International Wash Care Instructions Used in Garment | Home Laundering and Drycleaning Symbols for Clothing

Man does not buy garments for temporary or one time used. When we use garments they become dirty and needs to washed off. All types of garment should not wash with general soap or detergent. Some garments need not wash, they are typically dry cleaned and some are washed but not apply in chlorine bleach or any other solvents. Water temperature is also another factor for garment washing because there might be some decorative elements which will be destroyed. So garments should be washed with the specific care instructions suggest by the seller normally. 

To take care of garments there are some symbols and details  which are recognized internationally and they are used in garment care labels. These symbols are usually known as garment care labeling code or symbols.

At a minimum, laundering instructions include, in order, four symbols: washing, bleaching, drying, and ironing. Dry cleaning instructions include one symbol. Additional symbols or words or both may be used to clarify the instructions. The water temperatures listed are provided as a guideline. Actual water temperatures obtained in the home depend on the washing machine settings (hot, warm, cold), regional water supply temperatures, and water heating settings.

To assist consumers in getting information about clothing care, the Federal Trade Commission in 1971 issued the Care Labeling Rule. This Rule requires manufacturers and importers to attach care instructions to garment. A revised version of this Rule became effective on January 2, 1984. The revisions to the Rule were based on information gathered by the Commission through public hearings and written comments. Data revealed that while consumers found care labels to be useful, they also believed labels were often incomplete, inaccurate, and inconsistent.

The revised version of the Rule makes no major modifications. rather, the changes clarify the Rule requirements and simplify the Rule language. The Commission anticipates that these changes will make it easier for industry to comply with the Rule. In turn, consumers will benefit from clearer and more complete care instructions.

Care labels often are a deciding factor when consumers shop for clothing. While some are looking for the convenience of dry cleaning, others prefer the economy of buying garments they can wash. Some manufacturers try to reach both markets with garments that can be cleaned by either method. The Rule allows you to provide more than one set of care instructions, if you have a reasonable basis for each instruction.

The Federal Trade Commission has developed this business manual to assist you in understanding and complying with the Rule. If you have questions not addressed in this booklet, write to the Federal Trade Commission, Enforcement Division. Bureau of Consumer Protection, Washington, D. C. 20580.

Wash Care Symbols and Details

Bleaching Care Symbols 

Drying Care Symbols

Dry Cleaning Symbols

 Ironing Symbols

International Wash Care Instructions Used in Garment | Home Laundering and Drycleaning Symbols for Clothing

No comments

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Man does not buy garments for temporary or one time used. When we use garments they become dirty and needs to washed off. All types of garment should not wash with general soap or detergent. Some garments need not wash, they are typically dry cleaned and some are washed but not apply in chlorine bleach or any other solvents. Water temperature is also another factor for garment washing because there might be some decorative elements which will be destroyed. So garments should be washed with the specific care instructions suggest by the seller normally. 

To take care of garments there are some symbols and details  which are recognized internationally and they are used in garment care labels. These symbols are usually known as garment care labeling code or symbols.

At a minimum, laundering instructions include, in order, four symbols: washing, bleaching, drying, and ironing. Dry cleaning instructions include one symbol. Additional symbols or words or both may be used to clarify the instructions. The water temperatures listed are provided as a guideline. Actual water temperatures obtained in the home depend on the washing machine settings (hot, warm, cold), regional water supply temperatures, and water heating settings.

To assist consumers in getting information about clothing care, the Federal Trade Commission in 1971 issued the Care Labeling Rule. This Rule requires manufacturers and importers to attach care instructions to garment. A revised version of this Rule became effective on January 2, 1984. The revisions to the Rule were based on information gathered by the Commission through public hearings and written comments. Data revealed that while consumers found care labels to be useful, they also believed labels were often incomplete, inaccurate, and inconsistent.

The revised version of the Rule makes no major modifications. rather, the changes clarify the Rule requirements and simplify the Rule language. The Commission anticipates that these changes will make it easier for industry to comply with the Rule. In turn, consumers will benefit from clearer and more complete care instructions.

Care labels often are a deciding factor when consumers shop for clothing. While some are looking for the convenience of dry cleaning, others prefer the economy of buying garments they can wash. Some manufacturers try to reach both markets with garments that can be cleaned by either method. The Rule allows you to provide more than one set of care instructions, if you have a reasonable basis for each instruction.

The Federal Trade Commission has developed this business manual to assist you in understanding and complying with the Rule. If you have questions not addressed in this booklet, write to the Federal Trade Commission, Enforcement Division. Bureau of Consumer Protection, Washington, D. C. 20580.

Wash Care Symbols and Details

Bleaching Care Symbols 

Drying Care Symbols

Dry Cleaning Symbols

 Ironing Symbols

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Lean Manufacturing Technique for Textile and Garments Industry | Removal of Wastes Through Lean

Lean Manufacturing
Lean manufacturing is a systematic approach to identifying and eliminating wastes through continuous improvement by conveying the product at the pull of the customer in pursuit of production.

Lean Manufacturing is a systematic approach for achieving the shortest possible cycle time by eliminating the process waste through continuous improvement. Thus making the operation very efficient and only consisting of value adding steps from start to finish. In simple words lean is manufacturing without waste.

Below are the few steps which are required to implement lean manufacturing

•    Identifying the fact that there are wastes to be removed.
•    Analyzing the wastes and finding the root causes for these wastes.
•    Finding the solution for these root causes.
•    Application of these solutions and achieving the objective.

 History of Lean:

Lean vs Traditional Manufacturing Process:
For years manufacturers have created products in anticipation of having a market for them. Operations have traditionally been driven by sales forecasts and firms tended to stockpile inventories in case they were needed. A key difference in Lean Manufacturing is that it is based on the concept that production can and should be driven by real customer demand.A lean organization can make twice as much product with twice the quality and half the time and space, at half the cost, with a fraction of the normal work-in-process inventory. Lean management is about operating the most efficient and effective organization possible, with least cost and zero waste

 

THE LEAN PRODUCTION GOALS:
The principal goal of lean manufacturing is to create a continuous flow of Product from raw material to finished goods and on to the customer – no stoppages, no delays, no Interruptions because of inventory scrap or yield issues, downtime or the other problems that occur in a typical manufacturing operation.

• Maximizing value (give the customer what they exactly need)
• Minimizing waste (eliminate anything not needed for delivering value)
• Pursuing perfection
• Reduce Time
• Reduce Total Costs

Cost Reduction by Elimination of Waste
It requires constant effort at cost reduction to maintain continuous profits in manufacturing. The prime way to reduce costs is to produce only those products determined by sales in a timely fashion, to restrain excessive manufacturing and to eliminate all waste in manufacturing methods. There are various ways to analyze and implement cost reduction, from the start of designing all the way through to manufacturing and sales. One of the goals of Lean Manufacturing is to locate waste pragmatically in each process and then eliminate it. It is possible to uncover a very large amount of waste by observing employees, equipment, materials and organization in the actual production line from the perspectives of the process itself and the actual work involved. Some types of waste are obvious, but others are hidden. Waste never improves value; it only increases cost. The thorough elimination of waste leads to greater employee self-respect and to major cost reductions by preventing unneeded losses.

Creating Conditions to Guarantee Product Quality
To produce a high-quality product is the first commandment of any manufacturing company. The high quality of any product, in which many component and parts do not fail and are trouble free, must be built into it at every process. Lean Manufacturing has developed various ways to support the commitment to “build the quality into the process.” This principle gives each operator the responsibility to check quality thoroughly at every stage of work within the process, and brings product inspection directly into the process so that good products flow to the following process and defects are extracted at that point. Each operator must be aware that “the following process is a customer” and must never send a defective product to downstream processes. If equipment is defective or operates abnormally, either the machine itself or some system must be able to detect the problem and stop operation. Foolproof devices are often used as simple means for this purpose. This also makes it easier to maintain quality. Lean Manufacturing has taken many measures and expended much effort to see that, if a defect in quality should occur, we can uncover the true cause and apply countermeasures to prevent its recurrence.

Creating a Work Site with Operators in Mind
If labor is expended on a product but does not contribute any additional value to it, that labor is of no value. On the other hand, if the labor expended on a product enhances the product’s value, then that labor is of great value because it is effective. This type of effective labor use translates into showing respect for human dignity, the dignity of the employee. In the Lean Manufacturing measures have been taken so that the labor or every employee will
enhance the value of our products. One of these measures is Standardized Work. This is a way to perform the most effective sequential production without waste by rationally concentrating the work around the Operators’ movement. Some companies use a system that stresses the performance of equipment and machines. In this case, the equipment is considered to be of prime importance and the employee mere expansion of the machine. Mutual support is indispensable if each employee, who plays the leading role for his particular task, is to perform the work and improve the efficiency of the whole production process. In Lean Manufacturing the implementation of mutual support between the preceding and succeeding processes has affected highly efficient work. If the Operator discovers some problem in the work for which he is responsible, he or she is permitted to stop the line depending on the gravity of the problem. This is only possible against
a backdrop of respect for the judgment and intelligence of the employees. A work site, where every employee can fully display his own ability, can be created with a system in which the work accomplishments of each individual are a matter of public knowledge, and anyone can propose kaizen for work problems.


Awareness of Waste
Cost Reduction versus Cost Plus
Lean Manufacturing improves productivity through the principle of Cost Reduction.
With the principle of cost reduction, the sales price of a product is determined by actual market
conditions. A profit cannot be secured, thus, without first reducing cost regardless of increases
or decreases in the production quantity. This type of cost philosophy requires an overall
company effort. Cost reduction is:

Profit = Sales price – Cost

In contrast to cost reduction, there is the cost-plus principle, in which product price is
determined by combining all the costs -- such as those of raw materials, labor and other
expenses needed for production -- with whatever company policy decides is needed as profit.
Cost policy:

Sales price = Cost + Profit

The two formulas above are the same mathematically, but there is a great difference in the
emphasis each one places on the variables. In other words, cost-plus considers that the cost is
fixed. While cost reduction considers, that the cost can be effectively changed by
manufacturing methods.

