chapter 5 summary and conclusion -...
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CHAPTER 5
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION
“Now the key to competing in the international market place is to
simultaneously improve both quality and productivity on continual basis.”
Mannan and Ferdousi (as cited in Farhana, & Amir, 2009b,p.106).
Survival in today’s fiercely competitive world for any Indian apparel manufacturer
requires producing garments of high quality, at the shortest time and lowest cost
possible. The looming threat from neighbouring countries like China, Sri Lanka,
Bangladesh and Cambodia where the labour cost is the lowest has adversely started
impacting the market share of Indian exports. According to Goyal and Shekhar(2013),
India has a capacity to grow as the biggest player in this trade. China is currently
facing trouble due to higher wages and value of currency being pushed up. Even 2%
spillage in China export market could mean 25% increase in India’s trade. But, in
order to grasp this opportunity, India needs to be prepared for the common threats to
the industry and gear up to optimize their current capacity. Only option that is left to
achieve the triple agenda of productivity, quality and on-time delivery is to improve
one’s working systems. Lean being a waste elimination system is the ultimate solution
which could drive the industry towards the cost effectiveness, quality conformance
and competitiveness, further ensuring short lead times, lower costs, improved
efficiency, higher value added products, and business profitability. Lean’s
phenomenon success in the automobile industries has generated greater attention,
motivation and enthusiasm among the garment manufacturers to adopt this continuous
improvement philosophy. It is believed that the lean manufacturing if carefully
implemented can undoubtly form the roadmap to global manufacturing excellence and
act as the survival kit in this volatile global business environment. Simultaneously,
reduction of GHG can give Philip to the industry besides preventing further spread of
GHG in the atmosphere. Looking at the increasing ability of lean to confront its
competitors and provide answers to most of the problems which Indian garment
industries are facing, this study was planned with the following aims and objectives:-
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Objectives
1. To study the concept, principles, tools, and implementation procedure of lean
manufacturing system and carbon footprint.
2. To compare and analyze the assembly line before and after lean
implementation in apparel manufacturing export units of National Capital
Region (NCR) with special emphasis on 7 deadly wastes.
3. To assess the driving factors, key constraints and critical success factors in
relation to the implementation of lean in apparel manufacturing units.
4. To assess the status of lean initiatives in apparel manufacturing units in the
NCR.
5. To compare the performance in terms of manufacturing and environmental key
performance indicators namely productivity, efficiency, quality, work in
progress and carbon footprint among lean initiated and non- lean initiated
apparel units.
6. To conduct a workshop to disseminate the knowledge regarding the lean
manufacturing and carbon footprint.
Hypothesis of the study
Based on the cited literature, hypothesis framed for the present study are-
Ha1: Size of the apparel unit is significantly associated with the lean awareness and
implementation.
Ha2: Age of the apparel manufacturing unit is significantly associated with the lean
awareness and implementation.
Ha3: There is a significant difference in the lean initiation status between lean
initiated and non-lean initiated apparel units.
Ha4: Lean awareness makes a significant difference in the current status of lean
initiatives.
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Ha5: Year of lean initiation makes a significant difference in the current status of
lean initiatives.
Ha6: There is a significant difference in performance in terms of manufacturing
key performance indicators namely productivity, efficiency, quality, work in
progress among lean -initiated and non -lean initiated apparel units.
Ha7: There is a significant difference in performance in terms of environmental
key performance indicator that is carbon footprint among lean initiated and
non- lean initiated apparel units.
Ha8: Year of lean initiation makes a significant difference in the performance of
the apparel unit in the terms of productivity, efficiency, quality, work in
progress and carbon footprint.
Limitations
Following are some of the limitations of the present study:-
1. Assessment of Performance improvement was limited to sewing section.
2. For the calculation of carbon footprint, only scope I and scope II emissions were
counted, as in most of the apparel units record of data required for calculation of
scope III carbon emissions was not maintained. Moreover, as inclusion of scope
III emissions is optional as per Green House Gas (GHG) protocol, a relatively
straightforward and low cost option of calculation was used. The calculations
were based solely of the year 2012 data. Time series analysis was not feasible as
data prior to 2012 was not collected.
3. Awareness workshop was held in a selected non-lean initiated unit only in
Ludhiana.
Methodology
The study has been conducted in three phases using both primary as well as
secondary data. Research methods adopted in this study were planned on the basis of
survey of methodologies and standards used in reviewed literature, workshops and
seminars. The study started with Phase I, which was an exploratory phase which
included interviewing the purposively selected 5 lean and carbon footprint experts
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each, on the basis of their experience in providing consultancy in the field of lean
manufacturing and environment, health and safety management in the textile and
apparel industries. It also involved attending related conferences and workshops to
gets an in-depth knowledge of principles, tools, techniques of lean manufacturing
system and its practical application.
Online lean awareness and practice survey of the Apparel Export Promotion
Council (AEPC) member units were also conducted. Inclusive and exclusive criteria
were used to select the sample. Out of total 8195 exporters all over India only 2832
export units in NCR were included in the study. There were total 8195 registered
exporters all over India in the member list of AEPC, out of which, 2832 units
belonged to National Capital Region (NCR). Out of these units, 1010 apparel
manufacturing export units were included, excluding 1822 merchant export units of
NCR. Data for the online survey was collected from the 450 apparel manufacturing
export units following assembly line system and rest 560 export units following make
through system were excluded. An online link for the survey along with the covering
letter was sent to 450 apparel manufacturing exporters. Responses was received only
from 297 apparel units out of which 284 responses were found valid.
Phase II included the in-depth study for which out of 284 apparel
manufacturing exporters, only 205 apparel units manufacturing ladies garments
participated in the online survey. Twenty one apparel units were found to be
practicing lean out of 205, and, hence, all of these apparel units were contacted
through local associations like Okhla Garment Textile Cluster (OGTC) and Noida
Garment Manufacturing Association. Only 10 Lean initiated units agreed to provide
the detail information required for the study as well as allowed firsthand experience of
lean implementation through personal visits to various departments of the apparel
manufacturing units. For comparison, from the 184 non-lean initiated apparel units,
10 apparel units were randomly selected using lottery method. This phase included
case study of 10 lean initiated apparel manufacturing units to find out changes
occurred in the unit before and after implementing lean in relation to implementation
of tools and identification and removal of wastes. Along with it other factors like
driving factors, key constraints and critical success factors were also studied.
Comparative assessment of the status of lean initiatives along with manufacturing and
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environmental performance improvement of 10 lean and 10 non-lean initiated apparel
manufacturing units was also conducted.
Phase III included awareness workshop on lean manufacturing and carbon
footprint in collaboration with Knitwear Club in Ludhiana. Thirty apparel units were
selected using systematic random sampling method primarily for its ease and speed of
identifying participants from the sampling frame of members list of Knitwear Club,
Ludhiana. Managing Directors of these units were invited for the workshop as they
are considered the main driving force to initiate any new improvement methodology.
Though invitation was sent to 30 apparel units but only owners or representatives of
18 apparel units attended the workshop on lean and carbon footprint.
For statistical analysis, percentages and weighted mean were used to make the
inter and intra comparisons of the responses of various alternatives. Keeping the
objectives of the research in mind, statistical tools like Chi-Square, t-test, Mann
Whitney U test, Anova and Bonferroni Post -Hoc Test were used to analyze the data
or test the hypothesis.
Major Findings
The study started with phase I including exploration of the two new concepts
of improving the manufacturing excellence that is lean and carbon footprint. In-depth
interview of lean experts revealed that the essence of lean philosophy is to ‘SEW’ that
is systematic elimination of waste by removing the non-value added activities and
reducing the required value added activities further leading to creation of zero waste
environments and enhancement of value for the customers and employees. It is to do
more with less, using just enough resources and producing less waste. All the experts
believed that lean is not a physical system, but a philosophy. Its focus is entirely on
people or employees that are the drivers of growth and determine the success of a
company. Its implementation leads to the development of the ability, courage and
desire to recognize and call the traditionally existent normal non-value added
activities as ‘waste’ basically unlocking the mind of the people to see the waste as an
opportunity of improvement. The four main principles behind the implementation of
the lean manufacturing process highlighted by the experts were philosophy, process,
people and problem solving. It was highlighted that traditional manufacturing is
different from lean as it follows a push approach requiring large inventories of every
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part that is needed for assembling large number of products to lower their production
costs while lean is based on pull system which is activated in the production process
automatically adjusting itself to the customer’s demand, so that there is no
overproduction and Just In Time (JIT) can be practiced.
