TPM (Total Productive Maintenance) is a systematic approach to maximising equipment effectiveness by making maintenance a shared responsibility — operators perform daily basic maintenance (autonomous maintenance), while technicians focus on prevention and improvement.
TPM attacks the six big losses (breakdowns, changeovers, minor stops, reduced speed, start-up defects and process defects) and measures progress with OEE — both formulated by Seiichi Nakajima, the founder of TPM.
The core of autonomous maintenance is that the operator knows their machine best: cleaning is inspection, and whoever inspects daily spots wear and leaks long before they become breakdowns.