Maintenance news

If you were trying to choose between predictive maintenance (PdM) and condition-based maintenance (CBM), you’ve probably noticed that most explanations on which to use tend to oversimplify things.In this brand-new article, we’re looking at why it’s not a choice between the two, but rather where each of these approaches fits into your broader maintenance strategy. Read MoreWith expert insights, we explore how modern teams blend strategies based on asset criticality, data maturity, and operational practicality.What’s been your experience with CBM or PdM? Have you used one more than the other? Let me know below 👇

We’ve explored the trending topic of artificial intelligence (AI) in past posts like this one, where we specifically looked at how AI is set to benefit maintenance teams moving forward. AI has been a game changer in maintenance operations--especially in predictive maintenance (PdM).Now, in this brand-new article, we’re asking: What’s hype and what’s real? Read moreWe break down what AI can and can’t do in PdM, with insights from our subject matter experts. Read the full post to find out what’s truly predictive, and what’s just marketed that way.What’s been your experience with AI when it comes to maintenance operations? Let me know below 👇

It’s hard to believe it’s already been three months since the Fiix team journeyed down to Anaheim, CA for Automation Fair 2024, the world’s largest event dedicated to industrial automation.At this year’s expo, Fiix had its strongest showing yet. Among four days filled with seminars, tours, and demos, we were proud to pack our session to standing-room only for Generac’s Predictive Maintenance Journey: Leveraging Fiix. We’ll be sharing more about that session in the community soon, so stay tuned! In the meantime, you can catch up on Generac’s maintenance journey with Fiix in this webinar: And be sure to check out some of the free on-demand videos from this year’s Automation Fair, including the keynote by Rockwell Automation CEO Blake Moret: More sessions can be found on the official site here.We hope to see you and your team at the Fiix booth later this year for Automation Fair 2025! We’ll be sharing details about that event as they’re finalized.

In our exploration of Rockwell Automation’s 9th annual State of Smart Manufacturing (SoSM) Report, we’ve looked at the report as a whole and specifically at the theme of AI in maintenance. Today, let’s keep it going with a deep dive into the top 10 business challenges facing manufacturers this year, and what maintenance can do to help. Read on Breaking down the top internal and external obstacles, this featured blog post argues that far from being a cost center, maintenance can actually play a huge role in navigating global business challenges. Is your team facing any of the challenges listed? Let me know in the comments down below 👇

Following up my recent post on the 9th annual State of Smart Manufacturing Report, let’s focus on one of the most important industry trends to emerge: artificial intelligence (AI). When we saw that a full 83% of manufacturers anticipate using generative AI tools this year, we had one burning question: How is AI going to impact and benefit maintenance teams in 2024? For all the worry about AI in the media, this year’s SoSM report paints an optimistic picture of the way this new technology is poised to benefit adopters. And not just business benefits--human benefits.So check out our article below to find out five ways we think AI will benefit maintenance teams in 2024 (and beyond!). Read now Is your maintenance team using or planning to use AI in 2024?Let me know in the comments down below.

Calling all industry insiders! Rockwell Automation just released their 9th annual State of Smart Manufacturing Report.This free annual report surveys hundreds of manufacturers from around the globe to discover how they’re harnessing emergent technologies to maximize workforce potential, reduce risk, increase quality, and deliver sustainable growth. The 2024 SoSM report is full of interesting insights and trends that impact maintenance teams. Topping this year’s list are Cloud/SaaS technologies, generative AI, and sustainability. How does your team stack up? 95%are using or evaluating smart manufacturing technology ROICloud/SaaS topped the list for technology that drives the greatest ROI GenAI was #1in the top ten new investment areas over the next 12 months98%have a sustainability/ESG policy in place  Don’t let the future catch you off guard. Prepare with your own copy of the 9th annual State of Smart Manufacturing Report! Get your free report

Last Monday marked the start of Automation Fair 2023. We were joined by an incredible mix of attendees, including distributors, partners, customers, and thought leaders, to explore the newest innovations in maintenance and manufacturing. Here are some highlights:Keynote speakers: The event was packed with keynote sessions from some very impressive thought leaders. Their insights left us inspired and equipped with fresh ideas to drive progress. Offsite tours: Attendees had the opportunity to experience innovation firsthand with offsite tours to various facilities. Each offsite tour was a chance to see the future of maintenance and manufacturing in action. Fiix CMMS: Our team showcased the power of our CMMS, demonstrating how teams can optimize maintenance operations, enhance efficiency, and drive production to new heights. Asset Risk Predictor: We proudly showcased our newly launched software, Asset Risk Predictor, in action! This tool offers predictive insights to keep your operations

