The framework, impact and commercial prospects of a new predictive maintenance system: intelligent maintenance system

With the development of information technology (IT), predictive maintenance technology integrated with IT is becoming increasingly popular. Recent developments in predictive maintenance applications reflect the need for further integration between factory floor and enterprise systems. This paper introduces a new predictive maintenance system, the intelligent maintenance system (IMS), which fuses infotronics technology to enable machine/product to achieve near-zero downtime performance through Device-to-Business (D2B™) platform and Watchdog Agent™. The algorithm of Watchdog Agent™ and the architecture of proposed D2B™ platform were also analysed. The commercial potential of these technologies, mass customised maintenance is proposed for the first time, including its definition, focuses, process, MES level and impacts. In addition, a case study is provided to show how effective the intelligent maintenance system can be on the factory floor and in other business environments.

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