Beyond technology: What will define maintenance winners?

“Interesting question. In the food industry (my industry) the trend is moving towards “lights out” factories. We try to keep people out of the production process as much as possible due to food safety and food quality purposes. It also impacts on human safety. In this case not much human intervention is needed any more, only management of deviations. But in the end, even though it is just a small amount humans are still needed, so therefore I agree with Uday.”

Jan Teun Koningen EFNMS EHSEC (European Health, Safety and Environment Committee) Chairman

“If there’s one takeaway from the answers, it’s this: maintenance excellence is becoming a team sport across the whole organization, and often across whole infrastructure ecosystems. The winners will be those who can coordinate, not just optimize.”

Mia Heiskanen Maintworld Editor

As maintenance teams push deeper into digitalization and automation, the real differentiator is rarely a single tool. We asked three EFNMS committee leaders what “winning” looks like when technology, skills, and collaboration must evolve together.
“The organizations that leverage new technology, data, and human competence with their maintenance policy/strategy will be the winner. In future, maintenance excellence measured in terms of effectiveness and efficiency will depend on how successfully technology is integrated with maintenance work processes, workforce skill, and teamwork across the organization.”

Uday Kumar EFNMS ERMC (European Railway Maintenance Committee) Chairman

“I love the question and would like to add the perspective from infrastructure providers. Infrastructures are very much intertwined, and we face many forms of scarcity. The winners of the future in maintenance and asset management in the infrastructure are the ones that can collaborate to manage all interdependencies of infrastructures in times of scarcity.”

Giel Jurgens EFNMS EAMC (European Asset Management Committee) Vice Chairman