be used for coastal risk analysis and other applications. No altimetry data could be validated for Inhambane and Beira stations due to lack of consistent and sufficiently long tide gauge records. This difficulty urges the need for improved maintenance practices of ground stations located near human settlements that rely on sound information of the sea level and its variability to protect lives, infrastructure and livelihoods.

Developing a framework for building maintenance: a case study of Malaysia's low-cost housing via soft system methodology

PurposeThe cost of residential building maintenance can harmfully affect low-income earners' expenditure if not checked. A customised maintenance concept via a framework will ensure efficient and proper building maintenance operations. The outcome may keep the life cycle cost down. Studies concerning the low-cost housing (LCH) maintenance concept through a framework are scarce in Malaysia. Thus, the study aims to investigate the state of LCH and develop a framework to improve LCH maintenance practices in Malaysia.Design/methodology/approachThe study adopted a soft system methodology (SSM) to comprehend Malaysia's LCH building maintenance practices. The SSM allowed an alternative approach to improve LCH maintenance practices via a developed framework. Virtual interviews were conducted with experts, and findings were presented. It was in line with the SSM seven steps.FindingsThe findings show that apart from the poor state of LCH maintenance, there is the absence of a framework to improve maintenance practices, especially in LCH across Malaysia's cities. The findings developed a framework that would reposition the joint management body and management corporation in collaboration with the proposed maintenance agency for better service delivery via substantive, technical and administrative aspects.Research limitations/implicationsThis study's data collection is restricted to Pulau Pinang, Kuala Lumpur and Johor through a qualitative research design approach. Future research is needed to consider more extensive coverage and validate the developed framework from this study via a quantitative research design.Practical implicationsApart from the conceptual model that was developed, the suggested framework can be employed by Malaysia's maintenance practitioners and policymakers as a guideline to improve LCH building maintenance practices across the cities.Originality/valueThis study examined Malaysia's LCH maintenance practices via SSM to identify the state of the houses, identify the information required and propose a suitable framework to improve Malaysia's LCH maintenance practices.

Review for State-of-the-Art Health Monitoring Technologies on Airframe Fuel Pumps

Aircraft maintenance is an essential cost borne by the airline. Improving maintenance practices for day-to-day operations can lead to significant financial savings. The benefits of effective maintenance are derived from the avoided costs caused by unexpected breakdowns and from maximising aircraft flight time transporting passengers. The fuel system is a crucial part of the entire aircraft as it ensures delivery of the fuel to the engine and a key component within this system are the fuel pumps. These airborne fuel pumps are classified between the pumps installed in the airframe fuel system and in the engine fuel system. Past works have investigated the performance characteristics of these pumps during flight, however there are no reviews related to the present Health Monitoring (HM) capabilities under flight conditions. HM refers to the field of diagnosing faults or predicting the remaining useful life (RUL) of the pump and the focus of this review is to highlight the HM technologies suitable for aircraft fuel pumps. This is done by first reviewing the technologies and concepts related to HM of fuel pumps. Second a literature review is carried out on pump and motor faults is carried out, drawing on examples from aerospace and other relevant industries. Section 6: Conclusion, discusses the HM technologies have been applied to aerospace fuel pumps and highlights the gaps in capabilities, based on the findings of the literature review carried out in Section 4: Common Faults and Section 5: HM Sensing Methods to suggest future developments in this field. It was found that there is a large scope for development for the HM airframe fuel pumps, based on reviewing the present state of the art. Furthermore, there are no clear strategies formulated by airframe manufacturers and equipment suppliers to test and implement existing HM solutions to operate under flight conditions. This highlights the need to develop HM in this field and a requirement for further research to allow this technology to be a part of routine aircraft

Identifying the relationship between tyre performance, fuel consumption and maintenance costs in operating urban bus services: A case study in Sydney, Australia using telematics and fitted sensors

Tyres are an expensive input into the cost of a bus business, yet very little is known about what impact an improvement in the performance of tyres, linked in part to improved maintenance practices, might have not only in reducing the costs of tyres but its impact on fuel consumption and overall maintenance costs. This paper uses data collected over a 12 month period from a bus operator in Sydney where we fitted sensors on all tyres of 35 buses monitored on a monthly data capture plan, which together with data obtained from a telematics system installed in each bus and other data describing the operating environment, enabled us to develop a system of equations to identify endogenous and exogenous influences on tread depth loss of each tyre and fuel consumption, and to map this into implications on maintenance costs. The estimated model system is built into a decision support system to investigate ways in which a bus business can improve its cost efficiency through a changed tyre-related maintenance and operating regime. The findings suggest significant opportunities to improve cost efficiency by a careful review of the decisions related to the practices associated with tyres.

