Maintenance Technology April 2016 - (Page 56)

FINAL THOUGHT Whatever Happened to TPM? I Dr. Klaus M. Blache Univ. of Tennessee Reliability & Maintainability Center 56 | changing understanding of reliability and n his 1988 book Introduction to maintenance. TPM can help with those TPM, Seiichi Nakajima defined challenges. Total Productive Maintenance as As an example of its effectiveness, "productive maintenance carried out Nakajima pointed to TPM moving one by all employees through small group company from generating 36.8 suggesactivities" and "equipment maintenance tions/employee/year to 83.6 suggestions/ performed on a company-wide basis." employee/year. My own 2015 study found Performed properly, TPM can generate the average number in North America significant benefits across an organizaSeiichi Nakajima, was 3.2, with a mode of 1.0-and many tion, i.e., productivity, safety, delivery, the father of TPM, companies still struggling to get near 1.0. quality, culture, and cost. The process died in April 2015. To be fair, it should be noted that TPM was developed to be supportive of a counts the numerous small improvements lean-production system and enable the improvement of OEE (overall equipment effectiveness). (and larger ones) that many plant-floor cultures aren't able to establish. Without a robust, continuousAlthough many operations, large and small, in all improvement process/culture in place, TPM quickly industry sectors, have documented savings with TPM, becomes the most difficult step in lean implementation, the process amounts to little more than an extended with minimized expected results. kaizen event if it's not sustained. Most companies I visit In another study of 200 companies, I found RCM/ still say they're "working on" TPM-which has been in FMEA (reliability centered maintenance/failure modes North America for more than 25 years. and effects analysis) was credited for achieving savings TPM can fail or be difficult to implement for several four times more often than TPM. Other techniques, reasons. The most frequently cited include: i.e., root-cause analysis, 5 Whys, visual aids, and kaizen ■ not instilling the owner/operator concept events, were also credited more than TPM. The same ■ not focusing on people and culture first and study revealed that more operator involvement resulted technologies later in better financial performance. Substantial benefit had ■ not having leadership support already been achieved as a result of operators becoming ■ not understanding the role differences between involved with visual aids (versus also picking up tools). reliability (MTBF/mean time between failures) and Around 1953, 20 companies began a research group maintainability (MTTR/mean time to repair) and that became the Tokyo-based Japanese Institute of how together they provide availability Plant Maintenance (JIPM). Yet, after TPM began there ■ not supporting TPM as a continuous improvement in the 1970s, it still took nine years for about 23% of program Japan's companies (based on 124 factories belonging ■ not basing purchasing decisions on life-cycle costs. to the JIPM) to reach the full phase of the process. To John Moubray's RCM2 book contains a chart be successful, TPM must be planned and implemented depicting three past generations of maintenance/reliwith change management in mind, and consistently ability. They were: applied with a continuous-improvement focus. ■ 1930 to 1950 (first generation), which was to "fix it For two decades following its introduction, Japanese when it's broke" researchers and practitioners participated in numerous ■ 1951 to 1980 (second generation), which started global TPM-related conferences and study trips. (In large maintenance projects, some computer usage, the early 1990s, I hosted the JIPM on a visit to see a and systems to plan and control work large-scale manufacturing reliability and maintenance ■ 1981 to 2000 (third generation), which uses RCM, implementation and discuss TPM.) computerized maintenance management software But where in the world is TPM today? (CMMS) and expert systems, multi-skilling, teams, If your North American operation has fully condition monitoring, and predictive technologies. implemented TPM-and it has worked well for more The fourth generation (2001 to present) is what we than 10 years-please contact me. MT all play a part in (and are helping define). It's about big data, the Internet of everything, learning systems, and ongoing integration of new technologies, best practices, Based in Knoxville, Klaus M. Blache is director of the and processes. This generation will also be challenged Reliability & Maintainability Center at the Univ. of with increasing complexity, higher expectations, Tennessee, and a research professor in the College of growing competition for internal resources, and a Engineering. Contact him at kblache@utk.edu. MAINTENANCE TECHNOLOGY APRIL 2016

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Maintenance Technology April 2016

My Take
Uptime
On The Floor
Culture Changed At This Indiana Refinery
She Ignores The Glass Ceiling
Loadability Studies Aid PRC-025-1 Compliance
Look System-Wide For Cost Savings
Reliable Pumping Supplement
Fund Lubrication Program With Energy Savings
Emergency-Stop Choices
Cyber Security
Backup Generators
Infrared Safety Tips
Internet Of Things
ISO 55000
Motor-Testing Tools Expand Services
Products
Showcase
Ad Index
Final Thought

Maintenance Technology April 2016