This article was written by Marc Cousineau. Safety first. It’s a term you’ve probably heard, and said, thousands of times. And for good reason— the safety of your team is incredibly important. Even minor accidents can have a profound impact on everything from productivity and morale, to the environment and individual lives, and lead to injuries, fines, lawsuits and more.An overreliance on reactive maintenance is a major cause of accidents in many production environments. In fact, one study found that corrective maintenance leads to twice the number of accidents than preventive maintenance. Establishing a preventive maintenance strategy is one way for maintenance teams to take control of their time, resources and money to reduce the likelihood of accidents.Although every maintenance manager would say it’s a top priority to improve health and safety, implementing preventive maintenance is not an easy goal to accomplish amidst a flurry of work orders, overseeing technicians, formulating r

This article was written by Katie Allen, Fiix Alumni. Katie’s article remains very much relevant today as we celebrate Earth Day, and take action as individuals and organizations to look at our world through an environmentally-conscious lens.  Waste. Garbage. Rubbish. Litter. Trash. Excess. These concepts are relatively new in our modern world. Waste was often synonymous with barren land and had nothing to do with disposal. Garbage — the act of throwing something away — was introduced in the early 1900s. Now, it’s a regular part of life— we buy, we use, and then we throw away. This is so common that we have entire waste management systems with teams of people and machinery dedicated to our garbage. This used to be my job. I would advise the public on where to put items when they were ready to throw it out. I would pick through big, black garbage bags on gruelling hot days, dissecting, weighing, and sorting what people threw out. I helped divert hazardous and electronic waste from enter

Here’s our best shot…“You can’t have a failure if you don’t define what failure is”.  Your turn 👇 

Interested in learning more about the exciting possibilities related to Fiix joining the Rockwell Automation family this year? Come meet Fiix CEO, James Novak @jamesnovak, and Tessa Myers, VP & GM Production & Operations Management Solutions at Rockwell Automation, to hear their vision for the connected enterprise production system, and how asset management is a strategic piece of the industrial digital transformation puzzle. This keynote session kicks off day two at Fiix Forward 2021, our annual user conference. Fiix & Rockwell Automation: At the intersection of IT and OTTuesday, September 28, 10:00AM - 10:40AM ETREGISTER for this session and more at Fiix Forward 2021 →  Then, stick around as @Divya Venkataraman and @StuartFergusson dive deeper into our approach to product integration as we build our plans to unlock Rockwell Automation and Fiix value. Learn how Fiix can become an end-point to action data across your connected systems. The path to Fiix & Rockwell Automa

Allie Schwertner, industry sales engineer and leader for sustainability and energy at Rockwell Automation, discusses how the company fits into the microgrid industry as it shoots for carbon neutrality across its manufacturing facilities by 2030.  Are you one of the many businesses in the industrial space that are seeing the growing costs associated with power outages and are putting a bigger focus on energy resiliency? Tell us about it in the comments below 👇 Read the full article by Microgrid Knowledge here → About Microgrid Knowledge“Microgrid Knowledge leads the way providing news on microgrids and distributed energy resources. Our audience includes energy businesses, organizations and policymakers, along with customers who use microgrids and distributed energy — or are considering doing so. Visit our site to read original content about markets, policies, trends and technologies in this fast-growing energy arena.” After you watch Allie’s interview, why not jump over here and join o

What does maintenance have to do with sustainability? A lot (they’re literal synonyms). But the bigger question is, why the heck should we care? Our Sustainability and Social Impact Manager @katie.allen explains it all down there and right here  https://bit.ly/3q8GZw4  After you take a walk with Katie, why not jump over here and join our Sustainability group forum (click the blue “Join group” button to subscribe).In this group, we discuss the social, environmental and economic impact of maintenance practices. If you’re just starting to connect the dots of how maintenance contributes to sustainability and you have more questions than answers, this group is for you. If you have your own best practices to share, this group is also for you. Engage with your peers to ask questions, challenge your assumptions, and spark conversations about what sustainability means and how businesses can be a force for positive change.

