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Unplanned downtime, service interruptions, employee turnover. If these sound familiar, you’re not alone. Operations and maintenance leaders across asset- intensive industries like manufacturing, public sector, transportation and chemicals  are under pressure to improve asset performance despite tight budgets, leaner teams and rising expectations. Nearly 99% of organizations have attempted some form of maintenance transformation in the last five years (McKinsey), yet many assets are still under performing.- 
 
Why? Because the same real-world challenges keep getting in the way. From siloed data and aging infrastructure to a persistent culture of reactive maintenance, these obstacles often undermine even the most well-intentioned plans. The result? Teams are stuck fighting the same fires, without the insight or capacity to truly get ahead.-In this blog we will discuss the top three core challenges asset-intensive organizations face including asset performance blind spots, data silos and maintenance maturity and share insight into the key methods to address these common challenges and improve maintenance strategies in the process. 
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Three Core Challenges Facing Asset-Intensive Organizations-

Blind Spots: No Clear View of Asset Performance--

You can’t manage (or maintain) what you can’t see. Many organizations suffer from “asset data blind spots” – critical information about asset health, performance or maintenance history that isn’t captured or visible when needed. -Lack of visibility, incomplete or improper use of asset data leads to reactive maintenance firefighting: issues go undetected until failure and opportunities for preventive maintenance are missed. These blind spots might come from relying on paper records or spreadsheets, using homegrown systems or simply not consolidating data. The result is decisions made on gut feel or limited information, practically inviting unplanned downtime and inefficiency, ultimately causing lost revenue.- 
 

Data Silos: Operation Technology and Sensor Data Is Trapped or Underutilized- 

Despite living in the era of big data and Industrial IoT, many maintenance teams still struggle with fragmented systems because of legacy systems, rapid adoption of multiple software systems without proper integration, manual processes or a combination of these challenges. Operational data from equipment sensors, inspection reports and control systems often lives in disconnected silos, making it nearly impossible to build a complete picture of asset health.- 
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This lack of integration isn’t just inconvenient, it’s costly. McKinsey estimates that data silos and poor data quality cost organizations trillions globally each year through inefficiencies, delayed decisions and missed opportunities.-When data can’t flow between teams or tools, maintenance, operations and reliability professionals are left working from different playbooks. As a result, it’s harder to prioritize the right work, respond to risk or align on strategy, slowing down response times and driving up operational costs.- 
 

Maintenance Maturity Gaps: From Reactive to Proactive—But How?- 

According to the 2024 Asset Management Survey Report by the Global Forum on Maintenance & Asset Management (GFMAM), 89% of companies know about the ISO 55000 asset management certification. Yet, only 16% have it.

-The ISO 55000 certification represents a gold stamp of approval for internationally recognized maintenance practices. Despite understanding the value of this certification, the lack of widespread adoption raises questions about whether organizations are truly advancing beyond reactive maintenance.

This gap highlights a persistent disconnect between aspiration and execution. Organizations want to shift toward more proactive strategies like predictive and reliability-centered maintenance, but often lack the systems, data quality or cultural alignment to make it work. Some teams jump into advanced analytics too soon without first building a strong preventive foundation or capturing consistent maintenance history. Others simply haven’t embedded preventative maintenance (PM) workflows into day-to-day operations in a way that scales.

The result is a strategy that looks good on paper but falls short in practice. Preventive work is inconsistent, early warning signs are missed and digital investments under deliver, leaving teams stuck in a costly cycle of unplanned repairs, rising maintenance spend and avoidable downtime.-

Smarter Together: Why EAM and APM Work Better as a Team-

How do you move from reactive maintenance firefighting to proactive, data-driven maintenance? It starts with pairing the right systems: one to execute maintenance tasks and one to optimize them.- 
 
Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) is the system of execution for asset management. It helps organizations plan, track and perform the work needed to keep assets operational and safe. With an EAM system, you can:-

• Schedule and manage work orders-
• Track inspections, repairs and certifications-
• Maintain an accurate asset registry and hierarchy-
• Monitor spare parts inventory and procurement- 
• Ensure compliance with safety and regulatory standards-

In short, EAM gives you control over your day-to-day maintenance operations and creates a reliable system of record for asset maintenance history.- 
 
Asset Performance Management (APM) is the system of intelligence. It uses risk modeling, analytics and condition monitoring to help organizations continually improve maintenance decisions. APM focuses on answering questions such as:-

• Are we sure we’ve contained our asset risk?-
• Which assets are at highest risk of failure?-
• When is the best time to intervene?-
• How do we know our asset strategies are effective?-
• What’s the most cost-effective maintenance strategy?-
• Is my strategy being executed as expected?-
• Which of my assets are my ‘problem children’ or ‘bad actors’?-

With APM, you can continuously evaluate asset health, detect early warning signs and fine-tune your maintenance approach to reduce risk and optimize performance.- 
 
While EAM and APM are powerful on their own, they are even more effective when used together. EAM provides the execution framework—work orders, inspections, inventory. APM brings intelligence such as analytics, risk scoring and condition monitoring.-

Together, they deliver a smarter asset strategy:-

• Do the right work, at the right time, with the right insights. APM identifies emerging issues and recommends actions. EAM executes those actions with full traceability.
• Replace gut instinct with data-backed decisions. Real-time condition data and historical performance insights ensure every decision is informed.-
• Free up resources by eliminating unnecessary tasks. Stop over-maintaining low-risk equipment and focus your teams on the work that matters most.-

This integrated approach improves maintenance efficiency, extends asset life and helps organizations advance along the maintenance maturity curve, from reactive to truly predictive.-

Want to learn more about how EAM and APM work together to build smarter, more resilient asset strategies? Watch our on-demand webinar:-

EAM and APM: Better Together for Superior Asset Optimization- 
 
In this session, you’ll hear from Hexagon experts on how to close the gap between insight and action, and see real-world examples of how integrated asset management drives better results.-