Innovative Approach to Preventive Maintenance of Production Equipment Based on a Modified TPM Methodology for Industry 4.0

Preventive maintenance (PM) in the production industry is one of the most essential measures to eliminate accidental machinery failures by replacing/repairing worn out machines or parts. The decision of when and where to perform preventive maintenance is non-trivial due to the complex and stochastic nature of the industry where PM is implemented. This article deals with the theoretical and practical implementation of preventive maintenance based on a unique modification of the total productive maintenance (TPM) methodology. The innovative approach of preventive maintenance management was implemented in the real production hall of ITT (Czech Republic) and has been verified. Within preventive maintenance, the new concept brings in an innovative method of managing the maintenance process as a whole, from abstract methodical conception to practical usage. The whole new approach has been verified and implemented on industrial equipment. A challenging task while implementing Industry 4.0 technologies is the issue of how to fully gather and analyse operational data from various items of equipment and users under various conditions, which would result in innovative services of equipment maintenance for clients. The solution to this problem is based on an innovative approach to preventive maintenance of complex equipment and could help many industrial companies to increase production and maintenance efficiency.