Reduction of Manufacturing Lead Time by Value Stream Mapping of a Selected RMG Factory in Bangladesh

Abstract

Bangladesh is a fast-growing economy powered by the readymade garments (RMG) industry which has promoted the country in the world through the motto ‘Made in Bangladesh’. The RMG industry has become the lifeline of the economy of Bangladesh. However, this industry faces several significant obstacles to its continued, sustainable expansion. The trading climate has become very competitive because of the phase-out of the export quota system. Additionally, with today’s rapid fashion, consumers want items with short lead times and affordable prices. Adopting the lean methodology across the board in the garment business is essential for long-term sustainability in this cutthroat context. Lean manufacturing is a philosophy to deliver the finest goods on time with minimum endeavor and less price. Lean manufacturing aims to cut lead times and remove wastes that don’t impose value on products. The purpose of this research is to identify wastes and to reduce manufacturing lead time by eliminating or reducing the excess tasks that cause higher lead time by implementing lean concepts. But implementing lean philosophy is a difficult task. During the visit to the selected RMG factory, the Short Sleeve T-shirt, one of their products, was selected for conducting this research. All the processes were observed required for the transformation of raw materials into a finished T-shirt. During the observations, the methodology of time study was applied to collect the data. Necessary information was gathered by observing the processes and interacting with the executives. Then, the current state of the value stream mapping was drawn. Wastes, responsible for a longer time, were ranked by taking the help of an 80-20 rules diagram. After this, root cause analysis was performed to find the reasons for the unwanted time consumption. Improvement strategies were introduced to reduce waste. Lean tools like Kanban to reduce WIP, Single Minute Exchange of Die to reduce changeover time, and Total Productive Maintenance to reduce machine breakdown were used to minimize the waste. Based on improvement strategies, The value stream mapping’s future state was illustrated, showing the refinement where total manufacturing lead time was reduced by 61.20%. Finally, this research has suggested some recommendations to the management of the selected RMG factory to minimize waste and increase efficiency and reduce waste in the operations. This research illustrates the usual conditions of the RMG industry of Bangladesh by presenting the current state of the value stream. The Bangladeshi clothing sector must completely embrace lean principles and embark on the direction of sustainable growth.