Knowledge will add value only when it is shared

Machines today can predict the maintenance time and suggest resources needed. Preventive maintenance has become more reality to many organizations. In my recent visits to some of the leading companies within their industries, I came across to some interesting perceptions. 

Very often when we talk about Industrial IoT, we use preventive maintenance as a good example of the value that Industrial IoT can bring. There is already many real-life cases about it. It does not actually help companies to improve the machine OEE even if machine is telling operator to do the maintenance if operator does not know what to do.

There are always circumstances where instructions or other documents can not be found when needed;  the machine could be of the very latest new model, but the documentation is not available or the people distributing information have not received proper training. In these cases, people are often hesitant to react. The issue can persist for days or weeks unneeded if it's a simple fix, but you just would need to know what to do.

What if the machine would tell you the maintenance need and suggestions to repair  and people can comment, ask questions, give answers and share their experiences of similar situations?

There is already a solution in which machines and people are communicating on the same platform and knowledge is very quickly shared within the community. Discovered issue and the solution to that in one machine could be relevant for another, and thus Knowledge will add value only if it’s shared.