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Maintenance and reliability teams have been among the essential frontline workers at the forefront of their industries battling the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, UpKeep’s recently released 2021 State of Maintenance Report reveals industry leaders adapting to changes from the pandemic with resiliency and shifting towards technology for team collaboration.

Key findings include:

• Sixty-four percent (64%) of teams reported only slight changes affecting their maintenance budgets as a result of the pandemic.
• Software implementation success is influenced by software choice and company size. Sixty-one percent (61%) of respondents who use an integrated CMMS (computerized maintenance management system) with their ERP (enterprise report planning system) report that their software is difficult to use. Additionally, large r companies found it more difficult for their teams to adopt maintenance software.
• There is a large disconnect between the most important KPIs teams are measuring and the top challenges maintenance teams are facing. Thirty-one percent (31%) of teams report their top challenges are unplanned equipment breakdowns and consistent documentation of completed work, yet forty-seven percent (47%) of respondents share the top KPI they are tracking is planned maintenance.
• COVID-19 has accelerated the digital transformation in maintenance and reliability. Sixty-six percent (66%) of participants report using a CMMS to track the status of work orders.

- COVID-19 has generated an extreme demand for certain consumer products, but created pitfalls for others, said UpKeep CEO, Ryan Chan in a statement.

- Essential products manufacturers are experiencing extreme demands. On the other hand, non-essential producers are experiencing pitfalls in demand and are pressured to cut operational costs. Growth in the industry may have slowed down, but it has not stopped amidst a global pandemic.

The second annual State of Maintenance report surveyed thousands of key maintenance and reliability decision leaders spanning over eighteen industries. Across seventy-three countries globally, with a breadth of annual maintenance budgets between $500K and over $1 billion, the survey compiled insights from a wide range of participants. The report reveals that despite the challenges of a global pandemic, the maintenance industry adapted and pivoted in ways never before dreamed possible. The survey also covers what matters to maintenance teams in 2021, as well as how the state of maintenance will change and continue to adapt in the future.

- Maintenance teams demonstrated remarkable adaptability and resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic and are going above and beyond to ensure that businesses of all sizes can continue to operate in challenging circumstances. Throughout the report, we included the voices of over twenty-five maintenance and reliability thought leaders alongside the data to provide additional analyses. It was important for us to provide both quantitative results and tangible insights on how to implement people-centric leadership to improve technology usage and adoption among maintenance team members.