Reduction in production time via Value Stream Mapping in garment industry(1)

REDUCTION IN PRODUCTION TIME VIA VSM
A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of
the requirement for the award of Degree in
Master of Fashion Technology
Submitted By
Yonathan Tesfaye
Under the Guidance of
Dr. Deepak Panghal
Mr. Yoginder Kumar
Department Of Fashion Technology
National Institute Of Fashion Technology, (New Delhi)
May, 2016

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ABSTRACT
The Research work, with a main objective of reducing the production time (over all time to
process a garment from the fabric store to the finishing and packing sections) identifies various
wastes that occur in a garment manufacturing unit and proposes improvement strategies with
implementation of part of the proposal. A garment manufacturing unit in Gurgaon, Manesar
industrial zone is chosen for the present work. The main focus areas of the work are fabric store,
cutting, sewing and finishing and packing section and a style with a longer duration is selected
for tracking.
The production time in the current state of production is determined by listing out all the Value
adding and non-value adding (unavoidable/necessary and avoidable/unnecessary) activities and
identifying the duration of each. A value stream map for the current state production is drawn.
Lean wastes are identified and analyzed using selected Lean manufacturing tools. Pareto analysis
of wastes is done to determine the dominant wastes which should be the focus for improvement.
Brain storming through “5 why” root cause analysis is also done to reach at the root causes for
the wastes identified. Once the root cause is known, suggestions of improvement opportunities
are given as a solution to reduce or remove the wastes.
Proposed state map is developed with a reduced production time and implementation is done
accordingly on selected areas. Recommendations are also given for future researches in similar
area.
In the present work, a total of 101 activities are determined from fabric store to finishing and
packing section. Five, among the seven wastes of lean are identified with three of them
(Inventory, Waiting and Transport) being the leading wastes and the remaining two being
Motion of workers and Defect/Rework.
After implementation of selected improvement opportunities, the following actual results are
obtained.
 21.6 % reduction in Inventory waste
 20.5 % reduction in Waiting waste
 8.05 % reduction in Transport waste

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 6.9 % reduction in Production time
 Increment of Value adding activities to 2.07%
Implementation of all the proposed suggestions was hardly possible because of the company’s
working policy and buyers requirements which were found to be very difficult to alter.
If all the improvement opportunities for the proposed (future) state production are implemented,
the findings would have been the following.
 57.7 % reduction in Inventory waste
 85 % reduction in Waiting waste
 8.9 % reduction in Transport waste
 19.6 % reduction in Production time
 Increment of share of Value adding activities from 1.89% to 2.9%
Key Words:
VSM, Lean Manufacturing, Value Adding Activities, Necessary Non - Value Adding Activities,
Non – Value Adding Activities, Pareto Chart, 5 Whys’ analysis

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CERTIFICATE
“This is to certify that this project report titled “REDUCTION IN PRODUCTION TIME VIA
VSM” is based on my [Yonathan Tesfaye, Roll No. MFTech/14-16/ETDI/03] original research
work conducted under the guidance of [Dr. Deepak Panghal] towards partial fulfillment of the
requirement for the award of the Degree of Master of Fashion technology of the National
Institute of Fashion Technology, New Delhi.
No part of this work has been copied from any other source. Material, wherever borrowed has
been duly acknowledged.”
________________________
Yonathan Tesfaye
Author/Researcher
________________________ ______________________
Dr. Deepak Panghal Mr. Yoginder Kumar
Advisor Co - Advisor

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
This research work is completed with the cooperation, support and encouragement of many
people. I would like to thank all who have been there with me from the beginning to the end of
the work.
My deepest gratitude goes to my research supervisors Dr. Deepak Panghal and Mr. Yoginder
Kumar without whom this research work would have not been completed. They have
continuously followed up my work with patience, giving their valuable time and provided me
with a kind of guide (how the flow of the research should be and giving technical support
throughout the work) which I could not ask for more.
I extend my gratitude to Mr. Abhishek Yugal (Factory manger of the company in which this
research work has been conducted), Mr. Sanddep Kataria (Head of Quality Department,
assistant factory manager and my research supervisor in the company where this research work
has been conducted) and Ms. Shivani Bhardwaj (Human Resource Department) for their
support, follow up and coordinating other personnel whose involvement was essential for the
completion of this research work.
I would also like to thank head of departments of fabric store, cutting, sewing and finishing and
packing sections of the company and all the people working under them who helped me during
the data collection phase of this research work.
(Yonathan Tesfaye)

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CONTENTS
ABSTRACT ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------i
CERTIFICATE------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- iv
LIST OF FIGURES------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------viii
LIST OF TABLES -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ix
ABBREVIATIONS NOTATIONS AND NOMENCLATURE --------------------------------------------- xi
1. INTRODUCTION----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1
1.1 APPAREL SECTOR AND LEAN MANUFACTURING-----------------------------------------------1
1.2 LEAN MANUFACTURING ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------1
1.2.1 Wastes in Lean Manufacturing-----------------------------------------------------------------------------2
1.2.2 Tools of Lean --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3
1.3 VALUE STREAM MAPPING--------------------------------------------------------------------------------5
1.4 MOTIVATION OF THE PRESENT WORK --------------------------------------------------------------6
1.5 OBJECTIVES OF THE PRESENT WORK----------------------------------------------------------------6
1.6 PRESENT WORK -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------6
1.7 LAYOUT OF PRESENT WORK ----------------------------------------------------------------------------7
2. REVIEW OF LITERATURE--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9
2.1 INTRODUCTION -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------9
2.2 APPLICATION OF VSM TECHNIQUE -------------------------------------------------------------------9
2.3 COMMENTS ON REVIEWED LITERATURE -------------------------------------------------------- 15
2.4 FORMULATION OF PROBLEM-------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15
2.5 SHORT FALLS IN THE PRESENT INDUSTRY ------------------------------------------------------ 16
2.6 METHODOLOGY OF PRESENT WORK--------------------------------------------------------------- 16
3. CURRENT STATE PRODUCTION TIME---------------------------------------------------------------20
3.1 INTRODUCTION --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20
3.2 SELECTION OF STYLE TRACKED--------------------------------------------------------------------- 20

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3.3 PRODUCTION TIME IN FABRIC STORE ------------------------------------------------------------- 21
3.3.1 Share of VA, NNVA and NVA Activities in Fabric Store------------------------------------------ 27
3.4 PRODUCTION TIME IN CUTTING---------------------------------------------------------------------- 28
3.4.1 Share of VA, NNVA and NVA Activities in Cutting------------------------------------------------ 33
3.5 PRODUCTION TIME IN SEWING ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 34
3.5.1 Work Sampling in Determining Share of Various Activities--------------------------------------- 34
3.5.2 Share of VA, NNVA and NVA Activities in Sewing------------------------------------------------ 50
3.6 PRODUCTION TIME IN DISPATCH AND WASHING--------------------------------------------- 52
3.6.1 Share of VA, NNVA and NVA Activities in Dispatch and Washing----------------------------- 55
3.7 PRODUCTION TIME IN FINISHING AND PACKING --------------------------------------------- 56
3.7.1 Share of VA, NNVA and NVA Activities in Finishing and Packing----------------------------- 60
3.8 CURRENT STATE VALUE STREAM MAP ----------------------------------------------------------- 61
3.9 CONCLUSION------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 63
4. INDENTIFICATION AND ANALYSIS OF WASTES -------------------------------------------------64
4.1 INTRODUCTION --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 64
4.2 IDENTIFICATION OF WASTES-------------------------------------------------------------------------- 64
4.3 ANALYSIS OF WASTES ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 67
4.3.1 Pareto Analysis of Wastes--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 67
4.3.2 5 Why’s Root Cause Analysis of Wastes--------------------------------------------------------------- 69
4.4 CONCLUSION------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 82
5. SUGGESTIONS OF IMPROVEMENT OPPORTUNITIES ------------------------------------------83
5.1 INTRODUCTION --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 83
5.2 IMPROVEMENT SUGGESTIONS FOR IDENTIFIED WASTES--------------------------------- 83
5.3 CONCLUSION------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 94
6. PROPOSED STATE PRODUCTION TIME -------------------------------------------------------------95
6.1 INTRODUCTION --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 95
6.2 PRODUCTION TIME IN FUTURE STATE FOR ALL SECTIONS------------------------------- 95

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6.2.1 Share of VA, NNVA and NVA Activities for Proposed State of Production ------------------- 99
6.3 PROPOSED STATE VALUE STREAM MAP---------------------------------------------------------- 99
6.4 WASTES IN CURRENT AND PROPOSED STATES OF PRODUCTION---------------------102
6.5 CONCLUSION------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------104
7. IMPLEMENTATION OF SELECTED IMPROVEMENT OPPORTUNITIES----------------- 105
7.1 INTRODUCTION --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------105
7.2 IMPLEMENTATION AND FINDINGS-----------------------------------------------------------------105
7.3 SUMMARY OF COMPARISON: CURRENT STATE VS PROPOSED STATE VS
IMPLEMENTATION -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------109
7.4 CONCLUSION------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------112
8. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS-------------------------------------------------------- 113
8.1 CONCLUSION------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------113
8.2 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH-----------------------------------------------114
BIBLIOGRAPHY------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 115
APPENDIX--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 117
APPENDIX – I: TYPICAL VSM SYMBOLS -------------------------------------------------------------------117
APPENDIX – II: TABLE OF RANDOM NUMBERS ---------------------------------------------------------118
APPENDIX – III: SEWING OPERATORS WAITING FOR WORK AND TIME THAT CAN BE
SAVED -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------119
APPENDIX – IV: MOTION OF SEWING OPERATORS TO WASH ROOMS AND TIME THAT
CAN BE SAVED-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------121
APPENDIX – V: PROCESS OF CHANGING BROKEN NEEDLE AND TIME THAT CAN BE
SAVED BY REMOVING SOME OF THE PROCESSES-----------------------------------------------------123

