Just as technology has been rapidly developing in fields like telecom, data analytics, smart devices and infrastructure, the same can be said of asset condition monitoring. Just how far has technology come in asset maintenance, and what does that mean going forward? What current technology is the equivalent of cutting-edge developments in those other fields – playing the role of RFID or the internet of things? For asset maintenance, it’s remote monitoring – the ability for technicians to utilize modern tools to collect and parse through continuous data sets from a given asset without the need for 24/7 in-person attention.
It’s important to recognise that new technology often calls into question old methodologies or habits. Each time some development emerges, the industry involved must adapt to make best use from it. That can be particularly difficult in the industrial setting, often driven by the mantra, “If it’s not broken, don’t fix it.”
