The arrival of dozens of new ships equipped with more complex systems and smaller crews creates a significant maintenance challenge for the Royal Netherlands Navy. During the WCM Summer School 2026, participants will examine how the Ministry of Defence can keep the next generation of naval ships fully operational while having fewer technical personnel on board. “It is precisely the combination of technology, data, and organization that makes this issue so interesting,” says Tiedo Tinga of the Royal Netherlands Defence Academy.

The case for the WCM Summer School 2026 is provided by the Maritime Systems department of COMMIT in Utrecht and the maintenance organization DMI in Den Helder. A key component of the case is the desired transition from traditional periodic maintenance to condition-based and predictive maintenance.

Tinga acknowledges that this topic is not new. “We have been talking about predictive maintenance for years. But now, urgency is emerging. The Navy is receiving many new ships, which provides an opportunity to design maintainability differently from the outset. At the same time, crews are getting smaller, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to find sufficient technical personnel.”

The deadline for application for the WCM Summer School 2026 is extended to the 10th of June 2026. 

Are you a technical Master/PhD student or young professional (within 10 years after graduation), with a special interest in Maintenance Management & Engineering, then apply to the 15th edition (before June 1st 2026) of our WCM Summer School 2026 (August 24th – 28th, 2026) at Den Helder – The Netherlands and challenge yourself in our exciting program. 

“Challenge yourself in our multi-disciplinary Summer School on Maintenance Management & Engineering. Satisfy intellectual curiosity, gain new professional skills in the area of Maintenance and extend your professional network by joining the WCM Summer School″ (prof. dr. H. Akkermans, and director World Class Maintenance)

Please click here for a short movie about the WCM Summer School (Dutch)

You will learn about the exciting world of maintenance with all its aspects through our workshops on state of the art maintenance tools and approaches from top professors in the Netherlands. Knowledge gained will be applied immediately as your analytical skills and creativity will be tested to its limits when you are solving the problems presented in our real life case study.

Case Royal Netherlands Navy

The Royal Netherlands Navy (RNLN) aims to take new ships into service, including new anti-submarine warfare frigates (ASWF), submarines, and various auxiliary vessels.

A continuous pressure to reduce ship crews and an increasing complexity of systems on board naval vessels puts pressure on the maintenance of these future ships.

The RNLN is working towards a transition from planned periodic maintenance to condition-based maintenance (CBM) and predictive maintenance.

The main question for you as a participant during the Summer School is to think about how RNLN together with her stakeholders in the public sector can use some of the available maintenance innovations for this maintenance transition.

Click here for more information and to apply to the program