Dr. James M. Wakiru

Designation: Senior Lecturer
School: School of Engineering
Department: Mechanical Engineering
Email: james.wakiru@dkut.ac.ke

Academic Background

Qualification Institution Year
PhD Mechanical Engineering KU Leuven  2021
MSc. Industrial Engineering & Management Dedan Kimathi University of Technology  2015
MBA-Marketing Kenyatta University  2008
BSc. Mechanical Engineering Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology  1999

Professional Qualifications

Qualification Institution Year
Graduate Engineer IEK   2022
Graduate Engineer EBK  2014

Areas of Expertise

  • Mechanical engineering – Operations and Maintenance
  • Lubrication technology
  • Data analytics decision making
  • Simulation-based decision making

Work Experience

  • June 2022 – To date: Senior Lecturer – Dedan Kimathi University of Technology
  • June 2016 – June 2022: Lecturer – Dedan Kimathi University of Technology
  • Sept 2016 – April 2021: PhD researcher – KU Leuven
  • 2013 – 2016: Head of Lubricants – Hass Petroleum
  • 2009 – 2013: Technical & Sales Manager – Lubesol Kenya Ltd
  • 2004 – 2007: Industrial Lubricants Business Consultant – Chevron Kenya Ltd
  • 2001 – 2004: Marine Lubricants Engineer & Territory Manager – ExxonMobil Marine Lubricants & Mobil Oil Kenya Ltd

Social Responsibilities

  • Board Member- International Church of Evangelicals in Leuven (ICEL), Belgium (2019-present).
  • Member: Building Committee (PCEA Kariobangi South)-2007/8, 2021-present.

Publications

Journal publications

  1. Wakiru, J., Pintelon, L.,Muchiri, P., Chemweno, P. (2021). Integrated remanufacturing, maintenance, and spares policies towards life extension of a multi-component system. Reliability Engineering & System Safety. 214: 107872.
  2. Wakiru, J., Pintelon, L.,Muchiri, P., Chemweno, P. (2021). A comparative analysis of maintenance strategies and data application in asset performance management for both developed and developing countries.  International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management.  Published online.
  3. Mburu, S. M., Wakiru, J. M., Muchiri, P. N., & Pintelon, L. (2021). Maintenance Impact on Geothermal Drilling Operations. A Case Study Approach. American Journal of Industrial and Business Management, 11, 183–201.
  4. Wakiru, J., Pintelon, L.,Muchiri, P., Chemweno, P. Mburu, S. (2020). Towards an innovative Lubricant Condition Monitoring strategy for maintenance of ageing multi-unit systems. Reliability Engineering & System Safety 204: 107200.
  5. Wakiru, J., Pintelon, L.,Muchiri, P., Chemweno, P. (2020). A data mining approach for lubricant-based fault diagnosis. Journal of Quality in Maintenance Engineering.  Published online.                     
  6. Wakiru, J., Pintelon, L.,Muchiri, P., Chemweno, P. (2020). Integrated maintenance policies for performance improvement of a multi-unit repairable, one product manufacturing system.  Production Planning & Control. 32:5, 347-367.
  7. Wakiru, J.M., Pintelon, L., Muchiri, P.N. and Chemweno, P.K. (2019). A Cost-Based Failure Prioritization Approach for Selecting Maintenance Strategies for Thermal Power Plants : A Case Study Context of Developing Countries. International Journal of System Assurance Engineering and Management 10(5):1369–87.
  8. Wakiru, J.M., Pintelon, L., Muchiri, P.N. and Chemweno, P.K. (2019). Maintenance objective selection framework applicable to designing and improving maintenance programs. International Journal of Engineering Research in Africa,  43:127-144.
  9. Wakiru, J.M., Pintelon, L., Muchiri, P.N. and Chemweno, P.K. (2019). A simulation-based optimization approach evaluating maintenance and spare parts demand interaction effects. International Journal of Production Economics, 208:329-342.
  10. Wakiru, J., Pintelon, L., Muchiri, P., Chemweno, P. (2018). A review of lubricant condition monitoring information analysis for maintenance decision support. Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing, 118:108–132.
  11. Wakiru, J., Pintelon, L., Chemweno, P. and Muchiri, P.N. (2018). A decision tree-based classification framework for used oil analysis applying random forest feature selection. Journal of Applied Sciences, Engineering and Technology for Development, 3(1): 90–100.
  12. Kamunge, M.M., Muchiri, P.P.N., Adika, C.O. and Wakiru, J.M. (2018), “Development of Maintenance Decision Guidelines from Used Oil Data of a Thermal Powerplant. IOSR Journal of Mechanical and Civil Engineering (IOSR-JMCE), 15(2): 63–71.
  13. Ndolo, S.N., Muchiri, P.N., Pintelon, L., Chemweno, P. and Wakiru, J. (2018), “A Simulation Model As A Lean Tool To Improve Patient Flow And Utilization o f Resources In Kenya ’ s Public Hospitals : A Case Study of The Outpatient Department of Nyeri County Referral Hospital”, IOSR Journal of Mechanical and Civil Engineering (IOSR-JMCE), 15(1): 18–25.
  14. Wakiru, J., Pintelon, L., Muchiri, P.N. and Chemweno, P. (2017). A statistical approach for analyzing used oil data and enhancing maintenance decision making: A case study of a thermal power plant.  Journal of Maintenance Engineering, 2:92-104, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire: Shield Crest Publishing.
  15. Chemweno, P., Pintelon, L., De Meyer, A.-M., Muchiri, P.N., Van Horenbeek, A. and Wakiru, J. (2017). A Dynamic Risk Assessment Methodology for Maintenance Decision Support. Quality and Reliability Engineering International, 33(3): 551-564.
  16. Chemweno, P., Morag, I., Sheikhalishahi, M., Pintelon, L., Muchiri, P., Wakiru, J. (2016), Development of a novel methodology for root cause analysis and selection of maintenance strategy for a thermal power plant: A data exploration approach. Engineering Failure Analysis, 66: 19-34.

