Total Productive Maintenance: An Analysis of Contributing Factors - Essay Example

Running head: Total Productive Maintenance: An analysis of contributing factors Total Productive Maintenance: An analysis of contributing factors [Writer's Name] [Institution's Name] 1-introduction The purpose of the Total Productive Maintenance is to keep the current plant and equipment at its highest productive level through the cooperation of all the areas of the organization (Besterfield, Michna, Besterfield & Sacre). Many authors have dealt with the issue of clarity and understandability of the Total Productive Maintenance process. In fact many authors emphasized the fact that Total Productive Maintenance is important to improve the performance of the factories and organizations and provide them with the cutting edge benefits in the competitors (Scott and Pisa, 1998; Scott, 1999; Ireland and Dale, 2006). However in order to undertake an effective Total Productive Maintenance process some important factors should be taken into consideration. It is important to understand both the potential rewards and the associated risks. The main aim of this paper is to summarize what has been written so far about the Total Productive Maintenance process and to propose a methodological approach in order to conduct a research concerning this issue. The paper is also aimed at analyzing and testing the effectiveness of the contributing factors in the implementation of the Total Productive Maintenance process. 2- Literature review The concept of TPM has Japanese origin (Tsang, 2002). Seichi Nakajima was the founder of many of the concepts related to the TPM and implemented them successfully in Japan (Nakajima, 1988). TPM is combination the ideas of people operating the equipment and people maintaining it (Robert, 2002). Maintenance affects all aspects of business effectiveness - risk, safety, environmental sustainability achieved, energy efficiency, and product quality and customer service, i.e. not just plant availability and costs. Downtime has always affected adversely the capability of physical assets by reducing output, increasing operating costs and lowering customer service (Moubray, 2000) It was also found that the TPM facilitator must be motivated and proactive to make best use of their meetings with management, promote TPM and implement the training received. They must also be persuasive and have the ability to coach and train people in the TPM methodology (Ireland & Dale, 2006) In order to implement a successful TPM it is important to keep a data of the problems occurred in the equipment, the down time and the solution provided (Besterfield, Michna, Besterfield & Sacre). Hence the first developed hypothesis is: H1: The successful implementation of TPM is dependent upon the availability of past data related to equipment. Increase in employee empowerment is another important factor, which contribute to the effectiveness of the total productive maintenance. The enthusiasm of employees can be improved by setting challenging targets and specifying how to achieve them. Autonomy is the core concept of empowerment, while the management retains control through information systems, choice of processes and available tools (Agyris, 1998). Hence the hypothesis develops as: H2: Higher the level of employees autonomy higher the level of success of TPM. The information and ideas are successfully exchanged through communication between persons and groups. It is important to exchange the ideas and information in a mutually understandable manner. It is important to train the employees regarding the change to be undertaken in the organization. The third hypothesis to be tested is the role of training of employees in the TPM. H3: Is it necessary to undertake TQM with TPM. Hence as mentioned below the TPM is the 5S step-by-step program: 1 - Cleaning & Restoration: Thoroughly restore & clean. Motivation through participation. 2 - Eliminate Stains, Mixed, Contamination: Study Root Causes of Dirt, Mixing, Loss, and damage and take actions. 3 - Improve Accessibility: Achieve 1 minute accessibility time for documents + parts. Implement stock-management-at 1 glance. 4 - Standardization & Control of Work: Achieve a problem-free workflow in stock inventory, data availability. 5 - Self-Management: Self-Managing Work Teams (TPM.com, 2006). The paper will analyze the importance of all the steps in undertaking the TPM. 3- Reasons for Choosing this topic The fundamental reason for choosing this topic is that having searched literature I found that very few works have been conducted concerning the impact of total productive maintenance. Since most of the studies have been focusing on the methods of implementing the TPM. Some of them have focused on the effects of the above mentioned contributing factors particularly. This fact has encouraged me to do this piece of work in order to contribute to the existing knowledge about this subject by adding a new point of view. Another reason is that most of the organization have poor knowledge or give least importance to the TPM, so it is so difficult for them to understand the pros and cons of TPM as a cutting edge benefit for their business. In addition to that organizations and their management should understand the relationship between TPM, improved productivity level and improved revenue generation. Additionally they should understand that it is important to bring cultural change in the organization to support technical advancement. 4- Aim The aim of this research is to examine the effects of contributing factors in implementing and undertaking TPM. 5- Objectives To review the literature about this issue up till now. To improve the awareness about Total Production Maintenance. To analyze the advantages and disadvantages attached. To investigate and find out the necessities of Total Production Maintenance. 