LEAN MANUFACTURING CHALLENGES IN A SOUTH AFRICAN CLOTHING COMPANY

Abstract

This is a case study that investigates factors that affect the implementation of lean supply chain concepts in a South African clothing manufacturing company, hereafter referred to as Company A. The company's primary markets are public hospitals in Gauteng Province and it offers a wide range of hospital linen and apparel for hospital staff, patients and wards. The study was conducted at the premises of Company A and it analyses the extent to which production of defective parts, overproduction, excessive inventory, unnecessary production steps, unnecessary movement of people, workers waiting for material and unnecessary handling of material affect the attainment of lean supply chain. Areas covered by the study are segments of the production department; namely the storeroom, cutting room, garment construction, cleaning and despatch. The study also looks at the attempts made and challenges encountered by Company A in eliminating these wastes. The effects of these wastes are visible throughout the company from sourcing of raw materials to the delivery of finished products. They affect delivery lead times, product/service quality, cost and customer satisfaction. These findings have implications on the competitiveness of Company A. They help Company A to focus on establishing supply chain linkages that reduce the wastes. The study contributes by suggesting a model that a manufacturing entity should adopt to reduce the impact of the seven wastes.

Full text

InternationalAssociationforManagementofTechnology
IAMOT2015ConferenceProceedings

P265

LEANMANUFACTURINGCHALLENGESINASOUTHAFRICANCLOTHINGCOMPANY
FORBESCHIROMO
UniversityofJohannesburg,MechanicalandIndustrialEngineeringTechnology,SouthAfrica
fchiromo@uj.ac.za
ANDRENEL
UniversityofJohannesburg,MechanicalEngineeringScience,SouthAfrica
andren@uj.ac.za
TUMELOOUPASEBELE
UniversityofJohannesburg,MechanicalandIndustrialEngineeringTechnology,SouthAfrica
tumelo.sebele@yahoo.com
Copyright©2015bytheUniversityofJohannesburg.PermissiongrantedtoIAMOTtopublishanduse.
ABSTRACT
Thisisacasestudythatinvestigatesfactorsthataffecttheimplementationofleansupplychain
conceptsinaSouthAfricanclothingmanufacturingcompany,hereafterreferredtoasCompanyA.
Thecompany’sprimarymarketsarepublichospitalsinGautengProvinceanditoffersawiderange
ofhospitallinenandapparelforhospitalstaff,patientsandwards.Thestudywasconductedatthe
premisesofCompanyAanditanalysestheextenttowhichproductionofdefectiveparts,
overproduction,excessiveinventory,unnecessaryproductionsteps,unnecessarymovementof
people,workerswaitingformaterialandunnecessaryhandlingofmaterialaffecttheattainmentof
leansupplychain.Areascoveredbythestudyaresegmentsoftheproductiondepartment;namely
thestoreroom,cuttingroom,garmentconstruction,cleaninganddespatch.Thestudyalsolooksat
theattemptsmadeandchallengesencounteredbyCompanyAineliminatingthesewastes.The
effectsofthesewastesarevisiblethroughoutthecompanyfromsourcingofrawmaterialstothe
deliveryoffinishedproducts.Theyaffectdeliveryleadtimes,product/servicequality,costand
customersatisfaction.ThesefindingshaveimplicationsonthecompetitivenessofCompanyA.They
helpCompanyAtofocusonestablishingsupplychainlinkagesthatreducethewastes.Thestudy
contributesbysuggestingamodelthatamanufacturingentityshouldadopttoreducetheimpactof
thesevenwastes.
Keywords:SouthAfricanclothingcompany,leanconcepts,supplychaincompetitiveness,supply
chainmodel.
INTRODUCTION
CompanyAwasfoundedinFebruary2010asablackownedandmanagedcompany.Itestablished
itsfactoryatGhandiSquareinJohannesburgandusesdedicatedtechnologiestodesignand
manufactureclothingproducts.CompanyAhasthreeproductiondepartments,namelycutting
room,garmentconstructionandcleaning/finishing.Thegeneralflowofmaterialinthedepartments
isgiveninFigure1.
ItsprimarymarketispublichospitalsinGautengandoffersawiderangeofproductsthatinclude
patientgowns,doctors’shirtsandtrousers,babywrappers,sheets,theatrelinen,andtheatrewear
forpatientsandstaff.
Page 1966

