IV. The Eight Pillars of TPM Activity
4.1 Individual improvement
In the production and operation of an enterprise, the eternal goal is to pursue the maximization of production efficiency. The pillar of individual improvement focuses on this, aiming to reduce various efficiency losses. There may be factors affecting efficiency in each production link, such as brief pauses of equipment and cumbersome operation processes. Through a detailed analysis of the production process and the use of advanced data analysis tools, the efficiency killers hidden in the dark can be identified. For example, real - time monitoring of the operating data of equipment and analysis of its performance under different time periods and different production tasks can accurately locate the links that lead to reduced efficiency. Then, special solutions are formulated for these problems. It may involve technological upgrading of equipment or optimization of the operation process, so that production efficiency can continuously approach the limit.
4.2 Autonomous maintenance
Autonomous maintenance is carried out with the production department as the core. The employees in the production department are the direct users of the equipment, and they know the operating conditions of the equipment best. Autonomous maintenance requires employees to actively participate in the daily maintenance work of the equipment, rather than simply relying on the professional maintenance department. Employees need to master basic equipment maintenance knowledge and skills and regularly perform maintenance work such as cleaning, lubricating, and tightening on the equipment. This can not only detect potential problems of the equipment in a timely manner but also enhance employees' sense of responsibility and awareness of caring for the equipment. For example, a detailed autonomous maintenance plan should be formulated to clarify the maintenance tasks of each employee at different time periods, ensuring that the equipment is always in good operating condition.
4.3 Planned maintenance
The planned maintenance is led by the maintenance department. They formulate a scientific and reasonable maintenance plan based on factors such as the characteristics, usage frequency, and operating conditions of the equipment. The maintenance department needs to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the equipment to determine the maintenance cycle and content for different equipment. For some key equipment, more frequent maintenance and more detailed inspections may be required. For example, for high-precision processing equipment, a minor maintenance is carried out once a week, and a major maintenance is carried out once a month to ensure the stability of the equipment's accuracy and performance. At the same time, the maintenance department also needs to communicate closely with the production department to reasonably arrange the maintenance time and minimize the impact on production.
4.4 Skill education and training
The training department undertakes the important responsibility of skill education and training in the TPM activity. They are responsible for providing systematic skill training to relevant personnel to improve employees' professional qualities and operational abilities. The training content includes not only the operation skills of equipment but also knowledge in aspects such as equipment maintenance and troubleshooting. Through the combination of theoretical teaching and practical operation, employees can deeply understand the working principles and performance characteristics of the equipment. For example, regular skill training courses are carried out, technical experts from equipment manufacturers are invited to give lectures, and employees are organized to conduct practical operation drills to improve their ability to handle various problems.
4.5 Initial management of equipment
The production technology department plays a crucial role in the initial management of equipment. When new equipment is introduced into the enterprise, the production technology department needs to ensure that the equipment can work stably at an early date. This includes aspects such as equipment installation and commissioning, operator training, and adaptation of production processes. During the equipment installation and commissioning process, the production technology department should operate strictly in accordance with the requirements of the equipment manufacturer to ensure the installation quality of the equipment. At the same time, conduct specialized training for operators to make them familiar with the operation methods and precautions of the new equipment. In addition, it is also necessary to adjust and optimize the production process so that the new equipment can be perfectly integrated with the existing production process and reach a stable production state as soon as possible.
4.6 Quality Maintenance
Quality maintenance is committed to ensuring the stable quality of products. During the production process, the operating condition of equipment directly affects the quality of products. Quality maintenance requires the establishment of a complete quality monitoring system to conduct real-time monitoring of the operating parameters of equipment and the quality indicators of products. When fluctuations in product quality are found, it is necessary to promptly analyze which part of the equipment has a problem, whether it is due to a decline in the precision of the equipment or the wear of a certain component. Then, corresponding measures should be taken for adjustment and repair to ensure that the product quality always meets the standard requirements. For example, conduct regular random inspections of products and use advanced testing equipment to detect various indicators of products to promptly identify potential quality problems.
