Operability and maintainability obstacles: an exploratory factor analysis approach

As the population grows, more infrastructure projects are required too for economic growth of countries however, their maintenance becomes more significant after the completion. It is essential to pay especial attention to the operation and maintenance (O&M) to sustain the value of invested budget. Proper O&M implementation has however experienced some obstacles and an initial step in resolving them is to identify them. This paper aims to identify and prioritise the O&M implementation obstacles in infrastructure projects in Iran. A comprehensive list of obstacles is prepared through a deep literature review and then used of a questionnaire survey. The gathered data from the questionnaires were analysed using the robust exploratory factor analysis method. Twenty-three obstacles are categorised under six themes of management, structure, culture, education and learning, communication, and finance. Results show that management obstacles should be considered in priority for such infrastructure projects, and by solving them.