International Journal of Electrical and Electronics Engineering

1-16

Authors: Oti Robinson Chibu

The objective of every electrical power producer is to meet its customers’ supply demands at a reasonable cost. Therefore plants and equipment in these stations must have availability, reliability and predictability life-cycle cost (LCC). Due to maintenance problems and poor supportive systems, Nigeria electric power generating stations are not able to meet their customers’ requirements; these are the major causes of customers’ dissatisfaction in power supply requirements. Often it is traced back to expected failures leading to unexpected losses and costs. However, with proper consideration of reliability, availability, maintainability, and supportability (RAMS) in maintenance systems decision policies, the number of failures can be reduced and their consequences minimized. Based on experiences of the industrialized countries, an approach for integration of RAMS and risks analysis in maintenance system can be developed as a guide for appropriate maintenance policies. This paper discusses the importance of failure mode effect analysis (FMEA). Failure mode effect criticality analysis (FMECA), LCC analysis, use of feedback information, supportive systems risk analysis, with the integration of various information sources to facilitate easy RAMS implementation in maintenance decision policies. This approach is suggested for implementation in Afam electric power station for the maintenance decision policies as a management control to reduce risk and uncontain costs.

31-44

Authors: Oti Robinson Chibu

The need for improved performance of the huge investment in industrial plant particularly electrical generating machinery in recent times necessitates the application of condition monitoring techniques in its maintenance. This can provide early warning of potential failure with the opportunity of organizing avoidance strategies to minimize lost in time and unexpected costs. This may greatly improve generation and production efficiency. This paper presents a methodology, which is useful in preventive maintenance (PM) and predictive maintenance (PDM) when applied to Afam Thermal Power Station in the Rivers State of Nigeria. This has lead to some proactive approach to maintenance because the action is triggered by the unscheduled event of equipment failure. With this kind of maintenance policy, the maintenance cost is high due to equipment operating under crises condition, secondary drainages and penalty associated with cost production. It shows a paradigm shift of knowing when things are starting to fail and how to prevent failure. Hence two failure perspectives are in focus-functionally and component failures. The functional perspective expresses what the component does, the component perspective shows how it deteriorates.