In today’s industrial landscape, every minute of downtime is a direct hit to productivity, profitability, and reputation. As equipment grows more complex and labor shortages stretch teams thin, traditional maintenance strategies no longer cut it. Facilities are under more pressure than ever to optimize productivity or get as much out of their assets as possible.

The cost of inaction is high. Unplanned downtime can lead to missed production targets, contract penalties, expensive emergency repairs, and unnecessary strain on already limited maintenance resources. And while many operations leaders understand the value of predictive maintenance (PdM) in theory, there’s often hesitation around the timeline to value.

That’s where Waites changes the equation. Waites delivers ROI in just 3 to 6 months—often faster. This isn’t a future-state scenario. It’s happening now, in real plants, with measurable impact. Let’s break down how.

Predictive Maintenance ROI in Action: Inside The Numbers That Matter

Waites’ 3 to 6 month timeline far outpaces typical expectations for industrial technology investments. Our proven results are driven by a powerful combination of advanced predictive maintenance (PdM) sensors, machine learning trained on an unprecedented volume of data, and real-time human expertise. Here’s what that looks like:

• $750M+ in client savings generated through reduced downtime, fewer equipment failures, and more efficient maintenance practices.
• 99.92% of downtime-causing issues are detected in advance, which allows teams to act before failures disrupt operations.
• 10+ trillion machine readings power Waites’ predictive algorithms, ensuring exceptional accuracy and reliability even in complex environments.

These numbers translate directly into reduced labor costs, minimized emergency repair expenses, and the ability to prevent costly downtime events before they occur. With Waites’ condition monitoring system, your facility can move from inefficient reactive maintenance practices to predictive maintenance (PdM) that optimizes industrial maintenance schedules, and protects your assets and your bottom line.

Why Waites Pays for Itself in 3-6 Months

While many predictive maintenance systems require months of setup and internal alignment before you see results, Waites provides rapid impact through:

• Compact Sensors, Full Visibility: Waites sensors are compact, wireless, and designed to go on hard-to-reach assets that others can’t—delivering full coverage where other solutions fall short. Because they operate independently of your IT infrastructure, there’s no network reconfiguration or scheduled downtime required. This flexibility delivers complete visibility across diverse equipment and operating environments.
• Immediate Data Insights: We deliver more real-time equipment data, from more places, right out of the gate. Because our compact, wireless sensors can be installed on a wide range of equipment types, Waites provides denser coverage and deeper visibility across your entire operation. 
• Actionable Alerts & Human-Backed Recommendations: Our AI is trained on 10+ trillion machine readings, giving it unmatched predictive accuracy. But we don’t stop there. Every insight is validated by certified vibration analysts and reliability engineers who understand your environment, your assets, and your goals.
• High-Volume Scalability: On average, Waites installs 1,000 sensors in a single facility—10x more than our typical competitor. This scale matters: with a 2% defect rate on average, installing just 100 sensors means you're likely catching only about 10% of the issues we can identify with 1,000+ sensors deployed. Whether you're monitoring a single industrial site or standardizing across a global enterprise, our solution scales seamlessly to deliver consistent, high-impact results across any facility type or size.

Where the Savings Come From

The ROI of predictive maintenance (PdM) goes beyond just a single line item. It’s the cumulative impact of smarter decisions, fewer surprises, and better use of your resources. Here’s how Waites helps organizations unlock savings across the board:

• Unplanned Downtime Avoidance: By detecting issues early, Waites helps you prevent unexpected failures that can bring operations to a halt. Even a single avoided outage can save hundreds of thousands of dollars or even millions. For Owens Corning, it meant $11 million in savings at a single facility.
• Lower Maintenance and Repair Costs: Proactive maintenance means fewer emergency repairs, less overtime labor, and reduced reliance on outside service vendors.
• Smarter Use of Spare Parts: Instead of replacing components on a fixed schedule or after failure, teams can use real-time condition data to replace only what's necessary—minimizing downtime and reducing waste. By optimizing spare parts usage, you avoid the high costs of carrying excess inventory you may never need, ensuring you only stock what’s truly required
• Optimized Labor Allocation: Prioritized alerts and expert recommendations reduce the need for time-consuming troubleshooting and manual route-based maintenance, enabling teams to optimize labor and focus on high-value, targeted tasks without requiring full-time technicians to handle routine inspections.
• Extended Asset Life: Continuous monitoring and early interventions reduce wear and tear on critical equipment, delaying costly capital expenditures and increasing return on existing investments.
• Improved Team Productivity: Waites streamlines workflows and enables condition-based planning, which empowers teams to work more efficiently and focus on keeping operations running smoothly.
• Standardized Practices Across Sites: Waites provides consistent monitoring and insights at scale, enabling organizations to implement unified maintenance strategies across multiple locations.