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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 2.1: Methodology of present work 17
Figure 3.1: Percent share of various activities in fabric store (current state) 27
Figure 3.2: Percent distribution of various activities in cutting (current state) 33
Figure 3.3: Percent share of various activities in sewing (current state) 50
Figure 3.4: Percent share of various activities in dispatch area (current state) 55
Figure 3.5: Percent share of various activities in finishing and packing for current state 60
Figure 3.6: Summary of production time in each section for current state production 61
Figure 3.7: VSM of current state production 62
Figure 3.8: Summary of share of VA, NNVA and NVA activities in current state of production63
Figure 4. 1: Pareto Analysis of identified wastes 68
Figure 6.1: Summary of production time for Current vs. proposed state 100
Figure 6.2: Proposed state Value Stream Map 101
Figure 6.3: Percent share of VA, NNVA and NVA activities (Proposed vs. Current state) 102
Figure 6.4: Wastes in Current vs. Future state of productions 103
Figure 6.5: Summary of all the improvements made by proposed state 104
Figure 7.1: Wastes in Current state vs. proposed state vs. actual (implemented) 110
Figure 7.2: Production time in Current state vs. proposed state vs. actual (implemented) 111
Figure 7.3: Percent share of VA in Current state vs. proposed state vs. actual (implemented) 111

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LIST OF TABLES
Table 2.1: Summary of reviewed literature 13
Table 3.1: Information on style tracked 20
Table 3.2: List of activities and current state production time in fabric store 23
Table 3.3: Share of VA, NNVA and NVA activities in fabric store (current state) 27
Table 3.4: List of activities and current state production time in Cutting 29
Table 3.5: Share of VA, NNVA and NVA activities in cutting (current state) 33
Table 3.6: Determination of probability of being idle of a sewing machine 35
Table 3.7: Identification of total observations required for work sampling 36
Table 3.8 Frequency of observations of operators in sewing section 38
Table 3.9: List of activities in sewing section identified by work sampling 40
Table 3.10: Share of main, associated and other activities as determined by work sampling 44
Table 3.11: Average daily production in sewing for the style tracked 45
Table 3.12 : Share (in terms of minutes) of various activities in sewing section 46
Table 3.13: List of activities and current state production time in sewing 47
Table 3.14: Share of VA, NNVA and NVA activities in sewing (current state) 50
Table 3.15: List of activities and current state production time in dispatch area 53
Table 3.16: Share of VA, NNVA and NVA activities in sewing section (current state) 55
Table 3.17: Average time of finishing a garment (from full pressing to measurement checking)56
Table 3.18: List of activities and current state production time in finishing and packing 58
Table 3.19 : Share of VA, NNVA and NVA activities in finishing and packing for current state60
Table 3.20 : Summary of total production time in current state production 61
Table 4.1: Lean wastes identified in the current state of production 65
Table 4.2: Summary of identified lean wastes in terms of minutes 67
Table 4.3: 5 Why’s root cause analysis for Inventory waste 70
Table 4.4: 5 Why’s root cause analysis for Waiting waste 73
Table 4.5: 5 Why’s root cause analysis for Transport waste 77
Table 4.6: 5 why’s root cause analysis for Motion waste 79
Table 4.7: 5 why’s root cause analysis for Defect/Rework waste 80
Table 4.8: Summary of root causes of wastes 81

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Table 5.1: Improvement suggestions and time saved on Inventory waste 84
Table 5.2: Improvement suggestions and time saved on Waiting waste 87
Table 5.3: Improvement suggestions and time saved on Transport waste 91
Table 5.4: Improvement suggestions and time saved on Motion waste 92
Table 5.5: Improvement suggestions and time saved Defect/Rework waste 93
Table 5.6: Summary of total time saved for proposed state of production 94
Table 6.1: Summary of production time in proposed (future) state of production 96
Table 6.2: Summary of share of VA, NNVA and NVA activities (Proposed state) 99
Table 6.3: A summary of reduction in production time (Proposed state) 100
Table 6.4: Wastes in Current vs. proposed state of productions 102
Table 6.5: Summary of all the improvements made by proposed state 103
Table 7.1: Implementation of improvement opportunities on selected areas and results obtained
106
Table 7.2: Results of implementation in terms of production time, VA share and Waste
reduction 109

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ABBREVIATIONS NOTATIONS AND NOMENCLATURE
VSM = Value Stream Map
VA = Value Add
NNVA = Necessary Non -Value Add
NVA = Non - Value Add
RFD = Ready for Dying
ERP = Enterprise Resource Planning
GSM = Gram per Square Meter
HOD = Head of Department
P = Probability of sewing machine being idle
K = A factor, the value of which varies with the desired confidence level
δ = Standard Deviation
n = Number of observations required for the desired confidence level

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CHAPTER - 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 APPAREL SECTOR AND LEAN MANUFACTURING
As a result of the removal of multi fiber agreement in 2005, the clothing industry faced
considerable challenges among which, the major was to be able to deliver high quality garments
at low cost in a minimum possible lead time. Three years later, global recession badly affected
most of the apparel manufacturing industries in the world. Because of this, demand for low cost
apparels is increased from customers and vendors are left with no chance but to deliver low cost
garments.
In order to be able to withstand this global challenge, many manufacturers have adopted various
strategies; the recent one being Lean manufacturing to produce low cost garments at a minimum
possible lead time and improved quality.
To fulfill the demand of the customers and to stay in the competitive market, the existing
situation of the industry needs to be improved. Its productivity and efficiency must be at an
optimum level. By reducing waste using Lean tools, an industry can reduce cost and quality
alters, improve productivity, performance rate and efficiency.
1.2LEAN MANUFACTURING
Lean manufacturing can be defined as a systematic approach to identify and eliminate waste
through continuous improvement by moving the product at the demand of the customer. Lean
manufacturing is all about looking at the time line from the moment the customer gives an order
to the point when cash is collected. And it focuses on reducing that time line by reducing the non
value adding wastes.
Lean always focuses on identifying and eliminating waste and fully utilizing the activities that
add value to the final product. Value is anything that the customer is willing to pay for the
product or service. Value adding activities are those activities which transform materials and
information into products and services the customer wants. On the other hand non-value adding

2
activities are the activities that consume resources but do not directly contribute to the product or
service. Non value adding activities are termed as wastes in Lean manufacturing.
Non-value adding activities can be of two types. First is Necessary/Unavoidable non value
adding where the activities do not add value but by any means cannot be removed. Examples of
such activities can be legal/regulatory requirements. Within a manufacturing unit, unavoidable
activities can be picking up, placing, disposing, passing etc. of materials. Second is
unnecessary/Avoidable non value-adding in which the activities do not add value and can be
removed from the process. Examples of such activities are waiting for material or equipments,
unnecessary processing, producing defects, motion of workers in the workplace, transportation of
products and tools, excess Inventory etc.
By eliminating wastes in the overall process, through continuous improvements the product’s
Lead time can be reduced remarkably and by reducing Lead time an organization can obtain
benefits like productivity enhancement, reduction in work in process inventory, improvement in
quality and space utilization etc.
1.2.1 Wastes in Lean Manufacturing
Wastes can be categorized into seven types which are commonly referred to as “the 7 wastes of
Lean”. Typically the types of wastes (Muda) considered in a lean manufacturing system include,
Excess Inventory:
Any type of inventory (raw material or in-process or finished goods) which does not add value to
the product should be eliminated or reduced. Excess inventory uses valuable floor space and
hides problems. It also results in longer lead times, obsolescence, damaged goods, transportation
and storage costs.
Overproduction:
Producing more material than is required by the next process or making earlier than is required
by the next process, or making faster than is required by the next process. The corresponding
Lean principle is to manufacture based upon a pull system, or producing products just as
customers order them.
Producing defective products:
Defective products impede flow and lead to wasteful handling, time, and effort. Production
defects and service errors waste resources in the following ways. First, materials are consumed.
Second, the labor used to produce the part (or provide the service) the first time cannot be

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recovered. Third, labor is required to rework the product (or redo the service). Fourth, labor is
required to address any forthcoming customer complaints.
Excess Motion:
Any motion that does not add value to the product is waste. Motion of the workers, machines,
and transport (e.g. due to the inappropriate location of tools and parts) is waste. Unnecessary
motion is caused by poor workflow, poor layout, housekeeping, and inconsistent or
undocumented work methods.
Processing waste (Over processing):
Extra processing not essential to value-added from the customer point of view is waste. Some of
the more common examples of this are reworking (the product or service should have been done
correctly the first time), and inspecting (parts should have been produced using statistical process
control techniques to eliminate or minimize the amount of inspection required)
Transportation:
Moving material does not enhance the value of the product to the customer. Material should be
delivered to its point of use. Instead of raw materials being shipped from the vendor to a
receiving location, processed, moved into a warehouse, and then transported to the assembly
line, Lean demands that the material be shipped directly from the vendor to the location in the
assembly line where it will be used. The Lean term for this technique is called point-of-use-
storage.
Waiting:
Material waiting is not material flowing through value-added operations. This includes waiting
for material, information, equipment, tools, etc. Lean demands that all resources are provided on
a just-in-time (JIT) basis – not too soon, not too late.
1.2.2 Tools of Lean
Applying of Lean tools contribute in elimination/ reduction of wastes. Some of the Lean tools are
described as below
5S- this tool of lean focuses in organizing the work area. It is composed of 5 stepwise activities
(Sort- eliminating those which are not needed; Set in order-organizing the remaining items;

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Shine-cleaning and inspecting work area; standardize- writing standards for the above three;
sustain- regularly apply the standards.
Andon- visual feedback system for the plant floor that indicates production status alerts when
assistance is needed and empowers operators to stop the production process.
Gemba (the real place) - a philosophy that reminds to get out of office and spend time in the
production floor where the real action occurs.
Heijunka – a form of production scheduling that purposely manufactures in much smaller
batches by sequencing (mixing) product variants within the same process.
Jidoka (Autonomation) - designing equipment to partially automate the manufacturing process
and to automatically stop when defects are detected.
Just-In-Time (JIT) – pull parts through production based on customer demand instead of
pushing parts through production based on projected demand.
Kaizen (continuous improvement) - it is a strategy where employees work together proactively
to achieve regular, incremental improvements in the manufacturing process.
Kanban (pull system) – is a method of regulating the flow of goods both within the factory and
with outside suppliers and customers.
5 Why’s - Five why’s is a Root Cause Analysis Tool. It is not a problem solving technique. The
outcome of a 5 Why’s analysis is one or more root causes that ultimately identify the reason why
a problem was occurred. There are other similar tools such as Fish bone diagram and statistical
data analysis tools like Pareto charts etc.
Even though the discipline is called 5 Why’s, It is not always necessary to reach 5 before the root
cause of a problem is fully explained. It may take more or less than 5 why’s to get to the bottom
of it. It depends on the complexity of the process or the problem itself.
Pareto charts - A disproportionately large percentage of errors or defects in any process are
usually caused by relatively few of the problems. Pareto analysis helps identify those significant
few problems so that they can be targeted for action.

