It is not uncommon for organizations to struggle with many issues related to digitalization. With the hype around digitalization at fever pitch, it is easy to become overwhelmed by the multitude of options available in the marketplace. But the strongest contributing factor to implementation challenges is a failure to devise a strategy for an extensive period of uncertainty.
Formulating a Maintenance 4.0 strategy is not easy. An aggressive strategy based on overinvesting in unproven technologies or a conservative strategy of merely waiting on the sidelines are unrealistic options.
Guiding principles
The seven guiding principles for a Maintenance 4.0 strategic plan are:
1. Invest based on the business case. The primary obligation to shareholders does not change just because of the changes occurring within the manufacturing arena. What does this mean from a practical perspective? Strategic choices require due diligence and investments must be made based on expected returns to the business. If you cannot justify the investment to your shareholders, it should not be made.
2. Take an incremental approach. Adopting Maintenance 4.0 does not mean eliminating existing processes and technologies. Yes, there are legacy systems that are no longer effective, but the default should be to adopt existing practices. It’s likely that your organization already uses some so-called Maintenance 4.0 practices. Big bets on new, still-evolving product categories should be minimized.
3. Upgrade existing maintenance practices. In support of incrementalism, industrial plants should evaluate maintenance best practices that can be adopted in parallel to Maintenance 4.0.
4. Adaptability. The fast pace of innovation has significant implications for industrial plants adopting a new strategy. Will a solutions breakthrough that occurs in 2020 be redundant by 2025? An accelerated speed of change is the new normal, and companies must identify ways to incorporate new Maintenance 4.0 solutions while minimizing disruptions to operations.
5. Data as an asset. Big data is the oxygen of Maintenance 4.0. Although vast amounts of data are generated by sensors embedded within industrial machinery, most of the data is not yet used today. A guiding principle for a Maintenance 4.0 strategy is that data governance practices must be instituted and the underlying value of operational data should be captured.
6. O&M collaboration. Successful implementation of Maintenance 4.0 cannot happen unless the views of plant-level employees are considered as part of the requirements process. Without allocating resources to training and onboarding, Maintenance 4.0 will be stuck in the planning phase.
7. Share risk with external vendors. Industrial players are unable to keep up with the rapid pace of change. Fortunately, OEMs and other service providers are finding ways to address market opportunities and overcome challenges to their own underlying businesses. Industrial plants should spend the time understanding the strategic road map of their most important OEM suppliers and consider mutually beneficial ways to align investments and plans.
Setting your strategy
In Figure 1, the S curve of technology innovation is applied to the Maintenance 4.0 strategy. The S curve refers to the stages of a new technology’s performance as it matures. In the first phase, it evolves slowly. After a breakthrough occurs, performance improves rapidly. Next, the pace of improvement declines. Finally, with maturation, greater performance is difficult to achieve.