4.7 Management of the management of indirect departments
Although the management indirect departments do not directly participate in production, their work plays an important supporting role in the smooth implementation of TPM activities. These departments include human resources, finance, procurement and other departments. The human resources department should ensure that the enterprise has enough employees with corresponding skills and reasonably arrange the positions and responsibilities of personnel. The finance department should provide necessary financial support for TPM activities to ensure the smooth implementation of various improvement projects. The procurement department should ensure the timely supply and stable quality of raw materials and components. The indirect departments need to cooperate closely to form an organic whole and jointly create good conditions for the promotion of TPM activities.
4.8 Management of safety, hygiene and environment
The management of safety, hygiene, and the environment is an indispensable part of TPM activities. Ensuring the life safety and physical health of employees is the primary responsibility of an enterprise. An enterprise needs to establish a sound safety management system, conduct safety assessments and hidden danger investigations at the production site to ensure that employees work in a safe environment. At the same time, it should pay attention to the hygiene and tidiness of the production environment and regularly clean and disinfect the production sites. In addition, it should actively fulfill its social responsibility for environmental protection, reduce waste emissions during the production process, adopt environmentally friendly production processes and equipment, and achieve the sustainable development of the enterprise.
V. Explanation of TPM Terminology
5.1 Equipment Effectiveness
Equipment efficiency is an important indicator for measuring the added value generated by using equipment for production and construction. The added value is obtained by subtracting all resource costs (such as materials and labor) from the total revenue. The importance of this indicator lies in that it reflects the interest relationship among investors, laborers and the government. Profits belong to investors, which represent the return on the funds invested by investors; wages are the rewards for the labor of workers, reflecting the value of laborers; taxes are the contributions of enterprises to society, which are used to support the country's construction and development. Therefore, improving equipment efficiency can not only bring more profits to enterprises, but also safeguard the rights and interests of laborers and contribute to the country's economic development.
5.2 Overall Equipment Effectiveness
The overall equipment effectiveness is jointly determined by three factors: the operating time rate, the performance operating rate, and the qualified product rate. The operating time rate reflects the ratio of the actual operating time of the equipment to the expected operating time, and it is calculated by the ratio of the net operating time to the operating time. The performance operating rate reflects the relationship between the actual production quantity of the equipment and the ideal production quantity, and it reflects the extent to which the equipment's performance is utilized. The qualified product rate is the ratio of the number of qualified products to the total number of input materials, which reflects the quality of the products produced by the equipment. The equipment utilization rate is the ratio of the load time to the expected operating time of the equipment. Through the calculation and analysis of these indicators, the operating conditions of the equipment can be comprehensively understood, the key factors affecting the overall equipment effectiveness can be identified, and targeted improvement measures can be taken.
5.3 Equipment Failure / Breakdown Losses
The losses caused by equipment breakdowns include time losses and quantity losses. Incidental breakdowns are usually sudden and significant, and thus easy to be detected and rectified. On the other hand, frequent and chronic minor breakdowns are often overlooked. In the equipment management of enterprises, incidental breakdowns account for a relatively large proportion of the total losses. Therefore, many enterprises invest a great deal of time and effort to avoid such breakdowns. However, it is not easy to completely eliminate incidental breakdowns. This requires research on improving the reliability of equipment and changing the traditional concept that breakdowns are inevitable. By strengthening the daily maintenance of equipment and adopting advanced fault prediction technologies, the losses caused by breakdowns can be minimized, and the efficiency of equipment can be maximized.
