The Transformation of Maintenance with the Arise of Industry 4.0

The world is rapidly evolving with the rise of digital transformation, which has started the fourth industrial revolution, also known as Industry 4.0. This new revolution combined the innovation of several technologies, such as the Internet of Things, Big Data, AI-driven technologies, cyber-physical systems, and additive manufacturing, to reduce costs, improve productivity and efficiency, and reduce human error. However, this new concept changed the paradigm of maintenance itself, which embraced it, leading to the appearance of Maintenance 4.0. The foundation of this maintenance approach is Predictive Maintenance and, as a resource, the leading technology from Industry 4.0. This paper aims to clarify the concept of Maintenance 4.0 and present study cases about its application and the leading technologies attached to it. In conclusion, these new technologies promise transparency in maintenance routines. These techniques are still very recent, with a significant volume of initial capital and the need for highly educated employers, such as Data Scientists, which is still a distant reality from most companies/industries. Another essential factor to pay attention to is related to the progress of these technologies, which are still in their early development, and their practical application still needs to be improved. Moreover, human capital resources can represent a brake on progress since many workers would be inflexible with the changes in new technology and tools.