ACME-327; No.

of Pages 12

archives of civil and mechanical engineering xxx (2015) xxx–xxx

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Original Research Article

A new approach on implementing TPM in a

mine – A case study

E. Chlebus, J. Helman *, M. Olejarczyk, M. Rosienkiewicz

Wrocław University of Technology, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, ul. Łukasiewicza 5, Poland

article info abstract

Article history: The paper presents selected results of the adaptation of Lean Manufacturing methods to the
Received 19 January 2015 mining industry conditions. The research was carried out within the framework of R&D
Accepted 23 July 2015 project ‘‘Adaptation and implementation of Lean in the copper mines.’’ The article focuses
Available online xxx on the key issues related to the Total Productive Maintenance. TPM in a mine according to
Authors' approach should be based on 3 main pillars: improvement of the environment of
Keywords: work, autonomous and planned maintenance and standards in development.
Total Productive Maintenance In order to adapt TPM method to mining conditions several steps were taken. In the first
Lean Manufacturing step failure analysis was conducted. On the basis of its results, a pilot group of machines was
Mining industry selected. To ensure the best environment for implementing the method a holistic approach
Maintenance was applied. Three types of activities were performed in parallel – designing a room for pilot
Management area machines, daily service process optimization and repair standardization.
The coherent TPM methodology developed within the framework of Lean Mining project
is so universal that it can be successfully implemented in the other mining companies,
specializing in the underground and open pit mines and quarries, in order to increase their
profitability and introduce continuous improvement approach.
# 2015 Published by Elsevier Sp. z o.o. on behalf of Politechnika Wrocławska.

problem discussed in the article is up-to-date and needs

1. Introduction
The research results presented in the paper concern the
problem of adaptation Lean Methodology (LM) to mining
industry (MI). The research was carried out within the project
‘‘Adaptation and implementation of Lean Methodology in
copper mines’’ co-financed by Polish National Centre for
Research and Development. Due to the fact that worldwide
there were only few attempts of implementing Lean in the
mining environment – in Rio Tinto entities [12] and in a
fluorspar mining company in Santa Catarina State [9] – the
solving. The study on adapting LM to the copper mine was
conducted for the first time in Poland. The project was realized
in the consortium of industry and university which assured its
scientific nature. The conducted research addressed several
problems. Firstly, the Lean Mining methodology does not exist.
Secondly, there was a question if implementing Lean methods
and tools in the mining environment makes sense at all.
Thirdly, the major problem was how to adapt LM to the MI
regarding the fact that it differs significantly from other types
of industries. Thus the main aim of the research was to
develop a new, coherent methodology of Lean Mining that

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +48 71 320 43 84; mobile: +48 608 17 11 12.
E-mail address: joanna.helman@pwr.edu.pl (J. Helman).
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.acme.2015.07.002
1644-9665/# 2015 Published by Elsevier Sp. z o.o. on behalf of Politechnika Wrocławska.

