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| Sunday, 23 June 2002 |
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Proper fabric inspection can help garment industry improve productivity by Wijayasiri Kulatunga The Sri Lankan garment industry has been going through a difficult period after September 11. A lot of small-scale factories have already closed down or are about to close down. Even large garment factories find it difficult to fill their production capacities. The present downturn and the future was explained by recent articles in several newspapers. An article in The Island of May 1, based on a discussion with Rizvi Farook, President of the Garment Buying Offices Association said: "Unless remedial measures are taken to increase productivity and competitiveness of the local garment industry, about half of over 800 garment factories will have to close down after the quota regime for the industry ends on December 31, 2004." The same paper on May 6 reported that earnings from garments and textile exports dropped by 23.3 per cent in February 2002. Volume has dropped by 12.9 per cent and value by 11.9 per cent. The Sunday Observer of May 5 reported that 60 per cent of Sri Lankan garment factories might shut down after cessation of the Multi Fibre Arrangement. It is very easy to point fingers and say "low productivity, low quality, inefficiency," but that will not help in any way to avert the impending disaster. By doing that, we are destroying the morale of our workforce, which is one of the valuable resources we have to fight against the economic downturn. We should make an in depth study of the processes, procedures and methods in effect in the garment industry and see what is wrong with them. Whatever the remedial action, we cannot do it without the participation of our workforce. By and large, we can divide the garment industry in to four segments - Marketing or securing export orders, Importing or purchasing material, Manufacturing and Exporting products. The major part of the raw materials are imported due to poor backward integration. Sri Lanka has not been able to develop sufficient fabric mills capable of catering to the garment industry though garment manufacturing has been one of the major foreign exchange earners for the last 20 years. This deficiency was one of the major obstacles to develop the garment industry in Sri Lanka. It is pointless to speculate that the country would put up a sufficient number of fabric mills capable of catering to the industry within a very short period. Garment manufacturing is quite different to any other conventional manufacturing. It is not a continuous production method. Each style is a different product that requires different types of fabric and colour. These items may not be from the same supplier or from the same country. Coordinating this so as to get all the materials and information before the targeted production start date is vital. GCE Ordinary Level and English are the basic qualifications to enter merchandising. Can we expect high performances from this generation of merchandisers? Are there any courses at affordable prices for merchandisers in our country to develop their skills? Should we point the finger at the merchandiser for the lack of skill in this area? If not, who should take the responsibility? It is useless to discuss "timely delivery" without equipping merchandisers with the necessary knowledge. Fabric inspection To ensure a quality product, the first step that a manufacturer should take is the quality evaluation of input materials. But the majority of the garment factories in Sri Lanka do not inspect the fabric imported and ascertain the quality status before cutting. Fabric inspection machines are usually not in factory machine inventory. The high cost of this machine (US$ 8000) may not be attractive to them. Small-scale factories are notable in this deficiency. It is impossible for any fabric mill to manufacture absolutely defect-free fabric. To evaluate fabric quality, several systems are in practice. Using these methods, it is possible to develop mathematical models and equations to evaluate the wastage in the garment factory due to fabric defects. It is unfortunate to note that most defective components move into the sewing process. These defects remain in the entire production floor, absorbing labour, other accessories, consuming time and production space, leading to a poor quality garment. At the final inspection point, these garments are isolated and rejected and would end up at places like Pamunuwa. If these garments are not detected, low quality products with fabric faults would be shipped to the buyer. If garment factories adopt a panel inspection process and replace defective panels before feeding the production line, garment rejection due to fabric faults could be reduced to zero. Shipping low quality products contaminated with fabric defects could also be reduced to zero. China has already adopted this process. Indian factories do not allow factory workers to throw out panels with fabric faults after inspection. They repair the panels! When the quota umbrella is removed after December 31, 2004, our garment industry has to compete with these countries. Defect in a component In a practical environment, a defect might be in the component of a garment. If a factory manufactures shirts, one defect might fall on the pocket. The factory can detect this component if a panel inspection process is implemented. Instead of throwing out the whole garment at the final inspection point, workers can easily replace that pocket and save the rest of the area and the other accessories and the labour already accumulated in the garment. In Sri Lanka, 800 garment factories are in operation. If all these factories have implemented a panel inspection process and employ one inspector each, then the possible cost of saved garments would be US$ 299,520,000 annually. One garment factory which has already adopted this process, employs one panel inspector for one production line. There are nine panel inspectors in that factory. If we assume that an average factory employs five panel inspectors, the cost of saved garments would go up to US$ 1,497,600,000 per annum. Nearly 1.5 billion US dollars! Our industrialists and scholars preach that the Sri Lankan garment industry has to improve the quality level. It is also very easy to attribute this deficiency to the workforce. But the real problem is with our management system and the understanding. If one repeats "improve quality, improve productivity" without showing how, when and where we can improve it, that would remain empty and hollow. Instead, we should try to draw the attention of industrialists and managers towards the shortcomings inherent in the industry. Improved productivity If our industry adopts the panel inspection process, that would definitely prevent low quality garments due to fabric faults. Since employees do not handle garments that would be rejected in the ensuing processes, their productivity too would improve. For the last 20 years, none of these activities have been implemented. The only tool used to compete is devaluation of the rupee. We should remember that continuous sliding of the rupee has not supported our industry during the last 20 years. This tactic would not help at all in the present crisis faced by the industry. If the garment industry dies, the resultant downward spiral would affect not only garment factories, shipping and container transport, but also all the other industries and businesses. We have 18 months to work on before the expiry of the Multi Fibre Arrangement. The only resource we have is our own workforce and their ability to learn. To proceed with panel inspection, no special equipment is necessary. Understanding the fabric, keen eyesight and logical thinking are necessary. If implementation of fabric inspection is necessary, we can find a local solution. One of the industrial groups managed to manufacture their own fabric inspection machine locally. Their ability and know-how could be used to manufacture fabric inspection machines at a low price, provided the government grants necessary incentives. Within that span of time, we have to train approximately 5000 of our workforce. We should turn the attention of the managerial staff to other areas of deficiency in the industry. Capturing and analysing the data of the sewing process to identify major causes leading to second quality garments has to be implemented. Uplifting the morale, educating and motivating the workforce is very essential at this juncture. The writer is Manager - Piece Goods and Systems Coordinator of Liz Claiborne International Ltd. (Sri Lanka Liaison Office). He is the author of Fabric inspection - An incomplete solution to the garment industry. |
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