World Journal of Social Sciences Vol. 2. No. 5. August 2012 Special Issue. Pp. 218 224 A Comparative Method Study for Printing Time Reduction in Knitwear Manufacturing Company in Bangladesh:A Case Study Md.Mohibul Islama, Md. Mosharraf Hossainb* and Md. Ariful Islamb MethodStudyisthesystematicapproachesthatrecord,analysis&critical examinedtheexistingworksystem&thenproposedaneasierwaysofdoing thatworksothatunnecessaryactivitiesarereduced.Itmainlyfocusesmost effectiveuseofplant,equipment,humaneffort&humanworkevaluation. Undermethodstudyeveryactivitycriticallyobservedandtheircorresponding workingtimeistakenthenexaminestheactivitieswhetheritisnecessaryor not.Inthisstudyaknitwearprintingprocessispracticallyobservedvery intensivelythensettingtheparametersforcalculatingstandardprintingtime and proposed a new method and accordingly a new layout for reducing printing time & printing operators cycle time. Keywords: Method Study, Printing Parameters, Waste, layout, Hand Dryer 1. Introduction TheKnitwearmanufacturingindustryisalargeandmostexportorientedfieldof Bangladesh in terms of output, export and employment. At present these manufacturing industriesareearningforeigncurrencyaboutthreequartersoftotalexportsandthe industry is a symbol of the countrys dynamism in the world economy. Printing section is oneofthemajorareasinknitwearmanufacturingindustries.Manufacturingcostof knitwear products partially depends on printing cost. The survival competition in term of manufacturingcostversussellingpriceofthesefieldsisincreasingdaybydayin competitiveglobalmarket.Asknitwearindustryislaborincentivefieldsothereislittle chance to improve these field by technological change rather there are vast scopes of improvement of these areas by method study. Jeffrey and David (2005) have mentioned thataccordingtoLeanmanufacturingsystemoverproduction,inventory,waiting, transportation,motion,overprocessinganddefectsarethemanufacturingwastage. These wastes make the manufacturing processes inefficient that directly hampered the productivity.Soitishightimetomakethemanufacturingprocesseswastefreeand dynamic. Itmaybepossibletoreduceanykindofnonvalueaddedactivitiesfromthe manufacturingprocesses.AstheKnitwearIndustryisasymbolofthecountrys economyandthereareampleopportunitiestoimprovethisfieldsotheauthorfeels greatinteresttoworkinthisarea.ComfitCompositeKnitLimitedisoneofthemost typicalknitwearcompositefactoriesinBangladeshwhereKnitting,Dyeing,Cutting, Printing,SewingandFinishingdepartmentsare available.Printingisoneofthemost important departments of this factory. In printing process printer man, layer man, screen cleaner, fabric spreader and pick up man are available who working together to

aMd.Mohibul Islam, Comfit Composite Knit Limited, Mirzapur, Tangail, Bangladesh, b*Dr. Md. Mosharraf Hossain, Corresponding Author, Email: mosharraf80@yahoo.com bMd. Ariful Islam, Email: maislam252@yahoo.com bDepartmentofIndustrialandProductionEngineering(IPE),RajshahiUniversityofEngineeringand Technology, Rajshahi 6204, Bangladesh Islam, Hossain & Islam 219 complete printing process. In this study it is found that in printing process an Auto Run Dryerisusedtodrytheprintedfabric.Ittakesminimumtwocyclesandaroundsix minutes to dry the printed fabrics completely. During this period both printing operators andtheprintedfabricsarewaitedsimultaneouslythoughbothareavailablethere.It consumeshighworkinghourthroughgivingsmalloutput.Besideduetoimproperline layout operators over movement is occurring there. After observing the existing printing system, the objectives of this study are settled as- Observe current layout for improvement Printing time reduction Printing operators cycle time reduction 2. Literature Review Bangladeshhasemergedasanimportantsupplierofqualityreadymadegarmentsin theglobalmarket.ThespectaculargrowthofgarmentsectorinBangladeshinrecent yearshasdramaticallychangedthelandscapeofexportcompositionofthecountry. Uddin and Jahed (2007)said that