Lean manufacturing tools for garment industry

Advanced Apparel Manufacturing AZMIR LATIF, MSc.Engr (Textile)
If we try to define Lean Then we can say “A systematic approach to identifying & eliminating
waste (non value added Activities) through continuous improvement by flowing the product at
the pull of the customer in pursuit of perfection”
Lean manufacturing is a unified, compressive set of philosophies, rules, guidelines, tools, and
techniques for improving and optimizing discrete process.
Lean is a production practice that creates more value with less work by eliminating sources of
waste.
Brief Content
Introduction
Lean manufacturing
Lean Principles
Lean Benefits
7 Wastes of Lean in Garment Manufacturing
8 Preferred Lean Manufacturing Tools for Garment Industry
Lean Implementation Model
Lean Design and Implementation
Conclusion
Lean Manufacturing involves a variety of techniques such as one-piece flow, kaizen,
cellular manufacturing, standardized work, work place organization or visual
management. The major purposes of the use of lean production are to increase
productivity, improve product quality, reduce inventory, reduce lead time and
eliminate manufacturing waste.
This assignment addresses the implementation of lean principles in a Portuguese
garment industry. Traditionally operated garment industries are facing problems
concerning low productivity, long production lead times, high rework, poor line
balancing, etc, and the firm focused on this project was facing the same problems.
On an earlier stage, a literature review on Lean Manufacturing was conducted, from
the creation of the concept of LEAN to its main tools and techniques. It was also

mentioned the concept of cellular manufacturing, how to accurately balance a
manufacturing line and were given some examples of previous applications in this
industries. After understanding the concepts of lean manufacturing, a description and
a critical analysis to the company’s productive system was made, acknowledging the
problems it was facing. Next, improvement proposals were suggested related with
layout change, visual management, 5S, quality management practices and cellular
manufacturing.
After implementation of some lean tools, results observed were highly encouraging.
Some of the key benefits involve less movement, transportation and material
handling, an increase of 14% in productivity in one month and an increase of 60% in
profits in two months. Cellular manufacturing wasn’t implemented, although the
company has being left prepared for an implementation in the future.
Lean Principles:
 Therefore, five main Lean principles were associated with it, briefly described
below, and those are: Value, Value Stream, Flow, Pull and Perfection.
Value
 Express the capacity of accurately specify value from the costumer perspective,
or what he’s willing to pay, for both products and services.
Lean manufacturing defines the value of a product with the customer point of
view.
Customer don’t mind how hard you work to create the product.
Customer will evaluate the product by looking at how well this going to fulfill
their requirements.
Customer doesn’t need to pay for the defects that removed from production
lines.
Value Stream
 Identify the value stream of specific activities, from raw material to final goods,
required for the development of a product or service, removing non-value-
adding waste along that path.
Flow

 Make the product or service flow without interruptions across the entire value
stream.
Pull System
 The production is authorized (pulled) by the costumer, as opposite to a push
system where the finished goods are pushed to the costumer.
Perfection
 Constantly identify and remove any kind of waste along the value stream to
achieve perfection.
Lean Benefits :
What can an organization expect as bottom-line results of applying lean thinking to
eliminate waste? Documented results across various industries indicate the results in
Table below
7 Wastes of Lean in Garment Manufacturing
One prime objective of industrial engineering is to increase productivity by eliminating waste
and non-value adding operations from the manufacturing process. So it is essential to know the
wastes and non-value adding functions those exist in garment manufacturing.
There are many articles published on lean manufacturing and 7 wastes related to lean
manufacturing those mostly showcased example of other industries. Cases of 7 wastes in the

garment industry are rare on the web. May be that’s why I have been asked many times to write a
brief note on this topic. In this article, I have explained 7 forms of wastes of Lean with examples
related to garment manufacturing.

