To maximize furnace campaigns and to minimize production downtimes through short lining times, the entire integral blast furnace area, including the auxiliary units, has to be theoretically partitioned. The evolution of measures for extending furnace life is in conjunction with the investigation and understanding of the in some respects very complicated wear mechanisms and their causes. Of most importance are the constructional, material and process engineering measures to reduce wear and the measuring instrumentation for early detection and progress monitoring of wear.