Development of method for road network management program optimization

The object of research is the processes of road network management. The main hypothesis of the study is the application of optimization methods to the road asset management program, which allows to implement a road maintenance strategy, which includes a set of measures involved in ensuring and maintaining roads at the appropriate operational level. In general, the sequence of asset management begins with the definition of objectives, policy of road administrations and the available budget. According to this starting point, data collection, performance monitoring, analysis of options and optimization programs, selection and implementation of a set of projects are performed. The goals and objectives of road project management depending on the category are considered. The model of strategic planning of the program on management of a network of highways is offered and the modern architecture of model is constructed. The main approaches to the optimization of the road asset management program are identified. The target function for the optimization model is proposed, which is to minimize the cost of maintenance of the road network and defines the goals to be achieved in the optimization process. The optimization model is a mathematical description designed to compare alternative strategies and identify the relative benefits of each strategy according to the assigned decision criteria, such as safety, cost, environment and others. The main idea and goal of road network management projects is to improve maintenance practices and policies and thus improve the condition of the network, or maintain it at the current level, taking into account resource constraints. The results of program optimization have practical value and can be used to manage road repair and operation projects depending on: – defined project goals and plans, including scheduling, budgeting, planning, established efficiency requirements and selection of project participants; – maximizing the efficient use of resources; – implementation of functions of coordination and control, planning, design, evaluation, conclusion of contracts and implementation of projects under contracts.

Present Status and Future Growth of Advanced Maintenance Technology and Strategy in US Manufacturing

The goals of this paper are to 1) examine the current practices of diagnostics, prognostics, and maintenance employed by United States (U.S.) manufacturers to achieve productivity and quality targets and 2) to understand the present level of maintenance technologies and strategies that are being incorporated into these practices. A study is performed to contrast the impact of various industry-specific factors on the effectiveness and profitability of the implementation of prognostics and health management technologies, and maintenance strategies using both surveys and case studies on a sample of U.S. manufacturing firms ranging from small to mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) to large-sized manufacturing enterprises in various industries. The results obtained provide important insights on the different impacts of specific factors on the successful adoption of these technologies between SMEs and large manufacturing enterprises. The varying degrees of success with respect to current maintenance programs highlight the opportunity for larger manufacturers to improve maintenance practices and consider the use of advanced prognostics and health management (PHM) technology. This paper also provides the existing gaps, barriers, future trends, and roadmaps for manufacturing PHM technology and maintenance strategy.

Maintenance practices in Nigeria’s public health-care buildings: a systematic review of issues and feasible solutions

Purpose Health-care building maintenance has been receiving concern because of the recent global pandemic. However, there are inadequate broad studies affecting health-care facilities maintenance and feasible solutions in Nigeria. This study aims to conduct an all-inclusive review of public hospital building maintenance issues and proffer possible solutions to improve maintenance practices in health-care buildings via a framework that will support studies in the future. Design/methodology/approach A review of published papers from 2006 to 2020 was conducted. Based on the keywords, 3 pertinent databases were searched and descriptions of the findings from 40 studies were recognised and used in line with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. Findings Two main themes (issues and feasible solutions to improve practices) emerged from public health-care building maintenance practices. The study developed a framework that describes the relationship between issues and possible solutions with an emphasis on how to improve human development, management efficiency, technical competence and professional skills, cost-minimisation and others. Practical implications As part of the paper implications, emerged issues were group into five categories (human development, management, technical, limited financial resources and others). The proposed framework for future studies will attempt to mitigate issues and proffer feasible solutions to improve hospital building maintenance practices in Nigeria and other developing countries that are facing similar challenges. Originality/value To the best of the author’s knowledge, this paper is possibly the first comprehensive review of public health-care building maintenance practices in Nigeria. Moreover, this review demonstrates how the proposed feasible solutions can mitigate problems.

A systematic method from influence line identification todamage detection: Application to RC bridges

Ordinary reinforced concrete (RC) and prestressed concrete bridges are two popular and typical types of short- and medium-span bridges that accounts for the vast majority of all existing bridges. The cost of maintaining, repairing or replacing degraded existing RC bridges is immense. Detecting the abnormality of RC bridges at an early stage and taking the protective measures in advance are effective ways to improve maintenance practices and reduce the maintenance cost. This study proposes a systematic method from influence line (IL) identification to damage detection with applications to RC bridges. An IL identification method which integrates the cubic B-spline function with Tikhonov regularization is first proposed based on the vehicle information and the corresponding moving vehicle induced bridge response time history. Subsequently, IL change is defined as a damage index for bridge damage detection, and information fusion technique that synthesizes ILs of multiple locations/sensors is used to improve the efficiency and accuracy of damage localization. Finally, the feasibility of the proposed systematic method is verified through experimental tests on a three-span continuous RC beam. The comparison suggests that the identified ILs can well match with the baseline ILs, and it demonstrates that the proposed IL identification method has a high accuracy and a great potential in engineering applications. Results in this case indicate that deflection ILs are superior than strain ILs for damage detection of RC beams, and the performance of damage localization can be significantly improved with the information fusion of multiple ILs.

