在環造環境中所有機器設備會因例行預防性檢修程序而停止作業一段時間。這些週期性程序執行必要的例行維修以確保災難性的或是長期性的故障不會發生。這些例行程序一般是依循由後見之明及東事的證據推導而來的預定計畫表實施之。本論文提出一維修決策的方法論；其提供了決定適當維修模式之架構及決策支援系統，適用於任何系統，舉凡從沒有設備故障以修復之反應式系統、根據固定計畫表之預防性維修系統到智慧型預測系統。

　　　　　All machinery and equipment in a manufacturing environment are subject to routine preventive inspection and maintenance procedures that disable the item for a short time. The purpose of these periodic procedures is to perform necessary routine maintenance to ensure that more catastrophic, long-term breakdowns are avoided. These routine procedures are typically performed based on a predetermined schedule that has been derived by hindsight and anecdotal evidence. This paper presents a methodology for maintenance decision-making. It provides the framework and decision-support system for determining the proper maintenance paradigm to be used on any machine, from a reactive system that repairs equipment only when they break, to a preventive maintenance system based on a static schedule, to an intelligent predictive system.