The following report was prepared and published by our sister platform SPEEDA—January 2024.

The term smart maintenance refers to the method of embedding sensors in components and machines to gather data about their condition in real-time, which can then, through data analytics, predict maintenance requirements. This report will focus on smart maintenance applications for building components and facilities such as elevators, escalators, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, washrooms, and pantries.

Traditionally, building maintenance has either been preventive or corrective rather than based on the actual condition of the equipment. Preventive maintenance refers to routine maintenance carried out according to a roster and relies on the manual inspection of building equipment at certain predetermined frequencies. On the contrary, corrective maintenance takes place to rectify an issue after a failure occurs.