What industries use total preventive maintenance?

What industries use total preventive maintenance? Total Preventive Maintenance is widely used in manufacturing, automotive, food and beverage, mining, cement, and heavy industry, any sector where equipment reliability and production efficiency are crucial.

Is total preventive maintenance only for large companies?

No. While TPM is common in larger organizations, small and mid-sized businesses can also implement TPM principles to improve equipment reliability, reduce downtime, and strengthen team collaboration.

What’s the difference between a checklist and a preventive maintenance plan?

A checklist is a tool used to carry out specific tasks during maintenance. A preventive maintenance plan is a broader strategy that schedules, tracks, and manages recurring maintenance to prevent failures - checklists are often part of this plan.

Can total preventive maintenance prevent all breakdowns?

TPM significantly reduces unexpected breakdowns, but no system can eliminate them entirely. However, it helps detect early signs of wear and risk, allowing timely action that minimizes costly interruptions.

Is total preventive maintenance required for ISO or OSHA compliance?

While TPM itself isn't mandatory, several ISO standards (like ISO 9001 or ISO 55001) and OSHA guidelines emphasize preventive maintenance and equipment safety. A structured, digitized TPM system can support compliance and documentation efforts.

What does a Total Preventive Maintenance programme include?

A TPM programme includes scheduled inspections, standardized maintenance tasks, operator-led equipment care, failure tracking, root cause analysis and ongoing employee training. It should also define who is responsible for each task, when it must be completed and how results will be measured and improved.

What software is used to run a Total Preventive Maintenance system?

TPM is commonly managed through a CMMS or maintenance management platform. The software should support maintenance scheduling, digital checklists, work orders, mobile reporting, asset history, and performance tracking. This gives operators, technicians and managers one place to coordinate tasks and monitor equipment reliability.

What would an example of Total Preventive Maintenance look like in practice?

While TPM itself isn't mandatory, several ISO standards (like ISO 9001 or ISO 55001) and OSHA guidelines emphasize preventive maintenance and equipment safety. A structured, digitized TPM system can support compliance and documentation efforts.

How to Build a Total Preventive Maintenance (TPM) System

Total Preventive Maintenance (TPM), also referred to as Total Productive Maintenance, is a proactive maintenance strategy designed to minimize reactive maintenance and unplanned downtime. While it shares similarities with preventive maintenance, TPM goes further by taking an all-encompassing approach: engaging all levels of the organization to work toward optimizing equipment performance, output, and overall productivity.

In this article, we’ll explore what Total Preventive Maintenance is, its key benefits, and essential steps to consider when implementing a TPM strategy.

Key takeaways

- Total Preventive Maintenance is a company-wide strategy that makes equipment reliability a shared responsibility, not just a maintenance task.
- TPM aims to reduce breakdowns, defects and production losses while improving OEE, equipment lifespan and employee involvement.
- Its eight pillars connect operator-led maintenance, planned maintenance, training, safety, quality and continuous improvement.
- Building a TPM system requires identifying critical assets, standardizing tasks, assigning responsibilities and improving routines using performance data.
- CMMS software supports TPM through digital checklists, automated schedules, mobile reporting, asset history, and maintenance tracking.

Talk to a TPM Expert

What Is Total Preventive Maintenance (TPM)?

The term Total Preventive Maintenance originates from the concept of Total Productive Maintenance and is now often used interchangeably. Total Productive Maintenance was introduced by the Japan Institute of Plant Maintenance, in the 1970s, building on practices already in use across industries. It was a structured methodology that emphasized company-wide involvement, from frontline operators to leadership. Unlike traditional maintenance, which was largely confined to technical teams, Total Productive (or Preventive) Maintenance promotes shared responsibility across the entire organization.

TPM is essentially a comprehensive maintenance strategy aimed at enhancing the performance and reliability of manufacturing equipment through focussed, scheduled and proactive upkeep and preventive practices.

Benefits of Total Preventive Maintenance

Numerous studies show support for a positive correlation between TPM and business performance, leading to higher Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) scores. Improved processes and a culture of continuous improvement are core to TPM. With strong internal communication and support across all management tiers, TPM can align the organization toward shared performance goals. Key benefits of implementing TPM include:

Fewer breakdowns and unplanned stops, reducing costly downtime
Lower operational costs through more efficient use of equipment and labor
Improved equipment reliability and performance, sustaining machines at optimal levels
Extended equipment lifespan through proactive maintenance
Reduction or elimination of stoppages and slow-running issues
Fewer defects and accidents, with a target set on zero-defect and zero-accident goals
Higher employee engagement, with operators empowered to take ownership of maintenance routines

By embedding TPM into daily operations, businesses can create a high-performing, safer, and more resilient production environment.