Landing Gear Structural Health Monitoring (SHM)

Landing Gear Structural Health Monitoring (SHM)

Drivers discuss ecodriving feedback: Goal setting, framing, and anchoring motivate new behaviors

Ecodriving, defined here as the adoption of energy efficient driving styles and practices (primarily moderating accelerations and decelerations, reducing top speeds, and improved maintenance practices), has long been recognized as a potential source of reductions in transportation energy use. Estimates of energy savings attributed to ecodriving range widely, from less than 5% to as high as 20% depending on the driving and experimental context. To explore the effects on ecodriving of interaction between drivers and in-vehicle energy feedback, a customized, interactive energy feedback interface was deployed in a field test with real-world drivers. This paper presents the results of interviews with 46 Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) drivers who were given the ecodriving feedback interface for a multi-week trial including an interface off (baseline) and on (treatment) condition. This paper relies specifically on self-reports of driver motivations and behaviors to better understand what types of information motivated new ecodriving behavior; a future paper will investigate quantitative fuel consumption effects. Driver interviews at the conclusion of the study revealed that the introduction of feedback led three fourths of drivers to change driving styles to maximize on-road efficiency, at least in the short term. In addition, this study finds that the context of the feedback information, provided by a built-in goal or other contextualizing information such as a comparison value, is important for both comprehension and motivation. Personalization of the information allowed different drivers to access pertinent information, increasing the motivational value of the information. Instantaneous performance feedback such as real-time energy economy or power is used primarily for experimentation and learning of new ecodriving behaviors, whereas average performance feedback is used primarily for goal-setting and goal achievement. In addition, the direct comparison of personalized driver goals and average performance created a game-like experience that encouraged high achievement. Finally, the driver interviews revealed that feedback frames driving as a time to act in an efficient manner.

Analysis of trends in aviation maintenance risk: An empirical approach

Safety is paramount in the airline industry. A significant amount of effort has been devoted to reducing mechanical failures and pilot errors. Recently, more attention has been devoted to the contribution of maintenance to accidents and incidents. This study investigates and quantifies the contribution of maintenance, both in terms of frequency and severity, to passenger airline risk by analyzing three different sources of data from 1999 to 2008: 769 NTSB accident reports, 3242 FAA incident reports, and 7478 FAA records of fines and other legal actions taken against airlines and associated organizations. We analyze several safety related metrics and develop an aviation maintenance risk scorecard that collects these metrics to synthesize a comprehensive track record of maintenance contribution to airline accidents and incidents. We found for example that maintenance-related accidents are approximately 6.5 times more likely to be fatal than accidents in general, and that when fatalities do occur, maintenance accidents result in approximately 3.6 times more fatalities on average. Our analysis of accident trends indicates that this contribution to accident risk has remained fairly constant over the past decade. Our analysis of incidents and FAA fines and legal actions also revealed similar trends. We found that at least 10% of incidents involving mechanical failures such as ruptured hydraulic lines can be attributed to maintenance, suggesting that there may be issues surrounding both the design of and compliance with maintenance plans. Similarly 36% of FAA fines and legal actions involve inadequate maintenance, with recent years showing a decline to about 20%, which may be a reflection of improved maintenance practices. Our results can aid industry and government in focusing resources to continue improving aviation safety.

A Novel Approach to Predictive Maintenance: A Portable, Multi-Component MEMS Sensor for On-Line Monitoring of Fluid Condition in Hydraulic and Lubricating Systems

On-going pressure to reduce operating costs and increasing concerns about the environment are forcing industrial equipment operators to condition monitoring procedures and improve maintenance practices to achieve optimal fluid and component service life. Realization of these goals without compromising system performance or component life often requires that new and more sophisticated condition monitoring devices need to be used. Increasingly, these can be installed directly in-line, which eliminates delays associated with off-line analysis, decreases response time, and facilitates the decision-making process should remedial action prove necessary. This paper describes operational principles of a rugged micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) sensor that comprises four sensing elements suitable for in-line condition monitoring of hydraulic and lubricating oils. Preliminary laboratory data suggest that the sensor exhibits an excellent correlation with conventional laboratory viscosity and acid number (AN) data. Review led by Al Segall

Steam System Optimization: A Case Study: Armstrong Service, Inc. USA

ABSTRACT The steam system optimization (generation, distribution, use, and condensate return) offers a large opportunity for action to comply with the new levels of energy efficiency standards. Superior design and improved maintenance practices are the two main sources of savings in steam systems. Increased competition no longer permits an industry to survive with energy waste that could be eliminated. This article highlights the study findings of the steam system in a plant in the food industry. The steam system operates with an annual budget of $1.9 million. Normal steam demand ranges between 80,000 to 85,000 lb/hr. The steam system analysis identified energy savings worth $270,000 per year. The optimization measures were in two categories: • No-cost/low-cost optimizations that can be done through a better maintenance and improved operating condition. • Major improvements that require a significant investment, and include the modification of the process and major equipment.