Condition based maintenance is a strategy that triggers service work based on the actual measured state of equipment rather than on a fixed calendar. Sensors monitor parameters such as valve position, vibration, temperature, and cleaning-cycle performance. When readings drift outside a defined window, the system alerts operators to intervene.
For hygienic process plants in dairy, food, beverage, brewery, biotech, and pharmaceutical production, the stakes are unusually high. A failed valve can contaminate a batch. An unnoticed pump vibration can escalate into a full mechanical failure mid-production. A rotary jet head that spins irregularly can leave a tank inadequately cleaned, with consequences that reach into audit findings and product safety. At Euroflow, with more than 20 years supplying Alfa Laval® hygienic equipment across these industries, we see the same pattern repeatedly: the plants that reduce unplanned downtime are the ones that treat monitoring as a design choice, not an afterthought.
This guide explains what condition based maintenance means in practice, how three specific Alfa Laval® sensing systems apply it to valves, rotating equipment, and tank cleaning, and how to structure a rollout that engineers and procurement teams can defend to management.
Key points:
- Condition based maintenance uses live sensor data to service equipment only when its measured condition requires it, not on a fixed calendar.
- For valves, the Alfa Laval® ThinkTop® range (V20, V50, V70) provides real-time position feedback and diagnostics.
- For pumps and agitators, the Alfa Laval® Clariot® system uses wireless vibration and temperature sensors and cloud analytics to detect faults early.
- For tank cleaning validation, Alfa Laval® Rotacheck® confirms that rotary jet heads perform correctly during Cleaning-in-Place cycles.
- Implementation follows six steps: identify critical assets, select sensors, establish connectivity, deploy analytics, integrate with maintenance planning, then review and refine.
- The business case rests on fewer unplanned stops, better hygiene traceability, and reduced service costs.
What is predictive maintenance?
Reactive maintenance runs equipment until it fails, then fixes it. It looks cheap on paper and turns out expensive in practice, because failures usually happen at the worst moment. Preventive maintenance replaces or services parts on a fixed schedule, whether they need it or not. Condition based maintenance sits between the two, tracking the real state of the asset and acting when the data says to.
Predictive maintenance is the next layer up. It applies analytics to the same sensor data to forecast when a failure is likely and to schedule work before it occurs. In practical terms, the two overlap. A condition based maintenance programme with cycle-to-cycle comparison and trending is already doing predictive work.
The distinction that matters for hygienic industries is this: schedule-driven service assumes every valve, pump, and cleaning cycle behaves identically. Condition based maintenance accepts that they do not, and lets the data prove it one asset at a time.
Schedule-driven service assumes every valve, pump, and cleaning cycle behaves identically. Condition based maintenance accepts that they do not, and lets the data prove it one asset at a time.
For valves — Alfa Laval® ThinkTop®
Hygienic valves do most of the routing work in any fluid-handling process. The Alfa Laval® ThinkTop® range turns each valve into a monitored asset by combining position sensing, solenoid control, and diagnostic feedback in one control head.
The V20 provides valve indication and position feedback with 360-degree LED visualisation, using microchip sensors with an accuracy of ±1 mm to detect valve stem movement without manual adjustment. The V50 is a sensing and control unit for hygienic diaphragm, butterfly, and single seat valves. Its Auto Setup function recognises the valve based on its own profile and completes configuration without operator input. The V70 extends the same platform to single-seat and mixproof valves with up to three solenoid valves, adding features such as Pulse SeatClean and Burst SeatClean that achieve up to 95% Cleaning-in-Place liquid savings for each seat clean. All variants communicate over Digital 24 VDC, AS-Interface, or IO-Link.
When a valve begins to drift out of its expected position band, or when a seat cycle takes longer than the recorded reference, the ThinkTop® flags it. The 360-degree LED indication also lets operators confirm valve state visually from any angle. You can review the current ThinkTop® range on our shop for pricing and lead times.
ThinkTop® model overview
| Model | Primary function | Target application |
|---|---|---|
| ThinkTop® V20 | Valve indication and process traceability | Basic valve position feedback |
| ThinkTop® V40 | Cost-effective automated valve control | Higher processing efficiency in food, beverage, and personal care |
| ThinkTop® V50 | Compact valve control unit | Hygienic valves in space-constrained installations |
| ThinkTop® V70 | Second-generation advanced sensing and control | Full automation of hygienic valve management |
For pumps and agitators — Alfa Laval® Clariot®
Rotating equipment failure modes leave signatures in vibration and temperature data before they become audible or visible. Alfa Laval® Clariot® is an AI driven condition monitoring service built to read those signatures on pumps, agitators, and other rotating equipment.
The system has three parts. The Clariot® VX sensor mounts directly on the equipment, uses 3-axis vibration range sensing, and runs on two batteries with a 2-year life under standard monitoring. It carries an IP69 protection rating for washdown environments and has a Bluetooth range of 20 m line of sight. The Clariot® Connect gateway aggregates data and transmits it over 4G LTE to the cloud. Clariot® Monitoring is the analytics layer, delivered as a 12-month subscription that automatically compares live data against learned baselines and sends notifications by email, in-app, or SMS.
When vibration trends upward on a specific pump, the platform flags it before the bearing fails. Service can be scheduled during a planned changeover, so the equipment does not stop production unplanned.
Every rotating-equipment failure leaves a signature in vibration and temperature data long before it becomes audible or visible.
