Viyellatex Limited

INTRODUCTION

The ready-made garment (RMG) industry in Bangladesh is now enjoying the status of being the largest garment exporter and the largest exporter of knit garment to the European Union. The competition with other countries like China and India in Asia is not only on the basis of productivity but also on the basis of quality. That is why it needs continuous monitoring and improvement for mass production.

The view of quality improvement is not just the quality but the increase of production and reduction of manufacturing cost. It ensures the minimization of labor loss and the satisfaction of buyers’ souls. RMG industries of Bangladesh have not yet absorbed this concept. They pay more attention to productivity but ignore the giant portion of production loss due to quality.

Origin of the Report :

As a mandatory part of the MBA program, all the students of Department of International Business, Faculty of Business Studies, University of Dhaka, have to undergo a three-month long about corporate world. Upon the completion of this internship program to gain some practical exposure program, the students have to submit an internship report, which reflects their knowledge as well as activities during the program. In relation to that I was assigned to prepare a report on “Merchandising & Quality Management by Merchandiser”. The topic of the report was assigned by the faculty supervisor and accepted by the host organization as par necessity to fulfill the internship requirement.

OBJECTIVES OF THE REPORT:

  PRIMARY OBJECTIVE:

The primary objective of the report is to analyze the Quality Management issue in merchandising activities at Viyellatex Ltd Group.

SECONDARY OBJECTIVES:

  To learn the different activities conducted by the merchandiser

  Gain the knowledge on different RMG sector issues

  To evaluate the affairs and activities of the composite knitting firms

  To assess the strengths and weaknesses of the firm

  To suggest general and specific guideline for the total improvement of services of Viyellatex Ltd Group.

 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY:

The position “Merchandiser” is playing a vital role in the RMG sector today. Merchandiser is the person who handles around 75% of the cost related to the garment & the production cost is only be almost about 25% of the garment. There by the role of Merchandiser in the apparel sector plays the most responsible part mainly for the financial benefit of the Company. The Merchandiser’s small mistake will effect 75% of income of the order which will leads to a big disaster. This has to be understood by the Merchandisers seriously. This report mainly concerns with the important quality management factors in different Merchandising activities.

Scope of the Study :

The report is prepared with a view to provide a brief but complete idea about the Merchandising activities and an overall overview of a composite knit factory. In this report it is tried to include the problems and prospects of this knitting factory. But this project is not for comparing among rather than the area of activities of this report is bounded in how an 100% export oriented composite knit firms can achieve the optimum performance by controlling different quality management by the merchandisers.

 Data Collection Method

In order to make the report more meaningful and presentable, two sources of data and information have been used widely.

The ‘Primary Sources’ are as follows –

• Face-to-face conversation with the respective offices the branch.
• Informal conversation with the clients.
• Practical work exposures on different desks of the corporate office.
• Relevant file study as provided by the officers concerned.

The ‘Secondary Sources’ of data and information’s are –

• Annual report of Viyellatex Ltd Limited.
• Periodicals published by BGMEA & BKMEA
• Different publications regarding RMG sectors,
• The internet was also used as a theoretical source of information.
• Training materials of Viyellatex Ltd.

This assignment has been prepared on the basis of experience gathered during the period of 12 weeks internship. To make any report or statistical survey the more data one can take under consideration the more it will reflect actual situation. But due to various limitations I could not provided enough data.

METHODOLOGY:

In order to make the report comprehensive and factual, the overall process of methodology is given below:

CASE STUDY DESIGN:

The research was conducted in Merchandising Department at Corporate Office, Viyellatex Ltd Group. Information from the Department personnel were gathered through informal discussion. In addition, some secondary data was used.

SAMPLE DESIGN:

The target samples are the Merchandiser of the Viyellatex Ltd Group. The sample was designed based on convenience sampling method. As there are so many merchandisers are available in this firm, I  took the sample as per convenience. In order to know and draw the true picture of the quality management problem in the garments product specific number of merchandiser & officer were  chosen.

Target Population:

The Merchandisers, the officers & the supervisors of the Viyellatex Ltd composite knitting unit & some other garments firms.

Sample Selection:

The sample was mainly selected among the officers, supervisors & the merchandisers of the Viyellatex Ltd & also from some other RMG firms in the selected area.

 Sampling Unit:

The sample unit of this project is the merchandisers and officers who are actively related with the quality management issue.

 Sample Size: 

The sample size has been limited to 21.

 Reliability of Collecting Data:

The data collected are highly reliable in the sense that all data generated in the report are used exclusively by the Viyellatex Ltd. The auditors’ report on the financial statements and the correspondence with different desks generate the reliable information to compose the report successfully.

Model Used:

The Quality Management by the Merchandiser of Viyellatex Ltd has been conducted based on the Cause-Effect Fish bone Analysis, Pareto (20% causes 80%) analysis to indicate the quality merchandising activities through all steps .

Limitation of the Study :

During the course of practical training one of the major limitations I faced was communication with the department and the officers because of their busyness. Another crucial limitation is time constraint.

Researchers were the main source of collecting data and at the time of internship program some information may tide or mistake by the employees or the respondents which may mislead the finding of the report. I have faced some problems, which might be termed as the limitation of the study. The problems which I faced are as follows:

Time Limitation:                    The time  for  the study  was  short to  make and  in-depth report.

Non availability of                 It was very tough to collect data for making a

adequate data:                       comparative study on the performance of the different RMG firms data.

Communication Gap:              Since the Merchandiser & officers of the Viyellatex Ltd are  very busy, In some case I could not communicate with them properly.

Fears to disclosure:                 The administration was afraid to disclose the organizational  information. It was also constraint for the study.

Lack of records:                      Sufficient books, Publications, Fats and Figures are not available. These constrict narrowed the scope of accurate

 analysis.

Comparison Status:                 I have had no opportunity to compare this firms

                                                performance with other contemporary and common size

                                                Knitting firms. It was mainly because of the shortage of

                                                time and internship nature.

 2.      History of RMG industry

In the 1950s, labors in the Western World became highly organized; forming trade unions. This and other changes provided workers greater rights including higher pay; which resulted in higher cost of production. Retailers started searching for places where the cost of production was cheaper. Developing economies like Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea presented themselves as good destinations for relocations because they had open economic policies and had non-unionized and highly disciplined labor force that could produce high quality products at much cheaper costs.C:\Documents and Settings\Legend\My Documents\Bangladeshi_RMG_Sector.htm – cite_note-two-1

In order to control the level of imported RMG products from developing countries into developed countries, Multi Fiber Agreement (MFA) was made in 1974. The MFA agreement imposed an export rate 6 percent increase every year from a developing country to a developed country. It also allowed developed countries to impose quotas on countries that exported at a higher rate than the bilateral agreements. In the face of such restrictions, producers started searching for countries that were outside the umbrella of quotas and had cheap labor. This is when Bangladesh started receiving investment in the RMG sector.

History of Development of RMG industry in Bangladesh

In the early 1980s, some Bangladeshis received free training from Korean Daewoo Company. After these workers came back to Bangladesh, many of them broke ties with the factory they were working for and started their own factories. In the 1980s, there were only 50 factories employing only a few thousand people. Currently, there are 4490 manufacturing units. The RMG sector contributes around 75 percent to the total export earnings. In 2007 it earned $9.35 billion. This sector also contributes around 13 percent to the GDP, which was only around 3 percent in 1991. Of the estimated 2.2 million people employed in this sector, about 70 percent of them are women from rural areas. USA is the largest importer of Bangladeshi RMG products, followed by Germany, U.K, France and other E.U countries.

According to Export Promotion Bureau, in fiscal 2007-08, Bangladesh earned 10.699 billion $ through exports of woven and knitwear, the two sub-sectors of RMG,

 History of Development of Knitwear in Bangladesh

The RMG business started in Bangladesh in the 70s but it was then merely a casual effort. The first consignment of knitwear export was made in 1973 and the first consignment of woven garments was made in 1977. In 1981-82 the contribution of Woven garments in the total export was 1.10%. Afterwards it is a story of sustained success for the Bangladesh RMG sector. The knitwear sector has grown over the years in geometric progression and become the prime driving force of Bangladesh’s export earnings. Within a decade the contribution of Woven to the export basket became 42.83% (1990-91) and the knitwear sector’s contribution was 7.64% (1990-91). Now Knitwear has become the largest export earning sector of Bangladesh contributing 41.79% to national export earnings at the end of FY 2008-09 (July-April).

