---
title: "Choose a machine health baseline profile"
description: "Set the reference a machine's health scores are judged against on the Health tab: Dynamic Baseline, four ISO 10816 classes, or one of eight machine-type profiles, which profile fits which machine, and what the confirm dialog recalculates."
category: "Machine health"
source_url: "https://www.iotflows.com/docs/monitoring/baseline-profiles/"
---
# Choose a machine health baseline profile

Pick the standard your machine's health scores are measured against.

A *baseline profile* is the reference IoTFlows scores a machine's vibration against. It is set per machine on the **Health** tab, and every machine starts on **Dynamic Baseline**. Changing it recalculates that machine's health scores and diagnostics, so it is a setting you get right once rather than one you tune.

**Prerequisites.** A SenseAi or SenseAi Embedded asset on **firmware 5 or later**, see [Monitor machine health and vibration](/docs/monitoring/machine-health/). Owner or Administrator, see [Roles and permissions](/docs/admin/roles-reference/).

## What a baseline profile does
The profile decides what counts as normal for this machine. Every number on the Health tab is a comparison against it: the [health score](/docs/monitoring/machine-health/#score), the seven **Operations Metrics** gauges, and the diagnostics behind them.

The choice matters most where a machine's normal is unusual. A reciprocating compressor runs with strong harmonics all the time, so a profile that expects a smooth motor keeps scoring a healthy compressor as faulty.

The profile belongs to the asset, not to your account, so everyone in the organization sees the same scores. IoTFlows does not publish the thresholds behind each profile.

> **Info:**
> **Not the same baseline as calibration.** The running and stopped baselines you capture in [Calibrate SenseAi and SenseAi Embedded](/docs/hardware/calibrate-senseai/#running) decide whether the machine reads as running or down. A baseline profile decides how its health is scored. Neither one changes the other.

## The available profiles
The profile dropdown sits at the top left of the **Health** tab, opposite the time range buttons, and its label is the machine's current profile. It lists 13 profiles in three groups, with the number of options beside each group name: **Adaptive** (1), **ISO 10816 / 20816** (4) and **Machine Type** (8).

*ISO 10816*, republished as ISO 20816, is the international standard for judging machine vibration severity. It sorts machines into classes by power and by how rigid the foundation is, which is what the four ISO options name.

![The baseline profile dropdown open on the Health tab. A Search profiles box sits at the top, and below it three group headings with a count beside each: Adaptive 1, holding Dynamic Baseline, selected with a blue radio dot; ISO 10816 / 20816 4, holding the four ISO class options; and Machine Type 8, whose list starts at Centrifugal Pump and runs past the bottom of the scrolling panel. Every option carries a one-line description under its name. Numbered callouts 1, 2 and 3 mark the three group headings](/images/monitoring/mon-baseline-01.webp)

*The 13 baseline profiles in their three groups.*

Type in **Search profiles...** to filter the list. The search matches both the profile name and its description, and a group disappears when none of its options match. A search that matches nothing shows **No profiles match your search**.

![A cropped detail of the profile dropdown with the word gearbox typed into the search box. The Adaptive and ISO groups are gone and only the Machine Type group remains, showing one option, Gearbox, with the description Gear drives, gear mesh frequencies dominate, sidebands indicate wear](/images/monitoring/mon-baseline-02.webp)

*Searching the profile list.*

### Baseline profiles
Expected signature is what the profile treats as ordinary for that machine. 1X and 2X are multiples of running speed, see [Harmonics and RPM](/docs/monitoring/machine-health/#harmonics).

