Fiix Monthly Maintenance Insights – November 2018 Highlights

Welcome to your monthly briefing on the most compelling maintenance trends and innovations shaping the industry.

Maintenance news from around the world

Repair is as important as innovation (The Economist)

Maintenance often goes unnoticed until it fails—much like a tear in a shirt or a sputtering engine. This piece from The Economist challenges the modern obsession with the shiny and new, arguing that neglecting repair is a perilous shortcut that harms individuals and the global economy. It also explains why the true value of maintenance is notoriously hard to quantify.

Nine Smart Factories Lighting the Way to a Winning Industry 4.0 Strategy (John Hitch, IndustryWeek)

Facing a skills gap, an aging workforce, trade tensions, and rapid tech change, many manufacturers are uncertain about their future. John Hitch showcases nine factories that have successfully adopted Industry 4.0, demonstrating how integrated IIoT solutions can deliver measurable financial and operational gains.

Reinventing After‑Sales Service In A Subscription Economy World (Louis Columbus, Forbes)

The subscription model—championed by Netflix and Blue Apron—has reshaped consumer expectations. Louis Columbus explores how manufacturers can pivot from product sales to service revenue, highlighting the pivotal role of maintenance, IIoT, and other Industry 4.0 tools in delivering reliable uptime.

Predictive Maintenance Breathes New Life into Legacy Equipment (Ian Wright, engineering.com)

Industrial IoT is transforming maintenance, but replacing legacy assets is often impractical. Ian Wright outlines strategies for integrating predictive maintenance into existing machinery, ensuring that digital transformation delivers real value without costly equipment swaps.

Where Do IIoT and Manufacturing Strategy Intersect? (Sarah Bellstedt, IoT For All)

Manufacturers face a maze of strategies—from Six Sigma to Total Productive Maintenance. Sarah Bellstedt explains how combining these frameworks with IIoT, cloud computing, and AI can elevate asset reliability and unlock new performance levels.

Maintenance news from Fiix

Pen and paper vs. maintenance software: The best method for reducing downtime

Many operations cling to paper‑based planning, assuming it controls downtime. Fiix’s analysis compares this legacy approach with modern software solutions, revealing that data‑driven planning consistently outperforms manual methods in reducing unplanned outages.

Optimizing preventive maintenance using a CMMS

Traditional preventive maintenance still relies on time‑based schedules rather than reliability principles. This article presents eight actionable tips for leveraging CMMS to align maintenance with reliability‑centered practices, driving higher uptime and cost efficiency.

What’s the cure for unplanned maintenance?

Unplanned maintenance is akin to a chronic illness. A CMMS can diagnose the root causes—whether equipment fatigue, operator error, or process gaps—and prescribe targeted interventions, turning reactive work into proactive strategy.

Tips, tricks and tools to make audits easier and cheaper for maintenance teams

Audits are essential for safety, compliance, and due diligence, yet they can be time‑consuming and expensive. This guide breaks down common audit types and offers practical tactics—centralized data, automated reporting, and pre‑audit checklists—to streamline the process and reduce costs.