There is no comparison, but there is a connection.
First of all, there is no such thing as Total Preventive Maintenance. There is a well consolidated Plant Maintenance discipline called Preventive Maintenance.
There are other names for this discipline, for instance: SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE -- PERIODIC MAINTENANCE -- PLANNED MAINTENANCE -- ROUTINE MAINTENANCE.
Even if there are slight differences in their meaning, they can be considered as alternative names for Preventive Maintenance.
There are also many definitions of Preventive Maintenance. Most probably the best and simplest definition is:
"Periodic and systematic inspections and detections of plant/machinery, targeting at identifying deterioration - panned restoration of detected deterioration"
On the other hand, Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) is not only a Plant Maintenance discipline, it's now recognised also as a Plant Management philosophy.
Invented and developed by S. Nakajima well over 20 years ago, TPM targets at achieving the highest Equipment Effectiveness(value added to production by equipment) with the highest Efficiency (optimal equipment conditions throughout its life-cycle at the lowest total cost).
To the purpose, TPM deploys a number of operational Disciplines and Techniques, including:
and many others.
Modern TPM may be also beneficially associated and used in conjunction with other technical Maintenance disciplines such as RCM (Reliability Centred maintenance), IPF (Instruments Protective Function), RBI (Risk Based Inspections), etc.
TPM however is considered a very modern Lean discipline and part of the Lean philosophy because of its strong approach to maximising output value while cutting drastically all equipment-related losses and all equipment-related waste.
In conclusion, TPM is a Plant Management discipline and philosophy. Preventive Maintenance is one possible Plant Maintenance discipline. Total Preventive Maintenance does not exist.
Carlo Scodanibbio - Industrial Consultant
Copyright © 2026 eLLeNow.com All Rights Reserved.
