What is Total Productive Maintenance (TPM)?

Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) is a proactive maintenance strategy designed to maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of manufacturing equipment. It emphasizes the involvement of all employees, from management to shop floor workers, in maintaining equipment to achieve optimal performance and reduce downtime. The core concept is to prevent equipment failures before they happen, which means regular maintenance is scheduled rather than waiting for equipment to break down — this is what makes it a proactive approach. By enhancing the reliability of machines and focusing on continuous improvement, TPM ultimately leads to improved productivity, reduced production costs, and higher quality products.

The other options do not accurately represent the principles of TPM. For instance, a technique for increasing product sales does not align with the maintenance focus of TPM. Similarly, a system that only addresses reactive maintenance overlooks the proactive nature of TPM, which seeks to prevent problems before they occur. Lastly, while scheduling production runs is an important aspect of manufacturing, it is not the essence of what Total Productive Maintenance entails, as TPM is predominantly focused on equipment maintenance rather than production scheduling.