We couldn’t resist jumping on this bandwagon. This popular zoom fail has us all laughing at Fiix this week. Here’s our best caption...“No Judge, that’s not a spare part behind my back.” Now it’s your turn 

Here’s our best caption...“When equipment fails on a Friday afternoon just before going home”.  Now it’s your turn

Are you ready for this...we’re heading for Industry 5.0...connecting man and machine The 5th industrial revolution “...is all about connecting man and machine — that is, collaboration between humans and smart systems. Depending on who you ask, Industry 5.0 is either on the immediate horizon, or it’s already here, its arrival accelerated by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic”. Beyond the new buzzword, this article claims the following 11 trends will dominate manufacturing in 2021Employee Safety Becomes a Top Priority IoT is (Still) THE Big Thing Predictive Maintenance Keeps Production on Track Shifting Focus from B2B to B2C Manufacturers Plan Their COVID-19 Exit Strategy A New Approach to ERP Manufacturers Gain Greater Visibility into Big Data VR & AR Support Touchless Service Model 3D Printing Makes Production Faster & Cheaper Manufacturers Reevaluate Shoring & Sourcing The Job Market Remains UncertainRead the full articlehttps://global.hitachi-solutions.com/blog/top-manufa

You’ll start to see many Best-of-2020 lists this time of year -- but where else can you find a the top maintenance podcasts of 2020? We’ve got you covered 👍 There was a lot to talk about in 2020 A global pandemic. A shifting, often shaky economy. Elections and uprisings. New technology, new ideas, and new ways of working.And, there was no shortage of podcasts discussing these fresh challenges as well as revisiting old debates.The appeal of podcasts is obvious  You can listen and learn from pretty much anywhere, and often multi-task, whether that’s on your commute, while cooking, or exercising. That makes podcasts the perfect way to listen to stories of people in the industry and learn strategies for improving, both on the shop floor and away from it.Nine of the very best maintenance podcast episodes of 2020 My colleague, @marccousineau, has put together a must-listen playlist in this blog.Here’s a teaser of my personal top ③ from the list, in an effort to entice you to go check out th

industryweek.com/technology-and-iiot/article/21139163/are-you-ready-to-dig-deeper-into-the-ai-icebergAI is trending within manufacturing for good reason -- its ability to dramatically improve results. However, according to this article, our preparedness needs to improve.“Manufacturing is close to a breakthrough for using AI to solve a multitude of problems. More companies understand where the data resides and what they want to do with it. They just need the right technology tools to help them move past some hurdles and begin leveraging AI’s benefits...and the potential benefits are there. McKinsey reported in 2019 that asset productivity increased by 20 percent with AI predictive tools and maintenance costs also fell by up to 10 percent.”  How prepared is your organization to dive into AI? Are you one of the early adopters? Or will you be one of the first groups to follow the market leaders and turn the tide?

blogs.idc.com/2020/07/01/five-competitive-advantages-of-resilient-operations 🚨Game-changing stat 🚨 61.3% of CEOs view market responsiveness as more operationally significant than throughput and efficiency over the next five years. This is a huge shift. Manufacturers have tried for decades to maximize throughput and efficiency in every way possible. That’s all changed in a matter of months.In this article, IDC suggests that resilient operations will converge the two traditionally separate groups of IT staff and operations subject matter experts, they give 5 reasons why, and share some success stories of resilient operations in the COVID era.Moral of the story: If you want operational flexibility, invest in a maintenance team that's connected to the rest of the organization.Maintenance teams know how to pivot quickly and confidently! What do you think others can learn from the maintenance team about responsiveness, adaptability, and resiliency? 

mckinsey.com/business-functions/sustainability/our-insights/reimagining-industrial-operations⚡ A 38% drop in energy consumption💧 A 28% reduction in water use🗑 A 20% cut back on waste👷 A 60% improvement in plant safety🏭 A 10% bump in OEEIt's pretty clear that for German chemical and consumer-goods company Henkel, investing in maintenance means investing in a sustainable business.In this compilation, McKinsey experts and corporate leaders describe emerging opportunities for industrial operators (including oil & gas companies, miners, and cement makers) to help lead the way to a lower-carbon future. Ranging from hybrid-electric equipment and digitization to business-model innovation and supply chain reorientation. “...companies themselves have a window of opportunity to adapt their operations to help reduce the disruption that climate change will ultimately bring.” Did these quick-hit overviews provide you with any inspiration or leave you with questions? Share your thoughts with