Condition Based Maintenance is best described as which of the following?

• A. Maintenance performed to prevent equipment failure.
• B. The total cost of owning and maintaining an asset.
• C. Benchmarking performance against industry standards.
• D. Maintenance performed based on the condition of equipment.

Answer: (D)

Condition Based Maintenance relies on the equipment’s actual health data to decide when to act. Actions are triggered by monitoring indicators such as vibration, temperature, lubricant condition, or wear debris, and maintenance is performed when those indicators show deterioration beyond a defined threshold. This approach targets maintenance to when it’s truly needed, helping prevent failures while avoiding unnecessary work that a fixed schedule might generate.

This differs from maintenance done purely on a calendar or mileage schedule (preventive maintenance), from the broader financial view of owning and maintaining an asset (total cost of ownership), and from comparing performance against industry standards (benchmarking). By using real-time or periodic health data, CBM aligns maintenance with the asset’s actual condition rather than a fixed plan or external comparisons.