Why digital maintenance is so important today
Smart maintenance, the digital optimization of maintenance and repair processes, is increasingly becoming a factor for success for companies. The reason: maintenance processes are becoming more and more complex. Employees have to manage numerous components spread over large areas – at the same time, companies want to make their processes more efficient, transparent, and available.
Studies confirm this urgent need for action: According to an analysis by Accenture, 67% of executives in the defense industry see short-term disruptions in the supply chain as a key challenge—a problem that is particularly evident in the procurement of spare parts for maintenance processes. Our project experience shows that employees reorder spare parts because they cannot find existing parts in the warehouse. In addition, 75% of executives expect their employees to use new technologies or work in new areas over the next five years. This shows that the industry is under pressure to innovate – including in maintenance.
The shortage of skilled workers is adding to the pressure to act. Many experienced employees in industry will be retiring in the coming years – according to an analysis by the German Economic Institute (IW), there could be a shortage of around 178,000 skilled workers in mechanical engineering alone by 2034, as significantly fewer young people are entering the profession. Companies must therefore make optimal use of existing resources while creating modern, efficient working conditions in order to attract new skilled workers. Smart maintenance offers a sustainable solution here – and not only makes maintenance teams more efficient, but also makes employers more attractive overall.
If you take a closer look at the daily challenges in maintenance, you’ll quickly see that without digital support and efficient asset tracking, companies quickly hit their limits.
The biggest challenges in maintenance
Many companies lose valuable time every day—not because of maintenance itself, but because of searching for assemblies, tools, or spare parts. Components scattered across large factory premises or complex workshops delay processes, disrupt workflows, and increase the risk of errors.
There is another problem: a lack of transparency in the maintenance process. If information about components, statuses, or work progress is only documented manually or distributed across different systems, it is difficult to maintain an overview. This makes it difficult to make decisions and leads to unnecessary queries or duplication of work.
This lack of information poses a real risk, especially for critical systems: long downtimes. If important components cannot be located or processes do not mesh seamlessly, maintenance takes longer—and machines and systems remain idle for longer.
In addition, efficiency suffers from manual documentation. Incorrect entries, missing data, and media breaks are part of everyday life for many maintenance teams—and make complete tracking difficult.
Another increasingly critical factor is the shortage of skilled workers. Many companies are facing the problem that experienced employees are retiring and there are not enough new skilled workers to replace them. At the same time, maintenance requirements are increasing. This makes it all the more important to relieve the burden on existing teams as much as possible—through digital maintenance, ease of use, and clear processes. Smart maintenance not only helps you work more efficiently, but also creates more attractive working conditions for new employees.
The aim is to carry out maintenance work more quickly and in a more resource-efficient manner – whether by optimizing existing processes, building up additional maintenance capacities, or making targeted use of real-time technology such as asset tracking. Those who accelerate their processes and create transparency at the same time not only increase productivity but also secure their long-term competitiveness.
Smart maintenance with real-time localization: How to optimize your maintenance processes
Digital maintenance is a necessity for companies that want to optimize their maintenance processes. Smart maintenance makes it possible to make maintenance work more efficient and transparent. By using real-time localization and asset tracking, companies have an overview of their orders and components at all times – in real time. Employees can track and evaluate maintenance orders from workstation to workstation, thereby continuously optimizing processes. Maintenance managers can monitor the progress of orders, plan resources better, and identify potential bottlenecks at an early stage.
Thanks to modern asset tracking technologies such as Cavea Wirepas Mesh and UWB, companies can determine exactly where specific components or tools are located on site. This real-time transparency not only reduces search times for required components, but also ensures that maintenance work is completed more quickly. Real-time localization makes it possible to immediately access the status of machines or vehicles and determine exactly what maintenance is required.
Smart Maintenance and a digital maintenance solution can significantly improve workflows. Maintenance staff receive all relevant information directly on their mobile devices and can carry out repairs faster and more accurately. Digital documentation ensures that all steps are recorded immediately, reducing the error rate and increasing traceability.