InternationalAssociationforManagementofTechnology
IAMOT2015ConferenceProceedings

P265


Figure1:GeneralflowofmaterialinCompanyA
CompanyAproducesproductsthatarelargelyfunctional;productsthatrarelychangeindesignand
theirdemandisfairlypredictable.Afterconsideringthedemandofitsproducts,CompanyAhas
adoptedaleansupplychainstrategyinordertocreatecostefficienciesinthesupplychainby
effectivelymanaginginventoryandfocusingonimprovingthequalityinthesupplychain,thus
eliminatingwaste.Ithasadoptedajustintimephilosophyanditendeavourstodelivertheright
material,attherighttime,attherightplace,andintheexactamount.Itpurchasesmaterialdirectly
fromsuppliersthatareapprovedbytheDepartmentofTradeandIndustry(dti).Thecompany
suppliesitcustomersonamake‐to‐orderbasisandtriesasmuchaspossibletokeepthefinished
goodsinventorytotheminimum.Thepurposeofthisresearchistoinvestigatethefactorsthat
affecttheimplementationofleansupplychainconceptsatCompanyA.
Leanproductionisviewedastheproductionsystemofthe21stcentury,asmassproductionwas
recognizedasproductionsystemofthe20thcentury(PingyuandYu,2008).AccordingtoDemeter
andMatyusz(2011),leanproductionpermeatesanentireorganisation.Itconsistsoflean
development,leanprocurement,leanmanufacturingandleandistribution.Itcomprisesacomplex
Page 1967

InternationalAssociationforManagementofTechnology
IAMOT2015ConferenceProceedings

P265

cocktailofideasthatincludecontinuousimprovements,flattenedorganisationstructures,team
work,eliminationofwaste,efficientuseofresourcesandcooperativesupplychainmanagement
(FerdousiandAhmed,2009).AccordingtoAliSmadi(2012),leanproductionuseslessofeverything
comparedwithtraditionalmanufacturingmethods.Ituseslesshumaneffortinfactory,less
manufacturingspace,lessinvestmentintoolsandlessengineeringhourstodevelopnewproducts.
Italsorequireslessinventoryonsite,fewerdefects,andgreaterandevergrowingvarietyof
products(AliSmadi,2012).LeanproductionissupportedbyJust‐in‐time,whichisaphilosophyof
continuousandforcedproblemsolving.Itsuppliesthecustomerwithexactlywhatthecustomer
wants,whenthecustomerwantsit,withoutwaste,throughcontinuousimprovementAliSmadi,
2012).LeanproductionencompassesmanagerialpracticesinTable2.
Table2:ManagerialPracticesintheLeanProductionStructure,source:Groover,2008
Just‐in‐TimeProductionWorkerInvolvement
 Pullsystemofproduction
 Controlusingkanbans
 Setuptimereductionforsmallerbatchsizes
 Productionlevelling
 On‐timedeliveries
 Zerodefects
 Flexibleworkers
 Continuousimprovement(kaizen)
 Qualitycircles
 Visualmanagement
 The5Ssystem
 Standardizedworkprocedures
 Totalproductivemaintenance
AutonomationWaste
 Stoptheprocesswhensomethinggoes
wrong(e.g.adefectisproduced)
 Preventionofoverproduction
 Errorpreventionandmistakeproofing
 Totalproductivemaintenanceforreliable
equipment
 Productionofdefectiveparts
 Overproduction
 Excessiveinventories
 Unnecessaryprocessingsteps
 Unnecessarymovementofpeople
 Unnecessarytransportandhandlingof
materials
 Workerswaiting