Conferences Proceedings

  1. Wakiru, J., and Muchiri, P. 2022. “Simulating the Influence of Spares Replacement and Reuse Strategies on Equipment Availability and Maintenance Cost.” In International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Operations Management, 5-7 April 2022, Nsukka, Nigeria.
  2. Wakiru, J., Pintelon, L. (2021). Asset performance management in Belgian industries: Survey results.  Asset Performance 4.0, Session 2.1.5, Antwerp, Belgium. Date: 26-28 October 2021.
  3. Mukhongo, S., Wakiru, J., Muchiri, P., Njenga, M. (2021). Risk-based Maintenance decision support for Geothermal Drilling Rigs. A case study for KenGen Drilling Rigs. Proceedings of World Geothermal Congress 2021. Reykjavik, Iceland. Date: 21-26 May 2021
  4. Wakiru, J., Pintelon, L., Muchiri, P., Chemweno, P. (2020). Simulation-based derived maintenance spares criticality assessment. Proceedings of the 30th European Safety and Reliability Conference in Venice, Italy. Date: 1-6 November 2020.
  5. Wakiru, J., Pintelon, L., Muchiri, P., Elgin, C. (2019). Maintenance data analytics architecture for decision support considering heterogeneous data. The 5th DeKUT International conference on science, technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship. Nyeri, Kenya. Date: 13-15 November 2019
  6. Mburu, S.,Wakiru, J., Pintelon, L., Muchiri, P. (2019). Geothermal drilling cost and rig availability optimization through maintenance. The 5th DeKUT International conference on science, technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship. Nyeri, Kenya. Date: 13-15 November 2019
  7. Wakiru, J., Pintelon, L., Muchiri, P.N. (2018). Towards dynamic selection of maintenance objectives using ANP for operations and maintenance optimization.  Euromaintenance 4.0, Session 2.3.2, Antwerp, Belgium. Date: 24-27 September 2018.
  8. Wakiru, J., Pintelon, L., Muchiri, P. and Chemweno, P. (2018). Influence of maintenance and operations strategies on the availability of critical power plant equipment : A simulation approach, in Grubbstrom, R., Hinterhuber, H. and Lundquist, J. (Eds.), 20th International Working Seminar on Production Economics., Vol. 3, pp. 465-476. PrePrints, Innsbruck, Austria. Date: 19-23 February 2018.
  9. Orošnjak, M., Jocanović, M., Karanović, V., Wakiru, J. and Bugarić, U. (2018). Contamination control of Fluid power systems in industry 4.0. 3rd Maintenance Forum on maintenance and asset management 2018. Belgrade, Serbia, pp. 52–60. Date: 24-26 May 2018.
  10. Wakiru, J. M., Pintelon, L., Karanović, V. V, Jocanović, M. T., & Orošnjak, M. D. (2018). Analysis of lubrication oil towards maintenance grouping for multiple types of equipment using fuzzy cluster analysis. IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering, 393(1), 12011. The 10th International Conference KOD 2018. Novi Sad, Serbia. Date: 06-06 June 2018.
  11. Wakiru, J., Pintelon, L., Muchiri, P. (2018). Simulating the effect of maintenance actions of equipment reliability. Maintenance research day-Technische Universiteit Eindhoven. Date: 08 March 2018
