TECH SPOTLIGHT Predictive maintenance is growing to be more than a buzz phrase, though hurdles still lie in its path to becoming an industrychanging technology. by Walker Jaroch R equiring neither a crystal ball nor deck of cards, predictive maintenance has for years loomed as the technology with the potential to completely change the way aviation maintenance is thought about and undertaken. Yet the tech has been mostly a buzz phrase, both too young and not widely enough implemented to really shift the landscape. Preventative and cycle hour-based maintenance are still the mainstays. But the experts agree - predictive maintenance is advancing and it won't be long for its potential to be realized. But what does predictive maintenance mean? It's easy for it to be conflated with preventative maintenance, where a possible problem is corrected before it can become 16 MARCH 2021 AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE TECHNOLOGY