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Value stream mapping is a lean manufacturing technique used

to analyze and design the flow of materials and information required to bring a product or service to a consumer.

The goal is to depict material and information flows across and throughout all value-adding processes required to produce and ship the product to the customer.

During the team creation of a vale stream mapping, business and manufacturing waste that occur in the processes can be easily identified.

Once the current state value stream mapping is created, it becomes the baseline for improvement and for the creation of a future state value stream mapping.

The project has been carried out in the following steps:

The product for this project is a ladies top (black smoky bar).

Various processing required for manufacturing the garment are:


Selvedge cutting for the knit lining.

Fabric store inspection.

Layering of fabric.

Cutting of panels.

Numbering of panels.

Despatch for finishing.

Stitch audit.

Stitching floor.

Bundling.

Audit and despatch

Button hole making.

Buttoning.

Thread cutting.

Thread sucking.

Initial checking.

Shipment

Audit, tagging and packaging.

Final checking, measurement, repressing.

Button closing.

Pressing.

The actual value added time for a garment on cutting floor was

1.9535 minutes. But the lead time was around 2 days. 632 daily customer requirements. Therefore takt time is 46 seconds. Cycle time: 40 seconds %uptime: 98.6 Current process capacity (21st to 28th June of stitching floor ): 717 pieces for a line Average Actual output: 428 pieces per day Average efficiency: 75% No. of pieces in a carton: 55-58 Average DHU for line 10 from 1st to 22nd june: 10.09

In the cutting department, layering, cutting, numbering, and bundling process of bulk quantity was tracked down for 5 days and relevant time study was carried out.

Fabric store: The raw materials arrival is not in small batches. The reason may be to ease pressure on bundling but intermittent large arrivals affect the

effectiveness of fabric store inspection process. Also it affects smooth


continuous flow of the material in the production line.

Layering of fabric: There was defect related problems, substantial amount of 10fabric was rejected from the roll. Considerable waiting time was involved in allotment of new roll. Layering took exactly two hours but the actual time spent was 1 hour 18 minutes for knit fabric. Around 50 metres balance was recorded in a 75 plies layer which used 295 metres of fabric.

Cutting of fabric: Out of the 50 minutes spent in cutting, the actual duration

of cutting was 34 minutes 24 seconds. For the nylon lace part, CAM was
used. Although it took around 25 minutes, but the actual cutting time was 16 minutes.

Numbering: Waiting time was involved here because ticketing was not
executed before assembly of all 15 cut parts for an item took around 20 minutes for this operation. Number of plies in a layer of panels was 75.

Process
Selvedge cutting/ garment (knit fabric) Layering/ garment Nylon Lace fabric: Knit: Satin: Cutting/ garment Nylon lace fabric: Knit: Satin: Numbering/ garment: Bundling/garment:

VA time
11.7 sec

Remarks
Carried out only for knit fabrics.

25.2 sec 15.6 sec 1.7 sec

Wrong lot brought (less width). Few layers withdrawn after placement (rejection).

3.2 sec 6.88 sec 0.67sec

CAM cutting Manual cutting CAM cutting

25.5 sec 26.76 sec Not coordinated with cutting

At the shop floor, process and time study of line number ten was carried out and data regarding VA and lead time was obtained.

Since the order quantity was huge, the sewing of the item was taking place on the floor - B in the line number 10, 11, 12 and 13.

Line was balanced according to progressive bundle system and


input was provided to each operator in the bundle of 20 pieces.

Machine breakdown and electricity problems led to approximately 75 min and 36 min of time loss respectively. WIP of the production process was around 690 and daily target was approx 572 pieces.

At the time of fabric supply delay in the store and cutting department, the sewing line had enough buffer stock to carry

out two days of production.

Last manufacturing department being finishing .Here the time required for the whole finishing till packaging for 10 pieces was carried out.

The whole material flow was examined observantly to judge


the process based on optimum utilisation of resources.

Details of the study are presented below. VA time


10.4 sec
15.8 sec 12.4 sec 23.4 sec 46.4 sec 101 sec 38.3 sec 15.2 sec 38.4 sec 8.8 sec 48 sec Final whole garment pressing done;

Process
Marking of button-hole
Button-hole making Marking for button Buttoning Chalk mark removal Thread cutting Pressing Button closing Repressing Tagging Folding/ packaging

Remarks
Chalk marks need to be cleaned later;
Hourly production varying considerably; Chalk marks need to be cleared later; Production varying hourly; Huge WIP; Transportation required; Only inseams pressed;

1.

