Industrial Maintenance - Meeting Point Zurich

Where does the maintenance industry currently stand in this time of crisis and what challenges does industrial maintenance face?

Bernhard Bürgler, fmpro board member: Basically, we as an industry have come through the crisis pretty well. It is difficult to make a general statement because we are very broadly positioned. The challenges we are still facing are primarily cost pressure, the shortage of skilled workers and digitalization. In addition, the crisis has of course brought new challenges. One example is the global supply chains, which no longer function as smoothly as they did in the past. This is particularly evident in the case of electronic components, which have much longer delivery times or are simply not available in some cases. Therefore, solutions and ways have to be found to circumvent this problem or to live with it.

What opportunities do you see with Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT) being used more and more?

Bürgler: We are at the beginning of a great wave of digitalization in maintenance. Personally, I am currently working intensively on predictive maintenance. This is also one of the big topics at this trade fair. From my point of view, we are slowly coming out of the hype and trial phase and are moving in the direction of applications that are suitable for industrial use and can represent clear added value for manufacturing companies.

What are your association goals and perspectives for your members in the coming year?

Rainer Artho, fmpro Managing Director: We are now coming out of a two-year pandemic, and when I look ahead and think about 2022, the main thing for us is to get back to normal. As an association, we live very much from networking activities, namely physical networks. This is one of fmpro's three core commitments, which we have in fact not been able to pursue for the past two years. With our renewed activity, we are now returning to normality. The cooperation level is also coming back to life, such as the cooperation with the Institute for Data Analysis and Process Design (IDP) - ZHAW or with other associations that are at home in the maintenance sector. These important cooperations have suffered somewhat due to the retreat into the home office.

Now you are planning real events with visitors on site again?

Artho: Yes, we usually hold up to 50 events in a year. These range from loose networking meetings, events, visits and presentations to training courses. It is not yet clear how quickly we will return to the level we had before the pandemic. At the moment, we are still feeling a certain reluctance on the part of companies as well as on a personal level. And the federal regulations are still there and could possibly be tightened up again.

Bürgler: The most important occasions for maintenance are our Maintenance Day and the Maintenance Roundtables, which we want to ramp up again. The maintenance day is always a highlight in the year of the specialists. To this end, it is planned that we will visit a nuclear power plant in spring 2022. 

What topics will you bring to maintenance Switzerland as an association and what added value will you generate for your members and interested parties?

Bürgler: From my point of view, the trade fair is ideal for exploring the state of the art. Especially in the area of digitalization, the latest technologies are on display and being demonstrated. I am specifically looking forward to the topic of predictive maintenance and what the various manufacturers have to offer in this regard. Smart sensors will be another big topic. Maintenance professionals will be working much more with data in the future. There is still huge potential here, for example in linking, good and user-friendly processing and the correct interpretation of data. These topics will keep us busy in the industry for a long time to come. There is a lot of potential here, because in my view we are only at the beginning of a major development. 

You have your finger on the pulse of the times and are already implementing digital maintenance and digitalisation. What three important advantages can you name here?

Bürgler: Maintenance managers are grounded people with both feet on the ground. First, digital tools have to work for them. That is not or was not always the case in the past. But in the meantime, we have industry-standard solutions. Secondly, digital tools have to make sense and add value for the maintainer. We cannot install a solution and then receive dozens of false alarms that distract us from our core activity. So thirdly, the benefit has to be tangible and in a good balance. We are slowly getting there with this technology. 

Networking between industry, science, users and educational institutions is also important for a successful strategy of your members. What does the education strategy look like?

Artho: All our activities support the networking of the various players in our industry environment. But we also have special platforms, for example an education network, where we specifically promote the exchange of education providers with the HR area of companies. The experts for the federal examinations form another exciting network. On the one hand, the preparation, execution and correction of examinations are a strong, non-professional commitment, but on the other hand, they are also an excellent network in the area of maintenance.

On fmpro's training strategy and activities: We are the sponsors of the higher professional examinations for Facility Management Managers and Maintenance Managers. From 2022, these two qualifications will be merged into a single title "Head of FM & Maintenance". This is the result of several years of conceptual work. In addition, we also want to maintain our professional examination "Maintenance Specialist" at the existing high level with around 200 graduates per year. fmpro's commitment to education also represents an important contribution to the shortage of skilled workers, which will remain a major issue. 

Do you see digitalisation generating new job opportunities and completely new job profiles - also for women?

Bürgler: Maintenance today and in the future will be very much in the direction of problem solving and analytics. Networked thinking is required here. We have long since moved on from the era of the maintenance worker who, symbolically, almost bathed in oil. There is no reason why women should not take this career path. Maintenance is an extremely broad and exciting field.

What is the association particularly looking forward to at maintenance Switzerland in November 2021?

Artho: Since we are at this trade fair primarily for the networking aspect and because some of our members also exhibit at this trade fair, it is simply an important meeting place. You can exchange information on the topic of maintenance from A to Z. It is also interesting for us to get to know maintenance people who don't know us yet and to convince them about us. For us, maintenance Switzerland is a very good platform, especially because it is very specialized. It is a streamlined format for all participants, for exhibitors and for visitors. It's not like Swissbau, where thousands of visitors come but there's little connection with maintenance. That is what makes this trade fair so valuable for us and our industry. The relevant offers or topics are there. But the people who come are also relevant and we therefore have a very efficient platform. 

What is special about maintenance Switzerland and live trade fairs in general for both of you?

Bürgler: For me, the meeting point aspect or networking is also very central at the trade fair maintenance Switzerland. It's not just a place to meet up with old partners, but also to make new contacts and find out about new technologies. This exchange in particular is crucial for me. During the pandemic, we all missed the personal exchange. This trade fair is therefore an ideal opportunity for a "conversation at the coffee machine". You can also philosophize a bit about the future of the industry, think about solutions and simply discuss among colleagues what works and what does not.

Artho: I would like to emphasize the general benefit of the trade fair with a high contact density in a very short time. You meet people spontaneously, but you can also make an appointment with customers or partners. That easily leads to 20 conversations in one day and there simply aren't many platforms for doing business with this intensity. Especially if you prepare a bit for the event. Then the trade fair is a success for everyone involved!

Interview by Inoveris on behalf of Easyfairs Switzerland GmbH

More information about maintenance Switzerland here: www.maintenance-schweiz.ch

Parallel trade fairs

Parallel to maintenance Switzerland, for the first time the Aqua Suisse (17 and 18 November 2021) in Zurich. 85 suppliers will be showing the latest technical developments in the supply of water and gas and all the associated components, technologies and product innovations. Also taking place as a parallel event is the Pumps & Valves Zurich, the trade fair for industrial pumps, valves and processes. Interested parties can register for the industry event 2021 with the Visitor code "2501" log in to get a free ticket, which entitles Aqua Suisse, maintenance Schweiz and Pumps & Valves to join the company.