Garment making process (at BGEL - hypothetical) is a 5 stage process as shown in figure 1. Each stage consists of set of tasks which require different skill set and machines to carry out the operation effectively. Quality check is currently done at the end of production phase, any produce which could not meet specification or quality standard has to completely go through a rework.

1. SIOM Fixing the Achilles Heel
Fixing the Achilles Heel
Team- ActiveY
NITIE, Mumbai
Shanu Singh, shanuchaudhery@gmail.com, 9702018520
Vijay Grover, vijaygr@gmail.com, 9702018460

2. SIOM Fixing the Achilles Heel
CASE: BANGALORE GARMENT EXPORTS LIMITED
Garment making process at BGEL is a 5 stage process as shown in figure 1. Each stage consists of set of
tasks which require different skill set and machines to carry out the operation effectively. Quality check
is currently done at the end of production phase, any produce which could not meet specification or
quality standard has to completely go through a rework.
Cutting Stitching
Machine Machine
Stage2 Stage4
•Laying •Making Slacks •Packaging
•Cutting •Body Stitching •Attaching •Quality Check
Collar to Shirt
•Rejection/Acce
ptance
Stage1 Stage3 Stage5
Stitching Manual
Machine Quality Check
Figure1: Process flow model at BGEL
Pareto Analysis
Inorder to a take focused approach; we have followed Pareto analysis methodology. Here we have tried
to find out those problems which results in majority of defects or capacity reduction. This is done with
the help of 2 layered analyses such that each analysis reinforces the finding of other.
Analysis 1
Reasons for high defect rate as well as for not meeting the production capacity are categorized as shown
in table 1.

3. SIOM Fixing the Achilles Heel
Category Name Description Occurrence
Machine • Malfunctioning 3+1
• Stoppage
Information Communication • Defective and improper instructions given to 1+1
workers, Missing instructions
• Schedule not communicated
Worker Skill • Mismatch 1+1+1
• Shortage
• Reassignment
Material • Shortage 1
Absenteeism • Work reassignment to handle 1+1
• High absenteeism
Specification • Wrong specification used 1+2+1
• Specifications not met
• Specification changes not properly
communicated
Coordination • Coordination problem among production 2+1
sections
• Coordination delay
Carelessness • Wrong assembly of pieces 1
Table1: Problem categorization
Distribution of problems which cropped up in the span of 10 days is done to find out the weightage for
each of the problem category and hence helping us in setting our priority for tackling those problems.
Occurance in Last 10 days
Specification
15%
20% Machinery
Information Communication
10%
carelessness
5% Worker Skill
20%
Material
15% Absenteeism
5% 10% Coordination
Figure2: Problem category distribution

4. SIOM Fixing the Achilles Heel
Clearly as shown in figure 2, specification, machine, worker skill and coordination are the major set of
problem categories since these contributes to around 70% of the problems encountered in study period
(ten days).
Analysis 2
On the preliminary analysis of the data given in case, we have identified two key performance
parameters:
• Effective production which could be delivered to client (maximization)
• Capacity wasted away (CWA) (minimization), which is calculated as:
CWA = (Daily Production Capacity – (Effective Production))
where
Effective Production = (Daily Production – Daily Rejects)
Day Production Rejects Effective Capacity Wasted
Production Away (CWA)
1 5957 298 5659 841
2 6043 423 5620 880
3 5450 600 4850 1650
4 5878 353 5525 975
5 6012 541 5471 1029
6 6123 490 5633 867
7 5878 764 5114 1386
8 5367 590 4777 1723
9 5590 839 4751 1749
10 5670 510 5160 1340
Table2: Quantitative analysis for key parameters
From the analysis given in table 2, it’s clear that CWA is highest on day 3, 8 and 9. Therefore we need to
focus more on the issues cropped up on these days, these are as follows (table3):
Day CWA Issues
3 1650 Schedule and specification changes not properly Communicated
Skill shortage

5. SIOM Fixing the Achilles Heel
8 1723 Coordination delay
Rework due to wrong assembly of pieces.
9 1749 Wrong specification used
Malfunctioning of machines
Missing instructions
Table3: Major issues seen in period of 10 days
Again we have found similar set of factors as found in analysis 1. Therefore while designing the
strategies we need to focus on these factors on priority.