PingyuandYu(2008)arguethatforeffectiveimplementationofleanproduction,enterpriseswould
require;theattentionandinvolvementofseniormanagers,goodcommunicationplatform,learning
organizationandtheestablishmentofperformanceevaluationsystem.
METHODOLOGY
Thisstudyemploysthemethodologyofacasestudy,andexaminesonestructureoftheapparel
supplychainthatisefficiencyoriented.Theresearchiscross‐sectionalandusesqualitativemethod
togatherinformationonthefactorsaffectingtheimplementationofleansupplychainconceptsat
CompanyA.Thetoolswhichwereusedfordatacollectionarethequestionnaireandinterviews.
InformationwascollectedbyaUniversityofJohannesburgIndustrialEngineeringStudentwhohad
Page 1968

InternationalAssociationforManagementofTechnology
IAMOT2015ConferenceProceedings

P265

beensecondedtoCompanyAoninternshipforaperiodof6months.Thestudentwasattendinghis
finalyearofthediplomastudiesinIndustrialEngineeringandhadcompleted26coursesinthefield
ofIndustrialengineering.Togainaccesstotheinformationrequiredinthestudy,thestudent
undertookthefollowing:
i. hearrangedappointmentswiththefourmanagersofCompanyA;
ii. heverifiedtheanswersgivenbytheinterviweesthroughinformativetoursofthe
productionfloorandmanagerialofficesoftheplant;
iii. duringthesixmonthshewasatComapnyA,heassumedtheroleofaprocessimprovement
engineer.Thisallowedhimtohaveabird’seyeviewonallthefunctionsofthecompany;
and
iv. areviewofrelevantliteraturefromjournalswasalsodone.
FINDINGS
Caoetal(2008)foundoutthatintextile‐apparelsupplychains,therearethreepopulartypesof
coordinationpractices,namelyverticalintegrationchain,efficiencyorientedchainandthird‐party
hubchain.CompanyA‘ssupplychainfitsinwellwiththethird‐partyhubsupplychainstructure.It
sourcesitsinputsfromgovernmentcertifiedsuppliers.TheGautengprovincialgovernmentisthe
informationcentreandplaysanoversightroleonthesupplychain,fromrawmaterialsuppliers
throughCompanyAtothehospitals.Theotherthreeplayersinthechainhavetheautonomyto
adoptsupplychainstrategiesandpracticesthatsuittheirobjectives.
Figure2givesthesupplychainmodelforCompanyA.Whentheprovincialgovernmentreceivesan
orderfromahospitaltoproducesayXgarments,itcommunicatesthisrequesttoCompanyAwhich
thenshopsaroundfortherequiredmaterialfromalistofgovernmentcertifiedsuppliers.Company
Aonlygetspaidbytheprovincialgovernmentafterasatisfactoryproductisdeliveredtothe
hospitals.

Figure2:SupplyChainModelforCompanyA
Productionofdefectiveparts
Basedonthenatureofdemandforitsproducts,CompanyAhasadoptedaleansupplychain
strategy.Workersinspecttheirownproduction,minimizingthedeliveryofdefectstothe
Page 1969

InternationalAssociationforManagementofTechnology
IAMOT2015ConferenceProceedings

P265

downstreamproductionstation.Aweaknessassociatedwithitssystemisthatitdoesnothavea
documentedsystemtohelpreducedefects.Neitherdoesitkeeprecordsofqualityproblems.
OverproductionandexcessiveInventories
Overproductionandexcessiveinventoriesarecorrelated(Groover,2008).Producingmoreparts
thannecessarymeansthatthereareleftoverpartsthatmustbestored(Groover,2008).CompanyA
hasachallengeofsynchronisingflowofmaterialwithinitsdepartments.Accumulationofmaterialat
workstationsisacommonfeature.Figure3givesasnapshotofthischallengeinthegarment
constructiondepartment.