  12. Jocanović, M. T., Karanović, V. V, Orošnjak, M. D., Lukić, D. O., & Wakiru, J. M. (2018). Impact of exploitation conditions on the types of wear of the excavator slew bearing toothed race. IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering, 393(1): 12010. The 10th International Conference KOD 2018. Novi Sad, Serbia. Date: 06-06 June 2018.
  13. Karanović, V. V, Jocanović, M. T., Wakiru, J. M., & Orošnjak, M. D. (2018). Benefits of lubricant oil analysis for maintenance decision support: a case study. IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering, 393(1), 12013. The 10th International Conference KOD 2018. Novi Sad, Serbia. Date: 06-06 June 2018.
  14. Wakiru, J., Pintelon, L., Muchiri, P.N. and Chemweno, P. (2018). Maintenance Optimization: Application of Remanufacturing and Repair Strategies. Procedia CIRP, 69: 899–904. Copenhagen. Date: 30, April-02 May 2018.
  15. Wakiru, J., Pintelon, L., Muchiri, P. (2018). Simulating the influence of spares replacement and reuse on equipment reliability and maintenance cost. The 4th DeKUT International conference on science, technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship. Nyeri, Kenya. Date: 7-9 November 2018
  16. Wakiru, J., Pintelon, L., Muchiri, P., Chemweno, P. (2016). The illustrative methodology of critical failure modes identification using failure mode and effect analysis (FMEA). The second DeKUT International conference on science, technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship. Nyeri, Kenya Dates: 02-04 November 2016
  17. Wakiru, J., Pintelon, L., Muchiri, P., Chemweno, P. (2017). Failure prioritization and maintenance strategy selection: Hybrid approach in power plants. Maintenance research day-Technische Universiteit Eindhoven. Date: 03 February 2017.
  18. Wakiru, J., Pintelon, L., Muchiri, P., Chemweno, P. (2017). A lubricant condition monitoring approach for maintenance decision support – a data exploratory case study. Maintenance Forum (May 2017). Bečići, Montenegro. (pp 69-82). Date: 24-26 May 2017
  19. Wakiru, J., Pintelon, L., Muchiri, P., Chemweno, P. (2017). Analysis of lubrication oil contamination by fuel dilution with the application of cluster analysis. XVII International Scientific Conference on Industrial Systems. pp 252-257. Novi Sad, Serbia. Date: 04-06 October 2017.
  20. Chemweno. P., Pintelon, L., Van Horenbeek, A., Muchiri, P., Wakiru, J. (2014). A dynamic failure mode and effect analysis using Bayesian theory. 8th IMA International Conference on Modelling in Industrial Maintenance and Reliability edition: St. Catherine’s College, University of Oxford. Date:10-12 July 2014.
  21. Wakiru. J., (2018). Asset Performance Management and maintenance- Lubrication technology for Africa. Maintenance magazine. Vol 141. September 2018.
    https://www.maintenance-magazine.be/nl/artikels/item/87/asset-performance-management-en-onderhoud

