QUALITY IMPROVEMENT IN ETHIOPIAN GARMENT INDUSTRIES

Transcription

1 ADDIS ABABA UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF TECHNOLOGY SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES DEPARTEMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING QUALITY IMPROVEMENT IN ETHIOPIAN GARMENT INDUSTRIES By: Alem Gemechu Advisor: Dr.-Ing. Daniel Kitaw Co-Advisor: Ato Amare Matebu A thesis submitted to the School of Graduate Studies of Addis Ababa University in partial fulfillment of the Degree of Masters of Science in Mechanical Engineering (Industrial Engineering Stream) September, 2009

2 Addis Ababa University School of Graduate Studies Faculty of Technology Mechanical Engineering Department QUALITY IMPROVEMENT IN ETHIOPIAN GARMENT INDUSTRIES By: Alem Gemechu Approved by board of examiners Chairman, Department Signature Date Graduate committee Dr.-Ing Daniel Kitaw Advisor Signature Date Ato Amare Matebu Co-Advisor Signature Date Internal Examiner Signature Date External Examiner Signature Date By: Alem Gemechu Page ii

3 DECLARATION I hereby declare that the work which is being presented in this thesis entitled, QUALITY IMPROVEMENT IN ETHIOPIAN GARMENT INDUSTRIES is original work of my own, has not been presented for a degree of any other university and all the resource of materials uses for this thesis have been duly acknowledged. Alem Gemechu Date This is to certify that the above declaration made by the candidate is correct to the best of my knowledge. Dr.-Ing Daniel kitaw Date Ato Amare Matebu Date By: Alem Gemechu Page iii

4 ACKNOWLEDEMENT With sincerity, I extend my warm and deep appreciation and gratitude to my advisor, Dr.- Ing. Daniel Kitaw and my co-advisor Ato Amare Matebu for their unreserved guidance and support to come up with this research work. Above all, I praise the Almighty Father and Lord Jesus Christ who gave me His enabling grace to successfully complete this research work within the given time. I would also like to thank all who responded to my questionnaires and interviews, which helped me in coming up with this research. Finally, I thank my father Dr. Gemechu Demissie, my mother Sr. Dinknesh Admassu and my husband Ato. Chanyalew Taye for their continuous support, ideas and love during my studies. By: Alem Gemechu Page iv

5 ABSTRACT This research work makes an assessment on quality related problems in Ethiopian garment industries in order to develop an applicable quality improvement model so that the overall performance of the sector can be improved. A brief introduction is given on the fundamental concepts of quality with reference to recent literature in the area so as to help readers follow the model developed. To undertake this research, a sample size of 11 garment industries representing 40% of the total garment industries in the country was taken considering the expected response rate, requirements for performing statistical analysis, available time and survey cost. Moreover, the selected garment industries produce different ranges of garment products in the country. Primary and secondary data were collected and analyzed to indentify quality-related problems of the sector using a well structured questionnaire, interviews, personal observations and review of previous research works. Then a quality improvement model is developed along with primary steps to implement the model to attain the goal. Finally, a number of recommendations are given for the garment industries. This paper can be used as a lead for future research works in the field. By: Alem Gemechu Page v

6 TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDEMENT...iv ABSTRACT... v TABLE OF CONTENTS...vi LIST OF FIGURES... viii LIST OF TABLES...ix LIST OF ACRONYMS... x 1. INTRODUCTION Research Background Problem Statement Research Objective Significance of the Study Scope of the Research LITERATURE REVIEW Evolution of Quality Inspection Quality Control Quality Assurance Total Quality Management State of the Art Quality Standards Quality Improvement Quality Costs Self Assessment Garment Production Process METODLOGY, DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS Methodology Survey Questionnaire Structured Interviews Direct Observation Data Collection and Analysis By: Alem Gemechu Page vi

7 3.2.1 Gap Analysis Benchmarking COQ in NovaStar Garment PLC Application of SQC tools in NovaStar garment PLC PROPOSED QUALITY IMPROVEMENT MODEL Leadership Supplier Improvement Self Evaluation Garment Design Quality Control Education and Training Customer Focus CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION Conclusion Recommendation REFERENCES APPENDIX APPENDIX APPENDIX By: Alem Gemechu Page vii

8 LIST OF FIGURES Fig Distribution of Ethiopian garment industries by first reason for operating at part load capacity in year 2007 [6]... 7 Fig Quality Evolutions [15] Fig Development process of Six Sigma in quality management [17] Fig Quality and Competitiveness [19] Fig Deming s PDCA cycle [21] Fig The European quality award model [15] Fig Garment production process [25] Fig Obstacles to improve quality in the companies Fig Cause of poor quality products in the companies Fig Pareto analysis for quality related problems in the companies Fig Performance gap of Ethiopian garment industries with best practice country Fig Percentage of quality cost elements in NovaStar garment PLC Fig Pareto diagram of defective shirts Fig u-chart for the number of defects per shirt Fig Pareto diagram of defective shirts of day Fig u-chart after significant causes during day1 is avoided Fig Supply chain of textile and garment sector Fig Inspection loop Fig Quality improvement model for Ethiopian Garment Industries Fig Quality improvement implementation model for Ethiopian Garment Industries 64 By: Alem Gemechu Page viii

