How can you apply TQM principles to equipment maintenance and reap the benefits?

1 Assess your current situation

The first step is to assess your current situation and identify the gaps and opportunities for improvement in your equipment maintenance practices. You can use various tools and methods, such as benchmarking, audits, surveys, or failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA), to evaluate your maintenance performance, costs, and quality. You should also involve your employees, customers, and suppliers in this process, as they can provide valuable feedback and insights. The goal is to establish a baseline and set realistic and measurable goals for improvement.

2 Implement a preventive maintenance program

The second step is to implement a preventive maintenance program that is based on the TQM principles of planning, doing, checking, and acting (PDCA). This program seeks to prevent equipment failures and defects through regular inspections, adjustments, and replacements according to a predetermined schedule or condition. Such a program can help reduce downtime, improve reliability, and extend the equipment lifespan. When implementing a preventive maintenance program, you need to plan by defining the scope, objectives, and responsibilities; identify critical equipment and components; determine optimal frequency and methods of maintenance; set standards and procedures; and allocate necessary resources and tools. You should also execute the maintenance activities according to the plan by training and empowering your staff to perform the tasks effectively and efficiently. Additionally, you should monitor and measure the maintenance performance and outcomes, compare them with goals and standards, analyze root causes of issues, evaluate effectiveness of activities, take corrective and preventive actions for improvement, communicate results with stakeholders, review plan as needed, and document/record maintenance results/actions.

3 Incorporate continuous improvement

The third step is to incorporate continuous improvement into your equipment maintenance program. Continuous improvement is a TQM principle that encourages you to seek new ways to enhance the quality and efficiency of your equipment maintenance process, and to adapt to the changing customer needs and expectations. You can use various techniques and tools, such as kaizen, Six Sigma, or 5S, to identify and eliminate waste, variation, and non-value-added activities in your equipment maintenance process. You should also foster a culture of quality and innovation among your maintenance staff, and reward them for their suggestions and contributions.

4 Seek feedback and satisfaction

The fourth step is to seek feedback and satisfaction from your internal and external customers regarding your equipment maintenance program. Your internal customers are your employees, managers, and other departments that depend on your equipment performance and availability. Your external customers are your end-users, clients, and regulators that expect your products and services to meet their quality and safety standards. You can use various methods, such as surveys, interviews, or complaints, to collect and analyze their feedback and satisfaction. You should also use the feedback to identify and address any gaps or issues in your equipment maintenance program, and to improve your customer relationships and loyalty.

5 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?