The costs/benefits associated with investing in advanced maintenance techniques is not well understood. Using data collected from manufacturers, we estimate the national losses due to inadequate maintenance and make comparisons between those that rely on reactive maintenance, preventive maintenance, and predictive maintenance. The total annual costs/losses associated with maintenance is estimated to be on average $222.0 billion, as estimated using Monte Carlo analysis. Respondents were categorized into three groups and compared. The first group is the top 50 % of respondents that rely on reactive maintenance, measured in expenditures. The remaining respondents were split in half based on their reliance on predictive maintenance. The top 50 % of respondents in using reactive maintenance, measured in expenditures, compared to the other respondents suggests that there are substantial benefits of moving away from reactive maintenance toward preventive and/or predictive maintenance. The bottom 50 %, which relies more heavily on predictive and preventive maintenance, had 52.7 % less unplanned downtime and 78.5 % less defects. The comparison between the smaller two groups, which rely more heavily on preventive and predictive maintenance, shows that there is 18.5 % less unplanned downtime and 87.3 % less defects for those that rely more on predictive than preventive.
Personnel from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) organized and led a Measurement and Evaluation for Prognostics and Health Management for Manufacturing Operations (ME4PHM) workshop at the 2019 Annual Conference of the Prognostics and Health Management Society held on September 23rd, 2019 in Scottsdale, Arizona. This event featured panel presentations and discussions from industry, government, and academic participants who are focused in advancing monitoring, diagnostic, and prognostic (collectively known as prognostic and health management (PHM)) capabilities within manufacturing operations. The participants represented a diverse cross-section of technology developers, integrators, end-users/manufacturers (from small to large), and researchers. These contributors discussed 1) what works well, 2) common challenges that need to be addressed, 3) where the community's priorities should be focused, and 4) how PHM technological adoption can be sped in a cost-effective manner. This report summarizes the workshop and offers lessons learned regarding the current state of PHM. Based upon the discussions, recommended next steps to advance this technological domain are also presented.