A TPM Secret to Longevity
Nuri Dimler- Jan 21
- 3 min read
What if I told you most of the education you receive in the workplace is essential for living?
Most corporate training focuses on maximizing your productivity, performance, and engagement. Naturally, work is trying to get the most out of you. Why not use what you learn to get the most out of life?
In 1971, Japan implemented Total Productive Maintenance (TPM), a manufacturing methodology for optimizing production efficiency, minimizing losses, and empowering equipment ownership. Today, TPM has been widely adopted and refined by top international manufacturing companies. A key activity of TPM is Autonomous Maintenance, which exists to improve reliability, extend machine life, and reduce unplanned downtime.
AM activities applied to your life translates to you improving performance, extending longevity, and reducing health issues!
Remember, unplanned downtime is equivalent to hospital visits, sick days, and/or worse! I used to have a superstar direct report and I could tell when he hadn't gone for a run in a while. He was low energy, frustrated, and unproductive at work. Sometimes, during a key phase in a project I would encourage him to leave early or take the afternoon off to go for a run. After a run, he would always come back 3x more productive (i.e. at his superstar centerline).
3 Simple AM Steps to Success and Longevity.
Establish Base Condition / Centerline. Define criteria (i.e. environment, interactions, mental attitude, exercise routine, diet, and sleep) which has enabled you to perform at your best. Write this set of criteria down as a centerline for you to be at peak performance. Each time you perform better and experience new criteria, write down these centerlines as a revised base condition. Focus on continuously improving yourself!
Defect Finding and Fixing. A defect is when any of your base condition criteria is off centerline. Also, a defect can show up as body pain, headaches, frustration, tiredness, and/or not performing at your best. What criteria has changed and why? Is this criteria a centerline? What do you need to adjust to get back to base condition? For example, if your shoulders, lower back, and wrists are sore, this could indicate you have been sitting too long and need to take a walk or adjust your ergonomics. Sometimes the adjustment you need is simply to gain a better perspective. Be conscious!
Clean. Inspect. Lube. MIND (your software) - write your recurring thoughts, emotions, and perspectives on paper, then group them into 3 categories - which ones would you choose to Stop, which ones to Continue? Which ones do you need to Start to ensure you remain at base condition? BODY (your hardware/machine) - Start, Stop, Continue for your environment (i.e. made bed, clean, organized), exercise routine, eating habits (e.g. water hydration, no processed foods, no alcohol), and sleeping/meditation. The inspections should also include routine blood analysis, body composition tests, and stress evaluations. SPIRIT (your program) - do the same for your integrity, values, and help you are providing to others. Remember, you are the equipment owner of your Mind, Body, and Spirit.
Do you reflect on what you are thinking and feeling each day? What are the root causes or triggers of negative, unproductive thoughts and emotions? What do you want your thoughts and emotions to be? Are you listening to your body when it tells you it needs to rest?
Take time to leverage the great training at work because this is a key enabler to you becoming the best version of yourself, maximizing your career successes, and being proactive with your health.
© Nuri Dimler 2025
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