Smart maintenance
Smart maintenance as the key: The use of sensor-based and self-learning digital services in maintenance increases the resilience of manufacturing companies. This is the conclusion of a study conducted by scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA.
The interruptions to production during the Corona crisis, the blockade of the Suez Canal by the container ship "Ever Given" that lasted for days, the war in Ukraine and the global chip shortage have all shown that the economy must prepare itself for ever new disruptive factors. That means it must become resilient. Companies must be able to return to their original state as quickly as possible after the outbreak of a crisis, or - even better - emerge from it stronger.
How smart maintenance contributes to resilience
One important area in which manufacturing companies must respond to disruptions is the Maintenance. Their task is to ensure the production capability of machines and plants and to restore it as quickly as possible. Researchers from the Sustainable Production and Quality department at Fraunhofer IPA have therefore surveyed the current situation of maintenance with regard to resilience and worked out in a study how smart maintenance can also contribute to resilience in the future.
Great openness to digital services
To this end, the scientists conducted an online survey last year. Representatives of 34 companies of various sizes and industries completed the questionnaire in full. Their responses indicate, for example, that the majority of respondents consider resilience to be an important factor in ensuring that manufacturing companies continue to operate successfully in the future.
97 percent of respondents see personnel as the most important success factor in maintenance. Almost all of the professionals who took part in the online survey can imagine working with assistance systems such as "remote service" in the future. Many do not see their jobs in danger if sensor-based and self-learning maintenance technology is used in the future. Rather, they assume that digital services will supplement the skills of personnel, but not replace them.
The short study "Smart Maintenance as a Resilience Factor" is available free of charge as a Download available. Source: Fraunhofer IPA
