Integration of Industry 4.0 technologies into Total Productive Maintenance practices

Abstract

Total Productive Maintenance (TPM), an important maintenance management approach grounded on lean principles, has found widespread applicability in the manufacturing sector since the 1950's. More recently, Industry 4.0 (I4.0) has promoted the digitalization of several functional areas bringing disruptive innovation to manufacturing environments. This paper aims at examining the integration of I4.0 technologies into Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) practices in multiple large-sized manufacturing companies. Case-based research is adopted to investigate four manufacturers located in Southern Brazil. Guided by the Diffusion of Innovation Theory (DIT) as a theoretical lens, within-case and cross-case analyses are performed. Findings indicate that the integration of I4.0 into TPM results in benefits and barriers associated with DIT's attributes (real advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability, and observability), although their degree and orientation vary according to the attribute. Identifying aspects that could constrain a successful digitalization of TPM may help companies develop countermeasures to promote innovation adoption. Our results may help practitioners with the digitalization of TPM by offering a more realistic vision of the difficulties and benefits they may experience in practice. We conclude the paper with five research propositions derived from the multiple case data findings.