PhD Defense R.M. van de Kerkhof

The essays collected in this PhD thesis revolve around a central puzzle: if it is possible technically, interesting economically, and desired by organizations, why is the uptake of Condition-Based Maintenance still so low? The first essay zooms in on the introduction process of CBM based on a new Condition Monitoring technology, shedding light on the decisions that have to be taken in the introduction process and why these are not easily (nor quickly) taken. The second essay addresses the intra-firm diffusion process of twelve CM technologies and identifies the technical, economic and institutional factors that explain the (low) speed of ramping up the technologies’ usage. The third essay builds upon the findings of the first two and develops a CBM Maturity Model that helps asset owners to visualize their desired end state and analyse the transition that is required to get there.

If we assume that most advanced CM technologies are recently developed, time also becomes a piece of the puzzle. Since it takes time to introduce a CM technology and to diffuse it within the firm, high levels of diffusion cannot be expected for new CM technologies. Rather, we expect to see an evolution in the usage of CBM. An evolution in which CM technologies will gradually become more potent and less costly, in which asset owners experiment with and diffuse an increasing number of CM technologies, and in which condition information is utilized in an increasing number of asset management decisions. Yet, the speed of this evolution can be sped up with the right efforts from management, technology champions and other innovators.

Roland van de Kerkhof (1991) received his Bachelor degree in Industrial Engineering (2011) and Master degree in Operations Management & Logistics (2013) at Eindhoven University of Technology. After that, he started as a PhD candidate at the department of Information & Supply Chain Management at TiSEM, Tilburg University. He currently is a teacher at Tilburg University, project leader at World Class Maintenance and the Logistics Community Brabant, and the chairman of a system dynamic modelling cooperation.

• Location: Cobbenhagen building, Aula 
• Supervisors: Prof. H.A. Akkermans, Prof. N.G. Noorderhaven