Maintworld Magazine 1/2023

1/2023 maintworld.com 

maintenance & asset management 

Wind Energy: 

The path to 

generating 50% of 

Europe's electricity 

p 12 

Metaverse, 

Multiverse & 

Maintenance p 16 

Strategic 

view of asset 

management 

p 44

EDITORIAL 

Maintenance & 

Responsibility 

At the beginning of February, 

we held our main maintenance 

congress in Finland 

after a four-year break. The 

number of participants in 

the congress remained the same, but a lot 

changed during the four years. Especially 

in terms of service companies. New companies 

have joined, and at the same time, 

some of the old companies have disappeared. 

The themes of the congress were 

maintenance-oriented, but over the course 

of four years, responsibility and sustainable 

development have been included with 

a firm emphasis. 

Recently, there has been much talk 

about the ChatGPT open chatbot (published by OpenAI, openai.com), so I thought 

I'd try what the AI application answers to the question "What is responsibility in 

maintenance." 

"Responsibility in maintenance is important, as it helps to reduce the risks of 

equipment and objects failing, improve their reliability, and ensure their continuous 

operation. It also helps avoid repair costs and possible environmental impacts 

resulting from equipment failure. Responsible maintenance is also an important 

part of environmentally responsible and sustainable management, and it promotes 

the sustainable use of the object or device." 

The answer follows the same lines as the answers from our congress participants 

to our pre-congress survey. I'm not sure what conclusion can be drawn from this, 

but we will probably come back to the topic often when it comes to the utilization of 

AI applications. 

Anyway, I personally think that responsibility has always been part of maintenance 

DNA – how to get the most out of the machinery, tools, and materials during 

the whole life cycle. 

This issue of the magazine is implemented with a partly new team. The names of 

the new responsible persons can be found at the bottom of this article. In the future, 

I will be the editor-in-chief of the magazine, so that you can send any complaints 

about the magazine content to me, and the thanks can then be directed to our 

responsible producer. 

Maintworld magazine is a proud media partner of the EuroMaintenance 2023 

congress in Rotterdam. The combination of EuroMaintenance and Maintenance 

NEXT will make Rotterdam an essential meeting place for maintenance professionals 

this year. The entire congress program is already published, and thousands of 

people are expected to attend the event. More information about the event can be 

found in this magazine. 

I also want to remind you of the EMAM Survey, launched at the end of 2022. 

The results of this survey will be reported during EuroMaintenance 2023. Persons 

answering the survey will get the survey report after the EuroMaintenance event. 

The link to the study can be found on the EFNMS webpage: https://www.efnms.eu/ 

Hope to meet You in Rotterdam! 

Jaakko Tennilä 

Executive Director, Finnish maintenance society, Promaint 

Editor-in-Chief, Maintworld magazine 

38 

ESG. 

These three 

small letters add up to 

significant operational 

changes for any 

business. 

4 maintworld 1/2023

IN THIS ISSUE 1/2023 

12 

Wind 

energy has become a 

vital and indispensable part 

of Europe's energy system. 

Today it makes up 17% of all 

electricity generated in Europe. 

33 

Hydrogen 

– one of 

the key players 

in the energy transition. 

4 Editorial 

6 News 

10 

12 

16 

22 

Why companies are moving to 

condition-based maintenance 

Wind Energy: The path to generating 

50% of Europe's electricity 

Metaverse, Multiverse and Maintenance 

Ultrasound: Achieving energy 

savings by detecting 

compressed air leaks 

24 

Multi-site Maintenance Excellence 

26 

30 

33 

36 

Is your lubrication program 

world-class? 

Secure supply chains are crucial to the 

industrial sector’s cyber defence 

Using pipelines to transport 

hydrogen instead of natural gas 

Microbial energy, biobased chemicals, 

and soil improvement are the new 

resources for industrial food and 

chemical production 

38 

41 

Time for Big Business 

to Clear the Air 

Improving energy efficiency - An example 

of university-business cooperation 

44 

Strategic view of asset management 

– managing emerging trends and 

perspectives 

46 

48 

EuroMaintenance comes to the 

Netherlands 

Myths vs Facts: Common 

misconceptions about motors 

Issued by Promaint (Finnish Maintenance Society), Messuaukio 1, 00520 Helsinki, Finland, tel. +358 29 007 4570. Editor-in-chief Jaakko 

Tennilä, Promaint. Publisher Avone Oy, avone.fi, producer Vaula Aunola, editor@maintworld.com, contributing journalist Nina Garlo-Melkas. 

Advertisements Kai Portman, Sales Director, tel. +358 358 44 763 2573, kai@maintworld.com. Layout Avone. Subscriptions and Change of 

Address: toimisto@kunnossapito.fi. Printed by Savion Kirjapaino Oy Frequency 4 issues per year, ISSN L 1798-7024, ISSN 1798-7024 (print), 

ISSN 1799-8670 (online). 

1/2023 maintworld 5

In Short 

Cyber-threat detection hit a recordbreaking 

146 billion in 2022, 

representing a 55% increase from the 

previous year – Trend Micro Incorporated 

Wind turbine 

failures on 

the rise across 

the globe 

Wind power demand 

expected to increase 

by over 20% 

by end-2030 

THE WIND TURBINE bearing market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 10.82% 

between 2022 and 2027. The size of the market is forecast to increase by USD 

9,287.77 million. 

According to the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), wind power met 10%- 

15% of the global electricity demand in 2021, which is further expected to 

increase by more than 20% by the end of 2030. Also, various nations have been 

adding onshore wind turbine capacity. Thus, the increasing onshore wind power 

installations will drive the growth of the market in focus during the forecast 

period. 

According to the the International Energy Agency (IEA), onshore wind capacity 

is expected to grow by 57% to 850 GW by the end of 2024, which accounts for 

50%-60% of current installations. 

The global weighted average cost of offshore wind installations decreased by 

one-fifth during 2010-2018, and that of onshore wind installations decreased by 

more than one-third during the same period. 

Source: Technavio 

TURBINE FAILURES are on the uptick 

across the world, sometimes with blades 

falling off or even full turbine collapses. 

A recent Bloomberg report says 

production issues may be to blame for the 

mysterious increase in failures. 

According to Bloomberg, the problems 

have added hundreds of millions of 

dollars in costs for the three largest 

Western turbine makers, GE, Vestas Wind 

Systems and Siemens Energy’s Siemens 

Gamesa unit; and they could result in 

more expensive insurance policies. 

– It takes time to stabilize production 

and quality on these new products, 

Larry Culp, GE CEO, said last October to 

Bloomberg. 

– Rapid innovation strains manufacturing 

and the broader supply chain. 

Without industrywide data chronicling 

the rise—and now fall—of turbines, we’re 

relying on industry experts to note the 

flaws in the wind farming. 

– We’re seeing these failures happening 

in a shorter time frame on the new 

turbines, Fraser McLachlan, CEO of 

insurer GCube Underwriting, admitted to 

Bloomberg. 

The push to produce bigger windgrabbing 

turbines has sped production 

of the growing apparatuses. Bloomberg 

reports that Siemens has endured quality 

control issues on a new design, Vestas 

has seen project delays and quality 

challenges, and GE has seen an uptick in 

warranty costs and repairs. And this all 

comes along with uncertain supply chain 

issues and fluctuating material pricing. 

It takes time to 

stabilize production 

and quality on these 

new products.” 


2031 

The global industrial maintenance services market size was 

valued at $49,011.0 million in 2021 and is projected to 

reach $85,815.5 million by 2031, registering a CAGR of 

5.6% from 2021 to 2031. - ResearchAndMarkets.com 

OSHwiki article 

in the spotlight: 

Occupational 

Neurotoxicology 

THE EUROPEAN AGENCY for Safety and Health at Work 

has published a new OSHwiki article – Occupational 

Neurotoxicology – that provides information on the risks of 

various chemicals on human health. Chemicals can produce 

neurotoxic disease in humans, but only a small fraction of 

chemicals has been adequately evaluated for neurotoxicity. 

In 2009, a conservative estimate set the number of 

neurotoxic chemicals in the workplace at more than 1,000. 

The article provides a general overview of occupational 

exposure to dangerous substances and the link with 

neurotoxicity. It provides definitions and an introduction 

to the most relevant neurotoxic agents and neurotoxic 

syndromes. 

The heavy metals lead, arsenic, manganese and mercury 

are considered as the most neurotoxic agents from the 

occupational point of view. Exposure to plant protection 

products and biocides can lead to a plethora of severe 

neurological diseases. Organic solvents exposure can cause 

acute and long-term neurological damage. 

INDUSTRIAL ASSET MANAGEMENT MARKET REPORT 2023: 

SECTOR TO REACH $14.4 BILLION BY 2029 AT A 12.2% CAGR 

ACCORDING to a new market research 

report ‘Industrial Asset Management 

Market by Offering, Deployment Mode, 

Asset Type, End-use Industry, and 

Geography - Global Forecast to 2029,' 

the global industrial asset management 

market is projected to reach $14.4 billion 

by 2029, at a CAGR of 12.2% from 2022 

to 2029. 

The growth of this market is 

driven by the benefits of cloud-based 

industrial asset management solutions 

and the rising need for real-time 

monitoring of industrial assets. However, 

concerns regarding data security and 

confidentiality restrain the growth of this 

market. 

The integration of artificial intelligence, 

machine learning, and 5G technologies 

and the growing adoption of industrial 

asset management solutions in the 

pharmaceutical sector are expected 

to create growth opportunities for the 

players operating in this market. 


In Short 

In 2022 the market for heavy (≥16 tonnes) 

electric trucks in Europe, grew by 200% 

to 1,041 trucks, and Volvo Trucks holds the 

highest share of this market. 

Smart monitoring enables saving 

energy, water, and maintenance 

costs at reverse osmosis plant 

THE CHALLENGE: MANAGING 

PUMP EFFICIENCY AND 

MAINTENANCE 

Pumping operations at the Kymenlaakson 

Vesi RO plant require a continufind 

potential energy-efficiency improvement 

points and recognize the pumps' 

maintenance needs. 

The two-part solution consists of data 

capture devices at the pumping sites 

communicating directly to the cloud and 

data analysis in the SmartView software. 

Data is collected directly from process 

sensors and variable speed drives without 

interfering with the automation 

system or loading the field buses. The 

software processes the gathered data, 

calculating all pumps' energy usage and 

output volumes. 

Kymenlaakson Vesi uses the collected 

IoT information to make informed 

decisions on pump maintenance and 

optimized energy consumption. The IoT 

setup gives a global view of the operations, 

allowing for intelligent planning 

and preventive actions to ensure efficiency 

and sustainability at the RO plant. 

Kymen Vesi is responsible for 

water supply management 

and water treatment and 

disposal for over 100.000 

residents in the Kotka, 

South of Kouvola, and Pyhtää regions of 

Southern Finland. Kymenlaakson Vesi 

produces clean water for Kymen Vesi and 

aims for eco-efficiency. 

A reverse osmosis (RO) plant is an 

integral part of the water treatment 

process at Kymenlaakson Vesi. Over a 

third of all the water is treated for fluoride 

elimination. To ensure performance 

at the RO plant, Kymenlaakson Vesi is 

working with Viimatech to utilize the 

Internet of Things (IoT) to monitor the 

energy usage of pumps. 

ous energy supply. However, the exact 

energy requirements are hard to estimate 

with conventional methods, as every 

pump system has its utilization rate and 

daily varying output volumes. 

The RO plant relies on well-functioning 

pumps. Dysfunctional pumps and 

maintenance breaks interrupt the water 

treatment operations causing unnecessary 

delays and costs. 

Kymenlaakson Vesi aims to guarantee 

continuity at the plant with performance 

data. The IoT devices help in creating a 

digital model for monitoring the pumps. 

The information allows for optimizing 

energy efficiency and preventive maintenance. 

VIIMATECH AND SMART 

MONITORING OF PUMPS AT THE 

RO PLANT 

Viimatech provides Kymenlaakson Vesi 

with the technology to measure the 

energy usage of each pump. The aim is to 

RESULTS 

The Viimatech monitoring solution has 

operated with the Kymenlaakson Vesi 

RO plant since 2018. The system has 

provided actionable data from pumping 

operations to improve several aspects of 

the water treatment process. 

Kymenlaakson Vesi utilizes the Viimatech 

solution to improve maintenance 

practices and optimize pumping operations. 

The results of the collaboration so 

far include the following: 

• An increase in energy efficiency, 

reducing the specific energy of pumps 

by 20 %. 

• An increased period between filter 

cleansing times from 24 hours to 48 

hours. 

• Decreased cleansing-related water 

usage by 4300 m3 per year 

• A good tool for monitoring energy in 

process changes 

• Optimizing the amount of rejected 

water to improve energy efficiency 


2027 

The 

3D printing services market is expected to grow to $12.39 

billion by 2027 according to Printing Services Global Market 

Report. Asia Pacific was the largest region in the 3D printing 

services market in 2022, North America the second largest. 

Logistics in 2023: 

7 Main Trends 

shaping the sector 

1 

WAREHOUSE 

SIMULATION 

Simulation, which uses digital 

twin technology, raises companies’ 

competitiveness. It consists of creating 

virtual replicas of objects or processes 

to reproduce the behaviour of their 

real-world counterparts. 

In logistics, this virtual representation 

of processes lets you simulate your 

warehouse layout as well as operator 

and goods flows. Simulation also helps 

to detect inefficiencies and possible 

adverse scenarios. It’s also capable of 

spotting improvement opportunities to 

facilitate strategic decision-making. For 

instance, you can introduce new picking 

methods or predict how your facility 

would perform if other storage systems 

were installed. 

2 

LOGISTICS 

FLEXIBILITY 

Flexible logistics was key 

throughout 2022 and will remain so 

this year. Flexibility is essential in all 

supply chain stages. Having flexible 

logistics and production processes 

guarantees stock availability for end 

customers. At the same time, it limits 

cost overruns in manufacturing, storage, 

and transport. Businesses with 

elastic logistics can adapt their warehouses 

to unexpected changes without 

altering their throughput. Likewise, 

they have an easier time maintaining 

their competitiveness in supply chain 

disruption scenarios. 

3 

ROBOTIC PROCESS 

AUTOMATION 

Robotic process automation 

(RPA) technology will continue 

to play a major role in business processes 

in 2023. RPA is used to automate 

repetitive tasks. These include 

connecting to web apps, copying and 

pasting data, moving folders and creating 

directories and folders, among 

other functions. 

