Distinctions
Preventive, Condition-Based and Predictive Maintenance
Calendar, threshold, or forecast?
Acts on a fixed schedule, regardless of the asset's actual condition.
Acts when sensor or inspection data crosses a defined threshold.
Uses condition data plus trend analysis or modelling to estimate when failure will occur.
The difference in one sentence
Preventive runs on a calendar, condition-based runs on a threshold, predictive runs on a forecast.
Why they get conflated
Much marketed as predictive is really condition-based with better branding.
Why it matters
A buyer specifying 'predictive' without requiring trend modelling pays for a label, not a forecast.
How to tell them apart
Ask whether the system forecasts a point in time from a trend model, or only flags a threshold.
Back to distinctionsLast reviewed: 2026-08-23