The Experts believed that lean and its tools like 5S, Visual Management
(VM), Kaizen, Poka yoke, Total Productive Management (TPM), Cellular
Arrangement, Continuous Improvement (CI), Problem Solving tools and so forth are
applicable to the small scale and labour- oriented apparel industry as per the situation
and requirement of the unit and each of the lean tools is implemented with different
purpose. But lean implementation generally starts with 5S and Visual Management as
it lays the foundation for further implementation of advance tools in a unit. Total
Productive Maintenance and Jodoka tools are more suitable to the automated industry
like textile industry. It was suggested that in order to attain and sustain success in the
process of lean implementation, all tools must be synchronized with each other, just
like gears that go hand in hand. Majority of the experts believed that lean is a long
term philosophy in which positive improvements in the apparel units become visible
after 6 months, but result comes after 1 year and complete transformation takes place
in about 5-10 years.
All the respondents agreed that they have implemented lean in various phases.
Implementation started with the orientation of the top management towards lean,
followed by the lean concept training to all the employees, mapping of the current
state, and defining of the lean metrics with the development of the skill for industrial
engineering and quality control. Future state is designed and trial concepts are
developed, implemented, monitored, evaluated and adjusted as per the modular line.
Later on, full scale implementation and the follow up are conducted. Training on
various lean aspects is given to the unit members as per their role in the organization.
Lean Manufacturing Competitiveness Scheme (LMCS) was described in detail
by the experts highlighting its importance, goal and benefits. The scheme as a
component of National Manufacturing Competitiveness Programme (NMCP) aiming
to bring about the manufacturing competitiveness among the micro, small and
medium enterprises through the application of various Lean Manufacturing (LM)
techniques. The approach involves engagement of Lean Manufacturing Consultants
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(LMCs) for a cluster of 8-10 units to assess and guide the detailed step by step
procedures and schedules for implementing the lean techniques. Under the financial
aid provison, 80% of the consultant fees for each mini cluster is provided by the
government of India while the remaining 20% is borne by the beneficiaries of
Medium Small Micro Enterprises (MSME) units.
Experts revealed that most of the owners of the apparel units in National
Capital Region (NCR) have the progressive attitude, but some of them are eager for
quick results and don’t want to waste time in learning new techniques as they
consider it more profitable to concentrate on shipment of orders. Managers, operators
and supervisors are generally very excited to learn new concepts provided they are
paid adequately. Training and retraining of the people is the only strategy for those
who resist the change. All the lean experts emphasized that the transparent
environment is required for the implementation of lean tools and techniques in the
units. Along with it, mutual trust amongst themselves and between employees &
management, interconnecting key performance indicators, fulfillment of short term
and long term goals, job security and so forth are also important for bringing about
improvements in the units. Lean promotes capacity building among employees;
fostering team work; opportunity to identify and solve problems; delegation of work
or improvement initiatives; improved work environment, work culture, attitude of
employees; and inculcation of competitive spirit. Lack of time, owner’s commitment,
training, copying implemented changes from one factory to another without
understanding the culture, and non-efficient experts were some of the reasons
identified by the experts of failure in implementing lean in various apparel
manufacturing units.
Interaction with carbon footprint experts revealed that the carbon footprint of
the apparel unit is a part of corporate social responsibility which measures the
exclusive global amount of carbon dioxide and other green house gases emitted by the
apparel units measured in kg or tonnes. Various sources of emission of greenhouse
gases identified for a apparel manufacturing unit were the burning of fossil fuels in
boilers, vehicles, generators, electricity for lighting and production, water
consumption, chemicals and lubricants consumption, wastes produced, and use of fuel
in air conditioners and fire extinguishers.
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This process of measurement of carbon footprint were explained in detail by
the experts starting with the formation and training of green team members;
identification of emission resources through various factory visits; selection of
calculation method; standards and guidelines (ISO 14064-1 and Green House
Gas[GHG] Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standards);operational and
organizational boundaries; emission factors; collection of data and proofs; calculation
of carbon footprint; verification of entries; and publishing report on the emissions. All
the experts agreed that the lean enterprise emits less green house gases in comparison
to the traditional apparel units; because the main focus of lean is to reduce waste and
the units which produce minimal waste automatically emits less carbon footprint.
Carbon footprint experts highlighted the importance of measuring carbon
footprint by stating that even though the Indian government has not made any
legislation about carbon emission reporting but has voluntarily committed to reduce
the carbon intensity by 25% of 2005 level by 2020. More strict regulatory laws,
carbon tax for high carbon footprint processes and tax relief for efficient industries are
expected in future. Low awareness among industry owners, lack of competent
consultants for implementation, lack of technical data like local emission factors, not
having any record of fuel usage, slow progress in implementation, and lack of
incentive schemes for small and medium enterprises were few inhibitors stated by the
experts which slows the path of any organization towards environmental
sustainability. Most of them believed that earlier movers in lean implementation will
gain many benefits in terms of reputational and brand enhancement with global
customers, increase in revenue by identification of energy saving measures, and
improvement of employees’ satisfaction as well as efficiency.
Online survey was conducted on lean awareness and practices of 284 apparel
manufacturing units of National Capital Region (NCR). The demographic profile of
the respondents revealed that majority of the respondents was production managers
while none of them were the general managers or the owners of the unit. Majority of
the units surveyed were small scale producing ladies wear and children wear, while
38% apparel units were new which were established in last ten years, 31% were
adolescent and old, each established in last twenty years and before twenty years
respectively.
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An analysis of the data revealed that the high majority of the respondents that
is 70% were not at all aware of this new Japanese manufacturing technology. Only
2% of the respondents were extremely aware of this concept. Main sources of
spreading awareness were seminars or conferences, government schemes, and local
companies. Further, 93% had not initiated lean while only 2% had initiated lean very
well. Out of 7% units which had initiated lean to different extent, only 4% of the
apparel units had initiated lean in the last 2 years while the rest 3% of the apparel
units had been practicing lean since more than 2 years. These units had initiated lean
under the Lean Manufacturing Competitiveness Scheme (LMCS) with the help of
registered lean consultants. It was found that 7% of the units which had initiated lean
to varying extent had implemented 5S and Visual control each and hence these tools
were the first ranked and most common tools to be used forming the basis for the
implementation of the advance tools. These tools were followed by 6% units having
implemented Kaizen; Value Stream Mapping(VSM) and Workforce Orientation in
5% units ; 4% having implemented Standardized work and Total Productive
Maintenance(TPM) each; Problem Solving and Poka yoke in 2% units ; and Kanban,
Heijunka, Single Minute Exchange Of Dies(SMED), cellular manufacturing and
Andon in 1% units. Just in Time (JIT) was found to be the least implemented practice.
Comparative analysis of the extent of awareness and initiation on the basis of
size of the apparel unit revealed that medium scale units were highly and significantly
aware of the lean concepts including 9% and 18% of medium scale in comparison to
1% and 3% of small scale apparel units which were very and moderately aware
respectively. Similarly 7% of medium scale apparel units in comparison to none of
small scale units had initiated lean very well respectively. Majority of small scale
units that is 96% had not initiated lean in comparison to 85% medium scale units. Six
percent and 9 % of the medium scale units had initiated lean in less than 2 years and
more than 2 years respectively in comparison to only 4% of the small scale which had
initiated lean only in the last two years. It was found that only seven lean tools were
adopted in the small scale units in comparison to all 15 lean tools and practices by the
medium scale units, though the overall adoption was found in very few units. A
highly significant relationship between unit size category and level of the lean
awareness and initiation, year of the lean initiation, adoption of lean tools and
practices of the apparel manufacturing units was statistically established using chi
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square test. Hence, first alternate hypothesis was accepted stating that size of the
apparel unit is significantly associated with the lean awareness and implementation.