In logistics, RPA technology can 

improve product tracking and monitor 

order shipment status. RPA also 

facilitates the execution of purchase 

orders based on automated criteria 

such as price, quantity and frequency. 

4 

DATA MINING 

Data mining consists of 

analysing large quantities 

of information to detect and extract 

patterns that reveal useful knowledge 

for improving decision-making in 

organisations. In Logistics 4.0, automatically 

detecting patterns in operations 

such as goods receipt, order 

picking and returns could enhance 

stock demand forecasting and inventory 

control. 

5 

CLOUD COMPUTING 

Cloud computing is redefining 

business management 

— more specifically, the way 

supply chains are organised. Software 

as a service (SaaS) will be another 

logistics trend to make a mark in 

2023. Digitising your logistics operations 

with a warehouse management 

system (WMS) in the SaaS model 

gives you access from any device 

with an internet connection. Plus, it 

saves you money on infrastructure 

and maintenance costs. 

6 

DRONES AND 

LOGISTICS 

Drones are starting 

to gain ground in the logistics 

industry and could become a mainstay 

in 2023. Multinational tech 

companies such as Google and 

Amazon have been working for 

some time on drone prototypes to 

deliver orders to customers by air. 

Although still at an experimental 

stage, drone delivery would bring 

benefits such as lower costs, faster 

shipments, less road transport and 

reduced pollution. 

7 

GREEN LOGISTICS 

Also known as sustainable 

logistics, green logistics 

encompasses the set of policies 

and measures designed to lessen the 

environmental impact of business 

activity. 

Using electric vehicles, promoting 

pick-up points and employing 

biodegradable materials are some 

of the measures companies are 

implementing to limit waste and 

consume less energy in their business 

processes. 


PARTNER ARTICLE 

Why companies are moving to 

condition-based maintenance 

Every day experienced and capable people are trying 

to second-guess the maintenance requirements of the 

machines that populate their plants. The reason is simple: an 

effective maintenance program increases uptime, decreases 

maintenance costs, reduces unplanned outages, and extends 

the lives of assets. In today’s highly 

competitive market, companies of all 

sizes are looking for ways to run 

a leaner and more efficient operation. 

ANKUSH MALHOTRA, President at Fluke Reliability 

An effective maintenance 

program must include a 

way to collect and analyse 

vibration data. After all, 

vibration matters wherever 

critical motors exist. 

Critical motors can be found in just 

about every manufacturing plant and 

facility. As an example: 

• Food and beverage plants often 

operate on tight margins. That can 

make reliability maintenance a challenge 

to implement, especially 

since these facilities are interested 

in training and the ability to scale 

to cover critical assets. 

• Automotive manufacturing operations 

often have larger reliability 

teams and stronger buy-in for 

downtime prevention. 

• Machinery manufacturing plants 

vary in their approach to reliability, 

but condition monitoring applications 

are getting faster. 

All these industries share the objective 

of integrating data and analytics 

into their maintenance programs to 

transform them into reliability programs. 

The right program increases 

equipment availability and performance 

by identifying and removing 

the cause of potential failures. Reliability 

programs can significantly 

reduce the possibility of failure and 

its impact. 



Some of the frustrations with current 

condition monitoring solutions include 

a lack of high-precision, in-depth intelligence, 

time-consuming, complex installation 

and setup, limited diagnostic range 

and service offerings which increase total 

cost of ownership. In addition, some condition 

monitoring solutions can be hard 

to scale to multiple assets and data sets 

for individual products are often siloed 

which leads to systems detecting only 

one type of fault. Wired and wirelessonly 

sensors are often incompatible with 

plant network infrastructure resulting in 

reams of unusable data. 

As maintenance is a means to operate 

safer and more efficiently, industrial 

plants across the globe are taking a more 

proactive approach by moving away from 

simply responding to the crisis of the 

day. Today, the immediate goal is to find 

and fix problems before there is a breakdown. 

The long-term goal is to drive 

business value. 

THE VALUE OF CONDITION- 

BASED MAINTENANCE 

Monitoring and studying the trends of 

machine health are staples of predictive 

maintenance. However, conditionbased 

maintenance (CBM) is a better 

term because no one can predict when 

a machine will fail. CBM uses machine 

condition data, contextual data, trends, 

analytics and knowledge of specific 

machines to determine how machines 

are performing. 

Wireless vibration sensors for vibration 

screening and analysis are one 

of the most powerful ways to enact 

CBM. Monitors like the new Fluke 

3563 Vibration Analysis Sensor are 

attached to critical machines to track 

vibration data over time and identify 

faults. Using accelerometers, vibration 

monitors measure changes in the 

amplitude, frequency and intensity of 

vibration. When combined with the 

LIVE-AssetTM Portal software, teams 

can spot patterns, receive alerts about 

anomalies and compare measurements. 

While critical machines benefit from 

more powerful vibration analysis sensors 

that provide in-depth data to help 

determine the nature of a problem, the 

new Fluke 3562 Screening Vibration 

Sensor is an effective way to track semicritical 

machines. The Fluke 3562 is a 

battery-less sensor that runs on power 

provided by either a thermoelectric 

or photovoltaic energy harvester. The 

screening sensor collects snapshots of 

data, such as vibration levels, temperature 

and humidity, and trends the nine 

highest FFT peaks by magnitude. Taken 

together, vibration screening and analysis 

combined with software, create a 

powerful condition monitoring solution 

that detects if machines are functioning 

correctly. 

USING CONDITION 

MONITORING TO INFORM CBM 

CBM is based on machine condition data 

that can be read by condition monitoring 

devices or transmitted by sensors connected 

to the machine. The advantages of 

this approach include: 

• Always-on asset monitoring: When 

internet-enabled devices are connected 

to software, measurements 

are automatically aggregated around 

the clock. Data is stored in the cloud, 

assigned to assets, and organised for 

users to review. 

• Faster identification of the root cause 

of a problem: Teams can swiftly troubleshoot 

assets using different condition 

monitoring devices and compare 

measurements over time to quickly 

pinpoint anomalies. 

• Monitor equipment safely from anywhere: 

Wireless sensor measurements 

are automatically sent to the cloud 

without human intervention, enabling 

teams to access data remotely on 

smart devices. 

CREATING A CONNECTED 

RELIABILITY PROGRAM 

CBM is part of a complete connected 

reliability program. Fluke Reliability 

supports companies by building data 

systems that provide cost-effective maintenance 

and reliability. The company’s 

products keep customers informed 

about their assets’ health with advanced 

software solutions and services driving 

better maintenance decisions, such 

as improving productivity, increasing 

uptime and reducing costs. 


RENEWABLE ENERGY 

Wind energy – 

on the path to generating 

50% of Europe's electricity 

The wind energy scene is certainly never short of excitement. 

The sector was only in its infancy a generation ago. The scale 

of growth in recent years has been astonishing: Wind energy 

has become a vital and indispensable part of Europe's energy 

system. Today it makes up 17% of all electricity generated in 

Europe. By 2050 the European Commission wants it to be 

as much as 50%. But there are many hurdles to overcome on 

this victory march. 

CHRISTOPH ZIPF, WindEurope 

The success of wind energy 

in Europe is rooted in rapid 

improvements to wind turbine 

technology. The turbines 

we're building today culminate 

in technological innovation, streamlining, 

and industrial 

scale effects over 

many years. 

Wind energy is 

an increasingly stable 

form of power 

supply with capacity 

factors between 

30-45% onshore 

and over 50% offshore 

– matching 

the capacity factors 

of fossil power plants. Some 20 years 

ago, the industry installed 1 MW turbines 

onshore, and offshore wind was a niche 

technology. Since then, yields have risen 

significantly – and modern turbines continue 

to grow in size and efficiency. The 

latest turbine models tested by European 

The European 

Commission wants 

Europe to have 440 GW 

of wind energy by 

2030, up from 

200 GW today. 

manufacturers are 15 MW offshore wind 

machines. Over the years, wind turbines 

have also become increasingly flexible – 

operating at lower wind speeds and aligning 

more smoothly with electricity demand. 

Digitalization has been a big help here 

– not just for monitoring 

output but 

also for improving 

the design of turbines 

and extending their 

lifetimes. 

Wind power is now 

one of the cheapest 

energy sources in 

Europe. Perhaps most 

importantly, wind 

power is now far more 

affordable than any fossil fuel equivalent. 

This fact makes wind energy a genuinely 

competitive and transformative technology 

– a driving force behind the energy transition. 

For example, Hornsea 2, the world's 

largest offshore wind farm, became fully 



operational in 2022. The project, located 

in the North Sea off the coast of England, 

generates electricity for around 1.3 million 

homes. Each turbine is 200 m tall, 

with the blades alone measuring 81 m. 

A single rotation of these turbines can 

generate enough electricity to power an 

average household for a full day. This 

project is very much at the cutting edge 

of our existing turbine technology, but it's 

just one example of the power that wind 

brings to the table – and an example of 

how far we have come in just a few decades. 

At the same time, the industry is proactively 

addressing the last outstanding 

questions concerning circularity and 

recyclability – making wind the sustainable 

energy source of choice. As it stands, 

85-90% of turbines are recyclable, and 

breakthroughs aim to push that percentage 

even higher. In other areas, the environmental 

advantages of wind energy are 

plain to see. Turbines emit zero carbon, 

SOx, NOx, or PM and consume hardly 

any water. The actual CO2 footprint of 

wind farms is negligible – each turbine 

pays off its lifecycle emissions within 

about 6-9 months of operation. Our aim 

is to guarantee recyclability across the 

whole turbine lifecycle – from the start of 

every project to the end-of-life stage and 

beyond. 

THE PATH TO GENERATING 50% 

OF EUROPE'S ELECTRICITY 

How big is wind in Europe today? Wind 

power already accounts for a sizable 

chunk of Europe's energy mix – meeting 

up to 17% of the EU's electricity demand 

at the end of 2022. The figure was 55% 

and 34% in Denmark and Ireland, 

respectively. For Germany, Portugal, 

and Spain it was 26%, 26%, and 25% 

respectively. As an industry, it represents 

300,000 jobs across Europe – adding 

€37bn to European GDP – and 248 

factories employing people in some of 

Europe's most economically-deprived 

areas. Every new turbine represents 

€10m of economic activity on average. All 

told, wind is a significant component of 

the European economy. 

Electricity from wind is produced 

locally – here in Europe. The war in 

Ukraine has been a painful reminder of 

Europe's overreliance on imported fos- 

440 

GW 

of wind energy 

by 2030 up from 

200 GW today. 

As it stands, 

85-90% 

of turbines are 

recyclable. 

By 2050 

wind energy will be 

as much as 1,300 GW 

and generate 

50% 

of all electricity in 

the EU. 



sil fuels. Russia's energy blackmailing 

and the surge in electricity prices across 

Europe highlighted the crucial role of 

domestic energy production for energy 

security and electricity affordability in 

Europe. Today the energy transition 

to renewables is not only an urgency 

to fight climate change but also to protect 

national security. Or as Germany's 

Finance Minister Christian Lindner put 

it: "renewable energies are now freedom 

energies." 

As the EU decarbonizes, wind, solar, 

green hydrogen, and its derivatives will 

become the backbone of our energy 

system – delivering clean, affordable, 

homegrown power to all Europeans. The 

Russian invasion of Ukraine has accelerated 

the need to transition away from 

imported fossil fuels. In REPowerEU's 

energy policy reaction to the invasion, 

the European Commission doubled 

down on competitive and domestic 

renewables to deliver energy security. 

REPowerEU states that the growth of 

wind, along with other renewables, is 

now a matter of "overriding public interest." 

The European Commission wants 

Europe to have 440 GW of wind energy 

by 2030, up from 200 GW today. By 

2050 wind energy will be as much as 

1,300 GW and generate 50% of all 

European electricity. The International 

Energy Agency (IEA) expects wind to be 

Europe's number one source of power by 

2027. 

THE EUROPEAN WIND 

INDUSTRY IS STRUGGLING 

But to make these expansion targets for 

wind energy a reality, we need to see a 

concerted push to accelerate the growth 

of wind. As it stands, there are still several 

factors that are holding this up. 

The main factor continues to be new 

wind farms' slow and burdensome permitting. 

Europe needs to issue more 

permits to meet its energy and climate 

targets. As a result, the wind industry 

only built 16 GW of wind in Europe last 

year – but we need to develop at least 31 

GW a year to meet the EU's 2030 climate 

targets. 

The second hurdle is the electricity 

market design. New and uncoordinated 

national emergency measures brought 

in over 2022 to respond to the energy 

crisis have led to a patchwork of different 

rules across the EU. This has 

diminished investor confidence – at 

the precise moment, we need to ramp 

Wind power is now one of the cheapest energy sources in Europe. 

The war in 

Ukraine has been 

a painful reminder 

of Europe's overreliance 

on imported 

fossil fuels. 

up. The European Commission is set to 

present a proposal for the revision of the 

EU electricity market design in March 

2023 – which we hope will reverse some 

of these unhelpful measures. 

The third and final challenge is the 

lifeblood of the energy system itself – 

grid infrastructure. Transmission and 

distribution networks need to expand 

and modernize, making use of new grid 

and system integration technologies 

– interconnectors, energy islands, and 

other hybrid projects. Energy storage will 

also be vital here – storing excess supply 

in times of high wind but low demand 

and providing a backup during periods of 

low wind but high demand. 

The result of these challenges seems 

paradoxical: while Europe wants more 

and more wind, the wind energy supply 

chain is struggling not only because of 

the low market volumes caused by the 

permitting bottlenecks but also because 

of poor auction designs, inflation, and 

exploding prices for commodities, raw 

materials, and components. Thankfully 

European policymakers have understood 

the problem – and new policy measures 

will aim to reinforce the European supply 

chain and shore up Europe's clean 

tech manufacturing capacity. 

Regarding technology and cost-competitiveness, 

wind energy will continue 

to be one of the cheapest sources of 

energy available – much more affordable 

than fossil fuels. The new urgency 

of the energy crisis puts wind front and 

centre of the coming energy transition. 

The current hurdles are mostly related 

to policymaking and industrial ramp-up 

– and will need to be tackled soon if our 

climate targets are to be met. But there's 

no doubt that wind will take centre stage 

in the future European energy mix. And 

in an increasingly volatile world, having 

control over our energy security could 

make all the difference. 


