TPM Fundamentals - Achieving Zero Breakdowns and Defects

The struggle with recurring breakdowns and defects is one of the major issues for manufacturing companies. Not only leading to loss of profits, but it also erodes customer trust and jeopardizes the company's future. TPM contributes to making zero-breakdown and zero-defect environments. Within the eight pillars of TPM, four activities play a key role: Focused Improvement, Autonomous Maintenance, Planned Maintenance, and Quality Maintenance. Achieving zero loss requires activities that both reduce and prevent losses. Companies with recurring issues likely lack proper understanding in key areas.

Inadequacies in loss-reduction activities are evident in two main areas:

Tackling breakdowns and defects with easily identifiable causes but not proactively addressing those with harder-to-identify causes.

In the activities to prevent loss, blaming the causes of breakdowns and defects on equipment or molds without addressing the human issues in maintaining and managing them.

TPM overcomes these deficiencies to achieve zero losses. For example, to address current defects, tools such as 'Why-Why Analysis' and 'Fishbone Diagrams' are used to identify and improve on the critical causes of defects. For chronic defects with non-specific causes, 'PM Analysis' is utilized to thoroughly examine potential defect factors and take measures. 

Moreover, as a sustaining mechanism after setting measures, intensive maintenance activities are thoroughly conducted. Operators and maintenance personnel share roles to tackle factors leading to breakdowns and defects, such as deterioration, through three maintenance elements: preventing, measuring, and restoring deterioration. This approach comprehensively addresses the causes of breakdowns and defects, thereby enabling prevention.

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Achieving zero loss