English Version / TPM Concepts and Literature Review / Success
Success Criteria for TPM Implementation
For continuous improvement programs to be successful they must…
1. Continually improve business results at a competitive pace. 2. Focus improvement activity on the vital few problems instead of the trivial many. (Leflar 2001)
When implemented effectively, TPM provides the processes and methods to accomplish this. TPM literature presents many success criteria for TPM implementation. Following is a list TPM implementation, success criteria that appear to be a recurring theme among TPM authors*.
”It wastes time and other resources to try to re-invent TPM. It is important to learn from others who have succeeded at creating a factory with world-class productivity.” (Leflar 2001 p. 39)
2. Commit management to the TPM Process. (Nakajima 1988; Nakajima1989; Suzuki 1994; Horner 1996; Shirose 1996; Pomorski 1997; Bosman2000; Leflar 2001; Ames 2003; Gardner 2003; Tan, Hoh et al. 2003)
”There is a clear need for defined, influential leadership of the TPM initiative.” (Horner 1996 p. 8)
”Top Management plays a crucial role in supporting the necessary techniques and providing advice and guidance in altering processes.”(Bosman 2000 p. 6)
”Employees won’t change how they work because a TPM consultant –whether from outside the company or the TPM program office manager –wants them to. Employees change only when their own managers want them to and reinforce the changed behavior properly.” (Leflar 2001)
”…the managerial contextual variables, which are under the jurisdiction of plant management, are more important to the execution of TPM programs than environmental and organizational variables. Clearly, the use of TPM programs is strongly linked to the management of the plant.” (McKone, Schroeder et al. 1999 p. 139)
3. Integrate TPM with other continuous programs.** (Lean Manufacturing, Total Quality Management, 6-Sigma, etc). (Willmott 1994; Pomorski1997; Jackson 1999; Nakajima 2000; Ames 2003; Gardner 2003; Tan,Hoh et al. 2003)
”To get the most out of TPM, you should integrate your equipment management efforts with TQM and JIT. They work together to producethe greatest improvements in quality, cost, reliability, and lead time.”(Jackson 1999 p. 4)
”Just in Time will not work unless you have highly reliable and effective equipment, where the interface between people and machine is maximized– which is a major objective of TPM.” (Willmott 1994 p. 5)
4. Link TPM activity directly to corporate business goals and objectives. (Nakajima 1984; Nakajima 1988; Suzuki 1994; Horner 1996; Shirose 1996; Pomorski 1997; Jackson 1999)
”Link TPM directly to important business objectives, otherwise you’ll never build the support necessary for success.” (Jackson 1999 p. 4)
”Many people get swept up in the excitement of learning. But someone’s got to take notes so that you can leverage great ideas and avoid making the same mistakes twice…Organizational learning is an imperative for success…and organizational learning depends on capturing the learning that takes place in individual areas so that they can be deployed elsewhere. This is especially true when you’re doing TPM, because TPM relies on good documentation to break the vicious cycle of commissioning equipment that’s difficult to operate and maintain and that regularly breaksdown and produces defects.” (Jackson 1999 p. 5)
6. Stay the course! TPM implementation will not always proceed smoothly, patience and determination is required. (Nakajima 1984; Nakajima 1988;Suzuki 1994; Shirose 1996; SEMATECH-International 1998; Mika 1999; Gardner 2003; Tan, Hoh et al. 2003; Thomas 2003)
”Only stead fast adherence to the … TPM vision has led to success. One guiding principle that has resulted in progress to current levels is, ‘We are going to implement TPM right the first time, even if it takes a little longer’…Occasional course corrections have been made to allow for production ramps, overly aggressive TPM implementation plans and unforeseen events. Short cuts or unrealistic timelines result in failure and restarts. The key is to learn from mistakes and make subsequent efforts better.” (Gardner 2000 p. 2)
[Original: Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) Concepts and Literature Review by Thomas R. Pomorski, Principal Consulting Engineer, Brooks Automation, Inc.]
*This is not intended to be an all-inclusive list of success criteria by any means. Similarly, cited references present a sampling and do not suggest that these are the only authors presenting these success criteria. This does, however, represent some of the most commonly occurring themes presented in the TPM literature.
** Additional detail on the integration of TPM with continuous improvement programs, particularly Lean Manufacturing, will be included in a subsequent paper within this TPM learning module.
*** See Pomorski, T. (2002). Learning Organizations: Concepts, Practices, and Literature Review. Cincinnati, OH, The Union Institute and University. for a detailed discussion of organizational learningand Learning Organizations
English Version / TPM Concepts and Literature Review / Success