Manage, trend, and analyze 

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INDUSTRIAL INTERNET 

Metaverse, 

Multiverse & 

Maintenance 

Metaverse has become a buzzword in the tech industry. Not a single day goes by without 

the media mentioning it, especially in the context of investments, start-ups, new platforms, 

and companies entering the world of digital engagement. There is a massive momentum 

towards an almost real 3D virtual world. Facebook even rebranded itself as Meta, which 

may be remembered as a red-letter moment in the evolution of the metaverse. 

PROF. DIEGO GALAR, RAMIN KARIM, AND UDAY KUMAR from the University of Luleå, Sweden 

In his science-fiction novel Snow 

Crash, Neal Stephenson introduced 

the word "metaverse" 

in 1992. The novel describes a 

networked world, "Metaverse," 

parallel to the real world. Meta means 

Metaverse 

has become 

a buzzword in the 

tech industry. 

"transcendence," and verse refers to 

"universe". Later, Roblox, a sandbox 

game platform, became the first 

metaverse concept game. Since then, 

the concept and articles about the 

"metaverse" have appeared in many 



media reports, attracting the attention 

of people from all walks of life, even government 

departments, and creating the 

"meta-universe" phenomenon. 

But the metaverse isn't just a place for 

gamers and kids playing Roblox. That is 

why we keep hearing about serious companies 

establishing a presence and services 

there, including maintenance services. 

To some extent, companies make 

the jump just because they don't want 

to miss out, even though the metaverse 

for industry and especially for maintenance 

is still in its infancy. Indeed, the 

metaverse is only emerging and is years, 

even decades, from maturity. Even the 

naming conventions for this virtual 

world still need to be settled. We are 

not sure if we will have "the" metaverse, 

"a" metaverse, "many metaverses", or a 

"multiverse" as a "pool of parallel metaverses". 

However, even at this early stage, 

the value that can be obtained from the 

metaverse is close at hand. The buzz 

and hype may be exaggerated, but that 

doesn't mean we can't obtain value from 

the components and parts that go into it. 

With the development of technology, 

the fantasies described in Snow 

Crash have gradually become more real, 

making it easier for people to cross the 

physical distance of the real world and 

connect, improving the immersive experience. 

In the metaverse, people perform 

their daily activities using avatars repre- 

senting their "real" or imaginary selves. 

Simply stated, a virtual space becomes 

the real world for an alternative life with 

avatars or digital profiles participating in 

events, sometimes for private and sometimes 

for professional purposes – with 

possible economic implications. 

Metaverse is still evolving, but its 

components are ready for use. These 

components include the technologies, 

tools, and systems these virtual worlds 

are built on and accessed through and 

the underlying concepts that support 

the new experiences. Some of these 

technologies have been around for some 

time, and the concepts are being applied 

in active metaverse platforms. 

THE IMMERSIVE 

TECHNOLOGIES 

Realizing immersive experience requires 

hard and soft technologies, plus a pool 

of services. Two dominant technologies 

underlie the metaverse: augmented reality 

and virtual reality. 

∫ Augmented reality adds a digital 

graphic element to an existing, physical, 

real-world through the use of 

technologies such as glasses, lenses, 

or smartphones. In effect, it superimposes 

information on the natural environment. 

This technology has been 

especially popular in maintenance, 

where superimposed information for 

technicians has facilitated quicker 

repairs and increased the maintainability 

of assets. Lifelogging is a subclass 

of augmentation of the inner 

world where smart devices are used 

to record daily lives on the Internet. 

Examples of lifelogging are the social 

networks we use daily for professional 

or private reasons, such as Facebook, 

LinkedIn, or Instagram. Lifelogging 

is promising for maintenance, as 

machines connected in a machineto-machine 

(M2M) environment are 

expected to deliver new services based 

on the social networking of assets in 

an unattended manner. 

∫ Virtual reality is a virtual online 

3D reality, with avatars and communication 

tools simulating the inner world. 

The avatar can be personalized. Even 

though virtual reality's cultural, physical, 

and social characteristics are different 

from reality, the avatar, like a real person, 

can communicate with other entities 

and achieve goals. Online video games 

are a well-known use of virtual reality. 

But virtual 



reality also applies to industrial settings. 

For example, in the virtual commissioning 

of new plants or assets, technicians 

can recreate the future shop floor, and 

correct or adapt as required, thus avoiding 

costly trial and error actions. A subclass 

of virtuality mirrors worlds that are 

virtualizations or simulations of the real 

world. The authentic appearance, information, 

and structure are transferred 

to a virtual space to carry out activities 

via the Internet or mobile applications. 

Well-known examples are Google Maps 

and Google Earth. 

There is a lot of debate about whether 

AR or VR will dominate the market. The 

truth is that each has its unique value. 

Each enables users to experience and 

interact with the digital worlds that comprise 

the metaverse and the avatars that 

inhabit them. Each offers adaptability 

for different maintenance scenarios 

since using specific gadgets on the shop 

floor is impossible. Sometimes it is possible 

to use a PC or mobile device. Still, 

the immersion and physical interaction 

offered by a head-mounted display and 

hand-tracking controllers are much 

more natural and engaging than those 

of a keyboard, mouse, or games controller. 

Moreover, a remote maintenance 

action may require an immersive experience 

rather than a standard inspection, 

and augmented information provided 

by a device might be enough. But it is 

the convergence of these technologies 

and concepts that is truly the game 

Metaverse is still 

evolving, but its 

components are 

ready for use. 

changer when it comes to leveraging the 

metaverse. 

While current headsets can be hot 

and heavy, the technology is advancing 

rapidly, and a new generation of slimmer 

and lighter devices suggests the beginning 

of a more comfortable way to access 

the metaverse. VR and AR offer different 

experiences, with VR fully immersing 

users and AR layering digital items over 

the real world. Use cases that demand a 

fully immersive experience will benefit 

more from VR use, whereas others that 

depend on interacting with the natural 

world will necessitate AR. Neither is 

better than the other, and neither is 

"wrong." 

The metaverse is a location where the 

real world is augmented, connected, and 

replicated with virtual reality, and, as 

such, it can be considered another world. 

For the digital generation, the metaverse 

is and will be a space where they spend 

part of their daily lives. The Covid-19 

pandemic accelerated this trend with 

widespread isolation measures. The 

changes caused by the pandemic also 

had maintenance implications; Covid- 

19 limited maintenance inspections 

and interventions. Consequently, many 

activities moved from only being offline 

to also becoming virtual. In other words, 

the metaverse is not only a place offering 

escape but where people will live part of 

their lives. In the maintenance context, 

it means there is a better ability to safeguard 

the robustness and resilience of 

assets by providing virtual assistance and 

skipping costly actions to inspect remote 

and unattended equipment. The connection 

with the metaverse is facilitated by 

new technologies that allow us to be part 

of the online world 24 hours a day, all 

the time, and everywhere. The benefits 

for the maintenance sector are evident 

in terms of health monitoring, support 

and training of technicians, and remote 

troubleshooting. 

Consequently, maintenance as a 

service is attracting interest in the 

metaverse, with researchers examining 

the potential of the virtual world for 

detecting and predicting failures and 

providing maintenance support. 

DIGITAL TWINS AND CYBER- 

PHYSICAL SYSTEMS AS 

AVATARS OF OUR ASSETS 

Thanks to Industry 4.0 and the upcoming 

Industry 5.0, a dramatic technological 

transformation linking the physical 

world to the digital space has been 

accomplished. Digital twins and cyberphysical 

systems (CPS) define how a 

physical system integrates sensors, communication, 

computing, and control in 

a large-scale cyberinfrastructure. Digital 

twin technology is vital in boosting this 

convergence. This technology permits 

global industries to establish digital 

copies of their processes and assets to 

optimize maintenance and performance. 

Digital twin and CPSs technologies provide 

virtual representations, digital replicas, 

or copies of products, but also people, 

in the form of avatars. We could say 

the avatars of humans in the metaverse 

will interact with digital twins of the 

assets that are, in fact, avatars of assets. 

CPS are systems linking networked 

products and operations. Digital twins 

are engineering systems that drive new 

abilities to design, operate, maintain, and 

create new services to maximize value. 

Therefore, the digital twin of an asset is 

expressed as a virtual (digital) profile of 

a physical thing or process's current and 

past state, providing the elements and 

dynamics of how the replicated system 



performs and degrades using CPS as a 

backbone. 

Digital twins, as avatars of our 

products, add value to the industrial 

metaverse and beyond from the perspective 

of extended reality, with platforms 

for managing and analyzing data and 

experiencing the immersive interactions 

of avatars with digital products. Indeed, 

the key aspect of the maintenance 

metaverse is that digital twins of assets 

with different maturity levels will be 

transferred to the metaverse and become 

the avatars of these assets, ready to interact 

with the avatars of the maintenance 

crew. 

Metaverse platforms for immersive 

remote monitoring and control of intelligent 

industrial applications are challenging 

but achievable with appropriate gadgets. 

An industrial metaverse will include 

detailed digital twin models equivalent 

to full real-world assets where Industrial 

Internet of Things (IIoT) data and 3D 

digital models link digital and physical 

worlds. The merging of digital and physical 

object interactions that is already 

underway gives credibility to the concept 

of a metaverse as a viable future reality. 

Digital twins are a fundamental 

requirement for realizing the industrial 

metaverse, when assets are perceived 

from multidimensional perspectives to 

initiate new maintenance frameworks, 

such as remote monitoring, troubleshooting, 

and training new workers 

through an interactive simulation. 

On the one hand, for monitoring purposes, 

integrating digital twin technology 

with real-world data-related technologies 

will enable the creation of advanced 

simulation algorithms that could anticipate 

how processes and products will 

perform and degrade. Such algorithms 

must integrate IIoT data, Industrial AI, 

data analytics, and domain knowledge 

to improve output. Given the advancements 

in AI and Big Data technologies, 

the virtual models (digital twins) can 

become a staple in modern engineering, 

thwarting costly asset failures, eliminating 

the sophisticated testing of products 

and processes, and fostering efficient 

predictive and monitoring capabilities of 

systems. 

On the other hand, using metaverse 

and digital twin-enabled solutions as 

training and remote troubleshooting 

platform will help in testing systems and 

obtaining feedback. Based on the feedback, 

the system could be optimized, and 

the experimentation could be repeated. 

There are clear 

relations between the 

metaverse and the 

prevention and 

mitigation of failure. 

At the initial stage of the testing, since 

a digital platform or a clone of the 

machines is used, the wear and tear of 

the intelligent industrial machines and 

gadgets will be safeguarded. Further, 

based on the learning from the digital 

simulation platforms, testing could be 

done on the physical industrial machines 

in industrial settings, thus achieving 

real virtual commissioning with a high 

success rate. This immersive and virtual 

experience will allow maintainers to collaborate 

with experts and trainers from 

remote locations. 

In summary, considering digital twins 

as a tool to monitor dynamic changes 

in systems is crucial for maintenance 

applications in the industrial metaverse. 

Metaverse solutions are essential for 

remote maintenance managers and 

workforce groups who can use digitally 

cloned models for testing, monitoring, 

intervention, and training. In this way, 

the metaverse will become a powerful 

platform for maintainers and beyond. Its 

role in assisting virtual teams in gaining 

access to or control over digital clones is 

also being considered as a means of promoting 

new business models in the field 

of maintenance as a service; this includes 

remote troubleshooting and assistance, 

but it also includes innovative alterations 

in the digital clones based on ongoing 

failures, problems, and maintenance 



actions, thus promoting new product 

development and reliability growth. 

METAVERSE AND 

MAINTENANCE ACTIONS 

There are clear relations between the 

metaverse and the prevention and 

mitigation of failure. The metaverse can 

certainly be adopted for diagnostic and 

repair support with satisfying results. 

Maintenance 4.0 has already adopted 

and adapted various innovative technologies, 

such as IIoT, CPS, cloud, fog, 

Big data Analytics, machine learning, 

blockchain, and Industrial AI. Immersive 

technologies are becoming increasingly 

important. The disruptions they bring to 

performing maintenance will include the 

ability to monitor and interact remotely 

with a large population of assets and 

educate those involved in maintenance 

activities. Digital innovations can be 

adopted as an alternative maintenance 

service model; indeed, the possibility of 

creating avatars allows consultations and 

personalized actions. In the metaverse, 

maintainers could "consult" in a 3D 

virtual workshop using remote services 

and devices, such as wearable sensors 

and smartphone applications, monitor 

the health status of assets, and once they 

have a "diagnosis", perform maintenance 

intervention using haptic sensors and 

robotic actuators. 

The potential for incorporating monitoring 

devices into asset health programs 

is enormous. Different devices can be 

adapted to remotely monitor asset health 

conditions, connecting real life with the 

virtual world. The health of a distant asset 

can be assessed by IoT sensors, plus a 

number of virtual sensors, with Industrial 

AI models within the system adding 

further physical and expert knowledge. 

The creation of soft sensors will increase 

health visibility and improve maintenance 

criteria. With this information, both real 

and virtually created, maintenance crews 

will evaluate asset performance and damage 

propagation, comparing, in real-time, 

their data with the data of other users 

worldwide. Through real-time monitoring, 

maintainers can be part of an online 

community, and being guided by experts 

worldwide increases the likelihood that 

they will attend maintenance good practices 

programs and adopt world-class decisions. 

Moreover, these monitoring devices 

will allow assets to be fully present in the 

metaverse, 24/7. Importantly, monitoring 

health parameters around the clock 

will facilitate prompt prevention or 

intervention, helping service providers 

improve maintenance security. Along with 

monitoring, in the metaverse, a virtual 

and AI-based avatar or agent may provide 

personalized feedback and support, and, in 

this way, maintenance interventions could 

become more effective. 

Finally, an avatar that can act as a "virtual 

doctor/nurse" may be able to directly monitor 

and interact with the asset, providing 

individualized care and treatment but also 

supervising and monitoring, in real time, the 

"patient's" evolution after maintenance or 

repair actions. In this way, the metaverse can 

serve as a transitional stage before maintenance 

providers tackle real-world problems. 

In the metaverse, they can accompany assets 

into specific individualized environments, 

thus enhancing the efficacy of maintenance 

programs and actions. Beyond maintenance, 

however, virtual care models with group support 

programs could be a valid intervention 

in real-world health problems; in this context, 

remote virtual nursing care with robotic 

end-user delivery units could be helpful. 

REFERENCES 

Galar, D., Kumar, U., & Seneviratne, D. (2020). Robots, Drones, UAVs and UGVs for Operation and Maintenance. CRC Press. 

Karim, R., Galar, D., & Kumar, U. (2021). AI Factory: Theories, Applications and Case Studies. 