Main Kinds of Wastes
Seven main types of wastes were identified as a part of the Toyota Production System. However, this list has been modified and expanded by various practitioners of lean manufacturing and generally includes the following:

Overproduction
It is unnecessary to produce more than the customer demands, or producing it too early before it is needed. This increases the risk of obsolescence and the risk of producing the wrong thing. It tends to lead to excessive lead and storage times. In addition, it leads to excessive work-in-process stocks which result in the physical dislocation of operations with consequent poorer communication

Defects
In addition to physical defects which directly add to the costs of goods sold, this may include errors in paperwork, late delivery, production according to incorrect specifications, use of too much raw materials or generation of unnecessary scrap. When defect occurs, rework may be required; otherwise the product will be scrapped. Generation of defects will not only waste material and labor resources, but it will also create material shortages, hinder meeting schedules, create idle time at subsequent workstations and extend the manufacturing lead time.

Inventory
It means having unnecessarily high levels of raw materials, works-in-process and finished products. Extra inventory leads to higher inventory financing costs, higher storage costs and higher defect rates. It tends to increase lead time, prevents rapid identification of problems and increase space requirements. In order to conduct effective purchasing, it is especially necessary to eliminate inventory due to incorrect lead times.

Transportation
It includes any movement of materials that does not add any value to the product, such as moving materials between workstations. Transportation between processing stages results in prolonging production cycle times, the inefficient use of labor and space. Any movement in the
firms could be viewed as waste. Double handling and excessive movements are likely to cause damage and deterioration with the distance of communication between 

processes.

Waiting
It is idle time for workers or machines due to bottlenecks or inefficient production flow on the factory floor. It includes small delays between processing of units.When time is being used ineffectively, then the waste of waiting occurs. This waste occurs whenever goods are not moving or being worked on. This waste affects both goods and workers, each spending time waiting. Waiting time for workers may be used for training or maintenance activities and should not result in overproduction

Motion
It includes any unnecessary physical motions or walking by workers which divert them from actual processing work. This might include walking around the factory floor to look for a tool, or even unnecessary or difficult physical movements, due to poorly designed ergonomics, which slow down the workers. It involves poor ergonomics of production, where operators have to stretch, bend and pick up when such actions could be avoided.

Over-processing
It is unintentionally doing more processing work than the customer requires in terms of product quality or features such as polishing or applying finishing in some areas of product that will not be seen by the customer . Over-processing occurs in situations where overly complex
solutions are found to simple procedures. The over-complexity discourages ownership and encourages employees to overproduce to recover the large investment in the complex machines.

The Eighth Waste – Skills
Sometimes in focusing on the elimination of the seven wastes, companies forget about the aspect of Lean that is inherent in the philosophy as it was originally developed in Japan – respect for people. In other words, the recognition that a company’s most important assets are its employees. To that end, Lean practitioners sometimes add an eighth waste to the list – skills. This waste occurs when company does not fully leverage the gifts and talents of its associates. In fact, employees may even decide to leave a company for the simple reason that they do not feel as though they are being listened to or valued, and, as such, they feel like a number in a sea of numbers.

THE BASIC LEAN MANUFACTURING PRINCIPLES:

The five-step thought process for guiding the implementation of lean techniques is easy to remember, but not always easy to achieve:

1.      Value
Specify value from the standpoint of the end customer by product family.

2.       Value stream mapping
Identify all the steps in the value stream for each product family, eliminating whenever possible those steps that do not create value.

3.       Flow
Make the value-creating steps occur in tight sequence so the product will flow smoothly toward the customer.

4.       Pull
As flow is introduced, let customers pull value from the next upstream activity.

5.       Perfection

As value is specified, value streams are identified, wasted steps are removed, and flow and pull are introduced, begin the process again and continue it until a state of perfection is reached in which perfect value is created with no waste.

   

LEAN MANUFACTURING TOOLS & TECHNIQUES:
Here are some of the most important tools of lean, ones that a typical lean practitioner must be
proficient it and capable of applying:

• Value Stream Mapping
• Takt Time
• EPEI
• Leveling (Heijunka)
• Pull Systems
• Setup Reduction
• Pokayoke (Mistake Proofing)
• 5S
• Seven QC Tools
• JIT
• Kanban

Value Stream Mapping
Value stream mapping is the identification of all the specific activities (material and information
flow) as well as the resulting lead times occurring along the value stream for a particular product or
product family, usually represented pictorially in a value stream map.

Takt Time
Takt time is the rate at which product must be turned out to satisfy market demand. It is determined
by dividing the available production time by the rate of customer demand. It is a calculated number,
not a reflection of your capability. It sets the pace of production to match the rate of customer
demand.

EPEI
A measure of how frequently a process can produce all the items assigned to it. For example, if a machine is able to change over and produce the required quantity of all the high-running part types dedicated to it within three days, then the production batch size for each individual part type is about three days worth of parts. Thus this machine is making every part every three days.

Leveling (Heijunka)
Leveling is the sequencing of orders in a repetitive pattern, and the smoothing of day-to-day
variations in total orders to correspond to longer-term demand.

Pull Systems
A pull system is a system of production and delivery instructions in which nothing is produced by
the upstream supplier until the downstream customer signals a need. Pull can operate with single
units or small batches. It enables production without preset schedules.

checklists, worksheets, diagrams, area maps, etc., and may pertain to equipment use, operations,
processes, metrics, storage, safety, quality, movement in an area, or general use of the environment.

Setup Reduction (Single Minute Exchange of Dies or SMED)
SMED is a series of operator techniques pioneered by Shigeo Shingo that result in changeovers of
production machinery in less than ten minutes. The long-term objective is always zero setup, in
which changeovers are instantaneous and do not interfere in any way with one-piece flow.

Poka-yoke (Mistake Proofing)
Japanese term used by Shigeo Shingo to mean "innocent mistake-proofing," it is an improvement
technology that uses a device or procedure to prevent defects or equipment malfunction during
order-taking or manufacture. Mistake proofing devices are important to the production line in
several ways:
(1) enforce correct operations by eliminating choices that lead to incorrect actions,
(2) signal or stop a process if an error is made or a defect created

(3) prevent machine and product damage.

5S
Five S (5S) an improvement process, originally summarized by five Japanese words beginning
with S, to create a workplace that will meet the criteria of visual control and lean production. Seiri
(sort) means to separate needed tools, parts, and instructions from the unneeded and to remove
the latter. Seiton (set in order) means to neatly arrange and identify parts and tools for ease of use.
Seiso (shine) means to clean and inspect. Seiketsu (standardize) means to require as the norm that
everyone sort, set in order, and shine at frequent (daily) intervals to keep the workplace in perfect
condition, and also to make use of visual control systems. Shitsuke (sustain) means to maintain the
five S gains by training and encouraging workers to form the habit of always following the first
four Ss.


SEVEN QC TOOLS:

•  Check sheet or tally sheet
•  Histogram
•  Pareto chart
•  Cause and effect diagram
•  Process flow chart
•  Control chart
•  Scatter diagram

JIT (JUST IN TIME):
Just in time (JIT) is a production strategy that strives to improve a business return on investment by reducing in-process inventory and associated carrying costs. To meet JIT objectives, the process relies on signals or Kanban between different points in the process, which tell production when to make the next part. Kanban are usually 'tickets' but can be simple visual signals, such as the presence or absence of a part on a shelf. Implemented correctly, JIT focuses on continuous improvement and can improve a manufacturing organization's return on investment, quality, and efficiency. To achieve continuous improvement key areas of focus could be flow, employee involvement and quality.

KANBAN TOOLING:
Kanban is one of most popular tools in lean manufacturing. This is a simple concept, but very effective. Kanban mainly focus on the reduction of overproduction. There are mainly two types of kanbans. They are

•  Withdrawal kanban
•  Production kanban

BENEFITS OF LEAN MANUFACTURING
The implementation of lean manufacturing through trying to make value flow at the pull of the customer (Just In Time) prevents and eliminates waste in your processes. Waste being categorized as part of the seven wastes: Transport, Inventory, Motion, Waiting, Over-processing, Overproduction, and Defects.
Many studies have shown that we only add value for around 5% of the time within our operations, the remaining 95% is waste! Imagine if you could remove that 95% wasted time and effort; what would it do for your operations?

• Typically Lean will improve;
• Quality performance, fewer defects and rework (in house and at customer).
• Fewer Machine and Process Breakdowns.
• Lower levels of Inventory.
• Greater levels of Stock Turnover.
• Less Space Required.
• Higher efficiencies, more output per man hour.
• Improved delivery performance.
• Faster Development.
• Greater Customer Satisfaction.
• Improved employee morale and involvement.
• Improved Supplier Relations.
• HIGHER PROFITS!
• INCREASED BUSINESS

Lean Manufacturing Technique for Textile and Garments Industry | Removal of Wastes Through Lean

1 comment

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Lean Manufacturing
Lean manufacturing is a systematic approach to identifying and eliminating wastes through continuous improvement by conveying the product at the pull of the customer in pursuit of production.

Lean Manufacturing is a systematic approach for achieving the shortest possible cycle time by eliminating the process waste through continuous improvement. Thus making the operation very efficient and only consisting of value adding steps from start to finish. In simple words lean is manufacturing without waste.

Below are the few steps which are required to implement lean manufacturing

•    Identifying the fact that there are wastes to be removed.
•    Analyzing the wastes and finding the root causes for these wastes.
•    Finding the solution for these root causes.
•    Application of these solutions and achieving the objective.

 History of Lean:

Lean vs Traditional Manufacturing Process:
For years manufacturers have created products in anticipation of having a market for them. Operations have traditionally been driven by sales forecasts and firms tended to stockpile inventories in case they were needed. A key difference in Lean Manufacturing is that it is based on the concept that production can and should be driven by real customer demand.A lean organization can make twice as much product with twice the quality and half the time and space, at half the cost, with a fraction of the normal work-in-process inventory. Lean management is about operating the most efficient and effective organization possible, with least cost and zero waste

 

THE LEAN PRODUCTION GOALS:
The principal goal of lean manufacturing is to create a continuous flow of Product from raw material to finished goods and on to the customer – no stoppages, no delays, no Interruptions because of inventory scrap or yield issues, downtime or the other problems that occur in a typical manufacturing operation.

