Improvement of overall equipment efficiency of ring frame through total productive maintenance: a textile case

Abstract

This paper focuses on the application of Kaizen, one of the pillars of total productive maintenance (TPM), for improvement of overall equipment efficiency (OEE) of a ring frame section in a spinning plant. The ring frame is considered as one of the critical sections since rope-like fiber strands become a fine yarn through a high amount of attenuation. Here, Kaizen was applied in the ring frame section to enhance overall performance and increase the productivity. Six major stoppage losses, namely breakdown or equipment failure, setup and adjustment, idling and minor stoppage, reduced speed, defects in the process, and reduced yield in the first place, were examined with the help of Pareto analysis, why why because logical analysis (WWBLA), and cause-and-effect analysis. A well-organized training program was conducted to make the operators educated about these losses and possible ways of improving the condition. Because of Kaizen, losses in the ring frame section were reduced significantly, and the OEE of the equipment was increased from 75.09 to 86.02%, productivity was improved by 23.93%, and production of defective items was reduced by 49.50%. The findings from this work revealed the benefit of application of TPM in real-world manufacturing environments.