Total Productive Maintenance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Total Productive Maintenance - Essay Example However in order to undertake an effective Total Productive Maintenance process some important factors should be taken into consideration. It is important to understand both the potential rewards and the associated risks. The main aim of this paper is to summarize what has been written so far about the Total Productive Maintenance process and to propose a methodological approach in order to conduct a research concerning this issue. The paper is also aimed at analyzing and testing the effectiveness of the contributing factors in the implementation of the Total Productive Maintenance process. TPM is combination the ideas of people operating the equipment and people maintaining it (Robert, 2002). Maintenance affects all aspects of business effectiveness - risk, safety, environmental sustainability achieved, energy efficiency, and product quality and customer service, i.e. not just plant availability and costs. Downtime has always affected adversely the capability of physical assets by reducing output, increasing operating costs and lowering customer service (Moubray, 2000) It was also found that the TPM facilitator must be motivated and proactive to make best use of their meetings with management, promote TPM and implement the training received. They must also be persuasive and have the ability to coach and train people in the TPM methodology (Ireland & Dale, 2006) In order to implement a successful TPM it is important to keep a data of the problems occurred in the equipment, the down time and the solution provided (Besterfield, Michna, Besterfield & Sacre). Hence the first developed hypothesis is: H1: The successful implementation of TPM is dependent upon the availability of past data related to equipment. Increase in employee empowerment is another important factor, which contribute to the effectiveness of the total productive maintenance. The enthusiasm of employees can be improved by setting challenging targets and specifying how to achieve them. Autonomy is the core concept of empowerment, while the management retains control through information systems, choice of processes and available tools (Agyris, 1998). Hence the hypothesis develops as: H2: Higher the level of employees autonomy higher the level of success of TPM. The information and ideas are successfully exchanged through communication between persons and groups. It is important to exchange the ideas and information in a mutually understandable manner. It is important to train the employees regarding the change to be undertaken in the organization. The third hypothesis to be tested is the role of training of employees in the TPM. H3: Is it necessary to undertake TQM with TPM. Hence as mentioned below the TPM is the 5S step-by-step program: 1 - Cleaning & Restoration: Thoroughly restore & clean. Motivation through participation. 2 - Eliminate Stains, Mixed, Contamination: Study Root Causes of Dirt, Mixing, Loss, and damage and take actions. 3 - Improve Accessibility: Achieve 1 minute accessibility time for