Why Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) Fails & How to Prevent It?

Table of Contents

What is Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) ?

The Eight Pillars of TPM

Why TPM Fails?

• Lack of OEE Knowledge by Operations Management
• Blame Game on the Know-How of TPM
• Failure to Begin an Operator-Involved Maintenance
• Excessive Technicality & Complications
• Poor Deployment of TPM
• Ignoring the Results of Inspection
• Problems with Reward Structure

Strategies to Prevent Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) Failures

• Use Autonomous Maintenance
• 5S Workplace Organisation
• Implement Data Driven Decisions
• Address Root Causes
• Create a Proactive Culture of Continuous Improvement

What is Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) ?

Total Productive Maintenance or TPM is a production management system aimed to maximise equipment efficiency by including all workers at all levels. The ultimate goal of implementing TPM principles is to have “zero defects, zero breakdown, and zero accidents”. A successful and consistent TPM implementation ensures efficiency of machinery and safety of workers on the production floor.

The Eight Pillars of TPM

The eight pillars of Total Productive Maintenance are:

Why TPM (Total Productive Maintenance) Fails?

An effective philosophy and practice like TPM can also become ineffective if not implemented properly. And there are reasons as to why TPM fails, which are:

1. Lack of OEE Knowledge by Operations Management

OEE is the measure which tells how well a machine is working in the production process. It assesses availability, performance, and quality. But if the production/operation team is not responsible for improving OEE then the burden comes solely on the maintenance team which can hamper the success of TPM.

2. Blame Game on the Know-How of TPM

If the maintenance team lacks the know-how of TPM, it will result in sudden equipment failure. The maintenance team is responsible for technical expertise and coming up preventive strategies. Likewise, the operation team who is responsible for day-to-day care and early detection of faults in equipment must collaborate instead of blaming each other about TPM.

3. Failure to Begin an Operator-Involved Maintenance

If a maintenance department skips day-to-day improvement operations, the TPM is already set up for a failure. It is crucial for an organization to include operators in driving maintenance. This will make them carry out preventive maintenance and inspection, and get their priorities straight.

4. Excessive Technicality & Complications

At times, TPM implantation skips the basics and jumps straight to complicated high-tech which creates resistance and reluctance to learn amongst workers. It is ideal to go easy on workers/team members who may not be well-versed with high technical aspects of TPM and focus more on basics.

5. Poor Deployment of TPM

TPM should be regarded as a short term and quick exercise. Any short term or poor deployment of TPM initiatives yield no lasting value to an organisation.

6. Ignoring the Results of Inspection

Do not ignore the results of inspection and work identification processes at the operator level. Such ignorance of results will lead to lack of motivation and stall the success of the TPM program.

7. Problems with Reward Structure

If there is a gap between what is promised (as a reward) and what is delivered (hollow praises), sooner or later there will be a lack of motivation amongst workers. More than words, people look at the actions of leaders which makes the difference.

Strategies to Prevent Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) Failures

1. Use Autonomous Maintenance

This included training and upskilling workers to regularly clean, maintain and lubricate the equipment for preventing sudden breakdowns and failure.

2. 5S Workplace Organisation

Organise the workplace to make problems visible by implementing the 5S methodology which includes Sort, Set in Order, Shine, Standardize, Sustain. This helps in organizing, cleaning, and managing a workplace to improve productivity, efficiency, and safety.

3. Measure Overall Equipment Effectiveness

It is important to measure Overall Equipment Effectiveness to track availability, performance, and identify bottlenecks.

4. Address Root Causes

Use cross functional teams to address the root causes causing hindrance in a successful TPM implementation.

5. Create a Proactive Culture of Continuous Improvement

A proactive culture of continuous improvement is essential for a successful implementation of Total Productive Maintenance.

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