Total productive maintenance by cement companies in Kenya
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Date
2015-03Author
Irungu, Salome C
Type
ThesisLanguage
enMetadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Global competition and the demand to increase productivity of manufacturing and
production lines have attracted many industrial organizations from a wide spectrum to
implement Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) as a tool for improving productivity
and system's output. TPM is a production‐driven improvement methodology that is
designed to optimize equipment reliability and ensure the efficient management of
plant assets. It has been found to impact the bottom‐line, drive down costs, improve
capacity, improve quality and workplace safety and help organizations respond faster
to customer requirements all enabling an organization to be competitive in the market.
The objective of the study was to establish the extent to which the Nairobi Grinding
Plant (NGP) had applied TPM practices, the challenges and success factors to
effective TPM implementation and the benefits of TPM implementation at NGP. The
research methodology used was a case study using NGP as a unit of study. The
research findings revealed that NGP has began to implement TPM with 6 pillars
already implemented. Office TPM and early management pillars have not been
implemented. All TPM practices have been implemented except the practice of 5S.
Health and safety systems to achieve zero accidents and downtime countermeasures
have been fully implemented. The TPM recommended measurements of
manufacturing performance are in use at NGP forming some of the key performance
indicators for the plant. The measurements are the cost of production, overall
equipment effectiveness, delivery performance, customer satisfaction and quality.
Two main hurdles that NGP encountered during TPM implementation were
employees considering TPM as additional work and lack of sufficient training and
education. The key drivers of effective TPM implementation were found to be;
training and employee involvement, thorough planning and preparation, managing
synergic cooperation of production and maintenance, top management support and
commitment and effective communication. The benefits of effective TPM
implementation include; improved workplace safety, high levels of product quality,
strong delivery performance, improved overall equipment effectiveness, increased
customer satisfaction, higher equipment utilization, reduction in number of equipment
breakdowns and reduced cost of production. The results confirm that TPM
implementation does deliver benefits to organizations that effectively implement the
program. The management at NGP should focus on the development and deployment
of their highly dedicated employees to fully implement TPM through the success
factors already in place and to overcome the challenges at hand in order to reap the
full benefits of TPM implementation.
Publisher
University of Nairobi