Chapter 3: The Digital Transformation of Healthcare Maintenance Management in Gauteng: A Case of Lubuto¹ Hospital

The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on South Africa's healthcare delivery system. The surge in infections led to a high demand for medical services, stretched the capacity of healthcare workers, and disrupted the medical supply chain. Maintenance issues also arose, causing equipment downtime that negatively affected patient outcomes and increased operating costs. Digital innovation became necessary to achieve cost-effective optimization. merSETA's research head partnered with a UJ research team to develop a digital decision-support tool to optimize maintenance across hospitals in Gauteng and beyond. This case study outlines the steps taken to develop the digital solution and demonstrates how innovative methods and digital tools can be used to solve pressing business challenges systematically. This case study can help students develop their problem-solving skills.