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| Barriers of Apparel Production & Remedies |
| Md. Mahfuzur Rahman |
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Abstract : This paper presents a lot of problems and remedies occurred in garments
production. Garments production has become a prospective and rising sector in
Bangladesh by twenty first century. Day by day the investors have exposed their interests
in this sector. A lot of money is going to be earned from the sectors. So this sector is
one of the important sectors in our country. The author tries to give an idea about the
possible problems and remedies related to the garments production. |
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Key words : Economical problems, Area problems, Utility problems, Administration and
Maintenance problems, backward linkage problems |
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Introduction : Garments sector plays a vital role in Bangladesh . Now a days garments product is the
number one export products in our country. Few years ago jute was the golden fiber of
Bangladesh. But now this place is replaced by the garment sector. People come to this
sector and stay with their giant pleasure. Because this sector creates a very large job
market in our country. Most of the workers are very poor. But this sector removes their
poverty. So, it can be told that the sector is the God gifted sector for our poor people. |
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The out put of garments per unit time( second, minute etc) is an important factor in a
garments industry. A split second is very significant for garments production. Sometimes
garments production does not meet up the target making due to some problems or
barriers. The author has discussed about the barriers and remedies of garments
production through out this paper. |
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1. Economical problems : Economical problem is a major issue for growing a garments industry. If any garments
owners have no good fund, he doesn’t build up his industry. As for example, at any
time garments business may fall due to various reasons. Such as |
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(a) Shipment date may fail |
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(b) Suddenly need lot of money to buy some important parts, that parts need
for your better production. |
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(c) To build up a new project which is helpful for the business. |
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At this purpose an owner need money to save his business. So every owner need to
know money saving formula which is very helpful for themselves to recover that type
of problem. |
Banking problem is another big problem in our country. If the bank doesn’t give the
loan in minor interest, an owner not able to establish the industrial project.
There are various kinds economical problem. Such as : |
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i. Community problems |
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ii. Political problems |
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iii. Transportation problems |
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iv. Drudge problems |
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| (i) Community problems : |
Man is a social being. One can not live with the help of others. To work everybody as a team is important concern to increase the garment production. Lack of this type of attitudes create a lot of problems. Such as : |
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The workers can not be helpful with each other. |
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The workers always look after others fault. |
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They can not work properly. |
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Lead time may increase. |
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The workers make quarrel with others. |
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Factory environment and production may fall. |
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Factory management should be very careful about the problems. The problems can be
minimized only by improving the better relationships between the workers. |
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| (ii) Political problems : |
Political problem is very important for garment business. It creates very bad effects in
garments production. The author has discussed only three major obstacles related to the
political problems. Such as: |
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Hartal : |
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Each buyer gives an order and a target date to the vendor. Due to Hartal the production
process, inter factory transportation and shipment process may hamper. Sometimes
garments (End products) are exported by air to meet the buyers date. In this case the
owner has to spend extra cost. |
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To remove this problem Hartal should be stopped. |
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Strike : |
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Strike is one type of Hartal created by the workers. Workers are illiterate and so they
are paid low wages by the owners. Sometimes workers are influenced by their leader
and stop working to notify their owners about wages. In some cases the strike comes
out a large volume that the workers act destructive works against the factory
management and take place along the high way to create strike. As a result the
productions go down. |
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To reduce this problem, the management should keep sound relationship with worker
leaders and should meet their demands time to time. |
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Internal politics : |
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Internal politics mean the politics is created in garment factory among the workers and
upper level stuffs. The workers perform their own duty under the supervision of their
upper level stuffs. In some cases, the stuffs make bad behaviors to the workers. At that
moment, the workers mentality falls down and production also decreases. |
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The management should convey cooperative attitude to the workers so that they can
work liberally and get chance to make correct their own faults. |
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| (iii) Transportation problem : |
| Transportation is a vital factor in apparel production. Transportation is of two types : |
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Internal transportation : |
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The garment related accessories are transferred from one floor to another floor during
production. Some important points should be considered to formulate internal
transportation very efficiently . Such as: |
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At least four stairs for one floor are needed. |
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At least two lifts are required for one floor. One is used for heavy weight
transportation and other is used for personnel. |
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Smooth transportation system gives better production to the company. |
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External transportation : |
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Transportation outside the factory premise is external transportation. Transportation system
in our country is not very fine. Problems related to external transportation are as
follows: |
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Traffic jam is occurred most of the entire road in the city. Enormous time is
required to transport the garment products from one place to another. The company has
to pay extra time, money, manpower and even has to fail the targeted lead time.