• Maximizing value (give the customer what they exactly need)
• Minimizing waste (eliminate anything not needed for delivering value)
• Pursuing perfection
• Reduce Time
• Reduce Total Costs

Cost Reduction by Elimination of Waste
It requires constant effort at cost reduction to maintain continuous profits in manufacturing. The prime way to reduce costs is to produce only those products determined by sales in a timely fashion, to restrain excessive manufacturing and to eliminate all waste in manufacturing methods. There are various ways to analyze and implement cost reduction, from the start of designing all the way through to manufacturing and sales. One of the goals of Lean Manufacturing is to locate waste pragmatically in each process and then eliminate it. It is possible to uncover a very large amount of waste by observing employees, equipment, materials and organization in the actual production line from the perspectives of the process itself and the actual work involved. Some types of waste are obvious, but others are hidden. Waste never improves value; it only increases cost. The thorough elimination of waste leads to greater employee self-respect and to major cost reductions by preventing unneeded losses.

Creating Conditions to Guarantee Product Quality
To produce a high-quality product is the first commandment of any manufacturing company. The high quality of any product, in which many component and parts do not fail and are trouble free, must be built into it at every process. Lean Manufacturing has developed various ways to support the commitment to “build the quality into the process.” This principle gives each operator the responsibility to check quality thoroughly at every stage of work within the process, and brings product inspection directly into the process so that good products flow to the following process and defects are extracted at that point. Each operator must be aware that “the following process is a customer” and must never send a defective product to downstream processes. If equipment is defective or operates abnormally, either the machine itself or some system must be able to detect the problem and stop operation. Foolproof devices are often used as simple means for this purpose. This also makes it easier to maintain quality. Lean Manufacturing has taken many measures and expended much effort to see that, if a defect in quality should occur, we can uncover the true cause and apply countermeasures to prevent its recurrence.

Creating a Work Site with Operators in Mind
If labor is expended on a product but does not contribute any additional value to it, that labor is of no value. On the other hand, if the labor expended on a product enhances the product’s value, then that labor is of great value because it is effective. This type of effective labor use translates into showing respect for human dignity, the dignity of the employee. In the Lean Manufacturing measures have been taken so that the labor or every employee will
enhance the value of our products. One of these measures is Standardized Work. This is a way to perform the most effective sequential production without waste by rationally concentrating the work around the Operators’ movement. Some companies use a system that stresses the performance of equipment and machines. In this case, the equipment is considered to be of prime importance and the employee mere expansion of the machine. Mutual support is indispensable if each employee, who plays the leading role for his particular task, is to perform the work and improve the efficiency of the whole production process. In Lean Manufacturing the implementation of mutual support between the preceding and succeeding processes has affected highly efficient work. If the Operator discovers some problem in the work for which he is responsible, he or she is permitted to stop the line depending on the gravity of the problem. This is only possible against
a backdrop of respect for the judgment and intelligence of the employees. A work site, where every employee can fully display his own ability, can be created with a system in which the work accomplishments of each individual are a matter of public knowledge, and anyone can propose kaizen for work problems.


Awareness of Waste
Cost Reduction versus Cost Plus
Lean Manufacturing improves productivity through the principle of Cost Reduction.
With the principle of cost reduction, the sales price of a product is determined by actual market
conditions. A profit cannot be secured, thus, without first reducing cost regardless of increases
or decreases in the production quantity. This type of cost philosophy requires an overall
company effort. Cost reduction is:

Profit = Sales price – Cost

In contrast to cost reduction, there is the cost-plus principle, in which product price is
determined by combining all the costs -- such as those of raw materials, labor and other
expenses needed for production -- with whatever company policy decides is needed as profit.
Cost policy:

Sales price = Cost + Profit

The two formulas above are the same mathematically, but there is a great difference in the
emphasis each one places on the variables. In other words, cost-plus considers that the cost is
fixed. While cost reduction considers, that the cost can be effectively changed by
manufacturing methods.

Main Kinds of Wastes
Seven main types of wastes were identified as a part of the Toyota Production System. However, this list has been modified and expanded by various practitioners of lean manufacturing and generally includes the following:

Overproduction
It is unnecessary to produce more than the customer demands, or producing it too early before it is needed. This increases the risk of obsolescence and the risk of producing the wrong thing. It tends to lead to excessive lead and storage times. In addition, it leads to excessive work-in-process stocks which result in the physical dislocation of operations with consequent poorer communication

Defects
In addition to physical defects which directly add to the costs of goods sold, this may include errors in paperwork, late delivery, production according to incorrect specifications, use of too much raw materials or generation of unnecessary scrap. When defect occurs, rework may be required; otherwise the product will be scrapped. Generation of defects will not only waste material and labor resources, but it will also create material shortages, hinder meeting schedules, create idle time at subsequent workstations and extend the manufacturing lead time.

Inventory
It means having unnecessarily high levels of raw materials, works-in-process and finished products. Extra inventory leads to higher inventory financing costs, higher storage costs and higher defect rates. It tends to increase lead time, prevents rapid identification of problems and increase space requirements. In order to conduct effective purchasing, it is especially necessary to eliminate inventory due to incorrect lead times.

Transportation
It includes any movement of materials that does not add any value to the product, such as moving materials between workstations. Transportation between processing stages results in prolonging production cycle times, the inefficient use of labor and space. Any movement in the
firms could be viewed as waste. Double handling and excessive movements are likely to cause damage and deterioration with the distance of communication between 

processes.

Waiting
It is idle time for workers or machines due to bottlenecks or inefficient production flow on the factory floor. It includes small delays between processing of units.When time is being used ineffectively, then the waste of waiting occurs. This waste occurs whenever goods are not moving or being worked on. This waste affects both goods and workers, each spending time waiting. Waiting time for workers may be used for training or maintenance activities and should not result in overproduction

Motion
It includes any unnecessary physical motions or walking by workers which divert them from actual processing work. This might include walking around the factory floor to look for a tool, or even unnecessary or difficult physical movements, due to poorly designed ergonomics, which slow down the workers. It involves poor ergonomics of production, where operators have to stretch, bend and pick up when such actions could be avoided.

Over-processing
It is unintentionally doing more processing work than the customer requires in terms of product quality or features such as polishing or applying finishing in some areas of product that will not be seen by the customer . Over-processing occurs in situations where overly complex
solutions are found to simple procedures. The over-complexity discourages ownership and encourages employees to overproduce to recover the large investment in the complex machines.

The Eighth Waste – Skills
Sometimes in focusing on the elimination of the seven wastes, companies forget about the aspect of Lean that is inherent in the philosophy as it was originally developed in Japan – respect for people. In other words, the recognition that a company’s most important assets are its employees. To that end, Lean practitioners sometimes add an eighth waste to the list – skills. This waste occurs when company does not fully leverage the gifts and talents of its associates. In fact, employees may even decide to leave a company for the simple reason that they do not feel as though they are being listened to or valued, and, as such, they feel like a number in a sea of numbers.

THE BASIC LEAN MANUFACTURING PRINCIPLES:

The five-step thought process for guiding the implementation of lean techniques is easy to remember, but not always easy to achieve:

1.      Value
Specify value from the standpoint of the end customer by product family.

2.       Value stream mapping
Identify all the steps in the value stream for each product family, eliminating whenever possible those steps that do not create value.

3.       Flow
Make the value-creating steps occur in tight sequence so the product will flow smoothly toward the customer.

4.       Pull
As flow is introduced, let customers pull value from the next upstream activity.

5.       Perfection

As value is specified, value streams are identified, wasted steps are removed, and flow and pull are introduced, begin the process again and continue it until a state of perfection is reached in which perfect value is created with no waste.

   

LEAN MANUFACTURING TOOLS & TECHNIQUES:
Here are some of the most important tools of lean, ones that a typical lean practitioner must be
proficient it and capable of applying:

• Value Stream Mapping
• Takt Time
• EPEI
• Leveling (Heijunka)
• Pull Systems
• Setup Reduction
• Pokayoke (Mistake Proofing)
• 5S
• Seven QC Tools
• JIT
• Kanban

Value Stream Mapping
Value stream mapping is the identification of all the specific activities (material and information
flow) as well as the resulting lead times occurring along the value stream for a particular product or
product family, usually represented pictorially in a value stream map.

Takt Time
Takt time is the rate at which product must be turned out to satisfy market demand. It is determined
by dividing the available production time by the rate of customer demand. It is a calculated number,
not a reflection of your capability. It sets the pace of production to match the rate of customer
demand.

EPEI
A measure of how frequently a process can produce all the items assigned to it. For example, if a machine is able to change over and produce the required quantity of all the high-running part types dedicated to it within three days, then the production batch size for each individual part type is about three days worth of parts. Thus this machine is making every part every three days.

Leveling (Heijunka)
Leveling is the sequencing of orders in a repetitive pattern, and the smoothing of day-to-day
variations in total orders to correspond to longer-term demand.

Pull Systems
A pull system is a system of production and delivery instructions in which nothing is produced by
the upstream supplier until the downstream customer signals a need. Pull can operate with single
units or small batches. It enables production without preset schedules.

checklists, worksheets, diagrams, area maps, etc., and may pertain to equipment use, operations,
processes, metrics, storage, safety, quality, movement in an area, or general use of the environment.

Setup Reduction (Single Minute Exchange of Dies or SMED)
SMED is a series of operator techniques pioneered by Shigeo Shingo that result in changeovers of
production machinery in less than ten minutes. The long-term objective is always zero setup, in
which changeovers are instantaneous and do not interfere in any way with one-piece flow.

Poka-yoke (Mistake Proofing)
Japanese term used by Shigeo Shingo to mean "innocent mistake-proofing," it is an improvement
technology that uses a device or procedure to prevent defects or equipment malfunction during
order-taking or manufacture. Mistake proofing devices are important to the production line in
several ways:
(1) enforce correct operations by eliminating choices that lead to incorrect actions,
(2) signal or stop a process if an error is made or a defect created

(3) prevent machine and product damage.

5S
Five S (5S) an improvement process, originally summarized by five Japanese words beginning
with S, to create a workplace that will meet the criteria of visual control and lean production. Seiri
(sort) means to separate needed tools, parts, and instructions from the unneeded and to remove
the latter. Seiton (set in order) means to neatly arrange and identify parts and tools for ease of use.
Seiso (shine) means to clean and inspect. Seiketsu (standardize) means to require as the norm that
everyone sort, set in order, and shine at frequent (daily) intervals to keep the workplace in perfect
condition, and also to make use of visual control systems. Shitsuke (sustain) means to maintain the
five S gains by training and encouraging workers to form the habit of always following the first
four Ss.


