The introduction of smart maintenance and predictive maintenance is without alternative for industrial companies if they want to hold their own in the market in the future. But the introduction is demanding. It doesn’t just affect IT. Smart maintenance must be understood as a holistic organizational transformation.
Companies should therefore plan the introduction as a step-by-step process. One concept that has proven helpful for the transformation to the smart factory is
Lean Smart Maintenance
.
The scientifically based maintenance approach not only aims at cost efficiency, but also takes into account market developments that demand increasing flexibility and agility from companies.
Two elements are therefore combined in Lean Smart Maintenance:
- LEAN approach for more effectiveness
- SMART approach for more efficiency
The aim is to anchor Smart Maintenance throughout the company in such a way that it contributes to increasing value creation.
Lean Smart Maintenance is implemented and optimized in a continuous cycle of four steps: Plan, Do, Check, Act.
Plan – Set goals
First, companies should define monetarily measurable goals to be achieved with smart maintenance. In addition to direct costs, indirect costs such as downtime follow-up costs should also be taken into account when calculating the value contribution of smart maintenance.
Do – Implement measures
This is followed by the gradual introduction of digital tools that support employees in maintenance and servicing. Depending on the digital maturity of the organization, monitoring systems to prevent failures and predictive maintenance applications can be introduced.
Check – Check successes
This is followed by a ratio-based evaluation of the measures: What value contribution was achieved? Where are the weak points? How can the potential of digital applications be better exploited?
Act – Initiate improvements
Companies are adapting their strategy and organization to become smart factories thanks to smart maintenance. They train employees so that they develop the necessary know-how to apply the new strategies and technologies.
More success through Lean Smart Maintenance is possible for every industrial company. Value creation arises from the changed role that maintenance takes on. It is evolving from a preserving and reactive maintenance to an acting, preventing and improving entity.