TPM (Total Productive Maintenance) Fundamentals - TPM Pillar: Safety, Hygiene and Environment (SHE)

Safety, Hygiene and Environment (SHE) is one of the eight pillars of TPM. Let us trace what the latest movement is about. For this time, Circular Economy.

Definition of Circular Economy can be found easily, and as a typical, please find it in Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circular_economy) However, this will give you more clear vision about Circular Economy in this report (http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_ENV_TowardsCircularEconomy_Report_2014.pdf).

The report was compiled by World Economic Forum, 2014, and Figure 2 in Page 15 will show you that Bio-materials is on left and Technical materials is on right, and the flow from top to bottom represents from Make to Disposal. You can see overall picture of Circular Economy.

For the people in Make, Chapter 3. What are the Leakage Points is also instructive (page 29). The points could be defined as Loss in TPM, and can be improved by TPM pillar activity but not fully since its coverage is rather too wide-ranging.

As in the report and from other information resources, these points are significant.

1. We live in Linear Economy
2. To make economy circular is to find and improve "Muda" on supply chain.
3. IoT is one of the keys to make Circular Economy happen

This is an introductory article and will follow up this agenda further in the next issue. Other keys and issues on Environment will be covered as well.

For further reading, A Circular Economy in the Netherlands by 2050. Yes, they mean it.