PROPERTY MAINTENANCE CULTURE IN OBAFEMI AWOLOWO TEACHING HOSPITAL COMPLEX

1.1 Introduction

Property maintenance means different things to different people. The term has been defined and redefined by different authors. However, the various definitions suggest that property maintenance revolves around building care. Nevertheless, property maintenance is define as the required processes and service undertaken to preserve, protect, enhance and care for hospital building and services after completion in accordance with the prevailing standards to enable the building and services to serve their intended functions throughout their entire life span without drastically unsetting their basic features and use (Lateef, Khamidi and Idrus, 2010). Maintenance is the art of controlling the rate at which structure deteriorate towards a state of un-serviceability and collapse (Smith 2003).

As a prelude to other parts of this study, this chapter will discuss the background upon which this study was initiated, the statement of problems that led to this study, the Aim and Objectives of the study. Others are Significance of the study, Scope of work, Limitations of the Study and Definition of technical terms.

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1.2 Background of Study

Over the years, Nigeria has had a number of laudable projects that makes one proud of being a Nigerian. These projects range from the Liberty Stadium, Ibadan (now called the Obafemi Awolowo Stadium) to the National Stadium Lagos, Universities, hospitals, schools and the refineries which got oil displacing agriculture as the mainstay of the economy to mention a few.

But having been built and made to serve the immediate purpose they were meant to serve, they ended up in most cases forgotten, abandoned and at its best given very little attention, leading to its poor maintenance and management. The million dollar question to draw from the aforesaid is if these projects were actually made available in the short term or long term. It is expected that the latter would be the answer. Nevertheless over the years, most laudable projects in Nigeria fault this notion.

Nigeria is not meant to be where she currently is for she is a blessed nation, one that is palpably so richly endowed with the best of resources; “human and material” to spur her towards having the best facilities when she deems it necessary and most appropriate. Nigeria as against the so called world economies, developed nations, world powers or whatever phrase used to describe the most powerful States of the world is immensely blessed with natural resources as earlier mentioned, that only if Nigeria was properly managed by the best hands in leadership, she would have easily stimulated herself towards being not just a real giant of Africa (as against what is perceive to be the current self acclaimed status) but among the world powers in all ramifications most importantly, socioeconomically.

Nigeria has had over the years on its once upon a time very laudable projects that are right now in the most deplorable state ever imagined which are definitely threats to the social economic and infrastructural advancement of Nigeria. This is with respect to the issue of maintenance of public facilities and capital projects that are worthy of proudly making one a Nigerian, though for a short while, no thanks to the “extinction” of the beauty that once upon a time greeted such projects.

In line with the national development goals for improving the quality of services in the public sectors to become “The Developed Countries by the year 2020” have a first class infrastructure on the agenda for Nigeria. Apart from this, many facilities such as buildings and public infrastructures are built to fulfill administrative and social needs as well as economic responsibilities to the general public. The government assets and facilities should be managed properly with maintenance work to ensure the functioning assets, minimum cost of repairing and providing a safe environment for the user. Maintenance culture is defined the combination of technical and administrative actions to be taken to preserve or protect a structure, system or equipment to function properly (British Standards Institute, 1974). It as a work process or work activity programmed by an individual or group to be undertaken to protect, preserve and maintain the function of a facility.

Maintenance culture defines the values, way of thinking, behaviour, perception, and the underlying assumptions of any person or group or society that considers maintenance as a matter that is important (priority) and practices it in their life. When a person or group has maintenance culture, they would have the attitude to maintain, preserve and protect the public facilities. The attitude in question is towards the maintenance work, which is embedded in each individual or group, although in practice, the maintenance tasks have been programmed, planned and scheduled, it is only when one understands the responsibility entrusted to implement it that creates a proper awareness of maintenance work and whereby it is done automatically, spontaneously without any direction and thought (Suwaibatul et. al, 2012).

Maintenance culture is not universal in nature, it is usually derived or learned through a person making maintenance a natural daily practice that can be followed and emulated by others (Florence, 2011). These cultures are not easy to develop. It takes time and occurs in response to changes to the individual himself/herself. Thus, it is not something that is impossible to implement if the method made the maintenance culture is known to be performed. When the determinant factors of maintenance of development are identified, the maintenance will be a daily practice that is understood by each individual about what their duties are.

Therefore, in Obafemi Awolowo Teaching Hospital Complex where the research was carried out, the activities that was conducted is to know the Property Maintenance Culture.

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1.3 Statement of the Problem

Maintenance culture development in Nigeria can be achieved through the implementation of the leadership factors that should be done by someone who was called leaders toward culture maintenance practices among all his followers. Maintenance tasks will not be regarded as a burden, but as a good practice that should be implemented for the next stake. This is where the need of the leadership qualities in a leader by showing a serious commitment to the work done by providing a work plan that can be easily understood and followed by everyone. However, this study analyses the maintenance culture employed in public infrastructure in Nigeria.

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1.4 Aim and Objectives of the Study

The aim of the study is to investigate the Property Maintenance Culture in Obafemi Awolowo Teaching Hospital Complex. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows:

1. To examine the level of maintenance culture employed in public infrastructure in Obafemi Awolowo Teaching Hospital Complex.
2. To determine the attitude of Nigerians to maintenance culture of public infrastructure in Obafemi Awolowo Teaching Hospital Complex.
3. To examine the present condition of properties in Obafemi Awolowo Teaching Hospital Complex;
4. To ascertain the current maintenance practice in Obafemi Awolowo Teaching Hospital Complex; and
5. To examine the factors that is affecting maintenance management practice of Obafemi Awolowo Teaching Hospital Complex.

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1.5 Research Questions

The study came up with research questions so as to be able to ascertain the above stated objectives. The specific research questions for the study are stated below as follows:

• Does the level of maintenance culture employed enhance the development public infrastructure in Nigeria?
• Does the maintenance culture increases workers performance in Obafemi Awolowo Teaching Hospital Complex in Nigeria?
• What is the attitude of Nigerians to maintenance culture?
• What are the current maintenance management practices in Obafemi Awolowo Teaching Hospital Complex?
• What is the current condition of properties in Obafemi Awolowo Teaching Hospital Complex?
• What are factors affecting maintenance management practice in Obafemi Awolowo Teaching Hospital Complex?

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1.6 Significance of the Study

The following are the significance of this study:

The results from this study will educate the Nigerian general populace on the need for the adequate maintenance of public infrastructure. This research will be a contribution to the body of literature in the area of the effect of personality trait on student’s academic performance, thereby constituting the empirical literature for future research in the subject area.

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1.7 Scope of the Study

This study will cover the maintenance culture employed in public infrastructure in Nigeria and the determinants of maintenance culture in Nigeria.

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1.8 Limitations of the Study

During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:

1. Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
2. Establishment Policies: Establishment policies posed a serious limitation as most staffs are not ready to release information needed for this project work. There were lots of information needed from the staffs of this establishment to enhance the study which took them time to release or they did not release at all for security purposes, hence the scope was reduced.
3. Research material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
4. Frequent power failure: This made the researcher append more money on fuel to ensure sustainable power.
5. Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).