'Focus on service orientation and support existing processes'
Martijn van den Noort, Digital Business & Innovation student at VU University Amsterdam, has been researching a possible expansion into another sector for the Fieldlab Smart Maintenance. We asked Martijn about his approach, the results, opportunities and tips.
What exactly did you do?
From my knowledge and interest in the energy sector, I started to see to what extent a deepening would be of interest to Techport. This started with a simple explanation of the market. Who manage infrastructure, what are the largest cost items and what (social) trends can be identified. For a deeper interpretation, I engaged with industry stakeholders. Are they already looking at making maintenance smarter in this sector? How is that going and where are there still opportunities? Where are problems that have not yet been tackled? Finally, I looked at in-house expertise (from Fieldlab 1), and which potential partners might be interesting for a Fieldlab 2 related to the energy sector."
What are the most striking results?
First, the great enthusiasm about infrastructure digitization within the industry. According to industry stakeholders, the biggest problems at hand (outdated infrastructure, a shortage of technical staff, and the energy transition and rapidly growing supply of renewable energy) can mainly be solved by digitizing and making operations smarter. This increases the efficient use of infra-but also of personnel.
What do you think is the biggest opportunity?
The capacity of pilots that large utilities are running regarding such digitization. A troubling conclusion when you look at the initial deployment of such technologies is that end users often have not yet centralized (properly) the storage and processing of data. This causes delays in new investments and ineffective use of previously made investments. An opportunity is to bring many industry players together, bring the solutions (3 groups: hardware (sensors), software (dashboards and UX/, algorithms)) together within one clear database, where data can communicate with each other.
Do you have any tips for Techport Fieldlab?
Put the focus on service orientation and support existing processes with the deployment of smart and predictable maintenance. Despite the enthusiasm, the market is still characterized by rigid organizations where it is difficult to relinquish current processes. Set up a Fieldlab in which the players use one generic data protocol, and perhaps even offer solutions from one dashboard. This will ensure that 'problem-owners' will return as it is currently found difficult to collect and manage all data in one place.