Not all condition monitoring programs are created equal. Some evolve by expanding coverage, sharpening insight, and empowering technicians to drive reliability. Others plateau, stuck in route-based routines while teams are stretched thinner than ever.
The difference comes down to one choice: do you allow your program to plateau, or do you build it to mature?
From Data Collection to Strategic Reliability
For decades, predictive maintenance (PdM) often meant walking routes. Vibration technicians collected readings and, along the way, relied on their eyes, ears, and instincts to spot warning signs. It was essential work, but it tied up some of the most skilled people in the plant on repetitive tasks.
Even as sensors improved, the underlying model stayed the same: manual collection, manual review, slow verification. Too often, problems slipped through the cracks.
Today, condition monitoring is being rewritten. Always-on sensors, real-time connectivity, and AI-driven analysis are shifting programs from basic data collection to proactive reliability leadership. Vibration may be the most familiar example, but the same transformation is unfolding across oil analysis, ultrasound, thermal imaging, and beyond.
Why Maturity Matters More Than Ever
Since 2020, the workforce and supply chain realities have made one thing clear: plants can’t afford inefficiency. Skilled technicians are scarce, contractors are less available, and lead times for critical parts are longer than anyone would like.
In this environment, maintenance and operation teams can’t just do more with less. They have to work smarter with fewer manual steps, faster decisions, and better use of human expertise. A mature program isn’t about adding more technology. It’s about building a structure where technology and people amplify each other.
What “Mature” Really Looks Like
A maturing vibration program doesn’t just swap routes for sensors. It operates differently:
- Data is always on, capturing assets across all conditions—not just when a route happens.
- AI filters the noise so analysts spend their time where it matters most.
- Technicians shift their hours from walking routes to precision tasks like alignment and balancing.
- Post-maintenance QA takes minutes, giving confidence repairs worked before the machine is back in service.
- Even hard-to-reach or intermittently running equipment gets reliable coverage.
- Data streams from vibration, temperature, flow, and pressure combine to deliver sharper, faster root cause analysis.
In short: this is the shift from reactive maintenance to scalable, intelligent reliability.
Redeploying, Not Replacing
The fear of PdM and automation is that it replaces people. In practice, a mature condition monitoring program does the opposite.
Take a typical program: replacing just one full weekly route frees up 40–60 hours per month. Those hours don’t vanish. They’re reinvested into training younger techs, resolving chronic problems faster, or expanding into complementary PdM technologies.
And critically, they allow vibration experts to focus on the kinds of complex analysis that online systems surface but cannot fully resolve on their own. For example:
- Advanced root cause checks: If a sensor shows increased vibration at running speed without the classic two-times indicator, a freed-up tech can collect phase data across the coupling and confirm whether a 180-degree phase shift is the true root cause.
- Cross-technology validation: When high-frequency vibration trends upward, an analyst can use ultrasound to confirm bearing lubrication needs, ensuring grease is applied at the right time and in the right amount.
- Operator collaboration: If a pump’s vibration aligns with vane frequency, technicians can quickly call operators to check strainers. Instead of sending a tech out for a long inspection, operators can confirm partial blockages before they cascade into process issues.
This is the real power of maturity. It’s not about cutting jobs. It’s about giving technicians the time and tools to go deeper—turning condition monitoring into an engine of precision reliability.
The Hidden Strength of Mature Programs
The most powerful outcome of maturity is not efficiency. It is agility.
- When transient faults spike under certain conditions, online systems capture them.
- When a repair is made, success can be confirmed in minutes instead of days.
- When condition data is layered with process parameters, root causes surface faster.
These are not incremental gains. Rather, they are the critical difference between being blindsided and being prepared.
How to Start the Climb
Maturity doesn’t happen overnight, but it doesn’t need to be overwhelming either. The best teams start small:
- Put three critical systems online.
- Define a clear triage workflow from AI to analyst to CMMS.
- Reassign Audio, Visual, and Olfactory (AVO) inspections to operators to keep coverage wide.
- Baseline maturity KPIs such as time-to-verify, percentage of assets online, and hours redeployed, then track progress monthly.
Within 90 days, the shift is clear: fewer blind spots, faster responses, and technicians spending their time where it matters most.
Final Thoughts
Condition monitoring is at a crossroads. Route-based programs can still collect data, but they cannot deliver the speed, coverage, or agility today’s reliability challenges demand. Mature programs look different: they combine continuous data with analyst expertise, redeploy technicians into higher-value work, and deliver answers in minutes instead of days.
The choice is no longer between old and new technology. It’s between holding onto a model that limits your people, or building a program that makes them indispensable.
Case Study: Owens Corning $11M Save
Owens Corning faced the same decision. By modernizing its program, the company avoided $11 million in downtime at a single facility. That is the power of moving from “plateaued” to “mature.”
Read the Owens Corning case study and see how a global manufacturer scaled condition monitoring into a strategic advantage—saving time and the bottom line.
About the Author
Mark Kingkade is a reliability solutions architect at Waites, where he partners with customers and internal teams to help strengthen vibration and reliability strategies. With more than 30 years of experience in maintenance and reliability, he has supported more than 45 predictive maintenance programs across industries. Kingkade specializes in vibration analysis and other condition monitoring technologies and is passionate about mentoring the next generation of reliability professionals.
