A Study on Usage of Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) in Selected SMEs

Abstract

In the present competitive economic environment, it is very much essential for the manufacturing plants to achieve world class operation standards along with high quality and timely delivery of goods. This requires excellent maintenance practices to increase the availability of the machines, to reduce production cost and to produce goods with desired quality level. Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) implementation is an approach to improve the performance of maintenance activities. It aims to maximize the equipment effectiveness by the total participation of all employees. But most of the manufacturing plants are not able to harvest the benefits of TPM practices due to lack of planning and proper awareness. This work is carried out in order to study the usage of TPM in the selected SMEs (Small and Medium sized Enterprises). A total of 50 SMEs involving manufacturing, process and service industries are considered for the study. The primary data is collected through a structured questionnaire consisting of 24 questions related to TPM implementation. The respondents are randomly selected involving chief executives, engineers, managers and supervisors. A five point Likert scale is selected to rate the respondent’s opinion. The results are analysed using simple graphical representations and conclusions are drawn based on the feedback obtained from the respondents. It has been found that 52% of SMEs (26 out of 50) have adopted TPM in their organizations and remaining 48% have not yet implemented TPM. The study helps to find out the extent to which the TPM being used in SMEs and what are the possible reasons for not implementing TPM.