Galar, D., & Kumar, U. (2017). eMaintenance: Essential electronic tools for efficiency. Academic Press. 

Galar, D., Daponte, P., & Kumar, U. (2019). Handbook of Industry 4.0 and SMART Systems. CRC Press. 



PETER BOON, Product Manager at UE Systems 

Ultrasound: 

Achieving energy savings by 

detecting compressed air leaks 

With energy prices at an all-time high, it is now more important than ever for maintenance 

teams to focus on detecting compressed air leaks at their industrial facilities. As electricity 

prices keep going up, generating compressed air becomes more and more expensive – 

detecting and fixing leaks becomes now a priority. 

It is estimated that more than 50% 

of all compressed air systems 

have energy efficiency problems, 

and losses from such systems can 

be very costly. About 30% of all 

industrial compressed air is lost due 

to leaks, generating a huge economical 

and energetic waste. Just think that a 

leak of just 3mm can cost up to 574 GBP 

per year if it is not detected (on a 5-bar 

pressure system). Thus, detecting and 

repairing compressed air leaks may lead 

to huge energy savings. 

LEAK DETECTION METHODS 

There are a few methods used to detect 

compressed air leaks. One of the 



most traditional methods, still widely 

used, is detecting leaks with a soap and 

water solution. This method has a few 

disadvantages: it takes a very long time, 

creates additional work, and may also 

constitute a safety hazard. 

A much more effective, quick and 

safe method is using ultrasonic inspections 

instruments. These can be listenonly 

instruments or the more recent ultrasound 

leak detection cameras, which 

make the job even easier. 

WHY USE ULTRASOUND 

FOR LEAK DETECTION 

Using the characteristics of Ultrasound, 

locating leaks is fast and easy to do so 

because of: 

• Directionality of sound waves makes 

locating the source easy 

• Intensity of signal: the closer you get, 

the more sound you detect 

• Fixed frequency, making it effective 

to locate even in a loud factory environment 

As any gas (air, oxygen, nitrogen, etc.) 

passes through a leak orifice, it generates 

a turbulent flow with detectable 

high frequency components. 

By scanning the test area with an 

ultrasound instrument, a leak can be 

heard through the headset as a rushing 

sound or noted on the display/meter. 

The closer the instrument is to the leak, 

the louder the rushing sound and the 

higher the reading. 

Should ambient noise be a problem, 

a rubber focusing probe may be used to 

narrow the instrument’s reception field 

and to shield it from conflicting ultrasounds. 

In addition, frequency tuning (available 

in most models) dramatically 

reduces background noise interference 

to provide ease of ultrasonic leak detection 

as never before experienced. 

COMPRESSED AIR LEAK 

SURVEYS – EVALUATING 

THE COST OF LEAKS 

One of the more popular applications 

for ultrasound is the creation of compressed 

air leak surveys. 

Utilizing a software for compressed 

air leaks, users are able to locate and 

report on cost estimation per leak while 

also demonstrating the reduction of the 

carbon footprint. 

∫ Locate the leak site fast & easy 

∫ Tag the leak site & record values with 

digital ultrasound inspection instruments 

∫ 

Report potential cost avoidance & 

produce repair reports 

This can be done using software such as 

UE Systems DMS or even a mobile app 

like the Leak Survey Sidekick app. 

This app lets the user create a compressed 

air leak survey report. Once 

leaks are identified and information is 

entered, the data can be used to generate 

a comprehensive Excel report that 

includes estimated LMP (litre-perminute) 

loss, up-to-date cost avoidance, 

leak location photos (taken with your 

smartphone or tablet), and greenhouse 

gas reductions. 

Survey quality assurance is optimized 

by identifying leaks that have 

been repaired and leaks that have not 

been repaired. Also works with specialty 

gases like Argon, Helium etc. 

ULTRASONIC CAMERAS 

FOR COMPRESSED AIR LEAK 

DETECTION 

Traditional ultrasonic inspection instruments 

are effective but work only 

with sound. The user detects leaks 

by following the leak sound coming 

through the headphones connected to 

the instrument, scanning in all directions, 

and following the sound source 

until it’s possible to pinpoint the exact 

leak location. This is called the gross-tofine 

method. 

However, with the most recent developments 

in ultrasound technology for 

leak detection, there are ultrasonic cameras 

available which allow the user to see 

the leak on a screen, in real-time. One example 

of the available ultrasonic cameras 

is the UltraView from UE Systems. 

maintenance professionals can 

easily find compressed air leaks (or 

any other compressed gas) by simply 

switching on the camera and watch 

how the leak locations show up on the 

screen. This way, it is possible to quickly 

cover a large area and find a significant 

number of leaks, even at a safe distance. 

Thus, finding leaks with this ultrasound 

camera is much more efficient when 

compared to traditional leak detection 

methods. 



Multi-site 

Maintenance 

Excellence 

Text and images: MAINNOVATION 

From ‘not invented here’ to creating 

support and commitment 

The term ‘Operational Excellence’ refers to an excellent and 

flawless way of working to meet the highest expectations 

of customers. Maintenance obviously plays an important 

role in this. The term excellence is therefore also becoming 

‘common knowledge’ in this area. With ‘Maintenance 

Excellence’ we aim for the best performance of our assets. 

A nice challenge, but how do you roll out this way of 

working to multiple locations around the world? 

Large companies with multiple 

locations all over the world are 

called multi-site companies. 

Due to growth, relocation 

or acquisition, the company 

expands in various countries. This 

implies that the company is doing well, 

but it also creates a huge challenge. How 

do you make sure all these factories – 

with differences in processes, languages, 

cultures, time zones and IT systems – all 

perform in an excellent way? And is 


there even one excellent approach to be implemented 

everywhere? 

CULTURAL DIFFERENCES 

"There is enormous potential in learning from each 

other's best practices, but this is not an easy task," 

confirms Guy Delahay, Managing Partner at Mainnovation. 

Delahay regularly flies to other continents 

to advise multi-site companies on maintenance and 

asset management. “Without wanting to generalise: 

in America they are used to a top-down approach and 

if management indeed knows how to set the right 

course, this can work well. Germany is more hierarchical. 

When the boss is at the meeting table, the 

employee keeps a low profile. In Asian countries you 

see that the group feeling must be taken into account. 

And the Dutch have the image of being open and freespirited. 

Here a mechanic can tell the director that he 

has a better idea. If this is an American manager, this 

may not be appreciated.” 

GIS 

Next 

Generation 

EAM 

PdM 

Mobile 

APM 

AIP 

BI 

PPM 

IDEOLOGIES 

Nevertheless, it is worthwhile to see whether the different 

factories can learn from each other. To achieve 

Maintenance Excellence, many organisations opt for 

methods that support this. Delahay calls this 'the battle 

of the ideologies'. Delahay: “Companies choose to 

implement Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) or 

Reliability Centred Maintenance (RCM) at all plants. 

This often leads to top-down imposed programmes 

that ignore adaptation, commitment and support. 

Best practices are indicated from qualitative measurements, 

that are not at all relevant at some factories.” 

A Global Maintenance Excellence Champion is 

also appointed to lead the project. “This can work 

well, but this has to be someone with – there's that 

word again – excellent qualities. Flair, leadership and 

decisiveness. But also someone with a mandate. Can 

they make decisions or are they only allowed to give 

advice? And even then, this official can run into a wall 

of resistance. 'Not invented here' the employees say, 

because they mainly believe in their own way of working.” 

SUPPORT BASE 

Is it an impossible task then? “Certainly not,” says Delahay. 

"You just have to be aware of the pitfalls." Cultural 

differences, resistance to a top-down approach 

and differences in targets, priorities, and action plans. 

“And despite all these pitfalls, it is possible. With our 

VDM XL methodology, for example, factory-specific 

solutions can be taken into account. The focus is on 

connecting people. Ensuring healthy competition 

between sites is good, but you do have to compare 

apples with apples: so, benchmark well and compare 

the right KPIs with each other.” It is also important to 

include everyone in order to create support and commitment. 

“Give space to ownership and knowledge 

exchange and celebrate successes. And provide insight 

into each other's results and KPIs. In this way you 

step by step create a willingness to implement other – 

better – working methods and EAM systems. Improving 

multi-site.” 

BIM 

AI 

Many companies use their Enterprise Asset Management 

(EAM) system mainly as an electronic card index or a 

digital work order system, unaware of the possibilities it 

has for Asset Management. EAM Systems like Maximo, 

IFS Ultimo, HxGN EAM and SAP EAM have evolved 

tremendously. They now offer functionalities for Asset 

Investment Planning, Project Portfolio Management, 

Asset Performance Management, Business Intelligence 

and Predictive Maintenance. Major steps have also been 

taken in the field of Mobile, GIS and BIM integration. 

Are you ready for Next Generation EAM? 

Our VDM XL experts can assist you with further 

professionalisation and automation of your Maintenance 

& Asset Management organisation. 

www.mainnovation.com

ASSET LIFE ASSESSMENT 

Is your lubrication 

program world-class? 

Acoustic Lubrication is just one of the 8 application pillars adopted by world-class 

ultrasound programs. And what an important one it is. Poor lubrication practices account 

for as much as 40% of all premature bearing failures. When ultrasound is utilized to 

assess lubrication needs and schedule grease replenishment intervals, that number drops 

below 10%. What would 30% fewer bearing related failures mean for your organization? 

Keeping up with the changes in on-condition bearing lubrication techniques is challenging. 

Technology advancements from SDT’s LUBExpert allows us to transform complex 

processes into a simple procedure. 

HOW TO GET STARTED 

Success is dependent on organization 

and commitment. Without 

these two structural elements, your 

ultrasound lubrication program 

will find difficulty getting traction. 

A well-organized strategy and carefully 

planned execution will get the 

project started properly. Getting the 

commitment from all levels becomes 

much easier when a program can 

demonstrate structure and cohesion. 

Results will prove the program faster 

which will trigger easier access to 

funding to grow and sustain the program. 

Start by asking “Why start an ultrasound 

lubrication program and 

what improvements do we expect?” 

There is no one easy answer to the 

question. Saving money is an obvious 

benefit that gets the attention 

of management, but it is not specific 

enough. How will an ultrasound lubrication 

program save money? 

Poor lubrication 

practices account 

for as much as 40% 

of all premature 

bearing failures. 

Clearly defining and communicating the objectives of your lubrication program is the 

best way to create a precision lubrication culture that benefits your entire organization. 



Keeping your 

bearings healthy 

requires a lubricant 

with the right quality for 

the application. 

• By reducing grease consumption; 

• By raising awareness of the right 

types of grease to use; 

• By making more effective use of 

lube tech’s time; 

• By reducing unwanted machine 

breakdowns caused by lubrication 

failures; 

• By extending bearing life expectancy. 

A new beginning is the best opportunity 

to review what you have 

been doing previously. Identify what 

worked and improve or remove what 

did not. We will not go deeply into all 

aspects related to good lubrication 

practices. However, there are some 

basic and relevant points that should 

be noted. 

Lubricant management program: 

Keeping your bearings healthy requires 

a lubricant with the right 

quality for the application. By quality 

we refer not only to the quality of 

the grease manufacturer, but quality 

in a broader sense which involves all 

the processes from manufacturing 

to application. Some general recommendations 

are: 

• Keeping high standards of housekeeping 

for storage, handling, and 

application to prevent contamination 

that degrades the quality of 

lubricants. 



• Keeping a detailed list of products to use for each lubrication 

point. Selecting the right lubricant requires technical 

knowledge in several aspects. Using the wrong product 

will jeopardize the useful life of the component. Don’t 

change lubricants without solid reasons. Consider contracting 

a lubrication consultant to direct advice on this. 

• Providing training in every aspect relevant to lubrication 

practices and product knowledge to those responsible for 

lubrication. 

• Setting objectives to reach so you have a clear path to follow. 

APPLICATION GUIDELINES: 

Delivering the lubricant to the right point requires some 

type of device; usually a grease gun. There’s lots of different 

types but they all have one thing in common: they 

deliver grease with high pressure, enough to overcome the 

backpressure in the grease fitting. 

Dirty grease and mixing grease types kills bearings. 

Therefore, it is necessary to extend the precautions for 

contamination and storage discussed above, to the application 

of lubricant through grease guns: 

• Wherever possible, insist on using a dedicated grease 

gun for each grease type to avoid the risk of applying 

the wrong product through cross contamination. Label 

the grease gun with the associated grease to be used. 

LUBExpert manages multiple grease guns to prevent 

mixing of grease types. 

• Standardize your grease guns so they all deliver the 

same quantity of grease per stroke. 

• The same principle must be applied 

for your ultrasound device. 

If using SDT’s acoustic lubrication 

adaptor LUBESense1, assign a different 

one for each grease type. 

Grease remaining in the adaptor 

can mix with new grease causing a 

degrading chemical reaction. 

• Always clean the grease fitting and 

grease gun before and after every 

application. 

• Some bearings have drain plugs for purging old grease. 

If you open the drain, remember to clean the drain 

hole; it may be clogged. Use a clean brush like a bottle 

washing brush to clear the port. 

• Apply grease slowly, one full stroke at a time (no more 

than 20% of the maximum designated quantity per 

injection) to avoid over greasing. This also avoids potential 

damage to the bearing as too much pressure can 

push the bearing cage into the roller elements. 

• Always allow for churning time – the time required for 

freshly injected grease to work its way into the bearing. 

TYPE OF BEARING INSIDE: 

Don’t assume that a grease fitting installed on a bearing 

housing means a path to grease the bearing. Sometimes, 

motors are fitted with both grease fittings AND sealed 

for life bearings. You must identify every grease point 

to be managed within the ultrasound program. Identify 

Ultrasound assisted 

lubrication offers 

significant benefits 

that calendar based 

lubrication cannot. 

the bearing inside to know its size 

for lubrication quantity, its particulars 

for defect diagnosis, and the 

type of grease typically used. Here 

are some helpful tips regarding the 

use of acoustic lubrication: 

• Friction produces ultrasound. 

Bearing friction is produced 

by the contact between race, rolling 

elements and seals or shields. 

• Less contacts means less friction. A ball bearing 

produces less friction than a same size roller bearing 

under the same lubrication conditions, speed and load. 

• Plain bearings produce the lowest friction levels. 

Their ultrasound baseline often trends in the single 

digits or low teens. Typically, they remain consistent 

for their lifespan and only display sudden upward 

trend lines when the oil film becomes contaminated or 

the bearing is near failure. 

