Project management approach for turbine maintenance in power utility plants: The case of a South African Maintenance Company

The current challenging environment in the power generation sector in South Africa is not unique to the country. Many other countries face similar challenges characterized by unreliability of power supply, low capacity utilization and availability factor, deficient maintenance, poor procurement of spare parts, and high transmission and distribution losses among other problems. The need for a disciplined and tailor-made project management approach to ensure maintenance projects are effective and efficient has never been more apparent. In this study the case of a Turbine and Generator Maintenance Company was evaluated to assess the state of project management within this sector, and to determine some of the barriers to project implementation. A project management approach for efficient implementation was developed and delays in the procurement process are found to be the main barrier for project implementation success.