To remove this problem, we must develop our overall traffic system. At least 1 or 2
minutes are required to pass the vehicle of every sight. |
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Some times vehicle are stop running to product transport at any reason in the
middle point of the road, at this purpose need time to repair it. As a result production
may fall. |
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| (iv) Drudge Problem : |
The garment industry is far the country’s most important manufacturer earning around
huge money annually and accounting about two thirds of all exports. About 80 percent
of the garment workers are women. Despite the phenomenal success of the RMG sector
the working condition and wages of workers in the industry are cause for serious
concern. |
The problems in the industry pre-date the riots which took place just over a few times
ago and which were attended by deaths, injuries, and destruction of property. Over the
years, hazardous working conditions have resulted in the deaths of many workers
through factory fires and collapse. The spectrum factory building collapse of April 2005
killed 64-70 people, injured over 70 (mentioning) and left hundred jobless. In February
2006 a fire destroyed the f our-story KTS Textile industries in Bangladesh’s port city of
Chittagong again killing scores of mostly young and female workers. Workers, who are
mostly young women, also face an acutely difficult working environment: |
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Wages are low |
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Hours are long |
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Forced labor is practiced |
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Child labor exists |
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Sexual harassment exists |
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Freedom is curtailed |
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Whether it be locked doors or right of association |
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There are a multitude of other practices which go against international labor
standards and codes of conduct (non compliance) |
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At the level of legislation and business dealings, lack of implementation of laws,
restrictive laws and unfair buying practices by buyers compound the issue of noncompliance. |
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To eliminate this problem, we have to follow the “Compliance” with internationally
social, labor and environmental standards. There are many initiatives underway- |
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Buyers have their corporate social responsibility initiatives. |
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The government has set up task forces. |
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There are the memoranda of understanding with the trade unions and the
manufacturers and exporter’s association. |
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There are many stakeholders and dialog is imperative and all important. The needs to
be the capacity and will amongst all the stakeholders and particularly the government, to
take forward and develop “Compliance” and create an industry with an enhanced global
image and global recognition of performance. |
We should remove these types of problem, then the workers give their efforts more
efficiently and sincerely. Ultimately production will be increased. We should increase the
education level of our workers through different training facilities which will bring
long term benefits for the company. |
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| 2. Area problems : |
| Selection of area is very important for establishing a proper lay out plan for a garment
industry. The lay out plan has been discussed here which is the key factor for smooth
production. |
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Lay out plan: |
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A methods permitting the most effective arrangement of plants, machinery and
equipment; as well as the minimization of the manufacturing cost, by feeding the
materials and parts sat highest possible speed and minimizing the transfer work among
the process during the overall production from acceptance of the materials to delivery of
the finished products. |
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Lay out of the plant by Production division |
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The flow of items should be considered first in the layout planning. In other words the
arrangements of the divisions based on the order of the process. General stages for
production process in any garments industry is given below: |
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In any garment industry orders are received by the merchandisers and finally the orders
are executed by workers in the production floor. The whole process flow can be
divided into four major areas: |
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Merchandising section |
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Merchandisers are called the heart of the garments industry. They should have proper
knowledge about layout for specific garments making and constant feedback from the
production personnel. A balanced number of orders should be received from the buyer
is an important factor which run production without any kind of obstruct. A
merchandiser has to maintain sound relationships with different sections shown in the
following chart. |
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Inventory Section |
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It is one of the important section for the garments industry. Here the raw materials and
accessories are first received and then supplied to the production floor according to the
requirements. So the location and layout of this section are very essential. |
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Cutting section |
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Cutting is the first step and very critical step for garments production. The wastage
during cutting is an important issue. Different cutting faults can be occurred which should
be minimized. Cutting faults are: |
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Faulty Pattern pieces |
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Faulty marker paper |
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Faulty machine |
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Faulty table |
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Ends of ply losses |
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Selvedge losses |
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Loss of fabric ends |
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Purchase loss |
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Remedies : |
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The cutting manager or responsible person should be very careful to detect
the faults in source and remove it |
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Marker efficiency should be controlled. |
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Cutting should be done very carefully according to the fabric length & width. |
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Operator should be skilled. |
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Production section : |
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In production section line balancing is very important for escalating garments
production. The number of machines in a sewing layout depends on the product parts
and order size. 20 machines or 26 machines in a layout is considered by the
responsible person. This is also depends on |
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(a) Garments type |