[Source: EPB, BD 2009]

The entrepreneurs of the knit sector stepped forward with their expertise in the late 80’s. With their earnest efforts they were able to export US$ 14.84 million in 1989-90. Out of this, US$ 12.22 million was exported to EU and US$ 2.02 million was exported to US. The trend continued in the knit sector because of the market access opportunities provided to the LDCs under the Generalized Systems of Preference (GSP) benefit.

Bangladesh knitwear is performing a well increase in terms of quantity which is a clear indication of increase of capacity in this sector. In the year 2007-08, the contribution of Woven wear to the export earning was 36.17% and in Knitwear was 38.97%. In the current year, the performance of both the sector are as follows:

• Knitwear Export US$ 5,231.01 million FY 2008-09 (July April)
• Woven  Export US$ 4,902.48 million FY 2008-09 (July April)

 Our Markets:

Among the developing and least developed countries Bangladesh has secured the fifth position in the world apparel export market with 2.8% of world’s apparel export share. The USA is the single largest market of Bangladeshi apparels importing around 33%. European Union as a region imports 60% of Bangladesh’s total apparel exports. In the world ranking of 2006-07 our sector has been positioned as the third and fourth largest exporter in the EU and US market respectively. Canada and Japan are the third and fourth major markets for Bangladeshi apparels. Woven garments were the major exporting items at the initial time. With the rise of knitwear exports since mid ‘90s, both these sub-sectors are now contributing equally to the export earnings of the country.

Source : Export Promotion Bureau (EPB)                                     world exports of clothing

                                                                                    Source: International trade statistics – 2008

  INTRODUCTION of VIYELLATEX LTD

Viyellatex Ltd  has paid major contribution in Bangladesh garment exports, which is a 100% export-oriented composite Knit Dyeing firm. It has well planned & equipped fabric dyeing-finishing and garments units in addition to facilitate knitting and knitwear manufacturing.

Concerned Business Units

• Viyellatex Ltd Spinning Ltd.
• Viyellatex Ltd Ltd.
• Textile Testing Corp. (Lab)
• Interfab Shirt Manufacturing Ltd.
• Gothic Design (Printing)
• Fashion Plastic & Packaging.

Unit History, Location, Manpower & Item of Product

( knit) + Embroidery)Interfab Shirt Mfg. Ltd 1998KB Bazar, Gazipur, Bangladesh

2400

Readymade Garments                                     (Woven)Viyellatex Ltd Fabrics

2002297 Khortoli, Gazipur, Tongi, Gazipur-1712, Bangladesh

1200

Knit Fabric

( Dyeing, finishing & washing)Fashion Plastic & Packaging Ltd. 2003297 Khortoli, Gazipur, Tongi, Gazipur-1712, Bangladesh

Poly, Hanger & Button    Poly,Hanger &                                                 B       ButtonViyellatex Ltd Spinning 2005Sreepuir, Mawna, Gazipur, Bangladesh

Cotton YarnGothic Design Ltd.

2007297 Khortoli, Gazipur, Tongi, Gazipur-1712, Bangladesh

Printing of fabric

GENERAL INFORMATION OF THE FACTORY:       

1. 1.      Name of the company                   : Viyellatex Ltd Group.
2. 2.      Nature of company                       : 100% Export Oriented Knit composite Factory.

3.   Types of the company                   : Viyellatex Ltd is private company.

4.   Year of establishment                   : Viyellatex Ltd Group is started its business since 1996.

5.   Trade license number

      & issue date                                  : 4314 and Date: 27/08/2008

6.   Bond license number

      and issue date                               :316/cus-SBW-03 and Issue date: 14/05/2003

7.   Factory Address                           : VIYELLATEX LTD  GROUP, 297 Khortoil, Tongi,

                                     Gazipur-1712, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

                                                             Tel : 880-2-9813001, Ext: 110

                                                              Fax : 880-2-9811400

                                                             http//www.Viyellatex Ltdgroup.com

8. Nature of business                          : Manufacturing.

9. Organizational set up                      : Vertical.

10. Area of business                            : A. Spinning

                                                                B. Knitting

                                                                  C. Dyeing

                                                                     D. Washing

                                                                        E. Printing

                                                                           F. Woven

                                                                             G. Accessories

11. Allied business                              : A. Accessories business

                                                                B. Tea

                                                                  C. Pharmaceutical (Proposed)

12. Marketing Areas                           :  a. USA                  b. EU         c. Asia especially in Japan

                                                               e. Australia                              f. Canada

13. Yearly turnover last 3 years:

14. Fire drill and fire fighting training & equipment is high. Fire fighting training occurs last day

     of the month which is mandatory of all to take part.

15. Worker Welfare Committee exists.

16. Sanitation facilities is proper.

17. Health & safety facilities are proper.

18. Maternity benefits exist.

19. Child care/daycare center somewhat proper.

20. Transport facilities executive and staffs.

22. Ambulance room exists.

23. Full time physician available.

24. Drinking water is proper.

25. Canteen facilities available.

26. Salaries, wages and overtime payment date is 1^st to 5^th day of the month.

27. Leave and leave encashment policy including compensatory holiday.

28. Insurance of worker is available. Insurance is in Delta Life Insurance Company Ltd.

29. Emergency exit and emergency lighting exists.

30. First aid is proper.

31. Safety measures in parking/packing/loading and unloading areas in accordance with CT-

      PAT.

                 – Close circuit camera

                 -Metal explosive detector

                 – Lifter available

                 -Trolley available to move the goods.

32. Working hour is avg. 9 hours.

33. Entertainment facilities to stuff and worker is A. Gymnasium

34. Sewing floor space is 686000 Sq. feet.

35. Cutting floor space is 37000 Square feet.

36. Finishing/packing floor space is 38,000Sq feet.

37. Loading/unloading area and parking space is 22500Sq feet.

38. Dining floor space is 31250 Sq feet.

39. Child care room space is 5600 Sq feet.

40. Number of toilets is 150.

41. Number of hand washing facilities is 45

42. Generator facilities is exists.

                 A. Number of gas generator is 04

                 B. Total capacity of generator is 4256 KVA or 4.26 MW

43.  Efficiency of the organization is 40%.

44.  Efficiency of per line is 35 %.

45. Defect/alter percentage per line is 5%

46. Net available both intranet and internet.

47. LAN available which is connected to every computer (around 350 computers).

48. Website available. Web site is www.Viyellatex Ltdgroup.com

49. Video conferencing facility available

50. In the conference room 56 inch monitor available conference with  audio and sound system

51. Number of 56 pieces laptop available in the company.

52. Training facilities are  available for both the worker and the management.

           A. Training available for worker to operator.

                 B. Training for operator improves their grade

53. Compliance Certification:

1. ISO-9001 & ISO 9002
2. WRAP
3. Oko tex certificate
4. Fair Trade Certificate
5. Organic Certification

54. Capacity:                           Garments         – 3.2 million pcs/Month

                                                Embroidery     – 8000 pcs/day

                                                Printing           – 30000 pcs/day

                                                Knit Fabric      – 600 tons/month

                                                Dye Fabric      – 30 metric tons/.day

                                                Washing          – 12000 pcs dyeing & 40000 pcs

                                                                        wash/day

Cotton yarn     – 8142 metric ton ring spoon & 2124

                          metric Ton rotor spoon cotton yarn/year

                                                Woven RMG  –  24000 pcs/day

                                                Hanger                      –  50000 pcs/day (Average)

                                                Poly                –  PE-2.5 tons/day 7 pp-1500 kg/day

55. Major Buyers:

56. Awards:

Viyellatex Ltd Group has awarded for outstanding performance for Corporate Social Responsibility and export performance by BGMEA year – 2007

Chairman of Viyellatex Ltd Group has awarded business person of the year – 2007

            Organized by DHL & the Daily Star.

