Productivity Improvement Factors in Weaving Mill
Engr. Kazi Zakaria Ahmed
M.Sc. in Applied Chemistry & Chemical Technology (IU), B.Sc. in Textile Engineering
Lecturer, Department of Garments & Textile Engineering
BCMC COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY, Jessore-7400, Bangladesh
Contact: +88 01925485428
E-mail: iamzakdude@gmail.com
Abstract
In this research discussed about some productivity and efficiency improvement factors in a weaving mill. Productivity is an average measure of the efficiency of production. It can be expressed as the ratio of output to inputs used in the production process, i.e. output per unit of input. When all outputs and inputs are included in the productivity measure it is called total productivity. Outputs and inputs are defined in the total productivity measure as their economic values. The value of outputs minus the value of inputs is a measure of the income generated in a production process. It is a measure of total efficiency of a production process and as such the objective to be maximized in production process.
Keywords: Productivity, improvement factors, production, weaving productivity factors
Introduction
Productivity is essential in every sector. Productivity means more profit with less cost at the definite time. Everyone should play their own role in achieving better production rate in these working sectors. If productivity increased that means production efficiency has been increased. Many factors affect productivity. Some general categories for these factors are product, process, labor force, capacity, external influences, and quality.
METHODS
There are many factors involved which may improve the productivity in a weaving mill, but here we will focus on some specific areas. By working on these below mentioned factors, we can achieve our productivity goal.
- Efficiency of Machinery.
- Raw Materials.
- Labour.
- Manufacturing processes.
- Humidification.
- Energy Issue.
- Maintenance.
Above productivity improvement methods in weaving mill are described below:
1. Efficiency of machinery
Productivity is greatly influenced by the machinery efficiency, if the machine has the latest or upgraded model then definitely the productivity will be high, multiphase loom and air jet loom has the highest weft insertion rate. If the machines have proper maintenance then, the breakage of weft yarn will be low. Breakage is the important factor to optimize the productivity, less breakage of weft yarn is the guarantee of more productivity ratio. In this competitive market many types of looms are available in the market but those looms are preferred whose yield is high and has best production results. If the machine runs without any stoppage then the production efficiency will be definitely increased.
2. Raw materials
It is observed that raw material quality has the key importance in production process, such as from where you are buying raw materials and who is your supplier? If your raw material is of high quality then the chances of breakage and error would be minimum. There will be cost factor issue in this regard because for high quality raw material you have to pay more but on the other hand this will compensate in the form of high production. So, Raw materials quality is an important factor for improvement productivity.
3. Labour
Labour motivation is important. Skilled labour and their capacity is also an important factor. Labour personal involvement sometimes dependent on company’s production. If the labours are well trained and aware of machine operations then production rate will be high. Labours carelessness or ignorance during production process affected the production efficiency. When machine stops due to breakage or any other reason than delay of restarting the machine has an impact on production. Sometimes it happens due to negligence of workers because they don’t start the machine at the right time. Furthermore, more labour on one machine cannot give the guarantee of high productivity while on the other side competent labour can give the better results.
4. Manufacturing processes
Productivity improvement also depends on the manufacturing processes. In weaving, various manufacturing processes and parameters are done to accomplishing the production such as warping, sizing, looming etc. If these processes are being completed at the right time with shift then the productivity will be increased because of the each single process have taken the definite time for manufacturing the product and enhancing the productivity. The control factors effecting the weaving shed efficiency. Weaving efficiency can be improved by monthly analyses of out of production hours and also checking weaver performance once a month. This will help you to increase weaving efficiency.
5. Humidification
In weaving shed, humidification factor has great impact on the production. In weaving process, the yarn faces different tensions and friction forces. So, temperature in this environment should be maintained. If the temperature is exceeded than the standard temp, then breakage will be increased and production efficiency will be decreased and as a result whole production will be disturbed. So, to overcome this situation temperature issue should be in your mind. This will provide the best operating conditions for machine operators.
6. Energy issue
In weaving, energy is used in terms of machines operations, for air conditioning, compressors and other production areas etc. Two types of energy sources are used in a weaving mill one is electrical energy and another is thermal energy. For machine operations, air conditioning and for illumination electrical energy is used but for sizing operation thermal energy is used. If you have previous version or old model loom then your energy consumption will be more as compare to the latest machinery. Latest machinery can save the energy consumption and definitely improve the production rate.
7. Maintenance
The main purpose of maintenance is to minimize the operating cost and to improve the quality and reduces the chances of stoppage of machine. In a weaving mill, generally work is being done in three shifts. Normally maintenance department is responsible for checking the machinery working condition. Due to proper maintenance, production quantity will be improved and manufacturing cost will be decreased.
DISCUSSION
From the above production analysis, it is easily analyzed that minimum change in those factors can affect production and cost. The research showed that there are many factors by which we can improve productivity, but emphasis was on one of the most important factor which yielded very important results. In the production of fabric we should keep many things in mind which can control and enhance the productivity parameters. Productivity can be enhanced by restructuring the each process or using fully automated machine. While producing fabric, quality of raw material or other parameters have their own importance. On the other hand, we should realize that without participation of each individual nothing can be done. So, companies should make the policies which are favorable and helpful to both managers and workers.
Conclusion
By using automated machinery, higher raw material quality, skilled labour and energy issues have an impact on production of fabric. If any company has an importance on these issues then, that company can survive in this competitive market in a better way. With the growth of production, the company earns more profit and can create more vacant positions for the new jobs to increase or install new machinery. For this they need more investment or capital and new labour will help in improving the productivity. In the textile sector the high profit with customer satisfaction is the key issue. Customers should be satisfied by the textile sector in order to retain a long term relationship with them. Customer’s trust must be kept on top priority by each and every company.
References
- Textiles: Fiber to fabric, Sixth edition, Bernard P. Corbman, 1987
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Productivity
- http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Productivity
- itru.net/fabric-manufacturing-productivity.htm
Founder & Editor of Textile Learner. He is a Textile Consultant, Blogger & Entrepreneur. He is working as a textile consultant in several local and international companies. He is also a contributor of Wikipedia.