Predictive maintenance is a good starting point for digital transformation. Are you ready?

As a manufacturer, the way you operate and make money is changing. Meeting your customer needs is no longer just about the products you make and how fast you deliver them. You are also increasingly called on to be the service experts and technicians for those products as well.

When you want to build a strategy to solve your internal uptime challenges and expand your external service opportunities, predictive maintenance capabilities are a good place to start. Whether you are providing service to your own equipment or to the products you sell, predictive maintenance is among the first areas to reap the benefits of digital transformation, digital manufacturing, Industry 4.0—whatever you choose to call it.

Sensors incorporated in machinery and equipment today collect volumes of temperature, material wear, moisture level, usage time and other data. Analytics transform this data into extremely intelligent, predictable, efficient, and profitable information for you.

Ready to use predictive maintenance to optimize your operations or expand into the services business? Here are three areas to consider as you evaluate your readiness for the changes to come.

1. Culture. Many manufacturers make decisions based on their gut or anecdotal experience. However, as more data and smart data analysis becomes available, you can begin using this information for well-informed decision making. What will happen if the data uncovers a flaw in your processes that may not be the most efficient or profitable? Will your organization be willing to adapt?
2. Governance. The decentralized operating model of many manufacturers can be challenging when bringing new, data-driven processes to the entire organization. For example, one factory may have conducted a successful pilot resulting in new predictive maintenance capabilities and efficiency results on the factory floor. How easy is it for you to roll out this innovation to the rest of your operations? What hurdles do you need to overcome to implement these improvements consistently throughout your organization?
3. Technology. The ultimate vision of Industry 4.0 is one of manufacturers maintaining autonomous operations running on a comprehensive, digital platform. That may be a way down the road, but you can take steps now to get there. For instance, what business intelligence software will work with your current MES system to give you the analysis you need? Do you have enterprise asset management software in place to help manage your efficient maintenance and service operations?

Source: infor.com

Frontstep, a Channel partner of Infor, has more than 20 years of experience with Infor products, including Infor EAM Asset management. Learn more about Infor EAM or contact us for a free consultation.