Please cite this article in press as: E. Chlebus et al., A new approach on implementing TPM in a mine – A case study, Archives of Civil and
Mechanical Engineering (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.acme.2015.07.002
ACME-327; No. of Pages 12
2 archives of civil and mechanical engineering xxx (2015) xxx–xxx
Table 1 – Comparison of specificity of the mining and the automotive industry [7].
Mining industry
Work of customers cannot be stopped, thus
production at the mine is the push system
Continuous production
Unstable/variable operating conditions
Variable work environment
Geological hazards can stop the production
High volatility of the availability of materials
Large dispersion of work (up to several km)
Mine customers are other industrial companies
could be comprehensively applicable in other mining compa-
nies.
What needs underlying is the fact that Lean, being part of
management field, forces the researchers who deal with
related issues, to work on living objects (organization,
company, etc.). Production management differs from others
sciences because it touches simultaneously aspects belonging
to areas of technology, economy and HR. Therefore research
conducted in this field always needs to be very practical and
applicable. Implementing LM to a mine, just like many other
scientific problems related to MIs and their needs, stems from
the lack of clear guidelines or methods which would
consistently describe how to address such issues [20].
Presented paper refers to the conducted research in the
scope of Total Productive Maintenance (TPM). The main goal of
this article was to answer the question how to adapt TPM
method to mining environment and implement it underground.
What is more the paper tries to fill the gap of scientific guidelines
describing how to approach implementing TPM in a mine in the
way it is applicable and replicable by other mining entities.
The main aim of the research presented in the paper was
limited by several constraints. First of all, despite numerous
publications on TPM, literature related to the problem
addressed in the paper is very limited. This is why critical
evaluation of advantages and disadvantages of different
approaches on TPM implementation in the mines is nearly
impossible. Moreover, the MI is far different from other types
of industry. The MI in which earth-moving plays a fundamen-
tal role is constantly under pressure to improve productivity,
efficiency and safety [1]. The MI, like other sectors of the global
economy, is a subject of the general laws of market economics.
However, due to its specific character, it adapts in a different
way to the needs of modern management concepts. Without
taking into consideration the specific nature of the MI, dealing
with the issues of economic efficiency may lead to erroneous
decisions and actions. Besides all changes, both technological
and managerial, that could be made in a mine have to be
conformant with the mining law. In particular underground
mining is far different from other industries, which is mainly
caused by the fact that the manufacturing process is carried
out in the natural environment, thus is characterized by high
volatility and uncertainty. This affects directly the technology
used to operate, the organization of the production process
and its continuity in time. Nevertheless, taking into account
full advantage of the horizontal nature of manufacturing
technologies and management methods, allows further
application of existing methodologies into other industries.
Please cite this article in press as: E. Chlebus et al., A new approach on implementing TPM in a mine – A case study, Archives of Civil and
Mechanical Engineering (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.acme.2015.07.002
Automotive industry
The assembly line can be stopped, so transformation
to pull system is possible
Production in cycles
Stable operating conditions
Permanent work environment
No environmental threats to production
Controlled availability of materials
Working in a relatively small factory
Sales of products primarily to individual customers
This is why the Authors assumed that, after proper adaptation,
implementation of LM (including TPM) should be possible and
in the long period of time beneficial and profitable for the
mines. MI competitiveness could be enhanced by using some
elements of LM, which basic message is to avoid any kind of
waste through continuous improvement of the entire compa-
ny and its environment, by elimination of the non-value-
added activities [7]. LM is widely used in many industries,
especially in the manufacturing and automotive industry,
where it brings great results in improving production and
business processes, which in turn leads to cost reduction,
processes flexibility enhancement and competitive advantage
gain [23]. To elucidate the distinctness of the MI, a comparison
of specificity of the mining and the automotive industry is
presented in Table 1.
Presented comparison clearly shows why LM, especially
TPM, needs special adaptation before it can be implemented in
the MI. The paper presents the summary on Authors approach
developed to adapt and implement selected elements of TPM.
2. TPM adaptation
The aim of TPM is to improve machines' effectiveness by:
- early equipment management and maintenance prevention,
- shifting the routine activities of machinery operation and
maintenance for their operators [8],
- increase the engagement of employees participation in
those processes [7,14].
When failures and defects are eliminated, the rate of
operating speed of machines will rise, operating costs will be
reduced and productivity will increase [2,15].
While analyzing different sectors of economy, it can be
noticed that especially companies from the underground MI
suffer from very high machines failure rate [10]. It is caused by
very specific environment – defined as all the external variable
physical conditions among which a technical object operates
[16] – in which machines work: they are in almost constant
motion, break down very often due to high temperatures, high
level of humidity and poor state of routes. The environment is
particularly important, because it is the factor that the mostly
influences on the failure rate. TPM adaptation and implemen-