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(b) Shipment date |
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(c) Fabric type |
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(d) Available Machine |
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If line balancing is not done properly, production may be hampered. A line balancing
of a shirt has been shown below : |
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 |
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Finishing section : |
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Finishing section is the end side of any garment industry . Finishing section consists of |
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Inspection and quality section |
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Packaging |
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The workers of this section should work very careful to keep the quality of the
garments product. |
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This system should follow the 4 point system which is world recognized. |
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Faulty garments should not be packed. Follow the packing procedure of the
finished product. |
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Needle detector machine is used to find any loose needle or other metal parts
in the finished product. |
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Increase the worker skill ness. |
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Use for two or three inspection tables for smooth inspection.
The above criteria should be followed to accomplish the buyer requirements and
satisfactions. |
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Considerable points in plant layout : |
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The following factors should be considered during plant layout- |
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Employee ( the number of workers, male and female) |
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Machines (size , the number of units, machine weight by models) |
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Entrance, exit and passage, lifts, ventilation |
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Administration office, management office |
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Ware house (area, location, the number of warehouses) |
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Work shop |
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Floor condition |
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Floor space ( Machine to machine distance, section to section distance) |
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Site for the factory |
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The following factors should be taken into consideration |
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Economical factors: such as work forces, availability of materials etc. |
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Natural factors: such as climate, service water for the factory, geographical
features. |
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| (ii) Environmental problems : |
| Environment has an effect on the garments production. |
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Season class: |
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Season changes have a very big effect on the garment production. In summer season
worker feels very hot due to the high temperature. So that they can not work properly.
For this purpose, need sufficient air passing in the floor space. On the other side in
winter season worker feels very cold due to the low temperature. So they need warm
cloths to survive. The company should take necessary steps to help them by making a
fund for them. |
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Age class : |
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Every company needs a responsibility of child labors. When they take the worker, must follow the age role of the country. A child can not give more production. They also can not do any hard work. So the company should follow the labor laws to recover this problem. |
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| 3. Utility problems : |
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| Utility services in any garment industry is very important for increasing production. Load shedding is the common problem in our country. In summer season it affects our economy mostly. In a composite (garments) industry, utility section has some following important factors. Such as |
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Generator |
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Compressor |
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Boiler (Fire tube and Water tube) |
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Water treatment plant (Mainly Dyeing & Washing) |
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Sufficient water supply |
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| Using equipments : |
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Fire extinguisher per floor (assume 10-12) |
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Smoke detector per floor (assume 10-12) |
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Sand full bucket per floor (assume 05) |
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Lock cutter per floor ( assume 01) |
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Hook per floor ( assume 01) |
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Fire bitter per floor (assume 01) |
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Stretcher per floor (assume 01) |
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Fire alarm per floor (assume 01) |
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Ring per floor (assume 12-13) |
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Automatic belt per floor (assume 01) |
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Fire proof hand glove |
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Flexible rope to rescue |
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| To run smooth production the garments industry should maintain continuous power supply and safety equipments to protect from accidents. |
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| 4. Administration and Maintenance Problem : |
Administration section plays a vital role in garment industry. Any kind of problems are handled by this section. The agenda which are handled by administration section are as follows: |
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Workers agony |
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Workers wages |
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Trade union |
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Child care home |
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Medical treatment |
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Factory management |
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Security predicament |
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Training to make skilled workers |
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Mechanical problem |
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Electrical problem |
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Compliance problem. |
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| The administrative structure of any garments factory : |
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| Maintenance of machinery : |
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In a garments industry, the maintenance section is an important section for continuous
production. Due to sudden or unplanned machine breakdown the production is hampered.
