Productivity Improvement in Knits Apparel Manufacturing
The Client:
The client is a Bangladesh based exporter catering to the European
market. The client has integrated operations involving knitting, wet
processing and knit garment manufacturing. Main products are Polo
shirts and round neck T-shirts. The capacity is of 32 sewing lines with
an average of 35 machines each.
The Challenge:
The factory suffered from lower productivity performance. Though
productivity measurement tools were used, they were underdeveloped and
inaccurate. Line balancing was ineffective and as a result many
operators were underutilized. Irregular feeding of cutting was leading
to frequent stoppages in sewing lines.
Intervention:
The intervention by RBC consultants involved:
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Base line assessment of the factory and assessment of improvement potential. |
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Factory improvement team was formed and trained in the concept on Internal Customer-Supplier Chain and problem solving |
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Training
of work study and production on Industrial Engineering tools and
techniques, including RBC's IT based productivity tools. |
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Identification of pilot line to implement the Productivity Improvement Program |
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Industrial engineering tools and techniques were implemented in the pilot line. |
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Line balancing was improved |
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Improvement was achieved in the feeding to the sewing line with improved coordination with cutting. |
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Improvement in productivity was monitored and handholding support was provided to factory team during on floor implementation. |
Business Impact
As against the targeted productivity improvement of 20%, this
factory recorded 33% improvement in labour productivity per 8 hours
shift in the pilot line for Polo shirts.
The factory achieved substantial reduction in fabric and trim wastage.
Projected annual cost saving with the achieved productivity
improvement in the pilot line alone is Bangladesh Taka. 9, 04,800/-
(US$ 12925). By applying the productivity improvement knowledge gained
from RBC to other production lines the client can increase savings
multi fold.
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