Reviews ASTD Members Only
Zero Breakdown Strategies
By Richard Lowell
Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) is an equipment-based maintenance management concept. Philosophically, TPM resembles Total Quality Management (TQM) in the following ways:
- Upper-level management must be totally committed.
- Empowered employees are the norm, and they must be able to initiate corrective action.
- The process must be long term and ongoing--it's not suitable for shortsighted profit seekers.
No longer regarded as a non-profit activity, TPM aligns equipment maintenance as a vitally important part of the business cycle. Downtime for maintenance is scheduled as a part of the production cycle and, in some cases, as an integral part of the manufacturing process. Maintenance is no longer simply squeezed in whenever there's a break in material flow. The goal is to hold emergency and unscheduled breakdown maintenance to a minimum.
The concept of zero breakdowns seeks to root out the factors causing breakdowns. What methods can be used to spot the causes of breakdowns? The approach flows from the recognition that total plant profitability is sensitive to uptime and maintenance costs. Management decisions must reflect both the cost of maintenance and a failure. The course instructor, Terry Wireman, teaches a two-step operation to improve reliability and decrease costs.
The workshop is presented in an interactive format using a PowerPoint electronic slide presentation delivered over the Web and supplemented with real-time audio. A second telephone line with speakers is required to listen to Wireman's instruction and watch the slide presentation simultaneously. The V-Workshops staff is knowledgeable and helpful in assisting participants with set-up procedures and other course logistics, resulting in a hassle-free experience.
Zero Breakdown Strategies is useful for maintenance and production managers to train large numbers of employees. Wireman is a recognized expert in maintenance systems and brings a wealth of experience that translates easily into stories to illustrate his suggestions. The topic isn't cutting edge, but like a good knife that has gotten dull from misuse, this workshop shows participants how to sharpen their understanding of what can be accomplished by using TPM correctly. The workshop has been well researched, and Wireman has an interesting speaking style that prevents the workshop from sinking into the doldrums.
|
Zero Breakdown Strategies |
| Holds user interest |
*** |
| Interactivity |
**1/2 |
| Production quality |
*** |
| Value of content |
*** |
| Instructional value |
**1/2 |
| Value for the money |
***1/2 |
| Overall rating |
*** | |
However, the program could be more interactive. Wireman doesn't ask questions or allow for comments until one hour into the program. This keeps the workshop on schedule, but isn't conducive to the exchange of ideas. The same course could have been presented using an audio track rather than two telephone lines.
Recommendation
Zero Breakdown Strategies is reasonably priced for more than two hours of instruction from a field expert, even if it isn't especially engaging. If I were a maintenance manager, I'd arrange for all maintenance and production supervisors, lead hands, and foremen to watch the workshop on a large screen TV with a state-of-the-art audio system. It would be well worth the cost.
Published: July 2001