Minimization of Defects in the Sewing Section of a Garment Factory through DMAIC Methodology of Six Sigma

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Minimization of Defects in the Sewing Section of a Garment Factory through DMAIC Methodology of Six Sigma

Author Affiliations

¹ Department of Industrial and Production Engineering, Shah Jalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet-3114, BANGLADESH

Res. J. Engineering Sci., Volume 3, Issue (9), Pages 21-25, September,26 (2014)

Abstract

The fast changing economic conditions such as global competition, declining profit margin and customer demand for high quality product at low cost push the manufactures to reduce their production cost without compromising quality in order to survive in business arena. Defects minimization is the first condition of reducing production cost and improving the quality. It will also reduce the cycle time by reducing reworks and finally result higher productivity. Concerning this matter, the present study explores the use of DMAIC methodology of six sigma to minimize the defects rate in a selected garment factory. This is a systematic approach towards defects minimization through five phases of DMAIC methodology named define, measure, analyze, improve and control. Different six sigma tools were used in different phases. Pareto analysis was done to identify the major types of defects. Root causes of those defects were detected by cause and effect analysis. Finally some potential solutions are suggested to overcome those causes. The result found after implementation of the solutions is very significant. The defect percentage has been reduced from 12.61 to 7.7 and consequently the Sigma level has been improved from 2.64 to 2.9255.

References

BKMEA, Export Performance of RMG of Bangladesh for 2011-12 and 2012-13, Annual Report of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Export Association [Online]. Available from: http://www.bkmea.com/ facts-figures.html, [Accessed: 25th May 2014], (2014)
Islam M.M. and Khan A.M., Minimization of Reworks in Quality and Productivity Improvement in the Apparel Industry, Int. J. of Engg. and Applied Sciences, 1(4), 147-165 (2013)
Tennant and Geoff, SIX SIGMA: SPC and TQM in Manufacturing and Services, Gower Publishing Ltd., 25 (2001)
Sikorski D., Dean J.W. and Bowen D.E., Management Theory and Total Quality: Improving Research and Practice and Theory Development, The Academy of Management Review, 19(3), 392-418 (1994)
Antony J., Kumar M. and Madu C.N., Six sigma in small and medium-sized UK manufacturing enterprises: Some empirical observations, International Journal of Quality and Reliability Management,22(8), 860–874 (2005)
Kolarik J. William, Creating Quality-Concepts, Systems, Strategies, and Tools. New Delhi: McGraw-Hill, (1995)
Saroj Bala Factors Influencing Costing of Woven Fabrics, The Indian Textile Journal, 1(2), 57-68 (2003)
Kayaalp I. and Erdogan M., Decreasing Sewing Defects by Using Statistical Process Control Methods in the Apparel Factory, Tekstilve Konfeksiyon, 19(1), 169-174 (2009)

[ref1] BKMEA, Export Performance of RMG of Bangladesh for 2011-12 and 2012-13, Annual Report of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Export Association [Online]. Available from: http://www.bkmea.com/ facts-figures.html, [Accessed: 25th May 2014], (2014)

[ref2] Islam M.M. and Khan A.M., Minimization of Reworks in Quality and Productivity Improvement in the Apparel Industry, Int. J. of Engg. and Applied Sciences, 1(4), 147-165 (2013)

[ref3] Tennant and Geoff, SIX SIGMA: SPC and TQM in Manufacturing and Services, Gower Publishing Ltd., 25 (2001)

[ref4] Sikorski D., Dean J.W. and Bowen D.E., Management Theory and Total Quality: Improving Research and Practice and Theory Development, The Academy of Management Review, 19(3), 392-418 (1994)

[ref5] Antony J., Kumar M. and Madu C.N., Six sigma in small and medium-sized UK manufacturing enterprises: Some empirical observations, International Journal of Quality and Reliability Management,22(8), 860–874 (2005)

[ref6] Kolarik J. William, Creating Quality-Concepts, Systems, Strategies, and Tools. New Delhi: McGraw-Hill, (1995)

[ref7] Saroj Bala Factors Influencing Costing of Woven Fabrics, The Indian Textile Journal, 1(2), 57-68 (2003)

[ref8] Kayaalp I. and Erdogan M., Decreasing Sewing Defects by Using Statistical Process Control Methods in the Apparel Factory, Tekstilve Konfeksiyon, 19(1), 169-174 (2009)