Digital maintenance offers enormous advantages, especially in large maintenance areas or on sprawling factory premises. A hybrid tracking system consisting of active and passive asset tags and interactive maps makes it possible to digitize the entire site—without the need for complex cabling. This not only saves companies time, but also creates new capacity for maintenance and repair work.
Use case: Assembly tracking in the German Armed Forces
A good example of smart maintenance in practice is the use of component tracking by the German Armed Forces at the Mechatronics Center in Jülich. The German Armed Forces was faced with the challenge of making its maintenance processes for special vehicles more efficient. Particularly problematic were the long search times for individual components during assembly and overhaul on a sprawling site covering more than 10,000 m².
What was the problem?
Without an effective digital maintenance and asset tracking system, employees spent a lot of time searching for assemblies and components, which delayed the entire maintenance process. Added to this was uncertainty about the location and condition of components, which not only reduced efficiency but also led to unnecessary downtime and safety risks.
How was it resolved?
Together with our partner FORMATION GmbH, we developed a customized solution: Cavea Wirepas Mesh technology enables wireless, precise localization of assemblies. Each component was recorded with a QR code and registered via the mobile app. Asset tags and an interactive digital map enabled transparent and efficient management of the components. Real-time tracking and continuous location transmission ensured that assemblies could be found quickly, drastically reducing search times.
What was the result?
The solution led to a 94% reduction in search times and improved communication between maintenance teams. Real-time localization enabled complete documentation of assemblies, which reduced the error rate and improved traceability. In addition, warehouse logistics were optimized and space utilization analyzed, leading to the creation of new jobs so that more vehicles could be repaired at the same time. Thanks to the quick and uncomplicated implementation of the solution—in just one and a half days, during ongoing operations—the entire maintenance process was optimized and the maintenance teams’ working methods were significantly improved. This shows how quickly and practically modern smart maintenance solutions can be integrated into existing processes.
Potential for industry and workshops
The use case at the German Armed Forces shows that smart maintenance and asset tracking represent a decisive step forward – and can be easily transferred to numerous other industries.
Similar challenges arise wherever large machines, systems, or vehicles are assembled, maintained, or repaired. Whether in the automotive industry, plant engineering, or railway technology: in workshops, production halls, and on extensive factory premises, it is crucial to know at all times where each assembly or component is located.
Complex assembly or repair processes often involve temporary storage or changes of location. Without digital transparency, these movements can quickly lead to delays. Digital maintenance and real-time tracking provide solutions here: they enable seamless tracking of all components and orders – and make processes significantly more efficient.
Another advantage is that Cavea’s solutions can be flexibly integrated into existing IT systems. For example, they can be connected to ERP systems or maintenance software. This creates a continuous flow of information, reduces documentation efforts, and improves the predictability of maintenance work.
In short, the combination of smart maintenance, digital maintenance, and intelligent tracking technology opens up enormous optimization potential for workshops and production facilities of all sizes.
Conclusion: Why smart maintenance is worthwhile now
The pressure on maintenance departments is growing – processes must become faster, more transparent, and more efficient. At the same time, many companies lack the skilled personnel to meet these requirements with human resources alone. This is exactly where Smart Maintenance comes in: With digital maintenance and intelligent asset tracking, processes can be automated in a targeted manner, search times minimized, and maintenance processes optimized for the long term.
Practical experience shows that companies that embrace smart technologies early on gain clear competitive advantages—through faster response times, improved planning, and higher plant availability. Best of all, the solutions are easy to implement and adapt to existing processes—as demonstrated in the project with the German Armed Forces.
Now is the right time to drive forward the digital transformation of maintenance. With scalable solutions such as Cavea Wirepas Mesh, getting started is easy – and pays off from day one.
Want to learn more about implementation in your industry? Contact us – we will show you how smart maintenance works in practice.