9 LIST OF TABLES Table 2. 1 Apparel manufacturing Methods [26] Table 3. 1 Qualitative interpretation of questions Table 3. 2 Preliminary Gap Analysis for ISO 9001: Table 3. 3 Analysis table Table 3. 4 Benchmarking of Ethiopian garment industries [12] Table 3. 5 Estimated COQ in NovaStar garment PLC Table 3. 6 Types and number of defects (day 1-15) Table 3. 7 Types and number of defects (day 16-31) Table 3. 8 Data sheet for pareto diagram Table 3. 9 Data sheet for the construction of u-chart for defective shirts Table Evidence of causes of variations in the u-chart Table Determination of the causes of variation in day Table 4. 1 COQ of Ethiopian garment industries By: Alem Gemechu Page ix

10 LIST OF ACRONYMS AATCC- American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists AGOA-African Growth Opportunity Act ASTM- American Society for Testing and Materials CAD- Computer Aided Design CAM- Computer Aided Manufacturing CMT-Cut-Make-Trim business COQ- Cost of Quality CSA- Central Statistics Agency EBA- Everything But Arms EFQM- European Foundation for Quality Management EQA- European Quality Award FDI- Foreign Direct Investment FOB- Free On Board GSP- Generalized System of Preferences ISO- International Standards Organization LDC- Least Developed Countries MBNQA-Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award PCDA-Plan-Do-Check-Act QC-Quality Control QFD- Quality Function Deployment QMS- Quality Management System SPC- Statistical Process Control TQM- Total Quality Management WRAP- Worldwide Responsible Apparel Production Principles By: Alem Gemechu Page x

11 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1. Research Background The globalization of the market and the rapid improvements in information flow has made competition in manufacturing industries to be fierce worldwide. As a result, industries such as the garment industry are facing the greatest challenge in history because of the rapidly changing business environment with respect to global competition, market performance, and changing technology [1]. Garment is a fashion product that is influenced by social trends and global economic environments. The garment industry has specific market characteristics, such as short product life cycle, high volatility, low predictability, and a high level of impulse purchase, making quick response of paramount importance [2]. In today s world, garment industries make a significant contribution to many national economies especially in the developing world. Many countries are exploiting this industry for reasons of economic growth. The high amount of labor involved in garment production has caused garment producers to seek locations with lower wage employees for reduced production costs. Garment producers in developing countries have labor-cost advantages compared to industrialized countries [1]. Because of its large labor pool (Central Statistics Agency estimated to be above 30 million persons in 2005), Ethiopia has a comparative advantage in producing garment. The increased salary levels in Asian countries, closing of factories particularly in China and dissatisfaction of EU and US importers provide an opportunity for new entrants such as Ethiopia into the global market [3]. Ethiopia has a long history for traditional garment manufacturing, which is endowed with profound national culture up to this date. Cottage industries have been the main style for traditional garment and have satisfied the demand of the people for centuries. The industrialization process of Ethiopia s garment manufacturing started in the 1950 s. In 1958, an Italian took the lead to establish the Addis garment factory, which was nationalized in The public Akaki garment factory was founded in 1963, followed By: Alem Gemechu Page 1

12 by the Gulele garment factory in 1983 and the Nazereth garment factory in These four state-owned garment factories have dominated Ethiopia s garment sub-sector for a long time [4]. At present, the garment sector consists of only 2.22 % of the country's manufacturing industries. Currently, there are 28 garment factories and 17 more are on project phase [3]. 22 of the existing garment factories are located in the capital, Addis Ababa [6]. These industries produce different kinds of attires including uniforms, work wears, knit wear products like sports wear, under wears, polo shirts, clothing products and suits. Ownership structure of Ethiopian garment industries is a mixture of diversified ownerships including public, share company, private limited company, partnerships and individual ownership. The Ethiopian government has defined the textile and garment sector as a top priority sector in the industrial development package of the country. This is because textile and clothing market is always demanded next to food commodities. The sector also utilizes more labor which is available abundantly at low cost in the country. The garment sector has a large potential for creating employment opportunities. The sector has strong vertical linkages with the textile industry that have the potential to increase the development of agriculture. It has a vast potential to manufacture goods for export, thus earning highly demanded foreign exchange [5]. Recently the Ethiopian garment sector has opportunities in the global market such as African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA) giving quota and duty free access to the USA market for sub-saharan African countries [7]. However, Ethiopia has been exporting a limited quantity of garments to the world market. Out of the total 1.4 billion USD dollars earned from the export of goods in the year 2007, textile and garment export is only 1% having a small impact on national revenue [6]. This shows that the country did not succeed in making use of this valuable opportunity. The Ethiopian garment industry is still at its infancy stage even when compared to that of other developing countries. It is unable to compete in the global market due to inability to produce quality products. The quality of garment products is associated with the extent to which it satisfies the consumer s needs. Quality of garment products have two dimensions, namely, a physical By: Alem Gemechu Page 2