 PVH has awarded for the best factory year – 2008

 CSR Award – 2008

            By Standard Chartered bank & Financial Express

 CSR ACTIVITIES OF VIYELLATEX LTD GROUP AT A GLANCE

Viyellatex Ltd believes to reach its Vision, company need to emphasis on sustainable growth and for sustainable growth a higher degree of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is inevitable.
Viyellatex Ltd group believes CSR is a dynamic process and it always tries to align with its Vision & Values.

• Running couple of primary schools and funded Scholarships for poor students.
• Sponsored Taka 2.60 million to Bangladesh Thalassaemia Samity for purchasing of refrigerated centrifuge equipment for blood banking.

• Sponsored Taka 1.10 million for dialysis machine and Endowment Fund of Rotary Club of Dhaka North-West.
• Taka 3.50 Million was sponsored for making Auditorium in Morsula Girl’s School at Noagaonn (District of Bangladesh).

• 108.50 decimals land has been purchased at Sataish, Tongi, Gazipur (adjacent to factory) for 80 Bed hospital (non-profiteering).

• Above 250000 liters of recycled effluent water is being used for 6000 worker’s toilet flash everyday, cost saving Tk 2.00 Lac per year.
• Free Eye Camp & health Campaigns for local community.
• Take part on others social & national activates, disaster etc.
• Donated Kidney Dialysis Machine by Rotary Club Dhaka North-West.
• Blood transfusion Thalassaemia Hospital.

 GREEN (ENVIRONMENT ) INITIATIVE

 Viyellatex Ltd is most renowned environment friendly textile production facility in the world. Our renowned environment initiatives have been well recognized not only by other international business organization but also by World Bank & Asian Development Bank as well.

Few exemplary initiatives:

• Above 250000 liters of recycled effluent water is being used for 6000 worker’s toilet flash everyday, cost saving Tk 2.00 Lac per year.

• ETP Plant 250000 square feet roof top rain water is being used for daily fabric production on rainy season which eventually save 45 million liters under ground water annually, cost saving Tk 4.50 Lac per Year.

• On regular basis all of our products being sent to “FORSCHUNGSINSTITUT HOHENSTEIN” (GERMANY) to check harmful substance and as a result, Viyellatex Ltd Ltd. also are the Oeko-tex 100 certified Company.

• BASF Carbon Footprint of  Textiles

World renowned chemical company BASF and Viyellatex Ltd jointly studied carbon foot print in production process and it shows our production facilities are generating less carbon emission than others.

 A Short View on Different Sections of Viyellatex Ltd Knit-Dyeing Composite Unit:

Different Sections

a) knitting Section:

• Knitting
• Inspection

b) Dyeing section:

• Batch section
• Dye house
• Dyeing lab.
• Quality control
• Finishing

c) Garments section:

• Merchandising
• Sample
• Cutting Section
• Sewing Section
• Finishing Section

d) Maintenance section:

• Electrical
• Mechanical

e) Store Section

f) Administration Section

g) Security Section

h) Marketing Section

i) Production Planning & Control

j) Human Resource & Development Section

Viyellatex Ltd Knitting is fully equipped with 80 Circular knit and 25 Flat knit European and Japanese brand machines Capacity of 600 tons per month.

Machine List of Knitting Section in Viyellatex Ltd :

Price list of different types of yarn:

Cotton:

Polyester Yarn:

           Kader Synthetic – 2.40 $/Kg

           China                – 1.60 $/Kg

Lycra Yarn:

           20 den – 12.70 $/Kg

           40 den – 8.40 $/Kg

           70 den – 7.50 $/Kg

CONSIDERABLE POINTS TO PRODUCE KNITTED FABRICS

 When a buyer orders for fabric then they mention some points related to production and quality. Before production of knitted fabric, these factors are needed to consider. Those are as follows-

• Finished G.S.M.
• Type of Fabric or design of Fabric.
• Yarn count
• Types of yarn (combed or carded)
• Diameter of the fabric.
• Stitch length
• Color depth.

 END PRODUCTS OF  KNITTING MACHINES:

Single Jersey M/C:

a)      S/J  Plain

b)      Single lacoste

c)      Double lacoste

d)     Single pique

e)      Double pique

f)       Terry

Rib M/C:

                                 a)   1×1 Rib fabric

                                 b)   2×2 Rib  fabric

                                 c)   Honeycomb

PRODUCTION CALCULATION:

A. Production/shift in kg at 100% efficiency

B. Production/shift in meter

FAULTS &  CAUSES IN KNITTING:

 1.       Hole Mark

Causes:

• Holes are the results of yarn breakage or yarn cracks.
• During loop formation the yarn breaks in the rejoin of the needle hook.
• If the yarn count is not correct on regarding structure, gauge, course and density.

 2.       Needle Mark

     Causes:

• When a needle breaks down then needle mark comes along the fabrics.
• If a needle or needle hook is slightly bends then needle mark comes on the fabrics.

 3.       Sinker Mark

 Causes:

• When sinker corrode due to abrasion then some times can not hold a new loop as a result sinker mark comes.
• If sinker head bend then sinker mark comes.

 4.       Star

 Causes:

• Yarn tension variation during production.
• Buckling of the needle latch.
• Low G.S.M fabric production.

 5.       Drop Stitches

 Causes:

• Defective needle.
• If yarn is not properly fed during loop formation i.e. not properly laid on to the needle hook.

 6.       Oil stain

 Causes:

• When oil lick through the needle trick then it pass on the fabrics and make a line.

 7.   Rust stain

 Causes:

• If any rust on the machine parts.

 Pin hole

 Causes:

• Due to break down or bend of the latch, pin hole may come in the fabric.

 Grease stain

Causes:

• Improper greasing
• Excess greasing

 Fly dust:

            Causes:

• In knitting section too much lint is flying to and fro that are created from yarn due to low twist as well as yarn friction. This lint may adhere or attaches to the fabric surface tightly during knit fabric production.

    11.  Yarn contamination

            Causes:

• If yarn contains foreign fiber then it remains in the fabric even after finishing,
• If lot, count mixing occurs.

  12.   Yarn Faults:

• Neps.
• Slubs.
• Yarn count variations.
• Thick/Thin place in yarn.

  Dyeing Division

Equipped with mostly high temperature European dyeing machines with the dying capacity of 30 Metric Ton per day of cotton or blended fabric.

Color Combination in the Dyeing Plant:

Three major colors are use to producing any color according to the clients requirements. They are RED, YELLOW, & BLUE. This process of color combination is called as “Trichrometric Theory”.

Responsibility of production officer of Dyeing Section:

• Overall supervision of dyeing & finishing.
• Dyes & chemicals requisition issue & check.
• Program making, sample checking color measurement.
• Control the supervisor’s operators & helpers of machines.
• To give dye-line or the program slip according to daily production plan, batch preparation & P^H check.
• To rectify the finished fabric which rejected from quality control department
• To check daily production report.
• To study dye & chemicals nature delivery by the manufacture & applied them correctly to the production to get best product

 Dyeing Machine Capacity :

Sample

No. of High temperature sample dyeing machine          = 07 pcs

Total machine capacity of sample m/c                           = 355 kgs

Total production capacity of sample m/c                       = 275 kgs

Production

No. of High temperature dyeing machine                       = 15 pcs

Total Machine capacity on dyeing floor                          = 11,360 kgs

Total Production capacity on dyeing floor                       = 30 metric tons/day

Machineries used in the Dyeing Unit

Several types of machinery are used in the dyeing plant. They are described below in short.

 1.      Dyeing Machines- Used to color fabrics

       Viyellatex Ltd has 15 dyeing machines with capacities of 150 to 1680 kgs. Total capacities of all

       the machines are 11360 kgs. It has also 7 sample dyeing machine with a combined capacity

       of 355 kgs.

2.      Dewatering Hydro Machine– Used to taking out the water part of the fabric. The company has two dewatering hydro machines with a total capacity of 18 tons per day.

