e-Maintenance Update: The Road to Success for Modern Industry

The integration of wireless and mobile technologies with web-based programming has enabled e-Maintenance to emerge as a powerful technological framework to support modern industrial Maintenance and Asset Management engineering practice. The key benefit brought in by e-Maintenance is that maintenance information and access to related services can become ubiquitous and transparently available across the maintenance operations chain. This in turn enables stakeholders to take critical decisions related to maintenance in the light of the most relevant knowledge, information and evidence, which are transparently shared across them. As organizations are becoming increasingly conscious of the need to make more efficient usage of resources, with improved energy-efficiency, while satisfying quality and safety requirements, they are more likely to benefit from the introduction of e-Maintenance technologies and solutions. Yet e-Maintenance has not made as significant an impact in industry as one might have expected. In this paper we explore the current state of research, development and industrial practice related to e-Maintenance, highlighting potential benefits but also hurdles that need to be overcome. We pinpoint specific issues that call for more research effort to be devoted so as to support sustainable asset life cycle management. In this analysis, both the financial and technological implications that need to be taken into account by end users are considered, identifying critical factors for the adoption and successful implementation of e-Maintenance by modern industry.