Total Productive Maintenance

1. Training

2. Equipment 5s

3. Autonomous Maintenance

4. Continuous Improvement

5. Equipment/tools

6. Office 5s

7. Kaizen

In order to ensure a successful implementation, TPM must be introduced to the workers and they must be shown what is in it for them(safety, ergonomics, etc). A team should be assembled to take on the first 5s/kaizen event. This team is to be made up only of people that are genuinely positive and want to cooperate, and management must ensure that any and all recommendations are dealt with immediately! The success of the entire program depends on the pilot project.

Almost as important as the success of the pilot project is its promotion. If people don't know what is happening it's hard for them to support it. When people see what has been done they can then see the potential, and everyone wants to be part of success.

Seiri (Sort) - Get rid of unnecessary items. An effective method is for operators to tag things they do not use on a regular basis (at least once per shift). Tagged items are then moved to a sort area for evaluation. Items that are used occasionally are moved to an organized area away from the job center, and unused items (broken/ obsolete tools, jigs, etc.) are discarded.

Seiton (Set in Order) - Storage of necessary items. After establishing what is required at a job center, the location and number of items must be determined. Tool (shadow/silhouette) boards, modular shelving, cabinets, and floor markings are effective methods for ensuring what you need is where it should be.

Seiso (Shine) - Now that the job center is clutter free, it's time to clean the equipment. This is often (rightfully) the first step of a Kaizen event, but is by no means a one time effort. Daily follow up is required to realize the benefits of this step. There are two effects of daily cleaning:

1. Gives workers a sense of pride in a clean, clutter free work station,

2. Workers become more familiar with their machine, noticing leaks, misalignment, loose/ broken parts, etc, which could lead to equipment failure if not dealt with.

Seiketsu (Standardize) - With the involvment of the worker, best practices are standardized. This step minimizes the amount of waste in a given area and, as an added bonus, reduces the amount of time required to train new workers.

Shitsuke (Sustain) - By far the most difficult step in the process. Humans are creatures of habit and unconciously resist change. Frequent auditing is needed in the beginning, but as old habits give way to new, auditing frequency can, and should, be reduced.

A successful '5s' implementation will improve moral, increase production, impress visitors, and it lays the foundation of discipline required to successfully implement the rest of the TPM and Lean methodologies.

This is the backbone of Total Productive Maintenance. Now that the equipment is all shined up, the time has come for maintenance and operations to formulate a cleaning, inspection, and maintenance schedule.

Using equipment manuals, and equipment repair history, a lubrication and inspection schedule is drafted.

The most underutilized resources in most organizations are human resources. The tendency of management to believe that they have all the answers is the greatest hindrance to progress that any company can face. The fact is that the workers starting today are better educated than the workforce of 20 or even 10 years ago. Add to this the wealth of instant information available on the internet, and you have a massive pool of minds that only need to be given focus. To this end, a system must be developed to allow everyone to have their ideas brought forward and be given serious consideration.