OEE improvement of thermoforming machines through application of TPM at tibaldi australasia

Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) evaluates quantitatively how effectively a manufacturing operation is utilised. Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) was considered by Tibaldi, a leading food manufacturer in Australia for achieving OEE. This research project has identified performance gaps, developed plan and implemented it in Thermoforming area of the business. The developed methodology helped Tibaldi in improving productivity and quality through TPM involving machines, equipment, processes, and employees. This paper demonstrates how this can be achieved by reducing lead time and establishing lean environment. Productivity improvement through the devised methodology led to further enhancement of competitiveness of the organisation for domestic and international markets of processed food manufactured by Tibaldi Australia. Lessons learned from application of TPM in Thermoforming, a key asset area, is rolled out to other sections of the plat and results from this pilot study are presented in this paper.