BENEFITS OF ULTRASOUND 

Ultrasound performs well at sensing and measuring 

changing in friction levels. It’s the perfect technology to 

guide lube technicians during the lubrication-replenishment 

task. Ultrasound assisted lubrication of plant assets 

offers significant benefits that calendar based lubrication 

cannot. The days of relying on calendars and calculators 

are over. 

C 

M 

Y 

CM 

MY 

CY 

CMY 

K 

Find out more by visiting our website at https://sdtultrasound.com/industry/bearing-lubrication-monitoring/ 


CYBERSECURITY 

Secure supply chains are crucial 

to the industrial sector’s 

cyber defence 

Significant advancements are being made to digitalise and 

automate industrial operations. Critical infrastructure 

is becoming more and more digitally connected to make 

society safer, bring down costs and increase efficiency. 

But digital transformation carries emerging risks. Rising 

geopolitical tensions, war in Europe, a cost-of-living crisis, 

energy supply shocks and widespread food insecurity are 

shining a light on just how vulnerable critical infrastructure 

is the more connected it becomes. 

JALAL BOUHDADA, Global Cyber Security Segment Director, DNV 

Cyber threats to industrial 

facilities are becoming 

more common, complex, 

and creative as opera- 

tional technology (OT) – 

the control systems that manage, tor, automate and control industrial 

operations – is increasingly networked 

and connected to IT environments. The 

manufacturing sector recently became 

the world’s most cyber-attacked industry 

for the first time, according to IBM’s 

2022 X-Force Threat Intelligence Index. 

moni- 

Other industrial sectors, including 

energy and transport also appear within 

the top ten. 

Production shutdowns, safety incidents, 

process disturbances and other 

service disruptions are all potential 

consequences of a cyber-attack on industrial 

operations. Life, property and 

the environment are at stake. 

It’s no surprise, then, that cyber security 

is rising up the boardroom agenda 

in industrial sectors. Cyber security 

risks are now business risks, and business 

leaders are recognising that cyber 

security is a pre-requisite for tion and automation 

digitalisaexcellence. 


CYBERSECURITY 

The overriding principle 

to mitigate against assets 

and operations being 

compromised by a cyberattack 

is to protect, detect, 

respond and recover. 

single-entry point to multiple companies’ 

environments. 

Supply chain security risks have not 

gone unnoticed by OT security professionals. 

The majority say their organisations 

are at risk because of their inability to 

ascertain the security practices of relevant 

third parties and to mitigate cyber risks 

across the OT external supply chain, according 

to research conducted by Applied 

Risk, a DNV company, in 2021. 

Many suppliers and manufacturers of 

equipment integrated within OT systems 

simply lack the people, processes, and 

technologies to demonstrate the cyber 

security of their products and services. 

By adopting a cyber security programme, 

investing in training of the workforce and 

following a Secure Software Development 

Life Cycle (SDLC) process, the risk of 

security vulnerabilities in products in production 

can be improved. 

Vendors’ systems used to be standalone. 

Now, they are increasingly connected 

within IT/OT systems internally 

and externally in much larger critical 

infrastructure ecosystems. 

Applied Risk’s study found that only 

a third of OT security professionals say 

their organisations conduct regular audits 

of their main suppliers, and just a quarter 

(27%) conduct due diligence prior to contracting 

with new suppliers. 

Companies with industrial operations 

need to pay greater attention to assuring 

that equipment vendors and suppliers 

demonstrate compliance with security 

best practice from the earliest stages of 

procurement and throughout the lifecycle 

of a project. Strengthened data management 

securing information and data 

sharing between suppliers, customers and 

other partners, limited access to critical 

assets - next to implementing monitoring 

and threat detection systems - improve 

supply chain cyber security by mitigating 

the risk of cyber-attacks. And if things go 

wrong, have an incident response plan in 

place to manage the threat and act fast. 

THE SUPPLY CHAIN SECURITY 

CHALLENGE 

Industrial companies’ investment in cyber 

security is now increasing. More focus is 

being placed on identifying where companies 

are vulnerable to attack, and putting 

the people, process, and technology 

measures in place to defend their IT and 

OT environments. But all this effort will 

make no difference if the security posture 

of a company’s supply chain is not equally 

strengthened. 

Companies can have complete oversight 

of their own vulnerabilities and have 

all the right measures in place to manage 

the risk, but this doesn’t matter if there 

are undiscovered vulnerabilities in their 

supply chain. One issue can escalate or 

‘domino’ into many others. The supply 

chain is a very attractive target for cyber 

criminals because it potentially provides a 

TIME TO TAKE ACTION 

It is now time for both industrial operators 

and their suppliers to face these challenges 

head-on. Increasingly, suppliers 

must assure themselves that they have the 

right measures in place to defend their 

products and systems from cyber threats. 

They must also be in a position to demonstrate 

their security posture to companies 

procuring from them. 

The overriding principle to mitigate 

against assets and operations being compromised 

by a cyber-attack is to protect, 

detect, respond and recover. This is in line 

with industry best practice including the 

National Institute of Standards and Technology’s 

(NIST) cyber security framework. 

The Centre for Internet Security (CIS) 

sets out benchmarks for vendor product 

families to help protect systems against 

threats more confidently while The 

Open Worldwide Application Security 

Project (OWASP) Foundation provides 

free online resources for web application 

security. 

For many organisations, however, the 

challenge in ensuring cyber resilience 

is understanding and identifying where 

their vulnerabilities are. By having a clear 

overview of attack surfaces and potential 

entry points, you can prioritise the vulnerabilities 

and non-conformities that must 


CYBERSECURITY 

be addressed. Robust and often straightforward 

mitigation measures can be put in 

place to address most vulnerabilities. 

When it comes to demonstrating security 

posture, it pays for suppliers to be able 

to prove that they conform to a growing 

number of industry standards and practices. 

These standards include IEC 62443, 

the international series of standards that 

address cyber security for operational technology 

in automation and control systems, 

and ISO 27001, the standard for information 

security management systems and 

their requirements. 

Recommended practices are also available 

to help companies on their path to 

compliance with industry standards. For 

example, DNV’s Recommended Practice 

DNV-RP-G108 provides best practice on 

how to apply the IEC 62443 standard in the 

oil and gas industry. 

Help is at hand from industrial cyber security 

specialists, including DNV, for those 

companies who don’t have the in-house expertise 

to undertake this work themselves. 

They can help to identify which standards 

are most relevant to comply with, uncover 

companies’ compliance status, what outline 

what needs to be done to achieve compliance 

before helping to put mitigating actions 

in place. 

For companies procuring products and 

systems from suppliers, we recommend 

that supply chain audits and vendor cyber 

security requirements are implemented 

during procurement, installation and operation 

of equipment, systems, and software. 

By defining requirements up front, and 

regularly reviewing suppliers against those 

requirements, understanding the supply 

chain’s cyber security posture becomes less 

of a black box. Vulnerabilities can be more 

easily identified. Mitigating actions can be 

undertaken more collaboratively. Assessments 

should be undertaken continually, 

rather than periodically, to ensure resilience 

against new and emerging cyber-attack 

vectors. 

TIGHTER REGULATION ON THE 

HORIZON 

Companies with industrial operations who 

have not yet put their own cyber security 

and that of their supply chain on their to-do 

list may be incentivised to do so by tightening 

regulation. For example, organisations 

providing essential services (including 

energy, drinking water supply, transport, 

healthcare and more) in the European Union 

(EU), will soon face tougher cyber security 

regulation than ever, with the threat of 

Assessments should be 

undertaken continually, 

rather than periodically, to 

ensure resilience against 

new and emerging cyberattack 

vectors. 

Organisations in 

industrial sectors should 

now think about NIS2's 

scope and if their operations 

fit within it. 

more and greater fines and/or withdrawal 

of license to operate if they do not comply. 

The revised NIS2 Directive strengthens 

cyber security requirements on companies, 

introducing top management accountability 

for non-compliance and streamlining reporting 

obligations. Crucially, the Directive 

also puts more focus on cyber security of 

supply chains. 

The NIS2 Directive suggests forcing 

individual businesses to address cyber security 

risks in supply chains and supplier 

partnerships to address the security of these 

ties. The idea is that it will improve supplychain 

cyber security for important information 

and communication technology at the 

European level. Building on the successful 

strategy used in the framework of the European 

Commission’s Recommendation on 

Cybersecurity, Member States may conduct 

coordinated risk assessments of vital supply 

chains in collaboration with the Commission 

and the European Union Agency for 

Cybersecurity (ENISA). 

The revised Directive on Security of Network 

and Information Systems (NIS2) to 

come into force in January 2023. Member 

States have until October 2024 to homologate 

NIS2 into national legislation and while it 

is estimated that organisations within NIS2 

scope will have to start complying by mid- 

2024 with relevant national laws. 

Organisations in industrial sectors should 

now think about NIS2's scope and if their operations 

fit within it. An organisation should 

consider the organisational, financial, and 

technical actions that will be necessary to get 

ready for NIS2 compliance if it looks likely 

that they will fall under the new legislation's 

purview. For instance, the European Commission 

anticipates that organisations' ICT 

security spending will increase by up to 22% 

in the first few years following the introduction 

of NIS2. In-scope organisations should 

also monitor how NIS2 is implemented in the 

important EU jurisdictions where they conduct 

business. 

If you think your organisation might fall 

under the scope of the NIS2 Directive, my 

advice is to get advice. DNV’s white paper on 

the Directive is a great starting point for identifying 

what new cyber security laws mean 

for industrial companies in Europe, and what 

you need to do to get ready to comply. 



Using pipelines 

to transport hydrogen 

instead of natural gas 

DR. JOHANNA STEINBOCK, Expert Fracture Mechanics Analysis, TÜV SÜD Industrie Service 

JAN SACHSE, Head of Department Plant Safety, TÜV SÜD Industrie Service 

DR. ALBERT GROSSMANN, Expert High-Pressure Pipelines, TÜV SÜD Industrie Service 

Source: TÜV SÜD. 

Hydrogen is one of the key players in the energy transition. 

Plans envisage using existing natural gas infrastructure for 

its transport and storage. Relying on fracture-mechanics 

analysis, TÜV SÜD assesses the integrity and remaining 

service life of pipelines intended for hydrogen transport 

and storage, considering hydrogen embrittlement of steel 

and aspects such as crack initiation and propagation in a 

hydrogen atmosphere. 

CONTACT: 

TÜV SÜD Industrie Service GmbH, 

Westendstrasse 199, 80686 

Munich, Germany 

+49 89 5791-2176 

jan.sachse@tuvsud.com 

tuvsud.com/en/themes/ 

hydrogen/hydrogen-pipelines


Green hydrogen produced 

with electricity from 

renewable sources could 

slash carbon emissions by 

several million tonnes per 

year in Germany alone. Beyond its application 

in the steel and chemical industries, 

the energy carrier can also be used 

for energy storage and in fuel-cell drive 

systems in the transport sector. Given 

this, the German Federal Ministries for 

Economic Affairs and for Digital and 

Transport have invested a total of over 

8 billion euros since mid-2021, funding 

around 60 large-scale hydrogen projects 

from hydrogen production to transport 

and industrial use.¹ 

USING AVAILABLE 

INFRASTRUCTURE 

With a service life of up to 100 years, 

pipelines and storage caverns are particularly 

ecological and economical 

solutions for gas transport and storage. 

In addition to roughly 500 000 km of 

pipelines transporting gas throughout 

Germany, there are 40 000 km of pipelines 

for cross-regional and cross-border 

transport. With diameters of up to 

1.4 m and service pressures of up to 100 

bar, the pipes are generally also suitable 

for transporting hydrogen. This is supported 

by historical fact; up to the mid- 

20th century, “city gas” contained up 

to 50 % of hydrogen. Using the existing 

infrastructure would further increase 

Hydrogen is one of 

the key players in the 

energy transition. 

the sustainability of the transition to 

hydrogen as an energy carrier. 

However, for this approach to be successful, 

various types of steel must be 

tested for their resistance to hydrogen, 

taking into account the current state of 

the art in this field and appropriately 

adjusted safety and maintenance strategies. 

HYDROGEN EMBRITTLEMENT 

High-strength steels involve the risk of 

hydrogen-induced cracking. Minimal 

flaws in the structure of the material, 

inclusions, impurities, or cyclic mechanical 

stresses may cause the protective oxide 

layers of the metal to corrode, enabling 

hydrogen atoms to diffuse into the material 

and accumulate at flaws in the steel’s 

crystalline lattice structure. Because pipelines 

in particular, are exposed to pressure 

fluctuations, permanent avoidance 

or exclusion of damage in the passive 

oxide layers is impossible. Fluctuations in 

the internal operating pressure of a pipeline 

are due to various factors including 

injection and withdrawal processes. 

Hydrogen deposition reduces the 

material’s plastic deformation capability 

and thereby its ductility, resulting in 

embrittlement and causing microscopic 

cracks. Continued accumulation of 

hydrogen atoms at the crack tips and 

cyclic loading cause these cracks to propagate. 

The extent of hydrogen embrittlement 

depends on the grade and structure 

of the steel and its type of production. 

Higher strength values and rougher 

surfaces increase the risk of hydrogen 

deposition. 

In principle, hydrogen reduces fracture 

(crack) resistance by up to 50 per 

cent and accelerates crack propagation 

even at relatively low partial pressures. 

It also lowers contraction at break, but 

not tensile strength. These influences 

of hydrogen on steel must be taken into 

account in pipeline assessment. 

USING FRACTURE-MECHANICS 

ANALYSIS 

Fracture-mechanics analysis is applied 

in examining pipelines and their materials 

for their suitability for transporting 

hydrogen, and in calculating the 

expected service life. In the case of 

known flaws, the experts will assess 

the integrity of the component. Fracture 

mechanics are also applied to new 

pipelines, e.g. to identify the detection 

limits in non-destructive testing of the 

material and weld seams and to calculate 

the inspection intervals for future 

operations. 

The propagation behaviour of existing 

cracks in particular can be mathematically 

quantified. Fracture-mechanics 

analysis looks not only at the materialspecific 

parameters, but also at stresses 

and distortions in the presence of the 

respective fluid. Generally, it can be said 

that stresses at the crack tip are theoretically 

unlimited and interactions between 

crack geometry and loading are highly 

complex. Fracture mechanics use the factors 

of stress intensity and rate of energy 

release to describe local stress conditions 

at the tip of the crack and crack-propagation 

behaviour. 