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Pareto analysis is named after Vilfredo Pareto, an Italian economist who lived in the late 19th
and early 20th centuries. In 1897, he presented a formula showing that income was distributed
unevenly, with about 80% of the wealth in the hands of about 20% of the people.
In a similar way, a disproportionately large percentage (which is about 80%) of errors or defects
in any process are usually caused by relatively few (by about 20%) of the problems. Pareto
analysis helps identify those significant few problems so that they can be the focus of
improvement.
Some more lean tools are Overall Equipment Effectiveness, Poka-Yoke (error proofing), Single
Minute Exchange of Dies, Total Productive Maintenance (TPM), Value Stream Mapping (VSM)
etc. The focus of this research work relies on VSM which, in one way or another has relation
with the above mentioned Lean tools.
1.3VALUE STREAM MAPPING
Of the various lean manufacturing tools, the focus of this research is to use value stream
mapping as a means of waste minimization and production time reduction. Value Stream
Mapping (VSM) is a Lean manufacturing tool, which originated from the Toyota Production
System (TPS), and is known as “material and information flow mapping.” This mapping tool
uses the techniques of Lean manufacturing to analyze and evaluate certain work processes in a
manufacturing operation. It is primarily used to identify, demonstrate and decrease waste, as well
as creates flow in the manufacturing process. VSM can be created merely using paper and pencil.
It helps to identify and eliminate/reduce non-value added activities.
VSM is an end-to-end collection of processes /activities that creates value for the customer. A
value stream is all the actions (both value added and non-value added) currently required to bring
a product through the main flows essential to every product: (a) the production flow from raw
material into the hands of the customer, and (b) the design flow from concept to launch. Standard
terminology, symbols, and improvement methods allows VSM to be used as a communication
tool for both internal communication and sharing techniques and results with the larger Lean
community.
In simple terms, Value Stream Mapping is an outline of a product's manufacturing life cycle that
identifies each step throughout the production process. It represents visual information of
material flow for a particular product family. Preparing a Value Stream Map for a process or

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product exposes waste. Waste is anything that does not contribute to transforming a part to the
customer’s needs.
1.4MOTIVATION OF THE PRESENT WORK
The motivation of the present work is today’s competitive world which left suppliers with no
chance but to be able to meet the desire of their customers. Customers these days demand for low
cost apparels with minimum delivery time and quality product. If a supplier is not able to deliver
such demands, customers have many other suppliers to go to. One way to keep customers with
one’s self is to find ways of eliminating wastes which occur at different process stages.
1.5OBJECTIVES OF THE PRESENT WORK
The objective of this research is to suggest and implement ways which could enable a garment
manufacturing unit to produce a garment with a less production time.
Specific objectives of the present work are as follows.
1. To compare the existing scenario of a manufacturing unit with an improved scenario via
VSM
2. To identify and eliminate or reduce waste in the current state manufacturing
3. To reduce production time.
1.6PRESENT WORK
The aim of the present work is to identify and reduce/eliminate Lean wastes using Value Stream
Mapping. For a specified style, all the processes/activities starting from the fabric store
department to the finishing and packing sections are determined together with their respective
durations or production time in all the departments.
From the activities determined, those which are value adding and those which can be reduced or
removed from the process are pointed out as wastes ; either unavoidable non value adding which
cannot be removed from the process or avoidable non value adding which can be removed from
the process. These are then shown on a current/existing state VSM. The identified wastes are
then analyzed using Pareto chart to reach at the types of wastes which take the highest share so
that they can be the focus area for improvement. In addition, 5-Why root cause analysis is done
to determine the root cause of wastes and give suggestions of improvement accordingly.

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A future state VSM is then proposed showing increased share of Value adding activities, and
reduced share of Non value adding activities (both avoidable and unavoidable). In addition to
this the overall reduction in production time is indicated. Finally, implementation of selected
suggestions of improvement opportunities is done and findings of implementation are shown.
1.7LAYOUT OF PRESENT WORK
The aim of the present work is to show the importance of Value stream mapping in reducing the
production time by removing/reducing non value adding activities and increasing value adding
activities. It is organized into seven chapters.
Chapter 1 presents an introduction to Lean manufacturing. It discusses about the different Lean
tools (by giving more concern to value stream mapping) and various types of wastes in Lean
manufacture. In addition, motivation for the present work, objective of the present work and
summary of the present work are also presented.
Chapter 2 talks about different literatures which have relation with the present work and
comments on the reviewed literatures are also shown. Problem formulation, short falls in the
present industry, methodology and expected outcome of the present work are all included in this
chapter.
Chapter 3 presents the production time of the selected style in the current or existing state of
production from fabric store to finishing and packing. The share of value adding, avoidable non-
value adding and unavoidable non value adding activities are shown for individual sections and
as a whole. Bar graphs and pie charts are used for a simple observation of the various activities
in all the departments. It also shows a drawing of the current state value stream map.
Chapter 4 discusses different Lean wastes which are identified while studying all the processes
from fabric store to finishing and packing. Pareto and 5 why’s analysis of wastes is also
presented in this chapter.
Chapter 5 presents different suggestions given on the wastes identified for changing the current
state of production into a better future state with a reduced production time.
Chapter 6 discusses the proposed or future state production time together with a drawing of the
future state value stream map with an increased share of value adding activities and reduced

8
share of avoidable non value adding and unavoidable non value adding activities. In addition it
gives comparison of wastes in current and future state of production.
Chapter 7 presents implementation of improvement opportunities and results obtained on
selected areas.
Chapter 8 concludes the findings of the present work and gives recommendation for future
works on similar area of study.

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CHAPTER - 2
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
2.1 INTRODUCTION
This section of the work discusses a detail of various studies done by various researchers in the
field of value stream mapping especially in the field of garment sector. Comments on the
reviewed literatures are presented so as to show the focus areas of the various research works and
their relation with the present work.
A problem is also formulated depending on the reviewed literatures and in relation to the present
need of the industry.
2.2 APPLICATION OF VSM TECHNIQUE
Rother and Shook (1999) explained that a value stream is comprised of all actions (both value
added (VA) and non-value added (NVA)) that are required to bring a product or a group products
from raw materials to the arms of customer. While researchers have developed a number of tools
to optimize individual operations within a supply chain, most of these tools fall short in linking
and visualizing the nature of the material and information flow throughout the company’s entire
supply chain. Taking the value stream viewpoint means working on the big picture and not
individual processes. The two authors also explained the approach to VSM as follows. In VSM
the first step is to choose a particular product or product family as the target for improvement.
The next step is to draw a current state map that is essentially a snapshot capturing how things
are currently being done. This is accomplished while walking along the actual process, and
provides one with a basis for analyzing the system and identifying its weaknesses. The third step
in VSM is to create the future state map, which is a picture of how the system should look after
the inefficiencies in that have been removed. Creating a future state map is done by answering a
set of questions on issues related to efficiency, and on technical implementation related to use
Lean tools. This map then becomes the basis for making the necessary changes to the system ( (J,
1999)

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Elkins D., McDonald T, and Smith D. (2002) said that VSM creates a common basis for the
production process, thus facilitating more thoughtful decisions to improve the value stream (
(McDonalds T., 2002) .
In the same year, Jones and Womack (2002) define VSM as the process of visually mapping the
flow of information and material as they are and preparing a future state map with better methods
and performance. It helps to visualize the station cycle times, inventory at each stage (WIP),
manpower and information flow across the supply chain.
Grewal C. (2008) said that VSM enables a company to “see” the entire process in both its current
and desired future state, which develop the road map that priorities the projects or tasks to bridge
the gap between the current state and future state (C., 2008).
Gurumurthy.A. and Kodali, R, (2011 ) defined VSM as a pencil and paper visualization tool that
shows the flow of material and information as a product makes its way through the stream
(Gurumurthy A., 2011).
Damodaran M.P, Marimuthu K, and Ravikumar M. (2011) used value stream mapping in one of
the leading garment industries in India and found out that the material flow line contains various
forms of Non Value Added Activities such as long distance between material keeping floor and
shop floor and high machine setup time. Mapping of the processes from releasing of raw material
to finished goods was done. While drawing the current state map wastes were identified in
relation to distance between the material floor and shop floor, Change of machine setup time
between styles etc. Time taken to transfer 100 pieces was 100 seconds which after
Implementation took only 82 seconds. The Travelling distance from cutting floor to production
floor was 68 feet which after implementation was reduced to 10 feet. And at the earlier stage the
production rate was19600 pieces/shift which after implementation increased was increased to
27440 pieces/shift (Damodaran M.P, 2011).
R.M. Belokar, Sandeep S. K. and Vikas.K (2012) studied that VSM process is analyzed for
opportunity to drastically reduce and simplify it to the fewest actions necessary. By reducing
wastefulness the proportion of value adding time in the whole process rises and the process
throughput speed is increased. This makes the redesigned process more effective (the right things
are being done) and more efficient needing fewer resources (R.M. Belokar, 2012).

11
Rahani AR & Muhammad al-Ashraf (2012) suggested that as VSM involves in all of the process
steps, both value added and non-value added are analyzed and using VSM as a visual tool which
helps to see the hidden waste and sources of waste. A current state map is drawn to document for
knowing how things are actually operated on the production floor. Then, a Future State Map is
developed to design a lean process flow through the elimination of the root causes of waste and
through process improvements (Rahani AR., 2012).
Engin A, Vedat D. and Abdurrahim Y. (2012) studied the use of Value Stream Mapping in an
outer wear producing Apparel Industry. All the processes for outer wear took 27-33 weeks at the
current state aiming to reduce the same to 9-14 weeks at the future state. Current state map and
future state map were prepared and analyzed to highlight the benefits of lean system in Apparel
Company. Work in process inventory has also been drastically reduced at every stage of the
production process (Engin A, 2012).
Silva, S. (2012) discussed the application of value stream mapping in apparel industry in Sri
Lanka. While drawing the current state map, all the 7 wastes of Lean were identified at some
point of the production process. After drawing a future state map by progressive elimination of
waste in the process and applying a pull inventory control system in contrast to the previous
system, the total value added and unavoidable non value added time is reduced from 18314.5
minutes to 821.34 minutes (S.K.P.N, 2012).
Masudul H., MD. Abdurahim, Mohammad A. and Mohd, R. (2013) used value stream mapping,
cellular manufacturing and Kanban in cutting, sewing and finishing sections of a selected
garment factory in Bangladesh to identify the existing wastes and to reduce them. Value adding
time and non value adding time and unavoidable non value adding time in the mentioned
sections were determined. The required data for the study were collected through observation of
the production floor and some past record from the industrial engineering and planning
department of the selected industry. By using value stream mapping, wastes such as-
unnecessary inventory, defects, over transportation, waiting, over production, unnecessary
workers etc has been exposed. Using Pareto analysis various wastes has been ranked in terms of
time. Key causes behind various wastes have been identified by applying 5why and cause-effect
diagram. Unnecessary workers, WIP and over transportation have been reduced by using cellular
manufacturing. KANBAN has also been used to reduce excess raw material inventory and

