Preventive maintenance - Methods and technologies

This article presents the objectives of preventive maintenance within the framework of maintenance management, the applicable standards, as well as the methods, technologies, and procedures for implementing maintenance programs. It also describes the developments and improvements brought about in preventive maintenance by Industry 4.0 and 5.0 concepts, particularly through the widespread use of artificial intelligence.

The first section describes the challenges of preventive maintenance in accordance with the EN NF 13306 and IEC 60050-192 standards. The characteristic parameters of the degradation curve leading to failure are then described in detail, as they are used to establish an equipment monitoring policy. To this end, the concepts of potential failure, P-F intervals, and “net P-F interval” are introduced.

The second section summarizes the key definitions related to maintenance and clarifies the role of preventive maintenance. In accordance with current standards, hierarchical classifications of maintenance types and activities are also provided in accordance with the EN NF 13306 standard.

The third section provides a chronological overview of the evolution of preventive maintenance from 1950 to 2025. It details the major milestones from the 1950s—when preventive maintenance was primarily planned and manual—through to the connected and intelligent approaches of Industry 5.0. This section describes, in sequence: the beginnings of scheduled maintenance in the 1950s and 1960s; the emergence of the first sensors and condition-based maintenance in the 1970s and 1980s; the rise of computerization and CMMS in the 1990s and 2000s; the advent of Industry 4.0 with the Internet of Things (IoT), Big Data, and AI in the 2010s; and finally, the era of Industry 5.0, characterized by human-machine collaboration, digital twins, and resilient industrial environments. It also includes statistics on trends in maintenance types by company size between 2000 and 2025.

The fourth section provides a detailed classification of the methods used in preventive maintenance. It distinguishes between: non-destructive surface testing (visual inspection, penetrant testing, magnetic particle testing); volumetric testing (ultrasonic testing, radiography, eddy current testing, thermography, etc.); and complementary techniques, such as lubricant analysis, vibration analysis, and electrical monitoring.

The fifth section addresses the processing of information obtained from monitoring and inspections. It explains how the collected data (vibrations, temperatures, images, sounds) are analyzed to identify defects and assess the condition of equipment. It details the three key steps in the decision-making process: detection of...