Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) is an operational standard that involves equipment operators in monitoring equipment performance and taking care of their own equipment. Equipment operators are the first-line of defense, because they know the equipment best and are closest to it on a daily basis. TPM helps ensure that equipment abnormalities are caught early and helps prevent those abnormalities from recurring. TPM has the following characteristics:
It was first introduced in Japan in the 1950’s as part of Total Quality Management (TQM), but has evolved to be used in many process improvement strategies. Some of the tools used in TPM includes:
