How to Calculate Work in Progress (WIP) in Garment Industry
Shubham Anil Jain
Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Limited
Bangalore, India
Email: shubhamajain125@gmail.com
What is Work in Progress (WIP)?
In any production round, items that are partially finished are referred to as “work in progress” or “work in process” (WIP) inventory. The entire cost of unfinished goods currently being produced is referred to as work in process in production and supply chain management. A work-in-progress inventory is any raw material stock that has undergone human labour but has not yet been categorized as a finished good. WIP inventory is all stock that hasn’t yet achieved completed product stock but isn’t made up of raw materials. Because of this, WIP inventory is included in manufacturing inventory. Work-in-Progress (WIP) includes all the unfinished garments that are undergoing various stages of production, such as cutting, sewing, trimming, and finishing. WIP is an important aspect of the garment industry as it helps monitor the progress of production and manage the workflow efficiently.
Calculation of WIP in Garment Industry (Cutting, Sewing, Washing & Finishing):
A. Cutting WIP = Total cut quantity – Total quantity inputted to the sewing section
For instance, if the sewing department has received 4356 pieces and the cutting section cut 6,000 pieces for style # 5870879, the cutting room’s WIP will be equal to (6,000-4356) = 1644 pieces.
B. Sewing Line WIP = Total pieces (GMTS Qty) inputted to the line – Total number of garments sewing output completed
As an illustration, suppose a sewing line counts 6500 pieces has been received for style #5802912 and 4000 pieces have been made from the line. WIP on the sewing line is 2500 pieces (6500-4000).
C. Reducing washing WIP is crucial because most factories lack a washing facility of their own. They must therefore ship the garments to a different factory for washing. Delivery on schedule may be impacted by washing delays.
Washing WIP= Total Garments sent to washing – Total Garments received from washing
D. Limiting washing and finishing work in progress is a challenge for clothing manufacturers at the finishing step of garment production. To preserve on-time delivery to the customer, every manufacturer pays close attention to washing and finishing WIP.
Finishing sections WIP = Total Garments received from washing – Total packed quantity
Why to Measure Work in Progress (WIP)?
To ensure that workers have ongoing work, each sewing workstation must maintain a minimum level of WIP. However, neither a high nor a low WIP are beneficial for a production line.
Here are a few justifications why a factory would need to produce WIP:
- To determine whether a line’s (or workstation’s) WIP level is excessive or low in comparison to the desired/planned WIP
- The production line will eventually become unbalanced if a line supervisor ignores the operations where WIP is accumulating.
- Allowing superfluous WIP in the line would raise the need for inventory over time, as well as the associated costs.
- Continuously feeding the manufacturing lines and workstations is required to keep them operating. The workstation will be in an idle state if it doesn’t receive enough work, and no output will come from that workstation.
- A line would lose any potential output from that workstation in such circumstances.
- Numerous problems, including poor quality, low productivity, and unneeded production delays, are primarily caused by high WIP.
- The factory can schedule the necessary work for the following day by measuring the WIP.
Ways to Reduce WIP in Garment Manufacturing:
1. Just-in-Time (JIT) Manufacturing:
Materials are only brought in and used in just-in-time manufacturing when they are necessary for the manufacturing process. JIT is a great approach to cut down on overstock and other sorts of waste. Three of the eight categories of waste—overproduction, waiting, and excess inventory—are the ones that this strategy aims to eliminate.
Manufacturers will have a quicker turn-around and less money invested in materials by minimizing these sorts of waste.
2. Find bottlenecks:
A stage in the production process that is planned to fulfill more tasks than it can create at maximum capacity is called a bottleneck. Simple bottlenecks include a sluggish Wi-Fi connection or waiting for approval to proceed with a project.When a bottleneck develops, the work process is slowed down and employees are forced to work extra hours or abandon other activities. By eliminating these bottlenecks, the WIP time will be cut, increasing output. By devoting more resources, often personnel or materials, to that stage, these bottlenecks can be eliminated.
3. Coordinate:
Ensure that everyone on the team is concentrated on the same objective. Each step of the production process should be understood by every employee, as doing so will help them complete their tasks more quickly. Workers can more effectively set up the procedures that come after and before them, leading to quicker task completion.
4. Upgrade:
Some of the best approaches to reduce WIP in manufacturing environments involve upgrading personnel and equipment. The first and most economical action is to provide training. Employees will become experts in their fields by developing in-depth training sessions and guidance on how to complete jobs, decreasing WIP in garment industry. While having skilled workers is essential, their productivity is limited by the speed of their tools.
5. Organize:
Disarray is one of the most typical obstacles. Out of 18,000 corporate executives, 57% claimed that disorganization costs them six hours of productivity per week. Tool, component, or information disorganization are only a few examples of the numerous forms it can take. Any chaos will have a detrimental impact on the production WIP and slow down the process. To give instructions on where and how many things should go in each location is one of the manufacturing industry’s most popular solutions to this challenge.
Conclusion:
WIP, which stands for “work-in-progress” or “work-in-process,” refers to the quantity of goods still being produced between sections. The number of unfinished goods in various processes is indicated by the WIP report. Because they are not involved in the production process, raw materials and finished goods are not included in the WIP calculation. WIP in production inventory that is too high causes a lot of issues and a mess. Therefore, the goal of WIP is to keep it to a minimum. Managing WIP effectively is crucial for meeting deadlines, maintaining quality standards, and ensuring smooth operations in the garment manufacturing process.
References:
- https://www.onlineclothingstudy.com/2019/01/why-measure-wip-in-garment-factory.html
- https://blog.unex.com/how-to-reduce-work-in-progress-wip-manufacturing?hs_amp=true
- https://www.solutionbuggy.com/blog/how-to-calculate-manufacturing-work-in-progress-wip
- https://www.shipbob.com/blog/work-in-process-inventory/
- https://www.textileindustry.net/calculate-and-reduce-wip-in-apparel/
- https://www.onlineclothingstudy.com/2012/10/how-to-calculate-wip-level-in-cutting.html
- https://ordnur.com/apparel/what-is-wip-wip-calculation-reducing-reporting-in-garments-manufacturing/
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Founder & Editor of Textile Learner. He is a Textile Consultant, Blogger & Entrepreneur. Mr. Kiron is working as a textile consultant in several local and international companies. He is also a contributor of Wikipedia.