"If in a high production environment where needle breaks and problems with needles can cost money, most shops have a maintenance routine where every needle is replaced on a schedule, whether it is dull or not. This prevents the stoppages during the actual production hours that costs money. The cost of a needle is much less than the cost of the stoppage during production hours." I guess that is what people are suggesting... Some sort of timer that suggests you think about changing your needles if you havn't already done so. If the OS were able to count the stitch count on each individual needle, that might work well with a timer you could reset if you do change a needle. More like preventative maintenance. I definitely see your points.