In lean manufacturing we focus increasing time on value added activities by reducing or
eliminating wastes (non-value adding time). Let see what value added activities mean.
Value added activities:
Value added activities are those activities that transform or change the form of the material.
Rests of the activities those add cost but not value to the product are called as non-value added
activities. In garment manufacturing there are some activities those don't add value but
necessary. Transportation of cuttings (bundles) to sewing department is such example of non-
value added but essential task.
7 wastes of lean manufacturing:
7 types of wastes and non-value adding activities are as following.
T – Transportation
E – Excess Inventory
E – Excess Motion
W – Waiting
O – Over production
O – Over processing
D – Defects
To make it easy to remember 7 wastes, memorize the word TEEWOOD with initials of 7 wastes.
In the following, 7 wastes are explained briefly with examples of garment industry activities.
1. Transportation
When work is transferred from one place to another is a non-value added activity. Moving
cuttings from cutting department to sewing lines, transporting stitched garments from sewing
floor to finishing department, Moving garment bundles in the line using center table or trolley.
Where transportation can’t be eliminated, think how transportation time can be reduced. By
using overhead transportation rail in sewing lines, transportation of bundles or single pieces can
be automated.
2. Excess inventory
Inventories of a factory represents those items which are either in the process of manufacturing
or idle resources (material) of a factory or materials in stock. And excess inventory means
keeping or generating inventory for the following process more than the demand of the following
process.
Excess inventory is found in fabric and trim stores, cutting racks, finishing trolleys. Excess
inventories are wastes for the factory, as per lean philosophy. Inventory is money. When

inventory piled up in stores and on floors, you are blocking your money and are blocking your
working space. Even in a sewing line excess work-in-process (WIP) are considered as excess
inventory.
3. Excess motion
In workstations where operators sew garments, press-men press garments, workers finish and
pack garments, excess motions exits there. Excess motion at workstations is found due to poor
training of workers in working methods and habit of working in traditional ways. In the factories
where there are engineering department to designs workstation layout, operators may use excess
motion due to poor workstation layout.
4. Waiting
This waste is defined as people or things waiting around for the next action. This term has been
discussed in an earlier published article as one of the non-productive times in production.
In garment factory, waiting as waste is found in all processes. Like, sewing operators wait for
cuttings (no feeding), supervisors waits for final instruction and go ahead for quality approvals.
Merchandisers wait for buyer approvals. Waiting is a visible waste in manufacturing as operators
and other employees produce nothing while they wait for work or due to other reasons. Few
other examples of such waste are – delay in sourcing materials, cutting delays due to fabric
approvals and consumption approval.
5. Over Production
This waste can be simply defined as doing or making things those are not required now. Over
production generate excess inventory. In the garment factories, over production is found in
cutting department and in sewing operations. For example, if daily production demand from
sewing is 5000 pieces, and factory makes/cuts more than that quantity (demand), factory is
producing excess units of garments than needed by the following process for the day (finishing).
Over-production cause imbalance in work in process (WIP).
6. Over processing
This waste can be defined as doing task or adding features to the product those are not
requirement from the customer. In garment construction, some operations may not be essential to
give the final look and construction. Example: Multiple checking in finishing (initial checking,
pre-final checking and final checking).
7. Defects
Producing defects while making garments are waste of money and effort. As everyone in the
factory are aware that no defective garment can be shipped then why to produce defective
pieces? Defects in garment manufacturing are like shade variation, wrong cutting, stitching
defective garment etc. In case defective garments are made, factory needs to alter and repair

those defective garments before handing over to the buyer. Repair work costs money and time.
In lean manufacturing factories aim to produce garments right first time. For different types of
defects found in garments read this article.
There are various wastes exits in garment factory. I would love to hear from you on 7 wastes and
example of such wastes that you have dealt in your work areas.
8 Preferred Lean Manufacturing Tools for Garment Industry
During my visits to garment factories I have seen posters on lean tools and lean slogans in some
factories. It means that garment factories are really started implementation of lean tools and
practicing lean culture. Factories have posters on process flow chart of lean journey.
Improvement pictures of before and after implementation of 5S and Kaizen have been displayed
on departments. I have seen lot of visuals on the floor. It ensures that something is happening in
garment factories to bring good things and improve business performance.
But your question is what lean tools are preferred and applied for garment manufacturing?
In one factory, I found a poster where all lean tools were listed those were implemented in that
factory. All implementation are done under guidance of external lean experts. Factory has
benefited a lot after implementation lean manufacturing. These are the preferred lean tools that
have been implemented by experts. So you can start with these tools in your manufacturing
facilities.
I have listed down 8 preferred lean manufacturing tools which are mostly applied by garment
industry with brief explanation .
#1. 5S:
5s stand for Seiri(sorting),Seiton(systematic arrangement),Seiso(super
clean),Seiketsu(standardize) and Shitsuke(sustainment).5S is about sorting of things in your
workplace and inventory stores. Keep workplace and floors clean and arrange things in right
order for easy access.
#2. Visual displays:
Use visual displays as much as possible to communicate with people working in the factory.
Display necessary information for quick access. Production board at the end of the line, Mocks
of sewing operations at each work stations, quality inspection procedure on the quality checking
tables, displaying right and wrong product, displaying exit sign and labeling every items are few
example for visual displays factories can easily adopt.
#3. Standardization of work process:

