Evolution of the maintenance function

The first generation of maintenance, exclusively corrective, dates from before the end of the Second World War. The principle was to implement repair operations after the failure had occurred. At the time, maintenance was considered a necessary evil.

It wasn't until the 1950s, first in the USA and then in Japan, that a second generation of maintenance was developed, incorporating systematic preventive maintenance. The principle of systematic preventive maintenance is to implement maintenance operations (servicing, repair) before a failure occurs. Plant managers are gradually being encouraged to develop preventive maintenance programs. While these programs help to reduce production downtime, they often...