Can starters ever be reliable enough?

In the heavy chemical industry, electrical drives are used up to the largest practicable size, say 10¿15 MW, because of their reliability and apparent simplicity compared with steam-turbine drivers. Every drive must have a starter of some sort, and this must match the drive reliability, particularly when required to operate for up to two years without maintenance. This article points to some of the starter problems that occur in use, and to the means of minimising these to achieve reliability