Since diffusion of hydrogen atoms 

into the lattice structure of the metal 

is a function of time, the frequency 

at which the workpiece is loaded also 

plays a critical role. This applies all 

the more given that cyclic loading 

causes varying operating pressures 

and may therefore further accelerate 

crack growth, which is slower when 

1 www.bmwi.de/Redaktion/DE/Pressemitteilungen/2021/05/20210528-bmwi-und-bmvi-bringen-wasserstoff-grossprojekte-auf-den-weg.html 



the operating pressure is high and the 

pressure amplitude low than vice versa. 

VISUALISATION IN A DIAGRAM 

A failure assessment diagram (FAD) 

is used to examine and evaluate flaws 

that may result in component failure 

from an integrated perspective with the 

help of fracture mechanics. The factors 

of loading intensity (L) and stress 

intensity (K) describe component stress 

with regard to the plastic collapse of 

the residual cross-section, and material 

strain at the tip of the crack with regard 

to brittle fracture. LR stands for the 

ratio of existing stress in the residual 

cross-section to load at plastic collapse, 

whereas KR stands for the ratio 

of existing load at the tip of the crack 

(stress intensity) to the material’s fracture 

toughness. 

Together, LR and KR define the 

position of an evaluation point in the 

FAD (Figure 1). The green FAD curve 

indicates the limit values. Parameters 

below this curve are still acceptable, 

while parameters above the curve are 

unacceptable. The blue point indicates 

a specific case of evaluation. The analysis 

of past loading cycles can be used to 

make predictions about future loading 

cycles. The expected growth of an initial 

crack and the length of time until the 

crack turns into an unacceptable flaw 

can be mathematically calculated, so 

that experts can calculate the service life 

of a pipeline. 

CLARIFYING HOW H2 

INFLUENCES THE MATERIAL 

In the USA, most steel types listed in 

accordance with the ASME Code have 

been analysed; in other words, their 

parameters (material characteristics 

in a hydrogen atmosphere) are known. 

However, where some steel types are 

concerned, fracture (crack) resistance 

and fatigue crack growth in a hydrogen 

atmosphere have yet to be determined 

or may be subject to changes caused 

by certain alloy elements or heat treatment 

processes. 

For European materials in particular, 

experts must first determine how hydrogen 

will impact the relevant parameters 

before they can complete fracturemechanics 

analysis. DVGW, a German 

Pipelines and 

storage caverns are 

ecological and 

economical solutions 

for gas transport 

and storage. 

recognised standardisation body for the 

gas and water industry, has launched a 

research project on this topic. TÜV SÜD 

is represented on the relevant committees 

and engages proactively in discussion 

and development of the pertinent 

safety concepts, which will be published 

shortly: DVGW Technical Rule – Code 

of Practice G4643 (M) “Fracture- 

Mechanical Assessment Concept for 

Steel Pipelines with a Design Pressure 

of more than 16 bar for the Transport of 

Hydrogen” is scheduled for publication 

in March 2023. 

NORMATIVE BASIS 

All gas pipelines – irrespective of whether 

they transport natural gas, pure hydrogen 

or a mixture of the two – fall under 

the German Energy Management Act 

(EnGW). Under the German Regulation 

on High-Pressure Gas Lines (GasH- 

DrLtgV), conversion of existing natural 

gas lines to hydrogen transport represents 

a major change and must be reported. The 

pipeline operator must prove that the conversion 

was completed expertly, professionally 

and in accordance with the state 

of the art. The technical requirements 

are described in DVGW Technical Rule – 

Standard G463 and/or DVGW Technical 

Rule – Code of Practice G409. 

Benefiting from third-party expertise 

Acting on behalf of pipeline operators, 

TÜV SÜD is currently reviewing the conversion 

of existing natural gas pipelines 

to hydrogen. In their review, the experts 

consider all factors influencing service 

life as well as all documents on planning, 

construction and operation. The experts 

also point out measures that are suitable 

for determining, evaluating or upgrading 

the condition of pipeline infrastructure. 

By providing support in the form of 

safety strategies and fracture-mechanics 

analyses, TÜV SÜD is helping to achieve 

safe, secure and carbon-neutral energy 

management. 

Figure 1: Example of analysis of static load, FAD curve 


BIOINDUSTRY 

Microbial energy, biobased 

chemicals, and soil improvement 

are the new resources for industrial 

food and chemical production 

ELIAS HAKALEHTO, Adj.Prof., PhD universities of Helsinki, and Eastern Finland; CEO, Finnoflag Oy 

Our modern world is in a phase of industrial metamorphosis. Novel solutions have 

been developed for circular economics and are urgently needed to help clean up the 

consequences of past negligence. Microbes are present everywhere, so why not make use 

of them as workhorses in biobased production? For more effective but softer solutions. 

Microscopic interactions 

between 

various invisible 

microbes are incessantly 

making 

wheels turn in our surrounding world. 

One example is the carbon dioxide 

emission of individual cells being necessary 

for the activation of adjacent 

other cells (Hakalehto and Hänninen, 

2012). In this example, the onset of 

population growth was speeded up by 

about 50 % by leading the liberated 

carbon dioxide from one PMEU (Portable 

Microbe Enrichment Unit) cultivation 

syringe to the next stationery 

syringe. This demonstrates the effects 

between individual cells in the succession 

of the bioprocess, as well as in 

the natural carbon sequestration. The 

technologies behind the Finnoflag bioprocesses 

were demonstrated already 

in the 21st International Society of 

Environmental Indicators global conference 

in 2015 in Windsor, Canada 

(Hakalehto, 2015a). Climate-friendly 

Hydrogen emission from biomass is 

facilitating the fixing of Nitrogen from 

the atmosphere into soil by microorganisms. 

STRUCTURES OF THE 

MICROBIOMES 

The rapid distribution of microbial 

strains reflects the succession of diverse 

microbial ecosystems. These 

Our modern world 

is in a phase 

of industrial 

metamorphosis. 

processes were previously often aseptic 

reactions with one or two biocatalytic microbial 

strains only. Nowadays, we have 

learnt to employ the entire population 

to work for the engineering goals using 

a more holistic approach (Hakalehto, 


BIOINDUSTRY 

2022). This approach makes biotechnology 

somewhat distinctive from the pure 

chemical processes. 

Still, if learned to be used accurately, 

it provides flexibility, energy efficiency, 

and novel products such as precious 

chemicals or polymers. Productivities 

that are 2-3 times more effective have 

been demonstrated. At the same time, 

it is possible to clean up mixed wastes 

or waters eloquently (Hakalehto and 

Jääskeläinen, 2017). 

MICROBES ARE OMNIPRESENT 

AND EFFECTIVE 

The use of microbiomes in bioprocess 

engineering is opening new avenues for 

biorefineries. Besides the human body 

system, communities of various microbes 

occur everywhere and cooperative 

microbiomes are also formed in the 

industrial processes. For example, some 

microbial presence in the circulating water 

in the paper industries is beneficial 

for papermaking. In bioprocess engineering, 

the exploitation of the mixed 

microbial cultures brings about new and 

interesting products and production 

methods. 

On microbial cell surfaces, the effective 

surface area is exceptionally high, 

even in small volumes of bioprocess 

fluids. This factor, as well as the rapid 

throughput of the process, increases 

productivity and makes it possible to 

save in space and costs. In modern 

agriculture and maintenance security, 

microbial strains could consolidate new 

means for soil improvement. 

BACKGROUND FOR INDUSTRIAL 

PROCESSING IS IN THE 

DIGESTION 

As indicated above, it has been demonstrated 

that both the intraspecies and 

interspecies gas emissions can cause a 

boosting effect of the growth of butyric 

acid clostridia, which are in a vital position 

in the human colon microflora. 

Correspondingly, the impact of surrounding 

carbon dioxide on the growth 

of Clostridium acetobutylicum was 

proven in the case of industrial processes 

as demonstrated in a series of 

experiments (Hakalehto, 2015b) in 

Handbook of Clean Energy Systems, 

by R. Wiley & Sons. As he described 

in his lecture in Helsinki in 1939, the 

dramatic effect of microbial carbon assimilation 

was anticipated by Dutch microbiologist 

A.J.Kluyver. Nowadays, we 

have achieved remarkable Carbon binding 

into bacterial bioprocesses. These 

processes could be combined with the 

high production of bioenergy, such as 

biohydrogen. 

CASE TAMPERE AND THE 

AFTERMATH 

A cellulosic industrial side stream accumulated 

for a century into Lake Näsijärvi 

in Tampere, West Finland, from a 

forest industry complex that was active 

between 1913-2008. Finnoflag team 

under the supervision of the author has 

demonstrated that lactic acid (lactate) 

could be produced from the sedimented 

Hiedanranta reservoir with productivity 

of 14,7% using sustainable biotechnology. 

The results were newly published in 

the European Geosciences Union (EGU 

22) General Assembly (Hakalehto et al. 

2022). 

The joint production of valuable 

chemicals, energy gases, and organic soil 

improvement, is lucrative. According to 

our calculations, it could already be seen 

in 2020 that profits from the industrialization 

of the process varied between 

30 and 110 M€ in five years according to 

different scenarios. Since that time the 

prices of steel and energy have increased, 

but the technical productivity has also 

reached new levels. This extensive project 

in Tampere or elsewhere could be 

forwarded in cooperation with several 

Finnish and foreign universities and 

companies. For example, downstream 

processing was experimented with by 

a Swedish group (Beckinhausen et al., 

2019). Numerous accompanying technologies 

are under development, such as 

AI (artificial intelligence) for controlling 

bioprocesses and product recoveries. 

Food production could also be boosted 

through bioengineering (Hakalehto 

2020, 2021). 

Lactic acid and mannitol are both nontoxic 

and widely used chemicals for food 

supplements and ingredients, pharmaceutical 

excipients, and in cosmetics and 

sweet-manufacturing too. Tomorrow´s 

pills and tablets will contain increasingly 

more often, readily dissolving mannitol 

as the carrier substance. Finnoflag Oy has 

been able to raise its production levels 

by 10-12% starting from the initial trials 

of food industries nearly 10 years ago 

(Hakalehto et al. 2016). 

Finally, the pilot studies in Tampere 

2017-22 could serve as a model for a 

feasible biorefinery plant. Such environmental 

deposits of cellulosic and other 

sediments could be found in thousands 

of locations worldwide. 


HSE 

TIME 

for Big 

Business 

to Clear 

the Air 

Take a deep breath. You assume the air is 

clean; it's the very breath of life and you 

will do it 20,000 times a day. 

MARK NAPLES, General Manager for Umicore Coating Services 

In a lifetime, about 300m litres of air pass through the 

average person's lungs. Furthermore, if that person walks 

along a busy city street today, they will inhale around 20 

million toxic 'nanodust' particles with each lungful. 99% 

of the world's population breathes air that is harmful to 

their health. 

Air quality has become a legislative concern, bringing the issue 

into sharp focus for various industries. Tackling air pollution 

means taking leadership seriously. If we cannot lead the way in 

measuring air pollution, set ambitious goals to reduce it, and actively 

support innovation in new technology, who will? 

Air pollution is connected to the six top-ten causes of death 

worldwide, including lung cancer, heart disease, stroke, and 

dementia. Businesses have a moral imperative to monitor the air 

quality on their sites and protect the people who work there. 

While our cities are not the deadly smog traps they once 

were, air pollution still remains a serious problem – but it is 

however one that we all have the power to solve. Laser absorption 

spectroscopy is one simple and logical solution that should 

be embraced worldwide. It represents an accessible and accurate 

means of detecting and tracking levels of pollutants in the air. 


HSE 

ESG INITIATIVES FOR A NET ZERO FUTURE 

ESG. These three small letters add up to significant operational 

changes for any business. They represent a framework around 

which an entirely new operational structure must be built, 

changing every level of a company from the top down. 

A growing urgency drives the rise in ESG focus for individuals 

and corporations alike to tackle one of the world's most 

pressing problems – climate change. Individually and corporately, 

we are all stewards of the natural environment, but we 

have not protected, nurtured, or renewed it as well as we should 

have. 

There is an almost uniquely strong consensus around sustainability. 

Broadly, consumers, businesses, and lawmakers 

agree that more must be done on the issue. And as every company 

is responsible for at least some emissions throughout their 

supply chains, everybody has at least some part to play. 

As events like the annual COP conferences continue to focus 

minds on climate change policy on a global scale, the direction 

of travel is only moving one way – however slow it might be. If 

corporate image protection and consumer pressure were not 

enough to deliver that focus, then stricter environmental regulations 

such as mandatory government climate risk disclosures 

certainly should be. 

By adopting measures based on data provided by intelligent 

sensors, organizations can improve their ESG compliance and 

enhance their contributions to people, the planet, and profit. 

By embracing data, businesses 

can be empowered to make more 

informed decisions to improve 

processes and drive efficiencies. 

A foundation of this structure relies on mitigating the hazards 

posed both in the workplace and the broader environment. 

Data is one currency that can chart our route across this uncertain 

terrain and into a more sustainable future. It is impossible 

to acquire this data without the intelligent sensors required to 

collect it. Using sensors to inform hazard mitigation and other 

ESG policies, businesses can maximize safety, minimize disruption 

and downtime, and protect people and business assets. 

Between the increased risk to workers, machinery, and 

other assets, and the rapidly shifting legislative landscape, the 

business case for improving air quality is now open-and-shut. 

Before this can happen, the air's state must be more closely 

monitored. 

CROSS-SECTORAL ACCOUNTABILITY 

We cannot always see the consequences of air pollution around 

us. And there are communication issues around trying to get 

people to see the invisible costs of pollution. 

Air pollution is an entry point to planetary health. To catalyse 

action for clean air, we must reform how we think about 

accountability for air pollution and health. And to do that, 

tracking the most damaging but best-understood pollutants, 

tiny particles of black carbon, nitrates, sulphates, ammonia, or 

mineral dust, is non-negotiable. 


HSE 

Thankfully tremendous advances in 

sensor technology have activated a range 

of reliable options available for gas detection. 

Technology is now more affordable 

and accessible than ever. Connected gas 

detection is not the technology of the future 

anymore, it is available today. 

Air pollution measurement instruments 

serve multiple purposes: publishing 

dust information online to update the 

public and issuing cautionary statements 

if required. Having this data in real-time 

can ensure that the right people act when 

increased levels are reported, and control 

measures can be put in place and continuously 

evaluated. 

