TPM in Administrative and Support Department
Administrative and support departments play an important role in backing up production activities. The quality and timeliness of the information supplied by administrative and support departments has a major impact on these activities. TPM activities performed by administrative and support departments must not only support TPM in the Workplace; they should also strengthen the functions of the departments themselves by improving their own organization and culture. Compared with production, however, it is not as easy for administrative and support departments to measure the effects of their ‘activities. A TPM program in such a department must aim to create an “information factory” and apply process analysis to streamline the information flow. Think of adminstrative and support departments as process plants whose principal tasks are to collect, process, and distribute information. This understanding. makes it easier to promote and measure autonomous maintenance, focused improvement, and other TPM activities in an office environment. Autonomous maintenance in administrative departments aims for efficient, trouble-free work execution from two angles: administrative function and administrative environment. Implemented step by step, the first set of activities educe costs and boost efficiency by improving administrative processes. The second set of activities removes obstacles to effective work hidden in the physical and psychological environment.
Focused improvement of administrative tasks aims to im rove their efficiency and speed and reduce the number of staff required. To achieve this, automate office tasks and install electronic data-processing systems such as local-area networks. At the same time, increase administrative efficiency to support the planning and decision-making of executives and managers.
