Int. J. Productivity and Quality Management, Vol. 26, No.

2, 2020

Overall equipment effectiveness measurement of TPM

manager model machines in flexible manufacturing
environment: a case study of automobile sector

Richa Sharma
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Amity University,
Noida, Uttar Pradesh 201313, India
Email: richasahnivirgo@gmail.com
Abstract: Total productive maintenance (TPM) has provided a quantitative metric
tool which is known as overall equipment effectiveness (OEE). OEE provides an
efficient and effective way of measuring and analysing the efficiency of a single
machine cell or an integrated manufacturing system. The objective of this paper is
to highlight the OEE measurement in flexible manufacturing systems of a selected
automobile manufacturing plant by enhancing the equipment and plant reliability
by eliminating all the losses incurred. In this study, a methodology is presented
for analysis of OEE of TPM manager model machines in a selected semi-
automated cell. In this paper, an approach is developed to identify and address the
losses and failures which are responsible for lowering the OEE. The results show
that there was a significant improvement in OEE measurement of TPM manager
model machines in the semi-automated cell by addressing the six big losses. The
findings of the research determine a significant contribution due to OEE
measurement and assessment of losses and therefore were quite useful for the
organisation to initiate TPM improvement activities to enhance the overall plant
efficiency.

Keywords: overall equipment effectiveness; OEE; total productive maintenance;

TPM; six big losses; efficiency; availability; autonomous maintenance; flexible
manufacturing environment.

Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Sharma, R. (2019) ‘Overall

equipment effectiveness measurement of TPM manager model machines in
flexible manufacturing environment: a case study of automobile sector’, Int. J.
Productivity and Quality Management, Vol. 26, No. 2, pp.206–222.

Biographical notes: Richa Sharma is an Assistant Professor in the Department of

Mechanical Engineering, Amity University, Noida, Uttar Pradesh. She obtained
her PhD in the field of Industrial Management (Total Productive Maintenance).
She is a gold medalist in MTech in Manufacturing Systems. Her research interests
include industrial engineering, maintenance management, TPM/TQM, lean
manufacturing, statistical quality control, and industrial and production
management.

Copyright © 2020 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

1 Introduction

In order to be successful in today’s world-class manufacturing environment, companies have

to fulfil several requirements. The organisations are making hard efforts to enhance their
productivity and quality to stay competitive. The findings have indicated that total
productive Overall equipment
maintenance effectiveness
(TPM) measurement
not only leads of TPM
to increasing manager
efficiency model
and 207of
effectiveness
manufacturing systems, measured in terms of overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) index
but also prepared the plant to meet the challenges put forward by globally competing for
economies to achieve world class manufacturing (WCM) status. The study has dealt with
the examination and needs analysis of maintenance practice such as TPM in a flexible
manufacturing environment, which not only increased the overall equipment efficiency of
the equipment in the semi-automated cell but also reduced the operational and maintenance
cost. OEE is used as a key performance indicator as a quantitative metric for enhancing the
overall plant efficiency. Ayane and Gudadhe (2015) focused on implementation of TPM and
on calculating the OEE in construction equipments. Nallusamy and Majumdar (2017)
conducted a case study to improve the utilisation of machine tools and manpower by
initiating the practices through TPM. From the final results, it was observed that there was
reduction in setup time, cycle time, breakdown losses and rework time, while the OEE was
also found to have increased by about 15%. Domingo and Aguado (2015) identified a new
metric known as overall environmental equipment effectiveness (OEEE), which is used to
analyse the evolution between two identified states of the OEE and the sustainability
together. The OEEE allows sustainability to be integrated into business decisions, and
compares the environmental impact of two states, by identifying the improvements
undertaken within the company’s processes. Ahuja and Khamba (2008a) reviewed the
literature on TPM and presented an overview of TPM implementation practices adopted by
the manufacturing organisations. The authors highlighted the important issues in TPM
ranging from maintenance techniques, the framework of TPM, OEE, barriers and success
factors in TPM implementation. Anvari et al. (2010) provided a new method known as OEE
marketbased (OEE-MB) for the precise calculation of equipment effectiveness for process
full cycle to respond to the steel market. It was observed that OEE-MB makes
communication more efficient and easier within the steel industry and may be used as a
benchmark to achieve the world‐class standard.
The concept of OEE is becoming increasingly popular and has been widely used as a
quantitative tool essential for measurement of production (Huang, et al., 2003). The OEE
measurement is central to the formulation and execution of a TPM improvement strategy
(Ljungberg, 1998). A comparison between the expected and current OEE measurements
provided the reason for the manufacturing organisations to improve the maintenance policy.
Naik et al. (2015) designed and implemented a simulation model for OEE computation. Both
the crisp model and the fuzzy model based on Mamdani inference system with triangular
membership functions are implemented and compared. It is observed that the fuzzy model
deviates from the crisp model as the overlap of the member functions is increased. Chong
and Choi (2016) established the relationship between OEE and production throughput
through a case study carried out in a semiconductor manufacturing company. The study
shows strong positive linear relationship between the OEE index and production throughput.

