Systematic procedures for improving waterways maintenance tasks in Egypt

الملخص EN

Funds for maintenance are invariably in short supply.

Irrigation managers are therefore continually faced with the need to weigh the relative importance of necessary work, both within individual schemes and between different schemes.

When funds for maintenance are very short, as in Egypt, it is not possible to conduct annual system surveys prior to the maintenance closure period, as some other countries do.

In these circumstances, records of component condition could be built up over time by requiring field staff to return standard condition and work reports every time tasks are contemplated or completed.

The introduction of computerized methods for scheduling maintenance depends on the systematic input of records, preferably by a designated operator, or at least under the immediate control of such a one.

This paper describes problems of efficiently scheduling maintenance on irrigation schemes in the developing countries (Egypt is this case), and describes a procedure which was developed to help in defining priority needs.

The procedure was designed to assist in maintenance planning, to assist in rational maintenance decision-making that requires comprehensive information on system condition over time, and identification of those problems which have prime impact on the performance of the scheme, to assign the priorities to different works, and to develop keeping track of component condition.