Not much going on these days, as I have been a bit cooped up writing the expansion plan for MEC. I also holed up in my room during any free time for a few days to read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance for the third time. I think this is the first time I actually got the point of the book. I also think that it is good that I had to head to Nairobi again and got some fresh air…
The students during the Community Based Organization Training on Finanancial Management
I saw a bit of what the author of the book talks about at a Community Based Organization (CBO) training that was put on with funds left behind by GTZ. It was a financial management training specifically for shareholders, staff, and board members of the CBO’s like the Mpeketoni Electricity Project and the Lake Kenyatta Water Users Association. For the most part the people there were farmers. But when we were going over topics like budgeting, bookkeeping, and internal controls these guys were totally into it. The third day got off to a late start due to a discussion that was sparked off about the rights of shareholders to inspect the books at LAKWA. Nearly half the room had a chance to give a short fiery speech about what they see needing to change to prevent the LAKWA organization from going under. I too was thinking about how to advise MEP about generator maintenance.
The first thing that is required when maintaining your generator is peace of mind.
Each day we were led in songs to keep us from becoming to restless. This day's song leader was a retired techer from Mpeketoni
According to the author of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, the current situation arose because the big 150kVA generator reacted to the state of mind of MEP. The generator failed because the Board planned on it failing. In the financial management training we were hammered with the phrase: “A failure to plan is planning to fail.” When the big generator was back at 17,000 hours of operation an advisor to the board noted that the generator would require an overhaul at 20,000 hours according to standard practice. At around 23,000 hours the generator started belching lots of black smoke and the oil consumption shot through the roof. The technicians informed the Board and shortened the interval for oil changes, but no other action was taken. Within a few months the generator broke down and now cannot run without the overhaul. The Board now has zero resources to purchase the parts for the overhaul. They did not plan to raise and set aside funds for the overhaul of the generator but they continued to run it each day. The generator, it can be said, reacted to the state of mind of the board.
The whole group at the CBO training
Step 1 it seems is to help get the Board into the state of mind that they want these generators to function. In order to do that they need to get into the practice of seeking advice from the technicians and outside advisors on the resources required to properly maintain the generator. If those resources aren’t available they need to start planning through the budgeting process how they will raise those funds and set them aside so that when the time comes they will be in a position to carry out the required maintenance. Everyone in MEP has now been through the financial management training and while most of the recommended practices are followed, the planning part is distinctly missing.
Generator Riddler #3: How does one get the Board to have peace of mind?
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