Bangladesh is now experiencing almost 76% export contributionfromreadymadegarments(RMG).Thesectorhasnowoccupiedan importantplaceinBangladeshnationaleconomy.Nevertheless,allarenotwellinthis sector. It faces numerous challenges. Rajesh (2002) have mentioned some factors that areaffectingproductivitylikeasLeveloftechnology,Productstyle,pricepointand Productionvolume,Trainingofworkforceandmanagement,Motivationlevelofwork force&management,Awarenessofoptimalproductivitylevel,Laborturnoverand absenteeism,Productionscale,Leadtime,IndustrialEngineering,Laborrelations. Thoughthispaperfocusesvariousfactorsforproductivityimprovementbutmethod studyisnotdirectlyemphasisonregardingthisissue.Lynnetal.(2005)have mentionedthatinCambodiasmostofthegarmentsfactoriesarerequiredboth technicalandmanagerialtrainingespeciallyinmidlevelmanagementforimproving labor productivity. They highly emphasis that training programs for skill enhancement of these factories are very poor hence the machines are typically operated inefficiently and equipmentmaintenanceisoftenInadequatealsolackofinvestmentinmaintenance plus ineffective spare parts stock control that occurs lost time and hampered the labor productivitydirectly.ThispapermentionedthatImprovementsinproductivityof1520 percent can be achieved with the right attitude and climate. They are not strictly focused onmethodstudyforimprovinglaborproductivity.Panneerselvam(2006)have mentionedthatLeanmanufacturingisasystematicapproachtoidentifyandeliminate wastesofallnon-valueaddedactivitiesthroughcontinuousimprovementthatisbeing adopted by world class, high performance firms to produce remarkable results. It is also calledasamanufacturingsysteminwhichfrictionisabsent.Globalcompetitionis forcingcompaniestoimprovequality,reducedeliverytimeandlowercost.The traditional manufacturing way of thinking has been Cost + Profit = Selling price but in the competing global environment, customers, more or less influence the selling price of aproduct.HencetheleanwayofthinkingisSellingpriceCost=ProfitUnderthis redefinedscenario,theonlywaytosurviveinthemarketistodecreasecostby eliminatingallformsofwastes.Leanfocusessevenwastessuchasoverproduction, inventory,waiting,transportation,motion,overprocessinganddefect.Farhana(2009) have mentioned that for competitive global market now owners ofGarments Company aretryingtoimplementmodernleanmanufacturingphilosophyforreducing manufacturingcostoftheproduct.Thispaperfocusesthatcostcanbereducedby implementingleantoolssuchasJIT,Kanban,5s,Pullproduction,KaizenandTPM. Islam, Hossain & Islam 220 Ibrahim(2000)havementionedvariousrelationshipsbetweenproductivity,labor efficiency,resourcesutilizationandproductqualityofamanufacturingsector.Though thispaperhavementionedtheabovefourfactorsbuthavenotreportedabouthowto improvetheproductivityandlaborefficiency.Thispaperhavereportedonlyhowto measurethisparameters.Shumon,Zaman&Rahman(2010)havefocusedthatthe productivity and efficiency of garments manufacturing sector can be improved by proper line balancing. This paper mentioned that due to cycle time and operator skill variations some skill operators are shared more than one operation and operates more than one machine to reduce the WIP in the production line. Though under the mentioned way line productivityandefficiencyareincreasedbuttheyhavenotfocusedimportanceof methodstudyforproductivityandefficiencyimprovement.Iftheoperationalmethodis changedbymethodstudythenthecycletimeofeach operationmustbereduced and the productivity and efficiency will be also improved. This paper did not focus about this importancefindinghere.ShanmugasundaramandPanchanatham(2011)have mentionedsomefactorsthatareresponsibleforaffectingthehigherproductivityin IndianapparelIndustrysuchaslaborabsenteeism,laborturnover,poorworking conditions,trainingfacilitiesfortheemployees,poorqualityofrawmaterialsand accessories, frequent changes of styles, technological changes in the field, change from