US Army turns to predictive maintenance to cut mishaps
By Jen Judson
Thursday, Jan 19
WASHINGTON — The Government Accountability Office is praising the military’s use of predictive maintenance — meaning repairs made before equipment breaks — to avoid accidents and save money, according to a recently released report.
This approach has long been encouraged; indeed, the Pentagon issued a policy two decades ago meant to promote predictive maintenance adoption. But GAO said it wasn’t until recent years the services began making progress.
The Army, for instance, first implemented predictive maintenance on AH-64 helicopters in 2005. By 2012, the service was using this approach with the UH-60 helicopter as well as some vehicle programs. By early last year, it had installed predictive maintenance capability on 65% of its CH-47 Chinook cargo helicopter fleet.
Maj. Gen. Thomas O’Connor, the Army Aviation and Missile Command commander, told Defense News in an interview this month that the approach is bolstering safety and saving money.
https://www.defensenews.com/land/2023/01/19/us-army-turns-to-predictive-maintenance-to-cut-mishaps/