Breaking Down the ROI Timeline

Tired of IoT tech that takes forever to implement and even longer to justify? Waites is different. Here's a month-by-month breakdown of the value you can expect from Waites:

Month 0: Seamless Installation

Deployment is fast and frictionless. Because Waites operates independently of your IT infrastructure, there’s no need for complicated network configurations or internal approvals. Most systems are fully installed and collecting data within days.

Month 1: Real-Time Insights Start Flowing

As soon as sensors go live, Waites begins delivering real-time alerts and health data. Maintenance teams gain immediate visibility into machine conditions, enabling faster, smarter decisions that improve workflows right out of the gate.

Months 2–3: Major Failures Are Prevented

With predictive alerts and analyst-backed recommendations, early interventions begin to make a clear impact. Teams are able to address critical issues before breakdowns occur.

Months 3–6: ROI Is Realized

The savings from avoided failures, improved efficiency, and optimized maintenance start to add up. By the six-month mark, most organizations see full ROI—often sooner—validating the investment and laying the foundation for long-term success.

Overcoming Common Objections

We get it. Bringing in a new system can feel like a big lift. But Waites was built to eliminate the usual roadblocks that slow down adoption and delay impact. These are our responses to the most common concerns.

"It'll take too long to implement."

Most installs take just a few days, with our team handling everything from setup to training. Our wireless, self-contained PdM sensors install quickly—no integration headaches, no IT bottlenecks. On average, customers see ROI in just 3 to 6 months, setup time included. 

The longer you wait, the more you lose—faster installs mean faster returns.

"It's hard to prove ROI"

We track savings from day one with baseline comparisons, machine-level alerts, and real failure prevention data. Unlike vague health scores, we show tangible outcomes.

That’s why global brands like Michelin, Nike, and Maersk keep scaling with Waites—it works, and they can prove it.

"We already have a system in place."

Switching to Waites is often simpler—and more cost-effective—than sticking with a legacy system. We’ve helped companies transition without disruption, and they typically start saving right away. 

Unlike other vendors, we stay engaged throughout the partnership, following every alert through to resolution and ensuring long-term value.

Real-World ROI: Global E-Commerce Leader Reduces Downtime By 40%

A global e-commerce leader, operating one of the world’s most advanced fulfillment networks, faced rising maintenance costs, unplanned downtime, and increased reliance on reactive repairs that threatened operational efficiency and profitability. To address these challenges, the company deployed Waites’ predictive maintenance solution across 13 fulfillment centers. The team quickly installed compact, wireless sensors—covering critical assets like motors, gearboxes, conveyors, and bearings—without complex infrastructure changes and delivered real-time data within days.

Within the first year, the system helped prevent major failures, reducing downtime by 40.92% and saving $15.2 million in labor and downtime cost avoidance. Notably, $11.2 million of these savings came directly from avoiding equipment failures before they impacted operations. The facility achieved a 143% ROI with a payback period of just 8.4 months, prompting expansion to over 150 additional facilities. This success story highlights how scalable predictive maintenance, powered by real-time monitoring and AI-driven insights, can deliver fast, tangible results and long-term value.

See What 3 Months Can Do for Your Bottom Line

Predictive maintenance (PdM) shouldn’t be a long-term gamble. It should deliver real results you can see, measure, and act on within months (not years). With Waites, organizations across industries are avoiding costly failures and achieving full ROI in as little as three months.

If you're ready to move beyond reactive maintenance and start seeing the financial impact of predictive insights, we're here to help. Schedule a personalized demo and discover what Waites can do for your operation…Starting now!