SEVEN QC TOOLS:

•  Check sheet or tally sheet
•  Histogram
•  Pareto chart
•  Cause and effect diagram
•  Process flow chart
•  Control chart
•  Scatter diagram

JIT (JUST IN TIME):
Just in time (JIT) is a production strategy that strives to improve a business return on investment by reducing in-process inventory and associated carrying costs. To meet JIT objectives, the process relies on signals or Kanban between different points in the process, which tell production when to make the next part. Kanban are usually 'tickets' but can be simple visual signals, such as the presence or absence of a part on a shelf. Implemented correctly, JIT focuses on continuous improvement and can improve a manufacturing organization's return on investment, quality, and efficiency. To achieve continuous improvement key areas of focus could be flow, employee involvement and quality.

KANBAN TOOLING:
Kanban is one of most popular tools in lean manufacturing. This is a simple concept, but very effective. Kanban mainly focus on the reduction of overproduction. There are mainly two types of kanbans. They are

•  Withdrawal kanban
•  Production kanban

BENEFITS OF LEAN MANUFACTURING
The implementation of lean manufacturing through trying to make value flow at the pull of the customer (Just In Time) prevents and eliminates waste in your processes. Waste being categorized as part of the seven wastes: Transport, Inventory, Motion, Waiting, Over-processing, Overproduction, and Defects.
Many studies have shown that we only add value for around 5% of the time within our operations, the remaining 95% is waste! Imagine if you could remove that 95% wasted time and effort; what would it do for your operations?

• Typically Lean will improve;
• Quality performance, fewer defects and rework (in house and at customer).
• Fewer Machine and Process Breakdowns.
• Lower levels of Inventory.
• Greater levels of Stock Turnover.
• Less Space Required.
• Higher efficiencies, more output per man hour.
• Improved delivery performance.
• Faster Development.
• Greater Customer Satisfaction.
• Improved employee morale and involvement.
• Improved Supplier Relations.
• HIGHER PROFITS!
• INCREASED BUSINESS

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Use of 5S to Ensure Well Organised and Safer Workplace in Textile Production | Application of 5S in Garments Industry

 The 5 'S' Process: Seiri, Seiton, Seiso, Seiketsu, Shitsuke
     
The 5S Process, or simply "5S", is a structured program to systematically achieve total organization, cleanliness, and standardization in the workplace. A well-organized workplace results in a safer, more efficient, and more productive operation.  It boosts the morale of the workers, promoting a sense of pride in their work and ownership of their responsibilities.

According to the Free Encyclopedia (Wikepedia) - 5S is the name of a workplace organization method that uses a list of five Japanese words: seiri, seiton, seiso, seiketsu, and shitsuke. Transliterated or translated into English, they all start with the letter "S". The list describes how to organize a work space for efficiency and effectiveness by identifying and storing the items used, maintaining the area and items, and sustaining the new order. The decision-making process usually comes from a dialogue about standardization, which builds understanding among employees of how they should do the work.

"5S" was invented in Japan, and stands for five (5) Japanese words that start with the letter 'S': Seiri, Seiton, Seiso, Seiketsu, and Shitsuke.  Table 1 shows what these individual words mean. An equivalent set of five 'S' words in English have likewise been adopted by many, to preserve the "5S" acronym in English usage. These are: Sort, Set (in place), Shine, Standardize, and Sustain.  Some purists do not agree with these English words -
they argue that these words have lost the essence of the original 5 Japanese words.

The 5S practice is a technique used to establish and maintain quality environment in an organization. The name stands for five Japanese words: Seiri , Seiton, Seiso , Seiketsu and Shitsuke .  The English equivalent , their meanings and typical examples are shown in the following table:


Objectives of 5S

• Promote Safety
• Improve Work Flow
• Better Product Quality
• Reduce Inventory Waste
• Give People Control of Their Workplace

Benefits of 5S   

• Clean work place
• Reduction in materials handling
• Reduced lead time and cycle time
• Reduced search time
• Reduced changeover time
• Decrease in flow distance
• Increased floor space
• Reduced equipment breakdowns
• Improves workplace safety
• Fewer hazards
• Establishes standards for operating equipment and conducting processes Less spending on          replacing lost or damaged items
• Less stress and tiredness
• Improved morale and pride in the workplace
• Greater self-esteem
• Improvement of communication
• Increase in productivity
• Fast work
• Improved appearance of the facility and expectation for compliance to maintain that condition
• Better and constant quality of products, services
• Training time reduced for new employees
• Greater efficiency in achieving goals
• Greater readiness for new tasks
• Better impression on clients

  
Explanation of 5-S Process
                      
Seiri (Sort/Organization)     
The first step of the "5S" process, seiri, refers to the act of throwing away all unwanted, unnecessary, and unrelated materials in the workplace.  People involved in Seiri must not feel sorry about having to throw away things. The idea is to ensure that everything left in the workplace is related to work. Even the number of necessary items in the workplace must be kept to its absolute minimum. Because of seiri, simplification of tasks, effective use of space, and careful purchase of items follow.

Main Features of Seiri-

• Remove unnecessary items and dispose of them properly
• Make work easy by eliminating obstacles
• Provide no chance of being disturbed with unnecessary items
• Prevent accumulation of unnecessary items

 Organization is about separating the things which are necessary for the job from those that are not and keeping the number of the necessary once as low as possible and at a convenient location.
Stratification Management

The art of organization is in stratification management. It involves deciding how important something is and then reducing the non essential inventory. At the same time stratification management ensures that the essential things are close at hand for maximum efficiency. Thus the key to good stratification management is the ability to make these decisions about usage frequency and to ensure that things are in their proper places. It is just as important to have the things you do not need far from hand as it is to have the things you do close at hand. It is just as important to be able to throw out a broken or defective part as it is to be able to fix it. A summary of organizing things is shown in table below.

Differentiation between Need and Want
Many people do confuse between need and  want. Most of us have a colleague who has collected 60 trade magazines in his shelf over the last five years and claims that he wants to keep all of them for reference. If you ask him “Which of the 60 magazines do you need ?”, he would probably scratch his head and say “ I do not know what you are talking about .” However , if you formulate you question the following way: “Which of these 60 magazines have you not been touching over the last year?”, you should not be surprised to find that the answer is 50.
Most people tend to err in the beginning , on the conservative side of saving things ‘just in case’. But it is crucial that management make a decision. Is it needed? If not, get rid of it. If yes, how much of it is needed? Get rid of the rest. If something is borrowed , return it to its owner.



Seiton ( Shine/ Neatness)
Seiton, or orderliness, is all about efficiency.  This step consists of putting everything in an assigned place so that it can be accessed or retrieved quickly, as well as returned in that same place quickly.  If everyone has quick access to an item or materials, work flow becomes efficient, and the worker becomes productive.  The correct place, position, or holder for every tool, item, or material must be chosen carefully in relation to how the work will be performed and who will use them.  Every single item must be allocated its own place for safekeeping, and each location must be labeled for easy identification of what it's for. 

Main Features of Seiton-

• Arrange necessary items in order so they can be easily picked for use
•  Prevent loss and waste of time
• Make it easy to find and pick up necessary items
• Ensure first-come-first-serve basis
• Make work flow smooth and easy
• Can also be translated as "set in order"

Neatness is a study of efficiency. It is question of how quickly you can get the things you need and how quickly you can put them away. Just making an arbitrary decision on where things go is not going to make you any faster. Instead, you have to analyze why getting things out and putting them away takes so long. You have to study this for both the people using the things frequently and those who seldom use them. You have to devise a system that everyone can understand. There are four steps in achieving neatness:

Step1. Analyze the status quo
Start by analyzing how people get things out and put them away, and why it takes so long. This is especially important in workplaces where a lot of different tools and materials are used, because time spent getting things out and putting them away is time lost. For example , If a person gets something out or puts something out or puts something away 200 times a day and each time takes 30 seconds , you are talking about 100 minutes a day. If the average time could be reduced to 10 seconds , more than an hour could be saved.

Typical problems  in retrieving things are :

1.       Not knowing what things are called
2.       Not sure where things are kept.
3.       Storage site far away.
4.       Storage site scattered all around.
5.       Repeated trips
6.       Hard to find because many things are there.
7.       Not labeled.
8.       Not there, but not clear whether it is finished or somebody is using it.
9.       Unclear if spare parts exist (no ledger and nowhere to ask)
10.   One brought was defective.
11.   Hard to get out.
12.   Too big to carry.
13.   Need to set or assemble.
14.   Too heavy to carry.
15.   No gangway to transport.



Step 2.Decide where things belong.
The  second step is to decide where things belong. It often happens that an object can have two names: Its real name and what everybody call it. In such cases , make a decision  which one you are going to use and stick to it. It only confuses people to have two names for the same object. On the other hand, during stock-take , you may find out that there are many things that do not have a name. There may be times when two different things have the same name, even when there are minor differences between them. You should rectify all these problems as soon as possible.

Step 3 Decide how things should be put away.
The third step is to decide how things should be put away. This is critical to functional storage. For example, files and tools should be put away so that they are easy to find and easy to access. Storage has to be done with retrieval in mind.
Having a name for everything is not yet sufficient. Things must have a location, just like everybody would have a home. It is in fact quite amazing to send a letter through the world-wide mailing system. As long as you put on the right address, it will go to its destination, anywhere in the world.  The principle is very simple – there is a name on your letter and then there is a name on the location which matches with that on the letter. Therefore in doing your ‘neatness’ , it is imperative that every object should have both a name an a location.

In assigning storage space, designate not only the location, but even the shelf. Decide where things should be, and make sure that they are at their home. This is crucial. When the storage location is on the tool and the tool’s name is on the storage location, you know you are doing it right. The following procedures should be adhered to:

1.       Everything should have a name.
2.       A place for everything and everything in its place [PEEP] 
•         No more homeless items.
•         Even if someone is just using something temporarily, it should be clear where it is.
3.       Quick identification
•         Arrows and lamps
•         Frequent –use items to be retrieved easily
4.       Safe storage
•         Heavy things on the bottom
•         Heavy things on dollies
•         Benches and ladders
5.       Height considerations
•         Knee to shoulder height most convenient.



