Which statement best describes an advantage claimed by Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) programs?

• A. Increases equipment uptime, reduces losses, and improves proactive maintenance.
• B. Reduces operator involvement while increasing downtime.
• C. Decreases overall equipment effectiveness.
• D. Increases energy consumption and adds maintenance complexity.

Answer: (C)

Total Productive Maintenance aims to keep equipment running reliably by moving from reacting to failures to preventing them, and by involving the people who use the equipment in routine care. The strongest description of TPM’s advantage is increased equipment uptime, reduction of losses, and a shift toward proactive maintenance. This fits TPM’s core idea: train and empower operators to perform basic maintenance, spot issues early, and implement small improvements that prevent breakdowns. When uptime goes up and losses shrink, throughput improves and overall equipment effectiveness rises.

The other statements don’t fit TPM’s goals. Reducing operator involvement and increasing downtime runs counter to TPM, which relies on active operator participation to maintain performance. Decreasing overall equipment effectiveness would contradict TPM’s purpose of improving reliability and efficiency. Increasing energy use and adding maintenance complexity clash with TPM’s aim of streamlined, cost-effective maintenance through standardization and reliability improvements.