Environmental monitoring and protecting 

against potentially dangerous 

conditions can be challenging to manage 

without reliable data streams and monitoring 

of a site perimeter that gathers 

environmental data. For this reason, 

more and more companies are turning 

to boundary monitoring technology to 

measure the level of risk and ensure 

they adhere to environmental limits 

and guidelines while protecting against 

health hazards. 

Companies operating in fast-changing 

environments can also use a hand-held 

particulate monitor to instantly detect 

dangerous concentrations of airborne 

particles during spot checks and walkthrough 

surveys. 

LASER-FOCUSED ON GAS 

DETECTION 

Industrial gas detection is a mature market 

that continues to expand as devices 

become cheaper at the compliance end 

of the market and smarter at the top end. 

At Umicore Coatings Services, we work 

with OEMs stripping their devices back 

to basics, focusing on functionality and 

cost for low-cost markets. We also assist 

in driving advances to open new opportunities 

and allow end users to use their 

devices in ways they have not considered 

before. 

Optical laser technologies are at the 

heart of many modern gas monitors. 

In such devices, a laser beam is passed 

through the gas sample of interest onto 

a detector or sensor that converts the incoming 

laser light into electrical signals. 

Laser-based sensing technologies have 

become widely adopted for gas detection 

and analysis due to their quick response 

times, high sensitivity, and reliability. 

Laser sensors work by monitoring the 

changes between the incident laser beam 

and the light ultimately detected by the 

sensor. One approach to doing this is 

to compare the laser beam that passes 

through the sample to a reference beam 

that is not passed through any gas. These 

changes are caused by the absorption of 

light by the gas sample. Each gas has a 

unique absorption profile, which means 

it will absorb different wavelengths 

of light in different amounts, which 

provides the chemical fingerprint that 

means that laser sensors can be used for 

chemical identification. 

While laser sensors can be designed 

for any region of the electromagnetic 

spectrum, many gas analysis devices 

operate in the infrared. This is because 

many small gaseous species, like methane, 

carbon dioxide, and other hydrocarbons, 

absorb infrared light very strongly, 

so it is easy to design devices with a 

sensitivity that extends to parts per billion. 

The additional advantage is that 

many different spectral lines characterize 

the absorption profile of these gases in 

the infrared. This means many features 

in the spectra can be used to identify 

chemical species with greater accuracy, 

and the wealth of information that can 

be provided with laser sensors makes 

gas analysis a powerful tool in industrial 

processing. 

We work closely with our customers 

through a consultative approach to 

develop custom IR designs that balance 

performance reliability with production 

efficiency. In doing so, we can offer a 

range of bandpass optical filters ideally 

suited to environmental/gas detection 

and analysis applications, with a centre 

wavelength anywhere on the NIR to 

FIR spectrum with steep-edge and deep 

blocking capability. 

It is impossible to deal with a problem 

we cannot see clearly. By making the invisible 

threat of air pollution visible through 

accurate data, we can begin to mitigate 

and even eliminate harmful emissions 

from many industries. It is only possible 

to navigate these turbulent waters with the 

data acting as our map and compass. 

By embracing data, businesses can 

be empowered to make more informed 

decisions to improve processes and drive 

efficiencies. The net result: more sustainable 

performance, heightened productivity, 

better quality products, reduced 

energy usage, lower emissions, and less 

landfill. That is the sort of future we all 

need to invest in. 


CASE STUDY 

Improving energy efficiency 

at Hotel Waltikka – 

An example of universitybusiness 

cooperation 

LEA MUSTONEN, Senior lecturer, Communications, Häme University of Applied Sciences 

TIMO VIITALA, Senior lecturer, Electrical and Automation Engineering, Häme University of Applied Sciences 

TIMO VÄISÄNEN, Senior lecturer, Electrical and Automation Engineering, Häme University of Applied Sciences 


CASE STUDY 

Heating and energy solutions are the 

hot topic of the day. We are living in a 

time of transition and every player in 

society is concerned about some aspect 

of energy - price, availability, low carbon. 

Our university's Hybrid Systems and 

Energy Efficiency study module has 

never been more topical. This article 

presents an implementation approach 

that combines the learning needs of 

students, the university's objectives 

for business cooperation and regional 

effectiveness, and the individual 

company's objectives for cost-effective 

development of its own activities. 

The case is Hotel Waltikka, a private family business 

built in 1988 in Valkeakoski, Finland. The 

hotel has 83 rooms. The volume is 5600 square 

metres, or 22 000 cubic metres. The meeting 

rooms and restaurant are both about 800 square 

metres. And being Finland, the number of saunas is important: 

there are 4 of them. 

The current owners of the hotel, Piia and Tomi Kuparinen, 

bought the hotel in 2019. At this point, any reader familiar 

with the tourism industry will sigh in their minds, knowing 

what happened the year after they bought the hotel. No one 

however, had a crystal ball to predict the coming Covid-19 

pandemic or the energy crisis that would soon erupt – crises 

that decisively changed the calculations made on the hotel's 

profitability. 

CEO of the hotel, Tomi Kuparinen, set out to revamp 

the hotel by developing both the operational concept and 

the physical building. Several energy-saving upgrades were 

made: motion sensors, LED lighting, ventilation upgrades, 

an automation control system for heating pressure, watersaving 

showers, tendering for electricity contracts, etc. The 

solar panels alone have already generated 100 MWh per year. 

This year's upgrades include an air-to-water heat pump, supplemented 

by district heating. 

HELP FROM UNIVERSITY COOPERATION 

Crises have followed one another, and entrepreneurs in 

Finland and elsewhere have sought new solutions to survive. 

The CEO Kuparinen started working with our university. 

HAMK is a multidisciplinary higher education institution 

offering bachelor's and master's degrees in engineering. Research 

in this field is carried out in the HAMK Tech research 

unit, where one of the research areas is energy efficiency 

research. The link between education and working life is 

ensured through projects, internships and theses in cooperation 

with companies. Teaching is delivered in eight-week 

(15 cr) modules. 


CASE STUDY 

The case of the Hotel Waltikka was implemented as part of 

the module "Hybrid solutions and energy efficiency", which 

introduces the realisation of heat and electricity solutions for 

the building. In addition to the theoretical studies, the students 

worked in small groups to carry out a study and design 

on an aspect of energy efficiency in the building. The aim was 

to find new innovative and smart energy-saving solutions with 

a short payback period. 

THE PROJECT WAS DIVIDED INTO SUB-AREAS 

For all aspects, a thorough current state analysis 

was first carried out by familiarising the building, 

its systems and documents. The sub-areas: 

1. Ventilation and heating of the restaurant 

lobby and lower lobby; aim to achieve the 

demand-based heating and ventilation 

2. Lighting of the restaurant lobby; aiming at 

intelligent lighting with LEDs 

3. Total heat recovery; with the aim of improving 

energy efficiency 

4. Ventilation and heating of the meeting rooms; 

with the aim of achieving energy efficiency in 

heating and ventilation 

5. Lighting and AV controls in the meeting 

rooms; with the aim of intelligent lighting in 

LEDs 

6. Ventilation and heating of sauna rooms; with 

the aim of achieving efficiency in heating and 

ventilation 

7. Sauna room lighting and heating controls; 

aiming at intelligent lighting with LEDs and 

scene controls for different uses 

8. Kitchen ventilation and lighting; aiming at 

achieving compliance with both lighting and 

ventilation needs 

9. Optimisation of electricity consumption and 

use of domestic appliances in the kitchen; 

with the aim of finding the optimal and 

appropriate Lean "drive" for all appliances 

10 Ventilation and heating in hotel rooms; aiming 

at achieving the necessary efficiency in 

heating and ventilation 

11. Lighting of the hotel rooms and long corridors 

and consumption of hot water in rooms; 

aiming at intelligent, demand-based lighting 

with LEDs 

12. Design of the architecture of the distributed 

automation system; aiming at a new 

distributed hardware architecture 

13. Mapping of the existing electrical system; aim 

to modernise the sub distribution boards 

TECHNICAL AND BUSINESS SKILLS 

At the time of writing, the project was about halfway through 

and the results were not yet ready, but it looked promising. 

Sensors and meters had been brought into the building, which 

had allowed us to make very precise measurements. The results 

of the measurements were already being put to good use. 

From the university's point of view, this kind of cooperation 

is very useful. The students become familiar with the theoretical 

knowledge of energy efficiency. Alongside this, they 

get to work on a real and concrete application in groups. The 

presentation of the results will give them an overall picture of 

the energy mapping and energy efficiency improvement of a 

large building. 

In addition to technical skills, students will also learn other 

skills such as project management and teamwork. Their communication 

skills will be developed, as students will prepare 

a written report on the subject under the guidance of a communication 

teacher, following the requirements of the thesis. 

The development of business thinking, business case analysing, 

is also important. "Developing technical skills alone is not 

enough for today's engineers. Solution options must always 

include an explanation of the payback period," sums up the 

CEO Tomi Kuparinen. 

A student's path to becoming an 

energy professional is a 

combination of theory-based 

learning and practical training. 

STUDENT PERSPECTIVE 

The group of students consisted of people studying for an 

engineering degree while working. This allowed the students 

to benefit from their previous experience and, by studying in 

small groups, they can also learn from each other. 

Ari Kolehmainen works at Nokeval and studies while working. 

He describes the project as interesting: “It took us from a 

school environment to a real customer environment.” His team 

studied exhaust air heat recovery. According to the student, the 

group had a business-critical mindset, with a two-step approach 

to the solution: first, you could choose a cheaper solution with a 

lower initial investment cost but with a lower heat recovery capacity. 

This could be followed by a more expensive solution with 

a higher purchase price, which could even double the efficiency. 

The group started with saving electricity, but ended up considering 

saving district heating. He said this was a challenge, but it was 

also because his group wanted a challenging task. 

From the teachers' point of view, this is a positive development 

as it shows a strong motivation to learn. Cooperation 

with the company has increased the understanding of how 

to implement this type of energy efficiency project with students. 

In addition, important information has been obtained 

during the project about which things to pay attention to from 

the point of view of energy consumption. 

The student's path to becoming an energy professional is a 

combination of theory-based learning and practical training. 

The importance of business cooperation cannot be over-emphasised: 

it benefits all parties involved. 


EFNMS AWARD 

STRATEGIC VIEW 

of asset management – 

managing emerging trends 

and perspectives 

JYRI HANSKI, Senior Scientist, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland. 

Many trends and perspectives impact how asset management strategies are formulated 

and implemented. My thesis, "Supporting strategic asset management in complex 

and uncertain decision contexts," explored this topic and won the EFNMS 2021 Ph.D. 

Award competition. Due to covid, the official award ceremony was postponed to the 

Euromaintenance conference that will be arranged in April 2023. Currently, the key topics 

of the thesis are increasingly crucial for organizations. 

ISO 55000-2 (2014) defines AM 

as the "coordinated activity of an 

organization to realize value from 

assets." At a strategic level, asset 

management decisions are often 

uncertain and complex. Uncertainty 

is the deficiency of information 

about an event, its consequences, or 

its likelihood. In contrast, complex 

systems have a history, are evolving, 

and involve many interacting elements, 

where minor changes may have significant 

consequences. This complexity and uncertainty 

stem from factors such as long and varying lifetimes 

of assets, imperfect information on which the decisions 

are based, complex technologies, information systems and 

organizational structures, and multiple stakeholders with 

possibly conflicting needs and requirements. 

The dissertation (completed in 2019) identified key trends 

and perspectives affecting strategic asset management: 

regulation and legislation, sustainability, circular economy, 

climate change, enabling technologies, ecosystem, business 

models, risk management, robustness and flexibility, and life 

cycle information management. There is a need for methods 

supporting strategic asset management that consider these 

aspects of managing the uncertainty and complexity related to 

strategic asset management. 

RE-EVALUATION OF KEY TRENDS 

More concrete requirements and demand 

for a sustainable society have 

sparked several new legislations, 

regulations, standards, and guidelines 

that affect asset-intensive industries. 

These include EU Green Deal, Fit 

for 55, EU Taxonomy for sustainable 

economic activities, and Corporate 

Sustainability Reporting Directive. Role 

of stakeholders and the impact of (lack 

of) social responsibility has become more 

visible. Since 2019, there has been a need to reevaluate 

the list. 

Investments in the low-carbon industry and energy efficiency 

have been abundant. Minimizing greenhouse gas emissions 

is on everyone's agenda, and biodiversity is the focus of 

manufacturing industries. New regulations are expected to 

force organizations to verify and quantify the green claims. 

The global pandemic and war in Ukraine have emphasized 

the risks of dependency on extra-EU raw materials, components, 

and competencies. Supply security and military aspects 

are among the key decision criteria in strategic asset management. 

Current and future energy prices are increasingly crucial 

in asset management decisions. Furthermore, which role 

can AI take in automating and assisting asset management 

decisions? 


EFNMS AWARD 

There is a call (figure 1.) to build 

resilience against the impacts of these 

disruptive phenomena and to identify 

opportunities within them. These 

phenomena have far-reaching impacts 

on many parts of production systems 

and infrastructure. They are interconnected 

with megatrends such as 

circular economy, sustainability, and 

digitalization, which are already transforming 

businesses. 

The focus is establishing an asset 

management system and strategic 

plans that inform investment, maintenance, operation, and 

sustainable end-of-life decisions. From a strategic asset 

management perspective, these disruptive phenomena disrupt 

the use of assets, alter investment volumes in the asset 

base, alter the timing and nature of production disruptions, 

and may even result in the shutdown of production units. 

The global pandemic 

and war in Ukraine have 

emphasized the risks of 

dependency on extra- 

EU raw materials, 

components, and 

competencies. 

CIRCULAR ECONOMY AS A KEY FOR 

SUSTAINABLE ASSET MANAGEMENT 

Circular economy emerges as one of the main topics for 

strategic asset management. Strategic asset management 

already incorporates many aspects of the circular economy, 

such as reducing waste and keeping assets in use through 

effective maintenance. Adopting life cycle thinking in strategic 

asset management aligns with the goals of the circular 

economy by maximizing the value of assets. Assets are 

stockpiles of valuable resources, including critical raw materials 

(CRMs), and any degradation 

results in value loss. 

However, incorporating circular 

principles more deeply into strategic 

objectives would increase the sustainability 

of the asset management 

system and the organization. This 

requires a more comprehensive understanding 

of strategic decisions' 

economic, environmental, and social 

impacts and incorporating circular 

design strategies into decisionmaking. 

Examples of such decisions include investing in greener 

production systems, investments, and practices to increase 

energy and material efficiency, prioritizing non-critical, 

biobased, or secondary raw materials, maintaining and 

remanufacturing production systems, and reusing or recycling 

them at the end of their first life cycle and essentially 

all actions towards preventing waste and downcycling. 

