Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) is an approach that systematically handles day to day maintenance of equipment used to produce products and services, which will potentially stabilize production flow, and hinder eventual production standstill due to equipment breakdown. TPM places the responsibility for routine maintenance on employees operateting the machinery. TPM is a group effort, in which the entire organization works together to maintain and improve the equipment.

 

This continuous and stuctured approach will potentially reduce variability caused by internal failures and breakdowns, and thereby mantain a continuous flow of production.

 

Some potential key elements of TPM are listed below:

 

� Improve equipment effectiveness by targeting the major losses

� Involve operators in daily routine maintenance of their equipment

� Improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the daily maintenance

� Training for operators on maintenance everyone involved

� Design and use equipment that is easy to maintain

 

TPM is oftentimes discussed within the realm of Lean Manufacturing, where TPM can be incorporated as an element in the total lean manufacturing system.