tation should be a solution to high failure frequency problem.
TPM in a mine, in comparison to standard ‘‘TPM House’’,
according to Authors' approach should be reduced to 3 main
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archives of civil and mechanical engineering xxx (2015) xxx–xxx
Fig. 1 – Pillars of TPM.
pillars: improvement of the environment of work, autono-
mous and planned maintenance and standards in develop-
ment (Fig. 1). Each of these pillars consists of the several steps
for attaining a particular task. The entirety is based on data
analysis and supported by 5S practices and continuous
improvement. An important, and even essential, aspect
becomes staff training program. All of these activities take
place at different stages of a multi-dimensional organization,
and what is more, they are dependent on each other.
According to LM, the first step in order to increase efficiency
of mining machinery utilization is to define two basic Lean
terms – value that is created in the process of supplying of
machinery; and waste – losses that may occur in this process.
In this context Authors state that ‘‘the value is supplying a
suitable, fully efficient, functional, inspected and prepared to work
machine with its operator, in the right place and at the time agreed
with the customer’’ [19], whereas waste is everything that does not
contribute to adding value to the service according to its recipient and
causes that service is incomplete or delayed. The waste must be
understood as any action that is performed, but that does not add
value to the product [19].
The phenomenon of waste can occur in many areas of the
process of machines supply, starting from works done in the
Heavy Machinery Chamber (HMC), machines' preparation to
work, restoring the functionality through repairs and renova-
tions, as well as during the works carried out by already
supplied machines.
Authors approach on TPM adaptation is a result of
multilevel analysis that not only included typical Lean tools
and assessment of their relevance in the mining environment,
but also possibility of embodiment interdisciplinary approach.
It enabled the Authors, to engage different methods used in
the production management and mechanical engineering (e.g.
CAD, MTM) as an enhancement of typical Lean solutions.
In order to adapt TPM method to mining conditions and
subsequently to implement it in the HMC, several steps were
taken. In the first step failure analysis was conducted. On the
basis of its results, a pilot group of machines was selected. To
Please cite this article in press as: E. Chlebus et al., A new approach on implementing TPM in a mine – A case study, Archives of Civil and
Mechanical Engineering (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.acme.2015.07.002
3
ensure the best environment for implementing the method a
holistic approach was applied. Three types of activities were
performed in parallel – designing a room for pilot area
machines, daily service (DS) process optimization and repair
standardization. Fig. 2 presents the order of proceedings with a
regard to TPM pillars.
3. Data analysis
Failures caused by heavy working conditions, as well as the
changes of technological requirements, are basic reasons for
the redesign of specific substructures of the high performance
machines. They are also a reason for implementing efficient
maintenance methods necessity. Mining machines can col-
lapse due to four main reasons – not only design, manufacture
and exploitation faults, but also due to extreme environmental
impacts. As a result of these faults there are very high financial
losses and serious risks to the workers' safety and life.
Frequently in mining companies economic losses caused by
production delays resulting from principal machines failures
exceed the ones caused by direct material damage. It is worth
noticing that the size of the negative economic effects caused
by failures is significant – the total cost of failure in the USA
and Europe is of order of 4% of GNP [1].
Taking into consideration the diversity of mining machines
and a large scope of their work in exploitation area it was
decided to select group of machines for pilot research. Analysis
of the data collected in the mine in the period January–March
2012 in one of the HMC showed that most failures occurs in
group of Haulage Vehicles (HVs), and therefore it was decided
that pilot research will be conducted in this group. Another
factor in favor of the choice of the HVs group is the fact that in
the chosen HMC HVs were the largest group among all
machines. Besides all of the HVs were produced by the same
manufacturer and were the same type. What is more, main
contribution to typical operating costs in a mine goes to
haulage costs, therefore there is a need to reduce them – this
reduction should be performed within a holistic approach.
TPM is a method that can handle this task [1].
Analysis of collected data about machines' failures in pilot
area was conducted as an initial task on the elimination of the
main problems. These data were enhanced by results of
Kaizen groups that were established in order to develop
preventing failures procedures and root causes indication. As a
result several deliverables were developed, e.g. a document
containing standard failure names and corresponding names
of repairs divided into machines' functional units, supple-
mented with a time consumption, number of workers required
to carry out the repairs and the list of spare parts and tools.
In the further research data-collection-sheet (DCS) was
developed. It covers information regarding machines and their
failures – i.e. the time of the crash, types of failure, damaged
parts or components, potential cause of damage, waiting time
for the repair, cause of waiting time to repair and comments.
Data was collected in the period July–September 2012. Thanks
to the DCS it was possible to obtain information about nearly
600 failures. Information regarding failure concerned the type,
specific component it related, root cause, machine's repair
waiting time, reason of a delay and total repair time. Based on
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Fig. 2 – Order of proceedings of TPM adaptation to mining environment.

