Having the right sensors or analytical procedures is less crucial to success than a willingness to embrace a new attitude (to service), according to the study “From Data Collection to Value Creation”. New business models and a business culture that “no longer thinks in silos ” could emanate from this. However, it seems that the opportunities of predictive maintenance are being underestimated by many companies. At least one in two companies that are already active in the area lack the budget, a clear strategy and/or the will to organize the changes required in practice, claims the study.

It is a matter of changing from a reactive to a predictive approach, the consultants explain. For this, customer requirements have to be at the heart of a flexible, agile and service-focused organization. The competences required have had to be developed quickly in many companies. For providers in the area of predictive maintenance, it could be worth it: Roland Berger estimates that the worldwide market could grow to as much as $11 billion by 2022. The lion’s share of this should come from Europe, as the corresponding solutions are already well advanced here.

A study by the PAC consulting company essentially came to a similar conclusion in April 2018. The majority of the 230 company and IT managers surveyed stated that they were already active in the area of predictive maintenance. However, many of them cited the fact that they do not know how the predictions can be used in terms of realignment of the maintenance processes as an obstacle.