The principal objective of this research was to measure the OEE of TPM manager model
machines and to assess the losses which were responsible for lowering the OEE.

2 Literature review

The correct and precise estimation of equipment utilisation plays a significant role in
industries since the identification and analysis of hidden time losses are initiated from these
estimates. The objective of the TPM is to maximise OEE. So, OEE provides an efficient
way of measuring and analysing the efficiency of a single machine/cell or an integrated
manufacturing system. The findings of various literatures related to these investigations are
presented. Wang (2006) concluded that OEE metric act as an indicator of the reliability of
the production system. Blanchard (1997) studied and concluded that the calculation of OEE
is performed by obtaining the product of availability of the equipment, performance
efficiency of the process and rate of quality products.

An overall 85% benchmark OEE is considered as world-class performance. In another

research, Bamber et al. (2003) explored that the most successful method of employing OEE
was to use cross-functional teams aimed at improving the competitiveness of business.
Ahuja and Khamba (2008c) reviewed the literature on important issues in total productive
maintenance ranging from maintenance techniques, framework of TPM, OEE, TPM
implementation practices, barriers and success factors in TPM implementation, etc. and
presented the overview of various TPM implementation practices demonstrated by
manufacturing organisations globally. Braglia et al. (2008) designed a losses classification
208
structure,R.based
Sharma on which OEE was developed to evaluate the criticalities and the
effectiveness of the line. It has been shown in the research that OEEML successfully
highlights the progressive degradation of the ideal cycle time and also explained OEE in
terms of bottleneck inefficiency, quality rate, and synchronisationtransportation problems.
A case study by Sohal et al. (2010) concluded that the implementation of OEE is typically
based on the motivation to use OEE as a necessary reference measure for analysing the
utilisation of the resources at the plant. Singh and Ahuja (2015) evaluated the contributions
of TPM initiatives towards improving manufacturing performance in an Indian
manufacturing industry. The study revealed that proactive TPM initiatives have helped the
manufacturing organisation immensely in improving synergy between the maintenance
department and rest of the manufacturing functions, resulting in elimination of defects,
improved manufacturing process reliability and OEE, affecting cost reductions thereby
strengthening sustainability efforts of the organisations to meet cut-throat global
competition for business excellence. Baglee and Knowles (2013) investigated the barriers,
both real and perceived, to the implementation of modern maintenance practices and the
opportunities to apply modern technology to support improved efficiency. Mathur et al.
(2011) have stated that six losses were originally identified with the OEE metric. OEE is
also known as production equipment effectiveness (PEE), total equipment effectiveness
performance (TEEP), overall throughput effectiveness (OTE) and overall factory
effectiveness (OFE). Dutta and Dutta (2016) studied literature review on the experimental
study of the OEE in various machines and its improvement scheme through TPM
implementation. From the analysis, it was concluded that all the researchers’ fundamental
priority was the improvement of OEE in any production or manufacturing organisation by
the systematic and methodical implementation of TPM. The literature has revealed that no
standard formula existed for the calculation of OEE. The OEE calculation (Pomorski, 2004)
was quite general and could be applied to any manufacturing organisations. Cesarotti et al.
(2016) developed a model that takes into account the impact of single OEE losses on energy
consumption. As energy efficiency of production systems has become a key concern in
several industry fields, due to the increased energy costs and the associated environmental
impacts. Chiarini (2015) illustrated the use and project management of six sigma tools and
lean production by discussing a novel case study dedicated to the improvement of OEE.
Tsarouhas (2013) investigated the relationship between the factory management and the
operation of a traditional Italian cheese production line. The analysis of failure and repair
data of the line over a period of 26 months was carried out. The author conducted a case
study in a medium-sized company which produces injection moulded parts in plastic using
several presses. Badiger et al. (2008) proposed method to evaluate OEE by including a factor
known as usability and developed a relation to evaluate the earning capacity of six big losses
with incremental improvement in OEE as an extension to the maturity of OEE. A framework
was proposed for implementing the OEE methodology to enhance overall equipment
performance. Ananth and Vinayagam (2015) employed a prior experimental result of a
packaging industry, and developed a mathematical model based on real time experiment
values in a small undisclosed Indian industry. The author developed theoretical result based
on some suggestions and varied downtime, and the mathematical model was used to verify
the theoretical result using particle swarm optimisation technique. Raja et al. (2010)
attempted to use overall line effectiveness (OLE) as an index of performance evaluation in
the production line of a manufacturing system. A new approach is proposed to assess the
quality rate of the manufacturing system using principal component analysis (PCA). A
detailed methodology for determining the overall line availability, overall line performance
and overall line quality is presented. Tsarouhas (2015) studied the OEE as a metric for
evaluating the progress of TPM of a yogurt production line in a medium-sized Italian
company. Shahin and Isfahani (2015) offered a method for estimating OEE in continuous
production lines.

