Preface

The purpose of this book is to set out how the convergence of Lean
Thinking and Total Productive Maintenance presents a comprehensive
blueprint for business-led change. This also sets out how leadership
and strategic thinking are an important part of the recipe for successful
and sustained improvement. This is not intended as a comprehensive
guide to Lean Thinking or TPM techniques, but a user manual on how
to deliver business benefits from their appUcation. It is assumed that the
reader already has some awareness of the basics of these world class
manufacturing techniques. The book is organised to be read from cover
to cover. For those of you with specific needs, below is a summary of
the chapter content. For those planning a new improvement process,
Chapters 1 to 5 will be the most important. For those wanting to take
their existing activities to a higher level. Chapters 2, 3, 5 and 6 will help
to identify where you are on the journey and assess what comes next.
Chapter 1 sets out the common reasons for improvement initiative
failure and how these can be addressed through Lean TPM. Chapter 2
provides summary details of the origins of Lean Thinking and TPM
and sets out the route map used by companies who have successfully
achieved world class levels of excellence. Chapter 3 sets out the founda-
tion for identification of hidden losses/wastes linked to accountabilities
by management level. Chapter 4 sets out the leadership roles of the
change team to involve all functions within a single change agenda.
Chapter 5 describes the challenges to be overcome to achieve the
foundation stabilisation level, targeting internal processes at customer
value and establishing the capability to achieve zero breakdowns.
Chapter 6 describes the leadership challenges to break through the
glass ceiling and achieve market-leading capability. It covers strategic
issues, organisational flexibility and optimisation processes. Chapter 7
considers issues of sustainability at management and operational levels.
Finally, Chapter 8 provides a summary of the key changes incorpor-
ated in the Lean TPM change blueprint.