For much of the past decade, manufacturers have been encouraged to collect more data. From Industry 4.0 initiatives and predictive maintenance programmes to the rapid growth of wireless monitoring, the emphasis has been on creating greater visibility into asset performance. Today, many organisations have access to more machine condition data than ever before. According to Michael DeMaria, Director of Product Management at Fluke Corporation, the problem is no longer obtaining information. “Industry 4.0 was about gathering data,” he said during Maintec. “Plant and maintenance managers are done gathering data.” The challenge now is deciding what to do with it. That shift in thinking underpins Fluke Corporation’s strategy as the company continues to bring together technologies acquired over recent years, including Prüftechnik’s alignment and condition monitoring capabilities, the diagnostic expertise developed by Azima, and eMaint, its computerised maintenance management system (CMMS). Taken together, those technologies reflect what DeMaria sees as the next stage of industrial reliability: connecting machine data, diagnostic insight and maintenance action more effectively than has traditionally been possible. The issue is becoming increasingly pressing as maintenance teams face a combination of growing data volumes and shrinking resources. Across industry, experienced personnel are retiring while many organisations struggle to recruit and train replacements. At the same time, monitoring technologies are generating ever larger quantities of information. Manufacturers therefore face a difficult balancing act. They have more visibility into asset condition than ever before, but often fewer people available to interpret the information and act upon it. This is one reason why DeMaria believes discussions around artificial intelligence need to become more grounded in practical outcomes. “Customers are tired of hearing the hype,” he said. “If it’s not solving a problem on the plant floor, they’re tired of it.” For Fluke, the value of AI lies less in the technology itself and more in its ability to simplify complex tasks. The company is developing capabilities designed to help users generate work orders, create standard operating procedures, identify maintenance gaps and access technical information more quickly. The objective is not to replace maintenance expertise, but to make it easier to use and share. One example DeMaria highlighted is the ability to present information differently depending on the user’s level of experience. A reliability specialist and a newly recruited technician may need access to the same knowledge, but not necessarily in the same format. Beyond data collection However, AI represents only part of a wider reliability strategy. A recurring theme throughout the discussion was the need to connect activities that have traditionally operated in isolation. Condition monitoring systems identify developing faults. Diagnostic tools help explain what those faults mean. Maintenance systems are responsible for ensuring the appropriate actions are taken. The challenge, according to DeMaria, is bringing those elements together. This is where eMaint plays an important role within Fluke Corporation’s portfolio. While monitoring technologies can identify emerging issues, maintenance management systems help ensure that corrective actions are planned, executed and recorded. Bringing those functions together helps reduce the gap between recognising a problem and resolving it. The need for that connection has become more apparent as wireless monitoring technologies have matured. Historically, vibration data might have been collected quarterly or monthly. Wireless sensors have transformed that process, allowing organisations to monitor assets far more frequently and at much greater scale. Yet DeMaria argues that more data does not automatically lead to better decisions Fluke was relatively late in bringing its own wireless sensor offering to market, a decision he says was deliberate. The company believed many early systems were effective at collecting information and generating alarms but often provided little guidance on what should happen next. “If you have a machine that’s red, how do you turn it green?” he said. For maintenance teams already stretched for time and resources, that distinction matters. Another source of data is only valuable if it helps solve a problem. 30 HYDRAULICS & PNEUMATICS June 2026 www.hpmag.co.uk Manufacturers have invested heavily in condition monitoring, wireless sensors and predictive maintenance technologies, yet many still struggle to turn asset data into meaningful action. At the recent Maintec Exhibition, H&P’s Aaron Blutstein spoke to Michael DeMaria, Director of Product Management, Condition Monitoring and Alignment at Fluke Corporation, about why the next challenge for industry is not collecting more information but turning machine intelligence into maintenance action. KNOWLEDGE BASE – DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION Turning asset data into maintenance action Michael DeMaria, Director of Product Management, Condition Monitoring andAlignment at Fluke Corporation
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