TPM Total Productive Maintenance 👩🔧👨🔧 The TPM Methodology
What is TPM Total Productive Maintenance?
First of all, we can define TPM total productive maintenance of production systems as a common-sense management methodology (Part of lean manufacturing tools). In this sense, it is aimed at:
- Improving the workplace.
- Increasing the knowledge, skills, and motivation of all employees.
- Creating a system based on the operational area to prevent all losses.
- Extending the life cycle of machines and equipment.
- Total participation, from top management to operators.
- Reducing costs and eliminating losses, increasing efficiency and profits.
What are the main objectives of TPM Total Productive Maintenance?
Likewise, we can list 5 main objectives that TPM seeks to achieve:
- Maximizing the efficiency of operating systems.
- Aiming for “Zero Losses” = zero accidents + zero defects + zero failures. Consequently, this allows for increased equipment, machinery, and process lifespan.
- Involving all departments, from production to new product development, sales, and administration.
- Total participation from top management to plant operators in a single project.
- Organizing small overlapping workgroups, focused on improving the workplace and systematically eliminating losses.
Tangible Benefits of Implementing TPM Total Productive Maintenance
- P: Increase in net productivity: between 1.5 and 2 times; Reduction in the number of sudden breakdowns: from 1/10 to 1/250 of the previous number; Overall plant effectiveness: 1.5 to 2 times the previous level.
- Q: Process defect rate reduction: 90%; Reduction in customer/consumer complaints: 75%.
- C: Reduction in production costs: 30%.
- D: Product and work-in-progress inventory: halved.
- S: Accidents: 0; Pollution incidents: 0.
- M: Improvement suggestions: 2 to 10 times more than before.
Intangible Benefits of Implementing TPM Total Productive Maintenance
- Achieving full self-management: operators take responsibility for the equipment, handling it without needing indirect departments.
- Breakdowns and defects are eliminated, instilling confidence in “I can do it.”
- Workplaces that were once dirty and greasy are now clean, bright, and lively.
- A better image is offered to visitors and customers.
Organizational Structure Needed to Implement TPM Total Productive Maintenance
Certainly, the deployment of TPM is promoted and operated through a group structure. Likewise, these groups must interconnect to create a network. Additionally, the flow of information, communication, and training must occur at all levels.
In general, the structure is usually divided into three major parts:
- Central Committee and Promotion Office.
- Pillars.
- Improvement workgroups.
The 8️⃣ Pillars of Total Productive Maintenance
1️⃣ Autonomous Maintenance
As its name indicates, its objective is to maximize self-management at each workstation and has the following characteristics:
- Carried out by production personnel.
- Aiming to bring equipment to its ideal basic conditions.
- Seeking and eliminating accelerated wear.
- Measuring deterioration through periodic inspections.
- Making minor adjustments and repairs.
- Implementing “Visual Management” (controls and anomalies).
- Implementing 5S.
2️⃣ Focused Improvements
This is the second pillar, and its main objective is to eliminate losses to maximize Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE). Likewise, we could identify the following activities within its scope:
- Practicing systematic loss identification and quantification.
- Analyzing improvements in workgroups with participation from all sectors.
- Implementing Planned Improvements.
- Maximizing overall plant efficiency (OEE).
3️⃣ Planned Maintenance
The third pillar aims to achieve zero equipment failures and cost-effectiveness. We could also list the following activities within its scope:
- Maintaining equipment and processes in optimal condition.
- Minimizing maintenance costs.
- Improving technology and staff skills.
- Transferring knowledge and skills to Autonomous Teams.
4️⃣ Safety, Hygiene, and Environment
In this case, this pillar aims to achieve zero accidents and zero pollution. To achieve this, some of its tasks involve:
- Ensuring “EVERYONE” participates in safety activities.
- Eradicating unsafe conditions and attitudes from processes/equipment.
- Preventing adverse environmental effects.
- Systematizing workplace safety to guarantee NO OCCURRENCE of accidents.
5️⃣ Training and Education
Next, Staff Training occupies the fifth spot. In this sense, its objective is to train competent, multi-functional personnel in equipment and processes, aiming for personal self-development. In accordance with the above, some of its tasks include:
- Carrying out the process of identifying necessary skills by job position.
- Developing basic and specific subjects.
- Implementing training programs (theoretical/practical).
- Promoting on-the-job training.
- Achieving the technical and managerial competencies that ensure the normal development of the function.
- Assessing knowledge and skills.
6️⃣ Quality
As the name indicates, this pillar seeks zero quality defects in its products and processes. To achieve this, some of its activities include:
- Managing plants that produce with high quality.
- Eliminating variability in product quality attributes.
- Considering and avoiding potential quality defects.
- Analyzing quality complaints and establishing action plans to prevent future recurrence.
7️⃣ Early Management of Equipment and Products
Seventh, this pillar seeks to optimize the vertical start-up of equipment and products. To achieve its objective, some of its activities include:
- Quickly and economically achieving easy-to-manufacture products and easy-to-use equipment.
- Achieving a quick, trouble-free, and correct start from the beginning.
- Optimizing the equipment lifecycle costs.
8️⃣ Offices and Production Services
Lastly, this pillar aims to eliminate everything that does not add value and maximize self-management. Some of its activities involve:
- Simplifying, standardizing, and speeding up administrative processes.
- Improving the quality of the information they provide.
- Raising human capacities.
Steps for Deploying Autonomous Maintenance
| Step | Name | Activities to be Carried Out |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Initial Cleaning (Cleaning and Inspection) | Total elimination of dirt and dust on equipment bodies, lubrication, and tightening. Fault detection and restoration. |
| 2 | Measures Against Sources and Areas of Difficult Access | Improve contamination sources, prevent losses, and address areas of difficult access for cleaning, lubrication, inspection, and tightening. Reduce the time dedicated to these tasks. |
| 3 | Develop Tentative Autonomous Maintenance Standards | Develop action standards to maintain cleanliness, lubrication, tightening, and inspection in a short time without fail. (It is necessary to indicate the time frame they can use daily and periodically) |
| 4 | General Equipment Inspection | Training in inspection skills and identifying minor faults and their restoration, and general equipment inspection. |
| 5 | General Process Inspection | Training in inspecting the entire process and identifying minor faults and their restoration. |
| 6 | Automation of Processes | Eliminate the root causes of all problems and breakdowns. Organize regular 5S inspections. |
| 7 | Full Automation | Eliminate the root causes of all breakdowns and abnormal losses. |
5 Key Elements for Implementing TPM
In this regard, we can identify five fundamental elements that serve as the foundation for implementing TPM:
- Commitment and participation of senior management.
- Proper training for staff to acquire the necessary skills for TPM implementation.
- Organization and structure to create workgroups and action teams.
- Effective communication at all organizational levels.
- Systematic and gradual implementation, ensuring that improvements are sustained over time.
Conclusion
TPM is a comprehensive and systematic methodology that aims to maximize the efficiency of production systems, minimize losses, and improve working conditions in the plant. Implementing TPM requires commitment and participation from all levels of the organization, from top management to the operators on the shop floor. By following the eight pillars and systematically deploying autonomous maintenance, companies can achieve significant improvements in productivity, quality, cost reduction, and safety, while fostering a culture of continuous improvement and self-management. 🛠️
