Status of Apparel Manufacturing SMEs in the NCR Region
Status of Apparel manufacturing SMES in the NCR Region- Surveys conducted by Methods Apparel Consultancy - The Cutting Room
This is in continuation with the article published in the previous issue which delved into fabric and trim store priorities. In this issue we venture into the cutting room and fabric reconciliation procedures and highlight priorities which can help improve competitiveness and eventually profitability. The analysis is based upon the survey conducted by the Methods Apparel Consultancy. Ten factories were rated and 300 people were assessed during the surveys in November-December,
2007 commissioned by the Garment Technical Cooperation (GTZ) in association with Okhla
Garment and Textile Cluster (OGTC) to analyze current systems and advise ways to improve overall productivity. The survey was done in two parts, the first analyzing the factory and the second evaluating the personnel.
A comprehensive checklist was developed which covered every department and each point on the checklist was awarded a value of 1 to 5 points, 5 being considered an International benchmark. The points awarded were added and a percentage score was calculated. Priorities for improvement for each department were established.
Cutting Department
---- There is gold on your cutting floor.
The Cutting room is one of the most important departments in the factory; it scored a low 48 to
50% during the survey. The staff in many of these departments is not sufficiently fabric conscious. An improvement of 2% - 3% in utilisation efficiency can make a huge difference to bottom line profitability. Comprehensive fabric reconciliation is essential; it is disappointing to see that most companies do not include this vital aspect in their controls.
Machinery
• Machinery is generally well maintained. Fusing machines have proper maintenance schedule in place but regular temperature checks are not done. Many cutting tables are of poor quality and not properly
This is in continuation with the article published in the previous issue which delved into fabric and trim store priorities. In this issue we venture into the cutting room and fabric reconciliation procedures and highlight priorities which can help improve competitiveness and eventually profitability. The analysis is based upon the survey conducted by the Methods Apparel Consultancy. Ten factories were rated and 300 people were assessed during the surveys in November-December,
2007 commissioned by the Garment Technical Cooperation (GTZ) in association with Okhla
Garment and Textile Cluster (OGTC) to analyze current systems and advise ways to improve overall productivity. The survey was done in two parts, the first analyzing the factory and the second evaluating the personnel.
A comprehensive checklist was developed which covered every department and each point on the checklist was awarded a value of 1 to 5 points, 5 being considered an International benchmark. The points awarded were added and a percentage score was calculated. Priorities for improvement for each department were established.
Cutting Department
---- There is gold on your cutting floor.
The Cutting room is one of the most important departments in the factory; it scored a low 48 to
50% during the survey. The staff in many of these departments is not sufficiently fabric conscious. An improvement of 2% - 3% in utilisation efficiency can make a huge difference to bottom line profitability. Comprehensive fabric reconciliation is essential; it is disappointing to see that most companies do not include this vital aspect in their controls.
Machinery
• Machinery is generally well maintained. Fusing machines have proper maintenance schedule in place but regular temperature checks are not done. Many cutting tables are of poor quality and not properly