Step 4.Obey the put –away rules.
The last step is to obey the rules. This means always putting things back where they belong. It sounds simple, and it is as if you would be doing it. It is just doing it that is difficult. Whether or not this is done will determine whether or not organization and neatness succeeds. At the same time, inventory management is important to see that you do not run out of parts or products. In order to achieve this, the rules are:

1.       Out of stock

• Decide on minimum stock level
• Indicate that more are on order

2.       Somebody is using it

• Have an indication of who is using it and when they will return it.

3.       Lost

• Decide how many there should be
• Draw a shadow outline indicating clearly what is missing

Seiso ( Set in order )        
Seiso, the third step in "5S", says that 'everyone is a janitor.'  Seiso consists of cleaning up the workplace and giving it a 'shine'.  Cleaning must be done by everyone in the organization, from operators to managers. It would be a good idea to have every area of the workplace assigned to a person or group of persons for cleaning. No area should be left uncleaned. Everyone should see the 'workplace' through the eyes of a visitor - always thinking if it is clean enough to make a good impression.

Features of Seiso

• Clean your workplace completely
• Use cleaning as inspection
• Prevent machinery and equipment deterioration
• Keep workplace safe and easy to work
• Can also be translated as "sweep"

Everyone is a Janitor’—Cleaning should be done by everyone in the organization, from the managing director to the cleaner. This is why in Japan, they do not need street cleaners in residential areas. Every family is responsible for cleaning the pavement in front of their houses. Therefore, what they need are rubbish collectors. The Japanese believe that while they are doing cleaning, they are cleaning their minds, too.  If  you have done your annual cleaning at home before the New Year, you would probably have this feeling of freshness.

There are even companies that have taken steps towards putting little gardens in their workplace rest areas as hygiene has ramifications well beyond the factories and offices to the surrounding environment. The mottoes for cleaning are:

•        I will not get things dirty.
•        I will not spill.
•        I will not scatter things around.
•        I will clean things right away.
•        I will rewrite things that have got erased.
•        I will tape up things that have come down.
An orderly progression of cleaning in the factory environment by piece of equipment and by location will often identify causes of various problems in the production process, such as :
•         Dirty air – conditioning filters lead to defects in printing.
•         Filing in the conveyance chutes lead to scratching.
•         Scraps in the die leading to faulty pressings.
•         Things fall off the equipment and get into the products.
•         Things get dented or bent in conveyance.
•         Filings and other particles contaminate the resin.
•         Dirty coolant leads to clogging.
•         Dust and other substances ruin the painting process.
•         Bad connections ate made because the electrical contacts are dirty.
•         Fires are caused because garbage short-circuited the electrical equipment.
•         Computer always plays up because dirt is accumulated inside.
In an office or a factory, you might start by graphing out the individual areas of responsibility. In doing this, it is important that all assignments be absolutely clear and that there is no undefined, unallocated, or grey areas. Unless each and every person takes these admonitions to heart and accepts personal responsibility, you are not going to get anywhere. 

Seiketsu(Standardization)        
The fourth step of "5S", or seiketsu, more or less translates to 'standardized clean-up'. It consists of defining the standards by which personnel must measure and maintain 'cleanliness'.  Seiketsu encompasses both personal and environmental cleanliness. Personnel must therefore practice 'seiketsu' starting with their personal tidiness. Visual management is an important ingredient of seiketsu.  Color-coding and standardized coloration of surroundings are used for easier visual identification of anomalies in the surroundings. Personnel are trained to detect abnormalities using their five senses and to correct such abnormalities immediately.

Main Features of Seiketsu

• Maintain high standards of housekeeping and workplace organization at all times
• Maintain cleanliness and orderliness

Standardization means continually and repeatedly maintaining your organization, neatness and cleaning. As such, it embraces both personal cleanliness and the cleanliness of the environment. The emphasis here is on visual management and 5-S standardization. Innovation and total visual management are used to attain and maintain standardized conditions so that you can always act quickly.

Visual management
Visual management has recently come into the limelight as and effective means of continuous improvement. It has been used for production, quality, safety, and customer services. Colour management has also come in for considerable attention lately. This has been used not only for colour-coding, but also to create a more pleasant work environment. There are more and more workers opting for white and other light-coloured clothes. Because these clothes show the dirt quickly, they provide a good indicator of how clean the workplace is. They highlight the need for cleaning.

One effective method of visual management is to put up appropriate labels.

Examples are:
•         Lubrication oil label- Indicate the type, grade, colour, and where it is for.
•         Annual inspection label-Should be attached to all equipment.
•         Temperature label –Indicate abnormality or overheat.
•         Responsibility label-Show who is responsible for what.
•         Identification label – Tell people what things are.
•         Safety label – Remind people of special safety considerations.
•         Zone label on meters – Normal zone and danger zone should be differentiated by different colours.
•         Ok mark- After things have been inspected, an OK mark will tell others that the part is acceptable.
•         Position mark- Put little position marks for where things go. Place footprints where people should stand. Place lines to indicate where things are supposed to stop. Put up lots of visual clues so that everybody will be able to see what is happening and to anticipate what will happen next.

Transparency
Another important consideration for standardization is ‘transparency’. In most factories and offices, tools and files are put in lockers, on closed shelves, and under covers to be off sight. Just like sweeping things under the carpet this is known as “out of sight, out of mind” practice. Those closed spaces are often among the most disorderly places, because they are not a constant eyesore. So it will be a good idea to take the wraps off these messes. Make the covers transparent. If you must have metal panels, put inspection windows in them. Make it so that everybody can see what is stored and how good (or bad ) things look.

Visualising Conditions
Many places have little ribbons on the fans so you can see the breeze. Sometimes, this method is called ‘visualizing conditions’. As a variation of this, some plant maintenance people put windows and plastic strips in some of the drain pipes so that other people can see the effluent flowing. There are many other things you can do to help people visualize a process.

Trouble Maps
When there are problems, you can show them on a map of the workplace. Just as many sales departments have pins in maps to show where their people are, you can also have pins to show problems, emergency exits, fire-fighting equipment, and other locations. Put the maps where they are visible to everyone. A trouble map can also be used to indicate those workplaces and processes that are trouble-free.

Quantification
By constantly measuring things, quantifying the results, and analyzing the data statistically, you can quickly identify the limits to management and spot deviations before they become major headaches.

   

Shitsuke (Sustain/ Discipline)       
The last step of "5S", Shitsuke, means 'Discipline.' It denotes commitment to maintain orderliness and to practice the first 4 S as a way of life.  The emphasis of shitsuke is elimination of bad habits and constant practice of good ones.  Once true shitsuke is achieved, personnel voluntarily observe cleanliness and orderliness at all times, without having to be reminded by management.

Main Features of Shitsuke-

•  To keep in working order
• Also translates to "Self-Discipline" meaning to do without being told

Discipline means instilling the ability of doing things the way they are supposed to be done. The emphasis here is on creating a workplace with good habits. By teaching everyone what needs to be done and having everyone practicing it bad habits are broken and good ones are formed. This process helps people form habits of making and following the rules.

The word shitsuke originally comes from the guiding stitches that are done before a garment is properly sewn. If accepted that way, discipline is an underlying tool in making life go smoother. It is recognized by the Japanese as the minimum the society needs in order to function properly.

Self –discipline is important because it reaches beyond discipline. If a person is ‘disciplined’ to do something at one time there is a chance that he may not be disciplined next time. However, self-discipline guarantees the continuity of a daily routine. The Japanese are a very self-disciplined race: they have one of the lowet crime rates in the world and are well-known as ‘obedient’ tourists.

Discipline is process of repetition and practice. Think of discipline as an integral part of industrial safety helmet, their safety shoes, or their goggles? Far too many. How many have had accidents because they stuck their hands into the machinery without shutting it off first? Again, too many. It is important that everyone has the habit of obeying simple safety rules. 


6S Process:
The name 5S comes from the 5 Japanese words that make up the 5 stages of 5S, each one starting with the letter “S”. 6S has added the additional “S” of safety to the original 5.  So the 6S is;

The 6th “S”; Safety, we now concentrate on safety aspects of our initiative, reviewing every action and each area to ensure that we have not overlooked any potential hazards.

Use of 5S to Ensure Well Organised and Safer Workplace in Textile Production | Application of 5S in Garments Industry

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 The 5 'S' Process: Seiri, Seiton, Seiso, Seiketsu, Shitsuke
     
The 5S Process, or simply "5S", is a structured program to systematically achieve total organization, cleanliness, and standardization in the workplace. A well-organized workplace results in a safer, more efficient, and more productive operation.  It boosts the morale of the workers, promoting a sense of pride in their work and ownership of their responsibilities.

According to the Free Encyclopedia (Wikepedia) - 5S is the name of a workplace organization method that uses a list of five Japanese words: seiri, seiton, seiso, seiketsu, and shitsuke. Transliterated or translated into English, they all start with the letter "S". The list describes how to organize a work space for efficiency and effectiveness by identifying and storing the items used, maintaining the area and items, and sustaining the new order. The decision-making process usually comes from a dialogue about standardization, which builds understanding among employees of how they should do the work.

"5S" was invented in Japan, and stands for five (5) Japanese words that start with the letter 'S': Seiri, Seiton, Seiso, Seiketsu, and Shitsuke.  Table 1 shows what these individual words mean. An equivalent set of five 'S' words in English have likewise been adopted by many, to preserve the "5S" acronym in English usage. These are: Sort, Set (in place), Shine, Standardize, and Sustain.  Some purists do not agree with these English words -
they argue that these words have lost the essence of the original 5 Japanese words.