Statistical analysis of the impact of age of the unit on awareness and initiation
revealed that 5% of the old units, which came into existence in more than 20 years
were extremely aware of the lean concepts while, only 1% each of adolescent and
new units, were extremely aware which came into being in last 20 and10 years
respectively. Only 5% and 2% of the adolescent and old apparel units respectively
had implemented lean very well in comparison to only 1% of new units. High majority
of the respondents that is 97%, 92% and 87% of the new, adolescent and old apparel
units respectively had not initiated lean .Eight percent, 5% and 2% had initiated lean
in less than 2 years in comparison to 5 % 3% and 1% of old, adolescent and new
apparel units respectively had initiated since more than 2 years. All the 15 identified
lean tools and practices were adopted in new apparel units in comparison to 10 and 14
lean tools implemented in adolescent and old apparel units. The Chi-Square value of
above mentioned associations were found nonsignificant. Thus, second alternate
hypothesis was rejected stating that age of the apparel manufacturing unit is not
significantly associated with the lean awareness, implementation, year of lean
initiation and tools used.
In Phase II, general information regarding 10 lean and non-lean initiated
units each were analyzed using Mann-Whitney U test revealing that, there was no
statistical significant difference between lean and non-lean apparel units in terms of
full time employees, annual turnover, annual garment production and total floor area.
An in-depth investigation into the lean implementation of the 10 lean initiated units
clearly revealed that most of the units had embraced lean manufacturing with the help
of consultants registered under the Lean Competitive Manufacturing Scheme started
by the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in 2010.Most of the units
had displayed posters on lean tools, slogans and process flow chart of lean journey,
ensuring that the lean implementation in some form or the other was taking place in
these garment factories to improve business performances. Majority of the units had
learnt about the lean concept in the conferences, seminars and from the local
associations, and, since then, has come a long way in its understanding of the Lean.
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Interviews with industrial engineers and other concerned personnel’s threw
light on the implementation of lean throughout the different departments of the
apparel manufacturing units. Overproduction, inventory, waiting, rework or defect,
disconnectivity, excess motion and excess transportation were the main wastes
identified. Out of all the wastes, waste of overproduction was the most serious, worst
and the fundamental waste, as it not only led to other wastes but also discouraged a
smooth flow of goods or services further inhibiting quality and productivity. Though
all the wastes were inter-connected, but their form varied in different apparel units. It
was observed that the apparel units surveyed were found to be using the same basic
tools and, further use of advance tools depended on the problems faced by different
units. Short summary of case studies of 10 apparel manufacturing units is described in
succeeding paragraphs.
Apparel manufacturing unit A, being an ISO: 9001 certified garment export
unit was established in 1980, manufacturing the children and ladies garments and was
located in Faridabad. The lean implementation in the unit started with the formation
of lean team including members from industrial engineering background. The lean
story board was prepared considering the 7 universal wastes as analyzed by each
department followed by the training on lean concepts for all the employees. Various
simple and advanced lean tools and practices were adopted.5S and Visual control
changes included regular checks and audits of the cleanliness drive, display of before
after pictures, company policies, safety instructions, aisle markings, warning of
hazardous work conditions, steps of taking measurement in sequence for checkers,
and performance status boards.Standard operating procedures (SOP) for all the
processes were initiated and displayed in the sewing area. Total Productive
Management (TPM) focusing on regular maintenance of the machines and displaying
of records were practiced. Skill matrix was prepared to understand the current skill
availability of the operators and for proper line planning and balancing.
Value stream was mapped for a particular style by conducting time study and
future Value Stream Map (VSM) was planned with Kaizen activities initiated with the
help of problem solving techniques. It involved solving problems of moving the
cutting tables to join with Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM) by the construction
of tracks on the cutting floor and solving problem of lot mixing by use of colour
coded labels. Shift from conventional to U-shaped cell was done for 3 sewing lines
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involving few infrastructural changes such as a quality check station in the end of the
line and connected finishing area. All the members of the team worked together for
the smooth flow of operations and variety of products. Separate Andon signal light
was connected to each workstation and was activated with a pull switch whenever
there was a problem. Kanban for the movement of bundles was implemented in
between cutting and sewing sections.
Before the implementation of lean tools and practices in the unit, traditional
mass production system was practiced; the departments were unsystematic with no
regular cleaning, with tools and fabric rolls, left over pieces, items lying on the floor
with no attention to the health of the employees, manual layering and transportation of
fabric and lot of wasteful activity prevalent in the unit. But, after the implementation
of the lean tools, lot of changes were observed like regular daily cleaning, systematic
layout of fabric rolls, pallets and stands for preventing fabric getting soiled, racks or
boxes for keeping fabric and tools, compulsory use of safety equipments; creation of
red and yellow tag area, reduction in the number of quality checking personnels, use
of colour coded flags for operations, maintenance of machine breakdown, use of work
aids, and installation of visual signal system. Proper utilization of cutting table and
Kanban implementation throughout the unit was the future agenda of lean
improvements in unit A.
Case study of apparel unit B revealed that it is an export-oriented apparel unit
established in 1999 in Noida manufacturing ladies and children wear. The owners of
the unit first learnt about the lean in a workshop organized by a local association. It
successfully adopted various tools in its unit namely 5S, Visual management, Value
Stream Mapping, Kaizen, Andon, Poka yoke, Problem solving techniques and
Standardized work. The manufacturing unit B had won the best Kaizen idea award
and TESCO award 2012 for its commendable performance in the implementation of
lean. Main benefits related to Lean adoption were the increase in efficiency from 55%
to 70%, productivity increased from 10 pieces/machine to 15 pieces /machine, lead
time reduced from 60 days to 45 days, man- machine ratio reduced from 1:3 to 1:0.5,
decrease in cost per price from Rs.30/piece to Rs.18/piece, work in progress from
1500 piece to 700 pieces, decrease in inventory level, and reduction in garment
rejection.
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It started with the conduct of training and workshop for employees at different
levels and displaying of motivational lean tool posters on the walls all over the unit.
Workshops for supervisors stressed on improving their communication skills and
training to give instructions in a polite manner, while that of workers stressed on the
understanding of the concept of internal and external customers and importance of
passing on quality products to them.
First tool to be implemented was 5S and various improvements were carried
out through marking of files; marking of the exact place for keeping files; segregation
of needles of different sizes in different boxes for ease in issuing; extra items placed
in centrally located red tag area; before and after photos taken for comparison; regular
cleaning of the workplace by sweepers; clear marking of aisle ways and so forth.
Visual displays in the form of process and work instructions; coloured boundary for
items such as dustbins, machines and fire extinguishers; garment specification sheet;
accessories display in store; shadow boards, colored diagram for threading of a
machine; sample of finished garment; Heijunka boards showing the status of daily
schedules ; and marking of light and fan switches were observed. Colour stickers
were used as Poka yoke on different size piece bundles to avoid sewing wrong pieces
and making and display of standard work instructions or standard operating procedure
(SOPs) of every sewing operation for the convenience of operators. Current and
future Value Stream was mapped to bring about a deep understanding and conveying
enough information to understand the pieces, relationships and hidden wastes. Pre-
production meetings were conducted to enhance the communication between the
departments. Problem solving techniques like fish bone diagram, 5-why analysis, and
brain storming were used to identify and solve the problems using team based
approach.
Before the implementation of lean, the apparel unit was unorganized and had a
dirty workplace, with haphazard arrangements of fabric and accessories, problem of
high labour absenteeism, no standardized operations, no maintenance of machines, no
coordination between the departments and so forth. But after the implementation of
lean, monitoring of quality and efficiency was done through traffic light system;
purchase of good quality less maintenance machines; organization of Kaizen mela;
skill matrix; and formation of different committees such as sexual harassment, fire
fighter, health and safety, worker’s grievance redressal committee to look after the
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problems of workers; practice of incentive system; hanging of feedback board; visual
displays of different policies on the notice board and so forth. One of the Kaizen
implemented was of pasting pictures of various God’s and deities in corridors where
operators used to spit on walls, and another event was about marking on sewing
machine stitch regulator with a marker so that prescribed SPI(Stitch per inch)could be
maintained. The unit showed keen interest in changing the layout of sewing line into
cell type in future.
Apparel unit C was a medium scale unit established in 2004 in Noida,
manufacturing ladies garments. A consultant was employed to bring about lean
transformation in the whole unit in 2011 with the intention to satisfy customer’s
demand of quality. Competent lean consultant along with management support were
the two main critical success factors bringing about progressive changes in the
productivity from 10 piece per machine to 12 piece per machine; efficiency was
increased from 45% to 50%, defect hundred unit(DHU) from 23% to 18%,reduction
in work in progress(WIP) from 1500 pieces to 1000 pieces, lead time from 90 days to
70 days, average style change over time from 25 days to 20 days, and man-machine
ratio from 1:3 to 1:2.
