Review of maintenance Switzerland 2017
maintenance Schweiz 2017 proved to be a complete success. On its 10th anniversary, the trade fair was more in demand than ever. This year's focus was on the topics of digitalization and Industry 4.0.
Many sector managers were interested in maintenance Switzerland 2017, for example Sandro Maciocia, Head of Service Sales and Account Management at ABB Switzerland AG. (Image: zVg).
With 2,512 visitors and 142 exhibitors, organiser Easyfairs succeeded in achieving an optimal result over two days of the trade fair (8-9 February). The focus was on the future-oriented topic of "Digitalization" in conjunction with "Industry 4.0.
Smart on the move with tablet and smartphone, virtually networked with colleagues and collaboratively active on social networks: the world of maintenance has clearly changed and - for example, according to Stefan Frefel, Managing Director of Bilfinger Industrial Services Schweiz AG - has already arrived "in the middle of the industrial revolution 4.0".
New technologies
Anyone who visited maintenance Schweiz 2017 from 8 to 9 February noticed that predictive analyses have recently become the order of the day. The areas of "condition-based maintenance" and "predictive maintenance" are currently the main topics of discussion for maintenance professionals. Instead of carrying out preventive maintenance at fixed intervals, in future the development of a technical system will be continuously monitored on the basis of software - in order to be able to draw up forecasts for the further course and effective, cost-optimised maintenance plans.
A trade fair for experts
Maintenance specialists were able to address the exhibitors' experts with specific questions. In doing so, they received solution-oriented input for their operational practice. For many Swiss companies, digitalisation has only just begun: "Many manufacturing companies are still in the early stages of development," is the experience of Sandro Maciocia, Head of Service Sales and Account Management at ABB Switzerland Ltd.
An exhibition platform like maintenance Switzerland is exactly the right place to discuss concrete steps towards digitisation and to jointly implement suitable solutions at product, system or site level. For the time being, the focus is on how data can be cleanly collected and analysed. The next step would be to consider how intelligent and sensible measures could be based on this, some experts said. Digitalization is also an opportunity for SMEs that want to orient themselves across departments and industries.
The next maintenance Switzerland will take place from 7 to 8 February 2018 in Zurich, parallel to SOLIDS (bulk solids).
