NEWS
A Study at the University of Bahrain Proposes an Administrative System that Reduces the Cost of Desalination By 8%
Sakhir – University of Bahrain (Ali Al-Sabbagh)
February 20 2022
A study at the University of Bahrain recommended the use of the balanced scorecard in managing the strategy of desalination plants in the Kingdom of Bahrain with the aim of reducing the cost of desalination by 8%. The study stressed the importance of involving employees in strategy formulation.
The balanced scorecard is defined as a management system that aims to help the organization translate its vision and strategies into a set of interrelated strategic objectives and measures.
The study was submitted by the Master’s student in Engineering Management, Jaafar Sami Al-Tajer, as one of the requirements of the master’s degree in engineering management.
The researcher’s thesis was entitled, “Using the Balanced Scorecard to improve the maintenance and operations at Ras Abu Jarjour desalination plant in particular and all desalination plants in general.”
The researcher stated that the thesis is based on studying the possibility of using the balanced scorecard in one of the desalination plants in the Kingdom of Bahrain, through regarding the maintenance department as a service provider, and the operations department as the customer making use of the services of the maintenance department.
The study aimed to improve the performance of the operations and maintenance departments, and design desalination plant balanced scorecard to contribute to transforming the strategic plan into actions, using the balanced scorecard to increase the efficiency of the plant, and reducing the cost of storing spare parts.
The researcher indicated, “The importance of the study lies in reducing the cost of producing the cubic meter of water by 8% and improve communication between the management of the station and its employees to achieve the objectives.”
The study revealed that there is a direct relationship between the advancements in learning and innovation, and the improvement of the performance of the maintenance department. It also showed that there is a large and positive relationship between the development of the maintenance department and the performance of the operations department, which would in turn reflect in the development of the financial performance of the production plant.
The thesis discussion committee consisted of faculty member of the Mechanical Engineering Department, University of Bahrain, Dr. Osama Misbah Al-Jamal, faculty member of the Chemical Engineering Department, university of Bahrain, Dr. Bassam Mohammed AHamad as supervisors, associate professor of the Mechanical Engineering Department, University of Bahrain, Dr. Mohammad Bassam Nabhan as an internal examiner, and faculty member at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Dr. Omar Al-Turki as an external examiner.