How to Build a Condition-Based Maintenance Program with EAM and Sensors

In industrial operations, reacting to failure is inefficient, expensive, and risky. Scheduled maintenance, while better than nothing, still relies on guesswork and generalizations. Condition-based maintenance offers a smarter alternative: using real-time asset condition data to determine when service is actually needed.

With a modern Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) platform, condition-based maintenance is more than a concept. It’s a practical, scalable reality. But success isn’t just about installing sensors or running reports. It’s about building a maintenance strategy where data, inspections, and automation all work together seamlessly.

This post offers an overview on how to build an effective condition-based maintenance program—from asset setup to inspection routines to system integration. If you want to get smarter about maintenance without adding complexity, this is where to begin.

Prioritize Critical Assets for Condition-Based Maintenance

It’s not enough to track when something was last serviced—you need to know how it’s performing right now. That means identifying which assets will benefit most from condition monitoring. Typically, these are components where failure has high consequences, or where condition data is relatively easy to obtain. Motors, pumps, gearboxes, high-voltage switchgear, and transformers are often good candidates. Rather than treating all equipment equally, you triage based on risk, impact, and data accessibility.

You’re not aiming to monitor everything—just the systems where the return on insight is worth the effort. CBM is about prioritization. For example, a backup HVAC unit that rarely runs might not warrant the same scrutiny as a main power transformer that runs 24/7. Use your EAM to tag asset criticality and build filters so monitoring efforts are focused where they matter most.

Select the Right Condition Monitoring Techniques

Once you’ve chosen the right assets to monitor, the next step is defining how you’ll track their condition. This isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer. For some components, vibration analysis reveals wear before failure. For others, temperature spikes provide the warning signs. In electrical systems, infrared and ultrasound inspections are often the most effective. They let you detect anomalies in energized systems without taking anything offline—a major advantage in environments where shutdowns are expensive or dangerous.

Modern tools like thermographic IR windows and ultrasound ports make these inspections safer and faster, allowing condition checks to happen routinely without requiring full PPE or arc flash risk assessments. For facilities aiming to increase inspection frequency without increasing risk, these tools are indispensable.

Integrate Real-Time Sensors with Your EAM System

Condition-based maintenance doesn’t stop at inspections—it starts to come alive when sensors join the mix. While thermography and ultrasound provide periodic insight, sensors offer continuous monitoring, capturing changes the moment they occur. For high-priority assets, this passive data stream adds an invaluable layer of protection.

Smart sensors expand your EAM’s capabilities by feeding it real-time data on temperature, humidity, current, and even ultrasound activity—without waiting for scheduled check-ins. This means problems can be flagged as soon as they begin to develop, not days or weeks later.

At IRISS, we offer a range of sensor technologies to meet different needs:

• • Surface Temperature & Current: Measures surface temperature, current, ambient temperature, and humidity—ideal for switchgear or electrical cabinets where overheating or overloading may occur.

• • Delta Temperature Sensor: Tracks internal and ambient temperatures and humidity levels to detect insulation breakdown, load imbalance, or environmental stress on enclosed systems.

• • Temperature Sensor: A cost-effective option that still monitors ambient conditions and impact activity, helping flag early signs of mechanical or environmental stress.

• • Surface Temperature Sensor: Combines surface and ambient temperature monitoring with humidity detection, giving you early warning of overheating or enclosure seal degradation.

• • Delta Temperature and Ultrasound: Adds ultrasonic detection to the mix, monitoring internal temperature, humidity, and arc-related sound signatures for a deeper layer of fault detection—especially useful in energized systems where ultrasound is a key early warning tool.

Each of these sensors can be tied directly into your EAM platform, creating automated workflows based on threshold breaches. For instance, if a sensor detects an ultrasonic signature consistent with partial discharge, your system can instantly open a work order, notify the right technician, and schedule an inspection—without waiting for a routine check to catch the issue.

By integrating sensors into your condition-based maintenance strategy, you’re not just reacting faster—you’re predicting smarter. The result? Even greater uptime, improved safety, and maintenance that’s as real-time as the systems it protects.

Digitize and Standardize CBM Inspections in Your EAM

Inspections are only useful if they’re repeatable, standardized, and integrated. That means translating your CBM strategy into digital tasks and schedules within your EAM. Each condition check needs to be clearly defined: what’s being measured, how frequently, by whom, using which tools, and how the results are recorded.

For example, if infrared thermography is used quarterly on a switchgear panel, the inspection form should guide the technician through the correct viewing ports, capture any visual anomalies, and allow image uploads to the asset record. Without this level of detail, condition data becomes inconsistent and unreliable—and that undermines the whole program.

