Nudging Tactics for Enhanced Compliance With Condition-Based Maintenance Guidelines

Abstract

Condition-based preventive maintenance (CB-PM), dependent on robust and precise indicators of equipment quality, stands to gain advantages from the integration of sensor technologies. Yet, the effectiveness of such systems relies on an important factor: people. Even in possession of ideal CB-PM policies, imperfect adherence can lead to higher equipment downtime, maintenance costs, and increased safety hazards. Here, we describe a normative model of optimal CB-PM policy determination; specifically, a generalized means by which to determine a valuemaximizing quality threshold as a guideline for triggering PM (preventative maintenance). Motivated by field data, we consider the opportunity cost of not adhering to such optimal policies; that is, premature or delayed responses. We design and execute a controlled laboratory study, exposing participants to two critical manipulations that we theorize might influence adherence: (1) The presence of a supplemental secondary signal, of a type common to time-based preventive maintenance (TB-PM), (2) a pre-task priming intended to emphasize the value of discretized task completion. Results showed that the combination of CB-PM and TB-PM signals, along with completion priming, significantly increases adherence to CB-PM guidelines. We demonstrate that individuals exposed to this combination of treatments forfeit far less value than those receiving CB-PM signals alone.