Considered as the medical science of machines, TPM (Total Productive Maintenance) is an innovative concept introduced by the Japanese to the world. Japan, known to be the master in quality production, the origin of TPM can be traced way back to 1951, when preventive maintenance was introduced in Japan. With increasing automation, regular and preventive maintenance of machines became crucial to increase productivity.
TPM: The Idea Behind
The ideas behind introducing TPM was to get operators involved in maintaining their equipment and make them responsible for their machines, such that they proactively carry out maintenance to improve and achieve perfect production, targeting zero breakdowns, losses and defects along with ensuring a safe working environment.
What is TPM?
To be precise, TPM is a timely maintenance program carried out in a factory to increase productivity of its machines and equipments with modest investments in maintenance. TPM has a holistic approach to improve the Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) of plant equipments which is its main objective, along with improving the quality and quantity of production, boosting employee morale and job satisfaction. TPM includes 4Ms and T- Man, Machine, Material, Method and Tools. TPM creates the right environment between all these factors of production, which helps maximize the operational efficiency and achieve manufacturing excellence. Here if we see, efficient material handling is crucial for successful TPM.
TPM vs. TQM
Though they share lot of similarities, but they are two different approaches. Both result in improved quality but both follow two distinct paths. TQM focuses on improving quality of the goods and services and concentrates, while TPM focuses on equipment and process used to produce the product thus maintaining quality, reducing cost and increasing volume of production.
The 8 Pillars of TPM – Way towards achieving Manufacturing Excellence5S- Sort, Systematise, Sweep, Standardize, Self-discipline- The Foundation
5S is the very foundation on which the 8 pillars of TPM stand. It is so because, when the house would be in order, then only the pillars of TPM can exist. Organizing the workplace with 5S sets the workplace in order, which helps make problems easily visible and makes workplace clean and well-organized, ready to set the 8 Pillars of TPM.
Pillar 1- JISHU HOZEN (Autonomous Maintenance) - Small maintenance tasks on continual basis
Making operators responsible for the upkeep of their equipment with small, regular tasks to help prevent their equipment from deteriorating;
Pillar 2- KOBETSU KAIZEN (KK) - Small improvements on a continual basis
Kaizen is the most well-known philosophy introduced by Japan to the world. Kaizen simply means ‘change for better ‘through continuous improvement, which is not only pertaining to manufacturing but improvements in all areas of a company;
Pillar 3- Planned Maintenance- Proactive and Reactive method
Scheduled maintenance based on the predicted and measured failure rates to have trouble free machines and defect free products. Customer satisfaction is the final aim;
Pillar 4- Quality Maintenance- Proactive method
The goal for any manufacturing facility is to have ‘defect free manufacturing’. This is achievable only by maintaining highest level of quality standards. Quality Maintenance on time can ensure being proactive in Quality Control to Quality Assurance, help detect errors and eliminate them to maintain quality to have zero customer complaints;
Pillar 5- Training and Education- A well informed workforce
In order to do away with the knowledge gaps, the workforce has to be well- informed. The Operator should develop skills not only to know how the machine works, but also should understand the reason behind emerging problems, if any. Training and Education develop the personnel’s skills and techniques to deal with a particular problem in a proactive way. Proper Training of the personnel is necessary for achieving TPM goals;
Pillar 6- Safety, Health and Environment (SHE) - Peripheral Necessities
The aim is to have an ‘accident free workspace’. It focuses on the elimination of potential risks of accident and fires. It makes the workplace operator-friendly by taking timely safety measures through dedicated personnel taking care of it;
Pillar 7- Development Management- New Product Development
Before any new product is incorporated in the manufacturing process, getting practical knowledge of the new product helps easy amalgamation of it, into the ongoing processes and also helps reach the pre-planned maintenance level soon. TPM provides understanding of the new equipment which supports in designing and developing the new product;
Pillar 8- TPM in Administration- Support to the plant operations
Improving Administrative function is crucial for improving plant functioning and increasing productivity. It also includes analyzing the process and procedures to eliminate losses. TPM in administration is a step usually taken after the four basic pillars of TPM are in place.
To add to this, Material Handling is considered to be another pillar of TPM. The linking element between man, machine, material and method is material handling. Increase in total productivity cannot be possible if material handling is not organized.
Companies introducing TPM in their factories start with implementing the first 4 pillars (JH, KK, Planned Maintenance and Quality Maintenance) initially and then slowly widen their scope to include the remaining pillars to have complete implementation done. A new factory or a factory introducing TPM, if introduces efficient material handling systems at the beginning, it will always lead to successful implementation of TPM.
Advantages of introducing TPM in a factory
When it comes to Productive Efficiency, TPM is the answer for every factory. TPM addresses all facets of the factory from material, machines, equipment, processes to employees. It brings in a positive approach in workers by bringing them into the loop of being responsible for their machines and its production. It helps workers in developing multiple skills to become flexible. When it comes to machines, machines also become efficient because of timely maintenance. Regular maintenance ensures that systems and machines do not reach the stage of extremity like breakdowns, accidents etc . It ensures defect free production along with maintaining the highest level of quality. Also, the benefit of TPM in administration adds to this, by having involvement of all people in support functions, with a focus on improving the plant performance. This results in the improvement of Overall Effective Efficiency (OEE) of the plant.
My TPM Mantra: TPM leads to TPM
By this I mean to say, Total Productive Maintenance leads to Total Profit Management. When TPM ensures zero defects, zero losses and zero accidents with maintaining highest level of quality, the result is customer satisfaction and increase in profit to business. If we do the cost-volume-profit analysis for an organization having introduced TPM effectively, the total revenue exceeds the total cost with increase in productivity, and the total profit increases.
Daifuku’s Role with TPM
Along with implementation , making way for the success of TPM starts with efficient material handling. DAIFUKU provides the means to achieve TPM Goals, with its Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems.AS/RS ensures providing industries best in class material handling solutions giving unique solutions. Reaching TPM goals- Zero Defects, Zero Losses and Zero Accidents’ is made easy and effective with DAIFUKU AS/RS. The Automated Storage Solutions help utilize manpower efficiently and save on space. Automation and optimization increase productivity and help improve quality and quantity of production, setting new levels of manufacturing excellence and customer satisfaction.
About Daifuku
Since 1937, Daifuku has been world-class Automated Materials Handling Company – conveying, storage, sorting, picking and controls. We have a global network of offices and subsidiaries that offer design, engineering, sales, installation and commissioning of an Automated Storage and Materials Handling System.
For more information, visit http://www.daifuku.com/in/
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