highvolumetolowVolumeorders,usageofmodernmachinesanddeviationfrom standard time in manufacturing. This paper specially highlighted three major factors for affecting labor productivity which are absenteeism of the employees, working conditions of the units and change from high volume to low volume orders. Though the authors of thispaperhavefocusedvariousfactorsforaffectinglaborproductivitybuthavenot focusedaboutthemethodstudythatisveryeffectivetoimprovelaborproductivityby reducing processing time of each operation. Thereminderofthispaperisorganizedasfollows.Section3definestheresearch methodology,mathematicalstatement,schematicdiagramofcurrentlayoutand proposedlayout.Section4definestheresultanalysis,datatableandmathematical result analysis. Finally section 5 defines the conclusion of this paper. 3. Methodology Minimizationofprintingtimeandprintingoperatorscycletimearethemaintargetsof this study. To achieve these objectives of this study existing printing process is critically observedthensegregatetheworkelementsandsettingtheprintingparameters.To measure the work elements, time study is performed there. After critically examined the workelementsandanalysistheircycletime,newprintingmethodisproposedand accordingly new layout is also proposed. 3.1 Mathematical Statement In the printing process spreading, laying and pick up times are directly dependant on the sizeoffabricthatistobeprinted.Ifthefabricsizeislargethenthespreading,laying andpickuptimesarerelativelylargethanthemediumandsmallsize.Butthecolor impressiontimeanddryingtimearedirectlyproportionalwiththesizeofdesigntobe printedratherthanfabricsize.Ifthesizeofdesignislargecolorimpressiontimeand drying time will be also large compare to medium and small design. Parameters which are considered for mathematical calculation of printing time are- Islam, Hossain & Islam 221 1. Fabric Spreading time (St) 2. Laying time (Lt) 3. Color impression time (Ct) 4. Drying time (Dt) 5. Pick up time (Pt) Printing time, P0 = (St + Lt + Ct + Dt +Pt), Where, St = [ {( /n) * ( /n)/100} + {( /n) * ( /n)/100}* A%] Lt = [ {( /n) * ( /n)/100} + {( /n) * ( /n)/100}* A %] Ct = [ {( /n) * ( /n)/100} + {( /n) * ( /n)/100}* A%]*Fc Dt = [ {( /n) * ( /n)/100} + {( /n) * ( /n)/100}* A%]*Fd Pt = [ {( /n) * ( /n)/100} + {( /n) * ( /n)/100}* A%] Where,A= Allowance Xi = Cycle time in second of ith cycle, n = Number of cycles Ri = Estimated rating of ith cycle timeFc = Frequency of Color impressionFd = Frequency of Drying 3.2 Current Layout

Itisfoundthatfourprintingtablesareusedineveryprintingline.Therearedifferent typesofcolorsareimpressedtoobtainexpecteddesign.Colorsequenceflows mandatory.Whenimpressionofaspecificcolorisneededonemoretime,after completion of everycolorimpressioncycleaprintingoperator needstowaitfor drying Color Impression Point Table: 1 Table: 2 Table: 3 Table: 4 Fig. 3.2.1: Schematic diagram of current layout Islam, Hossain & Islam 222 theprintedfabricwhereAutoRunDryerisresponsiblefordrying.Whenonecolor impressionisfinishedthensecondcolorisimpressedbyanotherprinterman.Itis noticed that printing operators waiting time and working areaaretoo large. Schematic diagram of current layout is mentioned in figure 3.2.1 3.3 Proposed Layout From the current layout it is clear that over movement is visible there. To overcome this, a cellular layout is setup there where two printing operator are always fixed for two side ofa particularprintingtable andresponsibletoimpresssequentiallyallkindsofcolors thatarerequiredtoobtainexpecteddesign.HandDryerisusedinsteadofAutoRun Dryer to provide heat quickly at the printed area for drying.Operator of a Hand Dryer alwaysfollowstheprintingoperatorthroughdryingtheprintedfabric.Socolor impressionanddryingareoccurredsimultaneouslyonprintedfabricandprinting operator waiting time due to drying is eliminated. Fig. 3.3.1: Schematic diagram of proposed layout 4. Results Analysis Foraddressingtheresultsofthisstudydataarecollected fromComfitComposite Knit