Software to the rescue?

In the lead-up to our software-based virtual event, we asked our readers: “What software do you use to manage your maintenance?” in an online poll. It was great to see that (as of publication time) the results showed only 14 per cent of respondents don’t use any software. While on the other end of the spectrum seven per cent said they used all of the options listed.

By far the most used (not surprisingly, as we are in the maintenance sphere) was CMMS (computerized maintenance management software) with 44 per cent usage, followed by ERP (enterprise resource planning) at 26 per cent, EAM (enterprise asset management) at five per cent, while another five per cent they used another type of software.

Many software options exist for those in the maintenance world who want to go digital. This was apparent when MRO began planning our recently completed Reducing Downtime: How Software Can Help virtual event last year.

We researched far and wide, and came up with a cross section of software solution experts to help our readers implement and improve their operations. In all, four presentations and a panel discussion outlined best practices to reduce downtime through use of software.

Here is a summary of the event.

Miguel Ramos, Limble CMMS, presented Reducing downtime by creating the right maintenance strategy for your company. He spoke about identifying your largest contributors to downtime, and how to create a strategy to make the biggest impact to reducing downtime with limited resources.

John Bernet, Fluke Reliability, spoke about IIoT and vibration-based condition monitoring – is it a false dawn. During his presentation, he explored the promise of IIoT to increase asset coverage, some of the challenges with developing and deploying these solutions, how AI/ML is enabling human on the loop, but not out of it, and the resultant need for reliability engineers to work with a trusted partner who brings a balanced approach, blending human expertise and IIoT technologies.

Jaidev Krishnan from AssetWatch, spoke about Preventing downtime through early detection of bearing faults, using wireless remote condition monitoring. The session used a case study to learn how to leverage predictive analytics to identify early bearing failure by analyzing the data collected from equipment sensors.

Mo Abuali, IoTco, looked at how to Leverage A.I. and predictive analytics toward zero-downtime, zero-defects manufacturing. His presentation educated attendees on the “digital tools of the trade” to realize Industry 4.0 in a systematic approach, with focus on the business case ROI, real time connectivity, and predictive AI-enabled technologies for Maintenance 4.0 and Quality 4.0.

The virtual event concluded with a panel discussion that looked at how maintenance software helps your bottom line. This discussion was free flowing, and covered a lot of ground.

All of the sessions are now available on MRO’s virtual event page and YouTube channel. Be sure to check them out for some very insightful software use tips.

MARIO CYWINSKI Editor mcywinskiw@mro.ca

ESTABLISHED 1985

SPRING 2023

Volume 39, Number 1

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