Improvement of a Maintenance Management System to Enhance the Reliability Performance of Public Transport Ferries: A Case Study of TEMESA Magogoni Ferry in Tanzania

Abstract

The study tackles the urgent problem of maintenance management concerns on public transport vessels along with establishing a maintenance management system for the TEMESA Magogoni public ferries. These difficulties frequently lead to prolonged downtime, passenger ferry unavailability, schedule disruptions, and negative effect on passenger safety. Thus, the present study aims to develop an optimized system by evaluating key factors that influence maintenance practices, such as preventive maintenance, predictive maintenance, asset management, safety, adaptability, and communication between systems and devices. The study used a combination of experimental analysis and descriptive analysis to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed system. The results suggest that predictive maintenance, preventive maintenance, and spare parts management are significantly affected by the lack of a computer-based maintenance management system. The relative importance of index values for predictive maintenance (0.89), preventive maintenance (0.87) and spare parts management (0.85) underlines their crucial role in ensuring the reliability and operational efficiency of the ferry. The implementation of the developed management system for ferry maintenance resulted in less downtime compared to traditional strategies. The computerized maintenance system significantly increased the reliability of ferry equipment, streamlined maintenance planning, and improved decision-making processes. The results of the study underscore the need to introduce technology-enabled ferry maintenance solutions to improve operational efficiency and passenger safety. The study advocated for further research to scale up the application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the system.