It is necessary to take and follow a planned maintenance system. There are five types of
maintenance. Such as: |
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Break down maintenance |
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Schedule maintenance |
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Planned maintenance |
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Preventive maintenance |
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Routine maintenance |
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| The following problems should also be checked periodically: |
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Tension loose |
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Stitches per inch not as per requirement |
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Defective needle |
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Thread cut |
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Broken stitch |
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Oil gauge not working |
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Rotary hook |
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Infected parts |
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For maintenance log card can be hanged in each machine. Log cards also maintained for
needle. Needle is very important because buyer always wants needle free garments. |
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| Maintenance procedure : |
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Here standard system is to service a machine once per 15 days. |
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Some machines needed oil in oil tank. In that case, a pump once per two
months changes oil. |
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Machines that have rotary hook are oiled once per week. |
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At first the service system of machine is written on machine log card with
machines remarks & next schedule. |
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To confirm the document is also registered on a register in each floor. |
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Trouble form is also filled-up in each floor. |
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If any garment industry follows this type of procedure, production must be
increases. |
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| 5. Backward linkage problem : |
| Every country need strong backward linkage industry for supporting textile raw material.
If we do not give the support of raw materials, production cost will be increasing day
by day. This problem can be divided into three sections: |
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Accessories problem |
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Fabric problem |
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Dyeing problem |
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| (i) Accessories problem : |
| There are different types of raw materials used in a garment industry. Such as button,
zipper, label , price ticket, sewing thread, eyelet, fabrics, tag, poly bag, swelling bag,
carton, scotch tape, lining, Needle, stopper, Sewing machine parts, etc. |
| If accessories are not available in a required amount during sewing, packaging or
inspection stages, production may be hampered. All necessary accessories should be
calculated precisely and collected them in the store house prior the production. |
| A work shop is also needed in any garment industry for repairing faulty parts of any
machine. |
| (ii) Fabric problem : |
| Both woven & knitted fabrics are used in the garment factory. There are huge faults find
in those fabrics. Such as: |
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Dead cotton |
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Oil line spot |
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Fly yarn |
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GSM problem |
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Holes |
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Sinker mark |
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Hairiness problem |
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Stripe problem & Bowing problem |
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Skew problem |
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Size problem |
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Thick & thin places |
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Wrong design |
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Yarn contamination |
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Slub |
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Shrinkage problem |
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Lycra missing |
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Needle line problem |
| Remedies : |
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Responsible person should dye carefully. Other wise roll to roll shade variation
is occurred which is very difficult to cut by the garments cutting section. |
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Mainly in Single jersey fabric, crease marks are found which also difficult to
cut. Anticreasing agent is used to remove this problem. |
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Dyeing process (Migration, Isothermal or any process) for different colors should
be controlled strictly. |
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GSM must be increasing by using softener. |
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For better hand feeling, softener should be used. |
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Enzyme treatment is done mainly to remove the hairiness of the fabrics. |
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Color fastness problem is one of the big problems for a composite factory. Orders in
huge quantity are rejected for this problem. Dyeing section should give sufficient
awareness to eliminate this problem. |
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| Overall: |
It is the era of open market for garments production and distribution over the wholev
world. Competition is more to carry on in the global market. The garments owner must
improve and control the quality of the garments with cost minimization to compete in
global market. Excellent cooperation among the departments of spinning, fabric, dyeing and
garments is necessary for increasing quality production. |
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| Conclusion: |
Garments is the rising sector in our country. We have manpower, which is an important
factor for garments industry. We should use the manpower effectively in this field to
face challenges in the global market. This paper describes the key departments of
garments industry and also identifies the major problems and remedies of it. The owners
of the garments should take challenges to compete the global market and provide
contributions to the national economy. |
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| Acknowledgements: |
| The author most respectfully thanks to the following two major export composite
company in Bangladesh. |
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| TOP |
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| Characteristics of Cotton fibers and it's effect in the processing |
| Gabriel P. Tagasa. Jr |
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| TOP |
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| Apparel Production Costs may rise up further due to Food Price Surge and Inflation in Asia |
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