This document provides an overview of Total Productive Maintenance (TPM), which originated in Japan as a structured approach to equipment maintenance. TPM aims to improve overall equipment effectiveness through autonomous maintenance by operators and elimination of breakdowns, accidents, and defects. Key benefits of TPM include improved teamwork, reliability, availability, and employee morale. It is a company-wide approach that complements other operational excellence programs like Lean and Six Sigma.

1. ImplementingTotal Productive Maintenance in Manufacturing,
Fabrication, Pharmaceutical, FMCG, Oil field and other process
Industries.
Total Productive Maintenance is well known in its abbreviated form – TPM has origins from
Japan. It is a well structured and scientific method refined with many iterations for getting best
and sustainable results.
TPM is not only for machine intensive organisation. The approach and methodologies can be
applied in the office environment also.
When TPM methodology is implemented in an organisation, it helps in improving overall
performance of business by
Improving teamwork among the entire organization members – top management to the front line.
Making machines function with high reliability and consistent performance.
Improving machine availability through reduction of down time and elimination of major losses which are
defined elaborately according to TPM definitions.
Increased morale of the team members or front line members
Empowering and formally authorizing operators through TPM training and support to own and take pride
in maintaining their own machines/ Equipment.

2. TPM is adopted company-wide and compliments many other parallel programmes on
Operational Excellence such as Lean Manufacturing, Total Quality Management, Theory of
constraints, Six Sigma. TPM is characteristically applied to equipment with emphasis on input
and causes. TPM emphasizes realization of ideal conditions to achieve the goal of Zero BAD
which is total elimination of Breakdowns, Accidents and Defects.
TPM has a very meaningful definition and philosophy which has expansion for each
letter as follows:
T stands for Total which includes
Total involvement of members from top management to frontline members.
Total Elimination of losses, breakdowns, accidents, and defects
P Stands for Productive which means
The overall pursuit of improving production efficiency.. productivity or effectiveness
M stands for Maintenance which means
Maintaining the best performance of the equipment by ensuring the right conditions that are needed to get
the best performance over its intended life span and beyond.
Key characteristics of TPM
TPM methodology is designed to achieve overall improvements in plants that are beyond machinery.
Jishu Hozen – JH or Autonomous Maintenance - AM which is a key differentiator from traditional
Preventive maintenance PM is that operators or the frontline members take ownership of operations and
basic maintenance of the equipment.
Equipment Management in the modern era began with Preventive Maintenance and improved
further into productive maintenance. This originated in the United states as PM and had a high
focus on the maintenance department.
TPM is also called as productive maintenance with total participation involving every level and
every function of the organization has helped Japanese companies to be in the top of world in
productivity, quality and cost advantages
Related Article– How To Customise TPM Implementation To Suit Your Organization Culture
The ultimate goal of TPM is Zero BAD
Zero breakdown

3. Zero Accident
Zero Defects
Key pillars of TPM ar
1
Focussed improvements
Autonomous Maintenance
Planned maintenance
Early Management
Quality Maintenance
Skill training
Administrative and supporting functions.
Safety, Health, and Environment.
TPM helps in improving business results dramatically and enables safe, pleasant and productive
workplaces by optimizing and improving teamwork between people working in different
functions and roles. TPM is also widely used in specialized process industries for achieving cost
effective operations where equipment reliability and need to operate for long hours without
stoppage is important. In such areas, even a minor stoppage or breakdown of one single piece of
equipment or component can result in plant shutdown.
Major credit for formulating and documenting the structured implementation of TPM goes to
Japan Institute of Plant Maintenance – JIPM. Knowledge and implementation experience of
other methodologies such as Lean, TQM, Six Sigma, Lean Six Sigma can complement
implementation of TPM more effectively.

4. Evaluating the effective implementation of TPM involves
Assessing whether the organization has achieved policy and goals set before the launching of TPM
Whether the company has realized the intended benefits
How effectively topics are prioritized, action plans and quantitative targets have been pursued through
continuous improvement activities.
Tangible benefits and intangible benefits realized.
Related Article– How operational excellence through TPM, Lean, TQM, TOC and 5S help
organisations improve performance? – Case Studies & Success Stories
Intangible benefits of implementing any programme such as TPM, Lean, TOC, TQM or Lean
Six Sigma should be considered important, It should be at least acknowledged.
Some of the intangible benefits of TPM are
Creating of safe working environment
Relaxed and meaningful workplace
Improved morale of people
Brand image and good will
Some of the initial steps of implementation of Structured TPM are
Set up a promotion office – TPM promotion office
Launch TPM introductory education to every team member
Form small group
Select group leaders

5. Related Article– Can we use best practices as combination of Lean, TPM, TQM, Kaizen, Six
Sigma?
After this, each group needs to understand its present position and circumstances – as is the
situation, identify the problems faced by its part of the organisation , determine the ideal
condition to aim for and opportunities available. With this, aim to set up consensus and aligning
team thinking.
Even though TPM can be implemented with inhouse resources, it has always worked by taking
help of experienced and reliable consultants of TPM from Industry. TPM consultants from
Seven Steps are veterans in their industry and have working and consulting knowledge of over
20 – 30 years each and combined experience of over 200 years.
Seven Steps Business Transformation Systems – SSBTS is Consulting company of Seven Steps
Group. We have various specialities and have dedicated consultants for
• TPM Consulting
• Lean Consulting for manufacturing,
• Lean consulting for services
• Lean consulting for hospitals
• Lean consulting for retail
• Lean consulting for supply chain and logistics
• Lean consulting for construction
Where hands on implementation support is needed, it is supported by Seven Steps Business
transformation system which is a consulting company specialized in implementation of Lean
manufacturing, Total productive Maintenance, Theory of Constraints, Six Sigma.
Our customers have got significant benefits in saving of Cost of poor quality apart from gaining
increased market shared, reduced logistics/air shipment costs.
Some of the flagship training programmes conducted at Seven Steps Academy of
Excellence are:
Six sigma Green Belt
Six Sigma Black Belt
Six Sigma Yellow Belt
Skill development programme – Campus to Corporate – Precision Engineering
Applied 5S
TPM
Lean Experimental Learning Programme