An Integrated Preventive Maintenance Transformation Framework Combining Lean Practices, Autonomous Maintenance and Digital Traceability

Despite the widespread adoption of Lean and Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) methodologies, many manufacturing companies still struggle to operationally integrate preventive maintenance, workplace organization, autonomous maintenance, and digital traceability into a coherent and measurable maintenance-improvement system. This Action Research study presents an integrated Lean-based preventive maintenance transformation framework implemented in a production unit of a major corrugated cardboard packaging manufacturer. The project focused on the DRO 1628 NT rotary die-cutter, identified as the most critical asset in the converting section through a structured multi-criteria criticality assessment. The proposed framework combined autonomous maintenance routines, standardized inspection procedures, 5S workplace organization, KPI-driven monitoring, and maintenance communication digitalization through a custom Microsoft Power Apps (Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, Washington, DC, USA) solution. The novelty of the study lies in the operational integration of these organizational, technical, and digital elements within a unified preventive maintenance transformation strategy specifically adapted to a high-pressure industrial environment characterized by limited traceability, reactive maintenance practices, and strong dependence on informal operator knowledge. Between the September 2024 baseline and the May 2025 post-intervention assessment, productivity increased by 14.0%, monthly production output increased by 16.8%, Mean Time between Failures (MTBF) increased by 18.0%, and Mean Time to Repair (MTTR) decreased by 43.3%. Beyond these quantitative gains, qualitative observations indicated improvements in operator engagement, routine discipline, workplace organization, anomaly traceability, and production-maintenance communication. The findings further suggest that substantial maintenance-performance improvements can be achieved through the structured integration of Lean routines, operator-centered maintenance practices, and accessible digital support systems, even in industrial environments that do not yet rely on advanced predictive maintenance architectures. The study therefore contributes a preventive maintenance transformation framework empirically evaluated through an industrial Action Research study and provides new insights into how organizational routines, operator involvement, standardized work, and digital traceability interact to strengthen preventive maintenance capability, with potential transferability to other manufacturing environments.