TPM approach and new buffer design paradigm in plant layout

With the increasing of personalization of products, mix variability, requirement of short time to market and risk of products obsolescence, the need of continuous flow and JIT solutions forces the industries to achieve constant improvements in terms of product quality, operation efficiency and production capacity utilization. Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) and its powerful tool - Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE)- have been promoted to improve the effectiveness of the maintenance system and to reach this objectives. Many factors affect the OEE parameter. In this contest micro downtime assume a great relevance. In fact, their presence can firmly penalize the productivity of the whole system. Therefore, intermediate buffers have a strategic importance: you can speak of a new design paradigm for their design with regard to equipments availability. This paper considers the close connection existing between the right choice of the intermediate buffers capacity of an automated line and the consequent improvement of the OEE index with particular regard to plant feasibility study. The research describes, by simulating approach, the effects of workstations reliability parameters on the choice of equipment layout and buffer-capacity level. Simulation is used to develop a set of simple guidelines and a cross matrix based on a new proposed model to assist designer and company to decide which should be the best size of the intermediate buffer located between stations of a production line. To support the new paradigm a real application on a beverage industry is shown.