Inventory levels and WIP levels are very high.

2.
3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Push system is being followed in most of the flow.


Pre-production processes take up most of the time involved with any customer. Flow is not synchronised with takt interval . Work methods in cutting department are not at a good competitive level. Few lots were rejected while being laid on cutting table. The volume of work performed typically occurs unevenly over time, with peaks and valleys.

8.
9.

Responding to changes in customer requirements often becomes complicated.


Batch producing amplifies wastes associated with overproduction, leading to increased lead time and obscuring quality problems

Push hampers smooth flow.

PULL is when item is produced in quantity and quality as specified on kanban.


Defects remain hidden in inventory . Rework cost and inventory cost should be taken into account. Overproduction results in shortages. Make ONLY what the next process needs . Target is shortest lead time, highest quality and lowest cost. Takt interval (batch of 20 pieces ) = 15 minutes 20 seconds.

Producing takt requires :

- provide fast response (within takt) to problems' - eliminate causes of unplanned downtime - eliminate changeover time in downstream, assembly-type processes

Combine processes .
Begin with continuous flow and pull/FIFO. Downstream process determine what upstream process produces. Supermarket schedules supply. Pull system is better if processes cant be tied together in a continuous flow.

Use a FIFO ("first in, first out") lane between two decoupled processes and
maintain a flow between them.

Install a "sequenced pull" between two processes, instead of a complete supermarket that has all components represented in it.

Send customer schedule to only one production process, the pacemaker process.

But fluctuations in production volume at pacemaker process affect capacity

requirements in upstream processes.

Level the production mix.

Maintain more finished goods inventory- to have on hand what a customer wants-or more lead time to fulfil an order.

Batching in assembly swells the in-process inventories which tend to grow larger the further upstream you go. Create an initial pull. Practice a "paced withdrawal".
Consistent Pitch

increment of work=pitch

interval = takt time * pack size = 46*60 = 46 minutes

It means in every 46 minutes: a) Give the pacemaker process instruction to produce one pack quantity; b) Take away one finished pitch quantity.

Load levelling box Develop the ability to make every part every day . Run time = (daily requirement * cycle time)/ %uptime In our case:
Daily
Cycle

requirement = 632 pieces


time of stitch floor is 61.3 seconds is 0.986

%uptime This

gives run time = 10.91 hrs

It means stitch floor should run for almost 11 hours at current process output to deliver on time.

CUTTING
Transportation: sewing floor being at first floor and cutting area at the basement leads to considerable transportation. Inventory: bundling and ticketing area stocking bundles which are despatched to sewing floor generally a day later, fabric lots stored in the store department(for over a week) and inspected and despatched for cutting as per requirement. Waiting: fabric supply delay, relaxation time for cutting, due to limited no: of skilled cutters, considerable waiting is done for layer cutting. Over-production: extra pieces cut, extra margin cut in some panels, part change panels. Over-processing: extra notches, drill marks, re-cutting edges. Defects: blur edges, notches of inappropriate length, uncut lower layers, panels cut incorrectly, marker defects, fraying, sticky edges (synthetic fabrics).

SEWING
Transportation: pieces for alteration or rework are first sent to inline checkers by the end line inspector, which is then sent to operator and finally sent back to audit table going in the reverse direction, cut panels are brought from cutting area which is two floors down to stitching floor. Inventory: WIP exceeding the planning process, two days stock of cut panels stored at the despatch area, bundles of garments stored at the audit section and despatched to finishing after a minimum no: of garments are made. Motion: since items do not progress in a bundle across the line, sorting, inspection, tracing of pieces requires added movement of workforce. Waiting: due to wrong size cut operators had no pieces to make, fabric non availability in the store department, m/c breakdown, electricity down-time, rework, part-change, wrong bundling of panels etc lead to operator and line waiting for pieces. Over-production: 4% of order quantity manufactured extra(to compensate for rejections). Over-processing: considerable rework ( approx 100 pieces a day per line) done. Defects: stitching defects, wrong labelling of garment, measurement problems, panels mismatched, Staines and fabric defects on the panels.

FINISHING
Transportation: garment bundles from sewing department sent to finishing department which is a floor below, process layout for finishing (from kaaj Button till final inspection not aligned in an order).