Book a demo

The eight pillars of Total Preventive Maintenance

To successfully implement TPM, organizations focus on eight foundational pillars that work together to improve equipment efficiency, reduce downtime, and engage the entire workforce in continuous improvement:

Autonomous Maintenance
This strategy requires trained machine operators to take continuous ownership of their equipment by performing routine tasks, like cleaning, inspecting, and minor maintenance, on a standardized schedule, rather than relying solely on dedicated technicians. For example, a crusher operator checking belt tension and clearing buildup around the feed chute at the start of every shift, rather than waiting for a technician to flag it.
Continuous/Focused Improvement
Small, targeted improvements are made regularly to eliminate inefficiencies and reduce waste. For example, a ready-mix plant adjusting batching sequences to cut cycle time between loads by a few minutes, compounding into significant throughput gains over a month.
Planned Maintenance
Maintenance activities are scheduled proactively based on usage or time intervals to minimize unexpected failures and optimize equipment performance. For example, scheduling conveyor idler replacements based on running hours rather than waiting for a bearing to seize and halt the line.
Quality Maintenance
Assets and heavy equipment are maintained to prevent errors and support consistent, defect-free production. For example, calibrating asphalt plant sensors regularly so mix temperatures stay within spec and batches aren't rejected for quality failures
Education and Training
Employees at all levels receive ongoing training to build skills in equipment handling, maintenance, and problem-solving. For example, cross-training quarry operators on basic hydraulic troubleshooting so a minor excavator issue doesn't sit idle waiting for a specialist.
Health, Safety and Environment
Maintenance practices are designed to minimize environmental impact and protect workers from injury or health risks. For example, maintaining dust suppression systems at a cement plant to protect worker health and stay within environmental permits.
Early Equipment Management
Maintenance and operations teams collaborate with design teams to build equipment that is easier to maintain and more reliable thus reducing project risks and costs by solving equipment issues early. For example, involving maintenance teams when specifying a new asphalt drum mixer so access panels and lubrication points are positioned for easy servicing from day one.
Workforce Engagement
Everyone, from shop floor to leadership, is involved in TPM activities, creating shared ownership and accountability for performance. For example, plant leadership reviewing downtime data with operators weekly, so frontline staff have input into what gets prioritized for maintenance.

Key components of a Total Preventive Maintenance System

While the 8 pillars of TPM lay the foundation, an effective TPM system is built on practical structures such as processes, roles, tools, and tracking, that turn a TPM strategy into a roadmap for daily action. In practice this should always include:

Scheduled Inspections
Routine inspections help detect early signs of wear or failure, allowing teams to intervene before issues escalate, whether it’s daily walkarounds or monthly equipment checks.
Standardized Maintenance Tasks
Consistency is key, checklists, SOPs, and repeatable processes ensure maintenance is performed the same way every time, minimizing variability and error.
Failure Tracking & Root Cause Analysis
Documenting breakdowns and analyzing root causes allows teams to learn from failures and implement solutions that prevent recurrence.
Technician Training & Documentation
Well-trained personnel supported by up-to-date manuals, guides, and digital documentation help ensure safe, reliable, and standardized maintenance execution.

How to build your TPM System in 5 steps

Now that we've covered the practical building blocks of a Total Preventive Maintenance system, like inspections, standardized tasks, and tracking, it’s invaluable to understand how to set it all up. This 5-step guide walks you through building a TPM strategy that can be applied across most operations, from the ground up.

Step 1: Identify Critical Assets and Failure Modes

Start by pinpointing your most essential equipment and analyzing where and why failures typically occur using tools like Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) or past maintenance data.

Step 2: Create a Total Preventive Maintenance Checklist

Develop tailored digital checklists with routine tasks specific to each machine or asset type. Think lubrication, calibration, cleaning, and safety checks.

Step 3: Assign Schedules and Roles

Define when tasks should happen (daily, monthly, or usage-based) and who is responsible, ensuring accountability and timely execution.

Step 4: Implement Maintenance Tracking Software

Use digital tools to automate scheduling, send reminders, log completed tasks, and generate reports, all in one place.

Step 5: Monitor, Optimize & Scale

Track key metrics, evaluate what’s working, and continuously adjust to improve uptime and extend the TPM system across more assets or sites.

Choosing a Total Preventive Maintenance Software

When evaluating software for your business to support your Total Preventive Maintenance strategy, consider a solution that simplifies daily maintenance tasks as well as supports your long-term operational goals. These key features should be prioritized:

Mobile Access: Equip teams with mobile devices, so they can conduct maintenance inspections, log checks, and report deviations in real-time. The ability to perform inspections through a phone or tablet dramatically reduces repair times and delays, minimizing downtime as a result.
Scheduling & Automation: Ability to automate routine maintenance tasks and alerts, and sync updates in real time between desktop and mobile. Ensuring clear communication, instant visibility, and fully documented maintenance activity across your teams.
Customizable Reporting & Dashboards: Get actionable insights into equipment health, compliance, and maintenance performance.
Implementation Support: A robust onboarding process ensures smoother adoption and training across teams, reinforcing the eighth pillar (workforce engagement), where all teams are aligned on a common goal.

By laying the groundwork with strong processes, engaged teams, and the right tools, you can build a Total Preventive Maintenance system that drives performance, productivity, and long-term operational success.

Contact CheckProof