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In the wind turbine industry, as in most others, there are two related, but distinct forms of advanced maintenance that have taken the place of traditional, reactive repair methods. Predictive and prescriptive maintenance both help owners, operators and repair workers to stay on top of potential problems and keep turbines running with minimal downtime. What is the difference between the two, and which one is a better option for the wind energy industry?

Predictive maintenance

Predictive maintenance uses condition-monitoring technology to continuously track the performance of wind turbines. As the monitoring tools follow the ongoing function of the turbines, they are able to detect possible faults and failures before they occur. Technicians are then alerted to the potential failure and are able to do preventive maintenance, replacements and repairs before the failure occurs. This helps to eliminate reactive maintenance, decrease downtime, and ensure continued running of turbines.

Prescriptive maintenance

Whereas predictive maintenance spots potential failures, prescriptive maintenance goes one step further by not only predicting problems, but recommending actions to take that will prevent potential failure. So, the essential difference between the two methodologies is that, while predictive maintenance warns of impending breakdowns, leaving technicians to decide what action to take, prescriptive maintenance both predicts the problem and tells maintenance workers how to prevent it.

Anemoi makes use of both methodologies in our services to clients in the wind energy industry. These tools and technologies enable us to stay ahead of problems and keep the turbines running without interruption. Whether a turbine needs a gearbox oil change, a tower cleaning or yaw and pitch oil changes, or any of the range of services we provide, predictive and prescriptive maintenance routines help us to carry out these tasks timeously. Contact us for more information on our wind turbine maintenance services.