Inventory: large quantity of garments stored at the despatch area for finishing.

Defects: pressing defects, wrong buttoning, threads not trimmed/ sucked properly, measurement problems.

Long setup times

Incapable processes

Poor maintenance practices

Poor work methods

Lack of training

Lack of adherence

Supervisory roles

Irrelevant performance measures

Ineffective production planning

Lack of workplace organization

Supplier quality

The organization faces problems like large amount of inventory; unconnected processes pushing their output forward, and long lead time in comparison to short processing time.

Lean plants periodically adjust number of operators in assembly and redistribute the work elements to match output to changes in demand. Begin with a finished goods supermarket and move closer to produce to shipping. Overtime is needed if each operators work is not below takt time. Pacemaker process should have little change over time. Load leveling should be according to pitch increment. Goal should EPE from every day to every shift or pitch.

Merchandising Raw Material


Weekly order 90 days forecast

Customer
Term is FOB Shipment takes

Store Dept.
6 week forecast

Production control Sampling OAD faster

around 3 weeks No. of pieces in a carton:55-58 No. of product variations: 6

25 days

Arrivals
fabric

Balanced load OXOX


Daily targets box

batch Hourly basis 60 pcs 4 days 60 pcs 60 pcs

Cutting

Stitching

Finishing

Packaging

8 EPEx: batch Store supermarket Pack size: 10 pcs <0.25 day

32 Actual SAM: 25.33 Avg. Efficiency: 75 C/T: <61.3 seconds Hourly basis

9 Avg. eff.: 40.52 EPEx: hour Pacemaker process <0.25 day

3 Output: 15317 pcs/wk Pack size: 60 pcs EPEx: week Weekly shipment

WIP

Pitch time: 40 sec C/O: <1 day

Synchronised pull Small batches


2 days 1 day 0.25 day 1 day 0.5 day 0.25 day 7 days 48 seconds 12 days

115 seconds

1845 seconds

310 seconds

38.63 min

It contains:

FSVSM Detailed layouts

Yearly VS plan
Break implementation into loops (VS loops) Pacemaker loop Additional loops

OBJECTIVES:

Use kanban post for informing production control/store department about the store supermarket replenishment.

Aim for raw material arrivals in small batches for better management and more inventory turns.

Establish pull from store supermarket.

OBJECTIVES:

Reducing lead time by employing kanban based pull system.

Reducing WIP levels in this loop to improve cycle time and to


minimize defects.

EPE from day to batch and then to hour. Improve changeover time of stitch floor and bring it down to less than a day.

OBJECTIVES:

Develop continuous flow from finishing to shipping.

EPE from batch to hour.


Number of inventory turns in finished goods supermarket should be high.

Production control checks levelling of product mix and volume in packaging.

(Lead Fabric Cutting Cutting Stitching time in store inventory days )

Finishing

Shipment Total lead time

Before 3 After 2

2 1

1 0.25

3 1

3 0.5

7 7

19 11.75

Yearly VS plan shows: Step by step plan Measurable goals Clear checkpoints with real deadlines and named intervals

Start implementation from the loop which is well understood by people and which can give quick results (to build momentum). Pacemaker loop (being closest to the final customer), acts as internal customer and controls demand in upstream loop.

Continuous flow with minimum waste .

Before you can reach a high degree of levelization you will have to gain the ability to execute quick changeovers.

Before you can expect your assembly cells to operate effectively at takt time, you will need a high level of first-time-through capability and machine reliability.

VS plan can also be used to evaluate manufacturing performance (quarterly or monthly basis).

Deviations from the plan should be questioned rigorously. Managers evaluation based on three marks: On target Slightly behind schedule Unsuccessful (focus on this first)

cutting

stitching

Waiting time

High WIP Production not levelled

Large batch arrivals

Imbalanced production
delays High WIP Underutilized operators Improper checking

Fabric store

finishing

VS improvement is managements responsibility.

Requires onstant efforts to eliminate overproduction and dedication for lean.

It simply won't work if it's relegated to a few minutes at the weekly staff meeting. Make VSM a communication tool in the company.

The work of support operations must be tied to takt and pitch interval of direct VA operations.

Keep the virtuous cycle going. Developing lean value streams can be hard work, often with one step back for every two forward, developing a lean value stream exposes sources of waste, which means that people in all business functions may have to change habits.

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