Please cite this article in press as: E. Chlebus et al., A new approach on implementing TPM in a mine – A case study, Archives of Civil and
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ACME-327; No. of Pages 12

archives of civil and mechanical engineering xxx (2015) xxx–xxx 5

Table 2 – HVs' failure rate.

Machine's component % of failures
Tyres 17
24 V electrical system 3
500 V electrical system 1
24 V control system 1
Wheel hub 14
Steering actuator 6
Reduction unit 13
Hydraulic pipe 6
Hydraulic unit 6
Brake unit 11 Fig. 4 – Percent of repairs delayed due to the lack of spare
Working unit construction elements 7 parts.
Other 17
Engine 0

In the mining company, where the research was conducted,

Fig. 3 – Haulage vehicle systems failures.
this form, it was possible to select a range of repairs and spare
parts for further analysis (Table 2).
In order to select HVs pilot area it was decided to classify
failures into groups of vehicle systems – electrical, chassis,
hydraulics, working unit and the failures described as other.
The frequency of the different types of failures is shown in the
chart (Fig. 3).
4. Improvement of work environment
4.1. Spare parts pull system
Distressing issue of repeated breakdowns leading to low
capacity utilization brings to focus urgent need to formulate a
well-organized spare parts management policy. The relevance
of spares management cannot be overemphasized – it remains
the most neglected area of management [6]. Spares manage-
ment is an issue of large uncertainty and it is characterized by
fluctuations in demand [13]. Mining machines are subjected to
extremely high workloads and are exposed to harsh environ-
ment, thus parts and subassemblies of the machines are
particularly vulnerable to degradation and damage [22]. Due to
those reasons machines' failure rate is relatively high. What is
more, Polish mining industry is characterized by very high
fixed costs rate – it is of order of 65% of expenditures. Therefore
it is necessary to cut down costs and increase efficiency and
productivity. It is worth mentioning that costs of raw materials
and spare parts influence not only finished product's cost, but
also the company's margin [4].
the 3 months failure analysis has shown that over 16% of all
repairs were delayed due to the lack of necessary spares
(Fig. 4). These results clearly showed that spare parts
management system needed improvement.
One of the basic changes that is proposed in a production
enterprise to transform it into lean organization is to
implement pull system rules (PSR). Traditionally two main
pull system types can be distinguished – Replenishment Pull
System (RPS) and Sequential Pull System (SPS) [21]. Having
analyzed both types it can be noticed that only rules of the first
one can be used in the mine. Obviously such a system cannot
be implemented directly, but some of its features, after proper
adaptation, can be applied in a HMC.
In order to implement RPS rules in a mine several steps
were taken. At first a survey among workers was conducted to
identify the most often used parts and the ones that are often
missing. The list of spares based on the survey, was verified,
updated and approved by the HMC management. On the basis
of historical data, the average usage of particular types of
spares was calculated. Defined spares were divided into four
main groups based on the storage method – fast-moving
fasteners (e.g. screws, washers, nuts), fast-moving small-
dimension parts, fast-moving oversized parts and hydraulic
hoses. It was assumed that fasteners and small-dimension
parts would be stored in containers, oversized parts without
containers on the shelves (Kanban cards containing all the
information required for the supply [5] will be designed),
hydraulic hoses – in a dedicated storage system.
To ensure proper conditions of spares storage, special
containers and racks were selected (right material, endurance,
stiffness, dustiness-proof, humidity-proof, high temperatures
resistant, etc.). The 3D CAD model of the proposed solution
presents Fig. 5. For each type of fastener a different color was
matched to ease parts' identification and withdrawal, also
minimum and maximum inventory levels were calculated. For
hydraulic hoses a special storage system was designed and
modeled (Fig. 6).
Afterwards, a method of implementing PSR was designed.
According to the scheme, an assigned worker – milkman1 at
the beginning of each shift checks inventory levels of the
1
Milkman is a person who is doing milk runs – the shipments
with a multiple pickups or deliveries by the same person/truck on
a prearranged route [25].

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ACME-327; No. of Pages 12

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Fig. 5 – 3D CAD models of the spares and hydraulic hoses storage systems.

Fig. 6 – Pull system scheme.

spares in the HMC. If the inventory level is minimum, the where they are refilled, then he (or she) may return to other
milkman carries an empty container (or Kanban card – duties. After implementing this solution min. and max. values
depending on the part type) to the warehouse and after should be revised at least once a month during the first two
collecting proper parts, transports them back to the HMC quarters and corrected until their level is optimum. Proposed

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ACME-327; No. of Pages 12

archives of civil and mechanical engineering xxx (2015) xxx–xxx 7

Fig. 7 – HV's room 3D CAD model and its implementation in the HMC.

