Tech Talk

Even the countries that enjoy duty-free FTAs cannot be complacent, they need to build
efficient and productive factories if they wish to be part of the apparel export-preferred
destinations. This requires immense hard work not only from its workers to produce efficiently
but also to motivate them to produce at certain quality levels. The criterion for success is
not a measure of duty-free FTAs only, as it gets washed away if the material is not produced
cost-effectively and on time. In order to make the production cost cheaper, and to enjoy its
subsequent advantages, the only option is to improve the manufacturing efficiency, argues
G. Jayapal Nair, an Electrical and Electronics Engineer, with two decades of expertise in
apparel manufacturing and exporting industry. Nair is also a former Assistant Chief Executive
Officer at M.R.S. Fashions W.L.L., Bahrain.

Boosting manufacturing efficiency, the need of the hour

Inadequacies to
garner top slots in
apparelexports

item during the same working

hours. However, the productivity
factor generally doesnt get its due
share in investment decisions.

To establish and sustain in this

industry, which is worker-oriented,
it warrants certain favourable
economic and social parameters
in the manufacturing country.
These broadly entail: free trade
agreements between exporting
and importing countries to enjoy
duty-free advantages, better
infrastructure (road/rail/port), cheap
resources (energy, water, land, etc.),
easy and favourable laws and trade
practices (tax, customs, banks),
and the availability of trainable
activepopulation in abundance
atlow-cost.

The efficiency
advantage and the
utilization factor

Among these factors, cheap labour

actually depends on his/her output.
For example, if an employee drawing
a salary of US $100 produces
200 units, it is actually cheaper in
comparison to another employee
who draws salary of US $50, but
produces only 50 units of the same
32 StitchWorld AUGUST 2016 www.apparelresources.com

Current efficiency in apparel

factories, in real time, struggles
between 50 per cent and 70 per
cent. The lower the efficiency, the
more it is attributed to workers
shortage, absenteeism, high labour
turnover, low skills, etc. Bangladeshs
efficiency hovers around 70 per
cent due to easy availability of
labour, as the people consider
the industry as the prime one. To
overcome this disadvantage, the
solution for the Indian companies
lies only in improving efficiencies.
Considering an example, if a style of
a garment with 20 Standard Minute
Value (SMV) is being produced in
an assembly line of 60 workers,
the number of garments that
can be produced at 60 per cent

efficiency in 8 hours of working

time is 864 units, whereas at 70
per cent efficiency it is 1,008 units.
These 144 extra garments per
day with an average FOB value
of US $ 7 can fetch US $ 25,082 in
a month. Even after disbursing a
production incentive motivation to
workers, the company can still net
a handsome amount. This is just
from a single assembly line, and
that too without any additional
capital investments. In other words,
this extra production is equivalent
to the output of 16.67 per cent of
workers at 60percent efficiency.
If the countrys 25 million-strong
employee population can
improve their efficiency by at
least 10 per cent, it is equivalent
to 4 million additional workers.
This can help overcome issue
of workers shortage to a great
extent, faced generally at the main
manufacturing centres in India.
In nutshell, a basic salary can get
a minimum efficient worker, but
a higher salary (with economic
incentives) can boost skills to get

Tech Talk

If the countrys 25 million strong employee population can improve their efficiency by
at least 10 per cent, it will be equivalent to 2.5 million additional workers. This can help
overcome issue of workers shortage to a great extent, faced generally at the main
manufacturing centres in India.

a highly efficient worker. Besides, the

higher efficiencies make room for
manufacturers to offer lower cost
per unit to the customers, thereby
winning more bulk orders. Every
readymade factory has readymade
problems and readymade solutions!
Hence, the reasons for production
drop can be easily predicted by the
management staff even before the
workday starts, which is a routine at
apparel units! The real challenges are
to rightly assess the shortcomings
through a scientific Gap Analysis,
formulate long standing solutions
and implement them systematically.

Efficiency of a
factory is the product
of performance and
utilization. Performance
comes directly from
workers and utilization
should come from
management staff
(indirect workers).
G. Jayapal Nair,
Electrical and
Electronics Engineer

Every readymade factory has

readymade problems and
readymade solutions! Hence, the
reasons for production drop can be
easily predicted by the management
staff even before the workday starts,
which is a routine at apparel units!
The real challenges are to rightly
assess the shortcomings through a
scientific gap analysis, formulate long
standing solutions and implement
themsystematically.
Efficiency of a factory is the product
of performance and utilization.
Performance comes directly from
workers and utilization should
come from management staff
(indirect workers). This means, the
management staff should ensure
uninterrupted workflow at each
workstation so that direct workers
can continuously perform, which also
improves their skills and stamina. The
general industry hindrances such
as absenteeism, low skill, machine
breakdown, quality repairs, technical
issues, low motivation, material flow
interruption, line balancing issues,
etc. should be attended timely with
effective solutions, wherein lies the
smartness of indirect staff. Application
of predictive management can further

improve the utilization factor, and

thereby efficiency. Efficiencies beyond
conventional levels are achievable if
approached without superstitions! It
exhorts a mutually complimenting
need of skilled workers to be
managed by skilled managers. Each
factory is a war zone that is engaged in
a never-ending fight with time!

Skilled country to
efficient country
Improving efficiency should be
the prime goal of the apparel
manufacturing sector which needs
undeterred focus from every corner.
The Government may further think
about certain initiatives such as:
1. In order to train the investors and
managers on the methods to run
a manufacturing unit efficiently,
Orientation Workshops can be
planned at manufacturing centres.
The manufacturing-related Global
Benchmarks can be introduced in
the classes to cut down negative
inhibitions. Experts from the
industry can conduct these classes
by depicting real-life situations.
2. Modalities to be prepared to
scientifically calculate the real
production efficiency of factories,
and implemented to spot efficient
factories, which could be awarded
with Efficiency Awards in the
form of economic incentives, as
anencouragement.
3. The Government may think of
forming a Gap Analysis team
comprising of experts to study
inefficient factories, and reason out
and propose corrective measures.
It is absolutely evident that the
sustenance and competitiveness
of apparel manufacturing industry
depends on productivity improvement
actions as the primedriver.
www.apparelresources.com AUGUST 2016 StitchWorld 33