3.      Slitting Machine– Used to take out the water and also to open the tube line fabric. The dyeing unit has 2 slitting machines with a total daily capacity of 18 tons also.

4.      Stenter Machine– Used for taking the fabric to its original construction it also dries the fabric.  Viyellatex Ltd has 2 stenter machines with a capacity of 21 tons per day.

5.      Dryer- Used to dry out the fabric and also for stabilizing the GSM of the fabric. Viyellatex Ltd has 2 dryers with a capacity of 20 tons per day.

6.      Compactor Machine– Used for compacting or controlling the GSM of the fabric. Viyellatex Ltd has 2 Open Compactor machines and 2 Tube Compactor machines. The Open Compactors has a capacity of 21 tons per day and the Tube Compactors has a capacity of 18 tons per day.

7.     Swatting Machine- Used to soften the fabric

8.      Raising Machine– Used to finally finish the fabric

Common dyeing faults

1. Uneven dyeing:

Causes:

– Uneven pretreatment (uneven scouring & bleaching).

– Improper color dosing.

– Uneven heat-setting in case of synthetic fibers.

– Lack of control on dyeing m/c

     2. Batch to Batch Shade variation:

Causes:

–  Fluctuation of Temperature.

–  Improper dosing time of dyes & chemicals.

– Batch to batch weight variation of dyes and chemicals.

– Improper reel speed, pump speed, liquor ratio.

– Improper pretreatment.

3. Patchy dyeing effect:

Causes:

– Entanglement of fabric.

– Faulty injection of alkali.

– Improper addition of color.

– Due to hardness of water.

– Due to improper salt addition.

– Dye migration during intermediate dyeing.

– Uneven heat in the machine, etc

     4. Roll to roll variation or Meter to Meter variation:

Causes:

– Poor migration property of dyes.

– Improper dyes solubility.

– Hardness of water.

– Faulty m/c speed, etc

      5. Crease mark:

            Causes:

            – Poor opening of the fabric rope

            – Shock cooling of synthetic material

–  If pump pressure & reel speed is not equal

            – Due to high speed m/c running

    6. Dye spot:

Causes:

– Improper Dissolving of dye particle in bath.

– Improper Dissolving of caustic soda particle in bath.

    7. Wrinkle mark:

            Causes:

            – Poor opening of the fabric rope

            – Shock cooling of synthetic material

            –  High temperature entanglement of the fabric

    8. Softener Mark:

            Causes:

            – Improper mixing of the Softener.

            – Improper running time of the fabric during application of softener.

            – Entanglement of the fabric during application of softener

Textile Testing Corporation (TTC), Viyellatex Ltd Group

Viyellatex Ltd Group’s own testing lab named “Textile Testing Corporation (TTC)” is a modern textile testing lab equipped with state-of- the art technologies, equipments and skilled professionals. The TTC performs almost all the internal textile tests required by the knitting, dyeing, and garments units of Viyellatex Ltd Group. It has testing facilities for yarn testing to finished garments testing before shipping. Viyellatex Ltd Dyeing unit is equipped with mostly high temperature European dyeing machines with the dying capacity of 30 Metric Ton per day of cotton or blended fabric.

The TTC has achieved individual accreditation form Marks & Spencer and Puma. Another official accreditation will make the TTC acceptable worldwide and it will be able to take order for textile testing form outside textile manufactures. The TTC saves Tk. 2-3 lac every year by providing test facilities to the Viyellatex Ltd knitting, dyeing, and printing units.

 Lab Working Procedure: 

• Color Fastness to Light
• Bursting Strength
• Pilling
• C/F to Washing
• Demensional Stability
• Crocking

Test Facilities Available in the Textile Testing Corporation (TTC)

Textile Testing Corporation (TTC) of Viellatex group is capable of the following lab tests.

*These tests costs from US $ 5 to US $ 18

Washing Division

Equipped with European machine having capacity of 30,000 Pcs garments per day.

• They physically trained the operator how to operate the particular operation.
• In the big floor there are two people for the support of those sections.
• There is some unique folder which is rare in our garments industry.

 Viyellatex Ltd Spinning Ltd

Viyellatex Ltd Spinning an export oriented 40320 spindle ring & 1280 spindle rotor spinning industry equipped with all brand new state of the art European machines. It was established in the year 2004.

 Garments Cutting Section

STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE OF CUTTING SECTION

Cutting department receives Tech Pack from merchandiser and PP sheet of a style from IE.

Cutting department checks whether sample, master pattern and fabrics are ready or not.

If ready cutting department collect sample, marker and fabric (for size set) from the sample section, CAD section and fabric store.

Cutting department gives a lay for size set sample, cut, sew in the size set line, print, wash, embroidery all are done and measurement are taken in all the steps.

If it is found that an adjustment is required in the master pattern, than cutting manager, buyer QC and pattern master check and make necessary correction as per grading and informs pattern and CAD section.

Then cutting department collects fabrics for bulk production from store and checks whether the GSM of every roll is fine or not and check the width of fabric for that lot.

If fabric GSM is ok, cutting department sends information to CAD section containing in which width and ratio of fabric they are going to cut that particular cutting.

Machines Available in the Cutting department:

• Spreader machine – 4 pcs
• Cutting table – 4 pcs
• Table for stripped fabric – 1 pcs
• Straight knife – 17 pcs
• Bend knife – 1 pcs
• Gerber automatic cutter – 1 pcs 

Printing System:

Types of Print

There are different types of printing available for knit fabric. Major printing types are note below.

Fabric printing is basically of two types.

1. 1.      Oil Base Print
2. 2.      Water Base Print

Oil Base print is also of three types,

They are-

1. 1.      Pasticole
2. 2.      High Density
3. 3.      Puff

Water based color is also of different types:

1. 1.      Rubber Print
2. 2.      Pigment Print
3. 3.      Discharge Print ( Only for Deep Fabric Printing)
4. 4.      Glitter Printing
5. 5.      Foil Print
6. 6.      Gel Print
7. 7.      Flock Print ( Not available in Gothic)
8. 8.      Metallic Print
9. 9.      Rambo Print
10. 10.  Spray Print ( Not available due to health hazard)
11. 11.  Blue in the Dark Print
12. 12.  Crack Print
13. 13.  Upson Print

Working flow chart of printing (Gothic Design):

Types of Machine:

Automatic Printing Machine

Gothic Design has 4 automatic printing machines. Each machine can printout 8-14 fabrics per batch. Time depends on the print design and buyer’s requirements.

Heat Press Machine

Using heat press machine, print is made softer. There are 5 heat press machines in the unit. By using high pressure, high temperature this machine can smooth and soften the print surface. It can deliver 50-60 fabrics per hour.

 Production Table

Gothic Design Ltd. has 8 tables in the 1^st floor and 17 tables in the 6^th floor. On an average 130 fabrics can be printed in one batch per table.

 Curing Machine

Curing machine is originally known as conveyer dryer. After printing in the automatic printing machine, fabrics are put into this machine. This machine fixes and cures the print by using heat treatment. Gothic has 4 conveyer dryers.

Notary Printing Machine (Not Available in Gothic)

This machine can print upon a whole roll of fabric. Viyellatex Ltd Group does its Notary Print form outside printers.

Exposer Machine

This is one of the sophisticated rare machines. This machine is used for making print screens and positive exposition.

  Viyellatex Ltd Embroidery Unit

Viyellatex Ltd has a state of the art fabric embroidery unit furnished with modern machineries. Before going to the discussion let’s see the flowchart for embroidery process. Equipped with 20 Head 9 Nos Japanese embroidery machines to meet up in-house requirements.

Fabrics Received form Cutting Unit Cutting

Types of Embroidery

There are basically 2 types of embroidery:

1. Appliqué Embroidery
2. Non Appliqué/ Stitch Embroidery

Types of Stitch

1. Satin Stitch ( Only X-axis or Y-axis embroidery)
2. Zigzag

1. Run Stitch
   1. Single Run
   2.  Double Run
   3.  Double Fly
   4.  Triple Fly
   5. Tatami Stitch ( For Cross Stitch)
      1.  Cornoli
      2.  Motive
      3. Chain
      4. Eve Design ( Foam Inside the Embroidery)

  Production per day

  20,000 piece per day

  Total Worker: 162

  Total Embroidery machine:

                                    For Bulk production   =07

                                    For Sample                  =01

[Machine model: TFGN9/20]

Here, 9 stands for color limit and 20 stand for Head.

