Due to the rising labour costs and increased speed to market, the apparel manufacturers are aggressively looking towards understanding and even implementing the lean tools, not only to make their factories more efficient, but also to remain price-competitive. They believe that it is the final output that matters and not the means to stay. However, not all agree; Apparel Online facilitates this debate.
“A lot of companies are now investing in areas of production and efficiency improvements, work study, industrial engineering and operational excellence to try and optimize current business practices,” says Sharif Zahir, MD, Ananta Group, who is producing more than a million jeans per month and targeting a turnover of US $ 200 million. Emphasizing on the need to go Lean, Aseem Sood, VP, Palmal Group with more than 30 factories in Bangladesh producing 8.5 million knit garments per month and targeting a turnover of US $ 300 million adds, “We are known for churning out large volumes in no time, but that doesn’t mean we are good in all the operating aspects of controlling WIP, operator efficiency and man-machine ratios, they all are skewed. About 4-5 years ago our man-machine ratio was close to 3, as we are a knitwear manufacturer and there is a lot of manual handling involved. We have recently brought that down to 2.3 and are aiming for 2 to 2.1. But in case of China, Vietnam and other Asian countries, the same is between the ranges of 1 to 1.7.” Now the question is what the country should be concerned with – the final output or efficiently managing various manufacturing performance indicators like efficiencies, WIPs and man-machine ratio, adds Virender Goyal, Managing Director, EPIC Designers Ltd., producing more than 24 million apparels annually with 24 joint-partnership facilities. “For the same number of lines and machines we are producing more garments just by putting more helpers in them, because we can afford to do the same. The best an operator can do is 1800 pcs. on a flat lock machine in other south-Asian countries, but here each machine has two helpers and they do 3800 pcs. By paying 1600 Taka you can get 2000 pcs. more and it saves one machine’s space and cost. At the end of the day we want per unit manufacturing cost.
Man-machine ratio might be poor but our output is more.” However, Majedur Rahim, Director, Giant Group with a turnover of US $ 35 million and producing more than 1.5 million knit apparels disagrees with the concept in its entirety. He shares, “Even after doing such huge quantities, the buyer still wants more. We are still quite behind production quantities if we compare ourselves to the likes of China and this cannot be solved only with advanced machinery and adding more people, the mind-set of the management and the workers needs to be changed.” If the country wants to sustain apparel manufacturing the labour costs needs to be checked and upgrading the manufacturing systems imbibing Lean systems, is the only possible way forward.
[bleft]We have recently brought down the man-machine ratio from 3 to 2.3 and are aiming for 2 to 2.1, but countries like China and Vietnam are already working between the ranges of 1 to 1.7. There is a scope for a lot of improvement.” – Aseem Sood VP, Palmal Group[/bleft]
But only recognition of the need to go Lean is just not enough to do it. Aseem Sood feels there is a learning curve for everything and that is the case with Bangladesh. “The people are not ready to understand the concept of working less and earning more. Yes there are companies, who have been successful in doing the same, but they have been doing Lean right from the start, we are still an evolving company and for us to change a sewing operator’s ways is a tough task.” He also mentioned that all the managerial concepts of Lean and other management philosophies are a success at the management level, but will take time to reach the bottom, at the operator level. Agreeing to the same, Syed Asad Ali, Director, Armana Group producing 1.2 million jeans per month with a turnover of more than US $ 100 million adds, “We have ample consultants in the country, who are collaborating with factories, and they are bringing a certain value. But it is very text book knowledge, which is a little difficult to implement in a country like Bangladesh. At the end of the day, it’s the worker at the end of the chain who has to do it, and he is not educated enough. They may have fantastic skill sets but not that level of literacy to imbibe the culture of Lean, which is also more to do with his willingness to change. Science doesn’t work here; the drive and willingness for the change will take its own time.”
[bleft]At the end of the day, it’s the worker at the end of the chain who has to do it, and he is not educated enough. They may have fantastic skill sets but not that level of literacy to imbibe the culture of Lean, which is also more to do with his willingness to change.”[/bleft]
Despite all the hurdles and obstacles, entrepreneurs are constantly coming up with solutions to all problems and they are working towards efficiency and productivity enhancement. “Under the Leadership Training Program, I visited some of the most ‘Leanest’ factories in Japan and Sri Lanka, and have been working to implement something similar in my factory. We have not kept quantities as a core of our manufacturing , in other words we don’t deck up the production by employing more helpers, rather with the help of the in-house IE Department, employing two Sri Lankan expats, we work on the operator’s skill, SMV based production and line balancing,” explains Mohim Hasan, MD, Northwest Industries. Northwest Industries is the premier sportswear manufacturer in Bangladesh with a turnover of US $ 45 million, has very strong visual controls implemented in their factories and also has more than five modular sewing lines, which the company intends to increase in the time to come.
Giant Group is also implementing Lean manufacturing systems in one of their facilities, with the help of Sri Lankan consultants.
[bleft]We are still quite behind production quantities if we compare ourselves to the likes of China, and this cannot be solved only with advanced machinery and adding more people, the mindset of the management and the workers needs to be changed.” – Majedur Rahim Director, Giant Group[/bleft]
Ananta being among the most progressive companies in the country has registered astounding success in its Lean efforts. “We have initiated monthly KPI (key performance indicator) and Kaizen meetings, which are working very well for us,” adds Syed Ishtiaq Alam, Director, Ananta Group.
The Lean initiatives have not been affected by the limited skill levels present in Bangladesh as all the companies have gathered suitable amount of skills from various neighbouring countries like Korea, Sri Lanka and India, and have in-house training modules for shop floor level manpower. The critical issue to the success of any Lean implementation is the commitment of the management and to ensure the project leader continues to supervise for a longer duration, may be for at least 4-5 years. Secondly, an open and participative style of management is needed, where both sewing operators and the shop floor staff can substantially contribute and learn from each other, a distant dream which needs to be made into a reality. The management should work toward involving and engaging employees in the problem solving activities making them a part of the decision making process.
