THE INDUSTRIAL sector is at a pivotal moment. Expectations among plant operators and asset owners are shifting, with a growing emphasis on safety, reliability, sustainability and prevention of failure, rather than maximising equipment runability at any cost. Predicting potential issues and addressing them proactively before they escalate into events that create significant operational risk is now a priority across most industrial plants. At the same time access to the right resources and skills to maintain operational excellence has become a new benchmark for industrial service. 

In this evolving landscape, holistic service frameworks stand out. Global, standardised, and modular service models that integrate people, technology, and process are delivering tangible, measurable results. 

This transformation is reflected in the rapid expansion of the predictive maintenance market, which independent analysts forecast will reach nearly $48bn by 2029, growing at an impressive annual rate. Such growth signals a widespread recognition that proactive, data-driven approaches, often described more broadly as asset condition management, are becoming essential for long-term operational success.

Talent, turnover, and trust

Even as technology advances, the sector faces persistent challenges. The shortage of skilled reliability engineers is acute, and high turnover rates threaten to erode the institutional knowledge that underpins safe and efficient operations. 

In reality, failures and emergencies in industrial plants do not respect the boundaries of a conventional workday or the comfort of a Monday-to-Friday schedule. A strong service culture, one that is committed beyond the “9-5”, is no longer a differentiator, it is a necessity. 

Beyond capability alone. Sustained investment in people helps. Build a culture of ownership over assets and rotating equipment, fostering a genuine sense of belonging within industrial organisations. This mindset, where engineers care for equipment as if they personally owned it, is a critical enabler to moving from the delivery of isolated services to the provision of full accountable outcome driven solutions. Too often, this human dimension of reliability is underestimated.

From reactive to proactive: Moving beyond prediction to action

The evolution of maintenance strategies has followed a clear and logical path – from reactive, to preventive, and now predictive maintenance. While reactive approaches focus on fixing issues after failure and preventative models rely on scheduled interventions, predictive maintenance enables organisations to anticipate issues before they occur. The real shift, however, comes when those insights are used to take proactive action addressing root causes, preventing recurrence and reducing risk and unplanned downtime. 

Advanced monitoring technologies and techniques, including remote sensors, vibration analysis, ultrasound, oil analysis, advanced imaging technologies such as motion amplification and thermography, now play a critical role in this next phase, helping operators identify emerging issues early and take targeted proactive action. These technologies provide objective, visual evidence that builds trust and supports informed decision-making. However, technology alone is not enough. 

It's true value is realised only when combined with a collaborative culture, deep domain expertise and a clear focus on outcomes. Service excellence at this stage of maturity requires close collaboration between on-site and remote reliability engineers, with customers and suppliers working in alignment across service organisations, translating insights into action and continuously refining maintenance strategies. This integration of people, process and technology is what enables predictive maintenance to deliver sustained value.

The customer imperative

Traditional priorities centred on repair speed and cost is giving way to broader customer expectations, as fast delivery and reduced mean time to repair (MTTR) alone are no longer sufficient to sustainably improve equipment and plant uptime. Increasingly, organisations are seeking long-term, reliable partners rather than transactional suppliers. They are looking for engineers who are embedded on-site acting as part of their team, and organisations that are genuinely invested in their success. Training and knowledge-sharing are highly valued, empowering customers to manage their assets more effectively and efficiently. The partnership model is central; collaboration, transparency, and shared goals drive better business outcomes, underpinned by a safety-first mindset actively supported by senior management. This marks a broader shift away from isolated, transactional services towards integrated, outcome-focused approaches across the asset lifecycle, where accountability and performance are shared. 

The best models adapt to the specific needs of each service within their frameworks, extending beyond planning and monitoring. They encompass training, lifecycle planning, advanced monitoring, and crucially, execution. Understanding real-time operating conditions is essential. Service offerings identify issues through a proactive, data-driven approach that reduces downtime and extends equipment life. A strong service culture and sense of accountability should underpin every engagement. Failures and emergencies can happen at any time, and service teams must be prepared to respond – whenever and wherever needed. Proximity matters, in many cases having experienced engineers on the ground is the fastest and most effective way to resolve issues.

Building sustainable reliability

The need for a holistic approach is underscored by industry data. Around 80% of failures are caused by design, installation, or operational issues, rather than the equipment itself. Unplanned downtime can cost over $100,000 per hour in critical industries. Reliability engineers, both on-site and digital, are consistently praised by customers for their role in supporting collaboration and knowledge transfer.

The momentum behind predictive and proactive maintenance is clear. The predictive maintenance market is projected to grow to over $70bn by 2032, with significant annual growth expected in regions such as the UK. 

Big future goals: Eliminating the possibility of failure

For organisations seeking to enhance reliability and sustainability, the path forward is increasingly clear. Success starts with high-impact pilot programmes that integrate people, process, and technology from the outset. Local capability is essential, as is a genuine “one team” partnership between customers and service providers. 

Transparent metrics and proof points help demonstrate value and build trust. The industry is moving decisively from a "fix it fast" mentality to one focused on "avoid it altogether". This shift represents a fundamental move away from delivering isolated services towards providing integrated outcome-driven solutions with clear accountability for performance. By reducing unplanned downtime, extending equipment life and improving asset performance, organisations can significantly lower total cost of ownership over the full life cycle of their assets and improve plant safety. 

Service frameworks such as John Crane Performance Plus are designed to support this shift, bringing together modular services, global consistency and local expertise to deliver outcomes and integrated solutions, not just services. Such frameworks are customer-centric, holistic, and designed to deliver tangible value. As the sector continues to evolve, organisations are invited to explore pilot programs or readiness assessments to begin their journey toward safer, more reliable, and more sustainable plant operations. 

Matías Rodríguez Conde is global director, service solutions at John Crane

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