Implementation of total productive maintenance concept in a fertilizer process plant

Abstract

Machine breakdown due to unplanned maintenance (sudden failure) will increase the repair cost and machine downtime (production lost). This has brought the function of maintenance to be an important activity in the manufacturing industry in order for daily operation to become stable. The introduction of several philosophies such as Corrective Maintenance (CM), Preventive Maintenance (PM) or Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) have allowed extra solutions to a process planning problem faced by company in comparison to the conventional fire-fighting syndrome. This main purpose of this study was to focus on developing a framework of maintenance strategy as guidelines for Mechanical Section in Engineering Department for Malaysian NPK Fertilizer Sdn. Bhd. (MNFSB) located in Gurun Industrial Estate, Kedah. From an extensive review of literature for Total Productive Maintenance (TPM), twelve disciplines beginning with basic to advanced elements were identified for effective Maintenance Management Systems. To demonstrate the validity of this study, it was tested by implementing it on actual equipment, namely as Bucket Conveyor, EL102 as a case study.