Lean Tool Implementation in the Garment Industry

Abstract

Garment Manufacturing is one of the oldest in the world, compromising a high number of critical operations. The main issues in the garment industry are the lead time, production rate, very poor line balancing and fabric wastes. Productivity improvement is carried out by implementing the various lean tools in the industry, such as 5S, Value Stream Mapping (VSM) and line balancing in the sewing section. After the implementation of lean tools in the garment industry, the outcomes observed are a reduction in work-in-progress inventory, increases in the production process and increased line efficiency. Similarly the before and after implementation of 5S, which shows space utilisation in the sewing section, is increased. In this research, an implementation study was conducted in only one organisation. Hence the results extracted by the conduct of this implementation study are achievable and adaptable in similar organisations.

The effect of lean on occupational health and safety and productivity in the garment industry – a literature review

“…Seven articles focused on the productivity of workers and line efficiency, and all studies involving productivity of workers and efficiency found strong or weak positive association between lean implementation and efficiency. Three studies show increased efficiency ranging from 12.5% to 90% (Carvalho, Carvalho, & Silva, 2019;Kumar et al, 2019; No.…”

“…Six studies identified wastes, such as WIP (work in progress) and inventory level, and considerable improvements could be achieved through VSM. Some studies reported a reduction of WIP ranging from 30% to 89% (Kumar et al, 2019;Kumar & Sampath, 2012;Quddus & Nazmul Ahsan, 2014). In another two articles, the authors reported 152% increase in value-added ratio, associated with the whole production process (from supplier to manufacturer to customer) (Silva, 2012) while Hodge, Goforth Ross, Joines, & Thoney (2011) reported an increase of 105% in value added activities.…”

“…lead time from 81.5 to 74.7 h. In another study, indicate that 5S helps to reduce 54.67 m 2 space in a floor (Ahmed et al, 2018). In others, articles reported an increase in 5S audit score from 1.8 to 3.2 after applying 5S recommendations (Quddus & Nazmul Ahsan, 2014), better utilization of resources in cutting and sewing section (Kumar et al, 2019) and reduce the waste beyond the expectation (Hodge et al, 2011).…”

“…The studies show a clear tendency of 5S to improve ergonomics conditions especially by reducing unnecessary movements of workers. For example, number of article, the implementation of 5S improved material storage, which reduced unnecessary movements and ergonomic problems of workers (Hodge et al, 2011;Kumar et al, 2019). Moreover, one study observed that shop-floor and machine cleaning had positive effects on the respiratory system and general health of the workers (Quddus & Nazmul Ahsan, 2014).…”

Lean Manufacturing Model of Waste Reduction Using Standardized Work to Reduce the Defect Rate in Textile MSEs

“…[9][10] [11]. In general terms, one of the main benefits and results of Lean tool implementation in the textile industry are the improvement in production line efficiency, inventory reduction, improved production process, reduction of defective products, and equipment performance [14] [15].…”