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Reduce maintenance costs by improving human reliability in power grids

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Abstract

This paper describes how proper maintenance personnel planning could influence the productivity of the maintenance process in transmission power grids. Improving productivity has the effect of reducing maintenance costs and consequently increasing the profits of maintenance companies. The expansion of electricity utilization in recent years has made the need for sustainability and the quality of the energy supply increasingly clear. In this regard, power companies continuously maintain and repair the power grid to provide customers with continuous, high-quality electricity. However, if a human error occurs during maintenance operations, the supply of energy may be interrupted. The main results of a case study conducted at an electrical maintenance company show that human error increased maintenance costs by at least about $ 1.13 million in 2019. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to provide a simple and understandable communication model between human reliability and maintenance costs. With the proposed mathematical model, the number of maintenance costs can be estimated using the mathematical expectation law. With this method, managers can easily identify departments and teams that increase costs along with unspecialized personnel. Finally, it is illustrated that excess maintenance costs can be eliminated with proper management.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Electrical Engineering, Marvdasht Branch, Islamic Azad University, Marvdasht, Iran

    Mehdi Tavakoli & Mehdi Nafar

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  1. Mehdi Tavakoli
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  2. Mehdi Nafar
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Correspondence to Mehdi Nafar.

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Tavakoli, M., Nafar, M. Reduce maintenance costs by improving human reliability in power grids. Electr Eng 103, 1911–1921 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00202-020-01202-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00202-020-01202-4

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