One core objective of lean manufacturing is elimination of manufacturing wastes and non-value
added tasks from the internal processes and systems. For this factory has to set standardized
working method. When one follows standard working procedures, there is minimum chance of
making errors.
#4. Quick Changeover:
Quick changeover, one of the lean manufacturing tools, is used in reducing waste in garment
making process. While setting a line with new styles, line losses lot of time which is known as
set-up loss. Quick changeover or SMED method provides efficient way to set lines for new style
in less time.
#5. Error proofing:
Error proofing aka Poka-Yoke is any mechanism in a lean manufacturing process that helps an
equipment operator to avoid mistakes. It helps in designing a process in such way that there
would not be minimum chance of producing defective product. Its purpose is to eliminate
product defects by preventing, correcting, or drawing attention to human errors as they occur.
Even error proofing technique can be used in information generation, reporting system.
#6. Kanban:
Kanban is a workflow system. Kanban tool improves visibility and limit Work in Process. Where
factories use Kanban, it helps to eliminate building excess work in process (WIP) in production
lines.
#7. Problem solving:
Clothes are ever changing product. A garment manufacturers need to work with latest products,
new material and machines. When one does something first time there may be a chance of
having problem. You have to short out the problem to meet your business goal. Problem solving
tools helps you and your team to find possible solution without external experts. Ishikawa’s Fish
bone diagram method and 5 Whys are two famous tools widely used in problem solving.
#8. Workload balancing:
In mass production, garments are made in a line where numbers of operators involve making a
single garment. A balanced line means every operator has workload and nobody sit idle without
work. This maximizes operator utilization. And as a result you get maximum output from a line.
It is not only sewing line, workload balance is required everywhere in the company – like
department to department, process to process workload balance.

Cycle concept of Lean Manufacturing:
 Identifying causes(Every problem in the system has a cause for it)
 Finding root causes(sometimes one or more root causes for a problem)
 Finding solution(how to overcome this problem)
 Implementing(implement the solution and to make sure that you achieve your
objectives)
 Will go on and on again and again
 This process will be continuous until there are wastes to be removed.
Lean Implementation Model
Lean Design and Implementation
 This chapter represents the implementation phase of the project. Here, the
reader is elucidated through an action plan using the 5W1H technique to solve
the identified problems, following a description of its implementation, as for

the changes in layout, the implemented program, visual management
applications, and implementation of 5S program, quality management practices
or group technology.
Action Design
 After an analysis to the company’s current productive system, we resorted to
the 5W1H technique to find solutions to the problems identified, also
definingan action plan to be applied. This plan is shown in the next table.
ActionPlanTable
What? Why? Where? Who? When? How?
Reduce transports Unnecessary
Transport
Shop
Floor
Responsible
person
To
define
Layout Change
Establishing goals
visual mgt.
Low efficiency;
Low motivation
Shop
Floor
Responsible
person
To
define
Visual Management
and Bonus Strategy
Organize WIP
and tools
Large WIP and
waiting time
Shop
Floor
5S
responsible
To
define
5S Application
Production
Control
Unnecessary
Movement;
Lack of
efficiency
control; Lack of
performance
indicators
Manufa
cturing
Line Responsible
person
To
define
Create personalized
excel program
Control Quality Lack of quality
practices
Shop
Floor
Head of
section
To
define
Implement quality
control practices

