What Is Condition-Based Maintenance? (And Why It’s Important)

Unplanned downtime can put significant pressure on your bottom line. According to The True Cost of Downtime 2024 report by Siemens, unplanned downtime costs the world’s biggest 500 companies a whopping 11 percent, translating to $1.4 trillion a year.

That means companies need more advanced ways to prevent downtime. While preventive maintenance is a great starting point, more advanced options are available, especially for companies willing to invest in Industrial Internet of Things (IoT) devices.

These devices monitor equipment in real-time and send this performance data to maintenance software that flags any inconsistencies so that maintenance teams can identify failure before it occurs. This process is called condition-based maintenance (CBM). Let’s take a look at what exactly CBM is, how it works and why it’s worth investing in.

What Is Condition-Based Maintenance?

Condition-based maintenance involves monitoring real-time or regularly collected asset data to identify maintenance activities and needs. It eliminates the need for regular or reactive maintenance and minimizes maintenance costs and downtime.

Most CBM workflows have three tasks: data collection, analysis and maintenance. Here’s the process of a good condition-based maintenance strategy:

• Install sensors: Place sensors on equipment to collect asset data. Sensors help you collect real-time data and aggregate this data into a computerized maintenance management system (CMMS).

• Establish a baseline: A system needs a baseline to identify inconsistencies and anomalies. Collect data for a week or two to establish baseline thresholds for each piece of equipment and use it as a starting point to determine equipment maintenance conditions.

• Identify anomalies in asset data: Once you have a baseline, compare all the incoming data to that baseline. For example, if you’ve installed a Doppler vibrometer on one of your machines and it sends vibration data to your CMMS, look for major variations in the frequency or amplitude from the baseline. The Coast CMMS does this automatically so you don’t have to waste time sitting in front of the screen monitoring sensor data.

• Create work orders: Coast automatically creates work orders for detected anomalies. It notifies maintenance personnel to begin maintenance and allows them to check off tasks as they complete them so you have real-time visibility over the progress of work orders.

Condition-Based Maintenance vs. Predictive Maintenance

CBM and predictive maintenance are often used interchangeably. While both methods use asset data to determine maintenance actions, they’re not exactly the same. Here’s how they’re different:

Types of Condition Monitoring Techniques

There are various CBM types based on the data you collect and monitor. Here are the most common types:

• Vibration analysis: Vibration data is collected using devices like accelerometers and vibrometers and used to identify various issues, including imbalances, misalignments and bearing faults.

• Infrared thermography: Infrared cameras are used to measure surface temperatures. The goal is to use thermal imaging to identify issues like overheating components, electrical faults and insulation breakdowns.

• Ultrasonic analysis: Ultrasonic analysis involves using high-frequency sound waves. It’s commonly used to detect air leaks and steam traps, and it can also help detect electrical discharges and mechanical wear.

• Oil analysis: Maintenance staff analyzes the properties of lubricant oils and checks them for contaminants, degradation and wear particles. Of course, a sensor isn’t involved in the process.

• Electrical analysis: There are various electrical analysis techniques, including insulation resistance, current analysis and partial discharge testing. These methods help identify electrical faults and degradation.

• Pressure analysis: If maintaining the right pressure is critical for your system’s optimal operations, you need to collect and analyze pressure-related data. Pressure drop analysis, pneumatic testing and hydrostatic testing are commonly used pressure analysis methods.

Example of How Condition-Based Maintenance Can Decrease Downtime

An auto parts manufacturer relies heavily on a critical stamping machine in their production line. So far, the machine has undergone routine maintenance every quarter, no matter its condition. While this maintenance plan helped the manufacturer prevent major problems, the high planned downtime and maintenance costs were a problem.

The manufacturer decides to switch to CBM to address these challenges that felt a bit like unnecessary maintenance. Here’s what they do:

• Install sensors: They install vibration sensors to monitor vibration levels on critical components like bearings, motors, gearboxes and thermal sensors on hydraulic systems and electrical panels.
• Aggregate data: The data collected by these sensors was aggregated into Coast for analysis. The dashboard in Coast helped the manufacturer track critical data in real time, enabling them to perform maintenance as needed.
• Perform maintenance: Maintenance is performed when the asset’s condition indicates that it’s necessary. For example, you notice that the motor’s vibration levels have gradually moved upwards from their baseline of 0.2 g (RMS) to 0.45 g (RMS) over the last week. This could indicate a mechanical issue such as imbalance or misalignment. This is when you perform maintenance.

