Exploring preventive maintenance strategies in the petrochemical industry through sixth industrial revolution technologies in Gauteng

Abstract

The petrochemical sector is an asset-intensive safety-critical industry. Preventive maintenance is vital to ensuring reliability, safety and continued operations in South Africa. Understanding the impact on preventive maintenance in the petrochemical Industry in Gauteng is important. The main aim of the study was to assess how Preventative Maintenance Strategies in Gauteng's petro-chemical industry are affected by the sixth industrial revolution 6IR technologies. Consequently, the objective of the study was to examine maintenance strategies of industrial operators, the level of adoption of 6IR technology in preventive maintenance strategies in the petrochemical industry as well as the organisational, technological and human enablers and constrains to effective adoption of 6IR technology by industrial players in preventive maintenance strategies. The investigation of 6IR technology impacts on preventive maintenance was the main objective of the study. A qualitative exploratory research design was used in an interpretivist paradigm. The research was held with purposive selection of maintenance managers, engineers and technical specialists from petrochemical organisations in Gauteng. Data was analysed through thematic analysis using computer-aided qualitative data analysis software to identify the recurring patterns, perception and experiences. According to organisations that implemented 6IR technologies, equipment reliability improved, and unplanned downtime reduced due to better decision-making and safety. There are significant barriers posed by skills shortages, legacy systems, quality of data, financial constraints and resistance to change from organisations. The benefits of using 6IR technologies cannot be maximised unless they are backed by organisational processes, employee upskilling, and investments. The research also suggests designing digital maintenance roadmaps; upskilling for maintenance specialists and employees; and enhancing digital data governance. Above all, the study casts light on enhanced leadership commitment to digital transformations.