Augos Factory / Learn / TPM and the six big losses
Learn · total productive maintenance
TPM and the six big losses, measured without clipboards.
In short
Total productive maintenance (TPM) makes equipment reliability everyone's job, not only maintenance's. It tracks six big losses: breakdowns, set-ups and adjustments, small stops, reduced speed, start-up rejects and production rejects. Together they explain the gap between a line's OEE and 100%.
The six big losses
What are the six big losses in TPM?
| Loss | OEE factor | Example | How it is measured automatically |
|---|---|---|---|
| Breakdowns | Availability | A motor trips and the line stands | Stop timed by the sensor; reason given at the line |
| Set-ups and adjustments | Availability | A product changeover | Planned stop: the standard and the overrun, separately |
| Small stops | Performance | A jam cleared in forty seconds | Counted and timed by the sensor, however short |
| Reduced speed | Performance | Running below rated speed to avoid jams | True speed, measured only while the line is in motion, against your rated speed; reported apart from small stops |
| Start-up rejects | Quality | Scrap while a line settles after a changeover | Rejects entered at the Augos Operator Terminal against the job |
| Production rejects | Quality | Steady-state scrap and rework | Rejects entered at the Augos Operator Terminal against the job |
The losses around the line
The paid hours the six losses leave out
The six big losses are measured inside planned production time. The paid hours around it, breaks, cleaning, waiting for material and idle lines, sit outside. On the lines Augos measures, some of the largest losses sit there. They sit with planning and the operators as much as with the technicians.
One month, 720.0 paid hours
MeasuredAugos platform, Production Timesheet · one anonymised beverage line · one month in 2026 · site, products and people removed.
The programme
The eight pillars of TPM
Autonomous maintenance
Operators clean, inspect and lubricate their own equipment.
Planned maintenance
Maintenance scheduled from failure history, not the calendar alone.
Focused improvement
Small teams attack one loss at a time.
Quality maintenance
Conditions that cause defects are found and held.
Early equipment management
Lessons from today's lines built into new ones.
Training and education
Skills for operators and artisans to run the other pillars.
Safety, health and environment
Zero accidents as a condition of the rest.
TPM in administration
Planning, stores and procurement losses removed too.
Run TPM on the record
Six losses, each with an owner
TPM starts by measuring the six losses on one line for a month. Here is that month, read from the time account, with who each loss sits with.
Pick a loss to see where it is measured and who owns it. Breakdowns open into the Assist stages: evaluation, response and the two wrench times.
Focused improvement then works on the largest loss with a single owner. The same month as a flow ›
Time account · one line · one month · 730h 54m paid
IllustrativeAugos category
Unplanned stops
Owner
Operator 79h 58m · Technician 82h 53m
Read from
Unplanned Stoppage Analysis, with the Assist stages
The operator resolved or evaluated the stop; the technician owns response, active wrench and inactive wrench time.
The six losses come to 377h 23m of 730h 54m paid. Net production is the other 353h 31m.
Illustrative data, not a customer. The same month as the time account on the OEE and method pages. Operator Evaluation, Technician Response and the two wrench times need Augos Assist.
In the toolbox
Where to start
One line, six losses, one month
Most TPM programmes start by measuring the six losses on one line for a month. Done by hand, that is a clipboard at every stop. With a count sensor and an Augos Operator Terminal, the six losses and the paid hours around them are measured every shift. Each lost minute sits with the person who can win it back, by the part of the stop it falls in.
Questions
TPM, answered
Is TPM the same as preventive maintenance?
No. Preventive maintenance is one part of TPM's planned maintenance pillar. TPM also covers operators' own care of equipment, improvement teams, quality and training.
Which of the six losses is usually biggest?
It depends on the line. Small stops and reduced speed are the most often underestimated, because they rarely appear in manual logs.
How do we measure small stops?
With a sensor that times every stop, however short. A clipboard can't keep up with stops of forty seconds.
See TPM on your line.
Start with one shift's numbers in the calculator, or see a month on a line like yours in a demo.
- Availability, performance and quality
- The paid hours around the line
- Prices in rand, ex VAT
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