Other Professional Publications

  1. Wakiru, J. (2017). Taming the tide of substandard lubricants in Kenya. Lubezine, 20(March), 28
  2. Wakiru, J. (2019a). Best practices in the mainenance of compressors. Lubezine, 29, 16–18
  3. Wakiru, J. (2019b). The African grease market – opportunities and challenges. Lubezine, 31(December), 28
  4. Wakiru, J. (2021). Maintenance strategies; a comparative analysis Africa vs Europe. Lubezine, 38, 15-18

Awards, Scholarships and Recognitions

  • IRO scholarship award – Full time PhD research at KU Leuven, Belgium. Period between September 2016 and July 2021.

Research


a) Ongoing/Completed Research

  1. Maintenance Spares inventory optimization.
  2. Healthcare operations optimization.
  3. Lubricant and lubrication technologies.

    4. b) Research funding: (Indicate the Source, Amount & Year)

    • PhD research funding, Source: Interfaculty Council for Development Cooperation. Year: 2016 – 2021.

    Postgraduate Thesis Supervision and Examination

    1. Doctorate
      1. David Malombe (PhD Mechanical Engineering) – Ongoing
        2. Title – Life Cycle Optimization of Critical Medical Equipment in Hospital.
      2. George Njagi Njeru (PhD Mechanical Engineering) – Ongoing
        3. Title – Application of Fractional Ownership in the manufacturing sector in Kenya.
    2. Masters
      1. Sammy Nderitu W. (on-going). Process modelling of a wind energy conversion system based on PSMG with MPPT: Cyberphysical condition monitoring. MSc Thesis, Dedan Kimathi University of Technology.
      2. Mwanyae, Alloice. D. (on-going). Optimal Production and Maintenance scheduling for multiple line, one product system considering degradation. MSc Thesis, Dedan Kimathi University of Technology.
      3. Nganga, Peter (on-going). Maintenance Performance Driven Improvement For Critical Equipment In Cement Grinding Section; A Case Study Of Savannah Cement Kenya. MSc Thesis, Dedan Kimathi University of Technology.
      4. Masamu, Elimenyisa Upendo (2017), Using Data Mining Techniques for Knowledge Discovery and Mapping Aircraft Defects Based on Maintenance Data. M.S Thesis, KU Leuven.
      5. Ngamou, Tchuana William. (2018), Evaluation of power plant maintenance data using data mining techniques. M.S Thesis, KU Leuven.
      6. Mehuys Matthias (2018), Assessment of the rehabilitation profile based on hospital data and simulation of re habilitation at home after CVA. M.S Thesis, KU Leuven, Belgium.
      7. Elgin, Carl James. (2019). Reliability Analysis of Mechanical Equipment in a Cement production plant.” M.S Thesis, KU Leuven, Belgium.
      8. Jonas and Ward (2021). Towards a practical stroke unit bed capacity planning model. M.Sc Thesis, KU Leuven, Belgium.
    3. Diploma
      1. Wachira, S. (2014) The socioeconomic impact of Liquified Petroleum Gas prices: A case study of Nairobi. School of Petroleum Studies.
      2. Kagai, J. K. (2014) The effect of fuel prices on the cost of living: A case study of Mathare. School of Petroleum Studies.
      3. Murigi, W.H. (2013) The effectiveness of hazard management on the environment around Kenya Pipeline Company depot. School of Petroleum Studies.
    4. Thesis Examination
      1. Wambua, Job Maveke (2022). A Multi-objective optimization of the machining of Poly (Methyl Methacrylate) (PMMA) for optical lens application. MSc Thesis, Dedan Kimathi University of Technology.
      2. Obara, Cleophas (2022 on-going). A study of the effects of the multi-directional forging process parameters on Aluminum alloy 7075. MSc Thesis, Dedan Kimathi University of Technology.

    Research Interests

    • Process design and re-engineering.
    • Optimization of Manufacturing systems.
    • Lubrication optimization.

    Affiliation/Membership to Professional Bodies

    • Graduate engineer – EBK
    • Graduate engineer – IEK