Issues of Tribology in Public Utilities Maintenance Management in Yobe State

Abstract

This paper investigated the issues of tribology in public utilities maintenance management in Yobe State transport services (Yobe Line), Yobe state Agricultural Development Programme (YOSADP) and Ministry of works and transport, Damaturu. The methodology involved collection of data using interview and questionnaire methods, where purposive sampling techniques was used to select the public utilities sectors and stratified random sampling technique to select eighty (80) respondents which represent the targeted population. Simple tables, frequency distribution and figures were used to analyze the data. The results revealed the following; that the number of available maintenance staff has significant effect on the public utilities maintenance effectiveness, that tools and spare parts for maintenance are not adequately provided, that there is no adequate training in relation to mechanical tribology for maintenance staff, that there is poor consideration of tribological issues in maintenance of plants /equipment, that adequate funds are not made available for maintenance and that maintenance policies are not implemented as and when due. Therefore Tribological studies revealed that friction losses, wear and oil degradation are the critical damage mechanisms of the public utilities in Yobe state transport service (Yobe Line), Agriculture Development program (YOSADP), and ministry of works and transport. Recommendations made in the study include; A good maintenance Engineer should also work with stores to ascertain the stock of lubricants, quality and type including manufacturer.