13 dimension, specifying what the garment item is and a behavioral dimension indicating what the item can achieve [ 8]. Physical characteristics include the intrinsic factors of the item such as the design, textile construction and finishes that cannot be changed without changing the item itself. The behavioral characteristics of apparel products can be divided into functional as well as aesthetic behavioral characteristics. Functional behavioral characteristics refer to properties such as the durability and comfort of the item. Aesthetic behavioral characteristics refer to the prettiness or aesthetic experience that the apparel item can bring about, whether sensory level, emotional, or cognitive. According to David Garvin, a Harvard expert on quality, there are eight dimensions of quality: performance, features, reliability, conformance, durability, serviceability, aesthetics and perceived quality [9]. Another commonly used definitions of quality that originated from one of the quality pioneers; Juran uses the idea of fitness for use. Fitness for use should be judged from the customer s point of view and not from either the manufacturer s or seller s perspective. This concept can be applied for garments as well. For a garment to be fit for use, provided that the style is acceptable it must be [10]: Free from defects such as stains, fabric defects, open seams, untrimmed threads, misaligned buttons and buttonholes and defective zippers Fit properly for the labeled size Perform satisfactory in normal use, meaning that a garment must be able to withstand like normal laundering, dry-cleaning, pressing cycles without color loss or shrinkage. Seams must not come apart and fabric must not tear Customer needs are a moving target and it is widely recognized that quality goals must keep shifting to respond to the changes that keep coming over the horizon [11]. As a result, continuous improvement of quality is needed in the garment industry since there is competition pressure. By: Alem Gemechu Page 3

14 1.2. Problem Statement Ethiopia did not use the advantage of its large labor pool in the garment sector because of quality problems. The reasons for these are manifold, and extend vertically through the supply chain from poor quality raw materials to poor finishing. There are external and internal factors that can directly or indirectly affect the quality of Ethiopian garment industries. The external factors are those which are beyond the control of the individual garment industry while the internal factors are those within its control. External Factors The Ethiopian government has declared to give the textile and garment sector a priority area for industrial development and export. During the past years, the government has already intervened in support of the sector in order to make it competitive in the global market. Expectations have been high, but have not been fulfilled so far by the industry [3]. Despite many well-intended efforts of the government, Ethiopian garment industries posses many challenges on the external environment. The absence of significant backward linkages of domestic suppliers is the major negative feature of the Ethiopian garment industry. This not only concerns fabric, but also most of the accessories that are required. Currently, there are limited accessories manufacturing factories in the country for the garment sub-sector [3]. Accessories needed in garment manufacturing such as buttons, zippers, lacework and liner cloth have to be imported. The quality of the Ethiopian garment industries is further hindered by the poor quality of fabric produced by the local textile industries. Most of the domestic fabric available to the apparel manufacturers is of poor quality. Garment industries deal with this issue by importing textiles, which is time consuming and increases lead time of order fulfillment. The garment industries are affected even more dramatically as high duties prevent them from importing high quality fabric. The other problem is the lack of exposure to foreign best practice (FDI) which has a significant impact on quality in Ethiopian garment industries. The FDI market can boost labor skills, transfer technology and thereby increases quality of products. Ethiopia did By: Alem Gemechu Page 4

15 not have the opportunity to gain much exposure to foreign best practice methods. There has been very little FDI especially in the garment sector. The major reasons that are considered to be deterrent to FDI are the unavailability of quality fabric in the country. All things being equal, an investor will choose to produce in a country with readily accessible supply of textiles to cut down turn-around-time and minimize problems with customs clearance. Also, poor infrastructure limits Ethiopian garment industries exposure to foreign best practice. The lack of foreign investment in the apparel sector is an enormous hindrance to competitiveness in the global market. Furthermore, the existing textile and garment training institutions also do not have the capacity to give adequate skill upgrading training which have drawbacks on workers performance. Internal Factors There is a large gap between customer requirement and the products of the Ethiopian garment industries. The degree of communication with the customers to understand their requirement and translating into products is not satisfactory. Customers do not involve in product development which results in poor quality products that will ultimately affect the market share and profitability of the sector. Most of the Ethiopian garment industries have a short-term view on business which focuses on quantity and profit rather than quality. Quality is regarded as a technical issue managed by the quality department. Because of poor management commitment on quality, most of the garment industries don t have a culture to support total employees involvement in quality improvement. Thus quality vision, mission, documentation systems and relative measures do not exist. These companies spend most of their time in detecting the defects of the products rather than preventing the defects. As a result, the quality control activities are inspection-based rather than prevention-based. Even the existing inspection techniques are visual methods which are not effective. There is also no awareness and application of statistical process By: Alem Gemechu Page 5

16 control tools. As a result, the industries are not able to continuously monitor their processes and determine whether the processes are in or out of control. Most of Ethiopian garment industries don t have self evaluation activities such as cost of quality, quality audit, employee's performance and satisfaction evaluation, and benchmarking. Therefore, the existing problems are not identified and not solved. The sector cannot achieve lessons on how best-in-class competitors perform and improve their quality. As a result, the sector is lagging behind international competitors. Majorities of Ethiopian garment industries are not strong financially and do not have funds to invest in personnel training and purchase of modern equipments. Since the level of automation of the machines used is very low, the operators need to perform more actions resulting in higher work content. Therefore, the quality of the finished product depends more on the skill of the operators. Due to poor skill of operators, the probability of defects is greater and the need for re-working garments is higher. As a result, the industries are forced to incur additional cost because more inspectors are required to identify the defects. Today, while advanced garment processing equipments such as automatic cutting machines, computer controlled lock-stick sewing machines, virtual garment system and stereo iron-ordering machines are widely used in overseas garment factories, most of the Ethiopian garment factories are still using medium speed lockstitch sewing machines and overlook sewing machines. Most of them also lack CAD/CAM system, spreading machines, centralized steam system which help to increase quality and productivity. The absence of embroidery machines and adequate washing and drying facilities further hinders customer satisfaction. The garment industries are also impacted by the supply of poor fabric and accessories from external suppliers as well. There is minimum flow of information and cooperation with external suppliers. The major criterion for purchasing raw materials is based on price rather than quality. Ethiopian garment industries do not use any mechanism to evaluate raw material suppliers prior to shipment. By: Alem Gemechu Page 6