6. SIOM Fixing the Achilles Heel
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION (Answered on basis of factor priority found in above analysis)
1. In spite of undertaking number of quality improvement measures, why do you think BGEL failed?
In a complex, worker intensive environment at BGEL, a small loophole in process or system can lead to
big quality failure. The cause-effect relationships for the problems identified in Pareto analysis are
shown in figure 3 with the help of fishbone diagram.
Figure3: Fishbone diagram for cause-effect relationship
Inspite of taking many quality control measures, BGEL failed mainly because of lack of thoughtful and
scientific implementation of these measures. Reasons for such failures can be broadly categorized under
garment specification, workforce availability & skillset, coordination challenge, machine operations and
quality check.
(I) Quality Check
Two things identified that the company does not have are:
• In-line quality check mechanism

7. SIOM Fixing the Achilles Heel
• Formal testing and inspection plan (TIP)
As a result, company has to largely rely on end-of-line quality control checks. In trying to control quality,
100% of product had to be checked at the end of the lines, by quality control personnel prior to packing
for shipment. The lack of in-line checking resulted in an abnormally high end of line defect rate and
many completed products had to be reworked completely, or rejected due to the late detection of the
faults. This results in low productivity as well.
(II) Garment Specifications
• Specification sheets, which are meant to improve the communication between design and
production teams and to clarify product requirements to the workers (so that costly errors could be
prevented), are not able to serve their purpose.
• Currently there are no training program for workers (short internal training or instruction session on
using and understanding specification sheet)
• Inability of workers to understand specification in some of the cases. This could be because:
§ Lack of training for newly hired worker
§ Usage of non-standard format for specification definition.
(III) Workforce Availability & Skillset
• Absenteeism has been seen as one of the regular issue. It might be because of any of the following
reason
o Ineffective or tiring working position
o Unhygienic working conditions
o Undefined leave policy
• Skill required for operation needs be developed by proper training. Improper or lack of training lead
to:
o Reduction in production speed
o Damage to machines
o Delay in communication
o High chances or miss-communication or miss-coordination

8. SIOM Fixing the Achilles Heel
(IV) Coordination Challenge
• Management-Production: Changes in schedules are not getting communicated from management to
production level.
• Technical Design Team-Production Supervisor-worker: Changes done in specification by technical
team are not getting transferred to workers involved in the production.
• Production-quality: Quality standards required by QC team is not shared with production team,
workers do not know/understand what quality is expected from them.
(V) Machines Operations and Maintenance
• Currently there is no proper provision for production level worker training; it leads to mishandling
of machines especially by newly hired workers or reassigned workers.
• Scheduled maintenance plan at regular interval is missing.
• No provision for performance related incentives for maintenance workers.
(VI) Material Unavailability
BGEL has seen an instance of material shortage in span of last ten days. Such stoppage leads to defects
and low quality production especially in case of sewing, stitches.

9. SIOM Fixing the Achilles Heel
2. If you are a Quality manager at BGEL, what immediate measures you will undertake to control the
problem?
Measures to be taken are based on the priority and the timeframe required by the different problem
categories found in the analysis. Under immediate measure we will take up those activities which have
higher priority and require relatively smaller time frame for implementation.
(I) Workforce Availability & Skillset
Absenteeism has been seen as one of the regular issue. No relevant action is taken to control it. Root
cause analysis for the same needs to be done since it might be because of any of the following reason
• Ineffective or tiring working position – Work method study and motion study needs to done to
improve it
• Unhygienic working condition, if there, should be cleaned immediately.
• Undefined leave policy – BGEL needs to define the strict leave policy with a proper worker back up
plan
Skill required for operation needs be developed by proper multi-aspect training:
• Knowledge about information flow between different interfaces like QC, maintenance department,
machine repairing workshop and raw material supply department
• Knowledge about production flow for items
• Knowledge about specification understanding
• Basic operation knowledge
• Machine operation knowledge
(II) Quality Check
BGEL should go for implementation of formal testing and inspection plan (TIP), it can be implemented in
multi-layered approach so that defects could be found early, thus reducing the amount of rework and
ensuring quality end product. Four layers can be as follows:

10. SIOM Fixing the Achilles Heel
• Pre-Production Inspection: This is done before production starts. It is done to crosscheck for final
verification of Bulk fabric and trims materials, styling cutting way, manufacturing details and
workmanship of the garment or pre-production sample as per the customer requirement.
• 1st inline production inspection: This inspection is done at the start of production when first
production output of particular style of garments is inspected; to distinguish possible discrepancies
or variation and to do necessary corrections in production process or specification. This type of
inspection is done at preliminary stage of manufacturing of a style covering mainly style detail,
general appearance, workmanship, measurements, fabric quality, Trims and components, Lot color,
printing, embellishments and washing quality.
• 2nd line Production Inspection: This inspection is done during production to ensure initial
discrepancies have been corrected and rectified. This inspection is a follow-up of the 1st inline
production inspection and is generally carried out after 1st line inspection when discrepancies have
been detected at that time.
• Final Random Inspection: This inspection is carried out when the production of the total quantity of
an order or partial delivery is completed. A sample lot will be selected from the order and a
percentage of the garments will be inspected, this percentage usually being calculated on the basis
of AQL (Acceptable Quality level) sampling inspection system as specified by the buyer.
Pre-Production 1st line Production 2nd line Production Final Random
Inspection Inspection Inspection Inspection
Figure4: Multi-level quality check model

