Was it really worth the pain?: refurbishment of Mercedes-Benz trucks by Botswana Defence Force

Abstract

The following project studies the refurbishment of the Mercedes-Benz trucks by the Botswana Defence Force. The study covers the application of project management techniques, evaluation as well as the quality of the refurbished trucks contribution to the mission achievement capabilities of the BDF. A visit to the project site as well as a survey of users, project managers, and a project sponsor were carried out to gather data on project management. Logistics statistics, for refurbished trucks returned to user units, are also gathered from the asset management software database, Mincom Ellipse, in use by the Botswana Defence Force Mechanical Engineers Regiment for fleet management. The finding of the project is that the planning for the refurbishment project was mediocre. The availability of the refurbished trucks is 83 percent at the end of three years and has a life cycle cost of BWP499,200 compared to that of a new truck which is BWP449,397. The spare parts for the trucks are difficult to source. The conclusion of the study was that the project was not worth the pain. Had initial planning been ardently carried out; then new fewer trucks should have been procured instead of refurbishing the aged trucks.