17 Poor working conditions in Ethiopian garment industries contribute to high turn-over and absenteeism rates. These result in unskilled operators to do specialized jobs which reduce quality and productivity. In general, the productivity of the Ethiopian garment industries is also low. Productivity of a worker in case of medium complexity T-shirt is 1T-shirt per 15 minutes where as in Romania and Turkey producing the same T-shirt takes only 5..6 and 6.4 minutes respectively [12]. Due to the above mentioned problems, the Ethiopian garment industries cannot face the demand required by the export markets. According to Central Statistics Agency (CSA), the reasons for these industries for operating at part load capacity in year 2007 are described in Figure 1.1 Not stated Others 14% 4% Absence of credit facility 14% Shortage of supply of raw materials 43% Absence of market demand 25% Fig Distribution of Ethiopian garment industries by first reason for operating at part load capacity in year 2007 [6] 1.3. Research Objective The main objective of this study is to critically examine and identify quality associated problems in Ethiopian garment industries and develop an appropriate and applicable quality improvement model to improve the overall performance of the sector. By: Alem Gemechu Page 7

18 Furthermore, the research targeted to achieve the following specific objectives: Develop a conceptual understanding about quality and show the need for quality improvement in Ethiopian garment industries Critically examine and identify the quality associated problems of the sector Perform a gap analysis with respect to ISO 9000 system Identify the potential areas for improvement Propose appropriate measures to improve the quality of products 1.4. Significance of the Study In recent years the Ethiopian government has implemented a raft of economic reforms to boost the economy of the country. Privatization and tax incentives have helped Ethiopia to achieve 10% annual growth across all sectors over the past five years and 32% growth in exports in the past year [5]. Exports of textiles and clothing, primarily to Europe and the United States increased only by US$ 1.6 million, from US$ 11 million in 2005/2006 to US$ 12.6 million in 2007/08. However, this figure is below the expectations, which should have reached US$500 million [6]. To encourage investors, the Ethiopian government is waiving taxes for both exports and the import of raw materials and machinery. Despite such incentives, Ethiopian garment industries cannot compete in the global markets because of poor quality products. Compared to other developing countries, like China, Ethiopia is lagging behind in quality, especially in the garment sector [5]. Therefore, there is a need for in-depth study to improve the quality of the Ethiopian garment sector. Unfortunately, only limited numbers of researches have been done at national level on quality-related topics in Ethiopian garment industries. This study aims to identify the quality related problems of Ethiopian garment industries and propose appropriate implementation model. The research has a great benefit to overcome the stated quality problems so that the sector can be competitive in the global market. It is hopefully believed that the Ethiopian garment industries will implement the model and have a remarkable improvement. Government bodies such as Ministry of Trade and By: Alem Gemechu Page 8

19 Industry, Quality and Standard Authority of Ethiopia and other interested sectors can also draw important concepts out of the study Scope of the Research This research work makes an assessment on quality related problems in selected 11 Ethiopian garment industries (which represent 40 % of the total garment industries in the country) and provides concrete and applicable solutions. An applicable quality improvement model is developed so that the overall activities of the industries can be improved and the sector can be competitive in the global as well as domestic market. By: Alem Gemechu Page 9

20 2. LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1. Evolution of Quality The quality movement can trace its roots back to medieval Europe, when craftsmen began organizing into unions called guilds in the late 13 th century [13]. In the early 1950 s, quality management practices developed rapidly in Japanese plants, and become a major theme in Japanese management philosophy, such that, by 1960, quality control and management had become a national preoccupation. By the early 1970 s Japan s imports into the USA and Europe increased significantly, due to its cheaper, higher quality products, compared to the Western counterparts. The quality revolution in the West was slow to follow, and did not begin until the early 1980 s, when companies introduced their own quality programs and initiatives to counter the Japanese success [14]. Since the turn of the century quality improvement has matured significantly. New quality systems have evolved from the foundations of Deming, Juran and the early Japanese practitioners of quality, and quality has moved beyond manufacturing into service, distribution, healthcare, education and government sectors. During the last three decades, simple inspection activities have been replaced or supplemented by quality control, quality assurance and now most companies are working towards Total Quality Management (TQM) [15]. In this progression, four fairly discrete stages can be identified: inspection, quality control, quality assurance, and TQM as shown in Figure 2.1. By: Alem Gemechu Page 10

21 Fig Quality Evolutions [15] Inspection At one time inspection was thought to be the only way of ensuring quality. Inspection with reference to the garment industry can be defined as the examination or review of raw materials (like fabric, buttons, zippers and sewing threads), in-process components and completely finished garment in relation to some standard specifications, or requirements. The inspection activity can be carried out by staff employed specifically for the purpose or by self-inspection. Products which do not conform to specification may be scrapped, reworked, modified or passed on concession. In some cases inspection is used to grade the finished product. The system is an after-the event screening process with no prevention content. Simple inspection based systems usually do not directly involve suppliers or customers in the activity. By: Alem Gemechu Page 11