6- Methodology 6-1- Philosophy Research is a fact finding activity (Dominowski, 1980). The aim of primary research is to make known something previously unknown to human beings and to advance human knowledge by making it more certain or better fitting; the aim is discovery (Elias, 1986). Kerlinger (1970) uses more technical language to define it as the systematic, controlled, empirical and critical investigation of hypothetical propositions about presumed relations among natural phenomena. The research philosophy depends on the way we think about the development of knowledge and this thinking affects the way we do search (Saunders 2000). Whilst undertaking the research, a clear understanding of research philosophy is essential. Easterby-Smith et al (1997) identify three reasons why the exploration of philosophy may be significant with particular reference to research methodology: Firstly, it can help the researcher to refine and specify the research methods to be used in a study, that is, to clarify the overall research strategy to be used. This would include the type of evidence gathered and its origin, the way in which such evidence is interpreted, and how it helps to answer the research questions posed. Secondly, knowledge of research philosophy will enable and assist the researcher to evaluate different methodologies and methods and avoid inappropriate use and unnecessary work by identifying the limitations of particular approaches at an early stage. Thirdly, it may help the researcher to be creative and innovative in either selection or adaptation of methods that were previously outside his or her experience. Two views about the research process dominate the literature: positivism and phenomenology which have an important part to play in business and management research (Saunders, 2000). Positivism is founded on the belief that study of human behavior should be conducted in the same way that as studies conducted in the natural sciences. On the other hand phenomenology is concerned with the understanding human behavior from the participant's own frame of reference (Hussey and Collis, 2003). Positivistic paradigm Phenomenological paradigm Tends to produce quantitative data Tends to produce qualitative data Uses large samples Uses small samples Concerned with hypothesis testing Concerned with generating theories Data is highly specific and precise Data is rich and subjective The location is artificial The location is natural Reliability is high Reliability is low Validity is low Validity is high Generalizes from sample to population Generalizes from one setting to another Figure 1: Features of the two main paradigms (Hussey and Collis, 2003) As the research philosophy depends fundamentally on the research question (Saunders 2000), the phenomenological philosophy has been chosen in this paper. This choice originates from that researcher's topic/question that aimed to investigate the impact of Total Production Maintenance. In this specific research, -related to the question- the author will collect data and develop a theory as a result of data analyses rather than developing a theory and test it afterwards. 6-2- Qualitative versus Quantitative primary research TECHNIQUES Qualitative techniques stand in contrast to quantitative techniques, the main difference being that quantitative techniques involve numerical data whereas qualitative techniques involve more abstract information. Data collected using qualitative techniques do not generally lend themselves to statistical analysis whereas quantitative techniques do (Veal, 1997). A mixed methodological approach will be used in this research, because mixing methods enables the insufficiencies of both qualitative and quantitative methodologies research design to be overcome and can assist with data collection and data analysis (Jennings, 2001). 6-3- Interviewing An interview is a purposeful discussion between two or more people. It enables you to gather valid and reliable data that are relevant to tour research question and objectives. There are three types of interview; structured, semi-structured and unstructured interviews (Saunders et. al, 2000). A semi-structured interview model will be utilized as it: Is flexible, not standardized. Enables me to gain an analysis, explanation and description in relation to my research aim and objectives. Facilitates the exploratory nature of my research gives me an opportunity to discover issues I have not considered before. Interviews provide in-depth information about a particular research issue or question. They are designed to gather a broad range of information from a few units. They are the best method to get detailed answers about your questions. They are also the best method for pre-testing, where researcher is seeking individual interpretations and responses. The main disadvantage of interviews is that they are time consuming, and that the respondent may feel like 'a bug under a microscope' and be less willing to open up than in the relaxed atmosphere of a group (Research solutions 2005). Questions concluded from the literature review will be asked such as: What is the perception of the company regarding the TPM What is the difference in the performance after Total Production Maintenance Do you see TPM as risky strategy Does the company use both the strategies (TPM & TQM simultaneously Studies have revealed that the TPM involve different factors. Did the company considered them while undertaking the TPM Choosing interviews for this stage of this part of the research was in order to get as much information as possible from the few people that will be interviewed. Interview questions will be compiled from the existing literature and detailed in relation to the research topic, aim and objectives. 