Predictive maintenance: fixing machines before they break
Every maintenance strategy answers one question: when do we service the machine? Predictive maintenance answers it with data instead of guesswork, catching wear before it becomes a breakdown.
Three ways to maintain
- Reactive — fix it when it breaks. Cheap to start, expensive when the line stops mid-shift.
- Preventive — service on a fixed schedule. Safer, but you often replace parts that still had life.
- Predictive — monitor the machine’s real condition and act just before failure.
What it watches — and the standards that guide it
Sensors track signals that change as a component wears: vibration, temperature, current draw, and cycle-time drift. Turning those signals into decisions is the subject of established condition-monitoring standards — ISO 17359 (general guidelines), ISO 13374 (data processing and information flow) and ISO 13381 (prognostics). Following them keeps a programme from becoming a pile of dashboards nobody acts on.
The benefit
Predictive maintenance reduces unplanned downtime, extends component life and turns emergency repairs into planned work. You do not need a huge data platform to start — monitoring a few critical motors, spindles or gearboxes often delivers most of the value, and proves the case before you scale.