Unplanned downtime remains one of the biggest threats to manufacturing productivity. As equipment becomes more connected and facilities manage increasingly complex operations, manufacturers are moving beyond traditional break-fix maintenance toward maintenance as a service.
For large manufacturers and multi-site operations maintenance as a service delivers maintenance services that combine skilled technicians, remote monitoring, data analytics, and reliability engineering into one comprehensive solution. Rather than simply repairing equipment after failure, maintenance as a service helps organizations improve asset reliability, increase operational efficiency, and create predictable maintenance costs.
Large manufacturers, multi-site operations, and facilities with limited internal maintenance resources will benefit most from partnering with experienced maintenance services specialists, such as Advanced Technology Services (ATS), to expand maintenance as a service for industrial assets. Read on to learn industry best practices and see what maintenance strategies are recommended for your organization.
What is maintenance as a service?
Maintenance as a service is a contract-based approach that outsources industrial maintenance to a specialized provider. Instead of relying solely on internal maintenance teams, manufacturers partner with experts who manage routine inspections, condition monitoring, emergency response, reliability engineering, and ongoing optimization. Unlike traditional outsourcing, maintenance as a service combines people, technology, and standardized processes into a long-term reliability program designed to maximize uptime and equipment performance.
Organizations typically choose maintenance as a service when they:
- Operate multiple manufacturing facilities
- Face maintenance labor shortages
- Need specialized reliability expertise
- Want predictable maintenance costs
- Are implementing Industry 4.0 technologies
What are the 4 types of maintenance?
Four common industrial maintenance strategy categories are:
- Reactive (Corrective) Maintenance
- Preventive maintenance
- Predictive maintenance
- Reliability-Centered or Proactive Maintenance
Which options will work best for your organization depends on your facility’s equipment types, operating environment, production requirements, and failure risk. Critical production assets often benefit from a combination of strategies rather than relying on a single maintenance approach. Learn more about the four types of maintenance strategies.
What are the 5 basic functions of maintenance?
Successful industrial maintenance programs generally focus on five core functions:
- Inspecting equipment condition
- Planning and scheduling maintenance tasks
- Performing repairs and preventive work
- Monitoring equipment performance
- Continuously improving asset reliability
Maintenance as a service providers integrate all five functions into standardized workflows supported by technicians, engineers, and remote monitoring specialists.
Key components of a maintenance as a service program
Modern maintenance as a service solutions combine several capabilities into one integrated service model. Field technicians perform inspections, repairs, lubrication, calibration, and planned shutdown activities. Remote analysts monitor equipment health, identify early warning signs, and prioritize work before failures occur. Together, this helps enable manufacturers to move from reactive maintenance toward predictive, data-driven operations.
Equipment health monitoring
Effective machine health monitoring begins with continuous data collection. Sensors installed on production equipment monitor vibration, temperature, current draw, oil quality, pressure, acoustic emissions, and rotational speed. Critical production assets typically transmit data every few seconds or minutes, while lower-risk equipment may report less frequently.
ATS uses industrial sensor technology to continuously evaluate equipment health and identify emerging issues before failures occur. If you’re unsure which sensors your facility needs, see what’s recommended by talking with an ATS expert.
Continuous monitoring and predictive analytics
Continuous monitoring provides the foundation for predictive maintenance. Machine data flows into the Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS) alongside maintenance history, operator observations, inspection reports, and production information. Cloud analytics platforms evaluate trends while edge devices process time-sensitive alerts closer to the equipment.
AI and machine learning models detect abnormal operating conditions, identify developing failure patterns, and prioritize maintenance recommendations. In many applications, predictive analytics can identify bearing failures weeks before they would otherwise interrupt production.
Asset management and maintenance workflows
Maintenance recommendations only create value when they translate into action. A maintenance as a service program integrates equipment monitoring directly with asset management workflows, automatically generating work orders when predefined thresholds are exceeded.
Recommended practices
- Critical spare parts stocked on-site
- Medium-risk inventory managed regionally
- Low-risk parts ordered as needed
- ERP integration for purchasing automation
- CMMS integration for scheduling and work history
Service delivery and workforce development
Reliable maintenance depends on consistent execution. Most maintenance as a service providers operate 24/7 monitoring centers supported by regional field technicians. Service Level Agreements (SLAs) define response times, uptime expectations, and quality standards. As facilities adopt advanced analytics, technician training becomes equally important.
Upskilling programs teach maintenance teams how to interpret equipment health data, use predictive tools, and collaborate with remote experts through Augmented Reality (AR) support sessions. This combination of technology and specialized expertise helps manufacturers address growing maintenance skill shortages.
Choosing the right business model
Manufacturers can structure maintenance as a service in several ways. Subscription models provide predictable monthly costs and comprehensive coverage, making them well suited for facilities seeking long-term reliability improvements. Pay-per-use agreements may fit organizations with seasonal production or highly variable maintenance requirements.
Some manufacturers are also exploring uptime-based pricing, where providers share responsibility for achieving specific equipment availability targets. How to choose what will work best at your facility depends on your organization’s production schedules, maintenance maturity, and financial objectives.
Talk with an expert for recommendations for your facility and its unique environment.
Implementation, KPIs, and governance
Many organizations begin with a focused pilot on a single production line, asset class, or facility before expanding the model across additional sites.
Recommended pilot KPIs include:
- Equipment uptime
- Mean Time to Repair (MTTR)
- Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF)
- Preventive maintenance ratio
- Emergency work percentage
- Maintenance cost per asset
Successful pilots typically expand through phased rollouts across multiple facilities using standardized processes and centralized reporting dashboards. Strong governance is equally important. Manufacturers should establish clear data ownership policies, cybersecurity requirements, user access controls, and incident response procedures, particularly for regulated industries.
What are the benefits of maintenance as a service?
Organizations adopting maintenance as a service often realize measurable improvements in reliability, cost control, and productivity.
Benefits include:
- Higher equipment uptime
- Improved operational efficiency
- Lower maintenance costs
- Reduced emergency repairs
- Longer asset life
- Better regulatory compliance
- Access to specialized maintenance expertise
- More predictable operating expenses
Many manufacturers also use maintenance as a service as a foundation for digital transformation, combining IoT monitoring, advanced analytics, and continuous improvement into a scalable maintenance strategy.
Build a reliability strategy that fits your facility
No two manufacturing environments are identical. Which maintenance strategy will work best depends on your equipment types, operating environment, production goals, and overall failure risk.
For many manufacturers, combining preventive maintenance with predictive maintenance within a comprehensive maintenance as a service program delivers the greatest long-term value. Whether you’re modernizing one facility or standardizing reliability across multiple plants, the right combination of technology, skilled technicians, and data-driven maintenance tasks can improve uptime while making maintenance spending more predictable.
Finding what options work best for your manufacturing facilities requires a dedicated partner. This is where ATS can help. We provide manufacturers with integrated facility maintenance strategies that combine advanced technology, skilled technicians and proven maintenance processes. Contact us today to learn more.
