Glossary
What is Total Productive Maintenance (TPM)?
Total productive maintenance (TPM) is a philosophy and programme that aims to maximise equipment effectiveness by involving everyone in maintenance—including operators—and focusing on prevention, early detection and continuous improvement. It combines maintenance with operational practices.
What it means
TPM emphasises operator involvement (e.g. basic checks, cleaning), small-group activities and reducing the six big losses (breakdowns, setup, idling, etc.). CMMS can support TPM by recording work and metrics.
Why it matters
- TPM seeks to involve operators in basic maintenance and care.
- Goals: zero breakdowns, zero defects, zero accidents.
- OEE (overall equipment effectiveness) is a central TPM metric.
- CMMS supports TPM by tracking PM, work orders and history.
Example in maintenance operations
Operators perform daily cleaning and checks; maintenance does periodic PM. Teams use CMMS to schedule and record both. OEE is reported to drive improvement.
Related concepts
Run maintenance with VectraManage — work orders, PM and reporting in one platform
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