The author investigated a sample of data of machines in Esfahan Steel Company, which
includes wastes rate, production rate, and stoppage rate. Singh and Ahuja (2014) aimed at
developing an insight into the prevalent quality maintenance practices adopted in the
contemporary Indian manufacturing industry. The study reveals that Indian entrepreneurs
have been reasonably successful in improving the business performances in the
organisations by implementing combination of TQM and TPM, as TQM support to TPM is
much effective and this improvement initiative have significantly contributed towards
enhancing the overall manufacturing performance. Sugumaran et al. (2014) investigated an
integration of quality function deployment (QFD) and analytic hierarchy process (AHP)
with TPMOverall equipment effectiveness
in an automotive measurement of
accessories manufacturing TPM manager
company. modelis concluded
The author 209
by claiming that implementation of AMQFD will enable the companies to perform at world
class manufacturing (WCM) level. Muniswamy et al. (2014) developed a computer-based
TPM model to improve electrical motors readiness and uptime while reducing capital
overhead. It was observed that The TPM model will be a useful tool to predict the
degradation in motor life due to deterioration in insulation, bearing, rotor bar and stator
windings of the motor. Singh and Ahuja (2014) studied a detailed case study on TPM
implementation in a food processing industry to evaluate the exploits of TPM
implementation. This study reveals the exploits of Indian entrepreneurs with TPM practices
and highlights the contributions of TPM in realising the overall organisation’s goals and
objectives. The findings indicated that TPM is a strong contributor to an organisation
competitiveness and manufacturing performance. Singh et al. (2017) identified eight KSFs
from the literature review, questionnaire survey and experts' (academia and industry)
opinion. Interpretive structural modelling (ISM) is used as an approach to establish the
hierarchical structure for analysing the interrelationship among the various KSFs of TPM
implementation in Indian small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) and also develop an
integrated model. Azizi (2015) focused on evaluation improvement of production
productivity performance in an agile manufacturing company. The implementations of SPC,
OEE, and AM have minimised the defect rates of chipping BF and maximise the brushing
machine performance, which improves the effectiveness production performance. Jain et al.
(2015) have evaluated mobile maintenance a new concept of TPM implementation practice,
especially in SMEs for enhancing OEE of equipments to improve the competitiveness of
SMEs in a globalised market. The irrigation pipe manufacturing plant has been adopted to
carry out this study. Availability, performance, quality rate and OEE have increased by
taking this new maintenance concept.
It has been concluded that several researchers have investigated the TPM
implementation strategies and other researchers have discussed the savings, gains/profits,
production output rate, and overall equipment efficiency by implementing a more efficient
maintenance approach. Nowadays many industries are employing this new methodology of
TPM. Therefore, there is a great need for the design and implementation of overall
maintenance planning system, which investigates the causes of failures as well as integrates
the resources. By keeping this view in mind, the present work is focused to provide an in-
depth case study of TPM implementation in flexible manufacturing environment with the
measurement of OEE of TPM manager model machines through TPM approach.