A lean team was formed with a co-coordinator to identify and remove the
problems. 5S was implemented as a systemized approach to provide safety by
wearing proper working clothes, safety glasses, gloves and shoes, no smoking in the
workplace; stairways not blocked or slippery; safety guards, belt guards and needle
installation in sewing machines to prevent serious injuries to workers; use and
maintenance of fire safety equipment and so forth. Visual displays such as samples of
finished garments, operation breakdown, measurement sheet, common defects, scale
fixed on table side, accessory swatch card in front of inspectors helped in smooth
working of the apparel unit. ‘Color coding’ in the form of dustbins, pipes, critical
operations and so forth was also done. Andon system was installed as a two way
communication device where the operator puts up red flag and switches on the red
bulb signaling that the machine had broken down and hanging green flag meant that
the problem had been sorted-out. Traffic light system was used to stop producing
defects at source with the use and display of A4 sheet audit format on which coloured
circles were filled by the quality auditor after inspection of the garment 4 times in a
day. Red colour meant two defects, yellow colour meant one defect and green colour
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meant no defect. Skill matrix was mapped for the sewing operators in order to
address the suitability of individuals for recruitment purposes, accomplishing a task at
hand, additional tasks, promotion, team or group participation and suitability for a
newly created position.
Before the lean implementation, lot of unsystematic activities were prevalent
in the unit such as wastage of fabric as leftover due to wrong estimation, mixing up of
checked and unchecked fabric, manual transportation of fabric rolls from one place to
another, imbalance in the sewing lines, unenthusiastic operators and so forth. But after
the lean implementation, lot of improvements were observed in terms of ordering only
2% extra fabric instead of 5% as done earlier; use of work aids such as attachments,
guides and folders; balancing of sewing lines by combining the operations; motivation
to employees for bringing up and implementing Kaizen ideas and so forth. Kaizen
events included rectifying the problem of safety that is electric shocks due to the
looseness of electric wires connecting to straight knife caused by passing, adjusting
and stretching the wire along the length of the table. Another small improvement
initiated was of reducing the sewing operations by the use of in house folders. The
management and employees made a plan to implement Kanban or pull system
between the departments in future.
Apparel unit D was a small scale export oriented unit established in 2003 in
Noida manufacturing ladies and children garments. The unit became aware of the lean
concept through a consultant agency. There was no industrial engineering department
in the unit; hence the lean team included mostly human resource professionals. It
affected the progress of the lean transformation journey to a great extent.
Before the lean implementation, no regular cleaning was done by the sweepers
or operators. The space was found crowded with parts and tools; un-needed items
stacked between workers; presence of excessive inventory; items and machines,
equipment and tools were dirty and not serviced regularly; and the equipments were
difficult to find. Threads, fabric, accessories in the store lay unsystematically on the
floor. Unidentified material, fabric, damaged tools lay under the tables, and garments
were hung on the fire extinguishers. 5S was first adopted in the store section leading
to proper arrangement and display of threads, accessories, and fabric. Different types
of wastes were identified in the apparel unit, which were then eliminated or removed
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by the use of lean tools and techniques. Visual displays included ‘no smoking’ or ‘no
mobile use’ instructions boards, types of fire extinguishers, first aid kit and
instructions, unit map; audit sheets, before and after pictures, boundary markings of
fire extinguishers, production board at the end of the line, mocks of sewing operations
at each work stations and so forth. Kaizen changes involving zero investment were
conducted in the unit by all the multi-skilled workers of various departments in
working together by addressing any problem or improve a process. All the chemicals,
fabric and accessories were kept separately on the marked rack and proper register
was maintained regarding its usage, proper alignment of machines and process bins
was done in such a way that it did not interfere with the movement of workers.
Apparel unit E was a small scale export oriented apparel unit established in
1988, manufacturing ladies and children garments. The continued pressure to improve
operational performance and search for best manufacturing practices were the main
driving forces behind implementing the lean which led to a little positive change in
the performance in term of 10% increase in productivity,15% increase in
efficiency,10% increase in quality,5% decrease in cost per piece,5% decrease in work
in Progress,5-10% decrease in the inventory level, 35% space saved, reduction in lead
time by 2-5%,and implementation of minimum two suggestions per month given by
the workers.
The process of lean transformation started with the selection of the highly
progressive and motivated workers to form the lean team implementing 5S all across
the unit through a standardized methodology. Few visual controls and danger zones,
like warning, fire extinguisher signs were posted at the appropriate places for
reference. All documents like files, format, registers, and log books were updated
periodically. Visual control was exercised by the display of visuals including waste
and 5S concept posters, safety features and instructions colour coded sheets,
important notices, and precautionary instructions.
Standard operating procedure (SOP) was prepared for stickering, as earlier
wrong stickering had created lot of quality issues at the production lines. Value
Stream Mapping (VSM) was manually represented on a paper and non-value added
activities were identified and reduced. Problem solving techniques were used to assess
and document the current inventory levels in specific related areas like the accessories
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stores. Kaizens were initiated by different departments under the supervision of the
consultant focusing on the simplified solutions like feasibility study of the purchase of
a thread rewinding machine, playing of FM India radio station for motivating
employees to enthusiastically participate in all the work. Daily management system
was employed to reduce the defect hundred unit (DHU) of the selected style from
34% to 11%, which was a good sign of improvement. Management and the
employees wanted to focus on further lowering DHU level to 5%.
Before lean implementation, all left over thread reels and accessories were
unsystematically placed, dumped in plastic bags in corners and on the floor, no
standardized procedure followed, no visual information, no regularity in cleaning
sewing area and high level of defects were noticed. But after lean implementation,
samples, fabric, accessories, garments were systematically arranged and proper
records maintained; cloth bags were made to store and labelled as per buyer for easy
identification; implementation of standard operating procedure for ticketing and
ordering extra accessories; use of colour coded flag system; and regular cleaning and
sweeping of the floor . 5S implementation all over the unit is planned for future.
Apparel unit F manufacturing ladies and children wear and was an ISO: 9001
certified export oriented unit established in 2003 in Noida The unit’s industrial
engineering department, comprising of 4 people handled the lean initiation process.
Moreover, the management kept a track and control on all the activities so that any
deviation is immediately reported and the explanation for such incident asked.
Management support, continuous trainings and the improvements guided by an
competent lean consultant were the main critical success factors found, which led to
the increase in productivity from 22,41,331 garments to 31,49,668 per year ;increase
in the efficiency from 42.61% to 51.81%;decrease in defect per hundred unit(DHU)
from 8% to 6%;cost per minute from Rs. 0.99 per minute to Rs. 0.81 per min;
decrease in work in progress from 4 days to 1 day; decrease in inventory from 34,000
per day to 24,000 per day; breakdown hours in months from 9,234 per year to 7,110
per year; decrease in garment rejection from 8% to 4-5%; decrease in lead time from
40-45 days to 25-35 days; average style changeover time from 2-3 days to 3-4 hours;
and number of suggestions by workers to 5-6 per month.
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The lean transformation started with the trainings and implementation of 5S
concept. Different departments had prominently displayed big posters with clear
instructions of Do’s and Don’ts. Well defined storage spaces were provided for
various processes like fabric before and after checking, fabric relaxation, fabric
storage before cutting, surplus fabric and end bits, temporary fabric storage just before
cutting, cut parts storage, before and after auditing, finished cut parts storage, pattern
and marker storage with well defined instruction boards. Visual displays included
pictures of different wastes taken from the unit, pin ups of the waste types, line layout,
motivational cartoon characters and so forth. Small Minute Exchange of Dies
(SMED) concept and Kanban system was implemented in the unit. Poka yoke in the
form of pin table was used which simplified the matching and cutting of check fabric.
The apparel unit in which the lean manufacturing techniques was practiced, the
operations were documented and video graphed for identification and removal of all
the non-value added activities. Earlier, only supervisors were involved in the problem
solving, but, after lean implementation, workers got actively involved in the
improvement projects.
