In order to live up to the expectations of both exhibitors and visitors, Easyfairs, in the wake of Maintenance 2017, gaged the topics that are top of the priority list of maintenance managers and maintenance departments. “The results of this survey have served as a guide to assemble an on-topic additional programme, that adds true value to the trade fair”, states Event Director John Barbier.
Maintenance no longer is regarded as a necessary evil. A growing number of organisations now sees maintenance as a crucial tool to reinforce their competitive edge. However, many maintenance departments still have a long way to go to get to their goal. Unsurprisingly, when it comes to maintenance and asset management, most respondents indicated an interest in improving their maintenance strategy (52%). Avoiding unnecessary maintenance cost (43%) and developing more efficient operational procedures (37%) close the top 3. The quest for more efficiency is also reflected in the replies regarding maintenance technique and production reliability. Organisations mainly try to find improvement in condition monitoring of electro mechanic installations and pumps (31 and 29%). Many maintenance departments apparently still struggle to keep their pumps operational, since this is the third ranked topic in this category (26%).
It’s all about improvement
The drive towards higher efficiency levels can also be seen in the high scoring answers regarding ICT and planning tools. Smart maintenance (34%) is the undisputed number one, with solutions to plan/prepare production shutdowns (32%) and spare parts inventory management (28%) also in the top 3. In the energy management category the same trend for efficiency is prevalent as well, with businesses wanting to find out more about the effect of solid maintenance on the level of energy consumption of machines (35%) and preventing standard leaks and energy losses (27%).
An additional program to come up with the answers
Meanwhile, Easyfairs has been working on an attractive additional program for Maintenance 2017. John Barbier: “The target audience are gripped by themes such as Internet of Things and digitisation. Both are pillars for so-called maintenance of the future, with a strong emphasis on efficiency via smart maintenance. That is why we plan a conference on the newest digital tools that take optimisation of maintenance a step further. We will however also incorporate the need for more information on digitisation in our Innovation route, which in 2017 will guide you to exhibitors offering specific solutions to digitally transform maintenance and cleantech. Cost saving is another important topic derived from the survey results. Even more reason for us to set up a conference on the tools and methods for more efficient asset management systems. Lastly, we aim to inform our visitors on a third topic featuring in the highest ranks amongst the target group: condition monitoring.