22 Quality Control Quality control is concerned with the operational techniques for detecting, recording, and taking actions to eliminate quality problems. Quality control focuses on finding and eliminating sources of defects and monitoring the manufacturing process. With quality control there is some development from the basic inspection activity in terms of the sophistication of methods, systems, tools and techniques employed. While the main mechanism for preventing off-specification products and services from being delivered to a customer is again screening inspection. Quality control measures help increase process control and to lower incidence of non-conformances. Quality control will not improve quality but just highlight when products and services do not conform to requirements. An over emphasis on quality control will result in people relying on their work to be checked and tends to stop them from taking responsibility for improving the processes for which they are responsible Quality Assurance Finding and solving a problem after a non-conformance has been created is not an effective means of eliminating the root cause of a problem. Continuous improvement can only be achieved by directing organizational efforts towards planning and preventing problems occurring at source. This concept leads to the third stage of quality management development which is quality assurance. In short, more emphasis is placed on advanced quality planning, improving the design of the product, process and services, improving control over the process, and involving and motivating people Total Quality Management The fourth and highest level of quality management is TQM. TQM is a management philosophy, a paradigm, a continuous improvement approach to doing business through a new management model. TQM expands beyond statistical process control to embrace a By: Alem Gemechu Page 12

23 wider scope of management activities of how to manage people and organizations by focusing on the entire process, not just simple measurements. This involves the application of quality management principles, these are: continuous improvement, customer focus, honesty, sincerity and care to all aspects of the business, including customers and suppliers. TQM is composed of three paradigms: Total: Involving the entire organization Quality: conformance to requirements (meeting customer requirements) Management: Science and art or manner of planning, controlling, directing and the like State of the Art The history of quality management, from mere inspection to TQM, and its modern branded interpretations such as Six-Sigma, has led to the development of essential processes, ideas, theories and tools that are central to quality improvement. Six-Sigma is a new strategic paradigm of management innovation for the survival of a company in the 21st century, which implies three things: statistical measurement, management strategy and quality culture [16]. It is regarded as a fresh quality management strategy which can replace quality control, TQM and others. In a sense, we can view the development process of Six-Sigma as shown in Figure 2.2 Fig Development process of Six Sigma in quality management [17] By: Alem Gemechu Page 13

24 A garment production process faces numerous kinds of problems leading to quality defects and subsequent alterations and rejections of the product. The Six-Sigma methodology is a structured program for improving garment quality through Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control (DMAIC) methods [18 ]. DMAIC phases consist of the following steps: Define: This is the first phase of the process improvement effort. During this phase, the Six-Sigma project is defined. Planning for the garment production and collection of information pertaining to the customer requirements is done. Measure: In this phase the key internal processes that influence critical to quality (CTQ) are identified and the garment defects are measured. Analyze: This phase involves the data analysis for identification of parts of process which affect the quality of the garment. There are a number of statistical tools available such as Hypothesis Testing, Regression Analysis and historical Design of PFMEA, Box Plot, ANOVA, Correlation, Regression. Improve: This phase finds a permanent solution to the problem. This may involve better forecasting, better scheduling, better procedures or equipment. Control: In this phase, tools are used to ensure that the key variables remain within the maximum permissible ranges continuously. Currently there are analytic software for Six-Sigma programs that provide all necessary data management, analysis, and graphics capabilities to determine the most important factors, and perform data-driven decision-making [16]. By: Alem Gemechu Page 14

25 2.2. Quality Standards Quality standards are frameworks for achieving a recognized level of quality within an organization. Achievement of a quality standard demonstrates that an organization has met the requirements laid out by a certifying body. There are at least four different sources of product standards: company standards, industry standards, national standards, and international standards [10]. International standards are increasingly important for doing business in a global environment. International Standard Organization (ISO) has developed a set of standards for quality systems that is required for quality certification. The ISO 9000 family of standards represents an international consensus on good management practice. Its primary aim is to give organizations guidelines on what constitutes an effective quality management system, which in turn can serve as a framework for continuous improvement. ISO 9000 is not a product quality label or guarantee. Compliance with the standards verifies product repeatability such that products produced under a specified standard will have similar dimensions of quality. Some garment industries view ISO certification is only necessary as a factor for exports. Implementation of ISO helps the garment industries to enhance their product and process quality, minimizes defective supplies and reworking. As it is a well recognized standard for quality, it shows the customers that the industry takes quality seriously. ISO certified companies focus more on the quality of their products and operations. It also motivates the employees in improving quality. The cost of implementing ISO is comparatively cheaper to the benefits derived out of it. Many ISO certified companies positively assert that their total costs went down to a considerable extent after the implementation of ISO [18]. There is no industry or government-mandated standards for textile or garment performance, but voluntary standards are available for many products. These standards are used by many textile mills and apparel firms to determine performance of materials. Two government and trade supported organizations have developed standard performance specifications for textiles and many other products. The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) and the American Association of Textile Chemists and By: Alem Gemechu Page 15

26 Colorists (AATCC) have established standard test methods related to performance characteristics and physical parameters of textile products [18]. ASTM is the world's largest source of voluntary standards for different types of products, including textile and apparel categories. ASTM annually publishes books of standards for many products. ASTM published a series of recommended standards that can serve as guidelines for purchasing fabrics with performance acceptable for forty-two apparel product categories. These standards are used as guidelines in specifying fabric requirements and negotiating purchase contracts. AATCC is internationally recognized for its standard methods for testing dyed and chemically treated fibers and fabrics. These standards are established to measure and evaluate performance characteristics such as colorfastness to light and washing, durable press finishes, shape retention, flammability, and the many other conditions to which textiles may be subjected. The standards and test methods provided by ASTM and AATCC often become a part of the materials standards and specifications used by manufacturers Quality Improvement Inspecting every product is costly and inefficient, but the consequences of shipping nonconforming product can be significant in terms of customer dissatisfaction [11]. As a result, the underlying aim of quality improvement is to ensure in a cost efficient manner that the product shipped to customers meets their specifications. Higher product quality is required for a company to become more competitive, both locally and in international trade as shown in Figure 2.3. Improved quality increases productivity, hence, many world-class firms and nations use quality as a powerful competitive tool [19]. By: Alem Gemechu Page 16