Before the lean implementation, traditional system of manufacturing was
followed with no standards for man, machine and method, no awareness about wastes,
mixing of different lot size cuttings in cutting section, manual transfer of cut bundles
to sewing section, lack of communication among the departments, and low employee
engagement. But, after Lean implementation, practice of identifying non- value added
activities by the workers and writing it on paper slips and sticking it on the chart
indicating types of wastes each. Other improvement activities involved use of
Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM), mechanized spreaders, use of pin table to
align stripes and checks, use of specially designed inspection table with separate
drawers to keep rejected and passed pieces, change in layout, and right first time
principle was adopted. Various facilities were introduced to the employees such as
canteen facility, introduction of chillers, hostel facility, award ceremonies and so
forth. Cellular arrangement was set up in the sewing department engaging operators
into semi-autonomous and multi-skilled teams or work cells, who manufactured
complete garments. Kaizen or improvement ideas suggested by the employees
involved improving source quality, team concept and one point flow. The unit made
plans to work towards operator involvement and empowerment in future.
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Apparel unit G was SA8000 certified medium scale export oriented unit
manufacturing the ladies and children wear and was established in 1992 in Gurgaon.
The unit was motivated by the desire to improve profit, service, price and ultimately
led to many progressive changes like increase in productivity from 8.57 to 11.52
pieces per operator, increase in efficiency from 40% to 56%,decrease in DHU from
10% to 6%,decrease in work in progress from 250 pieces to 60 pieces, garment
rejection from 5% to 2%,decrease in lead time from 90 days to 60 days, decrease in
manpower from 35 to 20,style change over time from 10-12 hours to 3-4 hours, and
suggestions by the operator from none to two per week.
5S and Visual displays included lean posters, motivational quotes, companies’
policies, audit sheets, marking of departments and areas, performance status boards,
unscannable carton stickers, colour-coded country wise stickers for cartons, labeling
of baskets, instructions, safety tips and so forth. Value Stream Mapping helped in
identifying the various wastes and later the future Value Stream Mapping was done to
eliminate or remove them by use of lean tools and techniques. The sewing setup was
changed to modular or cellular line that is U- shaped. Clockwise checking and
Kanban or pull system was implemented in the sewing lines leading to reduction in
rejected pieces and bundle size from 12 to 3-4.
Before the lean, the unit was resorting on traditional mass production system
and showed no healthy coordination among line supervisors and workers; under
utilization of employees; slow transmission of information upstream and downstream;
high breakdowns of machines; no record of inventory all along the value chain and so
forth. After the lean implementation, various improvements included coding of racks
in the store room and maintenance of record of accessories, making of skill matrix,
group incentives, standardized work practices were planned in production processes.
The unit plans to implement 5S in merchandising and provide training to the
operators.
Apparel unit H was a medium scale export oriented unit located in Greater
Noida, established in 1979 and was producing only the ladies garments. The unit
initiated the lean in 2008 with the aim to improve its performance. A competent
consultant and continuous efforts to improve were the two main critical success
factors which led to positive changes in the performance in terms of increase in
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production from 10-12 pieces per operator to 16-17 pieces per operator; increase in
efficiency from 27% to 45%,decrease in Defect Hundred Unit(DHU) from 14% to 6-
7% ,reduction in work in progress from 3 days to 4 hours, garment rejection reduced
from 6-7% to 2-3%, reduction in helpers in one sewing line was from 4 to 2, and
suggestions from operators came to 10-12 per month.
In this unit, 5S was the first tool to be implemented as it formed one of the
foundation features of lean transformation process. Different colours like red, green,
white and yellow and shapes such as circle, triangle and rectangle were used as
signage for prohibition, attention, fire fighting, and obligation, indicating information,
danger and safe conditions. Cut pieces were kept on racks as the Kanban signals were
sent to the sewing line. Visual displays included the production efficiency board,
defect hundred unit (DHU) status, 5S thermometer, aisle markings etc. Current Value
Stream Mapping and Future Value Stream was mapped eliminating the bottlenecks
that led to the systematic flow of material and information. Radio Frequency
Identification (RFID) based bundle tracking and the traffic signal light system was
implemented in the sewing section to motivate the operators to produce good quality
garments.
Before Lean implementation, there was unsystematic and haphazard
placement of items all over the apparel unit, problem of late delivery, lot of reworks
and defects, and demotivated labour force. But with the Lean implementation, lot of
small improvements like neatly hung patterns in cloth bags to protect them from wear
and tear, and getting dirty; organization of workplace to eliminate hesitation and
disorder and to ease information and material flow; incentive policy; use of shadow
markings done on checking tables; and labeling of material in the accessory store as
per style number in their respective shelves were seen.
Various Kaizens were initiated. One such improvement activity initiated was
of the use of cloth bags made of left over fabric for transferring cut piece bundle from
one workstation to another instead of polybags. Another Kaizen initiated was that of
introduction of thread cutting in the sewing line in order to optimize the manpower
utilization in the finishing department. Various error proofing techniques were used in
the information generation and reporting system also. The unit plans to strictly
implement 4th and 5th S that is standardization and audits in future.
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Apparel unit I was a small scale export oriented unit manufacturing the ladies
and children garments in Noida since 1989.The pressure to increase the profit was the
main motivating force behind the initiation, but the managerial push and consultant’s
knowledge had proven to be the actual reason behind its success. The improvements
observed were the 10%increase in productivity,15% increase in efficiency,5%
increase in quality,5% decrease in cost per piece,2% decrease in work in Progress,
30% space saved, style change over time reduced to one week, and 2-3 suggestions
per month by workers.
It started with the training on the topics of basic lean concept, 7 wastes, and
problem solving methods and forming of a lean team and then an in-depth awareness
was provided to all factory workers on the 5S stages. Various identification markers
were used in the unit such as location markers in the form of tape strips on files,
colour coding, and numbering; quantity markers in the form of signs indicating
minimum or maximum and standard containers. Standard methods in the form of
charts of standard time were displayed, work sequence, standard procedures; tags in
the form of red tag on items which were not needed, on defects and broken items; and
so forth. Personnel boards in the form of availability, assignment, and the location of
departments were displayed.
Before lean implementation, there was untidy arrangement of materials and
machines, prevalence of manual pattern making, process waste lying in the walkway,
traditional system of sewing clothes with all sewing operators sitting on separate
tables with machines and so forth. Colour coding standards, Visual control, Value
Stream Mapping were followed and used for bringing about improvements. After lean
implementation, procedure of performing particular operation was pasted in front of
each worker seat, use of CAD for making patterns, proper placement of thread reels in
boxes on the racks and maintenance of records, and attachment of thread clippers to
their machine to be used by operators etc. Kaizen events were initiated including
restructuring of the fabric store to increase its storage capacity. Another Kaizen
initiated was of arranging the patterns in the sampling room as per the buyer
requirements to reduce wastage in finding them again during the production times.
Future plans include reduction in changeover time of the styles.
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Apparel unit J was a medium scale export-oriented unit manufacturing men’s,
ladies and children wear and was established in 1992 in Faridabad. The unit searched
for the best manufacturing practices and the management support with a long term
vision which motivated them to implement the lean. Progressive changes were
experienced which included increase in the efficiency from 46% to 61% and the
reduction in lead time from 4 hour 50 min to 3 hour 25 min. Time constraints and
resistance to support were the two major inhibiting factors which hindered the
complete lean implementation in the unit. This unit had built a new green factory, to
produce ladies top and t-shirts for men, and, it is the second green apparel factory in
North India.
Visual aids such as 5S zone depicting the various initiatives were done to
implement 5S; benefits of 5S written in Hindi, man-machine waiting chart were
displayed for identifying both the man and machine idle time; and outsourcing status
as well as in-line status was displayed. Equipment was maintained by the
implementation of Total Productive Management (TPM) system. Single Minute
Exchange of Dies (SMED) tool was implemented with the actual measurement of
style change over time. Style change over time was also calculated for a style for a
month as 132,667 seconds (7% of total unit waste) and on the basis of this data,
underutilized work time was reduced to 45.56 minutes per day.
Before lean implementation, conditions like no standardized procedures, no
visual displays, unsystematic flow of material, time consuming fusing operation, and
time consuming flow of material were prevalent. After lean, many improvements
were observed like standard operating procedure (SOP) of measurement were made,
balanced flow of operations, change of layout, combining operations by use of folders
,conducting of work study, segregation of size stickers etc. Kaizen teams for
continuous improvement were formed throughout the unit. Sewing lines were
transformed into U-shape lines which emphasized the flow orientation so that only
minimum movement was required to move work pieces from one station to another.
