How Waites Ensures Reliability Across Food & Beverage Operations

The food and beverage (F&B) industry is evolving faster than ever. New consumer demands, stricter regulations, and increasingly complex supply chains mean that every plant must deliver not just output, but consistency and confidence. In this environment, reliability becomes the foundation for scaling operations, safeguarding quality, and building trust with customers.

Forward-looking F&B leaders are rethinking how they maintain this reliability with smart maintenance. Instead of relying on maintenance strategies that react to breakdowns or follow rigid schedules, they are embracing IIoT and PdM for food and beverage facilities, which is an approach that uses predictive intelligence and continuous monitoring to keep production running smoothly.

By combining real-time food and beverage equipment monitoring with AI-driven insights and expert support, Waites helps executives and operations teams turn maintenance programs (historically a cost center) into a profit center. The result: fewer surprises, stronger compliance, and improved OEE and profitability across every facility.

Why Reliability Matters More Than Ever in Food and Beverage

In the F&B sector, reliability isn’t just an operational concern—it directly impacts business performance. When equipment runs consistently, organizations can protect product quality, minimize waste, and deliver on customer commitments without interruption. When it doesn’t, the ripple effects reach every corner of the business.

Unplanned downtime in a food processing or packaging facility can mean:

• Spoiled inventory that can’t be recovered.
• Production delays that disrupt customer relationships and distribution schedules.
• Regulatory risks if safety or compliance standards are compromised.
• Escalating costs from overtime labor, emergency repairs, and lost efficiency.

Unlike other industries, F&B operations face unique reliability challenges:

• 24/7 production demands leave little room for equipment failure.
• Harsh processing environments (heat, moisture, vibration) accelerate asset wear.
• Tight margins and labor shortages force teams to do more with less.
• Strict compliance standards raise the stakes for even minor disruptions.

The Case for Predictive Maintenance in Food and Beverage

Traditional maintenance approaches, whether reactive (“fix it when it breaks”) or preventive (“fix it on a schedule”), have reached their limits in today’s manufacturing landscape. Reactive maintenance is too costly and disruptive, while time-based preventive programs often result in wasted resources. Neither approach offers the visibility or precision needed for consistent operations across multiple facilities.

Predictive maintenance changes that equation. Continuous monitoring of equipment health and real-time analysis of performance data equips leaders to:

• Anticipate failures before they happen and act at the right moment.
• Maximize asset life by addressing issues early, before they escalate.
• Control maintenance costs by eliminating unnecessary interventions.
• Improve workforce efficiency by giving smaller teams smarter tools.
• Standardize reliability practices across every facility, ensuring consistency enterprise-wide.

How Waites Drives Operational Reliability

Reliability in food and beverage operations requires consistency, compliance, and efficiency across every facility, and Waites was built to meet these challenges head-on.

Smart Equipment Monitoring

At the foundation of Waites PdM system are wireless sensors engineered for continuous, full-spectrum monitoring of vibration, temperature, and over a dozen other performance metrics. Rated for harsh environments, including C1D1 conditions, they withstand the demands of food processing plants where heat, moisture, and heavy use are the norm. 

Predictive Intelligence That Delivers

Raw data becomes actionable through Waites proprietary machine learning algorithms, trained on more than 8 trillion readings and adding 10+ billion new data points daily. These models detect 99.92% of downtime-causing issues before failure occurs, giving teams the foresight to address problems such as bearing wear, misalignment, and gear damage long before they disrupt production. This predictive accuracy helps maintenance teams reduce unplanned downtime, extend equipment life, and avoid costly waste.

Expert Human Insights

Technology alone isn’t enough. That’s why Waites pairs AI with 24/7 support from a dedicated team of certified vibration analysts. These experts validate AI alerts, eliminate false alarms, and collaborate directly with maintenance teams to resolve issues in real time. Action items are delivered through the Waites dashboard and mobile app so teams always know what to do and when to do it.

Seamless, Scalable Deployment

Waites is designed for speed and simplicity. Our wireless mesh network operates independently of corporate IT systems, providing security and removing integration barriers. A single cellular gateway can manage thousands of sensors, and repeaters extend coverage across complex facilities. Whether optimizing one production line or standardizing maintenance across multiple sites, Waites scales effortlessly with your business.

Proven ROI in Months, Not Years

Most clients achieve measurable returns within 3–6 months. Waites transforms reliability from a reactive expense into a proactive growth driver by preventing costly failures, reducing labor needs, and optimizing asset health.

Executive-Level Benefits of Partnering with Waites

• Cost Control and Waste Reduction: By detecting downtime-causing issues before failure, Waites helps prevent spoiled ingredients, wasted packaging, and costly emergency repairs for immediate savings.
• Operational Efficiency at Scale: Real-time monitoring, predictive intelligence, and expert analysis allow companies to standardize reliability across every facility, ensuring improvements are scalable enterprise-wide.
• Workforce Optimization: With clear, actionable insights, smaller maintenance teams can eliminate guesswork and unnecessary inspections, focusing instead on high-value work that drives long-term reliability.
• Enhanced Workforce Safety: Waites alerts teams to potential hazards before they lead to accidents or unsafe conditions, protecting people on the plant floor.
• Compliance and Quality Assurance: Reliable equipment performance reduces the risk of production errors, contamination, or regulatory noncompliance, keeping facilities audit-ready and protecting brand trust.
• Faster, Measurable ROI: Most clients see payback within 3–6 months, making predictive maintenance both a short-term financial win and a foundation for sustained operational performance.

Case Study: Preventing Failure Before It Halts Production

A dust collection blower in one brewing and distilling facility began showing early signs of severe bearing degradation. Left unchecked, the failure would have forced extended shutdowns across production lines, jeopardizing schedules and creating costly downstream delays.

Waites sensors flagged the issue, showing a sharp 482 Hz frequency spike that indicated advanced bearing wear. Analysts traced the root cause to misalignment between the motor and blower sheaves (nearly 3/8" off) combined with excessive belt tension. Without intervention, a catastrophic failure was imminent.

Instead, the maintenance team replaced the failing blower with an OEM spare, realigned the assembly, and corrected belt tension. Waites’ sensors confirmed vibration levels returned to normal after the repair, validating the fix. Acting early avoided 336 hours of lost output, secured over $500,000 in savings, and resolved the issue within nine days.

Reliability as the New Standard in Food and Beverage

F&B executives are under constant pressure to do more with less, and predictive maintenance has become a proven way to deliver measurable results quickly.

By combining real-time equipment monitoring, predictive intelligence, and expert human support, we help food and beverage leaders transform reliability from a reactive cost into a proactive advantage with ROI in as little as 3–6 months.

Discover how Waites can keep your operations running reliably. Explore our food and beverage solutions today.