27 Reduced Waste Reduced Cost of Production Improved Productivity Improved Quality Improved Competitiveness Increased Market Share Increased Revenues Fig Quality and Competitiveness [19] Continuous improvement of quality is needed since there are competition pressures and customer needs are a moving target. Therefore, quality goals must keep shifting to respond to the changes that keep coming over the horizon i.e. new technology, new competition, threats, and opportunities [20]. The Deming s plan-do-check-act (PDCA) cycle is the most widely used tools for continuous improvement as shown in Figure 2.4 Plan Act Do Check Fig Deming s PDCA cycle [21] Plan: Identify an opportunity and plan for change. Do: Implement the change on a small scale. Check: Use data to analyze the results of the change and determine whether it made a difference. Act: If the change was successful, implement it on a wider scale and continuously assess the results. If the change did not work, begin the cycle again. By: Alem Gemechu Page 17

28 A wide range of tools and techniques are used for identifying, measuring, prioritizing and improving a process which are critical to quality. The basic quality improvement tools are Check sheets, Histograms, Pareto diagram, Cause-and-Effect diagrams, Scatter diagrams and Control charts. A Check sheet is a paper form on which items to be checked have been printed already so that data can be collected easily and concisely. Its main purposes are to make datagathering easy and to arrange data automatically so that they can be used easily later on. A Histogram is a bar chart showing a distribution of variables. This tool helps identify the cause of problems in a process by shape of the distribution as well as the width of the distribution. The histogram clearly portrays information on location, spread, and shape regarding the functioning of the physical process. It can also help suggest both the nature of and possible improvements for the physical mechanisms at work in the process. A Pareto Diagram is a bar graph used to arrange information in such a way that priorities for process improvement can be established. Pareto diagram is used to display the relative importance of data and to direct efforts to the biggest improvement opportunity by highlighting the vital few in contrasts to the useful many. A Cause-and-Effect Diagram is a tool that helps identify, sort, and display possible causes of a specific problem or quality characteristic. The diagram graphically illustrates the relationship between a given outcome and all the factors that influence the outcome. It is used when we need to identify the possible root causes, the basic reasons, for a specific effect, problem, or condition, sort out and relate some of the interactions among the factors affecting a particular process or effect and analyze existing problems so that corrective action can be taken. A Scatter diagram is used to study the relation of two corresponding variables i.e. a quality characteristic and a factor affecting it, two related quality characteristics, or two factors relating to a single quality characteristic. By: Alem Gemechu Page 18

29 A Control chart is a graphical method for displaying control results and evaluating whether a measurement procedure is in-control or out-of-control Quality Costs A proper understanding of the cost of quality (COQ) is vital for a garment industry to develop quality conformance as a useful strategic business tool to improve quality. Quality costs are the costs associated with preventing, finding, and correcting defective work [21]. Research shows that the costs of poor quality can range from 15%-40% of business costs [22]. Many of these costs can be significantly reduced or completely avoided. There are four types of quality costs: prevention costs, appraisal costs, internal failure costs, and external failure costs [23]. i. Internal Failure Costs: Costs from product defects prior to shipment to customer. These include scrap, rework, retest, downtime, etc. ii. External failure costs: Costs associated with defects found after shipment to customer. They include complaint adjustment, returned material, warranty charges, allowances, etc. iii. Appraisal Costs: Costs associated with discovering the condition of products and raw materials. They include incoming material inspection, inspection and test, maintain accuracy of test equipment, materials and services consumed, evaluating of stocks etc. iv. Prevention Costs: The costs of all activities to prevent poor quality of products. These include quality planning, new products review, training, process control, quality data acquisition and analysis, quality reporting, improvement projects etc. By: Alem Gemechu Page 19

30 Total Cost of Quality Total Cost of Quality is the sum of four types of costs i.e. Prevention Cost + Appraisal Cost + Internal Failure Cost + External Failure Cost. In today's business environment reduction of total cost of quality increases the competitiveness and facilitates survival and further growth of a garment industry [23] Self Assessment Three most frequently used self-assessment models have been Japan s Deming Application Prize, the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNA), and the European Quality Award (EQA). Each award is based on a perceived model of total quality management. They do not focus solely on either product or service perfection or traditional quality management methods, but consider a wide range of management activities, behavior and processes which influence the quality of the final offerings [20]. The model of the European Quality Award is divided into two parts: enablers and results. The enablers are leadership, people management, policy and strategy, resources and processes [15]. These five aspects steer the business and facilitate the transformation of inputs to outputs. The results are people satisfaction, customer satisfaction, impact on society and business results which are the measure of the level of output attained by the organization. The model consists of nine primary elements which are further divided into a number of secondary elements as shown in Figure 2.5 By: Alem Gemechu Page 20

