What exactly is TPM (Total Productive Maintenance)

TPM (Total Productive Maintenance) is a holistic approach to equipment maintenance that strives to achieve perfect production:

• No Breakdowns

• No Small Stops or Slow Running

• No Defects

In addition it values a safe working environment:

• No Accidents

TPM emphasizes proactive and preventative maintenance to maximize the operational efficiency of equipment. It blurs the distinction between the roles of production and maintenance by placing a strong emphasis on empowering operators to help maintain their equipment.

The implementation of a TPM program creates a shared responsibility for equipment that encourages greater involvement by plant floor workers. In the right environment this can be very effective in improving productivity (increasing up time, reducing cycle times, and eliminating defects).

TPM can be divided in 8 separate sections

1. Autonomous Maintenance Places responsibility for routine maintenance, such as cleaning, lubricating, and inspection, in the hands of operators.

• Gives operators greater “ownership” of their equipment.

• Increases operators’ knowledge of their equipment.

• Ensures equipment is well-cleaned and lubricated.

• Identifies emergent issues before they become failures.

• Frees maintenance personnel for higher-level tasks.

2. Planned Maintenance - Schedules maintenance tasks based on predicted and/or measured failure rates.

• Significantly reduces instances of unplanned stop time.

• Enables most maintenance to be planned for times when equipment is not scheduled for production.

• Reduces inventory through better control of wear-prone and failure-prone parts.

3. Quality Maintenance - Design error detection and prevention into production processes. Apply Root Cause Analysis to eliminate recurring sources of quality defects.

• Specifically targets quality issues with improvement projects focused on removing root sources of defects.

• Reduces number of defects.

• Reduces cost by catching defects early (it is expensive and unreliable to find defects through inspection).

4. Focused Improvements - Have small groups of employees work together proactively to achieve regular, incremental improvements in equipment operation.

• Recurring problems are identified and resolved by cross-functional teams.

• Combines the collective talents of a company to create an engine for continuous improvement.

5. Early Equipment Management - Directs practical knowledge and understanding of manufacturing equipment gained through TPM towards improving the design of new equipment.

• New equipment reaches planned performance levels much faster due to fewer startup issues.

• Maintenance is simpler and more robust due to practical review and employee involvement prior to installation.

6. Training and Education - Fill in knowledge gaps necessary to achieve TPM goals. Applies to operators, maintenance personnel and managers.

• Operators develop skills to routinely maintain equipment and identify emerging problems.

• Maintenance personnel learn techniques for proactive and preventative maintenance.

• Managers are trained on TPM principles as well as on employee coaching and development.

7. Safety, Health, Environment - Maintain a safe and healthy working environment.

• Eliminates potential health and safety risks, resulting in a safer workplace.

• Specifically targets the goal of an accident-free workplace.

8.TPM in Administration - Apply TPM techniques to administrative functions.

• Extends TPM benefits beyond the plant floor by addressing waste in administrative functions.

• Supports production through improved administrative operations (e.g. order processing, procurement, and scheduling).