Site Reliability Engineering (SRE), pioneered by Google, has transformed the operation of digital systems by introducing a disciplined, metrics-driven approach to reliability using Service Level Objectives (SLOs), observability, and automation. These principles allow organizations to balance innovation velocity with system stability in highly complex, distributed environments.
These methodologies have remained largely confined to IT systems, however, while operational technology (OT) environments — despite increasing digitalization — continue to rely on traditional maintenance strategies and fragmented performance metrics. At the same time, the rise of AI-driven condition-based maintenance using platforms such as Sorba.ai has introduced powerful predictive capabilities, but without a unifying reliability governance model.
This paper introduces Production Reliability Engineering (PRE), a framework that extends SRE principles into OT environments, enabling unified reliability management across digital systems, physical assets, and production processes.