The apparel unit revealed that their next step in the lean journey would be the regular
5S audits and bringing about changes in sewing section from assembly line to cell.
The cross case analysis of all the units revealed that lean was initiated with
conducting of trainings and workshops to educate the employees regarding the lean
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concept in all units. Awareness sessions were organized for top executives, including
the CEO about the lean in order to get commitment and endorsement to continue with
the implementation. Most of the apparel units were using some of the same old tools
of production. 5S, Visual Management and Kaizen were found to be the most
commonly implemented lean tools. The 5S and Visual Control tools were often the
first lean tools being implemented by them. Various trainings programme were found
really helpful for all the apparel units, but “learning by doing” approach was the main
reason behind the success of the process. The majority of the apparel units surveyed
were using only a few lean tools, but all had planned to implement more in the future.
Apparel manufacturing units interviewed and surveyed which had initiated the
process of lean implementation had not yet seen the success level that Toyota had
achieved by following this system religiously for more than 40 years. However, the
companies surveyed had just started their lean journey and had been using lean for
less than 5 years. It has been agreed by them that the changes and improvements from
using lean take months and even years to become recognizable. Moreover, it is a well
known fact that lean is a long term commitment and that “the results are not apparent
overnight”. In some units it had taken over three years for some benefits of lean to
reveal itself and that it is not yet over, and the companies also felt that they still have a
long way to go on their lean journey. Management as well as all the employees who
were following lean practices was satisfied with the lean implementation as they were
aware of its benefits and in future, they see an increase in the importance of the lean
in the garment industry.
Various factors which had driven most of the units to initiate lean
manufacturing system were rated from 1 to 5. It was found that maintaining
competitive advantage in service, quality and price was found to be the most highly
rated with an average mean of 4.20, followed by pressure to improve profit ,achieve
shorter lead and search for best manufacturing practices. The lowest in rating was the
factor desire to minimize capital blocked in inventory. Short term focus and lack of
consistency with the mean of 4.60 was the most prominent inhibiting factor, followed
by other factors such as lack of resources, employee’s resistance to change, and lack
of understanding and knowhow for implementation having mean of 4.20, 3.40 and 2
respectively. The lowest in rating was given to the lack of management support as in
most of the units, management was supportive. Management Support was found to be
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the most important critical success factor responsible for proper and smooth
implementation of lean with a mean of 4.20.It was followed by trainings and
competent lean consultant having mean of 4 and 3.80 respectively. Lowest score that
is 2.60 was obtained by organizational culture of effective communication and
continuous improvement and employee involvement and empowerment. Highly
significant p-value of ANOVA demonstrated that the differences between the mean of
all the lean driving, inhibiting and critical success factors were statistically significant.
Thus all the above stated factors have effect on the units to initiate lean
manufacturing.
The current status of lean initiatives of 20 apparel units in the National Capital
Region was assessed using an assessment matrix which was classified into six phases
namely traditional (Non-Lean), planning and initiation stage (phase I), early phase or
improving (phase II), extensive introduction(phase III), advanced
implementation(phase IV) and world class(phase V). The status of lean initiation in
the form of 6 phases was computed from the average score of the 33 lean key
practices distributed amongst the seven major lean bundles namely, Leadership and
Culture, Workforce Orientation, 5S, Visual Management, Total Productive
Maintenance, Total Quality Management and Just in Time at the six levels from
baseline to completely signifying the extent of the lean manufacturing
implementation. Score obtained in seven different Lean criterias were added to get the
total score and accordingly the phase of lean initiation was decided.
Analysis of the scores revealed that all the non- lean Initiated units which were
at the phase non-lean were traditional in their working. They had minimal lean
awareness and had not introduced the lean principles. Fifty percent of the lean
initiated units which were at phase I that is at the planning, learning and initiation
stage. These units had some awareness of the lean concept and some sporadic
improvement activities were underway in few areas. Highly noticeable proportion of
units was at early phase II of improvement. In all the units, lean orientation of
workforce and management and general awareness and openness to change was
observed. Only one lean initiated unit was at phase III that is at extensive lean
introduction and results visibility phase. This unit had adopted the systematic
approach in varying stages across most areas achieving solid progress which was
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measured in terms of performance metrics and also good sustainment was observed in
most of its improvements.
Analysis of the association of lean awareness and phases of the lean initiation
revealed that 5 apparel manufacturing units which were extremely aware of the lean
concept had initiated lean and out of it, 4 units were at phase II and one unit at phase
III of lean initiatives. Four apparel units which were very aware of lean concepts were
at phase I of lean initiation. Four units which were not aware of the concept at all had
not initiated lean in their manufacturing unit. Out of five units, which had initiated
lean since more than 2 years, four were at phase II and only one was at Phase III of
lean initiation. Five units which had initiated lean in last 2 years were at phase I,
while 10 units which had not initiated lean were at non-lean phase. More than 16 lean
tools and practices were adopted by units which were at phase III of lean initiation.
Maximum 12 tools were adopted by apparel manufacturing units which were at phase
II while maximum 10 tools were adopted by the units at phase I.
The average score of the lean assessment 82.7 was obtained by the lean
initiated units which revealed that they had adopted most of the tools and practices
well and were continuously making efforts towards improvement, but, still have a
long way to go. Fair majority of the lean initiated units that is 66% had implemented
Visual Management quite well followed by 60% high scores in 5S and Leadership
and Culture both; followed by Workforce Orientation, Total Quality Management,
Total Productive Maintenance and Just in Time. Low score of lean initiation that is
17.5 was obtained by non-lean initiated units which depicted that various important
elements of lean implementation were not prevalent in them.
Fair majority that is 62% of lean initiated units had an informal lean strategy
and time-line implementation; formation and working of lean team; had defined key
performance metrics with management support and guidance. Fifty six percent of
these units had awareness regarding cultural issues and these changes were mainly
addressed via communication and team meetings.
Current level of workforce orientation revealed that majority of the employees
that is 60% were committed towards their work. Team work was found prevalent in
56% of the lean initiated units where most of the employees worked individually
towards a common goal. It was followed by 54% of the employees in the lean
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Initiated units were aware of the unit’s vision and goals and were trained and their
skills were up graded. Informal and formal excellent communication in 52% units was
there throughout the unit both upward and inward while in 48% units, operators were
multi-skilled and their cross skill training matrix existed and was posted visually.
Forty percent of the apparel units had various training and workers up-gradation
programs planned throughout the year.
The average score of the 5S revealed that 70% had clearly indicated and
dedicated positions for needed items, 68% of the workers had red tag area for
unneeded items, and 64% had regular cleaning of the area and equipment. Fifty six
percent units had standard work layout posted and consistently used, while; only 40%
units conducted 5S assessment or audits occasionally.
Assessment of current level of Total Quality Management revealed that in
62% lean initiated apparel units, workers understood the importance of Value Stream
Mapping (VSM) while 60% conducted shop floor and monthly meetings frequently.
In 58% units, even though operators were conscious of the quality produced, still
inline and end line checking was used to find defects. Fifty two percent of units had
moderate awareness regarding the usage of simple problem solving tools and used
some of them such as 5 why, Spaghetti diagram, VSM, Root cause analysis and Cause
and Effect analysis to prioritize and address problems, as well as had policy regarding
continuous improvement methods focusing on training as investment while in 50 %
unit’s planned and implemented Kaizens once in 14 days. Defective pieces were
detected immediately as occurred in production area due to the installation of simple
error proofing devices in 48% units. Least followed quality practice was that only
28% units had quality control circles operating in one or two departments to solve
problems. In these units, incentives were paid to encourage the use of suggestion
system for idea generation.
Current levels of Just in time in most of the lean initiated apparel units were
found to be below average. The sewing line layout was changed into cell by clubbing
various process steps after time study and its documentation in 48% of the lean
initiated units. Weeks’ worth of pieces was stored in between the sewing line in 46%
of units. Forty four percent units had standardized written operation sequence for
most of the operations after identification of value and non-value added steps.
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Noticeable proportion of units conducted weekly production planning with calculation
of takt time while only 26% units had awareness regarding setup time reduction and
very few actually gave training to workers and reduced the changeover time of styles.