LimitedofitsprintingsectionwhichismentionedbelowintabularforminTable4.1. DataspecificationsareBuyer-H&M,ProductStyle-Iamawesome,PrintColor-White, Screen Size & Print size-medium, Color impression frequency-1, Print type-Rubber. From Table 4.1: Spreading time, St = 2.63 Sec. Laying time, Lt = 33.14 Sec. Color impression time, Ct = 6.00 Sec. Drying time by Auto Run Dryer Dt = 384.56 Sec. Picked up time, Pt = 3.47 Sec. Therefore,ifcolorimpressionfrequencyisonethentotalprintingtimeofexisting system,Pc =(St +Lt+Ct+Dt+Pt)=(2.63*35+33.14*35+6*35+384.56+3.47*35)= 1967.96 Sec. Where, 35 is the total number of fabrics that are printed as a single batch in a printing table. Hence,aPrintingoperatorscolorimpressioncycletimeinexistingsystem=Color impressiontimeperpiecefabric*Totalnumberoffabrics+DryingtimebyAutoRun Dryer = 6*35+384.56 = 594.56 Sec. Starting Point Ending Point Ending point Starting Point Printing table, Side No.: 1 Printing table, Side No.: 2 Islam, Hossain & Islam 223 AgainfromTable4.1DryingtimeperpiecefabricbyHandDryer,Dt =5.34Sec.in proposed system. Therefore, if the color impression frequency is one then total printing timeofproposedsystemis,Pp =(St +Lt+Ct+Dt+Pt)= (2.63*35+33.14*35+6*35+5.34*35+3.47*35) = 1770.30 Sec. AndaPrintingoperatorscolorimpressioncycletimeinproposedsystem=Color impression time per piece fabric * Total number of fabric = 6*35 = 210.00 Sec. Table 4.1: Data for Various Operations Sl. No. SpreadingLaying Color Impression Drying byHand Dryer Pick up Drying time by Auto Run Dryer TR TR TR TR TRT 12.210039.45805.91905.9802.75100385.55 22.2310025.12905.021005.2903.4590384.43 32.3210028.23905.85905.7802.98100384.46 42.619039.25805.91905.26903.1590383.96 52.2910049.15705.96905.14903.2590385.55 62.2510052.1605.68905.43903.78100384.43 72.2310032.28805.96905.52803.5270384.46 82.1610041.45705.361005.32903.4590383.96 92.879030.26805.94905.45903.5590385.35 102.69040.23705.59905.53803.5990383.45 Total23.76970377.5277057.292054.586033.479103845.6 TR.1010101010101010101010 Avg.2.389737.752775.72925.45863.34791384.56 NT.2.329.075.264.683.05 A14%14%14%14%14% ST.2.6333.146.005.343.47 For Table 4.1, T = Time in second, R = Performance rating, TR = Total No. of readings, Avg. = Average, NT = Normal time, A = Allowance, ST = Standard time. Finally, the results are summarized in Table 4.2 into the tabular form. Table 4.2: Summarized Result DescriptionsUnitExisting System Proposed System Time Reduction Time Reduction % Total Printing timeSec.1967.961770.30197.6610.04% Printing operatorscolor impression cycle timeSec.594.56210.00384.5664.68% Islam, Hossain & Islam 224 5. Conclusion Now a day, it is really a great challenge for the knitwear manufacturer of Bangladesh to manufacturetheknitweargarmenteconomicallyfacingvarietiesrisks.Theremaybe printing section of every knitwear factory. As knitwear manufacturing Industry is mostly based on the human performance and little chance to develop the technical aspect. For thisreasontimeisthemajorconstrainttoutilizetheworkforcewithlimitedresources. Thisproblemmaybealleviatedbyfollowingabetterproductionsystem.Inthiscase workmeasurementandmethodstudyisnobleidea.Theessenceofthisstudyis recommended that this approach is working well in Comfit Composite Knit Limited and shouldbefullypracticeattheirfactoryandmaybesuggestedtootherknitwear manufacturing industries of Bangladesh. References Farhana, F 2009, An Investigation of Manufacturing Performance Improvement through Lean Production, International Journal of Business and management, vol.4, No.9 Ibrahim, A 2000, Relationships between productivity, efficiency, utilization, and quality, Work Study, vol. 49, No.3 pp. 97 - 104 Jeffrey,KL&DavidM2005,TheToyotaWayFieldbook,Firstedition,McGraw-Hill, London LynnS,SokH,CheaSandNeouS2005,MeasuringCompetitivenessandLabor ProductivityinCambodiasGarmentIndustry,UnitedStatesAgencyfor International Development, Washington DC. 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