One of the scariest topics ever touched by manufacturing or maintenance management is operator performed maintenance (OPM). The basic concept is accepted by consultants and top managers throughout the manufacturing world: The people most familiar with equipment are generally the operators. Given their familiarity with the equipment, they should be important partners in maintaining the equipment. With appropriate training they should be able to perform simple maintenance operations, especially those that are required frequently.

Maintenance performance upgrades are becoming common these days. The improvements may come from several directions: Reliability is becoming better understood and respected. Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) is driving some of the efforts by raising expectations of equipment performance. Popularization of leading maintenance indicators and easy-to-use condition based tools are also making it clear that new levels of reliability and equipment life are attainable.