A Rule Based Expert System for Maintenance as a Competitive Advantage

In the present work we describe the development of a condition based maintenance platform especially shaped for a network of maintenance companies operating on the same assets. The expert system developed in this study, holds the skills of a team of experts who thoroughly know both the monitored system and its maintenance. The company and the network of expertise available were also considered. Indeed, being a set of theoretical reference models already known in literature, we have developed a system which can support a network of actors, in order to increase the reliability of critical complex systems. Similar systems, specially shaped, could be very useful to reduce the downtimes and hence would be able to enhance the productivity of many Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). These may deem interesting the new market of networks of expertise, without being forced to resort to external companies just when they are unable to cope with maintenance problems with their own forces.