11. SIOM Fixing the Achilles Heel
(III) Machine Operations and Maintenance
• Provision for production level worker training, it will reduce:
o Reduce mishandling of machines
o Reduce machine setup time
o Reduce overall machine breakdown time.
• Provision for extra backup machines, these machines can be bought on the basis of machine
breakdown data collected during previous years. It will help in meeting the production level in those
cases where machine is going through a serious damage and high repair time.
• Maintenance/Repair supervisors should be trained properly because all quality check for
repaired/maintained machines needs to be done by them. Strict checklist for the quality check for
repaired/maintained should be in place.
• Proper plan to carry out machine Scheduled maintenance at regular interval is required. This can be
done by preparing and displaying machine-maintenance chart in the work area so that responsible
worker and QC personnel could keep regular check.
• Incentives for maintenance workers. It is important to keep them motivated to meet the
production capacity of the machines. Incentive plan for the maintenance workers should be linked
to factor like (run time/breakdown time), such that more the breakdown, lesser the incentive.
(IV) Garment Specifications
Specification is the critical thread which connects technical design team, production team and the
quality control (QC) team. Therefore following steps need to be taken in sequential order (Figure5)
• Since all three parties are stake holders, representatives from all of them should be involved in final
stage of specification designing so that production and quality representative have complete
knowledge of final product to be produced, this can be done by technical design team giving demo
of sample product to other two teams.
• Production representatives/supervisors should give a small description of new specification to the
production worker; it should be done in small training groups so that workers could easily focus and
understand.

12. SIOM Fixing the Achilles Heel
• Once training is done, copies of specification should be made available to all the workers
(production & inspection line) so that they could understand and refer it whenever required.
• The technical design department and the quality control department must be involved in
implementation of specification sheet at the production level. This step should be implemented in
coordination with 1 st line inspection plan of the QC team. Once all the adjustments are done in
production setup and written specification (corrected), production team can take over the control.
Specification Designing
Technical Design Team Production Supervisor Quality Supervisor
Specificaton Description
Production Supervisor Production Workers
Specification Distribution
Workers/Machines Visible Central Board
Specification implementation (1st line inspection plan)
Workers QC personnel Design department
Modification and Testing
Updation in specification Updation in worker understanding
Figure 5: Multi-level specification development, implementation and refinement model
(V) Coordination
Coordination has to be managed specially between different interfaces or departments. In BGEL,
coordination or communication issues which cropped between different departments can be managed
as follows:
• Schedule Sharing (Management-Production)

13. SIOM Fixing the Achilles Heel
Schedule should be displayed in graphical format (Gantt chart) on the white boards across the
production and planning unit. Any changes done in schedule should be reflected in all the charts with a
separate color along with a descriptor note so that it could be easily detected by supervisors and
workers
• Communication of changes done in specification (Technical Design Team-Production worker)
All the changes done by technical design team should be communicated to supervisors in a written
form with changes marked clearly. Supervisor then can call short, group meetings to discuss the
changes followed by distribution of new specifications with the marked changes.
• Knowledge about quality standards (Production-QC)
Critical quality parameters should be explicitly shared with the supervisors. These parameters
should also be made part of specification document so that everybody knows in advance.

14. SIOM Fixing the Achilles Heel
3. What would be your long term policy/plan to completely eradicate the quality problems?
Lower priority and time intensive activities will be taken up under the long term strategy; these will
mainly include material availability, machine replacement or upgradation and development of
knowledge sharing culture.
(I) Material Availability
Raw material supply for strategic items such as cloth, button, threads etc is not ensured in current setup
since one such instance of shortage happened in period of 10 days. Successful supply chain performance
is based on a high level of trust and robust partnership strategies.
Figure 6: Model for vendor selection for supply of raw materials
Strategic Partnership aims for synergy among partners based on trust with a belief that benefits from
alliance would be more productive than an individual unit. It provides:
• Reduced conflict between partners.

15. SIOM Fixing the Achilles Heel
• On-time delivery
• Greater consistency in parts, supplies and semi-assembled products, if any
• Effective information sharing among partners resulting in better knowledge for accurate forecasts
(II) Machine Replacement/Upgradation
Older machines should be timely upgraded or replaced. This activity should be done in phased manner
since it involves high purchase and setup cost (loss in production due to wastage of time). This activity
shall help in reducing defect and the breakdown time since new machines have low breakdown time.
(III) Knowledge Sharing Culture
Lack of knowledge leads to re-occurrence of similar issues in different parts of organization therefore
important information must be shared within and among different departments – technical, production
and quality control.
• Line supervisors should share experiences with each other and the technical department.
• Any recurring errors should be analyzed by the respective supervisors and distributed to the other
lines and departments immediately, once a problem (and its solution) is identified.
• The technical department should provide much more detailed measurements and descriptions of
the production processes, highlighting any points that are critical to quality, for line supervisors and
workers