Predictive maintenance: using ML to predict hardware failures

Predictive Maintenance Fundamentals

Predictive maintenance replaces scheduled maintenance (replace every N months) and reactive maintenance (fix after failure) with condition-based predictions. ML models analyze equipment telemetry -- temperature trends, power consumption patterns, error rate trajectories, and environmental conditions -- to estimate remaining useful life and predict failure probability within a time window. In telecom, critical assets include power amplifiers, antenna systems, transport equipment, cooling systems, and storage devices. Early warning of impending failure enables planned replacement during…