Since CBM helps reduce the frequency of maintenance tasks, it leads to lower planned downtime and maintenance costs.

Benefits of Condition-Based Maintenance

Here are the benefits of implementing CBM:

• Increases equipment lifespan: CBM helps prevent failure before it occurs. The lower frequency of repairs and failure events minimizes wear and tear and keeps equipment in great shape, increasing its lifespan.

• Reduces maintenance costs: CBM eliminates the need to perform regular maintenance. This lowers your overall maintenance expenses because you’ll need fewer maintenance materials and fewer technicians.

• Decreases downtime: Preventive maintenance requires plenty of planned downtime because maintenance needs to be performed regardless of the asset’s operating condition. CBM relies on data from sensors, so the only downtime involved in CBM is when data tells you the machine needs maintenance. 

• Maintenance can be completed during normal business hours, minimizing overtime costs: Unlike reactive maintenance, you can complete CBM during normal business hours. Monitoring real-time data also helps you foresee potential failures so that you can prevent them and avoid downtime and emergency repairs after business hours.

• Enhances employee safety: Data puts you in a better position to identify and prevent any catastrophic equipment failures. It also gives you the insights you need for decision-making to minimize safety risks.

Condition-Based Maintenance Challenges

Being aware of and preparing for challenges is key to implementing a successful condition-based maintenance program. Here are the challenges to keep in mind:

• CBM devices can be expensive: The total upfront cost of CBM devices can vary based on the type of device you use. However, some devices can be quite expensive. Simple accelerometers typically cost $100 to $500, while advanced wireless vibration sensors cost between $500 and $2,000. Advanced laser alignment systems and infrared cameras can cost up to $20,000. Make sure you’ve budgeted for the devices needed for CBM.
• Employees may need training on the technologies: You may need to train your technicians on various aspects of CBM. You’ll need to train employees on how to install and use sensors and transducers, data acquisition systems, diagnostic techniques and CMMS. Training can be expensive, especially if your employees don’t have plenty of experience.
• Sensors don’t always work in harsh environments: Some sensors may not work in harsh environments with extreme temperatures, high humidity or electromagnetic interference. These conditions impact the lifecycle and performance of sensors. However, there are ways to mitigate the impact of these conditions. For example, you can use ruggedized sensors that are specifically designed for harsh environments.
• Unpredictable maintenance times: Unlike a preventive maintenance program, CBM doesn’t have a maintenance schedule. The data may indicate a problem at any time, which means there’s a lack of certainty on when maintenance needs to be performed.

How Understanding the P-F Curve Can Also Help

Maintenance teams can also use condition-based monitoring data to help prevent asset failure by using what’s called the P-F curve. This chart illustrates how an asset deteriorates when approaching functional failure. The P on this curve is the point at which deterioration is detected. If maintenance technicians don’t do anything to help mitigate the risk of failure at this point in time, the asset will continue to decline into functional failure (the F on this curve). 

The time between these two points is the P-F interval and is the ideal time for maintenance teams to analyze the asset and perform maintenance in an effort to avoid any sort of reactive maintenance.

How to Use a CMMS for Condition-Based Maintenance

CMMS software is the catalyst that makes your CBM program easier to implement and more effective. Here’s how you can use a CMMS to create a CBM program:

• Define goals: Define what you want to achieve with CBM. Is your aim to lower downtime and maintenance costs, extend asset life or improve safety? This information will guide you throughout the process.

• Identify assets and their failure modes: Conduct failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA) to identify failure modes and their causes for the most critical assets.

• Choose condition-monitoring techniques: Choose a condition-based monitoring technique depending on the type of assets and failure modes. For example, if compressed air leaks or electrical arcing are the primary failure modes you want to focus on, use ultrasound testing.

• Determine baseline data and parameters: Collect initial data to establish a baseline for asset conditions. Define alert levels for key parameters like vibration levels and temperature ranges based on baseline data. Record baseline data and parameters in the CMMS for reference and comparison.

• Start data collection and analysis: Install sensors and automate data collection using a CMMS. Use the built-in data analysis tools in your CMMS to process and interpret data and identify trends, anomalies and deviations from baseline parameters. Configure the CMMS to automatically alert you about deviations that require attention.

• Create a work order: Use a work order software to create maintenance work requests when there are deviations in data to prevent asset failure or performance degradation.

While having the right devices and process is vital, choosing a great CMMS that supports your preventive maintenance schedule is critical. Coast offers everything you need for effective maintenance management. Try Coast today if you’re looking for a CMMS that can help you seamlessly implement your CBM program.