AN ASSESSMENT OF MAINTENANCE IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREAS IN ACCORDANCE TO PROJECT MANAGEMENT( A CASE STUDY OF ORON LGA, AKWA IBOM STATE)

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background Of Study

The requirement to design and produce projects in the smallest amount of time led to the development of project management. In complicated initiatives, project management is required to offer a sense of purpose and to establish a focal point for coordinating the actions of literally hundreds of relatively autonomous groups or bodies. It's especially effective when a lot of collaboration between various parties is required. Facility maintenance, on the other hand, is important not only for extending the life of machines or other productive facilities, but it also serves as a safety valve for the equipment's operators. Priel (1994) claims that keeping plants and equipment in good operating condition is critical to achieving total quality, reliability, and efficiency. The best project or equipment will not perform satisfactorily unless it is properly maintained, and the cost of a system failure can be very expensive, not just in terms of money, but also in terms of employee morale and customer relations. Training, motivation, healthcare, and even entertainment for the people, as well as correct storage and management of supplies, must all be maintained.

Kerzner (2000) defines project management as the planning, scheduling, and managing of a sequence of interconnected tasks to ensure that the project's objectives are met successfully and in the best interests of all stakeholders. As a result, project management is a critical component of project success. There is a failure where management is bad. Without competent and sufficient management, no project can deliver the promised results. In order to achieve a project's desired goals and objectives, good project management is essential. The maintenance of projects or the infrastructure within them is likely the most important component that affects sustainability and the continuing derivation of services from projects long after they are completed. In this application, maintenance refers to the act of keeping productive facilities in good working order so that their optimal expected performance or output remains roughly the same as when they were first put to use. Maintenance of productive facilities is critical for any type of organization because the alternative – equipment replacement – may be both financially and logistically burdensome. Because organizations, particularly Local Government Areas, have limited resources, the desire to acquire additional facilities from time to time may be high, but capacity may be limited.

1.2 Statement Of Problem

Recently, there have been a slew of environmental disasters in our cities, including air disasters, collapsed buildings, and bridges, among other things. These constructions and infrastructures were supposed to last more than 30 years, but due to substandard materials utilized or poor/lack of care, they are decomposing rapidly beyond repair. The study's principal issues revolve around project management and facility maintenance inefficiencies. The goal of this project is to discover a solution to the problem.

(1) How the Local Government Area understands the importance of project management and facility upkeep.

(2) The appropriate implementation and supervision of initiatives.

(3)  How administrators and politicians regard project management and facility maintenance as vital elements.

(4) The impact of insufficient money on project management and infrastructure upkeep in local government.

(5) How the government will authorize and supervise project execution.

1.3 Objective Of Study

The following are objectives of this study:

(1) To investigate if  appropriate supervision is carried out to ensure effective project management and facility maintenance in the Third Tier of government.

(2) To identify the major problems affecting project management and facility maintenance in the public sector.

(3) To determine whether effective project management and facility maintenance can lead to effective utilization of resources.

1.4 Research question

The following research question guides this study:

(1) Is appropriate supervision carried out to ensure effective project management and facility maintenance in the Third Tier of government?

(2) What are the major problems affecting project management and facility maintenance in the public sector?

(3) Can effective project management and facility maintenance lead to effective utilization of resources?

1.4 Significance of study

The study findings will help third-tier government officials understand that even if a project is completed as planned, it is pointless if the target beneficiaries, the local community, or the country as a whole do not profit. This study's findings and recommendations may be valuable to government officials, particularly those in Local Government Areas, academics, and the general public. The study is expected to provide important information for local government policy adjustments in project management and facility maintenance, as needed, because what was considered state-of-the-art yesterday is sometimes obsolete today.

This study will contribute to the current literature in this field and will also serve as a resource for academics, researchers, and students who may want to do future research on this or a comparable topic.

1.5 Scope of study

This study isn’t limited to assessing maintenance in local government areas in accordance to project management, however the study will also investigate if  appropriate supervision is carried out to ensure effective project management and facility maintenance in the Third Tier of government, identify the major problems affecting project management and facility maintenance in the public sector and determine whether effective project management and facility maintenance can lead to effective utilization of resources. This study is delimited to senior and junior ciil servants in Oron, LGA, Akwa ibom state.

1.6 Limitation of study

Finance,inadequate materials and time constraint were the challenges the researchers encountered during the course of the study.

1.7 Definition of terms

Project Management: Kerzner (2000) defines it as the planning, scheduling and controlling of series the projects are achieved successfully and in the best interest of the project’s stakeholders.

Maintenance: It is the work undertaken to ensure that plant, equipment, building etc are fully operational, and/or to deal with breakdowns in the minimum possible time.