Industrial companies are reportedly operating 30% blind owing to critical gaps and errors in their technical documentation, according to research from Samp, a developer of an AI-powered ‘shared reality’ solution for industrial sites.
On average, industrial facilities modify approximately 2% of their assets every year, but according to research from Samp into hundreds of these sites, only 50% of tehse changes are properly recorded in documentation, resulting in errors compounding annually by 1%.
In a 30-year-old facility, which is relatively new in the industrial sector, for example, this means errors accumulate to an alarming 30%. With the average age of industrial facilities often exceeding this threshold, the true scale of the problem is often even greater.
This concern is echoed by a recent poll conducted among European industrial site managers, which emphasises widespread uncertainty over clean asset data. Of the 24 respondents, 14 provided insights on the percentage of clean technical asset data at their sites. Only one respondent claimed to have over 80% clean data, while a majority (12) estimated their clean data at 60% or below.
“We have always found between 20% and 30% errors or gaps in the technical documentation of industrial facilities. These findings reinforce the scale of the documentation challenge facing industrial sites, where poor data integrity contributes to inefficiencies and operational risks,” said Laurent Bourgouin, CEO of Samp.
This growing data gap results in several issues including:
- Increased downtime due to inaccurate system maps
- Higher maintenance costs from outdated infrastructures
- Greater risks to safety and compliance standards
- Inability to upgrade and transform infrastructure based on inaccurate / legacy data
“Many sites don’t grasp that these issues can be addressed over a weekend, with Shared Reality capturing on-site data and offering teams a comprehensive view of their facilities,” said Bourgouin. “It integrates technical documentation with actual site conditions, providing teams with an interactive, collaborative workspace. This rapid deployment ensures that all stakeholders, from operators, maintenance, engineering to management can work with a single, reliable source of truth.
“Shared Reality empowers teams to execute work safely, efficiently, and with no surprises on site, ultimately closing the data gap that many sites struggle with. It is vital if industrial sites are to succeed in their digital transformation, save costs, and ensure safety.”
According to reports, unplanned downtime costs manufacturers around $50 billion per year, with data inaccuracies contributing to this expense.
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