31 Fig The European quality award model [15] 2.6. Garment Production Process Garment production process is fragmented and labor-intensive. With low capital and skill requirements, it is ideally suited to the early stages of industrialization [24]. The Ethiopian garment industry is segmented into tailors, domestic manufacturers and exporters. Tailors undertake the bulk of production of the domestic market. A typical tailoring shop consists of a tailor who deals with customers (helping with design and measurement) and 3-4 workers who stitch the clothes. Consumers generally provide the fabric; therefore, tailors have low fixed costs and pay lower wages. Generally, most tailor made clothing are cheaper than ready-made apparel. Domestic manufacturers and exporters produce western style ready-made apparel for either domestic or export. This research focuses only western style apparel ready-made apparel. The traditional style garments such as Abesha Lebse (Ethiopian traditional cloth) are excluded since they are unique to Ethiopia and, therefore, not comparable across countries. By: Alem Gemechu Page 21

32 Apparel production process The production of a final garment consists of the consecutive steps shown in Figure 2.6. [25] Pattern Making: Patternmaking is the process of creating all the correctly sized pieces needed to make a complete garment. The traditional method of pattern making includes creation of hard paper patterns. The modern garment making system has adopted the digitization of pattern making process. Most of Ethiopian garment industries are still using the traditional method because the cost of computerized systems is prohibitive. Pattern Grading: Pattern pieces must be increased or decreased geometrically to create a complete range of sizes. The process of resizing the initial pattern is called grading. The grade rules are developed keeping in view the market segment for which the product is intended such as men, women, youth, children, etc. Marker Making: Fabric is the most important basic material for apparel making and it accounts for around 50 per cent of the cost of a garment. Thus, material optimization or maximizing fabric utilization is the fundamental factor for every garment firm. Marking refers to the process of placing pattern pieces to maximize the number of patterns that can be cut out of a given piece of fabric. Marker making considers fabric width, length, fabric type and subsequent cutting method used. Although markers can be made manually or using CAD software, the computerized method is more efficient. Garment Cutting: Once the marker is made, pattern pieces must be cut out of the specified fabric. Apart from using traditional tools, nowadays, computerized cutting systems are widely used for garment cutting. Pattern specifications are kept into consideration while cutting which ensure that the constructed garment is exactly similar to the sample produced. Garment Sewing: This is the main assembly stage of the production process where fabric is stitched together and a garment is assembled. Computerized sewing machines can be programmed to sew a specific number of stitches. However, sewing remains largely labor-intensive. By: Alem Gemechu Page 22

33 Pressing and Finishing: After the sewing operation, the constructed garments are examined, pressed, tagged and bagged. Special detailing such as pleats, embroidery and screen printing to a garment are also added. Garment design Creating pattern Production planning Order fabric/accessories Schedule production process Pre-assembly Marker making (determine layout of patterns on fabric) Spread (lay cloth on the table) cut Buddle (ensure a pattern pieces from same ply of fabric) Assembly Sew Ensure the pieces fit together at the end of the sewing process Finishing Trim Inspect Wash Press Pack Fig Garment production process [25] By: Alem Gemechu Page 23

34 Garment production techniques are divided into make through, assembly line and modular methods [26]. The method used depends on the product type, quality level, order quantity, level of technology and skills available as shown Table 2.1 In make through method a single operator undertakes the whole process. Therefore, little supervision and organization are required. In addition, this method has a very low throughput time because only one unit has to be finished at a time to complete the order. The disadvantage of this system is that operator needs to conduct all the operations required to produce the finished good and cannot learn any specialization. Assembly line method is based on extreme division of labor. Its major advantage is that both workers and machines are specialized, allowing for a dramatic increase in productivity. In addition, the individual skills required by operators are greatly reduced. However, this method of production needs excellent organizational ability so as to avoid idle time. Factors like variations in individual operator performance, absenteeism and machine breakdowns can easily upset the working schedule. In addition, this makes it harder to handle style variations and dramatically increases the lead time associated with a finished batch of products. Modular: Modular formation consists of grouping tasks and assigning them to module. These workers are cross-trained and can, therefore, easily move across tasks. Compensation is based on the module s output instead of that of the individual worker. The key benefit of this method is the reduction in throughput time. However, the costs of the switching to this method are very high as extensive training is required. It is commonly used for high value-added, high fashion product. By: Alem Gemechu Page 24

35 Table 2. 1 Apparel manufacturing Methods [26] System Description Characteristics Quality Control Make through Assembly line Modular Whole garment is made by one operator Extreme division of labor Employees are organized in groups to carry out complete operations for a family products Short runs Little supervision Long runs High supervision Standard products Short runs High supervision High value products Ease of style change Operator skill required Low High High Low High Low Medium High Investment required High High High Medium By: Alem Gemechu Page 25

36 3. METODLOGY, DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS 3.1. Methodology To undertake this research, a sample size of 11 garment industries (Wossi Garment, Unis Garment, Oasis Abyssinia Garment, Mulat Garment, Haile Garment, GMM, Feleke Garment, Ambassador Garment, Garment Evolution, Novastar Garment and Knit to Finish) was selected out of a total 28 garment industries in the country. Detail list of these garment industries are attached in Appendix 1. The sample size was decided after considering the expected response rate, requirements for performing statistical analysis, available time and survey cost. Moreover, the selected garment industries cover most types of productsknitted and woven, T-shirts, polos, trousers, suits, jackets of different sizes. Although the selected samples were limited to firms in Addis Ababa and Oromia Region where the majority of the national garment industries (95%) are located, it is assumed that the samples from these regions can give directions on the whole situation of garment industries in Ethiopia. In order to obtain important information about the performance of Ethiopian garment industries, the following organizations were contacted. Quality and standards Authority of Ethiopia Ministry of Trade and Industry UNIDO Ethiopian Garment Association Ethiopian Textile and Leather Industry Development Center Central Statistics Agency In order to assess the quality related problems of the sector, primary and secondary data were collected using a well structured questionnaire, interviews, personal observations and review of previous research works. By: Alem Gemechu Page 26