Brand Name: Tazima

Others machine: Metal detector

Capacity: Capacity of embroidery machine is 4000 pieces/24 hours/ machine (Stitch 1500-1600).

Quality Problem occurs in embroidery:

• Drop stitch
• Oil mark
• Needle hole
• Design biased
• Over stitch
• Tension loose
• Color mistake

The equipment used for producing steam from water is called steam generator or boiler.    The boiler used for producing steam in GKL is Cochran boiler which is a fire tube type boiler. This produced steam is supplied by the steam line in different section. Simple vertical boiler of fire tube type is mainly used in small plant requiring small quantity of steam and where floor area is limited.

Classification of boilers:

1)      Fire – tube boiler( gas ) : Low pressure , low running cost , less chance of busting

      but greater risk of damage .

2)      Water – tube boiler: High pressure, high running cost high chance of bursting & don’t damage the whole boiler.

As this factory used fire tube boilers and its description is given below.

In boiler house, steam is produced at high temperature and pressure. This produced steam is supplied by the steam line in different section.

Uses:  Steam use for –

  Power generation ( steam engine / turbine ) .

  Processing in industries ( dyeing & finishing mill , sugar mill , paper mill etc. ).

  Heating purposes ( houses , offices , hospitals etc in cold countries ).

  Hot water supply.

  Conform to the safely regulations of boiler act .

  Industrial engineering (IE) section

Industrial engineering section is the section of the research. This section mainly does two types of work. It works for the development of the current work procedure. It invent the advance method for the evaluating the worker efficiency and effectiveness. This group deploys a industrial engineer for the every production floor. They observe the work of the production and provide the necessary suggestion for the motion development. The work flow chart of IE department –

Style analysis

• In this stage this department works for the preproduction analysis. By this work it analyzes the every motion of the individual production line.
• It prepared the lay out for the every product.
• It measures the standard minute value for the every product.
• It arranged the preproduction meeting.

Operation analysis

• It confirms the required manpower for the particular product line.
• It helps to achieve the target of the production flow by root cause analysis.
• It suggests changing in machine balancing process for the better output.
• It provides required help to the production section.
• They calculate the required thread consumption.

Other work

Outside of the main work of IE department, it is doing lot of innovative work for the improving the overall production improvement of the industry. Already they have done lot of the work. Some of the important contribution we can mention here-

• The prepared the unit two room layout, floor layout and setting layout.
• The find the necessity of heat-seal machine in production floor.
• They provide the training for production people for their knowledge development.
• They provide the manpower requirement planning.
• They innovates the worker assessment software.
  • Motion study done in the factory.

Sewing section

This is the section for which all department work for them. They produce the ultimate product for value addition. The sewing section is very big of this factory. But this section can’t avail to meet the overall demand of the industry. There is 72 sewing line in this section. But the capacity of every line is not same. There are three types of sewing line in this factory. This are-

• Basic line
• Semi critical line
• Critical line.

Basic line

This line produces the very simple product and the production capacity of this line is very high. Per hour they can produce the150 to 200 products. The layout of this line is very easy and operator helper of the line is not very much large. In this factory there are 28 basic lines.

Semi critical line

This line is more critical than basic line. The operator of this line is more than 35 and total work force working under this line is near about 60. This line can produce 80 to 120 products per hour. In this factory there are 32 semi critical lines.

Critical line

This is the most complex setup among the three lines. The lay out setting time is very lengthy for this line. It required more than forty machines for the line setup. The total work force of the line is more than 60. The production capacity of this line is very low. It can produce 40 to 80 garments per hours.

List of machines in Sewing Unit:

  Garments Finishing Section

•  Process of Garments Finishing:
• Receive Garments
• Steam Ironing
• Folding Garments
• Final Inspection
• Attach Labels in the Garments
• Packing with Tissue, Board & Hanger in Poly bag
• Metal Inspection in Metal Detector m/c
• Cartooning the Garments
• Store in the Wire House
• Shipment

 Other Departments

Merchandising Department Setup:

                                                            A. Development: Function

                                                            B. Sales and distribution

                                                            C. Material Management

                                                            D. Production Planning

Commercial Department Setup:

                                                            A. Exp-Import

                                                            B. UD

                                                            C. Purchase

                                                            D. Logistics

Accounts and Audit department setup:

                                                            a.  Audit

                                                            b.  Costing &Budgeting

                                                            c. Treasury

MERCHANDISING   DEPARTMENT & QUALITY CONTROL BY MERCHANDISER

‘Merchandising’ is the process of buying and selling of certain products. It is one of the most valuable part of our ‘RMG & Textile’ industry. A good merchandiser can boost the sales – much of the success of a RMG or Textile industry depends on the interaction and selling skills of a Merchandiser.

Job Responsibilities of Merchandiser

Some common mistakes by merchandiser :

1.Master spread sheet & individual spread sheet not being updated correctly & on time.

2. Qnty mistakes in master spread sheet like input Pk qnty i/o pcs, input an extra zero (10000 becomes 100000), not deleting the projected qnty even after inputting the confirmed qntys.

3. Fabric booking not being revised though there had been a measurement change during fit approval stage

4. Pending update resulting delay input due to non issuance of bundle card.

5. For big qnty hanger, carton, sewing thread booking, not mentioning the required delivery date & per day requirement to the supplier resulting ware house space + fund block.

6. Request unrealistic fabric delivery date in the fabric booking sheet. Also not mentioning the split delivery schedule for the bigger orders.

7. Not refusing orders despite of actual qnty is exceeding the capacity booked by buyer

8. Proceed with new booking for the fabric + trims without looking at the stock situation for the same item.

9. Delay in arranging the PP meeting & PP file.

1. Consumption &  width mistake in twill tape booking
2. Consumption mistakes for the sewing thread
3. Color wise fabric booking mistake, not booking the tube fabric for piping & binding of a ferment, incorrect booking for the neck rib fabric (mixing up 1×1 rib with 2×2 rib or 100% cotton neck rib with 97/3 ctn/els neck rib etc.)
4. Not ordering sufficient mould while ordering the snap button/ rivets.
5. Not taking a prior approval from buyer though any technical parameter (ex: color fastness to light for white, or critical make up issue) is unachievable in bulk production.
6. Dimension mistake during booking the poly bag & carton due to late response from the finishing dept & attempting to do it by own judgment.
7. Poor follow up on the debit notes raised against both buyers & suppliers resulting loss for the company
8. Not checking the print embroidery’s capacity situation against per day sewing input requirement & not developing artworks with alternate ftys. Also not communicating with the print/ embroidery house about the panel sending schedules.
9. Sewing Thread not matching at bulk stage resulting line stoppage in the middle of the production (For tricky colors like Khaki, Chocolate, Marl etc you should book the thread only after straight from the lab dips. Print/ embroidery & sewing planning should be done accordingly.)
10. Poor follow up on BB LC & TT payment status and blaming commercial dept at the last moment.
11. Not following up with lab reg. labdip submission & approval status.
12. Not addressing any special machine’s requirement or any special operation (Ex: Sueding, brushing , rib eng stripe knitting, smoking , zigzag, saddle stitch etc.) where productivity can be either too low or capacity can be limited, before confirming an order or before finalizing the costing
13. not addressing the production hazard like combination of light & dark color’s cut & sew or red twill tape in white garments etc.
14. Not highlighting in fabric booking sheet if garment is having contrast cut & sew and therefore needs to have color fastness 4-5 on dark panels.
15. not taking the prior initiatives to do the fabric, garment, button pull test, date sheet for snaps etc. in advance though it’s a legal requirement from the customer.

