Uptime: Strategies for Excellence in Maintenance Management, Fourth Edition

The fourth edition of Uptime introduces an updated and expanded framework for achieving sustainable reliability and asset performance in an increasingly complex, data-enabled operating environment. Building on the proven foundation established by earlier editions, this new edition extends the original Uptime Pyramid of Excellence beyond maintenance best practices alone, positioning reliability as a strategic organizational capability that supports operational excellence, risk reduction, and long-term business performance.

Rather than focusing solely on technology adoption, Uptime fourth edition emphasizes the integration of leadership, culture, work management, precision maintenance, reliability engineering, and data-enabled decision-making into a coherent operating model. The book presents a practical roadmap that guides organizations from reactive maintenance toward proactive, precision, and ultimately strategic maintenance through four stages of maturity: stabilize, control, optimize, and innovate. Updated throughout with modern practices and contemporary examples, the fourth edition incorporates advances in condition monitoring, analytics, digital workflows, Evidence-Based Asset Management (EBAM), and Precision Maintenance, while reinforcing the enduring principles that underpin reliability success.

Written for maintenance and reliability professionals, plant managers, operations leaders, and asset managers, the fourth edition of Uptime combines practical guidance with strategic perspective to help organizations improve asset performance, strengthen workforce capability, and achieve sustainable uptime in today’s evolving industrial environment.

James V. Reyes-Picknell is a recognized authority in maintenance and asset management and is the founder of Conscious Asset, a consulting and training firm focused on helping asset-intensive organizations improve performance through better decision-making, governance, and execution.

A professional engineer and certified management consultant, James has worked globally across industries including manufacturing, energy, transportation, mining, utilities, defense, and public infrastructure. His career spans hands-on engineering roles, senior management positions, and decades of advisory work with organizations seeking to move from reactive maintenance toward reliable, value-driven asset management.

James is best known for his work on the Uptime framework, first introduced by John Dixon Campbell in 1995 and subsequently expanded through multiple editions. As co-author of the second, third, and now fourth editions, he has shaped Uptime into a practical systems model that integrates leadership, work management, reliability, information, and governance. This edition reflects both advances in technology and a deeper emphasis on judgment, organizational maturity, and purpose.

He has taught asset and maintenance management in university and professional programs, contributed to professional and standards-related discussions, and published widely in industry journals. His work emphasizes that sustainable performance improvement is not achieved through tools alone, but through aligned systems, disciplined thinking, and respect for the human side of technical work.