6-4- Questionnaires In the questionnaires method of data collection the researcher can precisely obtain the information that he asks for and these information can be analyzed in an easier way than if choosing another method. In addition to that questionnaires are not an expensive method of data collection, and they don't take long time to fill in. On the other hand questionnaires have some disadvantages such as: they do not have a high response rate, the wording of the questions can cause bias to the client's responses, and the questions might not be designed correctly, which will result in collecting unneeded answers (McNamara, 1999). Choosing questionnaires for this step was due to the relatively large sample size that the researcher intends to include in his research, and for the cheap cost of this method comparing with other data collection methods. A sample of 20 managers and employees from different organizations will be involved in the questionnaire, because the larger the sample sized is the more adequate the results will be and the more generalizations can be drawn from the research. 6-5-DOCUMENTATION REVIEW: The aim of this method is to review how the program operates, without interrupting it, it can be performed through memos, review of applications, finances etc, the advantages to this method are, and comprehensive and historical information can be obtained. The disadvantages are the process is time consuming, there is not flexibility to collect the data, and the data may be incomplete. The review of different studies and journal articles will be undertaken in order to achieve deep knowledge regarding the topic. 6-6- Analysis On their own, data are rarely used in their original form. Through the process of data analysis, value is added to the data to turn them into information. It is information rather than data which users especially policy and decision-makers are interested in (Uganda bureau of statistics, 2005). However this will be a very sensitive and critical stage in my research process as misinterpretation or over-interpretation is always a potential risk. The process of data analysis in this research will include the following steps: Indicate the date of the questionnaires. Who completed them, and the number of returns. Categorize the data collected. Reading through the questionnaires and interviews carefully and coding them after the event in relation to the types of answers, themes and issues, and thencategorizing of response (keeping a note of what the codes refer to). Then by asking some questions like what are the answers that keep repeating, what are the deviations from these answers, and Are there themes emerging Contradictions Then it would be possible to draw some related generalization. 7- Possible limitations of the research Lack of literature done so far concerning the factors effecting the TPM might represents a major obstacle. Another limitation might be lack of time. The researcher will follow a hybrid approach in data collection, which will include interviews and questionnaires. Collecting data through these methods, analyzing and demonstrating them is time consuming and the researcher does not have much time. There might be challenges in convincing to gain access to the relevant information required within the companies I intend to research. Confidentiality has been a barrier before researchers. It is required to reassure the firm that all data and information collected will be treated in the strictest confidence. The study will be undertaken according to the following Gantt Chart Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8 Week 9 Week 10 Introduction Literature Review Methodology Interviews Data Interpretation Results Compilation Results and Conclusion References: Agyris, C. (1998) Empowerment: the emperor' s new clothes, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 76, No 3, pp. 98-105. Dominowski, R, L, 1980. Research Methods. Prentice-Hall D.H. Besterfield, C. B. Michna, G.H. Besterfied & M. B. Sacre, Total Quality Management, Third Edition, Besterfield. Easterby-Smith M., Thorpe R. & Lowe A., 1997, Management Research: an Introduction, London, Sage Publications. Elias, R. (1986). The politics of victimization: Victims, victimology and human rights. New York: Oxford University Press. F. Ireland, B.G. Dale, (2006). Total productive maintenance: criteria for success International Journal of Productivity and Quality Management 2006 - Vol. 1, No.3 pp. 207 - 223 Hussey R., Collis J., Business Research, 2nd Ed. 2003, Palgrave Macmillan Jennings, N. R., (2001). An agent-based approach for building complex software systems. Communications of the ACM, 44 (4) 35-41. Kerlinger, F, N, 1970. Foundations of behavioral research. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. Moubray, J. (2000) http://www.maintenanceresources.com McNamara, C, 1999. Information available from: www.mapnp.org/library/research/overview.htm Research solutions, 2005. Information available from: www.researchsolutions.co.nz/in_depth_interviews.htm Robert, J. (2002) Total productive maintenance (TPM), retrieved as on June 25, 2006 from JackRobert@TAMU_Commerce.edu Saunders M, Lewis P, & Thornhill A, 2000. Research Methods for Business Students, 2nd Ed. Pearson Education Limited. Scott, D. (1999). "Can CIM improve overall factory effectiveness" Pan Pacific Microelectronics Symp., Kauai, HI, pp. 41- 424. Scott, D. and Pisa, R. (1998). "Can overall factory effectiveness prolong Moore's Law" Solid State Technology (v41), pp75-82. TPM.com, TPM Overview, retrieved as on June 26, 2006 from http://www.plant-maintenance.com/articles/QuickTPMInotrduction.pdf Tsang, A.H.C. (2002) strategic dimensions of maintenance management, Journal of Quality in Maintenance Engineering, Vol. 80, No 1, pp. 7-39. Uganda bureau of statistics, 2005. Information available from: www.ubos.org Veal, A, J, 1997. Research Methods for Leisure and Tourism: A Practical Guide. Chatham, Kent, Pearson Education Limited. Read More