Tom Knauer, product management, Balluff GmbH, examined how engineers and MRO professionals can apply smart manufacturing technologies to foundational approaches developed as far back as WWII.  Today, manufacturers face labor issues, supply chain challenges, economic uncertainty and the need for reduced energy consumption. Knauer noted that the goal in 2026 is to provide more automation/robotics technology, create flexible factories, utilize smart devices and get the most out of software and AI tools.

During WWII, the RAF used actual production data to address bottlenecks and optimize personnel/resource scheduling. They also analyzed failure data to implement condition-based monitoring and predictive maintenance strategies. The RAF implemented longer (rather than shorter) maintenance intervals when justified by the data.  This comparison helped showcase how vital data-driven maintenance is to meet modern manufacturing challenges and provide OEE and Knauer provided a nice outline for MRO teams to start with a small pilot project and grow this over time. We’re moving past condition monitoring and predictive maintenance and heading into a era of prescriptive maintenance, an advanced, data-driven strategy that uses AI and machine learning to predict equipment failures and automatically recommend the exact actions, timing, and resources required to prevent the issues utilizing sensor-based data.