IoT as a Fundamental Ally in Preventive Maintenance Plans

Discover how the Internet of Things (IoT) can assist in the implementation and execution of your preventive maintenance plan!

Preventive maintenance is an essential strategy to ensure the proper functioning and durability of industrial equipment. However, for it to be effective, tools and technologies that assist in data collection and analysis on machine performance and conditions are necessary. This is where IoT, or the Internet of Things, comes in!

This technology allows for the connection of devices and sensors to the internet, creating an intelligent network for monitoring and control.

In this text, we will explain how IoT is a fundamental ally in the development of a preventive maintenance plan and the processes in which it has generated benefits. Follow along!

Creating and executing a preventive maintenance plan

A preventive maintenance plan records all preventive maintenance activities that must be performed on the company’s equipment, machines, vehicles, or structures to prevent or reduce failures, breakdowns, or malfunctions.

IoT assists in the development and execution of the preventive maintenance plan by providing real-time data on the condition and behavior of the equipment, allowing for the definition of criticality criteria, frequency, and the type of maintenance required for each item.

As information is analyzed, managers can adjust the actions defined in the plan.

Performing diagnostics

One of the great advantages of IoT lies in diagnostics for preventive maintenance management. The data collected by sensors installed on equipment is analyzed in real-time, generating alerts and insights about the condition and behavior of assets.

Some of the reported information includes:

Anomalies
Wear
Irregularities
Trends that may indicate an imminent failure or performance reduction

Thus, the maintenance team can act proactively and precisely, carrying out necessary interventions before the problem worsens or causes unplanned downtime.

Generating reports

As data is collected by sensors, it is stored, processed, and visualized in management and analysis systems. All of this serves as input to generate preventive maintenance reports that organize information such as:

Which services were performed
When the services were performed
Who was responsible for executing the services
What resources were needed for the services
How much time was spent on each service
The cost of each service, cost per unit, and total cost
Which materials were used

These management reports allow for tracking the maintenance history of equipment, evaluating the effectiveness of interventions, identifying improvement opportunities, planning future actions, and optimizing resources and processes.

Using a maintenance management platform

We would like to emphasize that IoT is best utilized through an asset management platform, as it allows for the integration of data collected by sensors with management and analysis systems.

Not to mention, a maintenance management platform also enables process automation, resource optimization, increased productivity and profitability, cost and risk reduction, and improved quality and customer satisfaction—and the list goes on.

Making this investment is important to stay competitive in the market because IoT in maintenance management is a trend that brings numerous benefits to organizations, such as: