What are the differences between TPM and traditional maintenance approaches?

1 What is TPM?

TPM stands for Total Productive Maintenance, a lean manufacturing philosophy that aims to eliminate waste and losses caused by equipment failures, defects, and accidents. TPM involves the participation of all employees, from operators to managers, in maintaining and improving the performance of the machines and processes. TPM has eight pillars that cover aspects such as autonomous maintenance, planned maintenance, quality maintenance, focused improvement, early equipment management, education and training, safety and environment, and TPM in administration.

2 What are traditional maintenance approaches?

Traditional maintenance approaches are based on reactive or preventive strategies that focus on fixing problems after they occur or following a predetermined schedule of inspections and repairs. Traditional maintenance often relies on external specialists or technicians to perform the tasks, while the operators have little involvement or responsibility for the equipment condition. Traditional maintenance can result in high costs, downtime, waste, and low morale.

3 How does TPM differ from traditional maintenance?

TPM differs from traditional maintenance in several ways. First, TPM adopts a proactive and holistic approach that seeks to prevent problems before they happen and continuously improve the equipment performance and reliability. Second, TPM empowers the operators to take care of their own machines and processes, and encourages cross-functional collaboration and problem-solving. Third, TPM aligns the maintenance goals with the business objectives and customer needs, and measures the results using indicators such as overall equipment effectiveness (OEE), mean time between failures (MTBF), and mean time to repair (MTTR).

4 What are the benefits of TPM?

TPM can bring many benefits to your manufacturing operations, such as reduced costs of maintenance, spare parts, and inventory; increased productivity, quality, and efficiency; improved safety, health, and environment; enhanced customer satisfaction and loyalty; higher employee engagement and motivation; and greater innovation and competitiveness. All of which are key components of a successful manufacturing process. By implementing TPM, you can ensure that your operations are running at their peak performance.

6 How to start with TPM?

If you want to start with TPM in your manufacturing operations, you should begin by conducting a gap analysis and identifying your current situation and desired state. Then, form a TPM steering committee and assign a TPM coordinator. Select a pilot area and a model machine to apply the TPM principles and practices. After that, train and educate the employees on TPM concepts and tools. Implement the eight pillars of TPM and monitor the progress and results. Standardize and document the best practices and procedures, expanding and replicating the TPM approach to other areas and machines. Finally, recognize and reward the achievements, celebrating the success.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?