5.4 Setup and Adjustment Losses
Changeover and adjustment losses usually occur when products are changed, resulting in machine downtime and the production of defective products due to equipment changeover and adjustment. To reduce such losses, the single-minute exchange of dies (SMED) method can be adopted. Specifically, it is necessary to clearly distinguish between internal changeover time and external changeover time. Internal changeover time refers to the operations that can only be completed after the machine stops, while external changeover time refers to the operations that can be carried out when the machine is running. By reasonably arranging these two types of time and reducing the internal changeover time, the overall changeover time loss can be reduced, and production efficiency can be improved. For example, prepare the parts and tools required for changeover in advance, optimize the changeover process, and reduce unnecessary operation steps.
5.5 Idling and Minor Stoppage Losses
Idle and pause losses are caused by misoperations or brief machine pauses. For example, workpieces blocking the top of the chute cause the equipment to be idle, and the production of defective products makes the sensor alarm and shut down the equipment. This kind of pause is different from breakdown shutdowns. Usually, production can be resumed just by removing the blockage or restarting the equipment. To reduce such losses, it is necessary to strengthen the operation training of employees, improve their operation skills and sense of responsibility, and at the same time optimize the design and layout of the equipment to reduce pauses caused by misoperations.
5.6 Reduced Speed Losses
Deceleration loss refers to the difference between the designed speed and the actual speed, which poses a significant obstacle to the full utilization of equipment efficiency. There are various reasons why the actual speed of the equipment is lower than the designed speed, such as mechanical problems, quality defects, historical issues, or equipment overloading. To eliminate this difference, it is necessary to carefully study the operating conditions of the equipment and uncover potential equipment defects. Cautiously increasing the operator's speed while performing necessary maintenance and upgrades on the equipment can help solve the problem of deceleration loss. For example, conducting regular performance tests on the equipment to promptly identify and repair problems that affect the speed.
5.7 Quality Defects and Rework
Quality loss refers to the quality defects and rework in the production process caused by equipment failures. Accidental defects can usually be eliminated by readjusting the equipment to the normal state. These defects often have obvious characteristics, such as a sudden increase in the number of defects. However, the causes of chronic defects are difficult to detect and are often overlooked or ignored. Defects that require rework also belong to chronic losses. To reduce quality loss, it is necessary to establish a sound quality monitoring system, strengthen the maintenance and management of equipment, and promptly identify and solve potential quality problems.
5.8 Startup Losses
Start - up losses occur in the initial stage of production, during the process from equipment start - up to stable production. The quantity of these losses is affected by various factors such as the stability of the process state, the level of equipment maintenance, and the proficiency of operational skills. Start - up losses are often large and latent. However, in actual production, many enterprises believe that they are inevitable, so few measures are taken to eliminate them. In fact, by optimizing the equipment start - up process, strengthening the pre - heating and debugging of equipment, and improving the skill level of operators, start - up losses can be effectively reduced.
5.9 Operating Rate / Availability
The time operation rate reflects the operating status of equipment through the downtime. When calculating the time operation rate, it is necessary to strictly distinguish between the planned downtime and the unplanned downtime of the equipment. The planned downtime includes the daily maintenance time, shift - handover time, first - level maintenance time, etc.; the unplanned downtime includes the fault time, the fault time of tooling and molds, etc. By reducing and controlling these two types of downtime, the equipment utilization rate and the time operation rate can be improved respectively. Calculating the load time requires a large amount of basic work, clarifying the regulations for various types of time, and making reasonable arrangements in the production plan. After determining the load time, accurately recording the original unplanned downtime and the downtime due to minor faults is the key to calculating the net operating time. Classifying the unplanned downtime helps to find out the reasons for the downtime and evaluate the work of the departments.
