TPM is not necessarily expensive to introduce, but it does require effort and commitment to succeed. It is not a short term programme, the full benefits may not be realised for a few years, however, it is likely that some benefits will be achieved much sooner with an excellent return on investment. For example, it is not uncommon for individual pieces of equipment to be operating with an overall effectiveness of just 30%. If the efficiency of a bottleneck machine can be increased to say 50%, fairly quickly, this will result in a big improvement for the whole process.

To begin with a pilot TPM project should be chosen which will involve applying TPM to a selected machine or process. A core team comprising production and maintenance staff should be selected and trained in TPM principles. The team may apply TPM using the TPM Improvement Plan described below. However, the very first task is to spend a few weeks carrying out 5S activities: lubrication, bolt tightening, fitting covers, etc.,. It is a good idea to take photographs of the existing conditions before any improvements have been made.

When TPM is established in the pilot area, a review of the results can be carried out, and plans made to introduce TPM to other areas, and eventually the whole company.