Developing Maintenance into a Value Driver in the Company

Smart Maintenance empowers maintenance staff to make data-based decisions - integrating internal and external stakeholders - to maximize the business and societal value proposition of maintenance and service. The Smart Maintenance Expert Group is developing models, methods and tools for the comprehensive technological and organizational transformation of maintenance and service.

The Smart Maintenance Framework (see figure) describes the competence and research profile of the "Smart Maintenance" specialist group at FIR. It has been developed on the basis of many years of experience in research and industry projects and provides a guideline for the evaluation as well as the structured development of an efficient maintenance organization.

• Data-based decisions:
  The elements located in this category enable decisions based on objective metrics and data-driven decision templates. Automated aggregation and analysis of data can improve service and maintenance performance and minimize response times.
• Internal integration:
  Internal integration is used to harmonize objectives of different areas within an organization that are affected by or influence maintenance and service processes. It describes how well maintenance is integrated into the overall processes of a company and is manifested in the form of smooth data, information, knowledge and decision flows as well as close cooperation between intra-organizational departments.
• External integration:
  External integration involves suppliers and service customers in the service or maintenance processes. In particular, the data obtained from the observation and analysis of the machines and systems to be maintained over the entire life cycle opens up great potential for the optimization of maintenance as well as performance improvements in service.
• Service and maintenance employees:
  This category includes the capacity to deliver services based on the existing individual skills and knowledge of employees. The tiles reflect the need for strategic competence and employee development, as well as the need to protect and fully integrate employees into decision-making processes.
   

The combination of proven methods of lean management, reliability-oriented maintenance and total productive maintenance with new technological possibilities - such as anomaly detection, augmented and virtual reality, and process mining - offer enormous value creation potential in maintenance. In addition, the worsening shortage of skilled workers, increasing global competitive pressure and the need to act sustainably are forcing companies to address the issue of smart maintenance now.

The "Smart Maintenance" specialist group supports you with the experience gained from many research and industry consulting projects as well as structured procedures that involve all necessary stakeholders in the implementation of joint projects.