A framework for the choice of the opportunistic maintenance policy in industrial contexts

Aim of the present paper is to propose a framework for the choice of the opportunistic maintenance models for applications in real contexts. The paper explores firstly the scientific literature on opportunistic maintenance in order to obtain a multi-criteria classification of the main existing models. This allowed us to devise a methodological map for the selection and the choice of the opportunistic maintenance models. This map requires an accurate data collection, performed by the user, in order to assess which of the opportunistic maintenance models is able to more effectively address the problems of a specific facility and/or organization. The paper proposes, for the first time in the literature, a tool aimed at guiding experts and professionals in the field of maintenance among the multiple scientific approaches to opportunistic maintenance in relation to the objectives to be achieved, the relevant restrictions and the available information, also taking into account the complexity of implementation of the different models.