The 5S practice is a technique used to establish and maintain quality environment in an organization. The name stands for five Japanese words: Seiri , Seiton, Seiso , Seiketsu and Shitsuke .  The English equivalent , their meanings and typical examples are shown in the following table:


Objectives of 5S

• Promote Safety
• Improve Work Flow
• Better Product Quality
• Reduce Inventory Waste
• Give People Control of Their Workplace

Benefits of 5S   

• Clean work place
• Reduction in materials handling
• Reduced lead time and cycle time
• Reduced search time
• Reduced changeover time
• Decrease in flow distance
• Increased floor space
• Reduced equipment breakdowns
• Improves workplace safety
• Fewer hazards
• Establishes standards for operating equipment and conducting processes Less spending on          replacing lost or damaged items
• Less stress and tiredness
• Improved morale and pride in the workplace
• Greater self-esteem
• Improvement of communication
• Increase in productivity
• Fast work
• Improved appearance of the facility and expectation for compliance to maintain that condition
• Better and constant quality of products, services
• Training time reduced for new employees
• Greater efficiency in achieving goals
• Greater readiness for new tasks
• Better impression on clients

  
Explanation of 5-S Process
                      
Seiri (Sort/Organization)     
The first step of the "5S" process, seiri, refers to the act of throwing away all unwanted, unnecessary, and unrelated materials in the workplace.  People involved in Seiri must not feel sorry about having to throw away things. The idea is to ensure that everything left in the workplace is related to work. Even the number of necessary items in the workplace must be kept to its absolute minimum. Because of seiri, simplification of tasks, effective use of space, and careful purchase of items follow.

Main Features of Seiri-

• Remove unnecessary items and dispose of them properly
• Make work easy by eliminating obstacles
• Provide no chance of being disturbed with unnecessary items
• Prevent accumulation of unnecessary items

 Organization is about separating the things which are necessary for the job from those that are not and keeping the number of the necessary once as low as possible and at a convenient location.
Stratification Management

The art of organization is in stratification management. It involves deciding how important something is and then reducing the non essential inventory. At the same time stratification management ensures that the essential things are close at hand for maximum efficiency. Thus the key to good stratification management is the ability to make these decisions about usage frequency and to ensure that things are in their proper places. It is just as important to have the things you do not need far from hand as it is to have the things you do close at hand. It is just as important to be able to throw out a broken or defective part as it is to be able to fix it. A summary of organizing things is shown in table below.

Differentiation between Need and Want
Many people do confuse between need and  want. Most of us have a colleague who has collected 60 trade magazines in his shelf over the last five years and claims that he wants to keep all of them for reference. If you ask him “Which of the 60 magazines do you need ?”, he would probably scratch his head and say “ I do not know what you are talking about .” However , if you formulate you question the following way: “Which of these 60 magazines have you not been touching over the last year?”, you should not be surprised to find that the answer is 50.
Most people tend to err in the beginning , on the conservative side of saving things ‘just in case’. But it is crucial that management make a decision. Is it needed? If not, get rid of it. If yes, how much of it is needed? Get rid of the rest. If something is borrowed , return it to its owner.



Seiton ( Shine/ Neatness)
Seiton, or orderliness, is all about efficiency.  This step consists of putting everything in an assigned place so that it can be accessed or retrieved quickly, as well as returned in that same place quickly.  If everyone has quick access to an item or materials, work flow becomes efficient, and the worker becomes productive.  The correct place, position, or holder for every tool, item, or material must be chosen carefully in relation to how the work will be performed and who will use them.  Every single item must be allocated its own place for safekeeping, and each location must be labeled for easy identification of what it's for. 

Main Features of Seiton-

• Arrange necessary items in order so they can be easily picked for use
•  Prevent loss and waste of time
• Make it easy to find and pick up necessary items
• Ensure first-come-first-serve basis
• Make work flow smooth and easy
• Can also be translated as "set in order"

Neatness is a study of efficiency. It is question of how quickly you can get the things you need and how quickly you can put them away. Just making an arbitrary decision on where things go is not going to make you any faster. Instead, you have to analyze why getting things out and putting them away takes so long. You have to study this for both the people using the things frequently and those who seldom use them. You have to devise a system that everyone can understand. There are four steps in achieving neatness:

Step1. Analyze the status quo
Start by analyzing how people get things out and put them away, and why it takes so long. This is especially important in workplaces where a lot of different tools and materials are used, because time spent getting things out and putting them away is time lost. For example , If a person gets something out or puts something out or puts something away 200 times a day and each time takes 30 seconds , you are talking about 100 minutes a day. If the average time could be reduced to 10 seconds , more than an hour could be saved.

Typical problems  in retrieving things are :

1.       Not knowing what things are called
2.       Not sure where things are kept.
3.       Storage site far away.
4.       Storage site scattered all around.
5.       Repeated trips
6.       Hard to find because many things are there.
7.       Not labeled.
8.       Not there, but not clear whether it is finished or somebody is using it.
9.       Unclear if spare parts exist (no ledger and nowhere to ask)
10.   One brought was defective.
11.   Hard to get out.
12.   Too big to carry.
13.   Need to set or assemble.
14.   Too heavy to carry.
15.   No gangway to transport.



Step 2.Decide where things belong.
The  second step is to decide where things belong. It often happens that an object can have two names: Its real name and what everybody call it. In such cases , make a decision  which one you are going to use and stick to it. It only confuses people to have two names for the same object. On the other hand, during stock-take , you may find out that there are many things that do not have a name. There may be times when two different things have the same name, even when there are minor differences between them. You should rectify all these problems as soon as possible.

Step 3 Decide how things should be put away.
The third step is to decide how things should be put away. This is critical to functional storage. For example, files and tools should be put away so that they are easy to find and easy to access. Storage has to be done with retrieval in mind.
Having a name for everything is not yet sufficient. Things must have a location, just like everybody would have a home. It is in fact quite amazing to send a letter through the world-wide mailing system. As long as you put on the right address, it will go to its destination, anywhere in the world.  The principle is very simple – there is a name on your letter and then there is a name on the location which matches with that on the letter. Therefore in doing your ‘neatness’ , it is imperative that every object should have both a name an a location.

In assigning storage space, designate not only the location, but even the shelf. Decide where things should be, and make sure that they are at their home. This is crucial. When the storage location is on the tool and the tool’s name is on the storage location, you know you are doing it right. The following procedures should be adhered to:

1.       Everything should have a name.
2.       A place for everything and everything in its place [PEEP] 
•         No more homeless items.
•         Even if someone is just using something temporarily, it should be clear where it is.
3.       Quick identification
•         Arrows and lamps
•         Frequent –use items to be retrieved easily
4.       Safe storage
•         Heavy things on the bottom
•         Heavy things on dollies
•         Benches and ladders
5.       Height considerations
•         Knee to shoulder height most convenient.



Step 4.Obey the put –away rules.
The last step is to obey the rules. This means always putting things back where they belong. It sounds simple, and it is as if you would be doing it. It is just doing it that is difficult. Whether or not this is done will determine whether or not organization and neatness succeeds. At the same time, inventory management is important to see that you do not run out of parts or products. In order to achieve this, the rules are:

1.       Out of stock

• Decide on minimum stock level
• Indicate that more are on order

2.       Somebody is using it

• Have an indication of who is using it and when they will return it.

3.       Lost

• Decide how many there should be
• Draw a shadow outline indicating clearly what is missing

Seiso ( Set in order )        
Seiso, the third step in "5S", says that 'everyone is a janitor.'  Seiso consists of cleaning up the workplace and giving it a 'shine'.  Cleaning must be done by everyone in the organization, from operators to managers. It would be a good idea to have every area of the workplace assigned to a person or group of persons for cleaning. No area should be left uncleaned. Everyone should see the 'workplace' through the eyes of a visitor - always thinking if it is clean enough to make a good impression.

Features of Seiso

• Clean your workplace completely
• Use cleaning as inspection
• Prevent machinery and equipment deterioration
• Keep workplace safe and easy to work
• Can also be translated as "sweep"

Everyone is a Janitor’—Cleaning should be done by everyone in the organization, from the managing director to the cleaner. This is why in Japan, they do not need street cleaners in residential areas. Every family is responsible for cleaning the pavement in front of their houses. Therefore, what they need are rubbish collectors. The Japanese believe that while they are doing cleaning, they are cleaning their minds, too.  If  you have done your annual cleaning at home before the New Year, you would probably have this feeling of freshness.

There are even companies that have taken steps towards putting little gardens in their workplace rest areas as hygiene has ramifications well beyond the factories and offices to the surrounding environment. The mottoes for cleaning are:

•        I will not get things dirty.
•        I will not spill.
•        I will not scatter things around.
•        I will clean things right away.
•        I will rewrite things that have got erased.
•        I will tape up things that have come down.
An orderly progression of cleaning in the factory environment by piece of equipment and by location will often identify causes of various problems in the production process, such as :
•         Dirty air – conditioning filters lead to defects in printing.
•         Filing in the conveyance chutes lead to scratching.
•         Scraps in the die leading to faulty pressings.
•         Things fall off the equipment and get into the products.
•         Things get dented or bent in conveyance.
•         Filings and other particles contaminate the resin.
•         Dirty coolant leads to clogging.
•         Dust and other substances ruin the painting process.
•         Bad connections ate made because the electrical contacts are dirty.
•         Fires are caused because garbage short-circuited the electrical equipment.
•         Computer always plays up because dirt is accumulated inside.
In an office or a factory, you might start by graphing out the individual areas of responsibility. In doing this, it is important that all assignments be absolutely clear and that there is no undefined, unallocated, or grey areas. Unless each and every person takes these admonitions to heart and accepts personal responsibility, you are not going to get anywhere. 

Seiketsu(Standardization)        
The fourth step of "5S", or seiketsu, more or less translates to 'standardized clean-up'. It consists of defining the standards by which personnel must measure and maintain 'cleanliness'.  Seiketsu encompasses both personal and environmental cleanliness. Personnel must therefore practice 'seiketsu' starting with their personal tidiness. Visual management is an important ingredient of seiketsu.  Color-coding and standardized coloration of surroundings are used for easier visual identification of anomalies in the surroundings. Personnel are trained to detect abnormalities using their five senses and to correct such abnormalities immediately.

Main Features of Seiketsu

• Maintain high standards of housekeeping and workplace organization at all times
• Maintain cleanliness and orderliness

Standardization means continually and repeatedly maintaining your organization, neatness and cleaning. As such, it embraces both personal cleanliness and the cleanliness of the environment. The emphasis here is on visual management and 5-S standardization. Innovation and total visual management are used to attain and maintain standardized conditions so that you can always act quickly.

