Predictive maintenance is rapidly becoming a core operational strategy for facilities managers. As institutional and commercial facilities become more complex and expectations around uptime, efficiency and sustainability increase, traditional reactive and preventive maintenance strategies are no longer enough.
Artificial intelligence (AI)-driven predictive maintenance ranks as the top planned technology investment for 2026, according to a recent Johnson Controls report, with 51 percent of facilities managers planning to implement it. This finding places it ahead of other major initiatives, including environmental monitoring and workplace experience platforms.
The appeal of predictive maintenance lies in its ability to uncover failures before they occur. Rather than relying on scheduled inspections or reacting to breakdowns, AI systems can continuously analyze equipment data to detect problem areas and forecast issues.
The quick computing power of AI is especially critical in environments where facilities teams are under enormous pressure. The report notes that 72 percent of facilities managers say labor shortages significantly impact their departments’ ability to meet operational goals, while aging infrastructure and budget constraints closely follow. To combat these issues, predictive maintenance becomes less about innovation and more about staying afloat.
Of the 67 percent of organizations using AI for facilities operations, 47 percent of facilities managers use it specifically for predictive maintenance, with even more planning to expand its use in the coming year.
“In the next few years, predictive maintenance will be the baseline expectation, not a differentiator,” says Tyler Smith, vice president of global lifecycle solutions at Johnson Controls. “The real question will be how well organizations integrate it into their broader operations.”
The report cites data quality and system integration as the most common barriers to expanding AI use in facilities operations. Without connected systems and reliable data, predictive models cannot deliver accurate insights.
Elaina Myers is the assistant editor of the facilities market.