CRITICAL  PATH OF MERCHANDISING

Tech pack received

        Proto sample development

            Proto  comments rcvd

               SMS tech pack rcvd

               SMS pcs & Costing

Final tech pack rcvd with SMS comments

Lab dip submission

Order confirmation

 Quality Management  For Merchandisers

The merchandisers in apparel export business have an important role to ensure and assure quality. This is mainly due to the fact that the merchandiser is the key link between the factory and the customer. Merchandiser plays an important role in communicating the customer demands and making sure the factory capabilities are optimally utilized by generating enough profitable business. In this report, I have shared my thoughts on how merchandisers can contribute to the overall process of quality improvement in an apparel manufacturing organization. Role of Merchandisers in ensuring Quality.

When asked about the role of Merchandisers in ensuring quality, following answers were received from merchandisers of various  apparel exporting firms:

  Provide correct and clear information on time to relevant departments

  Ensure fabric quality

  Ensure production friendly samples

  On time sealer sample availability

  Make sure to get the sources of accessories and fabrics at as early as sampling stage of the style

  Ensure timely trims arrival

  Ensure right first time submissions to buyer to save time, money and reputation

  Ensure timely approvals from buyers

  Identify possible problems in the style and the ways to avoid them

  Discuss the style, its target and its T&A with production team

  Timely handing over production file with all the required contents

  Timely preparation of budget for fabric and trims

  Conduct/be present for in-line inspection to anticipate defects and avoidance of the same in the future.

  Merchant should regularly visit production floor in order to locate if any defect is left unnoticed

All the points identified above are relevant and must be attended to. Sizable improvement on these will surely help your organization in improving the product as well as service quality.

Merchandisers must remember that ‘Customer Satisfaction is not enough’ !

One the most commonly used definition of quality is customer satisfaction, but we must remember that in today’s world everybody knows about this definition and everybody is promising so called ‘customer satisfaction’. It is another matter that they are not able to fulfill the promise. But the companies that aim to lead in today’s competitive market must aim for some thing more than customer satisfaction. That is why companies are aiming to achieve ‘Consumer Delight’, through making customer feel special, very happy or pleasantly surprised with your product and or service. Remember ‘Loyalty is absence of better alternative’. The day customer finds a better alternative the loyalty start to shake. That is why we have to reinvent and constantly improve to be able to be the best alternative for our customers.

What the merchandisers must do?

I have been interacting with merchandising teams during my internship period. I am surprised to learn that most of them do not measure their customer satisfaction level. Merchandisers can follow following steps to improve the customer satisfaction.

• Track customer satisfaction level on regular basis through structured formats
• Identify the gaps in customer satisfaction by analyzing the customer complaints or routine communication. Another indicator of customer satisfaction level in the final inspection report by the customer. These too are seldom analyzed by merchandisers.
• Identify the causes for the main factors contributing to customer dissatisfaction and or identify factors that will delight the customer
• Acquire knowledge on problem solving techniques
• Work out an action plan for improvement aimed at improving customer satisfaction in consultation with factory team
• Implement the plan and track the improvement
• Refine the plan for further improvement

Some of the areas merchandisers can start looking at are:

 Delay Analysis:

Measure the extent of overall and process-wise delays and find out the causes for the same. Evaluate which causes are controllable and take corrective actions to eliminate these causes.

Analyze the problems faced in different styles handled per season:

This can be easily done using a check sheet. This exercise can clearly highlight common problems encountered from product development up to post shipment stage.

Considering the factory as internal customer:

The key to achieving customer satisfactions is to start satisfying the internal customer. Our experience shows that there exists sizable communication gap between the merchandising teams and production team. Similar situation exists between merchandising and fabric procurement teams. While it is important for the merchandising teams to assess the customer (buyer) satisfaction level, it is equally important to assess the internal customer satisfaction level. The internal customers of merchandising function are all the departments/ entities that depend on inputs from merchandising for carrying out their task.

If the merchandisers try to genuinely understand the internal customer expectations and fulfill them, the dependent (internal customer) departments will be able to improve their right first time quality level. This will also improve communication, cooperation and team work between factory and the merchandising team. This in turn can help the merchandisers and the organization in satisfying external customers.

  Objects of quality control:

• Research.
• Selection of raw materials.
• Process control.
• Process development.
• Product testing.
• Specification test

 Quality Standards ISO 9001:2000
Quality Management System

Implementing a Quality Management System (QMS) within an organisation needs to be a decision by top management.  The objective of the quality system needs to be clearly defined so that the system can be effective.

The design and implementation of a quality management system will vary depending on the type, size and products of the organization.  Each company will have it’s own objective, however most companies objective is to increase profitability.  A Quality Management System will assist by:

• managing costs and risks
• increasing effectiveness and productivity
• identifying improvement opportunities
• increasing customer satisfaction

A well managed quality system will have an impact on:

• customer loyalty and repeat business
• market share
• operational efficiencies
• flexibility and ability to respond to market opportunities
• effective and efficient use of resources
• cost reductions
• competitive advantages
• participation and motivation of human resources
• industry reputation
• control on all processes

Way of Quality management system in Merchandising :

Online Quality control:

There are two types of online quality control. These are as follows: –

Raw material control:

            Raw material control means control the quality of raw materials (e.g.- Quality of Grey

            fabric, Dyes, Chemicals and Auxiliary)

Process control:

            Process control means the selection of right process and controlling of some parameters.

            Such as P^H, Water hardness, water volume, Temperature, Reel Speed, Pump pressure, etc.

Online Tests:

• Dyed fabric.
• Shade check.
• Wash fastness.
• Water fastness.
• Crocking fastness.

Off line Quality control:

Off-Line tests are divided into two groups. These are as follows:

• Physical tests
• Chemical tests

Physical Tests:

• GSM of Fabric.
• Abrasion resistance / Pilling.
• Dimensional stability test.
• Spirality test.
• Color fastness to rubbing test (Dry / Wet).
• Bursting strength test (For Knitted fabric).
• Tensile Strength test (For Woven fabric).

Chemical Tests:

• Color Fastness to washing.

• Color Fastness to light.
• Color Fastness to heat.
• Color Fastness to actual laundering
• Color Fastness to Chlorinated water.
• Color Fastness to water spotting.
• Color Fastness to perspiration.
• Color Fastness to Seawater.
• Flammability test.
• Fibre analysis.
• P^H test.
• Spray test (water repellency).
• Phenolic yellowing.

Scope   of   quality control,  quality assurance   and   testing

The scope of quality control, quality assurance and testing are good in Viyellatex Ltd. It has very well –

• Testing Laboratory.
• Machine auditing system.
• A good training system.
• Excellent analytical backup.
• Technical expertise.

RESPOSIBILITY OF OFF-LINE quality control:

           To check the following things:

• Inspection of fabric in the inspection M/C under 4-point system.
• Yarn count and lot no.
• Buyer.
• Design.
• Stitch length of grey fabric.
• Shade of grey fabric with in one order.

 RESPOSIBILITY OF ON LINE quality control:

 To check the following things:

·         M/C Dia/Gauge

• Buyer
• Design
• Grey fabric GSN & Stitch Length
• Yarn count & Lot no
• Yarn whether approved or not by Q.C. Department
• Finished dia & grey dia.
• Fabric quality checking under 4-point system.

 Laboratory:

Laboratory is the heart of dyeing Industry. An efficient laboratory can increase the efficiency of dyeing. So, laboratory in-charge is sometimes called pilot. Before bulk production a sample is sent to buyer for approval. Laboratory supplies the recipe to the floor.

 Purpose of Laboratory:

• Get color approval from buyer.
• Recipe supply to the floor.
• Shade correction.
• Minimize the deviation between bulk and laboratory.

Laboratory line:

 Standard sample:

At first recipe % of standard sample is measured by CCM (computer color matching) system.

 Laboratory Trial:

Then by taking those recipe laboratory officers produce laboratory trial and match with standard according to buyer requirement.

 Approved Sample:

Then sample swatch, which is matched with the standard, is sent to buyer for approval.

 Responsibility of IN CHARGE of quality control:

• Making report.
• Supervise the grey Q.C.
• Check machine is running according to program or not
• Check program can meet the requirement. Which is mentioned in the order sheet or not.
• Check yarn is approved by Q.C. or not.