12
waiting. After proposing the above new methods, it was found out that the lead time has been
reduced from 18345.50 minutes to 852.34 minutes (Masudual H., 2013).
Chowdury M L Rahman, and K. M. Mostafizur Rahman Sobuj (2015) conducted a research to
identify and reduce various wastes that occur in a garment production system with the focus on
cutting, finishing and on a particular production line of sewing section in a selected garment
factory. During the investigation, attention has been concentrated how non- value adding activity
hampers daily production rate and how to improve the productivity. Value adding, non-value
adding (necessary and unnecessary) processes and different types of wastes have been identified
by drawing the current state map for the mentioned sections. The study focused on removing the
big losses namely, breakdown losses, quality loss, small stops, and startup rejects to improve the
effectiveness of the production line. It was found that the non-value adding time has contributed
significantly in total production lead time. Finally, a future state map has been proposed that
would be beneficial for productivity improvement of the existing production system as well as to
reduce the non-value adding time.
The research work used different types of Lean Tools, such as: Pareto analysis, Cause-effect
analyses, Five S (5S) and 5 why analysis to find existing situation and to identify various types
of wastes exists in the selected industry which does not add any value to the overall production
process. The future state VSM of the research has shown that value added activity has been
increased from 0.62% - 1.1%, waiting time has been reduced from 283.58 min. to 115.26 min,
and Lead time has been decreased from 7.74 days to 4.42 days (Chowdury M., 2015).
Khan A.H, Mosharraf H., Ripon K. C., Prosenjit M. and Syed A. I. studied and implemented lean
manufacturing tools and techniques in a selected garment factory and the focus of study was the
production line. During the study it was found out that No systematic ways were present.
Operations were done here and there and there was a very little degree of integration. Lots of In-
process inventories were present. Some tools and techniques applied in the production line were
Value Stream Mapping (VSM), Workplace organization (5S), Continuous flow, Multi skilled
workers, U-shaped line, Kanban, Cellular manufacturing system, Pull production and Poka-
Yoka. By doing so, existing value-added time was increased from 2.19% to 19% (Khan A.H).
Table 2.1 summarizes some of the literatures which are directly related to the present work in
their respective coverage areas and findings

13
Table 2.1: Summary of reviewed literature
S.NO Authors Key findings
1
Damodaran M.P, Marimuthu K, and
Ravikumar M. (2011)
They managed to reduce the time it takes to transport pieces and the travelling
distance from cutting floor to production floor. Besides they were able to
increase the production rate.
2 Engin A, Vedat D. and Abdurrahim Y.
(2012)
Studied the use of Value Stream Mapping in an outer wear producing Apparel
Industry aiming at reducing production lead time from 27-33 weeks at the
current to 9-14 weeks at the future state. Work in process inventory has also
been drastically reduced at every stage of the production process by the future
state VSM
3 Silva, S. (2012) The future state VSM shows that it is better to use pull production control
system in contrast to the previous system. The lead time has been reduced
remarkably from 23,960 to 11,951 minutes and the value added ratio has
increased from 0.087 to 0.22%. And also there is reduction in WIP inventory
4 Masudul H., MD. Abdurahim,
Mohammad A. and Mohd, R. (2013)
Study was conducted in apparel manufacturing unit in Bangladesh. Unnecessary
workers, WIP and over transportation have been reduced by using cellular
manufacturing. KANBAN has also been used to reduce excess raw material
inventory and waiting. After proposing new method, the total value added and
unavoidable non value added time is reduced from 18314.5 minutes to 821.34
minutes.

14
S.NO Authors Key findings
5 Chowdury M L Rahman, K. M.
Mostafizur Rahman Sobuj (2015)
The research work used different types of Lean Tools, such as: Pareto analysis,
Cause-effect analyses, Five S (5S) and 5 why analysis to find existing situation
and to identify various types of wastes exists in the selected industry which does
not add any value to the overall production process.
The future state VSM of the research has shown that value added activity has
been increased from 0.62% - 1.1%, waiting time has been reduced from 283.58
min. to 115.26 min, and Lead time has been decreased from 7.74 days to 4.42
days.
6 Khan A.H, Mosharraf H., Ripon K. C.,
Prosenjit M. and Syed A. I.
During the study it was found out that no systematic ways were present.
Operations were done here and there and there was a very little degree of
integration. Lots of In-process inventories were present. Some tools and
techniques applied in the production line were value Stream Mapping (VSM),
Workplace organization (5S), Continuous flow, Multi skilled workers, U-shaped
line, Kanban, Cellular manufacturing system, Pull production and Poka-Yoka.
By doing so, existing value-added time was increased from 2.19% to 19%.

15
2.3 COMMENTS ON REVIEWED LITERATURE
The reviewed literature showed that there is always scope in waste minimization in industries
like the garment and puts value stream mapping as the best way to clearly identify existing
wastes and come up with a solution to remove or reduce the same. The major focus area of the
literatures reviewed was indentifying wastes at any process steps within the manufacturing
environment and find ways of reducing or eliminating the same. It is noted that in identifying
improvement opportunities, mapping of the existing situation helps on how to proceed further
and value stream mapping is the best tool to identify improvement opportunities. VSM is like a
way in, in a broader sense for other lean tools to eventually reduce waste.
In all the reviews, all or some among the seven wastes of Lean are identified through value
stream mapping and ways of reducing them is suggested (in some cases implemented)
accordingly. Problems associated to meeting delivery times, cost of production etc are all linked
to the wastes of Lean as the major causes and considering that the literatures are collected
starting from 1990s till the near 2015, it is an indication that there is always scope in intervening
in such area.
2.4 FORMULATION OF PROBLEM
After a revision of literature, it has been understood that avoiding non value adding activities
from the process has always been a problem for industries like the garment. The contribution of
value added activities is very low as compared to non value adding activities which results in
higher production time.
It is hardly possible to find a garment factory where the seven Wastes of Lean are not issues to
talk about. A well performing factory would have issues related to these Wastes; so there is
always room for improvement concerning the same. Movements of people in the workplace,
waiting for work (because of poor line balancing or feeding problem), bottleneck due to too
much work in progress and many others usually happen to be influencing the productivity of a
manufacturing line. While studying the VSM of a manufacturing process, these wastes are
referred as Non Value adding activities (either necessary or unnecessary).
Avoiding non value adding activities (Wastes in Lean) from the manufacturing process has
always been a problem for garment industries. The more the non-value adding activities, the

16
higher will be the production time. Higher production time makes a company fail to meet
delivery, and lose customers eventually which in turn leads it to a loss.
2.5 SHORT FALLS IN THE PRESENT INDUSTRY
The present industry in which the present work is done produces variety of products for different
international customers. Time losses because of unlimited and uncontrolled movement of
workers in the workplace, waiting for materials, tools and different equipments due to poor
layout of workstations, unnecessary inventory at different steps etc are observed on previous
visits. Most of the wastes of Lean occur at different places of the factory and not much concern
has been given to them because of lack of technical knowhow and the fact that everybody is
consumed in their day to day (routine) activities.
2.6 METHODOLOGY OF PRESENT WORK
R.M. Belokar, Sandeep Singh Kharb and Vikas Kumar (2012) suggested an approach to value
stream mapping. First is selection of a critical shop floor, then preparation of current state map,
third is analysis of the current state map and finally drawing the future state map. The steps
followed in this research work are a little bit customized and are shown as below.

17
Figure 2.1: Methodology of present work
 Selection of product family (style)
A specific garment style is identified to be tracked from fabric store to finishing and packing
sections.
 Data collection and compilation
For the selected style, tracking of material and information associated is done in the specified
departments (fabric store to finishing and packing) so as to determine its path or flow, durations
at different locations and ways of handling it which helps while developing the VSM for the
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
IMPLEMENTATION OF SELECTED IMPROVEMENT
OPPORTUNITIES
DRAW FUTURE STATE VSM
(showing reduced production time)
SUGGESTION OF IMPROVEMENT OPPORTUNITIES
ROOT CAUSE ANALYSIS OF WASTES (5 WHY)
PARETO ANALYSIS OF WASTES
IDENTIFY WASTES
DRAW CURRENT STATE VSM
(showing current state production time)
ARE DATA ENOUGH
DATA COLLECTION AND COMPILATION
SELECTION OF PRODUCT FAMILY (STYLE)
YES
NO

18
current state of production. Direct observation of activities performed at various workstations
and interview with appropriate personnel is used as a means of data collection to reach at the
production time of the same. Work sampling/activity sampling is also used as a means of data
collection for the sewing section. The collected data are compiled for each of the departments
and the production time is determined. If while compiling, the collected data is found to be not
enough to draw the VSM for the current state, data will be recollected.
 Draw current state VSM
The current state VSM is drawn showing the various activities of the process steps together with
their durations and in a way that the value adding, necessary non-value adding and unnecessary
non value adding activities are distinguished. The Production time (from fabric store to final
packing of the garment) is as well shown by the current state VSM.
 Identification of wastes
Once the current state is drawn, exisiting wastes (among the seven wastes of Lean) in each of the
departments will clearly be identified and explained
 Pareto analysis of wastes
Pareto chart analysis (80/20 principle- 80% of the errors occurred are due to 20% of the
problems) is made to identify the types of wastes which take the highest share in the production
time so that interventions can be made accordingly.
 Root cause analysis of wastes
Using “five why” the root cause of the problems is reached at and solutions are suggested for the
problems accordingly.
 Suggestion of improvement opportunities
Once the root cause of the identified wastes is known, improvement ideas are suggested so as to
reduce/eliminate the non-value adding activities (wastes) from the process and add the share of
Value adding activities
 Draw proposed (future) state VSM
An ideal value stream map based on the findings of preceding steps is developed. A reduced
production time (fabric store to packing), reduced share of non value adding activities and

19
increased share of value added activities are the main features of this map. The map also
indicates specified improvement actions done which enabled the reduction in the production
time.
 Implementation of improvement opportunities
Selected suggestions and improvement opportunities are implemented on selected areas and
results are shown
 Conclusion and Recommendations
Findings of the present work are concluded and recommendations are given for future work in
similar area.
The following assumptions are made while tracking the style and reach at the production time.
 Working time is 8 hours (overtime not considered).
 In the sewing section, results obtained and figures presented are specific to the sewing line
for which the specified cut number was running in. By the time the study was made, style
was running in 4 sewing lines simultaneously.
 Dyeing production time is not considered as the style at this stage of production is
outsourced. The style required tie-dying and the company does not do the same in its unit.

