Total Productive Maintenance

Total Productive Maintenance keeps machines operational in a way that supports production processes. Total Productive Maintenance combines routine scheduled preventative maintenance with predictive maintenance to limit the impact machine downtime has on operations.

The “total” part of Total Productive Maintenance means that machine operators take on a big part of the load in keeping their machines up and running. Taking care of maintenance on their own becomes a daily part of an operator’s job. And in Total Productive Maintenance, the maintenance personnel know that a big part of their role is in keeping the machine from disrupting the flow of the value stream. That means limiting efficiency losses that hamper Lean operations.

5S and standardization play a big role in Total Productive Maintenance. Both are essential to reducing the waste associated with keeping machines operating, and in making abnormal conditions immediately apparent.