Golden Rules for TPM #04: Protect Your Own Equipment

TPM Golden Rules 

Troubles will never go away if a division of labor, such as "I am the one who manufactures, you are the one who repairs" exists. Let's acquire the ability to "protect our own equipment by ourselves" and challenge to achieve zero breakdowns!

Let's Make a Challenge of Zero Breakdowns through Autonomous Maintenance!

In workplaces where autonomous maintenance is not implemented, abnormalities cannot be detected as abnormalities, and corrective measures cannot be taken, resulting in frequent breakdowns and defects. Frequent breakdowns and defects reduce productivity, increase irregular works, and in some cases, cause disasters. In your workplace, are you neglecting breakdowns due to lack of inspection or inadequate lubrication?

Autonomous maintenance involves daily inspection, lubrication, parts replacement, repair, and early detection of abnormalities in your own equipment with the objective of "protecting your own equipment by yourself."  In order to do this, in addition to the ability to manufacture products, one must acquire the following four abilities to perform equipment maintenance.

1. Ability to detect abnormalities: The ability to detect abnormalities as abnormalities.
2. Trouble shooting and recovery ability: To be able to take correct and prompt action against an abnormality
3. Condition-setting ability: To be able to quantitatively determine the judgment criteria of normality/abnormality
4. Maintenance management ability: To be able to follow the rules of condition management.

Prevent Troubles Before Occurrences

If we think, "breakdowns are the fault of the maintenance department, and that it is none of our business," then breakdowns will never disappear.

If we cannot "protect our own facilities by ourselves," not only will our own work not become easier, but it will also have a negative impact on the company as a whole (e.g. profitability). Protecting our own facilities by ourselves makes our work easier and benefits the company as well.  In other words, it will also lead to our own protection. So how do we "protect" our equipment?　The answer is simple: "Kaizen (Improve) it for easier protection" with the four abilities.