Powering Africa with clean energy
Daystar Power is committed to the advancement of African businesses by providing renewable and accessible energy. In doing so, they help contribute to the clean and sustainable growth of the entire continent.
Interview with Mustapha
60Hertz recently had the pleasure of speaking with Mustapha Mogaji from Daystar Power, Nigeria to learn about his real-life challenges of workforce maintenance management for DERs and how the 60Hertz CMMS platform has helped resolve them.
Hello Mustapha, firstly thank you for taking the time to speak with us today. Please tell me about Daystar Power? What are you most proud of?
This is our business – it is a renewable energy company. My colleagues are tasked with ensuring we attend to every customer complaint and checking everything is working correctly. We want to ensure our customers have access to energy 100% of the time because this is a big challenge we face in Africa today.
This article by Climate Reality elaborates that “there is a need to meet the needs of an increasing population, resulting in an increase in energy needs on the continent. A severe shortage of essential electricity infrastructure is undermining efforts to achieve more rapid social and economic development. Less than half of all Africans have access to energy. In Sub-Saharan Africa, only 290 million out of 915 million people have access to electricity. For those who do have access, supply is often unreliable and costly private use of back-up generators running on diesel or gasoline.”
What ‘pain points’ do you think the 60Hertz CMMS app has helped or resolved for your maintenance workforce?
Because we have a large number of people working for Daystar Power, sometimes we have the issue of reporting at the company. With 60Hertz, we have been able to keep track of the challenges. One thing I appreciate, since we already have all our files and feedback reports on the TRAK app, we can go back 2, 3, even 4months to see what happened. We can look into the reports and pull out details and photos, even if it was some time ago.
Are there are pain points or challenges you feel still need resolving?
In this part of the world, a good network and internet signal isn’t always readily available. The challenge is getting good quality internet so we can communicate to the plant.
This article by MRO Magazine explains how utilising a CMMS helps improve communication as a critical component to decreasing asset downtime and reducing the cost of operations. For most organizations, the communication flow among maintenance teams and technicians still remains a point of concern. Poor communication leads to inefficient results even if you all have access to modern equipment.
How has your maintenance workforce reacted to working with 60Hertz’s CMMS Software?
As humans, we are always reluctant to change. Once we find something we are comfortable with, we don’t want to change it. In time, we see the advantage of this app. I won’t say we are 100%, but with 60Hertz’s help, we are getting on with it.
A recent 60Hertz blog discusses what is CMMS and how much resistance to change could be causing you. An article by Forbes describes how, unless there is a crisis, most people will question why change is necessary. If the company is doing well, why do they need to change? Unfortunately, current success does not equal future success. It is imperative that “leaders must provide articulated reasons for the transformation that paint an aspirational view of the future.”
How do you find maintaining records of the diesel quality by a vendor?
It was quite challenging at first, but thanks to the 60Hertz app, my team were able to all have access to check changes and closely monitor the quality.
This article by Fuels Market News explains that “there’s no better time to invest in the quality of your fuel. While fuel efficiency may not have been top-of-mind last year with diesel at $2.25 per gallon, with the price of oil now rebounding, the return on your investment will only grow, reducing your fuel and maintenance costs when you need to find savings most.”
How would you say 60Hertz has helped you in ways other than workforce maintenance management?
We had some direction on how to make the app work better. Once we were able to get one team member introduced to the app training, the whole team felt more confident about recording findings.
Thank you again for your time today Mustapha. At 60Hertz Computerized Maintenance Management Software company, we value human connection, friendly and close peer relationships to accomplish work well. Contact our team for further information or to book a demo.Â
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