Clariot® system components
| Component | Function | Role in system |
|---|---|---|
| Clariot® VX | Wireless vibration and temperature sensor | Captures machine condition data directly from rotating equipment |
| Clariot® Connect | Secure data bridge | Transmits sensor data from the field to the cloud monitoring platform |
| Clariot® Analytics | Cloud-based analytics platform | Processes data and delivers real-time predictive maintenance dashboard and recommendations |
For tanks — Alfa Laval Rotacheck®
Tank cleaning is where hygienic compliance and process reliability meet. If a rotary jet head does not rotate correctly during Cleaning-in-Place, the tank interior is not fully cleaned. Alfa Laval Rotacheck® sensors verify rotary jet head operation in real time.
The three variants serve different validation needs. Rotacheck® Basic detects jet impact on its sensor head and passes a digital PNP signal to the programmable logic controller, which handles validation logic externally. Rotacheck+ adds built-in teach-in functionality: during a reference Cleaning-in-Place cycle it records the time and pressure pattern of jet impacts, then compares every subsequent cycle against that stored reference. Rotacheck® Sensor is designed for pressurised Cleaning-in-Place applications with an operating pressure range of 0.1 to 2 bar and a maximum overload of 15 bar; it detects sweep and impact and integrates into the process control system.
Basic and Plus operate up to 0.3 bar during Cleaning-in-Place and are approved for ATEX Zone 0/20 in the product-wetted area. Rotacheck® Sensor carries a 3.1 certificate. For tank cleaning components including rotary jet heads and cleaning validation sensors, our shop lists current availability.
Rotacheck® version comparison
| Version | Primary function | Validation method | Pressure range | ATEX certified | 3-A symbol | Best suited for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rotacheck® Basic | Jet impact detection | Impact signal sent to programmable logic controller | Up to 0.3 bar | Yes | Yes | Retrofitting existing installations |
| Rotacheck+ | Advanced built-in validation | Teach-in functionality with cycle-to-cycle comparison | Up to 0.3 bar | Yes | Yes | New installations requiring full rotation validation |
| Rotacheck® Sensor | Sweep and impact detection | Signal integrated into process control system | 0.1 to 2 bar | Yes | 3.1 certificate | Pressurised Cleaning-in-Place tank environments |
How to implement condition based maintenance
A structured rollout avoids overwhelming the plant with data. We work with clients through six steps.
Six steps to a working programme
- Identify the assets whose failure would hurt most.
- Match each asset type to the right sensor.
- Connect the sensors to a PLC, SCADA system, or cloud platform.
- Deploy an analytics layer that turns raw data into alerts.
- Link alerts to the maintenance management workflow.
- Review thresholds and results, then refine.
Step 1: Identify critical assets
Condition monitoring should be aimed where it earns its place. Rank assets by the consequences of failure. A mixproof valve on a shared product-and-Cleaning-in-Place line is critical. A pump on a Cleaning-in-Place return loop that has a redundant partner is often less critical. Start where a single failure creates the largest problem.
Step 2: Select the appropriate condition monitoring sensors
Match the sensor to the asset. Hygienic valves utilize ThinkTop®, with V50 or V70 depending on space. Rotating equipment uses Clariot® VX. Cleaning-in-Place validation on rotary jet head tanks uses Rotacheck®, with the variant chosen by whether validation sits in the PLC (Basic), in the sensor (Plus), or across a pressurised range (Sensor). Our team is happy to walk through the sensor options on our shop against your asset list.
Step 3: Establish connectivity
ThinkTop® units communicate to the PLC over Digital 24 VDC PNP outputs, AS-Interface, or IO-Link. Clariot® VX sensors reach the Clariot® Connect gateway over Bluetooth Low Energy 5.2, and the gateway sends data to the cloud over 4G LTE cellular. Rotacheck® Basic and Plus send digital PNP signals to the PLC. In hazardous areas, ATEX requirements must be respected in cable routing and barrier design.
Step 4: Deploy a condition monitoring analytics platform
An analytics layer turns raw signals into decisions. Clariot® Monitoring handles this for rotating equipment, comparing live data against learned baselines. For valves and cleaning validation, the analytics often live in the PLC, where cycle-to-cycle deviation triggers an alarm. Set thresholds appropriately to ensure alerts are actionable rather than operational noise.
Step 5: Integrate with maintenance planning
Alerts from ThinkTop®, Clariot®, and Rotacheck® should feed the computerised maintenance management system so work orders are generated and scheduled automatically. The best programmes tie alerts to required spare parts so the intervention is prepared before the technician arrives.
Step 6: Review and refine
Condition based maintenance is a programme that requires ongoing refinement. Thresholds set on day one will need adjustment as operators learn a plant's specific data patterns. Plan quarterly reviews at minimum to treat maintenance data as an asset worth improving.
Condition based maintenance is not a project. It is a programme.
The business case for condition based maintenance
The value shows up in operational terms: fewer unplanned production stops, fewer batches lost to contamination, and fewer emergency service calls. Components that were replaced on schedule can achieve longer service intervals. Audits are improved because sensor logs prove Cleaning-in-Place cycles performed within specification.
Sensor systems also capture judgement in data, allowing less experienced technicians to act on it. This makes equipment more forgiving of workforce turnover. Strong programmes start with critical assets, prove the return, and expand systematically.
Ready to plan your condition based maintenance rollout?
Euroflow is a supplier of Alfa Laval® hygienic equipment. We have supplied ThinkTop®, Clariot®, and Rotacheck® systems into dairy, food, beverage, brewery, biotech, and pharmaceutical plants for more than two decades. If you are specifying sensors, planning a retrofit, or designing a new installation, we can help with product selection and integration. Browse current stock at shop.euroflow.de or contact our technical team to discuss how to instrument your assets.