20
CHAPTER - 3
CURRENT STATE PRODUCTION TIME
3.1 INTRODUCTION
In this chapter, a style is selected to be tracked from the fabric store to finishing and packing
section. The production time of the selected style in the specified sections is determined for the
current state of production. The share of value adding, necessary/unavoidable non value adding
and unnecessary/avoidable non value adding activities are also shown. In addition, the percent
share of the different activities determined is shown for each of the departments. Finally the
value stream map of the current state of production is presented.
3.2 SELECTION OF STYLE TRACKED
For the present work, a specific style is selected and a specific cut number (in cutting section) is
tracked. Table 3.1 shows information on the style selected.
Table 3.1: Information on style tracked
The following are the sections under consideration while tracking the style’s path
 Raw material or fabric store
Style name Ladies dress (#9234) Picture
Fabric composition 100 Rayon (Ready For Dyeing)
Color Ready for dye
GSM 120
Total order quantity 24590 pieces
Total fabric quantity required 52109 meters
Quantity tracked for the present
work
604 pieces - for a specified cut
number
Fabric quantity for pieces tracked 1236.98 meters (16 rolls)/151 plies
Size ratio S:M:L:XL= 1:1:1:1

21
 Cutting
 Sewing
 Dispatch area (receives outputs from sewing and issue to finishing. If the style requires
dying and washing, it is first send to washing and dying then back to dispatch and then to
finishing. The later is the case for the style selected for the present work.)
 Finishing and packing
All the activities in all sections are divided into value adding, necessary non value adding
(Unavoidable- main and related activities) and non value adding (Avoidable- wastes which can
be eliminated or reduced) and their production time in terms of minutes are depicted
accordingly.
3.3 PRODUCTION TIME IN FABRIC STORE
For the selected style, Description of major activities is stated as follows.
 Preparation of daily Fabric report: - Once the fabric is in store together with the fabric
challan report received from the central store, the HOD (head of department) of the
department prepares daily fabric report as per the challan. This is considered to be the “GNR-
Get Receiving Note”. The daily fabric report includes such information like Style number of
the style, fabric description and color, order quantity for the style, consumption per piece,
Required quantity of fabric (in meters or Kg) and that received in plant and total pieces
which can be cut etc.
Fabric challan report is a report documented by the central store which shows test results of the
all the tests to be conducted by unit’s store. Fabric tests required are done in the central store and
send to the unit’s store for the purpose of cross checking.
The central store sends fabric for all separate units of the factory after performing all the test
results and gets approval from the merchants’ team in the factory’s head office.
 Update fabric ledger: - Using ERP software the reports coming from central store are entered
and after the tests are done by the unit’s store results are generated through the same. The
report entering from central store is done side by side with daily fabric report preparation.
 Fabric testing: - the fabric testing includes inspection as per 4 point, shrinkage test and GSM.

22
 Inspection: - In general, inspection is done for 10% of the received fabric taken out at
random. If the defect points obtained are as per the criteria point set by the buyer, fabric
will pass to the next process and if not 100% inspection is done.
 Shrinkage test: in general shrinkage test is also done for 10% of the received fabric. But
in cases where the fabric is RFD, 100% shrinkage is conducted and this is because such
fabric is exposed to additional processes which may affect its property. The selected
style to be tracked for this study is 100% tested because it is RFD.
Table 3.2 below presents the production time of various observed activities within the fabric
store for the selected style and quantity tracked.

23
Table 3.2: List of activities and current state production time in fabric store
NO Name of activity DESCRIPTION Type of activity Duration
(min)
FABRIC INSPECTION
1 Prepare daily fabric
report and ledger
Daily fabric report and fabric ledger prepared by HOD
and ERP personnel. Report is made not only for the style
tracked but also for many other styles for which an order
is received.
NVA- Unavoidable
(Related)
40
2 Preparation (roll setting
and transportation
Rolls from racks are put on a trolley and transported to the
inspection machine. The cut number being tracked has 16
rolls in it and it is observed that on average it takes 1.5
minutes/ roll to perform the activity. It takes 24 minutes
for all the rolls In the cut.
NVA - Unavoidable
(Related)
24
3 Loading of roll on
inspection machine
Roll set off from racks, plastic covers removed and set on
the machine. it takes an average 1.5 minutes/roll to load a
roll on to the machine
NVA - Unavoidable
(Related )
24
4 Fabric inspection The standard running time of the inspection machine is 39
meters/10 minutes which is indicated on the machine
itself. During the study, the inspector was observed
stopping the machine for 2.5 minutes on average to make
marks and other indications on rolls with visual defects;
so a total of 12.5 minutes for 39 meters roll. The 16 rolls
NVA- Unavoidable
(Main)
396.47

24
(min)
in the cut are equivalent to 1236.98 meters (taken from
cutting process control sheet) and this gives 396.47
minutes duration for fabric inspection.
5 Unloading of rolls
from inspecting
machine
After inspection is completed, roll is set off from machine
and put on a trolley nearby. 0.5 minutes/roll on average
takes to perform this activity.
NVA- Unavoidable
(Related)
16
6 Roll setting and
transportation to racks
Set a hydraulic lifter under trolley and transport trolley to
racks. 8 rolls at a time are taken to racks and it takes an
average 1.5 minutes to do so.
NVA- Unavoidable
(Related)
3
7 Placing rolls on racks Inspected rolls are placed on racks. On average it takes
0.5 minutes/roll to place a roll on rack
NVA-Unavoidable
(Related)
8
8 Record keeping Record keeping done b/n every inspected roll and it takes
0.5 minutes/roll
NVA- Unavoidable
(Related)
8
SHRINKAGE TEST
9 Cutting fabric pieces
from rolls
Operators lift roll from rack, cut fabric piece from one
side of roll (100cmX100 cm approximate), place roll back
on rack and take cut pieces for initial measurement. This
activity takes 2 minutes/roll on average.
NVA- Unavoidable
(Related)
32

25
(min)
10 Perform Initial
measurement
Initial values are marked using the shrinkage template and
fabric is cut alongside the shrinkage template and
remaining fabric is disposed as a waste. This activity takes
1.5 minutes/shrinkage test sample.
NVA- Unavoidable
(Main)
24
11 Samples taken to
washing section
The measured fabrics are taken to washing department to
be washed.
NVA- Unavoidable
(Transport)
2.5
12 Washing and Drying Samples are washed and then dried NVA-Unavoidable
(Related)
720
13 Samples taken back to
fabric store
Washed and dried samples are taken back to store
department
NVA- Avoidable
(Transport)
2.5
14 Samples taken to
washing section for
pressing
If pressing machine in finishing is occupied, samples are
taken back to washing section for pressing. This is the
condition observed for most of the cases.
NVA- Avoidable
(Transport)
2.5
15 Conditioning Shrinkage test fabric samples are pressed (ironed) to
remove wrinkles which may create problem during final
measurement. On average it takes 1 minute/sample to
press.
NVA- Unavoidable
(Related)
16
16 Samples taken back to
store
Pressed samples are taken to store department. NVA- Unavoidable
(Transport)
2.5
17 Final measurement and Measuring for shrinkage or elongation percentage using a NVA- Unavoidable 32

26
(min)
evaluation shrinkage scale. this activity is observed to consume 2
minutes/sample fabric on average
(Main)
18 Report compilation The test results are compiled NVA-Unavoidable
(Related)
15
19 Taking lots form to
central store for
approval
Lot has to be taken to central store to be approved for the
next process
NVA- Unavoidable
(Transport)
15
20 Lots approval Approval of the tested fabric (both for inspection and
shrinkage) is obtained from the merchants’ team. The
activity is necessary but it leads to 170 min of waiting
time to get the approval.
NVA- Avoidable
(Waiting)
170
21 Taking approved lots
back to unit’s store
Approved lots are taken back to units store NVA- (Unavoidable)
Transport
15
22 Issuing of fabric to
cutting
Fabrics of approved lots are issued (ready to be issued) to
the cutting section
NVA- (Unavoidable)
Related
20
Production time in fabric store (Minutes) 1588.47
Production time in fabric store (Hours) 26.4745
Production time in fabric store (Days) 3.3093

27
3.3.1 Share of VA, NNVA and NVA Activities in Fabric Store
The activities, as can be seen from the table above are divided in to Non Value Added (which are
avoidable), Non Value Added (which are unavoidable) and Value adding. Table 3.3 shows the
share of these activities from the total time.
Table 3.3: Share of VA, NNVA and NVA activities in fabric store (current state)
Figure 3.1 shows percent share of various activities in fabric store
Figure 3.1: Percent share of various activities in fabric store (current state)
Fabric
Inspection
25%
Fabric
Shrinkage
Test
4%
Related
Activities
58%
Material
Transport
2%
Material
Waiting
11%
Fabric Store
Non Value Added (Avoidable) 175 minutes
Non Value adding (Unavoidable) 1413.47 minutes
Value Adding (VA) -

28
3.4 PRODUCTION TIME IN CUTTING
The following are the major activities observed to be performed in the cutting department
 Rolls of fabric received from fabric store
Request is issued to the fabric store department and fabric is received together with shrinkage
report. The same fabric is tested for shrinkage in Rand D department. This means, the R &D
department compiles its own shrinkage report as the store department. Layering cannot start
before getting signed shrinkage report from the R&D department.
 Spreading (Laying)
Spreading is done manually with three people. Before laying starts, the spreading table is
covered with brown paper so as to protect fabric from damage. Once the roll came to the
spreading area, it is set into a tube which then is unraveled on to a trolley for relaxation and then
laying starts. Records (number of lays in roll, end pieces in a roll etc.) are kept by the spreaders
between the end of lay of one roll and the start of another. When the fabric on the trolley ends,
processes start all over again.
 Cutting
Laying and pinning of marker paper on the lay, cutting and tying up of similar cut piece parts for
ease of ticketing are all the processes of cutting. Pieces are then taken to ticketing area for the
next process.
 Ticketing and bundling
These are the last two activities in the cutting section before pieces are issued to sewing section.
Bundling supervisor places request for ERP team for getting of bundle tags which will be tied on
the bundled pieces before bundles are named “ready to issue” for sewing.
While tracking the style, it has been tried to be as specific as possible so that it would be easier to
clearly observe all the activities in the work area. Lays are given different cut numbers as in cut
1, cut 2, cut 3 etc. different cut numbers can be cut at different places at the same time. The cut
number selected for the present work is cut 11.
Table 3.4 depicts the production time in cutting section for the quantities cut from the specified
cut number.

