On 23rd November I had the pleasure of travelling to Amsterdam to participate as a guest speaker at IMRWorX2023, an annual conference in which experts from leading international companies discuss the latest trends in Industrial Maintenance and Reliability. After delivering the opening key note speech, I really enjoyed listening to all the other speakers, particularly those who talked about technological advancements in wearables, Machine Learning (ML), and Artificial Intelligence (AI). I learned a lot about the importance of clarifying and deeply understanding the maintenance problem posed, prior to identifying and investing in the right technological solution.
While ‘Bias For Action’ is an important leadership principle here at Amazon, one of my biggest takeaways from my two days in Amsterdam is how digital maintenance requires careful choices; we shouldn’t do everything just because we can. Outside of the insightful and exhilarating presentations, I really enjoyed networking with maintenance experts from other companies. As always, I was in the vast minority at the male-dominated event with only three other women in attendance. Perhaps there will be more gender diversity at IMRWorX2024.