MEET THE STAFF SERIES

We face the challenge of adequate working materials

CCD: Engineer Aliyu Alkali as the Distribution Engineer, tell us how the Makera Area Office is being run?

AA: Usually the Distribution Engineer are in charge of the whole network stability, extension and the new project at the Area Office level. Directly they coordinate the activities of all the service engineers of the company.

CCD: What are your strategies for achieving the Area Office’s target?

AA: Well we articulated various problem feeder by feeder because they are the one that takes supply to the customers. we were trying to see how all of them will be dissolve, we have identify various fault on the line, however mostly on Saturday we normally open a feeder for maintenance and we discovered that if we carry out a maintenance on a feeder that  feeder would became very stable and that has greatly reduce the level of complaint from the customers. While, in terms of our staff we are still be given them training on the job, the training is very necessary for the job if you don’t know it you don’t know it, we always tell them ‘do not guess what you  don’t know’ because that has been causing a staff life; we discover that somebody don’t know the job but because he want to impress you he will say he want to do it. we are trying  all our best to see that they didn't do anything that they don’t know and as much as possible we guide them most at time if they are working on the line or field we normally visit them to monitor their operations, give them guide and make correction when needed.

CCD: What would you consider as your major achievement?

AA: We have a very good cooperation with the entire management from the head office and that has made us to have a very successful operation at the distributions substations. we achieved a lot even though we face some challenges. The success we have was there were renovations maintenance of power transformers at injection sub-station particularly 2-7.5 injection substation has been in a bad shape with the assistance from head office the entire sub-station has been put in good shape.

CCD: Area of relationship management Sir.

AA: Well, to manage staff is very hectic but we are trying our best. Most of the staff particularly the one that come in as a technical staff  we are giving them trying on the job and for those that are actually willing to learn are learning and that is also assisting the success of the job, while that of customers we treat there are complaints as it comes even though is not easy to satisfy a customer hundred percent but we are trying our possible best to see that our customers are happy with us.

CCD: What would you consider as the challenging part of been a Distribution Engineer?

AA: The challenges are numerous which I know it has effected most of the company not Kaduna Electric only, the bigger challenge we are having now is the working materials the ones we have are not very sufficient we still need more to carryout maintenance particularly we discovered now that although the raining  season is out, we have what we call the plan maintenance, routine maintenance and daily maintenance; that of the daily maintenance we are coping with it but, for a plan maintenance we definitely need assistance from the Head Office and that would help us to have stable supply without any interruption of power to the customers. The second constraint is that some of the Sales Reps are slow in understanding their responsibilities and the demand of their offices. I don’t know if some of them had the necessary orientation before they were posted to the fields or not, almost everyday, one has to remind them of certain routine demand of the job, work flow etc. There is also the need for more hands in the Unit.

CCD: With your experience as an engineer, tell us one thing you want the Management to do differently.

AA: They management should send staff for training, is very important and secondly they should provide that needed materials for maintenance .I think with that the Area Offices should be able to grow faster.