Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) + 5S transformed this rolling mill’s Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) from 43% to 72% — here’s the playbook

11 Jun, 2026

Long products mill · 12-month transformation · 1,672 rolling hours recovered

“This rolling mill was running at 43% OEE. Most plants in that range assume they need new equipment. They don’t — they need a system. Here’s the exact one that took it to 72%.”

Headline Numbers

43% → 72%	+29 pts	1,672	Zero
OEE transformation in 12 months	Absolute OEE improvement	Rolling hours recovered per year	New equipment purchased

The Mill That Almost Wasn’t Saved

The mill was averaging 43% OEE. Senior management had already received quotes for partial equipment replacement — new gearboxes, new finishing stands, new automation. The estimate ran into tens of crores. Before committing the capex, the plant head ran one final experiment: a structured 12-month implementation of TPM (Total Productive Maintenance) + 5S, two well-established methodologies that require almost no capital and operate entirely through people, process, and discipline. The result reset the conversation about capex entirely.

The OEE Transformation – Month 0 vs. Month 12

Milestone	OEE	Note
Month 0	43%	Starting point
Month 12	72%	+29 points
World-class benchmark	85%	Next target

The Foundation – 5S Workplace Organisation

Japanese	Principle	What it means on the mill floor
Seiri	Sort	Remove unused tools, parts, materials from the mill floor
Seiton	Set in Order	A defined place for every tool, spare, and consumable
Seiso	Shine	Daily cleaning that doubles as equipment inspection
Seiketsu	Standardise	Written standards for layout, cleaning, and inspection
Shitsuke	Sustain	Audits, scorecards, and shift discipline to hold the gain

The Operating System — 4 TPM Pillars Deployed

Pillar	How it was deployed
Autonomous maintenance	Operators take ownership of daily cleaning, lubrication, and basic inspection. Maintenance team freed for higher-value work.
Planned maintenance	Scheduled interventions based on condition data, not calendar dates. Breakdowns predicted weeks ahead, not reacted to.
Focused improvement	Cross-functional teams attack one loss category at a time. Standstill elimination prioritised first — the single biggest hour-recovery lever.
Training & skill-building	Every operator trained in equipment fundamentals and Six Big Losses recognition. Knowledge becomes shift-level, not bottlenecked.

The Headline Outcome

43% → 72% (+29 pts) Standstill elimination alone delivered 1,672 additional rolling hours per year — equivalent to ~134,000 additional tonnes of output at typical long products throughput. All achieved with the existing equipment, operating crew, and maintenance team. The capex proposal was shelved.

How PPRM Supports TPM + 5S Implementation

• Design optimization: PPRM equipment is engineered for operator-led maintenance — accessible chocks, labelled lubrication points, modular cartridge stands. The design itself removes the friction that breaks TPM programmes elsewhere.
• Automation & PLC logic: Real-time OEE dashboards with Availability, Performance, and Quality tracked per stand, per shift. The Six Big Losses become visible at the HMI — not buried in monthly reports.
• Predictive maintenance: Condition monitoring on bearings, gearboxes, and spindles directly feeds the Planned Maintenance pillar. OEM service packages cover overhauls, alignment audits, and grinding cycles.
• Operator-focused tools: 5S workplace standards, autonomous maintenance checklists, changeover procedures, and shift-handover templates — all customised to the specific PPRM line layout, not generic TPM theory.
• Commissioning baselines: PPRM establishes baseline OEE, standstill data, and shift-level KPIs at commissioning — so the TPM + 5S programme starts measuring against real data from day one rather than years of accumulated bad habit.

Want a TPM + 5S Readiness Assessment on Your Mill?

PPRM can analyse your current OEE, standstill patterns, and shift practices — and design a 12-month implementation playbook tailored to your line, before you commit to capex you may not need.sales@pprm.in | +91 98100 76425  |  pprm.in