Evaluation of the maintenance management function for a control plant at a substation

Maintenance has historically been regarded as a "necessary evil" and the potential benefits of effective maintenance management practices towards a company's bottom line have only recently been realised. This is especially true for capital-intensive industries like an electric utility such as Eskom. A research project was conducted to evaluate maintenance management as applied by the electricity delivery department of Eskom, which is responsible for the maintenance of a control plant in the distribution division, and compare it with a "world class" benchmark. The evaluation revealed that the electricity delivery department is on the right track with respect to the way that the maintenance of the control plant is managed. However, a few areas that require attention in order to optimise the maintenance management function are highlighted.