3 Overview of OEE

OEE is considered as the most efficient and effective tool (McKone et al., 1999) for driving
plant improvement and it continuously focuses the plant on the concept of zero waste. The
six major losses that result in lowering the OEE are discussed and elimination of these losses
are the major objective of the TPM, as also represented in Figure 1. The elimination of these
losses may result in a dramatic improvement in the OEE. The calculation of OEE is
performed by obtaining the product of availability of the equipment, performance efficiency
of the process and rate of quality of products (Ljungberg, 1998; Dal et al., 2000) which may
be expressed as:

OEE = Availability A( )×Performance efficiency PE( )×Rate of quality Q( )

The high level of effectiveness of OEE will only be achieved when all the three indexes have
very high OEE, which is a measurement tool to evaluate equipment corrective action
methods and ensure permanent productivity improvement. An overall 85% benchmark OEE
is considered as world class performance. . The value of the percentage of world class OEE
is presented in Table 1.

A primary objective of TPM is to eliminate or minimise of all such losses related to

manufacturing system to improve overall production effectiveness.
Table 1 Percentage of world class OEE
 OEE factors OEE world class (in %)

Availability (A) 90.0

Performance efficiency (PE) 95.0

Quality rate (QR) 99.9
210 R. Sharmaeffectiveness (OEE)
Overall equipment 85.0
Figure 1 Six equipment losses and OEE

Source: Singh et al. (2013)

4 Concept of six big losses

In a manufacturing scenario, the desirable productivity, cost, inventory, quality and delivery
all depend on the efficient functioning of the company’s facilities. The objective of OEE
measurement and analysis is to reduce the equipment-related losses, abnormalities or
defects. Numerous losses were determined, but all such losses have been categorised into
six major categories, which are known as ‘six big losses’. These losses, which affect the
overall performance of the equipment, are presented as follows:
• equipment failure or breakdown loss
• set up and adjustment loss
• idling and minor stop loss
• reduced speed loss • defects in process and rework
• reduced yield.
The six big losses originated from the TPM philosophy. Seiichi Nakajima developed TPM
and six big losses in 1971. These losses are the functions of availability, performance
efficiency, and rate of quality of the machine.

5 Case study objective

In this paper, a case study has been conducted in a two-wheeler automobile manufacturing
industry in North India, which is engaged in the country’s largest manufacturer of
motorbikes. The TPM implementation has made the selected organisation a globally
competitive and world class manufacturing industry. The present selected industry has
successfully implemented TPM initiatives and achieved the TPM Excellence award. The
case study was carried out in a selected semi-automated cell known as machine shop area
consisting of TPM manager model machines. The objectives of this present study are listed
below:

• The objective of the present work is to highlight the OEE measurement in flexible
manufacturing system of selected automobile manufacturing plant by enhancing the
equipment and plant reliability by eliminating all the losses incurred.
• The present study involves identifying and addressing the losses and failures which
are responsible for lowering the OEE.
• An important aspect investigated from this study was significant improvement in OEE
measurement of TPM manager model machines in semi automated cell by addressing
the six big losses.
Overall equipment effectiveness measurement of TPM manager model 211

6 Research methodology

The OEE methodology is a very effective strategy for improving plant efficiency. The
primary study involves tabulation and calculation of all components of the OEE and
productivity index of the system and its direct influence in determining the efficiency of the
existing system. There are more than 300 equipments in the selected two-wheeler
automobile industry. There are different sections in the plant in which production processes
are carried out in machine shop, weld shop, paint shop, engine assembly and frame assembly
areas. Among all these sections, machine shop has flexible setup for manufacturing multi-
model engines and robots have been deployed for loading and unloading operations. The
case study was carried out in a machine shop area consisting of TPM manager model
machines.
The selected plant and cell were put under observation to track OEE of the overall plant
so that the massive losses were identified and eliminated by involving the highly motivated
entire workforce to increase the customer satisfaction level. The first step of this task is the
selection of appropriate machines, which are known as TPM manager model machines on
which this study is conducted. The three types of equipment, which were taken as a TPM
manager model machines in machine shop area, are as follows:
• Broaching machine 1 – 9201169 (M/c SAP no.)
• CNC lathe machine 2 – 9201192 (M/c SAP no.)
• 4 spindle gun drilling machine 3 – 9201176 (M/c SAP no.)
The OEE of the machines mentioned above were evaluated to understand the present
situation. Three bottlenecks machines have been identified and studied using OEE
calculations. The bottlenecks machines were selected based on the criticality of high
breakdown, high set up time or tool changeover time and higher cycle time than standard
takt time. The efficiency and performance of these selected machines were quite low. The
production operators carry out autonomous maintenance such as cleaning, checking water,
oil and coolant. Before taking down the necessary readings to evaluate OEE, each machine
was studied thoroughly to identify each part and to understand the working of each and every
component. Figure 2 signifies the conceptual framework for measurement of OEE of TPM
manager model machines with special regard to TPM methodology.