29
Table 3.4: List of activities and current state production time in Cutting
NO Process DESCRIPTION Type of activity Duration
(min)
PREPARATIONS
23 Fabric request to store department HOD places request to store department NNVA- Unavoidable
(Related)
15
24 Fabric transport to cutting section Rolls are transported to cutting section NNVA- Unavoidable
(Transport)
25
25 Getting signed shrinkage report
from R&D
Signed Fabric shrinkage report obtained
from R&D. This activity leads to waiting
to start laying of rolls in spreading.
NVA-Avoidable
(waiting)
160
SPREADING
26 Covering spreading table with
brown paper
Brown paper is used to cover the
spreading table to protect fabric from
getting damaged while spreading.
NNVA- Unavoidable
(Related)
6
27 Fabric Roll set onto tube Fabric, as in roll form is set onto a tube
so that it would be easier to place it onto
a trolley on the next process. This was
observed to be done 16 times for 16 rolls
and took 1.22 min average for one time it
is done.
NNVA- Unavoidable
(Related)
19.5

30
(min)
28 Fabric roll unraveled onto a trolley
for relaxation (1st
time)
Fabric in roll form may get tensed. This
activity relaxes the fabric.
NNVA- Unavoidable
(Related)
3.67
29 Laying of fabric (1st
time) This is the actual spreading process or
layering of fabric
NNVA- Unavoidable
(main)
38
30 Record keeping b/n trolley change When the fabric on the trolley ends,
spreaders keep record of roll No., number
of plies, amount of end pieces etc. it
takes 2 minutes on average to keep
record between each trolley change.
(trolley is changed 3 times)
NNVA- Unavoidable
(Related)
6
31 Fabric roll set on to trolley
(2nd
time)
This process is repeated until all the rolls
for the specified cut are over.
NNVA- Unavoidable
(Related)
8.83
32 Laying of fabric (2nd
time) Spreading continues for the specified cut NNVA- Unavoidable
(main)
21
33 Fabric roll set onto trolley
(3rd
time)
This process is repeated until all the rolls
for the specified cut are over
NNVA- Unavoidable
(Related)
8.27
34 Laying of fabric (3rd
time) Spreading continues for the specified cut NNVA- Unavoidable
(main)
25
CUTTING

31
(min)
35 Lay waiting for cutting operators Once spreading is over, lay waits for
cutting to begin
NVA- Avoidable
(waiting)
15
36 Laying marker paper on top layer
and pinning
Marker paper generated using CAD is
laid on the top lay and pinned throughout
the fabric to prevent slippage while
cutting
NNVA- Unavoidable
(Related)
16
37 Getting cutting knife ready Straight knife are set in place NNVA- Unavoidable
(Related)
4
38 Cutting Cutting activity using straight knife VA 57
39 Tying up of cut pieces Same Cut pieces are tied up as they are
for easy transport to ticketing area. This
is done for all the pieces in the cut.
NNVA- Unavoidable
(Related)
120
40 Tied pieces taken to ticketing area Pieces from previous process are taken to
ticketing workstation
NNVA-Unavoidable
(Transport)
14
TICKETING AND BUNDLING
41 Ticketing of cut pieces Ticketing is done so that pieces with
different shades do not get mixed during
later stages
NNVA- Unavoidable
(main)
140
42 Pieces waiting for bundling to start Bundle tags not reached in bundle area so
bundling cannot start and pieces have to
NVA- Avoidable
(Waiting)
120

32
(min)
wait for bundle tags
43 Bundling
(process of getting bundle tags)
Bundling is done with proper information
using bundle tag. information included
are cut number, sticker range, size of
garment, color etc.
NNVA- Unavoidable
(main)
90
44 Storing of ready to issue bundles Bundles are finally ready to be issued to
sewing section. These are put on racks
and tables and waits for request from
sewing section.
NVA- Avoidable
(Inventory)
1200
Production time in Cutting (Minutes) 2112.27
Production time in Cutting (Hours) 35.2045
Production time in Cutting (Days) 4.4

33
3.4.1 Share of VA, NNVA and NVA Activities in Cutting
avoidable), Non Value Added (which are unavoidable) and Value adding. The table below shows
the share of these activities from the total production time.
Table 3.5: Share of VA, NNVA and NVA activities in cutting (current state)
Value Adding (VA) 57 minutes
Figure 3.2 shows percent distribution of various activities within the cutting section.
Figure 3.2: Percent distribution of various activities in cutting (current state)
Cutting
3%
Spreading
4%
Ticketing
6% Bundling
4%
Related
Activities
10%
Material
Transport
2%
Waiting
14%
Inventory
57%
Cutting Department

34
3.5 PRODUCTION TIME IN SEWING
There are different activities in the sewing section which contribute to the total production time.
Material moves in bundle form (one bundle having 10 pieces) in a sewing line. Once the bundles
are fed into the line, tracking of the same is not as easy as tracking in store and cutting
departments. The movement of the material can be tracked but it is merely possible to determine
the share of needle down time, associated operations, material/ tools transport, waiting for
work/tools, personal allowances, machine breakdowns etc. the share of this activities contribute
to the production time in the sewing section.
So, it was necessary to apply a well known principle in identifying the share of these activities
and work sampling/ activity sampling technique is found to be the best method to collect data in
the sewing section.
3.5.1 Work Sampling in Determining Share of Various Activities
Work sampling is a work study technique which was developed in 1934 by British Cotton
Industry Research Association. Activity sampling, snap-reading method, random observation
method, ratio-delay study and observation ratio study are synonyms to work sampling. Work
sampling is a method of finding the percentage occurrence (based on the theory of probability) of
activities through statistical sampling and random observations. The results of work sampling are
the degree to which the event(s) is likely to occur. The key aims of work sampling are to
determine the relative amount or percent share of time spent or consumed on various activities.
a. Procedures of Work Sampling
The major steps in conducting a work sampling study are listed as follows.
 Determination of sample size
 Determination of observation frequency
 Categorization of activities
 Recording of data
In the following section, each of the steps are discussed in determining of the value adding,
necessary non-value adding (unavoidable) and unnecessary non-value adding (avoidable)
activities for the style being tracked.

35
b. Determination of Sample Size
This is determining the number of observations required or needed. In order to determine the
sample size, an estimate P should be calculated where P is the probability of the machine being
idle. A sewing machine was observed 20 times in a day at random times and gave the following
results. (Refer to section 3.5.1.3 on how to determine the exact times (AM and PM) of making
observation in a day)
Table 3.6: Determination of probability of being idle of a sewing machine
OBS
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1
0
1
1
1
2
1
3
1
4
1
5
1
6
1
7
1
8
1
9
2
0
Status
W I I I I I I W W W W I I W I I W I I W
Obs.
time
9:30am
9:40am
9:50am
10:00am
10:30am
10:50am
11:10am
11:20am
11:30am
11:40am
12:00pm
12:20pm
12:40pm
12:50pm
1:00pm
1:50pm
2:10pm
2:20pm
2:30pm
3:20pm
In table 3.6, “W” represents “Machine working” (needle is running) “I” represents “Machine
idle”. Out of 20 observations of a machine taken at random times of the day, the machine was
idle for 12 times and working for 8 times. It has to be noted that the machine is only working
only when there is stitching activity. From the above observation, the probability of the machine
being idle is; P = 12/20 = 0.6
A confidence level is defined for the observations and also to decide the margin of error that can
be allowed so that for example at 95 % confidence level, we must be able to say that for 95% of
the time a particular observation is correct with an error margin of ±5% or whatever other range
of accuracy we may decide up on. The following are the parameters to determine the required
number of observations
 P= probability of machine being idle
 S = Error in fraction

36
 K = A factor, the value of which varies with the desired confidence level. For example, for
68% confidence level, K= 1, for 95% confidence level, K= 1.96 and for 99% confidence
level, K= 2.58. (in this research the work sampling is done for 95% confidence level)
 δ= standard deviation
 n= number of observations required for the desired confidence level
Table 3.7 shows summary of calculations made to reach at the number of observations required
for the whole of the study.
Table 3.7: Identification of total observations required for work sampling
Factor Calculation
Standard Deviation (δ) P*S = K* δ; p is 0.6
0.60*0.05 = 1.96* δ
δ = 0.015306
Required number of observations (n) n = p (1-p)/ δ2
n= 1024
- Value of n is approximated to 1000
It can be seen from the table above that the number of observations or the sample size required
for the study is 1000. This means that a total of 1000 observations are required to be able to
determine the share of all the activities
c. Determination of Observation Frequency
This helps to identify the exact times (AM and PM) to make the required number of
observations. To determine the actual time to record the observations and to ensure that
observations are in fact made at random, table of random numbers is used. Observations are
being carried out during a day shift of eight hours, from 9.a.m. to 5 p.m. An eight-hour day has
480 minutes and this may be divided into 48 ten-minute periods.

37
 Select any number from table of random numbers
The table of random numbers is a table of numbers aligned column and row wise. It is from this
table of numbers that the number of times in a day to take observation is decided (refer to
appendix 2A).
When starting, any number from the random number of table can be selected. In this study the
number 11 which is in the second block, fourth column, fourth row (see highlighted box in
appendix 2A) is chosen.
 Choose any number between 1 and 10
Now any number between 1 and 10 is chosen (number 2 is chosen). Then, every second reading
is picked out and noted down while going down the column starting from number 11 as shown
below (if we had chosen the number 3, we should pick out every third figure, and so on).
11 38 45 87 68 20 11 26 49 05
 Discard numbers (repeated and lying out of 8 hour period)
Looking at the above numbers, 87, 68 and 49 are discarded because-they are too high (since
there are only 48 ten-minute periods, any number above 48 has to be discarded). Similarly, the
second 11 is also discarded since it is a number that has already been picked out.
 Replace discarded numbers
Reading is continued to replace the numbers which have been discarded. Using the same method,
that is choosing every second number after the last one (05), 14 15 47 22 are selected which are
under the desired range and never appeared before. The numbers obtained till now are 11 38 45
20 26 05 14 15 47 22 with 11 being the 11th
10 minute period, 38 being 38th
10 minute period
and so on.
 Discard numbers if any, which fall on rest or break periods
The 26th
10 minute period is discarded because it lies on lunch break (26 * 10 = 260 = 1:20 pm)
and is replaced with another number (33) obtained using the same procedure. So, the final list for
times of observation is 05 11 14 15 20 22 33 38 45 47, arranged in numerical order.

