Page 71 - TPM A Route to World-Class Performance

52 TPM-A Route to World-Class Performance

pilots in order to eliminate the six major losses. Their progress is measured
by improvements in the overall equipment effectiveness which allows the
team to understand the need to continuously improve. Finally, the TPM process
will only work provided it has the sustained commitment of everybody -
which, of course, must start from the top.

3.8 Some TPM guidelines to
follow fai thfu I I y

When assessing the potential benefits of TPM, always consider:
0 the hidden benefits of being able to produce, say, 15 per cent more with
the same resources, within a year;
the difference it would make to your job if things happened as planned;
0 what you want your company to be like in three to five years’ time, and
the impact that TPM would have on achieving the vision;
0 that unless you are prepared to change and direct resources towards
continuous improvement, you will fail. There is no other investment
like it;
0 you cannot afford to carry passengers. Everyone must be involved.

When assessing the potential benefits of TPM, never:
0 look only at direct costs;
believe you are achieving TPM effectively already, unless you can show
consistent benefits;
0 look for a short-term fix. Expect gains, but you will not keep them
unless TPM is part of a long-term commitment to strive for zero losses;
0 expect the change to be limited to the shopfloor. All departments have
an influence on equipment effectiveness;
expect it to be easy. TPM will need a high degree of motivation and
determination to succeed. Your company will need to learn how to
work together to succeed. Most of the resistance will come from
management. It will be passive and difficult to detect.

3.9 Final thoughts

Adapting the principles of TPM to suit our differing cultures is one thing -
tailoring them to suit your specific industry is another. The most vital issue
is to recognize and incorporate the local plant-specific needs into TPM-driven
improvement processes. TPM is not a programme or project with a start and
a finish but, on the contrary, is a continuous improvement process, so it
becomes a key part of ’the way we do things here’. As mentioned at the
beginning of the chapter, below are two perspectives on the impact of TPM
on ’the way we do things here’.