Figure 2 Conceptual framework for measurement of OEE

Planning and
scheduling of TPM
activities

Measurement of OEE of selected manager

model machines for failure reporting and
analysis.

Broaching CNC Lathe 4 spindle gun

machine machine drilling
machine

Planned and
Production and Continuously monitoring and addressing
focused
maintenance six big losses/failures for lowering the
improvement
management OEE.
TPM team

Significant improvements in OEE

measurement results in improvement of
overall plant efficiency.
7 Measurement of OEE

For measurement of OEE, the entire data of operation of a shift is taken of 450 mins duration,
which includes 45 mins of food break (meal + tea) and 15 mins of doing routine autonomous
maintenance tasks, such as cleaning, lubrication, inspection and tightening (CLIT). The data
has been collected manually in Excel sheets with the help of production operators and TPM
212 R. Sharma
practitioner.

7.1 Measurement of OEE for broaching M/c I

Table 2 OEE for broaching machine I before and after TPM implementation
After TPM
Before TPM implementation (minutes) implementation
(minutes)

Planned production time

A Shift length 450 450

B Short breaks (CLIT) 15 15

C Meal breaks 45 45

D Downtime 78 58

E Total pieces 180 207

F Reject pieces 8 2

G Machine speed (no. of components per year) 0.75 0.75

Support variables

H Planned production time (shift length-breaks) 390 390

I Operating time (planned production time-downtime) 312 332

J Good pieces (total pieces-reject pieces) 172 205

OEE components

K Availability (operating time/planned production time) 80.1% 85.1%

L Performance efficiency (total pieces/operation 76.9% 83.1%

time)/ideal run rate

M Rate of quality (good pieces/total) 95.5% 99%

N OEE = Availability × Performance efficiency × Rate of quality OEE = Availability ×

80.1% × 76.9% × 95.5% = 58.7% Performance efficiency
× Rate of 85.1% ×
83.1% × 99% = 70%

7.2 Measurement of OEE for CNC lathe machine

Table 3 OEE for CNC lathe machine before and after TPM implementation
After TPM
Before TPM implementation (minutes) implementation
(minutes)

Planned production time

A Shift length 450 450

B Short breaks (CLIT) 15 15

C Meal breaks 45 45

D Downtime 50 28
E Total pieces 230 260

F Reject pieces 18 5

G Machine speed (no. of components per year) 0.80 0.80

Table 3 OEE for CNC lathe machine before and after TPM implementation (continued)
Overall equipment effectiveness measurement of TPM managerAfter
modelTPM 213
Before TPM implementation (minutes) implementation
(minutes)

Support variables

H Planned production time (shift length- breaks) 390 390

I Operating time (planned production time- downtime) 340 362

J Good pieces (total pieces-reject pieces) 212 255
OEE components

K Availability (operating time/planned production time) 87.1% 92.8%

L Performance efficiency (total pieces/operation 84.5% 89%

time)/Ideal run rate
M Rate of quality (good pieces/total pieces) 92.1% 98%
N OEE = Availability × Performance efficiency × Rate of quality OEE = Availability ×
87.1% × 84.5% × 92.1% = 67.7% Performance efficiency
× Rate of quality 92.8%
× 89% × 98% = 80.9%
7.3 Measurement of OEE for 4 spindle gun drilling machine
Table 4 OEE for 4 spindle gun drilling machine before and after TPM implementation
After TPM
Before TPM implementation (minutes) implementation
Planned production time

