Kaizen is a cost-effective and customer-friendly strategy, which calls for small incremental improvements. It is one of the eight important and distinct pillars of Total Productive Maintenance (TPM). In TPM, there are some parameters considered vital to attain dual goals of quality and productivity. Manufacturers have to meet customer satisfaction through Continuous Improvement (CI) in the quality of products and services delivered. The concept of CI is based on Deming’s P-D-C-A cycle which deals with the shortfall and sources of variability that deviate from quality output and improving the process to eliminate undesirable results. Thus for an industry, to achieve significant improvements in the service or quality of the products delivered, it is important to implement and practice the Kaizen program. The objective is to achieve reduction in breakdowns by implementing TPM activities using Kaizen and autonomous maintenance.

Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) is related to business excellence strategies such as Kaizen, Just-In-Time (JIT), and Total Quality Management (TQM). Kaizen implies continuous improvement and has a direct link to the TPM strategy of focused improvement, and therefore they complement each other. Similarly, TPM provides a foundation for JIT to be successful. Better maintenance and higher productivity provide components for JIT manufacturing at a higher quality and with better assurance of availability of parts. TPM is a program for the fundamental improvement of the maintenance functions in an organization, which involves its entire human resources. When implemented successfully, TPM dramatically improves productivity and quality and reduces costs.

As per Nakajima (1988), implementation of TPM can generate considerable cost savings through increased productivity of the machinery. Cost-effectiveness can be a direct result of an organization’s ability to eliminate the causes of the reduction in equipment effectiveness.

Mechanical Engineering Journal, Kaizen, Muda, Fuguai, OEE, Zero breakdowns, Total Productive Maintenance (TPM), Kaizen, Just-In-Time (JIT), Total Quality Management (TQM).