The RS Components ‘Performance in Focus’ 2024 Maintenance Engineering Report, created in partnership with the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE), provides a detailed analysis of the current state of maintenance engineering with a particular focus on process manufacturing. This report draws on insights from nearly 400 maintenance professionals across the UK and Ireland, highlighting the evolving challenges and priorities within the industry.
One of the most significant changes from the 2023 report is the shift in the primary concerns of process manufacturers. In 2023, the focus was largely on attracting talent and managing costs. However, the 2024 report reveals that staffing fears have now risen to the forefront. Approximately 50% of respondents identified staffing as a prominent concern with 37% citing it as their top challenge.
The report also highlights the ongoing struggle with unscheduled downtime which remains a critical issue for process manufacturers. Unplanned downtime continues to disrupt operations leading to increased costs and inefficiencies. The latest findings showed the average amount of time spent on unplanned downtime was 15 hours. This is encouragingly down from the 20 hours found in 2023’s report. However, the average cost per hour has increased from just over £5.1K to nearly £5.5K. For process manufacturers this is even higher at £5.8K.
With ageing assets being the biggest single cause of downtime, it is fortunate those in the process manufacturing sector are most likely to have a planned maintenance strategy. However, interestingly it was noted that it isn’t necessarily the age of the asset as much as how it’s cared for. In such cases having a maintenance strategy in place becomes critical. This requires ensuring there is expertise on site to deal with immediate issues and a supplier with the knowledge and experience to provide additional capability.
Overall, the current state of maintenance engineering is summed up by the report. More unplanned downtime is faced than many would like. However, in response, many are placing a significant emphasis on planned and predictive maintenance as well as developing their own skills base. There is also a clear need to find trusted suppliers and build the necessary relationships. With these in place, the ability to deliver an effective maintenance strategy will increase significantly. Perhaps though, the major challenge is not necessarily knowing what to do, rather finding the time and resource to do it.