By: Meryl Eckersley - Secure Power Channel Manager at Schneider Electric

Businesses should prioritise long-term sustainability by implementing proactive maintenance strategies, acknowledging the strategic value of investing in maintenance and after-sales support.

Technological advancements like the Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) have revolutionised proactive maintenance. Predictive maintenance tools offer real-time monitoring and diagnostics for timely interventions, reducing costs and ensuring efficient equipment operation.

A significant driver in adopting the shift to proactive maintenance within an organisation is the benefit of optimising technology trends and staying ahead of the curve through advanced practices and operational efficiency.

The main differentiator between proactive and traditional maintenance is the reduction of unscheduled downtime, which can lead to operational risks. By leveraging digital tools and solutions, organisations can leverage data analytics, real-time monitoring and predictive algorithms that identify and address risks through analytical trends. Monitoring can be done onsite at the asset level.

IoT has transformed maintenance practices by providing real-time enablers through the monitoring of equipment and performances. Schneider Electric’s EcoStruxure Asset Advisor, its vendor-agnostic IoT architecture, enables software experts to analyse valuable data insights to mitigate potential risks, enhance operational efficiency and reduce wear and tear, all of which can lead to high operational costs within the asset lifecycle if not managed efficiently.

Optimisation of maintenance practices

AI-driven analytics allow for the optimisation of and value-add to maintenance practices, as it generates recommendations on how to improve alarm and incident tracking statistics. For example, EcoStruxure Asset Advisor evaluates live data from customers' environments and applies AI and advanced analytics to identify potential threats. It also facilitates automatic incident creation and sets priorities for the dispatch of onsite resources when required. This is one of the biggest advantages that proactive maintenance capabilities can bring to an organisation.

EcoStruxure Asset Advisor ranks among the leading predictive maintenance tools currently available in the market. It is used in data centre environments to enable secure power from Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) and cooling via predictive cloud-based analytics that provide 24/7 remote monitoring of IT critical infrastructure.

EcoStruxure Asset Advisor is one of Schneider Electric’s core offers under its digital portfolio, connecting a host of services to assets. This solution gives the customer peace of mind in knowing that their critical infrastructure is being overseen and monitored throughout Schneider Electric’s various hubs. This solution also leverages predictive analytics to enhance security enhancements and mitigate risk and failure through real-time data.

Real-time monitoring can significantly improve equipment efficiency and reduce costs by harnessing predictive analytics to prevent component-level failure. Organisations can reduce the failure curve by addressing the state of specific components throughout the asset lifecycle, thus reducing downtime and unforeseen operational costs.

Fostering collaboration

Another clear benefit of predictive maintenance is that it enables organisations to foster collaboration between maintenance teams, operators and management. Through technologies, such as mobility and cloud computing, teams can collaborate across various platforms and access information which ultimately facilitates collaboration.

After-sales support also plays an integral role in the customer satisfaction journey throughout the asset life cycle through the various after-sales service offers. A customer’s experience can be enhanced through various portfolios designed to address issues such as reducing downtime and minimising costs, as well as managing the cost of ownership.

However, organisations could face challenges when transitioning from reactive to proactive maintenance, specifically in the areas of security and protecting the applications from cyberattacks. Schneider Electric’s EcoStruxure IoT platform has been developed with rigorous penetration testing and includes two-factor authentication encryption that also allows data to be transported through an outbound connection only via the IT gateway.

While technology plays a vital role in the adaptation of proactive maintenance practices, the most important element remains the human touch. A well-trained workforce, exposed to continuous learning, is key to the successful implementation of new technologies that require effective strategies to help organisations navigate the digital landscape.