| Profile | Group | Fits | Expected signature | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| **Dynamic Baseline** | Adaptive | Any machine, and the only fit for a custom or one-off one | Whatever the machine's own recent readings show | The default, and the right one unless you can name the machine's class |
| **ISO Class I – Small machines (≤15 kW)** | ISO 10816 / 20816 | Small electric motors, pumps and fans | Up to 15 kW, typically on rigid mounts | Pick an ISO class by power and foundation, not by what the machine makes |
| **ISO Class II – Medium machines (15–75 kW)** | ISO 10816 / 20816 | Medium motors, pumps, fans and blowers | 15 to 75 kW with no special foundation | The class most shop-floor machines fall into |
| **ISO Class III – Large machines, rigid foundation (>75 kW)** | ISO 10816 / 20816 | Large motors, pumps and turbines | Over 75 kW on a rigid or heavy foundation | The foundation matters as much as the power |
| **ISO Class IV – Large machines, flexible foundation** | ISO 10816 / 20816 | Large machines on flexible or lightweight structures, such as turbogenerators | A structure that moves with the machine | The standard allows more vibration here than on a rigid foundation |
| **Centrifugal Pump** | Machine Type | Centrifugal pumps | Cavitation, misalignment and vane-pass harmonics | Read it alongside the **Cavitation Risk** gauge |
| **Positive Displacement Pump** | Machine Type | Reciprocating and gear pumps | Pulsating by design, so higher harmonics are expected | — |
| **Electric Motor (General)** | Machine Type | AC and DC motors | Dominated by 1X, imbalance, and 2X, misalignment | Use it when the motor is what you are watching, not the machine it drives |
| **Fan / Blower** | Machine Type | Centrifugal and axial fans | Blade-pass harmonics, sensitive to imbalance | — |
| **Reciprocating Compressor** | Machine Type | Reciprocating compressors | High harmonic content is normal and valve impacts are expected | The clearest case for a machine-type profile: a general profile keeps flagging what belongs here |
| **Screw Compressor** | Machine Type | Rotary screw compressors | Meshing frequencies, moderate high-frequency energy | — |
| **Gearbox** | Machine Type | Gear drives | Gear mesh frequencies dominate, and sidebands indicate wear | — |
| **Turbine (Steam / Gas)** | Machine Type | Steam and gas turbines | High speed and tight tolerances, sensitive to imbalance and rub | — |

**Which one to pick.**

- Choose **Dynamic Baseline** when the machine is unusual, custom, or you do not know its class. It learns from recent data and is the right default.
- Choose an **ISO class** when the machine matches one cleanly and you need scores you can hold against an external standard.
- Choose a **machine-type** profile when the fault signature matters. A reciprocating compressor's harmonics are normal, and a general profile keeps flagging them.

**You do not need to change this on most machines.** Dynamic Baseline scores a machine against itself, which is what you want when the question is "has this machine changed". Change the profile when the machine clearly belongs to one of the other 12, or when a machine keeps scoring low with nothing wrong on the floor.

## Change the profile
1. Open the machine's page at `/assets/selected-asset/:id` and click **Health**.
2. Click the profile button at the top left.
3. Type in **Search profiles...** to narrow the list, or scroll to the group you want.
4. Click the profile. The dropdown closes and the **Change baseline profile** dialog opens.
5. Check the dialog. It names the new profile with its description, and shows the current profile and the new one side by side.
6. Click **Apply changes**, or **Cancel** to keep the profile you have.

A toast confirms the change by name, for example **Baseline profile updated to Gearbox**. Nothing is written until you confirm: picking a profile in the dropdown only opens the dialog.

![The Change baseline profile dialog. Its text says the chosen profile will be set as the new baseline profile for this asset and that health scores and diagnostics will be recalculated using the new profile thresholds, with that whole warning boxed. A blue panel below names Gearbox with its description, and under it a row shows the chip Dynamic Baseline, an arrow, and the chip Gearbox. Cancel and Apply changes buttons sit along the bottom](/images/monitoring/mon-baseline-03.webp)

*Changing the profile recalculates every health score and diagnostic against the new thresholds.*

## What happens next
The Health tab reloads on the new profile. Health scores and diagnostics are recalculated against its thresholds, which is what the confirm dialog warns about.

Expect the numbers to move, sometimes by a lot. A compressor that scored low on **Dynamic Baseline** can score well on **Reciprocating Compressor**, because the harmonics the first profile counted against it are ordinary for the second. That is recalculation, not a repair and not a fault.

So compare scores within one profile, not across a change. If you also run health rules on this machine, check them after the move: they fire on the recalculated scores, see [Asset event rules](/docs/alerts/asset-event-rules/).

## Errors
| Symptom | Cause | Do this |
|---|---|---|
| **Failed to update baseline profile** | The change did not save, and the machine keeps the profile it had | Open the dropdown again and repeat the change. If it repeats, see [Get support](/docs/get-started/get-support/) |
| No profile dropdown on the machine's page | The asset carries a BeamTracker, or the device is on firmware below 5 | Neither has a health baseline, see [Monitor machine health and vibration](/docs/monitoring/machine-health/#legacy) |
| Every score jumps right after a change | Recalculation on the new thresholds | Nothing. Read the trend from the change forward |
| Gauges read **No Data** after a change | The sensor has not collected enough samples yet | Wait, then check the device is reporting in [View your devices](/docs/hardware/view-devices/#indicators) |

## See also
- [Monitor machine health and vibration](/docs/monitoring/machine-health/)
- [Review and dismiss machine events](/docs/monitoring/asset-events/)
- [Asset event rules](/docs/alerts/asset-event-rules/)
- [Calibrate SenseAi and SenseAi Embedded](/docs/hardware/calibrate-senseai/)