Workshop for Management

Senior management must understand TPM well enough to set policy, structure and plan correctly — this workshop produces those artefacts in the room.

The objection that sinks a TPM programme rarely comes from the floor. It comes from managers who have not understood what the work requires of them. This is therefore not a history of TPM but a working session: management leaves the room having drafted their own policy, their committee structure and their master plan as actual documents.

This comes before any floor work for a practical reason: autonomous maintenance consumes operator time during production hours. If management has not decided that in advance, the pressure lands on supervisors instead, and the activity quietly stops within two months.

What this step covers

• Concept, importance and overview of TPM
• Draft the TPM policy and organisation chart
• Establish the steering committee and working teams
• Set targets and the TPM master plan

What you receive

TPM policy, organisation chart, plan and defined responsibilities

What management cannot delegate

TPM needs three things only management can supply: employee time during working hours, budget for equipment improvement, and the assurance that this activity matters enough not to be cancelled the moment a rush order arrives. None of the three can be delegated to a supervisor.

Four documents have to leave the room: a policy the most senior manager signs personally, a committee chart with real names on it, measurable targets, and a master plan with dates. Without them, floor work becomes the enthusiasm of a few people and fades when those people move on.

How to apply it on the floor

1. Senior management attends in person rather than sending a delegate
2. Bring this year’s business targets, so TPM is tied to numbers management already owns

The mistakes we see most

• Letting HR announce the TPM policy instead of the top of the company
• Forming a committee without saying how much time each member owes it

Common questions