Maintenance and sustainability: a systematic review of modeling-based literature

Abstract

PurposeMaintenance is a critical business function with a great impact on economic, environmental and social aspects. However, maintenance decisions' planning has been driven by merely economic and technical measures with inadequate consideration of environmental and social dimensions. This paper presents a review of the literature pertaining to sustainable maintenance decision-making models supported by a bibliometric analysis that seeks to establish the evolution of this research over time and identify the main research clusters.Design/methodology/approachA systematic literature review, supported with a bibliometric and network analysis, of the extant studies is conducted. The relevant literature is categorized based on which sustainability pillar, or possibly multiple ones, is being considered with further classification outlining the application area, modeling approach and the specific peculiarities characterizing each area.FindingsThe review revealed that maintenance and sustainability modeling is an emerging area of research that has intensified in the last few years. This fertile area can be developed further in several directions. In particular, there is room for devising models that are implementable, based on reliable and timely data with proven tangible practical results. While the environmental aspect has been considered, there is a clear scarcity of works addressing the social dimension. One of the identified barriers to developing applicable models is the lack of the required, accurate and timely data.Originality/valueThis work contributes to the maintenance and sustainability modeling research area, provides insights not previously addressed and highlights several avenues for future research. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first review that looks at the integration of sustainability issues in maintenance modeling and optimization.