Process-loss Optimization through the Implementation of Kanban & Single-piece Flow: A Case Study in an Ethiopian Garment Factory

Authors

Abstract

Ethiopia is gearing up to challenge global apparel sourcing destinations like Myanmar, Kenya, Vietnam & Cambodia. In order to be more competitive in the global market and to achieve the GDP-II target of USD 2.7 billion, it must work hard to optimize the operational cost, standardize quality and increase efficiency which are high when compared on a global level. Case description: Through this case study, the researchers addressed the macro issues of one of the export-oriented factories based out of Addis Ababa. The factory was a medium scale shirt manufacturing unit with 208 state-of-art sewing machines. Still, they were struggling to make profits from the export market and were seriously contemplating to divert to the local market which was against the mandate of the Government which is struggling to increase the inflow of foreign currency through increase of export in this sector. The explanation offered by the factory management was that the export market offered abundance of orders but required the factories to be highly efficient is terms of cost, quality and lead time. Somehow, they were not able to meet the requirements, which resulted in losing the orders. After conducting an intensive Gap as well as Planning and Diagnostic study, the researchers found out that high process loss in the cutting room, high factory operational cost and low efficiency, poor quality and low speed to market were the major cause of concern. Discussion and Evaluation: A bundle ticket generation tool based on advanced MS-Excel was developed. It would solve the issue of financial losses incurred in the cutting room due to the conventional method of preparing bundle tickets using fabric swatches. It would also be used to create Kanban cards. A unique amalgamation of Kanban as well as single-piece flow(SPF) was implemented to take care of the process loss due to heavy WIP (work in progress), poor quality, fewer efficiencies and more throughput time in the sewing section and missing pieces during packing which led to unnecessary delay in shipments. The WIP and throughput time were reduced by 48.5% and 80.3% respectively. The time to pack a carton was decreased by 65.3%. The problem of missing pieces was also diminished. The manufacturing unit greatly benefited by the solutions thus proposed and implemented by the researchers and is being used successfully. Conclusions: The study was an eye-opener for factory management as well as for the researcher themselves. It was realized that through proper observation, self-questioning about recurring problems, striving to explore low-cost solutions through concerted team efforts, process loss can certainly be optimized to a great level. It is proposed that further work can be taken up by researchers to explore the effectiveness of Kanban as well as single-piece flow system for different types of products.

Author Biographies

  • Sandeep Prasad, Bahir Dar University
    Apparel Production department, lecturer
  • Monika Panghal, Bahir Dar University
    Apparel Production department, lecturer

Downloads

Published

2022-03-03

Issue

Vol. 12 No. 3 (2022)

Section

Scholarly Articles

License

By submitting a manuscript, the authors agree that the copyright of all materials published in Journal of Textile and Apparel Technology and Management (JTATM) is transferred to the publisher if and when their manuscript is accepted for publication. Please note the following details as an understanding for submitting a manuscript to JTATM for publication.
Authors grant rights to JTATM to disseminate the paper and its contents as a file on the Internet when the paper is accepted. JTATM owns an exclusive right for the paper until it is either rejected or published. The authors cannot submit the same paper in part or in its entirety to another journal during the review.
Authors retain rights to be identified as the authors when the paper is published, and the patent right or rights relating to products or processes described in the paper. The authors retain rights to the educational and research uses of the paper, such as teaching and exchange of the published or pre-publication version of the paper with colleagues, for non-commercial purposes. The authors may obtain permission from the journal for a non-exclusive use of the contents in the paper, such as tables, figures and texts, with a proper acknowledgement to the journal.
Authors must warrant the originality of the paper in that the contents of the paper in part or in full have not been published or submitted elsewhere while the paper is under review.
Effective date for the above policies is December 1, 2010. The authors of the papers published before this date will be contacted via email for copyright transfer agreements.