5.10 Performance Rate
The performance operating rate reflects the operating status of equipment in terms of its performance and speed. A low net operating rate indicates that the equipment has a lot of downtime due to minor faults and poor reliability; a low speed operating rate may be caused by the poor skills of operators or the deterioration of equipment performance. To calculate the performance operating rate, it is necessary to accurately determine the theoretical cycle time and the actual cycle time of the equipment. The theoretical cycle time is an important indicator of an enterprise's production efficiency. Only when the actual cycle time is accurately measured can the production plan be reasonably arranged to achieve zero - inventory production. Narrowing the gap between the theoretical cycle time and the actual cycle time can improve the performance operating rate of the equipment. For example, conduct regular performance evaluations of the equipment and adjust the operating parameters of the equipment according to the evaluation results.
5.11 Quality Rate
The qualified product rate reflects the operating condition of equipment through the production accuracy of the equipment. A low qualified product rate may indicate that the equipment is not suitable for the production of this process or the accuracy of the equipment has deteriorated. The qualified product rate in the statistics of overall equipment effectiveness is different from that in the statistics of the quality control department. Here, the number of qualified products is the quantity obtained by subtracting the number of start-up rejects, in-process rejects, reworked products, and experimental products from the number of input materials. By increasing the qualified product rate, waste in the production process can be reduced and the economic benefits of the enterprise can be improved.
VI. Six Major LOSSES Affecting Overall Equipment Efficiency
6.1 Equipment Failure / Breakdown Losses
The loss due to breakdown shutdown is one of the important factors affecting the overall equipment efficiency. It not only causes the equipment to fail to operate normally, resulting in a waste of time, but also leads to a loss in the quantity of products due to the interruption of production. The suddenness and significance of accidental breakdowns make them easy to be noticed, but it is very difficult to completely avoid them; while the concealment of chronic minor breakdowns often causes them to be overlooked, and their long - term accumulation will also have a serious impact on the overall equipment efficiency. Therefore, enterprises need to establish a perfect equipment breakdown early - warning and handling mechanism, strengthen the daily maintenance and management of equipment, and reduce the loss due to breakdown shutdown.
6.2 Setup and Adjustment Losses Setup and Adjustment
Changeover and debugging losses are quite common when changing products. After the production of one product is completed and another product is to be produced, the equipment needs to be changed over and debugged. During this process, machine downtime and waste products will occur. The key to reducing changeover and debugging losses lies in optimizing the changeover process, reasonably arranging the internal and external changeover times, improving the changeover efficiency, and reducing the losses caused by changeover and debugging.
6.3 Idling and Minor Stoppage Losses Idling and Minor Stoppage Losses
Idle and pause losses are caused by misoperations or brief pauses of equipment. Although these pauses are short in duration, their frequent occurrence will seriously affect the operating efficiency of the equipment. Enterprises can improve the comprehensive equipment efficiency by strengthening employee training to enhance employees' operating skills and sense of responsibility, and optimizing the design and layout of the equipment to reduce equipment idling and pauses caused by misoperations.
6.4 Reduced Speed Losses
Deceleration losses are caused by the difference between the designed speed and the actual speed. When the actual speed of the equipment is lower than the designed speed, it will reduce production efficiency and affect the overall efficiency of the equipment. Enterprises need to conduct in - depth analysis of the reasons for deceleration, which may include mechanical problems, quality defects, or equipment overload. Corresponding measures should be taken according to different reasons, such as maintaining and upgrading the equipment and optimizing the production process, to eliminate deceleration losses.
6.5 Quality Defects and Rework
Quality defects and rework losses are caused by product quality non - conformity due to equipment failures or other reasons. Random defects are easy to detect and solve, but chronic defects require more time and effort to find out the causes. Enterprises need to establish a strict quality control system, strengthen the maintenance and management of equipment, detect and solve quality problems in a timely manner, and reduce quality defects and rework losses.
6.6 Startup Losses
Startup losses occur in the initial stage of production, during the process from equipment startup to stable production. The magnitude of startup losses is affected by various factors, such as the stability of the process state and the level of equipment maintenance. Enterprises can reduce startup losses and improve the overall equipment efficiency by optimizing the equipment startup process, strengthening equipment preheating and debugging, and improving the skill level of operators.