Figure3:Resultofasynchronousflowofmaterialinthegarmentconstructiondepartment‐leadingto
accumulationofworkinprogress
FromoverproductionandexcessinventoriesCompanyAincursincreasedcostsin;warehouse,
storageequipment,additionalworkerstomaintainandmanagetheextrainventory,additional
workerstomakethepartsthatwereoverproducedandproductioncoststomakethepartsthat
wereoverproduced.Accumulationofwork‐in‐progressalsohidesproblemsandkeepsproblems
fromgettingsolved.CompanyAcanreducesuchwastethroughlinebalancing,set‐uptime
reduction,preventivemaintenanceandimprovementonplantlayouts.Moreover,mechanismssuch
astheKanbansystemtoauthoriseproductionandtransportationofmaterialswouldminimisethe
pile‐upofinventorythatisseeninFigure3.
CompanyAiscurrentlymakinguseofabatchproductionsystem.Ananalysisofitsproductsshows
thatithasseveraljobsthatcanbeorganisedintofamilies.DemeterandMatyusz(2011)advisethat
acompanyinCompanyA’ssituationcanavoidthenegativeconsequencesofjobshopsbyorganising
manufacturingcellsforitsdifferentproductportfolios.Asthevolumegetslarge,itwouldbe
worthwhiletobuilddedicatedlinesforproducts.Thischangeinproductionsystemfrombatchto
line(mass)increasesworkinprogressinventoryturnover,therebyminimisingworkinprogress
(DemeterandMatyusz,2011).
Page 1970

InternationalAssociationforManagementofTechnology
IAMOT2015ConferenceProceedings

P265

OnechallengeCompanyAencountersinthemaketoorderenvironmentistheabsenceofsuppliers
whohavethecapacitytorespondtoitsrequirementsintime.Thisforcesittostockawideportfolio
ofrawmaterialtherebysatisfyingincomingcustomerordersassoonaspossible.
UnnecessaryMovementofPeopleandMaterials
OnecauseofunnecessarymovementofpeopleandmaterialsinCompanyAisattributedtothe
layoutthatthecompanyadopted.Thecurrentlayoutisajobshopsetup(Figure4).SinceCompany
A’sproductrangeissmallandcanbegroupedintodistinctfamilies,locatingmachineryintocellular
structureswillminimisetravel,waitingandinventoryrequirements.Thiswillreduceunnecessary
movementofpeopleandmaterial(AliSmadi,2012).


Figure4:Inappropriateplantlayout
UnnecessaryprocessingStep
CompanyAhaschallengesassociatedwithproductdesign.Energyisexpendeddesigningproducts
withfeaturesthatservenousefulfunction,andyettimeandcostareconsumedtocreatethose
features.AnimprovementinthisregardwillhelpCompanyAmakesavings.
Page 1971

InternationalAssociationforManagementofTechnology
IAMOT2015ConferenceProceedings

P265


Figure5:Workstationswaitingformaterial
Workerswaiting
Waitingatdifferentworkstationswillbeavoidediftheflowofprocessesisadjustedtotherateof
customerdemandtakttime(AllenandThomerson,2008).Workisredistributedsothateachprocess
iscompletedwithinthisrate.Workisrebalancedandeachtaskwithintheprocessisdocumented
intoastandard(AllenandThomerson,2008).InCompanyA,workloadsarenotproperlybalanced
andthisinducesaccumulationofinventoryatsomeworkstationsandwaitingforjobsatothersasin
Figure5.
Machinebreakdownsandlongset‐uptimesarealsorampantinCompanyA.Thisinevitablyforces
workerstowait.
Standardisingset‐up,loading,unloadingandsewingprocessesfacilitatesjust‐in‐timedeliveries,
therebyeliminatingwaitinginthesystem(AliSmadi,2012).CompanyAisyettodeterminethe
standardtimesfortheseactivitiesintheplant.
WorkerInvolvement
CompanyAneedstoinvolveitsworkersincontinuousimprovement,provisionofvisualworkplace
andstandardisingworkprocedures.Thiswillenableandgiveitsworkerstheskillstoanalyseand
eliminatewastes.
CONCLUSION
AlthoughCompanyAsharesinformationwithitstradingpartners,thereisnophysicalflow
integration.Caoetal(2008)arguesthatitisnecessarytohavefullinformationsharingandphysical
flowintegrationifeffectivesupplychaincoordinationistoberealised.Vendormanagedinventory
(VMI)isatypicalpracticeofthislevelofinter‐enterprisecoordination(Caoetal,2008).Inshort,
thereisneedforCompanyAtoachieveintegrationwithcustomersandsuppliers.Thiswouldbe
Page 1972

