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For maintenance and reliability leaders this issue is again the #1 challenge. How do we manage the growing concerns regarding the mental health and well-being of our workforce. Factors mentioned include job insecurity, increased work demands, performance pressures, a perceived lack of empathy or understanding from leadership, and wave after wave of organisational change.

Maintenance and reliability leaders are essential in helping organisations navigate the transition to a more sustainable and climate-resilient future. Understandably, this task continues to grow ever more important. Yet the challenges are complex and significant. How do we adapt to these new technologies, optimise energy use, and comply with a changing regulatory landscape in the context of decarbonization and climate change targets? All disrupting previous lifecycle plans, investment and reinvestment decisions, asset management strategies and tactics, and the physical asset manager's role.

Many organisations talked of ‘drowning in data’. If it’s agreed that assets are important for the business and that data is important for the business to optimise these assets, then it follows that capturing, storing, and making data-led decisions should be of equal importance. However, organisations are now generating enormous amounts of data from their plants and assets, some useful, some not so useful. This deluge of data is overwhelming for many.

Over the next decade, the community will be confronted with one of the most significant workforce challenges ever faced. Automation and machinery are expected to become more prevalent, while decarbonization and climate targets are poised to reshape the landscape of future job roles and required skill sets. These transformations are compelling organisations to rethink the qualities and skillsets they seek in their workforce.

One of the most difficult challenges the community face is driving strategic change within their organisation. Both managing upwards towards executive management and downwards through the mid-level and shop floor, without having all the levers to jockey. How do we define the value of Asset Management, ROIC (return on invested capital), get the CFO’s attention, work with consultants and advisors, find quick wins, and use ISO 55000 as a framework?

A common pain point shared is that before any new tech or continuous improvement programs are even considered, good work management fundamentals need understanding and adherence – identifying work, maintenance planning, reporting, KPI’s, scheduling, work execution, spares management, transitioning from breakdown maintenance, and performance assessment and management.

While the benefits of implementing innovative Predictive Analytics Tools and Software are incredibly attractive on the eye in the short and long term, organisations are struggling with actualising these potential benefits. The community talked of their challenges managing data quality and integration issues, scoping budget correctly and piloting projects to demonstrate value. Organisations are grappling to create a clear business cases, hire or train the teams with the correct skillsets, and have the basic foundations in place to enable the digitised future.

There is a collective concern that reliability engineers are often overlooked and underappreciated. This can be due to a lack of understanding of the value they bring or a failure to recognise their contributions. It is essential for organisations to understand the critical role of reliability engineers and to utilise them effectively. How do organisations educate or articulate their leaders and decision-makers about the value of reliability engineering? And find the correct level of investment in reliability and reliability engineers.

Maintenance and reliability leaders must play a larger role in promoting a successful EDI ethos to their workforce. Fostering an inclusive work environment not only attracts diverse talent but also retains it. Success means a more dynamic and resilient workforce which is prepared to meet the challenges of the future. It also drives creativity, improves problem-solving, and enhances overall team performance. The community are interested in learning about programs already in place across the industry, which can help them achieve successful results.

There are advances all the time in technology that can be scaled to an enterprise level. There are also as many examples of a disproportionate amount of time and investment applied to the ‘next shiny object’ instead of focusing on getting bang-for-your buck or solving a pressing business need. Your organisation might have a digital transformation agenda in place, yet it appears apparent that no catalyst has had as big an impact on the speed of adoption as Covid-19. Hence, the last 3 years have been dominated by a proliferation of asset management, reliability, and maintenance tech. None more so than the explosion of AI and platforms like ChatGPT.

Artificial Intelligence and ChatGPT have captured public consciousness with their promise and potential. They also raise concerns due to their potential to this very potential. And many leaders are questioning what risks these powerful AI tools will introduce. This is perhaps even more important in heavy industrial industries where reliability and safety are key. What are the capabilities and limitations most relevant to industry, what are the ethical considerations to be heeded before deploying or using a Foundation Model (such as ChatGPT) in a high-reliability environment.