The Hidden Cost of Bad Asset Data

You can invest in the best maintenance technology available—but if your system doesn't accurately reflect what's actually on the plant floor, everything downstream becomes harder. In this episode of The Wrench Factor, guest host Paul Anderson, Strategic Partnerships Manager at MaintainX (An Autodesk Company), sits down with Andi Seabeck, Facility Market Leader at Camcode, to explore one of the most overlooked foundations of a strong maintenance program: accurate asset data. Paul and Andi discuss the real cost of bad asset data, from technicians wasting time searching for equipment to unreliable maintenance histories, ineffective PMs, and poor capital decisions. They also explore why connecting physical assets to their digital records matters, how to approach asset identification and data cleanup without "boiling the ocean," and why maintaining clean data requires ongoing ownership and discipline. And as manufacturers look toward predictive maintenance and AI, Andi explains why getting the fundamentals right is only becoming more important: AI won't fix bad asset data—it will amplify it. For maintenance and operations leaders looking to improve reliability, modernize their programs, or prepare for what's next, this episode is a reminder that sometimes the biggest opportunities start with getting the basics right.