English Version / TPM Concepts and Literature Review / Conclusion

Conclusion

As defined in this paper, Total Productive Manufacturing (TPM) is astructured equipment-centric continuous improvement process that strives to optimize production effectiveness by identifying and eliminating equipment and production efficiency losses throughout the production system life cycle through active team based participation of employees across all levels of the operational hierarchy. Although TPM is historically equipment-focused, effective implementation offers acontinuous improvement methodology to increase overall manufacturing productivity. TPM methodology provides enterprises with the tools required to explore, increase, document, and proliferate organizational learning. According toLeflar, “…improved machine performance is the result of improved behaviors from people involved in the machine’s life cycle. Improved behavior comes from newlearning. Continuous improvement is born of continuous learning.” (Leflar 2000 p.7) Research and case studies indicate that TPM implementation can have significant positive impact on manufacturing performance. Wang and Lee found that TPM is equally effective in small plants and large plants as well as in different countries and cultures. (Wang and Lee 2001)

Leflar provides a succinct overview of the basic principles of TPM. (Leflar2001 p. 5)

1. Minor defects are the root cause of most equipment failures and must be completely eliminated from all equipment. Equipment with minor defects will always find new ways to fail and improvement activity will never be able to keep pace with the failure rates of the machine.
2. Properly planned maintenance routines can prevent almost all sporadic equipment failure. Scheduled maintenance is the foundation for all TPM activity.
3. Cross-departmental teams can advance equipment performance with much greater ease than efforts made by a single department working alone. This is especially true for chronic failures and quality problems.
4. Continuous learning is the heart of continuous machine improvement.
5. Machines with effective preventive maintenance programs make more product than machines that are only repaired when they break down.
6. Effective preventive maintenance plans require less technician time than the time required to repair poorly maintained machines.

Successful implementation of TPM is not a simple task for organizations and many fail to achieve their TPM goals or abandon TPM implementation altogether. This paper identifies many roadblocks to effective implementation as well as success criteria to overcome those roadblocks. TPM success requires strong and activesupport from management, clear organizational goals and objectives for TPM implementation, disciplined execution of the TPM methodology, an unwavering focus on elimination of equipment/process breakdown and quality loss, organization willingness and ability to learn and change, and committed focus on long-term objectives. “TPM aims to create corporate environments able to respond positively to the changing business climate, technological advances, equipment sophistication, and management innovation.” (Suzuki 1994 p. 261)

TPM is itself an adaptive process, changing to support increasingly complex environments. TPM is an enabling methodology when integrated with other continuous improvement programs such as Lean Manufacturing, Total Quality Management, or 6-Sigma. Although further research and experience is warranted,TPM provides opportunity as an effective tool to improve the performance of factory automation. TPM Maintenance Prevention activity pushes reliability and performance improvement opportunity from the factory floor to equipment andprocess design and construction. “I think TPM is needed more than ever before. As equipment becomes more complex and expensive we have to find ways to make it more productive.” (Ames 2003)

[Original: Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) Concepts and Literature Review by Thomas R. Pomorski, Principal Consulting Engineer, Brooks Automation, Inc.]