An Assessment of the Quality of Services of Kenya Power (KP) Ltd in Restoring Supply After Unplanned Interruptions Using Statistical Quality Control

摘要

The purpose of this study was to apply statistical quality control (SQC) techniques and tools to assess the customer's experience of quality as offered by Kenya Power Ltd. It also seeks to determine whether or not the services of the company were in statistical control. The study was designed as a descriptive survey. The population consisted of 65,830 customers within Nakuru town and its environs from which four hundred customers were sampled. The sample population was stratified so that 286 were domestic consumers while the remaining 114 were non-domestic consumers. Stratified random sampling was used. The collected data was coded and summarized in the form of tables and entered into the SPSS program. Customers' experiences were obtained and used to draw control charts, which were analyzed. It was found that the customers' experience of service as regards the restoration of supply after unplanned interruptions was not in statistical control for both domestic and non-domestic consumers. These results are an indictment of the qualities of service of Kenya Power. The implication for the managers of service processes at Kenya Power is that they must ensure optimal service quality in the firm. In particular, urgent steps must be taken to identify the root cause or causes of special variation that result in service invariability and instability. We strongly advocate for the intensified use of statistical quality control tools in the utility services sector and particularly at Kenya Power, as a means of monitoring the production and service quality, and enabling the firm to take timely and appropriate action to correct undesirable deviation in production quality.