38
Once the usable numbers for time of observation are determined from the table of random
numbers, the time of observation with respect to each number can be identified as follows.
Table 3.8 Frequency of observations of operators in sewing section
Selected numbers Interpretation of selected numbers Time of
observation
05 5th
10 minute period (5*10)- 50 min from 9 AM 9:50AM
11 11th
10 minute period (11*10)- 110 min from 9AM 10:50 AM
14 14th
15 15th
20 20th
10 minute period (20*10)- 200 min from 9AM 12:20 PM
22 22nd
33 33rd
10 minute period (33*10)- 330 min from 9AM 02:30PM
38 38th
45 45th
10 minute period (45*10)- 450 min from 9AM 04:30PM
47 47th
d. Categorization of Activities
The activities in general are classified as Value adding which is the needle down time or the
main operation, necessary non-value adding which is unavoidable and unnecessary non-value
adding which can be avoided. Table 3.9 shows different sub activities lying under this
classification.

39
Category Type of activity Description
Operation Main operation Sewing/stitching
Associated operation Picking up, placing changing the holding position, and setting (the material). Cutting the
thread. Fitting.
Work allowance Condition arrangement Checking instructions, setting the work conditions, replacing the attachments, preparing
the work bench, making various arrangement, adjusting the height of the chair, arranging
the thread path in order, arranging various items on the desk, spraying silicon, adjusting
the tension of bobbin thread, checking the iron temperature, cleaning the drain, checking
the temperature of the press icon.
Product arrangement Preparing the material. Changing the setting positions of the materials,
Checking whether the materials are properly prepared. Binding and undoing the material.
Checking the quantity of materials.
Thread replacement Replacing the needle thread and bobbing thread.
Record Slips , signboards , entries into the daily report
Trouble Re-threading the machine in the case of thread breakage. Replacing a broken needle,
Changing a needle. Malfunctions of the sewing machines, vacuum board or press.
Judgment Evaluating and maintaining the quantity of the products manufactured
Correction Undoing a seam, re-sewing , re-sewing an iron, repressing
Workshop
allowance
Preliminary arrangements Instructions , reports, education , consultation
Transport Transferring the materials, products , devises and tools
Moving Moving in the workplace

40
Table 3.9: List of activities in sewing section identified by work sampling
Waiting Waiting for work because certain materials, parts and secondary materials (zippers, buttons
etc) have run out.
Fatigue
and
physiologic
al needs
allowance
Fatigue Taking a rest or short break during working hours in addition to the predetermined rest
periods
Physiological needs/personal
needs
Going to the washroom, drinking water , wiping off perspiration
Others Negligence Chatting during work, looking away from one’s work

41
e. Data Recording
25 sewing operations (operators) of the style being tracked are randomly selected from a total of
36 operations in a line. Recall that the total observation needed is 1024 (in section 3.5.1.2) but is
approximated to 1000. This is for a simple reason that for 25 operations chosen, discarding 24
(1024 – 24) observations merely has an effect on the final result as only one time reading is
missed.
Each of the 25 operators has to be observed 40 times (1000/25) and since the line is visited 10
times a day, a total of 250 observations in a day. To achieve 1000 total observations, this has to
be repeated for 4 days (250X4). This means after 4 days of recording, the data obtained is
enough to tell the percentage occurrence of each activity at 95% confidence level.
Table 3.10 summarizes the data collection (recording) done for the required 1000 observations
for 4 days to determine the share of needle working time, associated operation time and other
related activities.

42
Shop floor: Sewing Observation Dates: 08-11, February/2016
Total
of 4
days
Observation times
9:50,10:50,11:20,11:3
0,12:20,12:40,2:30,3:2
0,4:30,4:50
Work allowance Workshop allowance Fatigue and
physiological
needs
allowance
Other
s
No
.
Operator
name(code)
Main
operation
Associated
operation
Condition
arrangement
Product
arrangement
judgment
recording
Thread
replacement
trouble
Correction
Preliminary
arrangements
Transport
Moving
Waiting
Fatigue
allowance
Personal
needs
Others
(negligence)
1 Attach front
ruffle princess
seam
4 25 1 1 1 2 5 1 40
2 Attach CB ruffle
seam +side seam
6 23 7 1 2 1 40
3 Make gather on
CF ruffle
neckline
9 16 1 3 1 1 2 2 2 3 40
4 Make gather on
CB ruffle
neckline
5 19 1 4 4 2 1 1 3 40
5 Attach side seam
at upper body
5 17 4 3 1 2 3 1 1 1 2 40
6 Attach ruffle
with upper front
& back neck +
armhole (3)
6 18 1 4 1 1 1 1 5 2 40
7 Piping panel join
1
2 27 4 1 1 1 2 2 40
8 Piping panel join
2
2 23 1 1 3 2 1 1 1 3 2 40

43
9 Attach strap at
CB neck ruffle
3 20 1 1 2 4 1 4 1 2 1 40
10 Binding at CF &
CB necks
11 24 1 1 1 1 1 40
11 Binding at
armhole(1)
9 19 1 1 1 1 1 3 2 2 40
12 Bottom hem at
lower body
11 22 2 2 1 1 1 40
13 V-shape making
at center bottom
ruffle
2 25 4 1 2 1 3 1 1 40
14 Neck ruffle
bottom hem V
shape (1)
7 18 2 1 1 1 3 2 4 1 40
15 Neck ruffle
bottom hem V
shape (2
7 20 1 2 1 1 1 4 1 2 40
17 Tack at CF +CB
& back shoulder
strap
4 23 1 1 4 2 2 3 40
18 Tack at center
front lower panel
7 19 3 1 3 7 40
19 Slit serge at
center front
lower panel
2 26 2 1 9 40
20 Upper and lower
body attach(1)
7 18 1 1 1 1 2 1 5 1 2 40
20 Upper and lower
body attach(2)
4 20 1 1 1 1 1 4 1 2 4 40
21 OL at upper and
lower body
attach
12 9 2 3 1 12 1 40
22 Elastic attach at
waist line
10 17 2 1 1 3 4 2 40
23 Top stitch at
elastic waist line
8 15 1 1 1 1 2 1 5 2 1 2 40

44
Table 3.10: Share of main, associated and other activities as determined by work sampling
24 Size label attach 3 23 3 1 7 3 40
25 Patty attach at
joint lower body
slit
3 18 3 2 1 2 1 1 5 4 40
TOTAL 149 504 16 44 14 3 23 24 23 10 13 10 82 14 53 18 1000
RATIO 0.149 0.504 0.016 0.044 0.014 0.00
3
0.023 0.024 0.02
3
0.01 0.013 0.0
1
0.082 0.014 0.053 0.018 1
% SHARE 14.9 50.4 1.6 4.4 1.4 0.3 2.3 2.4 2.3 1 1.3 1 8.2 1.4 5.3 1.8 100

45
From the above table, it can be concluded that in a day of 8 hours needle runs for 14.9% of the
time, associated operations are done for 50.4% of the time and so on all at 95% confidence level.
Now the percent shares of these activities are converted into minutes so that the total amount of
time the tracked piece spent in sewing section can be determined. The following assumptions
and approaches are used in reaching at the total time.
a. The average daily (8 hours) output is calculated from the daily output record.
Table 3.11: Average daily production in sewing for the style tracked
Day Actual output (pieces) No. of machines = 36
1 120  By the time this study is conducted, the
style was running in 4 different lines. the
tracking is done assuming that one line is
producing the tracked pieces and the outputs
indicated are of one line only
 Overtime works are excluded. Only 8hr
output is considered.
 1st
, 2nd
, day outputs are discarded reason
being the style was just new to the line.
 The days indicated are the total number of
days which the style ran in one specific line
2 195
3 330
4 335
5 260
6 251
7 320
8 295
Average
Output
(pieces)
298.5
b. The time required to produce the obtained value (average 8hr output) is converted into a time
required to produce the number of tracked pieces for this study. This gives the total time the
tracked pieces spent in the sewing line.
 Tracked cut - cut number 11
 Number of plies in – 151
 Pieces per ply – 4 ( S:M:L:XL = 1:1:1:1)
 Total pieces cut = 4 x 151 = 604 pieces. These are the number of pieces tracked.
 The 298.5 pieces in (a) are produced within 8 hours. To produce 604 pieces it
takes 971.4 minutes

46
c. Each of the shares of the activities determined by work sampling study is then distributed
into the total time required to produce the tracked number of pieces. This gives the time spent
on individual activities. Table 3.12 shows the share of the activities converted into minutes.
Table 3.12 : Share (in terms of minutes) of various activities in sewing section
Activity Share based on work
sampling study
Share in 971.4 minutes
(minutes)
Main operation (stitching) 0.149 144.7386 ; (0.149*971.4)
Associated operation 0.504 489.5856
Condition arrangement 0.016 15.5424
Product arrangement 0.044 42.7416
Judgment 0.014 13.5996
Recording 0.003 2.9142
Thread replacement 0.023 22.3422
Trouble 0.024 23.3136
Correction 0.023 22.3422
Preliminary arrangements 0.01 9.714
Transport 0.013 12.6282
Moving 0.01 9.714
Waiting 0.082 79.6548
Fatigue allowance 0.014 13.5996
Personal needs 0.053 51.4842
Negligence 0.018 17.4852
TOTAL 971.4 minutes
Now the production time in the sewing section for the current state of production is determined
and is shown by Table 3.13.

