Equipment downtime can bring a lean manufacturing operation to a complete standstill. Total productive maintenance (TPM) is such a fundamental part of becoming lean because a machine failure at one step of a continuous flow process will halt all the steps before and after it. Strategies aimed at eliminating downtime are essential in any operation in which the processes require the use of complex machinery and equipment.

TPM: Collected Practices and Cases provides a variety of case studies taken from articles previously published in Lean Manufacturer Advisor: the monthly newsletter by Productivity Press.