All these lean practices were prevalent at a very low level in non-lean initiated apparel
manufacturing units.
The Mann-Whitney U test showed highly significant differences of the mean
scores of Leadership and Culture, Workforce Orientation, Visual Management, Total
Productive Maintenance, Total Quality Management and Just in Time among lean and
non-lean initiated apparel units. Similarly, significant difference in the mean scores in
5S and total lean assessment score was highlighted by t-test. Spearman rank
correlation analysis conducted to examine the relationship between individual lean
assessment variables, and the total lean assessment score revealed that the relationship
between lean assessment score and other variables namely Leadership and
Culture(ρs =.672**), Workforce Orientation(ρs =.626**), Visual Management(ρs
=.745***), Total Quality Management(ρs = .832***), and Just in Time((ρs =.794***) was
linear, positive and highly significant while its relation with Total Productive
Maintenance(ρs =.544**
) was found just significant. Pearson correlation between the
total lean assessment score and 5S (r=.659**)
was found significant and positive. It
was concluded that increase in lean assessment score correspond to increase in the
individual lean practice. Hence, third alternate hypothesis was accepted stating that
there is a significant difference in the lean initiation status between lean initiated and
non-lean initiated apparel units.
Out of 20 apparel units, five units were extremely aware of the lean concept
had an average lean assessment score of 105.6 followed by four units which were very
aware of the lean concept having an average lean assessment score of 63.3 in
comparison to only four apparel units were not at all aware of the lean concept,
having an average lean assessment score was 9.5.Anova analysis and post-hoc tests
using the Bonferroni Correction revealed that the lean awareness highly significantly
enhanced the status of Lean initiatives in apparel units as p<0.001. Fourth alternate
hypothesis was accepted stating that lean awareness makes a significant difference in
the current status of lean initiatives.
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The analysis of data revealed that out of total 20 units, 5 units which had
initiated lean since more than 2 years had an average lean assessment score of 105.60
followed by score of 59.80 obtained by units which had initiated lean in the last 2
years. Low score of 17.50 was obtained by 10 units which had not-initiated lean.
Highly significant value of ANOVA revealed that the number of years of lean
initiation had a positive impact on the lean assessment score signifying the status of
lean initiatives. Statistically, highly significant value of post-hoc tests namely
Bonferroni correction revealed that the number of years of lean initiation significantly
enhanced the status of lean initiatives (in terms of score) in apparel unit. Here fifth
hypothesis was accepted stating that year of lean initiation makes a significant
difference in the current status of lean initiatives.
Comparative analysis of the manufacturing and environmental performance of
the apparel units was carried out in terms of operator productivity, total labour
productivity, efficiency, work in progress, defects per hundred unit and percentage
defective among 10 lean and non-lean initiated units each. Data for analysis was
collected for a common garment that is any type of ladies top or shirt with full sleeves
and collar style in terms of number of helpers, tailors, checkers, supervisors,
machines used, working hours, loading ,production, number of garment inspected and
defective garments was collected for all the production days.
The result revealed that the lean initiated apparel export firms had higher
operator productivity, total labour productivity and efficiency than non- lean initiated
units. Defect per hundred units and percentage defective in lean initiated units were
found lower than non- lean initiated units except for work in progress. Mann Whitney
U test revealed a highly significant difference in the mean of operator productivity
and total labour productivity as 11.20 and 9.17 respectively in lean initiated units,
which was higher in comparison to non-lean initiated units, as 9.40 and 7.30
respectively. A t- test revealed that the mean of efficiency of lean and non -lean
initiated units was 62.12 and 38.40 respectively, which was found to be statistically
reliable, revealing that lean initiated units had higher efficiency than non-lean initiated
apparel manufacturing units. Lean initiated apparel manufacturing units (M = 513.72)
and the non- lean initiated units (M =734.34), demonstrated a non significant
difference in the work in progress. A t-test revealed a statistically reliable difference
between the mean of defect hundred unit, of lean initiated units and the non-lean
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initiated units as 8.18 and 12.60 respectively. Also a significant difference in
performance in terms of percentage defective was found highlighting that low
percentage defective was found in lean initiated units as 7.08 in comparison to the
non-lean initiated apparel manufacturing units as 11.53.Sixth hypothesis was
accepted stating that there is a significant difference in the productivity, efficiency,
defects per hundred unit per and percentage defective among two types of units
except for work in progress.
Data collected for calculation of carbon footprint included Scope I and II
sources from 10 lean and 10 non-lean initiated apparel manufacturing units. Data in
terms of electric units consumed; fuel consumed by boilers, generator, tumblers, air
heaters, company owned vehicles etc ; number of LPG cylinders consumed ;lubricants
consumed; biomass fuel used; refrigerant fuel used in refrigerators, air conditioners;
gas refills in fire extinguishers was collected for the annual year 2012 .Calculations
for carbon foot print was done as per the standards of ISO- 14064-1 and Guidance of
World Resources Institute and the World Business Council for Sustainable
Development. There was a difference in scope I and scope II average emissions in
both groups. Lean initiated unit’s emitted 361.93 tonnes CO2 e/year in scope I and
194.92 tonnes CO2 e/year in scope II, which was quite less in comparison to non-lean
initiated units, which emitted 557.32 tonnes CO2 e/year in scope I and 221.46 tonnes
CO2 e/year in Scope II. Average stationary, mobile and fugitive emissions in lean
initiated units was 432.29 tonnes CO2 e/year,113.94 tonnes CO2 e/year and 10.49
tonnes CO2 e/year in comparison to 501.92 tonnes CO2 e/year,257.76 tonnes CO2
e/year and 19.06 tonnes CO2 e/year respectively in non-lean initiated units of National
Capital Region(NCR).
Statistical analysis using Mann -Whitney U test revealed a non-significant
difference in the mean rank values that is 0.04 tonnes Co2 e/per sq. ft. of operation in
lean and 0.14 CO2 e/per sq. ft. of operation in the non-lean apparel units. T- test
analysis revealed a statistically reliable difference between the mean of carbon
footprint per full time employee in lean initiated unit and non-lean initiated unit which
was 0.78 and 2.38 tonnes CO2e/full time employee respectively. Similarly lean
initiated units and the non -lean initiated units with a mean of 11.78 and 27.05
tonnes CO2 e/rupee earned respectively demonstrated a highly significant difference
in the carbon foot print per rupee earned. Hence, lower carbon foot print per rupee
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earned was found in lean initiated unit in comparison to non-lean initiated apparel
manufacturing units. A t-test revealed that lean initiated unit (M =.0008) and the non
-lean initiated units (M =.0015), demonstrated a non-significant difference in the
carbon foot print per garment as p>.05. Null hypothesis was partially accepted as no
significant difference was found between the mean scores of carbon foot print per
garment and carbon footprint per sq ft of operation between lean initiated and non-
lean initiated apparel units. Seventh hypothesis was accepted for two variables which
implied that there is significant difference in the carbon footprint per full time
employee and carbon foot print per rupee earned of two types of groups.
Statistical analysis of the data revealed that there was a significant difference
between the mean for few performance criteria’s, implying apparel export firms
having implemented lean for more than 2 years had higher efficiency, lower defect
per hundred units and percentage defective in comparison to the units that had
implemented lean in last 2 years. But no significant difference in the mean scores of
operator productivity, total labour productivity and work in progress was found in
these two groups. T -test revealed that there was no statistically reliable difference
between the mean of operator productivity and total labour productivity as apparel
units having implemented lean in more than 2 years had 11.36 and 9.50 respectively
and the apparel units having implemented lean within last 2 years had 11.04 and 8.84
respectively. A t-test revealed that there was a statistically reliable difference between
the mean number of efficiency, work in progress, defects per hundred unit, percentage
defective as mean of apparel unit having implemented lean in more than 2 years was
72.86, 443.01,4.53, 4.13 respectively and the apparel units having implemented lean
in less than 2 years was 51.37,584.44,11.84,10.04 respectively.
