-
Distributional Pattern Of Automobile Mechanic Workshop
CHAPTER ONE -- [Total Page(s) 5]
Page 2 of 5
-
-
-
The study of the distributional pattern of Automobile Mechanic workshop
have not been paid much attention on until after the period of colonial
era when the demand for vehicle ownership started increasing and also
there occur increasing urge for mobility of goods, people compare to
other service sector of the economy where there has been much attention.
For example Banking sector, Educational Sector e. t. c.
. Mostly,
the site of mechanic workshop where maintenance activities, repair of
vehicle and sales of vehicle parts are carried out are of low capital
base and either located on slippery terrains, under tree sheds, canopy
made of banana or palm fronds, etc.
In Nigeria where land transport
is largely in use compared to water transportation and other modes of
transportation in other country, the use of automobile vehicles, either
diesel or petrol driven is predominant. According to ‘Akintola 1995’, he
stated that ‘the vehicles cannot remain new forever, as the parts
breakdown and wear out, and so, must be maintained’.
The background
to the existence of Automobile Mechanic workshop in Nigeria, Ibadan to
be precise can be traced back on the basis of the need to render
services to vehicles which when on the move can suddenly develop fault
and requires an emergency repair. So this makes it inevitable that some
repairing workshops should be set up near the road side to render
services to the vehicles when they go out of order or become
inoperative, and be very helpful for the operation of vehicles. Within a
short time, the number of vehicles increased enormously and many
workshops were set up. Nowadays, many roads and high ways are built and
hundreds and thousands of vehicles are found plying on those roads. In
order to provide services to those vehicles to make them operative, a
large number of mechanic workshops are located near the road side.
(Technical report, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Federal
University of Technology, Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria)
The job of an
automobile mechanics over the 21st century has been increasingly
specialized with rapid advancement in technology, they have broaden
their knowledge from main mechanic work to including rewiring,
electronic work due to the modern trend in production and manufacturing
of modern vehicles whose part have been evolved with electronics. So
this creates basis for the mechanics to have broader knowledge in repair
works than before. Although the land used for automobile mechanical
works are mostly acquired through rent and lease so the managers have
periods of years to locate their workshop there and at the end of the
period of practice, the workshop is later on the control of the previous
worker who was a trainee and after the acquisition of knowledge, he
becomes boss in his own level.
The automobile mechanic workshops in
Nigeria are under the control of mostly illiterate or semi literate
individuals (Oguzie, 2001). The designs of vehicles nowadays have
advanced to a very sophisticated level, and unlike the old mechanically
operated vehicle systems, the modern vehicles are being operated and
controlled by computerized electronic sensors. For example, latest
vehicles’ ignition systems are electrically controlled without employing
the old use of manually reset contact breaker. Common to majority of
the new trend cars is the brain box and other electronic gadgets that
sense instant faults in the vehicle and immediately notifies the driver
through the dashboard display. The modern trend of mechanical services
therefore requires the use of more complex and highly technological and
special diagnostic equipment to analyse vehicle faults for repair and
service. To ensure this for efficiency, safety, comfort and style,
competent professional hands are required (Auto Tips 2001; Dhillon 1980
Automobile repair and servicing is considered to be inelastic because it
will always and forever be in demand. The need for people to purchase
vehicles will continue to rise likewise the need to maintain, repair and
service the vehicles no matter the level at which the economy struggles
in a country.
CHAPTER ONE -- [Total Page(s) 5]
Page 2 of 5
-