An effective EAM workflow for inspections also includes escalation rules. If a condition threshold is exceeded, the system can route the asset for follow-up testing or repair, assign tasks to the appropriate technician, and log completion—all without manual intervention.

Enable Mobile, Real-Time Data Capture

CBM works best when it’s mobile. The traditional method of jotting inspection notes on paper and later transcribing them into a database is time-consuming and error-prone. Your EAM or CMMS platform should enable technicians to access asset records, inspection forms, and historical data directly from their mobile device.

NFC-enabled asset tags can help here. By tapping their phone or tablet to a tag, the technician instantly brings up the asset profile, logs inspection results, uploads images, and closes out tasks—all from the field. This cuts down on transcription errors and gives maintenance managers a real-time view of what’s happening on the floor. And because inspections are standardized, the data is structured and usable—no more digging through handwritten notes to determine what was done.

Automate Maintenance Workflows Based on Real-Time Asset Data

Inspection data doesn’t just sit in a database. It needs to drive decisions. This is where integration and automation make a huge difference. A well-configured EAM platform can use condition thresholds to trigger the next steps automatically. For instance, if an ultrasound reading indicates arcing or a loose connection, the system can automatically escalate the issue, assign it to the right team, and schedule follow-up work.

Likewise, a thermographic image showing a 20-degree temperature rise over baseline might initiate a task for further testing or part replacement—a logical workflow built on real data that ensures your CBM strategy results in action, not just awareness.

Use Infrared and Ultrasound for Electrical Asset Monitoring

Two technologies deserve special attention here: infrared thermography and ultrasound testing. Both are cornerstone techniques in condition-based maintenance, especially in electrical environments. Infrared inspections help spot conditions that precede failures—from overloaded circuits to deteriorating connections. With IRISS infrared windows installed on gear, technicians can scan switchgear, MCCs, and panels safely while they’re energized, eliminating the need to remove covers or expose themselves to risk.

This not only improves safety, it also means inspections can be done more often and more consistently. Regular thermography can surface issues long before a failure occurs, and because IR data can be stored in the EAM, it creates a visual record of changes over time.

Ultrasound, meanwhile, is uniquely valuable for detecting issues that thermal cameras can’t see. Partial discharge, arcing, and mechanical looseness all generate high-frequency sound signatures that ultrasound tools can detect—often before visible damage occurs. And when ultrasound ports are built into gear, inspections can be done in seconds with no need for shutdowns or suits. This data, too, feeds directly into your EAM system, creating a running history of asset condition over time.

Analyze CBM Data Trends to Optimize Your Maintenance Strategy

The final piece is learning from your data. A condition-based maintenance program isn’t a one-and-done setup—it’s a living system that improves over time. As your EAM collects inspection results, work order history, and response timelines, patterns start to emerge. You might discover that a certain class of motor consistently shows early signs of failure after 18 months of use. Or that transformer inspections yield no anomalies when done annually but catch issues reliably every six months.

These insights help you fine-tune schedules, adjust thresholds, and even identify assets that should be upgraded or replaced altogether. You might even uncover systemic issues—improper loading, repeated installation mistakes, or vendor-related inconsistencies—that you wouldn’t have seen without this condition-based approach.

Transform Maintenance with EAM-Driven CBM Insights

Your EAM system becomes more than a digital filing cabinet. It becomes a decision engine, showing you not just what’s been done, but what needs to happen next. Dashboards and reports should reflect condition trends, pass/fail rates, time to resolution, and work order volume linked to condition triggers. These are the KPIs that tell you whether your CBM strategy is working—or just producing data without impact.

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the idea of condition-based maintenance. It sounds advanced, technical, even futuristic. But in reality, it’s simply maintenance informed by the present state of your equipment. And with the right tools—reliable inspections, mobile access, and a capable EAM platform—it’s well within reach for most facilities. You don’t need to monitor everything. You just need to monitor what matters, consistently, and act when conditions demand it.

Enhance Your CBM Program with Smart Tools and EAM Integration

In the end, condition-based maintenance isn’t about technology. It’s about timing. About doing the right work, at the right time, for the right reasons. When your tools and systems support that goal, the results are tangible: fewer breakdowns, safer operations, and smarter use of your maintenance team’s time and budget.

If you’re still chasing paperwork or relying on outdated calendars, now is the time to upgrade. A condition-based program built on a solid EAM platform doesn’t just catch problems earlier—it transforms maintenance into a proactive, data-driven function that adds real value.

IRISS offers the tools to help make this vision a reality—from inspection windows and ports to integrated software and mobile-friendly asset tracking. If you’re ready to explore how your team can modernize its maintenance approach, let’s start a conversation.