Areas Where Changes Have Been Made
Majority (78%) of the companies said that changes in product design and
manufacturing process occurred in their organization as a result of lean
implementation; 44% respondents indicated a change in supplier networks and the
remaining (22%) focused on factory management followed by inbound logistics
(11%) and outbound logistics (11%)
In addition, companies mentioned a variety of changes that took place within their
organizations. These include:
�cultural change
�education of workers and suppliers
�empowerment of employees
�commitment of top level managers
�relationship with suppliers
�rearranging the manufacturing process
�creating awareness
Lean production reduces all forms of non-value added activities in organizations and
improves its performance. From the analysis of the data collected, it appears that
companies that adopt lean manufacturing as a working philosophy within their
organizations can make significant improvement in terms of their operational
performance even if it is in a modified format that best suits their particular business
culture. It is obvious that there are strong benefits to be gained from implementing a
lean manufacturing culture, as demonstrated by the companies in this study.
Areas of organization where changes were made

SI NO. Areas of changes Percentages
1
2
3
4
5
6
Product design
Inbound logistics
Outbound logistics
Manufacturing Processes
Supplier network
Factory management
78
11
11
78
44
22
Reduction in unit production cost
Company Before Lean
($)
After Lean
($)
Reduction
($)
As a %
1. Fashion Point Ltd.
2. Texas Fashion Ltd.
3. Beximco Fashions Ltd.
4. Shanta Industries Ltd.
5. DADA(Savar) Ltd.
6. Shata WashWorks Ltd.
7. Armana Fashions Ltd.
8. Shanta Denims Ltd.
9. PAXAR Bangladesh Ltd.
8.50
11.0
4.40
10.0
1.40
3.50
0.87
-
4.50
7.00
9.00
3.20
8.00
1.30
3.00
0.84
-
3.00
1.50
2.00
1.20
2.00
0.10
0.50
0.03
-
1.50
17.6
18.1
27.2
20.0
7.1
14.2
3.4
-
33.3

The amount of time (hour/minutes) to accomplish standard work sequence for making
a product
Company Before
Lean
(minutes)
After
Lean
(minutes)
Reduction
(minutes)
% of
reduction
1. Fashion Point Ltd.
2. Texas Fashion Ltd.
3. Beximco Fashions Ltd.
4. Shanta Industries Ltd.
5. DADA(Savar) Ltd.
6. Shata WashWorks Ltd.
7. Armana Fashions Ltd.
8. Shanta Denims Ltd.
9. PAXAR Bangladesh Ltd.
60
30
55
75
50
60
50
60
40
40
15
49
60
39
40
40
40
35
20
15
06
15
11
20
10
20
05
33
50
11
20
22
33
20
33
13
Conclusion
Implementation of lean manufacturing in a garment manufacturing company is
carried out by this. To implemented in a Bangladeshi garment manufacturing
company. For the first few weeks we tried to learn the processes in the garments
finishing department. Then study and analysis those processes are performed using
some lean manufacturing tools and techniques and found some problems. Eventually
some layouts and process flows are proposed that improves the productivity and

reduces cost. The better utilization of manpower and factory floor space is also
ensured by implementing the proposed layout. At the same time proposals help to
develop a good relationship among the workers and will provide an easier way for the
management to coordinate and integrate the factory production with the current level
of resources. These techniques can be implemented in any garment manufacturing
company and it will help them to improve the productivity at same level of resources.
Reference
 Karim, S. (2009). The Impact of Just-in-Time Production Practices on
Organizational Performance in the Garments and Textiles Industries in
Bangladesh, Doctoral Thesis, Dhaka University.
 Lean thinking, international journal volume3 issue2 december 12,Asst.profes
sor, Gandhigra Rural University, ndhigram,India.senthil.b1980@gmail.com
 F. A. Abdulmalek, J. Rajgopal, Analyzing the benefits of lean manufacturing
and value stream mapping via simulation: A process sector case study.
International Journal of Production Economics, 107, 223-236, 2007.
 Ripon Kumar Chakrabortty et al./ Study and Implementation of Lean...
 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/lean
 www.Application Of Lean Manufacturing Tools In Garments Production/html

Lean manufacturing tools for garment industry

Recommandé

Recommandé

Contenu connexe

Tendances

Tendances (20)

En vedette

En vedette (20)

Similaire à Lean manufacturing tools for garment industry

Similaire à Lean manufacturing tools for garment industry (20)

Plus de Azmir Latif Beg

Plus de Azmir Latif Beg (20)

Dernier

Dernier (20)

Lean manufacturing tools for garment industry