Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) Implementation of lean manufacturing tools in garment manufacturing process::

Traditionally operated garment industries are facing problems like low productivity,longer production lead time, high rework and rejection, poor line balancing, lowflexibility of style changeover etc.These problems were addressed in this study by the implementation of lean tools like cellular manufacturing, single piece flow, workstandardization, just in time production etc.

4.1 Total Productive Maintenance (TPM)

Machine breakdown is one of the major headaches for people related to production. The reliability of the equipment on the shop floor is very important because if any one of the machines is down the
entire shop floor productivity may be nil. The tool that takes care of these sudden breakdowns and awakes maintenance as well as production workers to minimize these unplanned breakdowns is called total productive maintenance. Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) is a maintenance program, which involves a newly defined concept for maintaining plants and equipment. The goal of the TPM program is to increase production, increase employee morale and job satisfaction. (Bisen and

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Srivastava, 2009, p. 175)

TPM is set of tools, which when implemented in an organization as a whole gives the best utilization of machines with least disruption of production. The set of tools are called pillars of TPM and they are shortly described here and illustrated in a TPM diagram (Figure 2).

4.2.1 5S :

The first pillar of TPM is called 5S, which organize and cleans work place; this helps to make problems visible and attracts the attentions of everyone. Brief description of 5S elements are as follows: 

Sort: The first step in making things cleaned up and organized.

Set In Order: Organize, identify and arrange everything in a work area.

Shine: Regular cleaning and maintenance.
 

Standardize: Make it easy to maintain, simplify and standardize.
 

Sustain: Maintain what has been achieved.

FIGURE 2: TPM diagram - Pillars of TPM (Kumar, 2008, p. 217)

2.2 Autonomous maintenance

This is about the involvement of production workers in the day to day general maintenance of machines like cleaning, lubricating etc. which saves the time of skilled maintenance person at the same time the production workers are made more responsible to their machines.

2.3 Kaizen

Kaizen is for small improvements, but carried out on a continual basis and involve all people in the organization. Kaizen requires no or little investment. The principle behind is that “a very large number of small improvements are more effective in an organizational environment than a few improvements of large value.” This pillar is aimed at reducing losses in the workplace that affect our efficiencies (Kumar, 2008, p.220).

2.4 Planned maintenance

It addresses the proactive approach of maintenance activities. This involves four types of maintenance namely preventive maintenance, breakdown maintenance, corrective maintenance, and maintenance prevention.

2.5 Quality Maintenance

It is aimed towards customer delight through the highest quality and defect free manufacturing. In this system, one has to take care of parts which affect product quality and try to eliminate or modify them to give customer superior quality.

2.6 Training

Employees should be trained such that they can analyze the root cause of the problem. General know how of the problem is not sufficient rather they should be able to know why the problem is occurring and how to eliminate it. For this employee need continuous training, ultimately; the entire employee should be multi-skilled and should solve the problem in their area by themselves.

2.7 Office TPM

This tool is about increasing the efficiencies in office (administrative) activities. This tool works the problems like communication issues, data retrieval processes, management information systems, office equipment losses, up to date information about inventories etc.

2.8 Safety Health and Environment

In this area, the focus is to create a safe workplace and a surrounding area that would not be damaged by our process or procedures. This pillar will play an active role in each of the other pillars on a regular basis. Safe work environment means accident free, fire less and it should not damage the health of workers.