Total Productive Maintenance Practices and Equipment Effectiveness: a Case Study of Bamburi Cement Limited

Abstract

The reliable performance of equipment is critical for prompt product and service delivery and eventual profitability of manufacturing organisations. In order to enhance this reliable performance of equipment, these organisations have deployed alternative models and strategies of equipment maintenance to complement the traditional strategies of equipment maintenance. Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) is one of the models of equipment maintenance whose implementation has been proposed in order to increase and sustain the effectiveness of equipment. The objective of this study was to explore the relationship between the implementation of total productive maintenance (TPM) practices and the equipment effectiveness of a typical large scale manufacturing concern in Kenya, taking the case of Bamburi Cement Limited (BCL). The study used secondary data collected from the organisation’s archived records. Inferential statistics was used to analyse and present the data. The preliminary results of the analysis showed that the implementation of TPM practices at BCL caused a significant increase in the equipment effectiveness in the organisation. The analysis also showed that of the many TPM practices deployed, autonomous maintenance of equipment by production operators played the biggest role in increasing the equipment effectiveness. This study provides insights to operations managers on the strategies of implementation of various TPM practices to improve the effectiveness of their production equipment. In particular, the study recommends the implementation of autonomous maintenance in manufacturing, by ensuring that equipment operators are proficient in basic maintenance of their equipment. In the current era of global competition, implementation of these TPM practices will assist greatly in ensuring continued and sustainable production of quality products and services.