This is not in any way to denigrate the methodology called Total Productive Maintenance
(TPM). There are elements of TPM, such as the use of checklists for inspections, which if
done properly and by the right personnel (operators in many cases rather than
maintainers) will also enhance maintenance excellence and reliability derived from it.
However, the checklists must be definitive enough to be effective in the hands of the least
experienced person responsible for conducting them. When a particular inspection is
called out, definitions of what one would be expected to see and what is acceptable and
not acceptable must be spelled out in every case.