InternationalAssociationforManagementofTechnology
IAMOT2015ConferenceProceedings

P265

realisedifthemodelinFigure5isadopted.Intheproposedsetup,theGautengprovincial
governmentwouldbethehubthecoordinatesbothinformationandmaterial.Moreovermaterial
suppliers,CompanyAandhospitalswillbealignedtoaccomplishglobalsystemobjectives,i.e.attain
agloballeansystem.

Figure5:TheAgentCoordinatingthewholesupplychaintoprovidefinishedgoodstothehospitals‐
brandowners.
CompanyAtriedtoimplementleanproductionwithoutunderstandingthetruemeansofit.Thereis
needforthecompanytoinvestinqualitymanagementsystem,preventivemaintenance,and
synchronisingflowofmaterialwithintheplant.Moreoverthecompanyneedstotrainandinvolveits
workersinlinebalancing,plantmaintenance,provisionofvisualworkplace,continuous
improvement,standardisingofworkprocedures.
REFERENCES
Allen,J.andThomerson,G.(2008).BetterWayinVogue:‐leantakestothecatwalkinthegarment
industry.IndustrialEngineer40(11),45‐50.
AliSmadi,Z.M.,(2012),TheLeanSupplyPracticesintheGarmentsManufacturingCompaniesin
Jordan.InternationalBusinessResearch,5(4),88‐102.
Bruce,M.,Daly,L.,andTowers,N.,(2004).Leanoragile:Asolutionforsupplychainmanagementin
thetextilesandclothingindustry?InternationalJournalofOperationsandProductionManagement,
24(2),151‐170.
Cao,N.,Zhang,Z.,To,K.M.,Ng,K.P.,(2008),HowareSupplyChainsCoordinated?Anempirical
observationintextile‐apparelbusinesses.JournalofFashionMarketingandManagement,12(3),
384‐397.
Demeter,K.andMatyusz,Z.,(2011).TheImpactofleanpracticesoninventoryturnover.
InternationalJournalProductionEconomics,133,154‐163.
Doyle,S.A.,Moore,C.M.,Morgan,L.(2006).Suppliermanagementinfastmovingfashionretailing.
JournalofFashionMarketingandmanagement,10(3),272‐281.
Ferdousi,F.andAhmed,A.,(2009).AnInvestigationofManufacturingPerformanceImprovement
throughLeanProduction:AstudyonBangladeshiGarmentFirms.InternationalJournalofBusiness
Management,4(9),106‐116.
Page 1973

InternationalAssociationforManagementofTechnology
IAMOT2015ConferenceProceedings

P265

Groover,M.P.,(2008),Automation,ProductionSystems,andComputer‐Integratedmanufacturing.
Pearson‐PrenticeHall.
Jones,D.T.,Hines,P.,andRich,N.,(1997),LeanLogistics.InternationalJournalofPhysical
DistributionandLogisticsManagement,27(3/4),153‐173.
Pingyu,Y.,andYu,Y.,(2010),TheBarrierstoSMEs’ImplementationofleanProductionand
CountermeasuresbasedonSMSinWenzhou.InternationalJournalofInnovation,managementand
Technology,1(2),220‐225.
Qrunfleh,S.andTarafdar,M.,(2013),Leanandagilesupplychainstrategiesandsupplychain
responsiveness:theroleofstrategicsupplierpartnershipandpostponement.SupplyChain
management:AnInternationalJournal,18(6),571‐582.

Page 1974