solution regards only one HMC, so in order to notice benefits of
pull system implementation the solution needs to be spread to
the other HMCs as well. In the long term this system should
optimize spares management so that waste is eliminated and
costs minimized. However it needs to be underlined that
implementing RPS rules requires a lot of effort and resources
(in the initial phase) from the management team.
Implementing PSR should limit bullwhip effect which is
typical when spares demand is forecasted. Errors of forecasts
increase in the successive links in the logistic chain. To ensure
reduction or even elimination of the bullwhip effect it is
necessary to implement PSR not only in the HMC, but also in
the warehouses, both placed underground and on the surface.
4.2. Room dedicated for HV's mechanics and operators
Another task carried out within TPM was designing a special
room for HV mechanics and operators in the pilot HMC where
a dedicated, empty space was selected. It enabled designing
the room without any obstacles and any previous incon-
veniences. After defining and classifying equipment necessary
for different types of work, a 3D CAD model of a room was
designed in the optimum way. It is generally stated that the 3D
CAD modeling is appropriate for all areas of engineering
design, which creates the design and construction documen-
tation based on the 3D models [3]. The project included toolbox
with full equipment for HV mechanics, detailed engineering
projects of operators' and mechanics' cabinets and designed
spares storage system. The dedicated room was developed
according to Occupational Safety and Health terms, ergonomic
and 5S2 rules and technical requirements of mine workers
suggestions. The room was designed in the way that enables
efficient and secure operation of HVs' maintenance and
services (Fig. 7).
One of the stages of 5S implementation is the use of visual
control (VC). The so-called ‘‘Method of Painting’’ is used for
marking horizontal and vertical surfaces. Especially in the
mine it must meet the requirements for ensuring safety on
facility transportation paths defined in: Government Regula-
tion of Labor and Social Policy on the general safety and health
regulations, Polish Standard PN-68/M-78010; and also techni-
cal requirements for escape routes. Therefore, the guidelines
2
5S stands for sorting, stabilizing, sweeping, standardizing and
sustaining the practice [17].

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ACME-327; No. of Pages 12

8 archives of civil and mechanical engineering xxx (2015) xxx–xxx

Fig. 8 – Example of service pit and pillars marking.

for VC in the HMC were developed according to the 5S and
mentioned regulations. Some examples are presented in Fig. 8.
5. Autonomus and planned maintenance –
HVs' daily service standardization
Within the task ‘‘Standardization and improvement of
designated and mapped processes’’ standard of HV daily
service (DS) was developed. The DS is a set of supervisions
performed before the machine leaves to work.
Observation of the DS processes showed that its real time
varies a lot – the scatter of times is relatively big. Every operator
conducts the DS on their own way. The lack of standardization is
clearly visible. To solve this problem the MTM (UAS) method was
used [24]. Measurement of working time in the MTM is used as
the basis for defining the operational motion semantics to
generate human motions in a digital environment [11]. It helped
not only to define the DS standard and determine its normative
time, but also to describe and optimize the DS process.
The analysis based on previously recorded video of the DS
performed by an operator and HV's operation and mainte-
nance manual. The information in the manual indicates only
checkpoints, it does not give answer to the question in what
order DS should be performed. Fig. 9 presents observed values
of the DS real times for 5 HVs and the standard time calculated
within the MTM.
The analysis allowed to determine the optimal DS
operator's course (Fig. 10) – starting from reading information
in the Machine's Workload Book (MWB), through an inspection
of machine's various components, up to entering new
information to the MWB. Besides, the standard enables the

Fig. 9 – Daily service time.

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archives of civil and mechanical engineering xxx (2015) xxx–xxx 9

Fig. 10 – Order of operations in DS determined by MTM method.

operator to detect and eliminate HV faults. Thus the actual
availability of the machines will be increased and so will mine
production, as well as the safety of the work.
6. Standrds development
6.1. Vehicle repair standardization
The idea within the standardization of machine's repair along
with a description of its procedure was not only to develop a
model standard, but also to define the way of designing other
repair's standards, so that after the project, miners could
continue these activities on their own. In this part of the
project, team members performed site visit to the mine in
order to observe the overhaul of the hub, replacement of
bearings, seals, brake disc and brake manifolds in one of the
HVs, which was documented by video footage, pictures and
written description of all activities performed by mechanics.
Analysis of the data collected during the execution of
repairs was carried out, schematic description of standard
procedures was prepared and subsequently the standards'
template was developed. The whole analysis of film, photos
and notes were divided into nine stages – preparatory
operations, wheel removing, hub disassembly, parts cleaning,
seals and brake disc assembly, hub and brake manifolds

Fig. 11 – Repair time.

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Fig. 12 – First pages of document describing the repair standard.

Fig. 13 – Example of repair standard's description steps.