47
Table 3.13: List of activities and current state production time in sewing
(min)
PREPARATIONS
45 Request to cutting
department
Production manager places request to cutting department.
request is placed daily
NNVA- Unavoidable
(Related)
50
46 Bundles transported from
cutting to sewing section
Bundles are put in boxes and taken to sewing feed point
at the back of the line.
NNVA- Unavoidable
(Transport)
6
BUNDLES FED INTO THE LINE
47 Main operation (stitching) This is sewing in action or the activity where the needle
is actually sewing.
VA 144.7386
48 Associated operation Picking up, placing changing the holding position, and
setting (the material), Cutting the thread and disposing
stitched part are all associated operations
NNVA- Unavoidable
(Related)
489.5856
49 Condition arrangement This include Checking instructions, setting the work
conditions, replacing the attachments, preparing the work
bench, making various arrangement, adjusting the height
of the chair, arranging the thread path in order, arranging
various items on the desk, and adjusting the tension of
bobbin thread
NNVA- Unavoidable
(Related)
15.5424
50 Product arrangement Preparing the material, Changing the setting positions of NNVA-Unavoidable 42.7416

48
(min)
the materials, checking whether the materials are
properly prepared, binding and undoing the material and
checking the quantity of materials.
(Related)
51 Thread replacement Replacing the needle thread and bobbing thread. NNVA- Unavoidable
(Related)
13.5996
52 Record Slips , signboards , entries into the daily report NNVA-Unavoidable
(Related)
2.9142
53 Trouble Re-threading the machine in the case of thread breakage.
Replacing a broken needle, Changing a needle and
malfunctions of the sewing machines. This activity leads
to keeping the material being stitched in waiting mode.
NVA-Avoidable
(waiting)
22.3422
54 Judgment Evaluating and maintaining the quantity of the products
manufactured
NNVA-unavoidable
(Related)
23.3136
55 Correction (Reworking of
defective pieces)
Undoing a seam and re-sewing. These are reworking of
defective pieces
NVA-Avoidable
(Defect)
22.3422
56 Preliminary arrangements Receiving Instructions , reports, education , and
consultation are included under this
NNVA-Unavoidable
(Related)
9.714
57 Transport Transferring the materials, products , devises and tools NNVA-Unavoidable
(Transport)
12.6282
58 Moving Moving in the workplace NVA- Avoidable 9.714

49
(min)
(Motion)
59 Waiting Waiting for work because certain materials, parts, tools
and secondary materials (zippers, buttons etc) have run
out.
NVA-Avoidable
(Waiting)
79.6548
60 Fatigue Taking a rest or short break during working hours in
addition to the predetermined rest period
NNVA-Unavoidable
(Related)
13.5996
61
Personal needs
Going to the washroom, drinking water and wiping off
perspiration
NNVA-Unavoidable
(Motion)
51.4842
62 Negligence Chatting during work and looking away from one’s
work. When operators do this while work in hand, it
leads the material to waiting.
NVA- Avoidable
(leads to waiting)
17.4852
POST SEWING
63 Dispatching daily out puts Daily Outputs are inserted in a plastic bag and
transported to dispatch area. Average time is indicated.
6
Production time in Sewing (minutes) 1033.4
Production time in Sewing (hours) 17.233
Production time in Sewing (days) 2.153

50
3.5.2 Share of VA, NNVA and NVA Activities in Sewing
avoidable), Non Value Added (which are unavoidable) and Value adding. The following table
summarizes the share of these activities from the total time.
Table 3.14: Share of VA, NNVA and NVA activities in sewing (current state)
Non Value Added (Avoidable) 151.5384 minutes
Value Adding (VA) 144.7386 minutes
Figure 3.3 shows the percent share of various activities within the sewing section.
Figure 3.3: Percent share of various activities in sewing (current state)
Stitching
14%
Related
Activities
67%
Rework
2%
Transport
2%
Motion
6% Waiting
9%
Sewing Department

51
In the sewing section, the following conditions are regularly observed to occur.
 Motion of operators in and outside of the work place for unlimited number of times in a day.
Especially they are observed to go to washrooms for any number of times they desire and at
times line supervisors were observed to cover their work for them.
 In most cases 10 out of 36 sewing machines are not supported with bobbin thread package.
This makes the operators use the needle thread package to wind thread onto the bobbin which
leads to frequent thread breakage because of non uniform tension of winding thread on to the
bobbin.
 There are many steps required to change a broken needle which leads to waiting by the
operators and unnecessary transport to change broken needle.
 Operators are sometimes observed to wait for work coming from preceding workstation for a
long time. There seems to be an unbalanced flow of work.
Therefore, it was required to determine the time share of the above listed points from the total
time of motion, trouble, transport and waiting. (Refer to appendix III-V)

52
3.6 PRODUCTION TIME IN DISPATCH AND WASHING
Once outputs start coming out of the sewing section, they are daily taken to the dispatch area.
Garments sent to dispatch area are handled in two ways. First are those which are directly sent to
finishing section. Styles which require button to be attached on them are sent to buttoning section
right next to the dispatch area before sending them to finishing. Second are those which require
washing and/or dyeing before sending them to finishing section. The garments are either dyed
within the unit itself or outsourced depending on the dye requirement. Garments requiring solid
dyeing (uniform color throughout) are handled within the unit where as garments which have to
be tie-dyed are outsourced for a simple reason that such dyeing is not done in the unit.
The style tracked in the present work had to be tie-dyed, so the tracking is done before sending it
to dyeing (while in dispatch and washing areas) and after it came from dyeing (again in washing
and dispatch area). Table 3.15 summarizes the production time in dispatch and washing areas for
the quantity of style being tracked (excluding the dyeing duration) before sending it to finishing
department.

53
Table 3.15: List of activities and current state production time in dispatch area
(min)
PRE-WASHING/DYING
64 Garment taken to
washing section
Garments from dispatch area are transported to washing section
(underground) using lift.
NNVA-
unavoidable
(Related)
8
65 Garment inspection
in washing section
Garments are inspected for defects. Pieces found defective are sent
back to production line for rework; then only can be sent to dyeing.
On average 300 pieces are sent to washing section daily. And it takes
an approximate half day for inspection.
NNVA-
unavoidable
(Related)
240
POST WASHING/DYEING
66 Garment received
from dyeing and
treated
Once garments are dyed and came to the unit, they are treated with
softener and dried. an average half day is spent to perform this
activity
NNVA-
unavoidable
(Related)
240
67 Garment taken to
and kept in dispatch
area
Garment is received and stored by the dispatch area before sending to
production line for further processing. An approximate 8 minute for
transporting and 720 more minutes for which the garment is kept as
an inventory
NVA-avoidable
(Inventory)
728

54
68 Garment taken and
further processed on
production line
Ring and adjuster, Main and wash care label are attached on the
garment. On average, 50 pieces per hour are produced with the help
of 8 machines (actual data). For the quantity tracked (604 pieces), it
is assumed that 724.8 minutes are the duration plus 3 minutes for
transport, a total of 727.8 minutes
NNVA-
unavoidable
(Related)
727.8
69 Garments taken to
kaj and button
Out puts are placed in a big plastic bag and transported to kaj and
button with an approximate timing of 4 minutes
NNVA-
unavoidable
(Related)
4
70 Garment processed
in Kaj and button
section
Coin marking and attaching is done. 160 pieces/ hour are produced
(actual data) using 6 machines and an approximate 226.5 minutes
takes for producing the quantity tracked (604 pieces).
NNVA-
unavoidable
(Related)
226.5
71 Garment kept in
Dispatch and sent to
finishing
An approximate 8 minutes take to transport pieces to an elevator
manually and place it to the elevator and send to finishing. The
remaining 570 minutes are for the garment being kept as an inventory
in the dispatch area before sending it to finishing section.
NVA- avoidable
(Inventory)
578
Production time in Dispatch area (minutes) 2752.3
Production time in Dispatch area (hours) 45.872
Production time in dispatch area (days) 5.734

55
3.6.1 Share of VA, NNVA and NVA Activities in Dispatch and Washing
avoidable), Non Value Added (which are unavoidable) and Value adding. Table 3.16
summarizes the share of these activities from the total time.
Table 3.16: Share of VA, NNVA and NVA activities in sewing section (current state)
Value Adding (VA) -
Figure 3.4 shows the share of various activities within the sewing section.
Figure 3.4: Percent share of various activities in dispatch area (current state)
Inspection
9%
Softner
treatment
9%
Garments
further
processed in
production line
35%
Transport
0%
Inventory
47%
Dispatch Area ( activities in washing
section included)

56
3.7 PRODUCTION TIME IN FINISHING AND PACKING
A single garment was tracked starting from the first to the last activity of finishing by tying it
with a ribbon of different color for easy tracking. Ten garments were tracked and the duration
indicated in Table 3.17 is the average value of each of the activities for the ten garments.
Table 3.17: Average time of finishing a garment (from full pressing to measurement
checking)
No. Activity Description Duration
(min)
72 Full pressing * The garment is fully pressed (front and back) before
taking it to initial trimming
1.5
73 Transport Garment is taken to initial trimming. The record
keeper takes whatever amount of pieces he found
when he comes to full press area.
0.17
74 Waiting The garment waits for its turn to get trimmed 0.33
75 Initial trimming* Threads are trimmed from the wrong side of the
garment
2.28
76 Waiting Garment waits for its turn to get checked 0.33
77 Initial checking* The wrong side of the garment is checked for defects 2.25
78 Waiting Garment waits to get transported to pressing 0.4
79 Transport to pressing Garment is taken to pressing by record keeper 0.42
80 Waiting Garment waits for its turn to get pressed 0.47
81 Front pressing Front side of the garment is pressed 2.25
82 Waiting Garment waits for its turn to get pressed 0.43
83 Back pressing Back side of the garment gets pressed 2.17
84 Waiting Garment waits to be transported to final trimming
area
0.43
85 Transport to final
trimming
Garment transported to final trimming 0.42
86 Waiting Garment waits turn to get threads trimmed off 0.6
87 Final trimming* Threads from the right side of garment get trimmed 2.33

57
No. Activity Description Duration
(min)
off
88 waiting Garment waits for turn 0.28
89 Final checking* Right side of the garment is checked for defects 1.78
90 Waiting Garment waits for turn 0.25
91 Measurement checking Measuring checking is done according to the
specification given by buyer
1.25
Total duration (minutes) 20.34
In the above table, the activities with (*) are performed by two workers; meaning not one piece
but two pieces are produced at those activities. As a result, taking 20.34 minutes for producing 1
piece leads to wrong conclusion. It has to be noted that those activities together produce not 5
pieces but 10 pieces at a time and the duration should be rearranged accordingly.
 The total duration of the activities without (*) is 10.2 minutes (only 1 piece produced at a
time.)
 The total duration of the activities with (*) is 10.14 minutes. 10 pieces (2 at each of the 5
activities) are produced at a time.
 10.2 minutes (for1 piece) + 10.14 minutes (for 10 pieces) = through put time of 11 pieces.
Therefore the 20.34 minutes are assumed to be the throughput of 11 pieces.
 For the quantity tracked (604 pieces), the total duration will be 1116.851
minutes/18.614hours/2.32 days
The production time in finishing and packing section (from finishing up to carton packing) is
shown in Table 3.18 below.

Reduction in production time via Value Stream Mapping in garment industry(1)

Reduction in production time via Value Stream Mapping in garment industry(1)

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