RESPONSIBILITY OF THE FINISHING Q.C.:

• After unloading from dyeing cut small piece, check shade with std/approved lab dip/production sample & previous production batch (if any).
• Then instruction to finishing for finish by mentioning specific temperature in dryer.
• After finish again cut sample & check same way like before at dry state.
• Keep the record of every lot after dry & after finished state.
• If any batch is not OK at any stage then make the re-process card for dyeing.
• If any batch is closer to standard but not exactly pass with standard, then make trial for that batch in finishing to make it OK.
• Maintain the resister of all batches.
• Check the shade of Body to Rib, Body to Collar & Cuff.

Total Quality Management (TQM)

 “TQM is a process and philosophy of achieving best possible outcomes from the inputs, by using them effectively and efficiently in order to deliver best value for the customer, while achieving long term objectives of the organization”

It is an approach to quality that emphasizes continuous improvement, a philosophy of “doing it right the first time” and striving for zero defects and elimination of all waste. It is a concept of using quality methods and techniques to strategic advantage within firms.

In Japan, TQM comprises four process steps, namely:

1. Kaizen – Focuses on “Continuous Process Improvement”, to make processes visible, repeatable and measurable.
2. Atarimae Hinshitsu – The idea that “things will work as they are supposed to” (for example, a pen will write).
3. Kansei – Examining the way the user applies the product leads to improvement in the product itself.
4. Miryokuteki Hinshitsu – The idea that “things should have an aesthetic quality” (for example, a pen will write in a way that is pleasing to the writer).

TQM requires that the company maintain this quality standard in all aspects of its business. This requires ensuring that things are done right the first time and that defects and waste are eliminated from operations.

ANALYSIS & FINDINGS

Sorting major quality problems

The quality problems are quantified and then every quality problem is expressed by percentage of the total quality problems. According to the general practice in the RMG sector of our country the quality rejection allowance for different steps is 15-20% . For this reason the initial booking for  fabrics increased to around 20% above with its actual fabric requirements.

* Rejection (%) of an order mainly depends on Design Complexities & Order Volume.

 Problem parameter identification

Pareto analysis is a statistical technique in decision making that is used for selection of a limited number of tasks that produce significant overall effect. It uses the Pareto principle – the idea that by doing 20% of work you can generate 80% of the advantage of doing the entire job. Or in terms of quality improvement, a large majority of problems (80%) are produced by a few key causes (20%) This concept has been taken for identifying the root causes of quality problem of the garments. According to the concept we can identify the three major  activities (as Fabric contamination/ Knitting Problem, Printing & Sewing)  which  is responsible for the 75%  quality rejection.

Sorting major quality problems

Knitting Problems

The following ‘cause and effect diagram’ has been prepared for the Knitting Problem. From the cause and effect diagram, several vital causes like, error sampling, stitch length (SL) variation, low quality yarn and other causes have been found.

 Problem identification

In this research, quality problems have been studied for ten days on the quality check table of knitting grey fabrics and major quality problems of grey fabrics have been identified. These identified quality problems are briefly described below.

a GSM problem: GSM means gram per square metre. Buyer provides the certain GSM for  production. If the GSM does not match then buyer rejects the fabrics.

b Knitting star: If there is a missing of knitting then it makes a hole which is like a star in shape that is hard to see in production. But the size of star expands with time and will be prominent in the later stage.

c Knitting shade: When yarn of certain lot is mixed with other lot then a different shade is found. This is unexpected for the fabric.

d Needle mark: It is a vertical mark which makes the aesthetic look worse and it makes the fabric nondurable.

e Lycra out: It is a horizontal mark. It generally weakens the strength of the fabrics.

f Knitting loop: When the yarn is jammed on the fabric, it causes the knitting loop.

g Knitting hole: Some time knitting system is dropped then it makes the knitting hole.

h Knitting dia-mark: When the grey fabrics are folded on a round wheel, sometimes irregular fold occur. It causes a mark on the grey fabrics which is called knitting dia-mark.

i Knitting oil mark: Sometime machine oil drop causes the mark named oil mark. The above listed quality problems are found from the quality check table. The quality problems are quantified and then every quality problem is expressed by percentage of the total quality problems.

Diagram :   Cause and effect diagram of grey fabrics

Printing  Problems:

There are some major printing problem repeating for some common recurring mistakes. Such as-

1. Color Mistakes:

Causes

• Because color is prepared manually every time by color master
• Inappropriate proportion of different chemicals

2. Radish Shade on Black Print:

Causes

• It is mainly caused by fabrics type, color ingredients or over heating.
• No extensive printing lab facilities to find out the root causes.
• Color masters have lack of efficiency in this regard.

3. Sensitive to Wash:

Causes

• Sometimes the print ingredients may not establish with the fabrics
• The fabrics are not appropriate for the print type.

4. Bad Smell:

Causes

• The combination of materials cause this odor from the garments
• If not appropriately cured after printing.

5. Curing Problem:

Causes

• Sometimes inefficient can’t cure the print properly
• The manual heat machine tends to wrong outcome.

Way to Over Come These Problems:

• Establish a sophisticated printing lab with good manpower
• Make sure that the color master has the sound scientific knowledge.
• Materials  Brand should be confirmed every time.
• Proper training should be given to the workers
• Manual heat machine should be avoided.
• The table should be cleaned enough so that no spot can cause to the fabrics
• Worker should have adequate knowledge about the chemicals hazards.

  Sewing Problems:

• Needle breakage
• Fabrics shade mismatching
• Unskilled worker
• Inadequate technical knowledge about the sewing machine & garments
• Lengthy Line setup time
• Stitch tension
• Machine spots or oil spots on the fabric
• Sewing time consumption for the previously defected garments.
• Thread breakage.
• Skipped stitches.  
• Needle breakage.  
•  Seam pucker.
•  Broken stitches.  
•  Needle & thread size

 Steps Should be Taken

•   Proper training should be given to the semi-skilled or unskilled worker
•   Arrange incentive to the line worker to achieve the line target
•   Quality needle & accessories should be used
•   More technically sound people to be engaged to eliminate line setup time.
•   Machine should be check up properly after every certain period of time

The view of quality improvement is not just the quality but the increase of production and reduction of manufacturing cost. It ensures the minimization of labor loss and the satisfaction of buyers’ souls. RMG industries of Bangladesh have not yet absorbed this concept. They pay more attention to productivity but ignore the giant portion of production loss due to quality.

 SWOT  Analysis of Viyellatex Ltd:

Most of the machines are set up maintaining  the environment friendly standards

Viyellatex Ltd uses modern machineries in its dyeing unit.

Viyellatex Ltd’s TTC lab has many sophisticated  testing machineries and equipments.

Viyellatex Ltd embroidery has world’s most modern machineries in the embroidery industry

It has very strong positive image in this industry for its quality & CSR activities.

• The floor is kept unclean during dyeing, which can be very harmful for the labors and the environment.

• Gothic Design Ltd. is not sound enough for its environment and printing performance.

• Embroidery The unit can only satisfy 40% of the total demand of Viyellatex Ltd group

• There is excessive dust in the cutting floor, which can be hazardous for the worker.

Opportunity

Threat

  It can more easily attract the pioneer brands with its existing clients

The increasing efficiency will make the firm more efficient.

Global market of cloths & apparels are expanding 7% on an average.

Bangladesh is enjoying some facilities of being a LDC country

A huge number of talents are now coming in this sector to fulfill the vacancies.

Backward linkage for knitting is about 100% in Bangladesh

• Some labors do not take any essential cautionary measures during machine operation, which can be very hazardous.

• The unit cannot satisfy its client demand, Viyellatex Ltd as it has lower capacity than the requirements.

