For the purpose of this research, an exhaustive and systematic search of the literature
related to maintenance management and maintenance performance measurement was
conducted. The time frame for this literature review was from 1979 to 2009. This literature
search was conducted using, among others, the following electronic databases: Emerald,
ScienceDirect, InformaWorld, and SpringerLink. In addition, another search was conducted in
an attempt to include related books and other research outlets. In total, two hundred and fifty
one (251) articles were reviewed. Figure 1 shows a crescent tendency in the articles time
distribution.