Implementing TPM

5Introduction

Autonomous maintenance is considered by many people to be the simple transfer of maintenance tasks to production operators. This is a gross simplification of the process. Under autonomous maintenance, production operators assume increased responsibility for the maintenance of their equipment as they take on tasks traditionally reserved for maintenance personnel. But this involves much more than a simple transfer of responsibilities. The seven steps of autonomous maintenance present an extremely organized approach for ensuring optimal equipment performance. Key elements of the approach focus on improving equipment cleanliness, developing cleaning and lubrication standards, developing inspection procedures, organizing work areas, ...