• Efficiency level of the worker is on an average about 40%

• Job switching rate of the skilled worker is very high

Major Findings:

As  I had been working in Merchandising Department of Viyellatex Ltd for Three months as an intern, I got opportunities to visit in every department very extensively. Here I would like to present some very important  findings  regarding this organization and the department are as follow:

1. Four modules of  the World’s most sophisticated garment related software System Application Process (SAP) is used in the organization.
2. Viyellatex Ltd Group’s own testing lab named “Textile Testing Corporation (TTC)” is a modern textile testing lab equipped with state-of- the art technologies, equipments and skilled professionals.
3. It is a 100% export-oriented composite Knit Dyeing firm.
4. Nature of business is  Manufacturing.
5.  Organizational set up is  Vertical.
6.  Area of business includes – : A. Spinning     B. Knitting        C. Dyeing          D. Washing

 E. Printing      F. Woven     G. Accessories

1. Garments mainly exports to the buyer of :    a. USA     b. EU    c. Asia especially in Japan

           e. Australia                 f. Canada

13. Yearly turnover last 3 years:

  9. It has a very good precautionary systems against fire. Fire drill and fire fighting training & equipment is high. Fire fighting training occurs last day of the month which is mandatory of all to take part.

10. Worker Welfare Committee exists.

11. Health & safety facilities are proper. Sanitation facilities is proper. Child care/daycare center  somewhat proper. Full time physician available.

12. Drinking water is proper. Canteen facilities are available & meals are free for everybody.

13. Insurance of worker is available. Insurance is in Delta Life Insurance Company Ltd

14. Safety measures in parking/packing/loading and unloading areas in accordance with CT-PAT.

                 – Close circuit camera

                 -Metal explosive detector

                 – Lifter available

                 -Trolley available to move the goods.

15. Working hour is avg. 9 hours.

16. Sewing floor space is 686000 Sq. feet. Cutting floor space is 37000 Square feet. Finishing/packing floor space is 38,000Sq feet. Loading/unloading area and parking space is 22500Sq feet.

17. Generator facilities is exists.

                 A. Number of gas generator is 04

                 B. Total capacity of generator is 4256 KVA or 4.26 MW

18.  Efficiency of the organization is 40%.

19.  Efficiency of per line is 35 % & there are 72 working line.

20. Defect/alter percentage per line is 5%

21. Net available both intranet and internet. LAN available which is connected to every computer (around 350 computers). Website available. Web site is www.Viyellatex Ltdgroup.com

22. Well equipped conference room , meeting room & gymnasium are available. In the conference room 23 inch monitor available for conference with  audio and sound system

24. Training facilities are  available for both the worker and the management.

           A. Training available for worker to operator.

                 B. Training for operator improves their grade

25. Compliance Certification:

1. ISO-9001 & ISO 9002
2. WRAP
3. Oko tex certificate
4. Fair Trade Certificate
5. Organic Certification

26. Capacity:                           Garments         – 3.2 million pcs/Month

                                                Embroidery     – 8000 pcs/day

                                                Printing           – 30000 pcs/day

                                                Knit Fabric      – 600 tons/month

                                                Dye Fabric      – 30 metric tons/.day

                                                Washing          – 12000 pcs dyeing & 40000 pcs wash/day

Cotton yarn     – 8142 metric ton ring spoon & 2124

                                metric Ton rotor spoon cotton yarn/year

                                                Woven RMG      –  24000 pcs/day

                                                Hanger                          –  50000 pcs/day (Average)

                                                Poly                   –  PE-2.5 tons/day 7 pp-1500 kg/day

27. There are two broad Season for product shipment. Each  Season again divided into two

       season called 09-Pre & 09-Post, where the numbers are used for year indication.

 28. In garments industries workers have to work for eight hours almost uninterruptedly either by sitting or by standing in one position. So, undoubtedly stress developed in their muscular-skeletal system. An ergonomic approach to design the working chair and table should be used.

 29. Major Buyers:

 30. CSR Award – 2008 By Standard Chartered bank & Financial Express, for its extraordinary

    CSR activities.

31. It is a compliance knitting firm

32. Backward linkage of the firm is very efficient and strong which leads a them a shorter lead

      time of production & delivery.

1. The Sample department is very modernized with proper technology & experts.
2. The firm also receiving order for producing environment friendly ‘eco-garments’ which is a special achievement for this industry.
3. The Cutting department is not maintaining enough healthy working environment, it  should be more dust free.
4. World renowned chemical company BASF and Viyellatex Ltd jointly studied carbon foot print in production process and it shows our production facilities are generating less carbon emission than others.
5. On regular basis all of our products being sent to “FORSCHUNGSINSTITUT HOHENSTEIN” (GERMANY) to check harmful substance and as a result, Viyellatex Ltd Ltd. also are the Oeko-tex 100 certified Company.

 GREEN (ENVIRONMENT) INITIATIVES

1. Viyellatex Ltd is most renowned environment friendly textile production facility in the world. Our renowned environment initiatives have been well recognized not only by other international business organization but also by World Bank & Asian Development Bank as well.

• Above 250000 liters of recycled effluent water is being used for 6000 workers everyday.

Recommendations:

Viyellatex Ltd Ltd is one of the most Leading Knitting firms in Bangladesh RMG industry, its contribution in socio-economic aspect of Bangladesh has greater significance. I have tried to identify the process of operations, pattern of working  & other process as a whole. I have found a fewer number of factors, which impede the achievement of ultimate goals of Viyellatex Ltd. It is not easy to find out the solution for an inexperience internee like me. But I do believe that the suggestions mentioned below will obviously increase the efficiency of Viyellatex Ltd Ltd.

1. As the printing Section causes a huge amount of loss & buyer dissatisfactions  every year for its quality, it must be improved by modern technologies  & experts.
2. A dedicated quality management team should be engaged in merchandizing department to improve the merchandising process & knowledge.
3. Job switching rate of the efficient user is very high due to high alternative compensation in other firms. That’s why compensation structure should be revised according to the present job market.
4. To make the company more profitable the management tends to receive more order then its existing capacity which makes some overload on every department & causes severe quality problems.
5. In this global recession the buyers get squeezed to pay the standard price for the product or samples. So the organization must seek the cost effective practice or strategy to cope with the crisis  period & the competitive market.
6. Today in this  steep competitive market with quality the consumer also to be delighted.  To find this opportunities an expert market oriented or analysis should be engaged.
7. For almost every brand garments shipment options like ±1% to ±5% is added. Which indicates that for any shipment  the order receiver is allowed to ship 5% more or less quantity of the actual ordered quantity. That  is why the organization must take the opportunity of the extra 5% shipment which will eventually boost the profit radically.

1. To minimize the future risk the market portfolio should be maintained. Recently the organization is much more dependant on some countries like- UK, Germany, USA; so it should seek some newer market especially the future middle class market of Asia.
2. Critical Style is some sort of high value added product which ensures more profit margin on the product. Hence the company should lust to earn the efficiency to produce high value added product in future.

10. To achieve the desired target skill the company may introduce

– target achievement bonus

 – Team based production which fell them more challenging & target motivated

– Make every workers feel as a continuous partner to share their idea & expertise.

 11.   As the height of the sewing machine and chair reduces the production it must be customized  according to the  workers.

12. Some departments like – cutting, sewing are very dusty & should use the vacuum cleaner for ensuring the proper dust free working environment.

13. In the printing section the workers are very much ignorant about the health hazard effect of using various types of chemicals, they should be given the proper idea about this issue.

14. Still according to the IE department the average worker efficiency is about 40% which hampers the production badly. That’s why adequate skill improvement training & incentive should arrange frequently.

Conclusion

The view of quality improvement is not just the quality but the increase of production and reduction of manufacturing cost. It ensures the minimization of labor loss and the satisfaction of buyers’ souls. RMG industries of Bangladesh have not yet absorbed this concept. They pay more attention to productivity but ignore the giant portion of production loss due to quality.

Merchandisers have a very crucial role to play in achieving right first time quality in apparel exporting companies. Higher right first time quality level in products and services will make the organization a desirable business partner for the international apparel buyers. To achieve this goal the merchandising teams must, on a regular basis, track external and internal customer satisfaction level, identify the gaps, develop action plan for improvement, implement the plan, review the results and refine the plan or draw the plan for the next level of improvement. This way merchandising teams would be able to contribute significantly to the overall efforts of apparel manufacturing organizations for improving competitiveness through continual improvement in quality .