A Shift length 450 450

B Short breaks (CLIT) 15 15

C Meal breaks 45 45
D Downtime 65 56
E Total pieces 200 220
F Reject pieces 8 3
G Machine speed (no. of components per year) 0.77 0.77
Support variables

H Planned production time (shift length-breaks) 390 390

I Operating time (planned production time-downtime) 325 334

J Good pieces (total pieces-reject pieces) 192 217
OEE components

K Availability (operating time/planned production time) 83.3% 92.8%

L Performance efficiency (total pieces/operation 79.9% 85.6%

time)/ideal run rate
M Rate of quality (good pieces/total pieces) 96% 98.6%

Table 4 OEE for 4 spindle gun drilling machine before and after TPM implementation
(continued)
After TPM
Before TPM implementation (minutes)
implementation
OEE components
N OEE = Availability × Performance efficiency × Rate of quality OEE = Availability
 83.3% ×79.9% × 96% = 63.8% × Performance
efficiency × Rate of
quality 92.8% ×
85.6% × 98.6% =
72.1%

214 5 R. Sharma
Table Representation of OEE data before and after TPM implementation
OEE before TPM OEE after TPM
TPM manager model machine implementation implementation
Broaching machine I 58.7% 70%

CNC lathe machine 67.7% 80.9%

4 spindle gun drilling machine 63% 72.1%
Average OEE 63% 74.3%
8 Discussion and analysis on OEE assessment and scope for improvement

The present study reveals an improvement in OEE as a result of strategic TPM initiatives
from 63% at the time of start of TPM implementation program to 74.3% after the successful
TPM implementation as shown in Table 5. It has been observed from Table 5 that the OEE
of the broaching machine is the lowest one as compared to CNC lathe and 4 spindle gun
drilling machine before TPM implementation. It has been observed that it was due to the
following reasons:
• The actual running speed of the machine was lower than the optimum speed.
• There were minor equipment stops and small irregular jams, which resulted in the loss
of productivity.
• Owing to unplanned downtime occurrences which were the real factors that resulted
in decreasing the OEE. This was because it took a huge amount out of a planned
production time.
• Owing to the problems associated with the computer panel system in CNC which
results in lowering down the OEE. Most of the time the inbuilt computer with CNC
gave an error due to the virus or other problem. Hence, the operating system required
periodically updating and re-installation.
• The production operators were taking extra time during lunch breaks which was the
common problem determined in all machines. For this reason, they often take a longer
time to restart a machine.
Another method to enhance OEE was to incorporate quick release pneumatic connectors,
and thumbscrews, and also, a robot and effectors can be removed and replaced with new end
effectors to handle a different product in few minutes. All such factors have contributed a
lot to enhance the OEE to a certain level.

9 Discussion and analysis on losses assessment and scope for improvement

In order to enhance OEE, there is a need to focus on three elements of the OEE, which are
as follows a availability b performance efficiency c rate of quality.
Figure 3 represents the relationship between six big losses and OEE. The first two losses are
known as downtime loss and are used to calculate the availability of a machine. The third
and fourth losses are speed losses that determine the performance efficiency and the final
two losses are considered to be failures due to defects in the product.

Figure 3 OEE and the six big losses (see online version for colours)
 Overall equipment effectiveness measurement of TPM manager model 215

Source: http://www.oee.com (2016)

Figure 4 shows the losses that occurred frequently and were the real causes for lowering the
OEE in broaching machine, CNC lathe machine and 4 spindle gun drilling machine. These
losses were continuously under observation and reduced by a planned and focused
improvement TPM team member by suggesting Kaizens and small improvements. It has
been observed that first three maximum time-consuming failures came under the category
of availability and performance efficiency which resulted in decreasing OEE. Following
below are the three major significant time consuming losses:
• set up and adjustment losses
• alignment problem
• minor stoppages.
1 Set up and adjustment losses: setting up adjustment losses are known as stoppage
losses occurring during setup procedures such as retooling etc. The reasons for the
setup adjustment loss were due to the accumulation of slight errors in precision such
as equipment settings. Owing to lack of consistency in the standards for measurements
in operation and maintenance procedures, were one of the reasons for adjustment
losses. The solution of such problems is to set clear, consistent and precise standards
for all procedures. It has been observed that during meal breaks, the operator usually
takes longer time from their scheduled time and it automatically causes a delay to
restart the production. It has been advised to maintain the log registers in each
assembly line so as to monitor the operators in time and out time.
2 Alignment problem: another loss which was highlighted is alignment problem. The
primary goal of all the equipments is to align the parts, tools, accessories and work
piece within accurate and precise tolerances at operating conditions. The reasons for
the alignment problems which were observed were due to the chuck when it is not
properly aligned with the tailstock or the tool holder. The centreline misalignment,
angular misalignment and parallelism misalignment are different alignment factors
which result in lowering the overall efficiency of the machine.
3 Minor stoppages: a minor stoppages loss signifies the small operational disturbances
in which machine stops temporarily due to functional stoppage. It has been observed
that temporarily jamming of work, errors in data communication, small mistakes in
setting of NC programs, etc., were the common reasons found for minor stoppages in
selected manager model machines. These losses are found to be temporary and
resolved in less than five minutes by removal of abnormal work pieces, resetting and
eliminating minor defects. This type of loss directly affects the performance efficiency
of the equipment resulting decreasing in OEE.