Visual management
Visual management has recently come into the limelight as and effective means of continuous improvement. It has been used for production, quality, safety, and customer services. Colour management has also come in for considerable attention lately. This has been used not only for colour-coding, but also to create a more pleasant work environment. There are more and more workers opting for white and other light-coloured clothes. Because these clothes show the dirt quickly, they provide a good indicator of how clean the workplace is. They highlight the need for cleaning.

One effective method of visual management is to put up appropriate labels.

Examples are:
•         Lubrication oil label- Indicate the type, grade, colour, and where it is for.
•         Annual inspection label-Should be attached to all equipment.
•         Temperature label –Indicate abnormality or overheat.
•         Responsibility label-Show who is responsible for what.
•         Identification label – Tell people what things are.
•         Safety label – Remind people of special safety considerations.
•         Zone label on meters – Normal zone and danger zone should be differentiated by different colours.
•         Ok mark- After things have been inspected, an OK mark will tell others that the part is acceptable.
•         Position mark- Put little position marks for where things go. Place footprints where people should stand. Place lines to indicate where things are supposed to stop. Put up lots of visual clues so that everybody will be able to see what is happening and to anticipate what will happen next.

Transparency
Another important consideration for standardization is ‘transparency’. In most factories and offices, tools and files are put in lockers, on closed shelves, and under covers to be off sight. Just like sweeping things under the carpet this is known as “out of sight, out of mind” practice. Those closed spaces are often among the most disorderly places, because they are not a constant eyesore. So it will be a good idea to take the wraps off these messes. Make the covers transparent. If you must have metal panels, put inspection windows in them. Make it so that everybody can see what is stored and how good (or bad ) things look.

Visualising Conditions
Many places have little ribbons on the fans so you can see the breeze. Sometimes, this method is called ‘visualizing conditions’. As a variation of this, some plant maintenance people put windows and plastic strips in some of the drain pipes so that other people can see the effluent flowing. There are many other things you can do to help people visualize a process.

Trouble Maps
When there are problems, you can show them on a map of the workplace. Just as many sales departments have pins in maps to show where their people are, you can also have pins to show problems, emergency exits, fire-fighting equipment, and other locations. Put the maps where they are visible to everyone. A trouble map can also be used to indicate those workplaces and processes that are trouble-free.

Quantification
By constantly measuring things, quantifying the results, and analyzing the data statistically, you can quickly identify the limits to management and spot deviations before they become major headaches.

   

Shitsuke (Sustain/ Discipline)       
The last step of "5S", Shitsuke, means 'Discipline.' It denotes commitment to maintain orderliness and to practice the first 4 S as a way of life.  The emphasis of shitsuke is elimination of bad habits and constant practice of good ones.  Once true shitsuke is achieved, personnel voluntarily observe cleanliness and orderliness at all times, without having to be reminded by management.

Main Features of Shitsuke-

•  To keep in working order
• Also translates to "Self-Discipline" meaning to do without being told

Discipline means instilling the ability of doing things the way they are supposed to be done. The emphasis here is on creating a workplace with good habits. By teaching everyone what needs to be done and having everyone practicing it bad habits are broken and good ones are formed. This process helps people form habits of making and following the rules.

The word shitsuke originally comes from the guiding stitches that are done before a garment is properly sewn. If accepted that way, discipline is an underlying tool in making life go smoother. It is recognized by the Japanese as the minimum the society needs in order to function properly.

Self –discipline is important because it reaches beyond discipline. If a person is ‘disciplined’ to do something at one time there is a chance that he may not be disciplined next time. However, self-discipline guarantees the continuity of a daily routine. The Japanese are a very self-disciplined race: they have one of the lowet crime rates in the world and are well-known as ‘obedient’ tourists.

Discipline is process of repetition and practice. Think of discipline as an integral part of industrial safety helmet, their safety shoes, or their goggles? Far too many. How many have had accidents because they stuck their hands into the machinery without shutting it off first? Again, too many. It is important that everyone has the habit of obeying simple safety rules. 


6S Process:
The name 5S comes from the 5 Japanese words that make up the 5 stages of 5S, each one starting with the letter “S”. 6S has added the additional “S” of safety to the original 5.  So the 6S is;

The 6th “S”; Safety, we now concentrate on safety aspects of our initiative, reviewing every action and each area to ensure that we have not overlooked any potential hazards.

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Historical Background of Garment Industry in Bangladesh | Current Data On Export of Garments(Woven and Knit)

Brief History:

Bangladesh is a developing country where textile and garment industries provide the single source of economic growth in its rapidly developing economy.

Textiles, Clothing and RMG cover about 77% of total exports. About 4 million people, most of them are women, work to this sector, earned 21.51 billion USD in the Fiscal Year 2012-13 (Source-Export promotion bureau).

Bangladesh started its first export oriented garment industry in 1977 as Desh Garments Ltd. Which was a joint venture with Daewoo (south Korea). Meanwhile many Bangladeshi’s took training for RMG business from Korea, then established new factories with local investors. Bangladesh was made its first shipment of woven garment in 1977. (Wikipedia, BKMEA Website)

Sixty percent of the export contracts of western brands are with European buyers and about forty percent with the American buyers. WTO declared Bangladesh as the 2nd Largest garment exporters after china in FY 2011-12, whereas it is becoming 2nd largest Denim exporters across the world but it is only 4.8% of the global RMG trade of $412 billion (Source-Wikipedia, seagroupbd & denimandjeans).

Contribution of Woven and knit  garment is almost similar, respectively 41% and 39% of total export, where 80 percent knit garment goes to Europe market and here retention is almost 60%. (BKMEA Website)

1950 was the beginning of RMG in the Western world. In order to control the level of imported RMG products from developing countries into developed countries, the Multi Fibre Agreement (MFA) was made in 1974. The MFA agreement imposed an export rate 6 percent increase every year from a developing country to a developed country. In the early 1980s Bangladesh started receiving investment in the RMG sector. Some Bangladeshis received free training from the Korean Company Daewoo. After these workers came back to Bangladesh, many of them broke ties with the factory they were working for and started their own factories.

Bangladesh Textile and Garment Industry Highlights:

Bangladesh enters 2013 with a firm footing as the world's second largest garment exporter, raising hopes for a new wave of business despite turbulent times in parts of the globe.

The World Trade Organization (WTO)  declared Bangladesh as the second largest RMG exporter after China in 2010-11 when the country's export grew 43.36 percent year on year to $15.66 billion in spite of global recession in 2007-2008.

Bangladesh retained its position in the following fiscal 2011-12 by exporting garments worth $19.09 billion. And the outlook for the current fiscal is set to exceed $20 billion.Bangladesh now claims 4.8 percent of the global RMG trade of $412 billion.

According to McKinsey & Company, an international management-consulting firm, Bangladesh's apparel exports will reach $36 billion by 2020.But all these prospects appear to have been shaken by one fire tragedy in late November at Tazreen Fashions Ltd, where 112 workers were killed. This single incident exposed inadequate fire safety and poor working conditions that still exist in many factories.

On April 24 1137 textile workers factories making clothes for Western brands, were killed when a garment factory collapsed. The Savar building collapse was in the Rana Plaza complex, in Savar, an industrial corner 20 miles northwest of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh.The incident was widely covered worldwide mainly because of Bangladesh's position as the number two apparel exporter. The buyers are now pressing factory owners to improve working conditions, hike wages of workers, and ensure labour rights and other compliance issues.The strength of the country's apparel sector is well understood through its ability to supply high-end items to famous global brands such as Hugo Boss, Adidas, Puma, Tommy Hilfiger, G-Star, Diesel, Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, DKNY, Nike, Benetton and Mango. Currently, more than 30 percent of the total RMG export is high-end products.The primary textile sector also saw a wave of investments for increasing demands for fabrics. The sector with a total investment of over 4.5 billion pounds is now capable of supplying 90 percent of fabrics for the knitwear sub-sector and 40 percent of fabrics for the woven sub-sector.

The country has more than 5,500 woven garment factories, 1,700 knitwear factories and 1,300 spinning, finishing and dyeing factories. At present, the sector employs 3.5 million workers, 80 percent of whom are women.The country's 60 percent RMG products enter the EU, 23 percent goes to the USA, 4.8 percent to Canada and 12.1 percent to other destinations worldwide. Bangladeshi Knitwear is exported to 93 countries of the world where EU and the USA are the major importers.

According to data of Export Promotion Bureau, the RMG sector's contribution to the country's export was 3.9 percent in fiscal 1983-84, which now stands at nearly 80 percent. The core strength of the knitwear sector is its backward linkage. The entrepreneurs of the sector not only increased their stitching capacity overtime but also invested in the allied industry to augment the overall capacity of the total sector with the same pace. Over the period of time knitwear sector gradually became almost self sufficient in fabric and yarn. This improvement has become possible because of the integrated growth of spinning factories in line of the growth of country's stitching capacity and increased need of the yarn and fabric. As the export increased in the knitwear sector, the capacity of backward linkage also increased accordingly.The result is local suppliers can provide now 95% of the total fabric requirement of the sector (source: BTMEA).

The growth of spinning mills also stepped with the growth of knitwear exports. In 2010-11 total number of Yarn Manufacturing Member Mills was 383, whereas Fabric Manufacturer Member Mills was 743.As of now the total investment in the backward linkage in knitting, dyeing and spinning industry is more than US$ 5.03 billion or € 4.00 billion.Knitwear is the highest contributor in terms of both gross and net export earnings. In 2010-11, the contribution of knitwear in national export earnings is 41.36%. This has resulted because of the backward linkage industry that has grown over time which helped the knitwear sector to have the higher value addition and therefore a much higher net retention rate. In addition to, relaxation of Rules of Origin (RoO) has accelerated the export growth.There are more than 261 composite knitwear factories in Bangladesh, currently listed with Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers & Exporters Association (BKMEA) who are supplying 95% of the knit fabric requirements of the sector.Local spinners supply yarn to fulfill around 75% of the total requirement of yarn for this industry.

The Bangladesh Knitwear industry is highly competitive where most of the knit composites have similar manufacturing capabilities. However, there are about 50 to 60 factories which are fully compliant and offer slight product differentiation and offer large capacity to the high volume buyers who source high quality goods at competitive prices within this region.

