Balluff Sensors Examines Data-Driven Maintenance in 2026

<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="/ueditor/php/upload/image/20260923/1790173848342403.png" title="1790173848342403.png" alt="1.png"/></p><p><span style="font-size: 14px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Tom Knauer, product management, Balluff GmbH, examined how engineers and MRO professionals can apply smart manufacturing technologies to foundational approaches developed as far back as WWII.&nbsp; Today, manufacturers face labor issues, supply chain challenges, economic uncertainty and the need for reduced energy consumption. Knauer noted that the goal in 2026 is to provide more automation/robotics technology, create flexible factories, utilize smart devices and get the most out of software and AI tools.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 14px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">During WWII, the RAF used actual production data to address bottlenecks and optimize personnel/resource scheduling. They also analyzed failure data to implement condition-based monitoring and predictive maintenance strategies. The RAF implemented longer (rather than shorter) maintenance intervals when justified by the data.&nbsp; This comparison helped showcase how vital data-driven maintenance is to meet modern manufacturing challenges and provide OEE and Knauer provided a nice outline for MRO teams to start with a small pilot project and grow this over time. We’re moving past condition monitoring and predictive maintenance and heading into a era of prescriptive maintenance, an advanced, data-driven strategy that uses AI and machine learning to predict equipment failures and automatically recommend the exact actions, timing, and resources required to prevent the issues utilizing sensor-based data.</span></p>