Overview
ISO 17359:2018 - Condition monitoring and diagnostics of machines - General guidelines - provides high-level guidance for establishing a condition monitoring programme for all types of machines. It is the parent document for the condition monitoring standards family and links condition monitoring practices to asset management (ISO 55000 series). The standard outlines a generic, repeatable procedure for targeting monitoring activities at root-cause failure modes and for setting up measurement, analysis, alerting and review processes.
Key topics and requirements
ISO 17359:2018 describes the essential steps and considerations for a robust condition monitoring programme, including:
- Scope and vocabulary: Applies to all machines and references terms from ISO 2041, ISO 13372 and ISO 13379-1.
- Overview procedure: A generic condition monitoring flowchart covering planning through review (Clauses 4–11).
- Cost–benefit analysis (Clause 5): Feasibility and life‑cycle cost factors to justify monitoring investments (e.g., lost production, consequential damage, warranty/insurance).
- Equipment audit (Clause 6): Identification of equipment, functions, control systems and existing surveillance.
- Reliability and criticality audit (Clause 7): Use of reliability block diagrams, criticality ranking, and FMEA/FMECA to link failure modes to measurable symptoms and to prioritise assets.
- Monitoring method selection (Clause 8): Guidance on measurement techniques, accuracy, feasibility, operating conditions, monitoring intervals, data rates, measurement locations, baseline data and initial alert/alarm criteria.
- Data acquisition & analysis (Clause 9): Measurement quality, trending, comparison to alert criteria, diagnosis and prognosis, and measures to improve diagnostic confidence.
- Maintenance decision-making & review (Clauses 10–11): Translating diagnostics into maintenance actions and periodic programme review.
- Training (Clause 12): Competence and training needs for personnel carrying out monitoring and diagnostics.
- Annexes: Practical examples-typical parameters (Annex A), mapping faults to measured parameters (Annex B), information to record (Annex C), and an overview of related condition monitoring standards (Annex D).
Practical applications and users
ISO 17359 is intended for organisations implementing or improving condition monitoring and predictive maintenance programmes. Typical users include:
- Reliability and maintenance engineers
- Asset managers and maintenance planners
- Condition monitoring specialists (vibration, temperature, oil/tribology, performance monitoring)
- Consultants specifying monitoring systems and programmes
- Operations teams in manufacturing, power generation, utilities, oil & gas, transport and heavy industry
Practical benefits include prioritising assets for monitoring, selecting appropriate measurement techniques, setting alarm criteria and improving diagnosis/prognosis for reduced downtime and optimized maintenance costs.
Related standards
Relevant standards referenced in ISO 17359:2018 include:
- ISO 2041 (vocabulary for vibration/condition monitoring)
- ISO 13372 (condition monitoring vocabulary)
- ISO 13379-1 (data interpretation and diagnostics - general guidelines)
- ISO 55000 family (asset management)
Keywords: ISO 17359, condition monitoring, machine diagnostics, predictive maintenance, FMEA, FMECA, vibration monitoring, asset management.
