April 2019 Maintenance Insights: Fiix News & Industry Updates

Explore this month’s selection of insightful maintenance articles sourced from leading industry experts.

Maintenance news from around the world

How Mobile Devices Help Manufacturers Get Ahead in the Digital Age (Jay Voorheis, MachineDesign)

Legacy tools such as clipboards and spreadsheets still dominate many manufacturing maintenance workflows, yet the modern enterprise demands real‑time data, instant issue resolution, and productivity measured in seconds. This article explains how mobile technology drives digital transformation and can spark a maintenance revolution by enabling on‑the‑go diagnostics, remote guidance, and instant data capture.

The basics of setting up an effective PdM program (Timothy Thomas, PlantServices)

Reactive, preventive, and predictive strategies each offer distinct advantages and limitations. In practice, a hybrid approach often delivers the best results. This piece outlines the practical steps for launching a predictive maintenance (PdM) program— from data collection and sensor deployment to analytics and continuous improvement—so your team can transition smoothly and achieve measurable uptime gains.

Maintenance Goals for 2019 (Peter Philips, MRO Magazine)

Without clear goals, maintenance teams drift and chaos can spread. This case study demonstrates how structured goal setting, rigorous auditing, and a clear roadmap can help departments overcome obstacles, finish large projects, and drive facility performance.

While Montreal sleeps, every minute counts for subway maintenance workers (Morgan Lowrie, National Post)

Maintaining Canada’s busiest subway network requires relentless vigilance. This article spotlights the unsung heroes who work overnight, illustrating how preventive maintenance safeguards rider safety, keeps operations running smoothly, and protects the city’s economic vitality.

Maintenance news from Fiix

Four strategies for reducing turnover in maintenance

Knowledge is the lifeblood of maintenance. When skilled employees depart, organizations face costly recruitment, onboarding, and productivity losses. This post explores proven tactics for retaining talent and capturing institutional knowledge, ensuring continuity and resilience.

Proactive vs. reactive maintenance: What’s the difference—and can they actually work well together?

Many view maintenance strategies as mutually exclusive, yet the most successful organizations blend them. This article distinguishes proactive methods—preventive and predictive—from reactive fixes, and shows how they can complement each other to maximize reliability and reduce costs.

Mastering the fundamentals: Maintenance work orders

Work orders are the backbone of any maintenance operation, guiding teams from initiation to completion. This guide covers best practices for creating, managing, and tracking work orders so your processes run as smoothly as a well‑tuned sports car.

Finding success with failure codes

When failures occur without clear causes, prevention becomes difficult. Failure codes help identify root causes, streamline troubleshooting, and refine maintenance practices. This article explains how to leverage failure codes to avoid repeat incidents and enhance reliability.

The future of maintenance: A practical guide to Industry 4.0

Industry 4.0 buzzwords abound, but actionable guidance is scarce. This piece cuts through the hype to define what Industry 4.0 truly means for maintenance, covering AI, machine learning, and IIoT, and shows how to integrate these technologies into everyday operations.