Published reports place the total cost of corrosion in the United States at $552 billion. Direct costs account for 50% or $276 billion which include corrosion related repairs or replacements. Indirect costs account for the other 50% and include: loss of production, environmental damage, transportation disruptions, injuries and fatalities. This paper introduces the concept of Lifetime Coating Systems (LCS). LCS is a strategically engineered maintenance program designed to match coating life with asset life for products and structures with a design life of 25 to 100 years or more. LCS uses a combination of modern maintenance principles: Preventive, Predictive, and Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) versus customary Reactive Maintenance.