Over the decades the growth of knitwear sector has been incessant rising over 20% at CAGR base and continuously grabbing more portions in the export pie of Bangladesh. This recent robust growth is partly achieved owing to preferential support from the European Commission’s GSP & Relaxation of Rules of Origin (ROO) and the Duty Free Quota Free (DFQF) access granted by Canada, Australia, Japan and members of European Free Trade Agreement (EFTA). Along this growth momentum favorable policies from the government of Bangladesh in the form of export subsidies i.e. cash incentives also contributed greatly for making it the most attractive sourcing hub.

Statistical Data of Textile & Garment Industry of Bangladesh:

According to the statistics of BGMEA, BKMEA and Bangladesh Hand Loom Board, Bangladesh has the below established factory.

Industry Type    Total Established Industry

Spinning Mills    400

Weaving Mills    1500

Knit Composite    1700

Garment Industry    5600

Hand Loom Unit    0.183 Million

According to BGMEA, BKMEA and Export Promotion Bureau Bangladesh has exported the below in the previous 12 years.

Traditionally, the exports basket of Bangladesh has been leaning towards EU and the USA. So far the EU is the largest destination for Bangladesh knitwear, worth of value $7.3 billion with share of 69.74% exported in the year 2012-13 followed by the USA with $1.13 billion and a share of 10.79%. The one-stage transformation requirement of ROO in 2011 boosted signs for market penetration in the EU further; hence a growth of 46.63% in the FY 2010-11 over 2009-10 was remarkably noticeable.

Bangladesh RMG sector mainly comprises of Knit and woven garments competing vigorously to surpass each other for taking up the leadership yoke within the economy. It was in FY 2003-04 the knit garments for the first time exceeded woven wear and became the leader in terms of quantity exports with 91.6 million dozens as against 90.48 million dozens of woven garments. And from FY 2007-08, knitwear continues to widen the gap with woven both in terms of value and quantity. To the end the RMG sector, engine of our economic growth, has largely compensated with evolutionary mechanism in the overall designing of factory management - successfully leaving aside all the bottlenecks and making the economy a resilient one despite of natural disasters, poor infrastructure, weak governance and political turbulence.

Historical Background of Garment Industry in Bangladesh | Current Data On Export of Garments(Woven and Knit)

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Brief History:

Bangladesh is a developing country where textile and garment industries provide the single source of economic growth in its rapidly developing economy.

Textiles, Clothing and RMG cover about 77% of total exports. About 4 million people, most of them are women, work to this sector, earned 21.51 billion USD in the Fiscal Year 2012-13 (Source-Export promotion bureau).

Bangladesh started its first export oriented garment industry in 1977 as Desh Garments Ltd. Which was a joint venture with Daewoo (south Korea). Meanwhile many Bangladeshi’s took training for RMG business from Korea, then established new factories with local investors. Bangladesh was made its first shipment of woven garment in 1977. (Wikipedia, BKMEA Website)

Sixty percent of the export contracts of western brands are with European buyers and about forty percent with the American buyers. WTO declared Bangladesh as the 2nd Largest garment exporters after china in FY 2011-12, whereas it is becoming 2nd largest Denim exporters across the world but it is only 4.8% of the global RMG trade of $412 billion (Source-Wikipedia, seagroupbd & denimandjeans).

Contribution of Woven and knit  garment is almost similar, respectively 41% and 39% of total export, where 80 percent knit garment goes to Europe market and here retention is almost 60%. (BKMEA Website)

1950 was the beginning of RMG in the Western world. In order to control the level of imported RMG products from developing countries into developed countries, the Multi Fibre Agreement (MFA) was made in 1974. The MFA agreement imposed an export rate 6 percent increase every year from a developing country to a developed country. In the early 1980s Bangladesh started receiving investment in the RMG sector. Some Bangladeshis received free training from the Korean Company Daewoo. After these workers came back to Bangladesh, many of them broke ties with the factory they were working for and started their own factories.

Bangladesh Textile and Garment Industry Highlights:

Bangladesh enters 2013 with a firm footing as the world's second largest garment exporter, raising hopes for a new wave of business despite turbulent times in parts of the globe.

The World Trade Organization (WTO)  declared Bangladesh as the second largest RMG exporter after China in 2010-11 when the country's export grew 43.36 percent year on year to $15.66 billion in spite of global recession in 2007-2008.

Bangladesh retained its position in the following fiscal 2011-12 by exporting garments worth $19.09 billion. And the outlook for the current fiscal is set to exceed $20 billion.Bangladesh now claims 4.8 percent of the global RMG trade of $412 billion.

According to McKinsey & Company, an international management-consulting firm, Bangladesh's apparel exports will reach $36 billion by 2020.But all these prospects appear to have been shaken by one fire tragedy in late November at Tazreen Fashions Ltd, where 112 workers were killed. This single incident exposed inadequate fire safety and poor working conditions that still exist in many factories.

On April 24 1137 textile workers factories making clothes for Western brands, were killed when a garment factory collapsed. The Savar building collapse was in the Rana Plaza complex, in Savar, an industrial corner 20 miles northwest of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh.The incident was widely covered worldwide mainly because of Bangladesh's position as the number two apparel exporter. The buyers are now pressing factory owners to improve working conditions, hike wages of workers, and ensure labour rights and other compliance issues.The strength of the country's apparel sector is well understood through its ability to supply high-end items to famous global brands such as Hugo Boss, Adidas, Puma, Tommy Hilfiger, G-Star, Diesel, Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, DKNY, Nike, Benetton and Mango. Currently, more than 30 percent of the total RMG export is high-end products.The primary textile sector also saw a wave of investments for increasing demands for fabrics. The sector with a total investment of over 4.5 billion pounds is now capable of supplying 90 percent of fabrics for the knitwear sub-sector and 40 percent of fabrics for the woven sub-sector.

The country has more than 5,500 woven garment factories, 1,700 knitwear factories and 1,300 spinning, finishing and dyeing factories. At present, the sector employs 3.5 million workers, 80 percent of whom are women.The country's 60 percent RMG products enter the EU, 23 percent goes to the USA, 4.8 percent to Canada and 12.1 percent to other destinations worldwide. Bangladeshi Knitwear is exported to 93 countries of the world where EU and the USA are the major importers.

According to data of Export Promotion Bureau, the RMG sector's contribution to the country's export was 3.9 percent in fiscal 1983-84, which now stands at nearly 80 percent. The core strength of the knitwear sector is its backward linkage. The entrepreneurs of the sector not only increased their stitching capacity overtime but also invested in the allied industry to augment the overall capacity of the total sector with the same pace. Over the period of time knitwear sector gradually became almost self sufficient in fabric and yarn. This improvement has become possible because of the integrated growth of spinning factories in line of the growth of country's stitching capacity and increased need of the yarn and fabric. As the export increased in the knitwear sector, the capacity of backward linkage also increased accordingly.The result is local suppliers can provide now 95% of the total fabric requirement of the sector (source: BTMEA).

The growth of spinning mills also stepped with the growth of knitwear exports. In 2010-11 total number of Yarn Manufacturing Member Mills was 383, whereas Fabric Manufacturer Member Mills was 743.As of now the total investment in the backward linkage in knitting, dyeing and spinning industry is more than US$ 5.03 billion or € 4.00 billion.Knitwear is the highest contributor in terms of both gross and net export earnings. In 2010-11, the contribution of knitwear in national export earnings is 41.36%. This has resulted because of the backward linkage industry that has grown over time which helped the knitwear sector to have the higher value addition and therefore a much higher net retention rate. In addition to, relaxation of Rules of Origin (RoO) has accelerated the export growth.There are more than 261 composite knitwear factories in Bangladesh, currently listed with Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers & Exporters Association (BKMEA) who are supplying 95% of the knit fabric requirements of the sector.Local spinners supply yarn to fulfill around 75% of the total requirement of yarn for this industry.

The Bangladesh Knitwear industry is highly competitive where most of the knit composites have similar manufacturing capabilities. However, there are about 50 to 60 factories which are fully compliant and offer slight product differentiation and offer large capacity to the high volume buyers who source high quality goods at competitive prices within this region.

Over the decades the growth of knitwear sector has been incessant rising over 20% at CAGR base and continuously grabbing more portions in the export pie of Bangladesh. This recent robust growth is partly achieved owing to preferential support from the European Commission’s GSP & Relaxation of Rules of Origin (ROO) and the Duty Free Quota Free (DFQF) access granted by Canada, Australia, Japan and members of European Free Trade Agreement (EFTA). Along this growth momentum favorable policies from the government of Bangladesh in the form of export subsidies i.e. cash incentives also contributed greatly for making it the most attractive sourcing hub.

Statistical Data of Textile & Garment Industry of Bangladesh:

According to the statistics of BGMEA, BKMEA and Bangladesh Hand Loom Board, Bangladesh has the below established factory.

Industry Type    Total Established Industry

Spinning Mills    400

Weaving Mills    1500

Knit Composite    1700

Garment Industry    5600

Hand Loom Unit    0.183 Million

According to BGMEA, BKMEA and Export Promotion Bureau Bangladesh has exported the below in the previous 12 years.

Traditionally, the exports basket of Bangladesh has been leaning towards EU and the USA. So far the EU is the largest destination for Bangladesh knitwear, worth of value $7.3 billion with share of 69.74% exported in the year 2012-13 followed by the USA with $1.13 billion and a share of 10.79%. The one-stage transformation requirement of ROO in 2011 boosted signs for market penetration in the EU further; hence a growth of 46.63% in the FY 2010-11 over 2009-10 was remarkably noticeable.

Bangladesh RMG sector mainly comprises of Knit and woven garments competing vigorously to surpass each other for taking up the leadership yoke within the economy. It was in FY 2003-04 the knit garments for the first time exceeded woven wear and became the leader in terms of quantity exports with 91.6 million dozens as against 90.48 million dozens of woven garments. And from FY 2007-08, knitwear continues to widen the gap with woven both in terms of value and quantity. To the end the RMG sector, engine of our economic growth, has largely compensated with evolutionary mechanism in the overall designing of factory management - successfully leaving aside all the bottlenecks and making the economy a resilient one despite of natural disasters, poor infrastructure, weak governance and political turbulence.

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