Productivity and quality are closely related. There was a time when it was believed that if we want to increase productivity, we have to compromise quality. People now want to improve productivity along with improvement in quality. This is true in the case of spinning also.
If the right cotton is selected, improvement of both productivity and quality of spinning becomes less challenging. For example, if someone is interested to produce contamination-free yarn, he has to select machine-picked cotton for his process. Otherwise, he would fail to ensure quality and without quality the product can not satisfy the need of the customer.
Again, we need to make a choice among the alternative growths and select the one which is the right match to enhance productivity and quality, along competitive price.
We need to make a prudent choice among the alternative growths of cotton based on the quality parameter and the price, keeping in mind what is the need of the customer for quality and selling price of yarn.
So, we have to balance between the alternative materials quality parameter and price along with customer's yarn quality and price requirement while selecting the right cotton.
STANDARDISATION OF PROCESS: It is very important to choose the right combination of process, supporting and auxiliary machinery while setting up a mill as these can not be changed easily later on.
Once a spinning mill has been set up, process standardisation is a must for ensuring highest productivity with better quality. Coordination of different departments must be pursued until the whole process is standardized.
Spinning is a 24-hour production process. One small issue in the back process can cause big impact on production and quality in the forward process and yarn. But, it is not possible for the management to remain alert 24 hours to handle the small details. Spinning process standardisation helps manage production and quality of yarn, as well as ensure better productivity and quality. For instance, one wrong selection of ring traveller can impact not only productivity but also quality. It is thus essential to carefully standardise production process, maintenances and quality in details. At the same time care should be taken to dynamically adjust with the changes of the process to ensure productivity with improved quality.
APPLYING 5 S: Simple techniques like 5 S (Sort-Set in Order-Shine-Standardize-Sustain) is very useful in the manufacturing process in minimising waste and improving the efficiency of the whole process:
n It starts by sorting and removing unnecessary items or steps.
n Then required items/process are arranged in accordance with the process - from the starting point to the ending point.
n Then each item/section/process is cleaned.
n And a standard process is set.
n Then it is periodically checked or audited that the standard is being followed.
There is a proverb, "Good, better, best - never let it rest until good is better and better is the best". This concept is very useful in production, engineering and quality process. It needs to be reviewed periodically to ensure continuous improvement.
SELECTING THE RIGHT PEOPLE, TRAINING AND PEOPLE PLAN: If we want to have world-class productivity along with quality, we definitely need the right machine as well as the right people to run it. In Bangladesh, most of the spinning mills have invested in the best machine but there is still lot of scope to investment in the development of people, both in workers and the management team. Each company should have a comprehensive people plan - right from recruitment to training and development, career path, retention and rejection, motivation and counseling, reward and punishment, welfare and compensation, etc. For long-term sustainable development, focus needs to be on the development of local workforce and management team.
A motivated worker and a manager can bring true balance and synergy that can give an organisation a quantum lift in the most economical way.
FINDING OUT THE ROOT CAUSE: Whenever we would start increasing production keeping the quality intact, we would start facing different problems/questions like breakage, speed pattern, right ring traveller, TM, spacer, ring, spindle, etc. To move ahead we have to find the root cause and "Why-Why?" concept is very useful in this respect.
For any problem, ask: why? Find a preliminary answer and again ask: why? Keep this process of asking questions until all queries are exhausted. The last answer is the root cause.
Once the root cause is identified, then we can solve the problem easily.
HAVE TO BELIEVE THAT WE CAN DO IT: There is no doubt that the productivity of spinning mills of Bangladesh is less than those of China, India, Pakistan, Korea, Indonesia, etc. But it is also true that productivity is improving. Some of the mills already have 200 GPSS in 100 per cent cotton knit carded/combed yarn while the majority have GPSS of 180. In order to improve productivity first we have to believe that we can do it like our competing countries and then we have to improve it gradually with proper standardisation, coordination, training and persuasion.
There is a misconception that expatriates are better than local experts. In reality, our local experts are doing better. There is no doubt that in spinning we have enough number of engineers and professionals but we need to train them with technical and managerial skills.
THE FUTURE OF RING SPINNING: In Bangladesh, more than 1.0 million ring spinning are equipped with compact system and the number is growing. There is economics behind it. Let's say, if you convert your ring with SUESSEN Compact Elite attachment, you can easily have the following benefits:
1. If you are producing knit yarn, you can reduce TM by 0.30 which has more effect on productivity than if you increase your spindle speed by 1,500 rpm plus depending on the CSP requirement you can probably increase your spindle speed by another 500-1000 rpm. Bottom line is you would get 10 per cent-30 per cent productivity, depending on the count and product.
2. If you produce compact yarn, you would definitely have better CSP and lesser hairiness. This means knitting efficiency and productivity would go up, fabric quality would be better and fabric processing cost like sizing, scouring, bleaching, enzyme and dyeing cost would be less. Garments would have better realisation and quality which would lead to better price and repeat order.
So, compact yarn would have much better productivity, quality and price in comparison with conventional yarn. That is why more compact spinning is likely to come in the future and take productivity and quality of yarn to a much higher level than it is toady. And the industry would be looking forward to new developments that can provide even more productivity and quality at a more competitive price.
MEETING THE CHALLENGE: The focus of future investment in spinning will be on technologies that are more productive, energy-efficient and automated, and at the same time, will enhance quality and innovation.
Spinning is getting more competitive and the market is also expanding. Spinning mills are required to produce more products with less cost which is only possible if these are run efficiently. The entrepreneurs, workers and professionals would hopefully be able to meet the challenge with their collective efforts.
Abdul Wadud is Management
Consultant, TRANSFORM.
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