The data revealed that mean of the carbon foot print of the apparel units
having implemented lean in more than 2 years was lower than those having
implemented lean in last 2 years. A t test reveals that there is a high statistically
reliable difference between the mean of carbon footprint per full time employee,
carbon footprint per rupee earned, carbon footprint per garment, carbon footprint per
sq. ft. of operation and as apparel unit having implemented lean in more than 2 years
has mean value of 0.38, 11.08, 0.0007 and 0.04 in comparison to 1.17, 12.48, 0.0008
and 0.03 respectively. Eighth hypothesis was partially accepted stating that year of
lean initiation makes a significant difference in the performance of an apparel unit in
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the terms of efficiency, quality and carbon foot print per full time employees. Null
hypothesis was accepted for some manufacturing and environmental variables stating
that year of lean initiation makes no significant difference in the performance of an
apparel unit in the terms of productivity, work in progress, carbon footprint per annual
turnover, carbon footprint per annual garment produced and carbon footprint per total
floor area.
The dissemination of information was carried out through an awareness
workshop. The purpose of this workshop was to illustrate the value and competitive
advantage of lean principles and practices via practical showcase of the apparent
changes after the Lean implementation in some industries. It was conducted in
coordination with Knitwear Club in Ludhiana and the participants included managing
directors of the apparel units and their representatives. It started with the emphasis on
the need to aggressively pursue lean manufacturing processes, due to the fierce
offshore competition and more demanding customers than in the past. The pressure on
today’s manufacturers and risk of losing business to lower cost and faster performing
competitors was also highlighted motivating the participants to adopt this world class
manufacturing techniques. The power point presentations on lean and carbon footprint
were intended with the purpose of providing an in-depth view of the concept and
history of lean manufacturing as inspired from the automobile sector. The essence of
lean as a waste removing philosophy was explained in simple words with the help of
pictorial examples. Lean being a profit driver was discussed in terms of wastes and
lean practices for example Single Piece-Flow, Just in time(JIT), Poka-Yoke, Right
First Time (RFT), Continuous Improvement, Value Stream Mapping (VSM), Takt
Time, Kaizen, Jidoka, Visual Control and so forth. It provided a concise introduction
to the principles of this powerful tool and included thought provoking discussions
regarding the future of the apparel industry further pushing the participant’s thoughts
on to how to modify the organization to speed up the flow of product along with
strategies of spotting waste for elimination. Interactive game sessions on 5S, Poka
yoke and standardized procedure were also organized to provide a good
understanding among participants regarding these complex tools. Discussion on
implementation methodologies of lean tools in the perspective of the garment industry
was also carried out.
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The statistically significant connection between lean and carbon footprint
was also discussed with the aim of highlighting the issue of Global warming. Sources
of green house gases emission and measures to reduce its emissions were also
discussed. Brochures providing information regarding lean and carbon footprint were
also distributed among the participants. Questionnaires were filled by the
participant’s in the pre and post -workshop and again after one month in order to
assess the gains and retention in knowledge. The analysis revealed that post
workshop, the respondents became more aware of the two concepts ;realized its
importance and benefits; were able to identify wastes; lean tools and practices;
identify green house gases; sources of carbon footprint emissions; and standards and
guidelines for carbon footprint calculation. Majority of the respondents stated that the
presentation was easy to understand and it had added to their existing knowledge and
most of the respondents rated it excellent. The participants were motivated to adopt
these environmental friendly processes by tuning up their behaviour in this direction
for the global safety purposes.
Conclusion
Lean manufacturing has caught the attention and imagination of few
progressive apparel exporters in India, but with the knowledge and experience base
expanding slowly, lean implementation will soon become a common place. Few
apparel manufacturing units of National Capital Region (NCR) have started the
journey generating a whole lot of success stories with big difference in terms of
delivering real business profits and performances, while others are still hesitant and
struggling in their traditional setup.
To conclude, the study has shown that when an organization is involved in
lean, high productivity, efficiency and quality are possible along with other
environmental improvements in terms of carbon footprint. But still there is a long way
to go as there is an evidence of a variety of inhibiting factors preventing full
implementation in the apparel units. These factors must be accurately identified and
analyzed in every unit, and appropriate action must be taken to overcome them before
the full benefits of lean manufacturing can become a reality. Awareness needs to be
created in the apparel sector regarding the fact that lean is a incredibly continuous
successful system and worthwhile destination for those organizations which are
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committed to it for the long term inspite of many distractions along the way.
Everyone in the apparel manufacturing units must understand that the lean
manufacturing is here to stay and is a way to sure success.
Need and Significance of the Study
a) This research will present guidance to apparel manufacturing units in the
implementation of lean manufacturing tools according to their unit
requirements.
b) This research would help in generating awareness and understanding of the
lean manufacturing concept and tools and their practical implementation in the
apparel sector.
c) This research will help in not only exploring the new problems faced while
introducing the new production philosophy into the organization but will also
explore factors influencing its successes and failures within the apparel units.
d) This research will explore how well driving and inhibiting factors that has
been documented for automobile industry in the literature actually works in
the National Capital Region and also discover the factors that are unique to the
area.
e) Low level of lean awareness will be highlighted in the online survey
suggesting that the apparel industry owners who are not aware of the potential
benefits that lean will generate. Thus, this research will focus on the
dissemination of potential benefits of lean for the apparel industry through
awareness workshop.
f) It will facilitate to interpret space, light and other requirements of employees,
thus, will lead to improvement in their working conditions and health by
providing better options with reduction in carbon footprint.
g) The findings of this research will be helpful to the government in the
development of production strategy for organizational effectiveness through
the application of various lean manufacturing tools.
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h) The Lean assessment matrix developed can also be used by other apparel
manufacturing units actively engaged in their lean journey for future. The
assessment would give an opportunity to the units to benchmark themselves
against the “best in class” lean standard. Based on the benchmarking exercise
of comparing the company’s lean practices to the lean manufacturing
assessment “best in class” standard, a number of units will be able to define
remaining areas of improvement in their lean initiative. It will enable the
interested apparel unit’s to make forecasts on the relative cost of lean projects
upfront, anticipate lean benefits, and realize the degree of lean readiness.
i) The research will bring awareness regarding impact of new production
techniques on the productivity, quality, throughput time, carbon footprint
generation and efficiency. It will help the business leaders to take a stand and
commitment on climate change which will produce benefits in the form of
customer loyalty and help in capturing new markets, besides reducing Green
House Gases (GHG).
j) This research will be an effort in the direction of sensitization to change the
mind of firm owners and make them sensitive towards both the visible and
invisible factors that contribute to carbon footprint during the manufacturing
process. It will bring awareness among people especially manufacturers
regarding global warming.
k) Calculating carbon footprint generation is a valuable initiative towards
reducing climate change impact. Hence, this study will help to develop
pathway by shifting to carbon neutral technologies and promotion of energy
efficient methods.
l) It is hoped to bring behavioral changes in buyers leading to change in choices
by moving towards carbon neutral suppliers.
m) This research will provide motivation for some other apparel units to achieve
world class performance improvements just by providing right environment
through trainings as to be done in the selected lean initiated units. It will allow
some other apparel units to learn from their experiences and success stories so
that pitfalls could be avoided when implementing lean manufacturing.
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n) Awareness workshop describing apparel unit’s best practices will help in
providing motivation for others to adopt the system to derive benefits.
o) The measurement of carbon footprint in the apparel manufacturing units will
provide a great deal of learning in terms of understanding of the activities
causing carbon emissions to the employees as well as the data shared with
them and will be critical in suggesting suitable modifications in the
operations of the units. This research finding will further help them in
reducing the carbon footprint.
Scope for the Further Studies
Seeing the above usefulness of the study, the researcher recommends more
work or in-depth studies to be planned in this area in future and gives few
recommendations. Keeping in mind the limitations of this research, studies can be
extended in the different areas which are as follows:-
a) A longitudinal study could be conducted to understand the long-term effects
and benefits of lean in the Indian garment industry.
b) Longitudinal study to measure carbon footprint of an apparel unit could be
conducted and compared with the base emissions to know the reductions.
c) Greenhouse Gas Inventory could be made for apparel manufacturing units
including calculations of all three scopes of emissions to get the exact amount
of emissions.
d) Effects of lean implementation on performance factors of all the three
departments i.e. cutting, sewing and finishing could be studied in details.
e) A practical lean implementation projects could be conducted to develop a lean
production systems in any non-lean units through relevant training programs
and development of necessary physical infrastructures.
f) Performance improvement in apparel units can be studied after 5 years of its
implementation.
g) The scope of subsequent carbon inventories could be expanded to scope III
and link between water use and energy consumption can be included.