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ACME-327; No. of Pages 12
archives of civil and mechanical engineering xxx (2015) xxx–xxx
assembly, fluid and lubricants refilling, wheel assembly and
termination operations, and each step consisted of a number of
different activities. A description of all 65 operations describing
hub's repair covers information about the work place, the
number of required mechanics, the time required for the task's
execution, the required spares and tools. An illustration was
added to each description to present the operation properly. The
entire repair's standard includes a list of all the necessary tools,
spares, materials, fluids and lubricants, and media necessary to
perform the repair (Figs. 12 and 13).
The repair time calculated on the basis of created standard
is 273 min which is close to the minimal time (270 min)
identified in 73 observations described in DCS. The maximum
real repair time was 450 min and the average was 445.41 min.
Fig. 11 presents a comparison of repair time of the HV's hub.
It clearly shows that implementing standard to overhaul
process can shorten the average time nearly twice. Develop-
ment of standards for other repairs can thus significantly
improve overhaul processes i.e. through eliminating useless
operations. Due to the fact that the standard presents best
practices of repair processes it can play a role of a handbook
and be a helpful tool for new mechanics.
What is more, the procedure of preparation the repair
standardization was created. The template is so universal that
it can be successfully used to describe other machinery's
overhauls as well as activities related to the repairs.
6.2. Training programmes
In this task TPM/5S training materials for employees were
developed and training was conducted for all underground
employees from the pilot area. The duration of this training
was approximately 15 min, and its time was planned to not to
interfere with the ongoing work. The best period was the shifts
changes, which allowed to participate in the training all HMC
employees. Training focused on the place and the role that 5S
method plays in lean organization, TPM with its pillars and a
list of best practices. In addition, every mechanic and operator
received printed presentation, to be able to, once again, get
acquainted with its contents. During the training potential
implementations places were discussed.
7. Conclusions
The industrial and academic worlds seem to agree that
implementing LM is beneficial in every company. However,
it also needs to be stated that it is not easy to foresee the
impact of such implementation in strictly monetary terms,
because it usually takes time and cannot be observed
immediately after implementation. Implementing LM in a
company prepares it for continuous and sustained improve-
ment and creates disciplines and operational capabilities that
are in fact hard to value and quantify [18]. This is why the
direct economic results of the Lean adaptation and imple-
mentation in the mine presented in the paper are yet
unknown. However, it is expected that the approach described
in the paper will bring several benefits. Pull system imple-
mentation should definitely limit or eliminate two types of
wastes related to spare parts:
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11
1. wastes caused by lack of spares including:
- repair time extension,
- disorganization of work,
- machine's unavailability,
- threat that the production plan will not be executed,
- shortage cost,
2. excessive inventories of spares:
- generating excess and holding costs,
- causing depreciation,
- and space problems.
What is more it should also limit or eliminate bullwhip effect,
which is typical if spares demand is forecasted. Described
advantages together with implementation of HVs daily service
and repairs standardization should in the long term bring
economic profits related to decrease of machines' failure rate
and repair time reduction. Expected benefits include increased
profit due to increased machines' productivity and reduction of
operating costs (especially storage costs). Additionally, imple-
mentation of TPM steps can bring other, non-economic benefits,
such as increased safety of miners and facilitation of repairs
thanks to work standardization and designing of special room
for HV mechanics and operators.
The assessment of the developed methodology on TPM
implementation in the mining industry is quite hard due to the
fact that this undertaking did not have many predecessors. In
fact only few examples of research on Lean implementation in
mining companies were described worldwide. In Poland
research on this scale was done for the first time.
The distinguishing feature of the approach on TPM
implementation presented in the article is that it was
performed in the scientific way by adapting Lean methods
and tool used in manufacturing industry, based on literature
review, into new field of underground mining industry.
Obviously management of the mine and miners also took
part in the project and advised developed concepts, neverthe-
less the whole methodology was elaborated in the scientific
manner. Combining scientific knowledge and practical aspects
of mining work allowed achieve synergy, knowledge transfer
and development of miners competence in the field of LM,
especially TPM approach. Employees who participated in the
project became members of the newly established Lean Team
and leaders in the implementation of the new approach. To
assure that developed approach is applicable and replicable by
other mining entities all the proposed solutions were
described with appropriate models, standards, algorithms
and procedures. The coherent TPM methodology developed
within the framework of this project is so universal that it can
be successfully implemented in the other mining companies,
specializing in the underground and open pit mines and
quarries, in order to increase their profitability and introduce
continuous improvement approach.
Acknowledgements
The research was conducted within the project ‘‘Adaptation
and implementation of Lean Methodology in copper mines’’
co-financed by the Polish National Centre for Research and
Development – grant no. NR09-0011-10/2011.
ACME-327; No. of Pages 12
12 archives of civil and mechanical engineering xxx (2015) xxx–xxx
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