Digital tools are giving maintenance teams new ways to reduce risk and plan smarter.
Schneider Electric has sponsored this post.
The task of managing electrical equipment is growing more complex by the year. Equipment today is far more digital and interconnected than it was even a decade ago, and many organizations are only scratching the surface of what their systems can do.
“The connected part is great, but that also means there’s more untapped potential of the equipment,” says Martin Thomson, senior manager of digital services at Schneider Electric. “Many maintenance, operations and facilities teams are not anywhere near as efficient as they can be day-to-day.”
Layered on top of this transformation is a widening gap in workforce expertise. “You have people who’ve been in the industry for 40–50 years and know exactly how things work, how they should be maintained, and have almost a sixth sense to know what to do and what might go wrong,” Thomson explains. “And then you have an influx of younger people who are more theoretical, and they’re maybe more used to the software and digital side of things, but less so on the practical side. There’s a big gap there, and what we’re seeing is a lot of our customers are struggling with that gap.”
This disconnect in expertise leaves organizations more vulnerable to equipment failures. The impact can be far-reaching: unplanned events can halt production, trigger costly repairs, compromise regulatory compliance, and damage reputation. Downtime alone can cost manufacturers $20,000 to $50,000 or more every hour, adding up to hundreds of thousands — or even millions — in lost output.
In this context, condition-based maintenance (CBM) is emerging as a smarter, more proactive strategy to bridge skill gaps, unlock asset value, and help teams act before problems escalate.
What Is CBM and How Does It Work?
Traditional maintenance strategies don’t account for how equipment actually performs under real-world conditions. Time-based maintenance can lead to over-servicing equipment that’s still operating well, wasting both labor and resources. Reactive maintenance means early warning signs go unnoticed, leading to unplanned downtime and rushed repairs.
“Condition-based maintenance offers a more dynamic approach,” says India Gibson, launch leader for EcoCare at Schneider Electric. “We’re involving methods of monitoring the condition of the equipment based on different parts of the infrastructure. We’re understanding better how the gear is performing, and we’re supporting the maintenance intervals based on what needs to be enhanced or maintained. Rather than spending time and money and having downtime to do a reactive approach or check the box on a typical maintenance protocol, we can respond quicker to changes that require immediate attention. Condition-based maintenance allows our focus and our efforts on areas that are needed most. The goal here is to ensure that our maintenance activities are both efficient and effective.”
CBM systems rely on IoT-connected sensors that collect real-time data and connect it in the cloud. Trends are identified, anomalies are flagged, and tasks are prioritized based on actual equipment condition. Over time, analytics improve as more data becomes available.
“There’s an element of fine-tuning performance—of optimizing how you’re using the equipment,” says Thomson. “Do you need to adjust the load? Do you need to add some devices to change the power factor going through this piece of equipment because it’s accelerating the age? It might not be a maintenance issue, but it could be an accelerated aging issue. That only comes from having true condition-based digital-led maintenance and analytics.”
CBM can also reduce safety risks. Remote monitoring minimizes the need to physically enter substations or work around live high-voltage gear just to take manual readings. “PPE is the last line of defense—this is a better version of PPE because you don’t even have to go in there in the first place to do it,” says Thomson.
To help make sense of the data, Schneider’s Maintenance Index consolidates equipment conditions into a single value. It combines inputs like load, temperature, and operational cycles to help teams prioritize work and decide when action is needed. Data alone isn’t enough, though. Schneider’s CBM approach includes human oversight through its Connected Services Hub Team, where engineers monitor assets remotely and intervene when needed. “That team is the action element,” says Thomson. “Nothing happens without them stepping in and saying what needs to be done.”
Schneider’s Four-Phase Equipment Management Strategy
Schneider Electric recommends a four-phase equipment management strategy that spans the full equipment lifecycle:
- System design and equipment strategy: It’s easier and more cost-effective to build in sensors and connectivity from the start than to retrofit them later.
- Digitized equipment monitoring: Once equipment is connected, it can report its own status in real time without the need for periodic checks.
- Intelligent predictive analytics and maintenance: The longer the system runs, the more data it gathers—and the better it gets at spotting risks.
- Maintenance execution and modernization: The data helps teams fine-tune maintenance plans and delay major equipment replacements for as long as possible.
“Think of [CBM] like keeping a ship on track,” says Thomson. “If you wait until you’re way off course, a few hundred miles out in the Atlantic, and then try to correct, that’s inefficient. But if you’re constantly checking your course from day one, you get there faster and you make your equipment last longer.”
When it’s time to switch to condition-based maintenance, Schneider Electric’s EcoCare can help.
Not ready? Download our Condition-Based Maintenance white paper to learn how it can boost your operation’s efficiency.
