Case Study: The Institute of Cancer Research

The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) operates in some of the most demanding and sensitive environments in the healthcare sector. Unplanned asset failures can have serious consequences — not just for operations, but for patient-critical research. That’s why ICR set out to improve risk visibility, strengthen maintenance practices, and future-proof capital investment planning.

The challenge

ICR initially engaged Otoni (formerly operating as Asset Handling) to conduct asset verification and criticality assessments across its estate. These assessments revealed a number of high-risk assets that lacked adequate monitoring, leaving the organisation exposed to potential failure in critical environments.

A smarter, real-time approach to asset intelligence was required — one that could surface early warnings and support long-term decision-making.

The solution

We implemented a predictive maintenance solution combining structured risk registers with real-time monitoring of the most critical assets. This included:

• Deployment of live condition monitoring units across 80 key assets
• Tracking of vibration, temperature, power and acoustics in real time
• Custom dashboards for engineering teams, supporting rapid diagnosis and decision-making
• Instant alerts via email and SMS for pre-failure conditions
• Integrated life cycle planning tools, helping ICR predict replacement timelines and capital needs

All data was centralised within the platform, enabling a full view of asset condition, risk, and maintenance performance — not just today, but projected over the coming decades.

Results and impact

With this approach, ICR has moved from reactive maintenance to data-led foresight. Key benefits include:

• Proactive identification of high-risk assets and failure indicators
• Faster response to performance anomalies, reducing the risk of service disruption
• Clear visibility into asset performance trends and life expectancy
• A 25-year capital replacement programme grounded in real data
• Improved planning of maintenance, re-engineering and investment decisions
• Reduced costs linked to unplanned downtime and operational continuity

“The programme will help optimise maintenance regimes and reduce downtime.”