Figure 4 Pareto chart showing the major losses occurrence (see online version for colours)
216 R. Sharma

10 Conclusions

It has been seen throughout the study that OEE has been a significant performance
measurement tool. OEE is a key performance indicator (KPI) that indicated the equipment’s
overall operational performance. The empirical case study was conducted on three selected
TPM manager model machines as per designed TPM Master Plan in semiautomated cell
known as machine shop area. It involved calculation of all parameters of OEE and revealed
the losses which were responsible for lowering the OEE. The study has led to an
improvement in OEE from 63% which was at the beginning of OEE to 74.3% after the
successful TPM initiatives. There are various factors which have contributed to enhance the
OEE such as improvement in minor irregular equipment stoppages and by re-installing and
updating the operating system of CNC machines.
It has been concluded that top three losses which were the real causes for lowering the
OEE in selected manager model machines were set up adjustment loss, an alignment
problem and minor stoppages. These losses were continuously under observation and
reduced by systematic approach and with the help of team members of focused improvement
TPM pillar. Finally, it was believed that this method of OEE measurement and assessment
of losses was quite useful for the organisation to initiate TPM improvement activities to
enhance the overall plant efficiency of flexible manufacturing environment.

10.1 Practical implications

The practical implications of the present study identify the impact of TPM on overall plant
performance and highlight the OEE as a key performance indicator for continual
improvement and focuses on the way an organisation can improve its processes. The study
investigated the significant improvements by measuring OEE in terms of maintainability
and reliability of the equipments. The results confirm the contribution of TPM methodology
and measurement of OEE as a significant indicator in real sense to enhance the overall plant
efficiency of flexible manufacturing environment.

10.2 Originality/value
TPM is one of the best manufacturing practices followed by most of the world’s successful
organisations to achieve business excellence. TPM has proven to be the manufacturing
strategy that has been successfully employed globally for the last three decades for achieving
organisational objectives of achieving core competence in dynamic environments (Ahuja
and Khamba, 2008b). Based on the literature it has been concluded that the present study
provides an in-depth case study of TPM implementation in flexible manufacturing
environment with the measurement of OEE of TPM manager model machines through TPM
approach.

10.3 Research limitations and directions of future research

Based on the results and constraints of the study, the limitation has been observed that the
framework of TPM activities developed in the study is according to the TPM master plan in
which OEE is measured only for selected manager model machines. The effectiveness and
practicality of the framework have to be confirmed by further measurement of OEE and
identification of losses throughout the plant.
 The present research has been carried out only in an automobile industry. However,
similar studies can be conducted in future in other manufacturing industries like
pharmaceutical, electronic/electrical based, textile industries, etc., and service industry as
well. However, as future research work the contributions with other lean manufacturing
philosophies like six sigma, TQM, just-in-time (JIT) manufacturing, quality function
deployment (QFD), etc., can also be undertaken for assessing the overall plant efficiency.
Overall
Also, various equipment
statistical tests effectiveness measurement
can be performed based on of TPM
data manager
collected modelperformance
of TPM 217
indicators.

Acknowledgements

The authors are sincerely grateful to the reviewer(s) for giving their valuable suggestions for
improving the manuscript. The authors would like to especially express the gratitude to
industrial resource persons, executives and supporting staff for their support, cooperation
and encouragement throughout the research span.

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