03 June 2026
Bilbao
This afternoon, the research seminar and technical meeting of the DMAD (Digital Maintenance and Asset Digitalization) working groups of the European Safety and Reliability Association (ESReDA) and the SKILLS4EII project (Skills Alliance for the Energy Intensive Industries) concluded at the University of Deusto. The event, a key one for the industrial safety and reliability sector, brought together leading researchers, academics, and business leaders in a hybrid format (both in person at the Bilbao campus and online). "Reskilling Asset Management in the 5.0 era; strategic, tactic and operative implications" (Retraining asset management in the 5.0 era; strategic, tactical and operational implications).
Organized and supported by both ESReDA and SKILLS4EII, the meeting served as a showcase to present the latest advances in the optimization of industrial processes, the digitization of maintenance tasks and the imminent transformation that human talent faces in the face of the demands of the new industrial revolution.
The challenge of talent in energy-intensive industries
Following the official opening by Iker Pastor, Vice Dean of International Affairs at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Deusto, and Aitor Goti himself, the day began with an analysis of the urgent evolution of the supply and demand of job skills. Alberto Rodríguez (Sidenor) and María Blanco (Unesid) presented the progress of the European project Skills4EII shed light on the digital and sustainable skills that energy-intensive industries require to maintain their global competitiveness.
Artificial intelligence and simulation at the service of industrial maintenance
The technical segment of the seminar was notable for its presentation of solutions based on disruptive technologies. Jon Arambarri (ESTIA) and Aitor Oyarbide (University of Deusto) detailed the project's achievements. DESGENAI, an initiative that merges Discrete Event Simulation (DES) with Genetic Algorithms to intelligently optimize the management of spare parts in manufacturing environments.
Subsequently, the project SILENCE took spotlight with Marco Vanucci (Sant’Anna), who explained the practical implementation of sophisticated algorithms for the preventive diagnosis of industrial machinery based on correlated noise analysis.
After a brief pause, the most complex environments were addressed with the project OPTIMA DONES. Professor Juan Chiachío from the University of Granada captured the interest of the forum by presenting an expert system based on semantic Artificial Intelligence specifically designed to facilitate maintenance decision-making in environments with high radiation levels.
Looking to the future: Seville 2027 and open debate
The event not only served to assess the state of the art in the industry, but also to chart the roadmap for the coming years. Professor Antonio Jesús Sánchez Herguedas (University of Seville) offered an exclusive preview of the prestigious IFAC joint workshops (AMEST-IMS 2027) to be held in Seville in April 2027, which will focus on advanced maintenance engineering and smart manufacturing systems.
The day concluded with an open roundtable discussion moderated by Antonio Jesús Guillén (Complutense University of Madrid and Secretary General of ESReDA). The speakers and the audience agreed on the need to strengthen ties between universities and industry to efficiently lead the transition to Industry 5.0, where automation and the human factor must coexist harmoniously.
With the closing of this seminar, ESReDA and the University of Deusto consolidate their role as strategic nodes in the map of European research on resilience, digitalization and operational excellence.
