Predictive maintenance flags equipment failures weeks before they happen. Here's how the sensors-plus-AI approach works, and when the math makes sense for your facility.
Reactive maintenance fixes things after they break. Preventive maintenance replaces parts on a fixed schedule whether they need it or not. Predictive maintenance is the third option: watch the equipment's real condition and act only when the data says trouble is coming.
How it works
Vibration, temperature, and current sensors are installed on your critical equipment. The data feeds an AI model running on-site (on hardware like a Raspberry Pi or Nvidia Jetson), which learns what normal looks like and flags anomalies weeks in advance — before a failure turns into unplanned downtime.
When it's worth it
The math is simple: if one prevented breakdown saves you more than the system costs, it pays for itself. That's common for generator fleets, manufacturing equipment, HVAC systems, and motors and pumps, where a single unplanned outage can cost tens of thousands of dollars in downtime. AI Predictive Maintenance starts from $3,500 (CAD).
It builds on the same foundation as IoT monitoring
Predictive maintenance and smart IoT monitoring share the same sensor-and-dashboard backbone, and both connect cleanly to PLC and HMI control panels. Because NexGen builds the sensors, the on-site AI, and the dashboards, it's one team from the wiring to the model — no integration handoffs.