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The IUP Journal of Operations Management
Implementing Total Productive Maintenance in Malaysian Manufacturing Organizations: An Operational Strategy Study
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Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) has been recognized as one of the significant operations strategy to regain the production losses due to equipment inefficiency. Many organizations have implemented TPM to improve their equipment efficiency and to obtain the competitive advantage in the global market in terms of cost and quality. In the implementation of TPM in a manufacturing organization, both Human-oriented and Process-oriented Strategies has been identified as critical success factors. This paper, therefore, focuses on the two TPM operational strategies, which are posited to improve the extent of TPM implementation in manufacturing organizations. This study is an attempt to look at the TPM implementation from the perspective of a developing country such as Malaysia.

Efficiency and effectiveness of equipment play a dominant role in modern manufacturing industry to determine the performance of the organizational production function as well as the level of success achieved in the organization. For more than two decades, the development of the Malaysian manufacturing sector had registered an excellent performance and helped in attracting a large number of foreign capital investments into the country. These excellent performances have enabled the Malaysian manufacturers to enjoy an important competitive advantage in the global market, especially in terms of cost and quality. However, as time passed, the impact of equipment efficiency has become more and more critical as the widespread utilization and application of highly sophisticated and automated machines in the industry increases. The maintenance of these complicated equipment and machines thus became very crucial and costly to manufacturers. Many organizations began to realize that thecontinuity of this excellent performance must be supported by a strong backbone of efficient and effective equipment.

Traditional maintenance technicians are regarded as passive and non-productive to the current production function. Hence, implementing Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) in the manufacturing industry has emerged as an important operational strategy to overcome the production losses due to equipment inefficiency. TPM is an innovative approach, which holds the potential for enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of production equipment by taking advantages of abilities and skills of all individuals in the organization. TPM focuses on maximizing the Overall Equipment Efficiency (OEE) with involvement of each and everyone in the organization. It will not only establish a complete maintenance system, but also aims to improve the maintenance skills and knowledge among the shop floor operators. Now, TPM and its implications received prestigious worldwide recognition in achieving the ultimate Zero Defects and Zero Breakdown targets.

 
 
Total Productive Maintenance, Manufacturing Organizations, Operational Strategy Study , global market, manufacturing organizations, success factors, Overall Equipment Efficiency, maintenance skills, foreign capital investments,equipment inefficiency,TPM implementation.