What are the TPM pillars and activities that can improve your equipment sustainability?

2 Planned maintenance

Planned maintenance is the process of scheduling and performing regular preventive and predictive maintenance activities on your equipment, such as inspections, repairs, replacements, overhauls, and upgrades. Planned maintenance helps you avoid unexpected breakdowns, extend equipment life, optimize spare parts inventory, and reduce maintenance costs. To implement planned maintenance, you need to collect and analyze data on your equipment performance, condition, and failure modes, and use it to plan and prioritize your maintenance tasks and resources.

3 Quality maintenance

Quality maintenance is the practice of ensuring that your equipment produces zero defects and meets quality standards. Quality maintenance focuses on identifying and eliminating the root causes of quality problems, such as equipment design flaws, process variations, human errors, and environmental factors. Quality maintenance also involves improving your equipment capabilities, such as accuracy, precision, stability, and reliability. To implement quality maintenance, you need to use tools and techniques such as statistical process control, failure mode and effect analysis, poka-yoke, and quality function deployment.

4 Focused improvement

Focused improvement is the practice of applying problem-solving and continuous improvement methods to your equipment and processes, such as kaizen, lean, six sigma, and 5S. Focused improvement aims to eliminate or reduce equipment-related losses, such as breakdowns, defects, accidents, waste, and energy consumption. Focused improvement also fosters a culture of innovation and teamwork among your employees. To implement focused improvement, you need to use a structured approach, such as PDCA (plan-do-check-act), DMAIC (define-measure-analyze-improve-control), or A3 (a one-page report that summarizes a problem and its solution).

5 Early equipment management

Early equipment management is the practice of involving your maintenance and operation teams in the design and development of new or modified equipment. Early equipment management helps you ensure that your equipment meets your operational and quality requirements, is easy to maintain and operate, has low life cycle costs, and has minimal environmental impact. Early equipment management also enables you to shorten the time and cost of equipment installation, commissioning, and ramp-up. To implement early equipment management, you need to use tools and techniques such as design for manufacturability, design for reliability, design for maintainability, and design for environment.

6 Education and training

Education and training is the practice of developing and enhancing the skills and knowledge of your employees in relation to your equipment and processes. Education and training helps you improve your employees' competence, motivation, and performance, as well as reduce human errors, accidents, and turnover. Education and training also supports the implementation of other TPM pillars, such as autonomous maintenance, quality maintenance, and focused improvement. To implement education and training, you need to assess your employees' current and future skill gaps, design and deliver relevant and effective training programs, and evaluate and reinforce the learning outcomes.

7 Safety, health, and environment

Safety, health, and environment is the practice of ensuring that your equipment and processes are safe, healthy, and environmentally friendly. Safety, health, and environment helps you prevent and reduce accidents, injuries, illnesses, and pollution, as well as comply with legal and ethical standards. Safety, health, and environment also improves your employees' well-being, morale, and engagement, as well as your reputation and social responsibility. To implement safety, health, and environment, you need to establish and follow policies, procedures, and rules, such as risk assessment, hazard identification and control, emergency response, waste management, and energy conservation.

8 TPM in administration

TPM in administration is the practice of applying the principles and methods of TPM to your administrative and support functions, such as planning, purchasing, accounting, human resources, and information technology. TPM in administration helps you improve the efficiency, effectiveness, and quality of your administrative and support processes, as well as eliminate or reduce waste, errors, delays, and costs. TPM in administration also aligns your administrative and support functions with your operational and strategic goals. To implement TPM in administration, you need to identify and measure your administrative and support processes, analyze and eliminate the sources of losses, standardize and improve the work methods, and monitor and review the results.

9 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?