CONCLUDING REMARKS 

This article outlined some of the main topics of my dissertation. 

The main contributions of the dissertation were: 1) 

emerging trends and perspectives in strategic asset management, 

2) advancing the classification of methods supporting 

strategic asset management, and 3) developing and testing 

novel methods for supporting asset management decisions. 

The dissertation is available to read at: https://urn.fi/ 

URN:ISBN:978-952-335-397-8. 

EXTERNAL 

TRENDS AND 

PERSPECTIVES 

INTERNAL 

PERSPECTIVES 

Figure 1. Important trends and perspectives affecting strategic asset management (Applied from Hanski, 2019) 


EUROMAINTENANCE 

EuroMaintenance 

comes to the Netherlands 

The maintenance workforce has grown again this year. 

However, there are challenges facing the sector. For 

example, the increasing ageing of the population is causing 

a high average age (46 years), an increase in the number of 

vacancies (15 vacancies per maintenance organisation) and 

an increase in the outflow (8.9%). Of the outflow, a large 

group (43.5%) leaves the organisation because of retirement. 

In the coming years, efforts should 

be made to increase the inflow 

of new personnel. One way to 

achieve this is by attracting more 

women (current share 8,4%) and 

more people with a migrant background 

into Maintenance. Furthermore, efforts 

should be made to retain these groups 

within the maintenance organisation. 

QUESTIONS NEED ANSWERS 

– These and many more questions cry out 

for an answer, says Ellen den Broeder, 

General Manager NVDO and leader of the 

EuroMaintenance project team. 

– With many hundreds of professionals 

attending EuroMaintenance in Rotterdam, 

the Netherlands, we may be able 

to find a solution. And besides, we also like 

to share the rosy picture: within the sector 

EuroMaintenance, 

the 

largest European 

conference on 

maintenance 

has existed since 

1972 and is an 

initiative of the EFNMS (European 

Federation of National Maintenance 

Societies) and organized by the Dutch 

Maintenance Society NVDO in April 

2023. Maintenance NEXT is the most 

important platform for industrial 

maintenance in the Benelux and will be 

held next-door. The largest European 

maintenance conference will be held in 

Rotterdam from 17 to 19 April. 

there is increasing confidence in recruiting 

enough staff. 60% of companies 

say they are confident about attracting 

enough technical staff and 71% say they 

are confident about attracting enough 

technological staff. 

The outflow due to dissatisfaction 

has decreased (35.5%), which means 

that Management and Maintenance is 

an attractive sector to work in. These 

and many more figures are the outcome 

of the yearly Maintenance Benchmark 

in the Netherlands. 

ASSET MANAGEMENT AT ITS 

BEST 

The NVDO Maintenance Compass is an 

annual publication and provides insight 

in the status of, and trend in the Asset 

Management industry. Based on key figures, 

trends and vision documents, the 

NVDO aims to help the Asset Management 

industry deal with developments, 

challenges and opportunities in the Asset 

Management field. 

– Our maintenance market amounts 

to roughly 36 billion Euros, equivalent 

to roughly 4.5% of the gross domestic 

product (GDP). The maintenance market 

as a whole employs approximately 

300,000 professionals, this means that 


EUROMAINTENANCE 

3.0 to 3.5% of the Dutch working population 

is employed in the maintenance 

sector, Den Broeder says. 

DIVERSITY WILL DELIVER A 

HIGH-LEVEL CONFERENCE 

Keynotes, Workshops and Inspiring 

Tables 

– Since there are a couple of changes 

in the total employee base that catch 

the eye, we decided to give the Huma 

Factor prominent place at EuroMaintenance. 

Not only will the keynotes cover 

the theme, but some of the workshops 

will also give an answer to the problems 

we all deal with, Den Broeder says. Besides 

the workshops and the keynotes, 

there is an Inspiring Table at the end of 

the second conference day to inspire the 

audience. EuroMaintenance welcomes 

36 workshops, 11 keynotes and 3 Inspiring 

Tables. All of them are of the highest 

quality and of international stature. 

INCREASING FOCUS ON 

INNOVATIONS AND BIG DATA 

Besides the Human Factor, there are 

four more themes to learn from at EuroMaintenance: 

Asset Performance, 

Safety, Smart Industry, Sustainability. 

– The opportunities offered by innovations 

and big data are being embraced 

more and more. A solid 70% 

of the organisations holds the opinion 

that their own industry is either ahead 

of, or on-par with other industries. A 

vast majority is convinced that they 

adopt a sufficient amount of innovations 

and technology in order to at least 

keep up. However, the most important 

barriers to the adoption of innovations 

are a lack of capital and a lack of 

knowledge. 

Den Broeder refers to the Maintenance 

Compass again. Data driven 

working is becoming ever more common 

according to her. It is evident that 

all these issues are of the attention of 

EuroMaintenance. 

– We all look forward to welcoming 

hundreds of professionals from all 

over Europe. NVDO, EFNMS and Ahoy 

Rotterdam ensure that Rotterdam, the 

Netherlands, will be the Maintenance 

Capital of Europe during 17,18,19 April. 

See, Hear, Learn! 

EUROMAINTENANCE TEAM MEMBER 

IAN VAN DEN BRINK (NVDO): 

Some one-and-a-half years ago I 

joined the NVDO-team and Euro- 

Maintenance has been one of our 

focusses from when I first started. 

It feels as if we have been working 

together for many more years than 

we actually have, and I am incredibly 

proud that we are accomplishing 

such a strong, high calibre and international 

event with our small team! In 

the past months we have been hard 

at work, and it has all paid off with the 

incredible enthusiastic responses we 

are receiving from everyone involved. 

The Global Maintenance Professionals 

are waiting eagerly to once again 

meet each other at EuroMaintenance 

and I am very excited to speak to all 

of them in the European Maintenance 

Capital, Rotterdam!

TECHNOLOGY 

Common misconceptions 

about motors 

The tongue-in-cheek saying “If it’s in black and white, it must be right” is a helpful reminder 

that not everything we read (or hear) is accurate or complete. It’s always best to check 

sources and verify facts before accepting consequential statements as true. A similar adage 

underscores the importance of this advice in the digital age: “If it’s on the Internet, it must 

be true.” With these things in mind, here’s a random collection of common misconceptions 

about three-phase squirrel cage motors and the facts that deny them. 

THOMAS H. BISHOP, 

P.E., senior technical support specialist at EASA 

Soft-starting motors reduce utility-demand charges 

Soft starters typically ramp up the voltage applied to a 

motor over a few seconds at start-up, reducing winding 

heating and starting current. This may extend the life of 

the winding for motors that start frequently, but it doesn’t 

affect utility demand charges. That’s because the electric 

meter averages the kilowatts consumed over each 15 - 

30-minute period, not just for the few seconds that the soft 

starter reduces input power to the motor. 

Higher current means a motor is less efficient 

Input power is not a function of current alone. Other factors 

are voltage, power factor and efficiency. As an example, Table 

1 shows the key data for two 460-volt motors of the same 75 hp 

(55 kW) rating. 

Table 1. Example of motor current versus efficiency. 

Motor Amps Power factor Efficiency 

A 85.0 0.866 0.954 

B 88.2 0.835 0.954 


TECHNOLOGY 

Note that Motors A and B have the same full-load efficiency 

despite a difference of more than 3 amps in their ratings. If you 

want to fact-check this, use the formula in Figure 1. 

746 × hp 

1.732 × E × PF 

Where: 

hp = horsepower 

E = voltage 

I = current 

PF = power factor 

Figure 1. Formula for 3-phase motor efficiency. 

Power factor correction capacitors can reduce 

the energy consumption of a motor 

Applying power factor capacitors at the motor terminals increases 

the power factor on the supply cables but does not 

change the motor’s power factor. Increasing the power factor 

on the supply lines reduces current in them, causing a corresponding 

but typically insignificant reduction in I²R losses 

(energy) in the supply wiring. The primary reason for reducing 

supply circuit current is to add electrical loads without rewiring 

a facility. 

A motor can be loaded up to its service factor current 

An example of this would be loading a 1.15 service factor motor 

up to its service factor current (typically ~1.15 × rated current). 

That would be a problem, according to clause 14.37.1 of NEMA 

Stds. MG 1-2016: Motors and Generators (MG 1): “A motor 

operating continuously at any service factor greater than 1 will 

have a reduced life expectancy compared to operating at its 

rated nameplate horsepower. Insulation life and bearing life 

are reduced by the service factor load.” 

Further, the service factor only applies to Usual Service 

Conditions (MG 1, 14.2). These include operation at an ambient 

temperature of 5°F to 104°F (-15°C to 40°C) and at an altitude 

of less than 3300 feet (1000 meters) when rigidly mounted in 

areas or supplementary enclosures that do not seriously interfere 

with the machine’s ventilation. 

A 230-volt motor can be used on a 208-volt electrical 

system 

Per MG 1, 12.45, motors can operate successfully at ±10 percent 

of their rated voltage. Since 10 percent below 230 volts is 

207 volts, a 230-volt motor would appear to be acceptable for 

use on a 208-volt system. But ANSI Std. C84.1 permits service 

entrance voltage for 208-volt power systems to be as low 

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TECHNOLOGY 

as 191 volts. Since there will be additional voltage drop in the 

building wiring, the voltage supplied to the motor could be less 

than 191 volts–well below the 207-volt minimum required for 

the 230-volt motor. 

If the motor has a nameplate rating of 208-230 volts, ask 

the manufacturer for a suitable voltage range. Said another 

way, ask if the manufacturer’s warranty will apply if the motor 

is used anywhere between 187 volts (208 volts minus 10 percent) 

and 253 volts (230 volts plus 10 percent). 

Oversized motors, especially motors operating below 

60% of rated load, are not efficient and should be 

replaced with appropriately sized premium efficiency 

(IE3) motors 

On the contrary, matching motor horsepower (kW) rating to 

the load will usually mean a slightly lower efficiency at that load 

than using the next larger size motor. The reason is that motors 

tend to peak in efficiency between 75-80 percent load. Motors 

that drive, supply or return air fans in heating, ventilation and 

air-conditioning (HVAC) systems generally operate at 70 to 75 

percent of rated load, making them candidates for use with oversized 

motors. Further, even at 60 percent of rated load (which 

more than one industrial motor study found to be the average 

load level), the next higher power rating motor could be more 

efficient at that load than the appropriately sized power rating. 

Some high-inertia loads also require more HP/kW to start than 

to run the load. Reducing the HP/kW to match the running load 

could result in the motor being unable to start the load. 

It doesn’t matter which of the three line-to-line 

voltages in a three-phase system you measure to see if 

a motor is supplied with the proper voltage 

It does matter. Voltage unbalance negatively affects threephase 

motors. Even modest differences among the three lineto-line 

voltage levels can increase motor heating considerably. 

Voltage unbalance is expressed as a percent and determined by 

the formula in Figure 2. 

Percent voltage unbalance = 100 × 

Example: With voltages of 460, 467, and 450, the average is 459, 

and the maximum deviation from the average is 9. 

Therefore: 

Percent unbalance = 100 × 

Reference: ANSI/NEMA Std. MG 1-2016, 14.36. 

Figure 2. Formula for voltage unbalance. 

Max. volt. deviation from avg. volt. 

9 

459 = 1.96% 

Average volt. 

It’s always best to check 

sources and verify facts before 

accepting consequential 

statements as true. 

The formula for percent additional temperature rise in 

a motor winding due to unbalanced supply voltages is 

2 × (% voltage unbalance)2, so a mere 3.5 percent unbalance 

would cause a substantial increase: 2 × 3.52 = 24.5%. For many 

motors, that would be an additional temperature rise of about 

36°F (20°C). 

According to a well-accepted guideline, motor winding life 

decreases by half for each 18°F (10°C) increase in temperature. 

Thus the 36°F (20°C) additional temperature rise due to a 

3.5 percent voltage unbalance can cut a motor’s insulation life 

to about a quarter of what it should be. 

Hand contact on a motor surface is a reliable way to 

judge operating temperature 

Never check a motor’s surface temperature by hand! Modern 

motors can have surface temperatures near or above the 

boiling point of water during normal operation. Appropriate 

devices for measuring these temperatures include thermometers 

or pyrometers, thermocouples and thermal imagers. 

Note that MG 1 sets specific limits for internal winding 

temperatures but not for motor surfaces. Where it does address 

parts other than windings (e.g., clause 12.43), it says 

the temperature of such parts “shall not injure the insulation 

or the machine in any respect.” So, unless the motor surface 

temperature exceeds the winding's rating or something on 

the surface is damaged or otherwise degraded, MG 1 would 

not consider it too hot. 

Winding burnout is the most common cause 

of motor failure 

Although a winding failure usually results in a more costly 

repair and longer downtime, bearing failure is the most common 

cause of motor failure (see Table 2). 

Table 2. Summary of motor failure surveys for motors rated up to 4 kV. 

Component 

Survey 1 Survey 2 Survey 3 Survey 4 

Stator 36.5% 24.8% 25.0% 15.8% 

Rotor 9.5% 6.0% 6.0% 4.7% 

Bearing 41.0% 51.6% 51.0% 51.1% 

Other 13.0% 17.6% 18.0% 28.4% 

SURVEY REFERENCES 

1. P.F. Albrecht, J.C. Appiarius, and D.K. Sharma, “Assessment of reliability 

of motors in utility applications – Updated.” IEEE Transactions on Energy 

Conversion, vol. EC-1, no. 1, pp. 39-46, March 1986. 

2. O.V. Thorsen and M. Dalva, “Failure Identification and Analysis for 

High-Voltage Induction Motors in the Petrochemical Industry,” IEEE 

Transactions on Industry Applications, vol. 35, no. 4, pp. 810-818, July/ 

Aug. 1999. 

3. Monitoring und Diagnose elektrischer Maschinen und Antriebe, Allianz 

Schadensstatistik an HS Motoren 1996-1999 in VDE Workshop, 2001. 

44. O.V. Thorsen and M. Dalva, “A survey of faults on induction motors in 

offshore oil industry, petrochemical industry, gas terminals and oil 

refineries,” PCIC, 1994. Record of Conference Papers, IEEE IAS 41st 

Annual, Vancouver, BC, 1994, pp. 1-9. 

Adapted from EASA’s Root Cause Failure Analysis, 2 nd ed., pp. 1-5. 


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Maintworld Magazine 1/2023

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