customers. Design, operation, maintenance and public relations require different
kinds of people if the infrastructure provider wishes to offer an optimum service. It is
therefore useful to understand the different types of people required for these
different functions, before recruiting employees. Even if such employees are rarely
available off the shelf, so to speak, they can certainly, given adequate training,
improve productivity in the organization. It is, nevertheless, judicious to affect the
right categories of people to the different departments. This chapter deals, in turn,
with the various requirements of different departments, and the different kinds of
people available, the types of training that may be organised.
20.1 Infrastructure and Its Design Requirements
20.1.1 Nature and Characteristics of Failure
The premature failure of an item of equipment entails additional costs: maintenance
and a production loss. The failure prevents using the full capacity of the equipment.
Timely and effective maintenance will avoid this situation. Proper maintenance
brings in increased production and lower costs. Correct maintenance improves the
life of the plant by inhibiting premature failures, which lead to inefficient use and
waste of resources.
Failure occurs when a component or equipment, is unable to satisfy a set of
prescribed performance standards. Our expectations may be defined quantitatively
within a very narrow or wider band of acceptable performance. These specifications
transcribe to what needs to be achieved for the equipment to perform what it was
designed for.
20.1.2 Critical and Degraded Failures
When a failure occurs, the system may cease to function partially or completely.
Figure 20.1 shows the different possibilities of failure, where 100 kW of pump
power is needed:
(1) Case 1 – the pump breaks down, there is a complete loss of function.
(2) Case 2 – even the standby pump has broken down, resulting in critical failure.
(3) Case 3 – two out of three pumps are out of use, resulting in partial or degraded
functionality.
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20 Human Resources Management for Infrastructure
kinds of people if the infrastructure provider wishes to offer an optimum service. It is
therefore useful to understand the different types of people required for these
different functions, before recruiting employees. Even if such employees are rarely
available off the shelf, so to speak, they can certainly, given adequate training,
improve productivity in the organization. It is, nevertheless, judicious to affect the
right categories of people to the different departments. This chapter deals, in turn,
with the various requirements of different departments, and the different kinds of
people available, the types of training that may be organised.
20.1 Infrastructure and Its Design Requirements
20.1.1 Nature and Characteristics of Failure
The premature failure of an item of equipment entails additional costs: maintenance
and a production loss. The failure prevents using the full capacity of the equipment.
Timely and effective maintenance will avoid this situation. Proper maintenance
brings in increased production and lower costs. Correct maintenance improves the
life of the plant by inhibiting premature failures, which lead to inefficient use and
waste of resources.
Failure occurs when a component or equipment, is unable to satisfy a set of
prescribed performance standards. Our expectations may be defined quantitatively
within a very narrow or wider band of acceptable performance. These specifications
transcribe to what needs to be achieved for the equipment to perform what it was
designed for.
20.1.2 Critical and Degraded Failures
When a failure occurs, the system may cease to function partially or completely.
Figure 20.1 shows the different possibilities of failure, where 100 kW of pump
power is needed:
(1) Case 1 – the pump breaks down, there is a complete loss of function.
(2) Case 2 – even the standby pump has broken down, resulting in critical failure.
(3) Case 3 – two out of three pumps are out of use, resulting in partial or degraded
functionality.
564
20 Human Resources Management for Infrastructure