37 Survey Questionnaire The questionnaire was pilot-tested with a small sample of garment industries in order to refine before distribution. Personal visits as well as phone calls were used to increase response rate. The type of questionnaire used to collect data is presented in Appendix 2. The survey questionnaire contains 60 questions requiring four types of answers: The first type uses a nominal scale, Yes or No The second type uses an ordinal scale, Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair, Poor The third type of scale is Very high, High, Moderate, Low and Nil The fourth type requires brief answer for subjective questions The questionnaire in this survey is categorized into five different sections with reference to the Ethiopian garment industries. The first category of questions (1to7) was designed to explore the general quality awareness of the industries. These set of questions were based on the philosophy of one of the quality gurus, Crosby. The second category of questions (8 to 10) is related to the causes of poor quality in the factories. The objective of these questions is to evaluate the impact of factors such as skills, technology, management commitment and supplier relation. The third category of questions (11 to 25) were designed to assess the quality improvement efforts made by the management such as trainings, teamwork and customer satisfaction. The last category questions (26 to 60) deals with quality performance to understand the current quality standards in Ethiopian garment industries. These questions deal with quality planning, quality design, quality control, quality improvement, quality assurance, quality documentation and cost of quality. By: Alem Gemechu Page 27

38 Structured Interviews The design of the interviews was based on the research objectives. Interviews were conducted with top management of the garment industries. The interviews were used to cross check the reliability of the response to the questionnaire. It is also used to gather additional information to compare the current QMS with respect to ISO standard Direct Observation In this research direct observation is used as a means to assess the techniques used in documentation and production processes as well as the existing facilities of the industries. Important documents of the respective industries such as annual reports, company profile brochure, and inspection data have been also used to perform quantitative analysis Data Collection and Analysis A total of 110 questionnaires were distributed out of which 53% were completed by the respondents. The most common reasons for non-response were low educational level and unwillingness. The result of the statistical analysis of the questionnaire is presented in Appendix 3. According to the first category of questions, the general understanding of quality concept in the industries is higher at the top of the organization and gets lesser as it goes down. The second category of the questions reveals the causes of poor quality products in the industries. As shown in Figure 3.1, the system of the organization such as policies, rules and procedures are the primary obstacle to improve quality in the industries. Lack of required knowledge and skill of employees is the second major contributor. By: Alem Gemechu Page 28

39 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% A B C D E Series 1 40% 8.80% 19% 11.10% 21% Fig Obstacles to improve quality in the companies A- The system of the organization (like policy, rules and procedures) B- The internal working environment C- Lack of consistency in the action being taken D- Fear and resistance of the management E- Lack of the required knowledge and skill Figure 3.2 shows that poor quality of raw materials is the major cause of poor quality products in the industries and inadequate training of workers in the industries also has a great impact. By: Alem Gemechu Page 29

40 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% A B C D E Series % 23.63% 18.17% 20% 11% Fig Cause of poor quality products in the companies A- Poor quality of raw materials delivered from suppliers B- Inadequate training of workers in the company C- Lack of top management commitment to quality D- Low quality awareness of workers in the company E- Unavailability of proper technology Referring to the subjective answers, the quality related problems faced by the industries are manifold and include: 1. Lack of quality awareness 2. Lack of proper training 3. Lack of skilled manpower 4. Lack of motivation of workers 5. Low technological level 6. Customer dissatisfaction because of late delivery 7. High rate of rework/rejects 8. Low quality fabric 9. Unavailability of Quality Management System 10. Lack of proper inspection techniques By: Alem Gemechu Page 30

41 11. Poor understanding of customers requirements From the above responses, a Parteo diagram is constructed as shown in Figure 3.3 to reveal the major causes of the problems. Fig Pareto diagram for quality related problems in the industries A- Low quality fabric B- Lack of quality awareness C- Lack of skilled manpower D- Low technological level E- Managerial problems F- Lack of proper inspection techniques Others The analysis of the Pareto diagram shows that poor quality of the raw material (fabric) is the major cause of poor quality products in Ethiopian garment industries. By: Alem Gemechu Page 31

42 According to the respondents for the third category of the questions, the frequency of trainings given to employees is very low as a result the overall skill of the employees is low. Usually the industries give training only on hiring. The existence of strong cooperation and teamwork is not satisfactory. 65% of the respondents agree that the response of the industry to market change is low. The quality of products of the respondent companies is not compatible with the quality of the products manufactured by the market leaders. About 67.5% of the respondents say that the rate of rework in the industries is high. 73% of the respondents agree that the biggest concerns of the management are cost and schedules instead of quality. According to the last category of respondents, most of the garment industries do not identify customer requirements. There is a large gap between customer requirement and the products of the industries. The degree of communication with the customers to understand their requirement and translating into products is not satisfactory. About 52% of the respondents agreed that the existence of favorable system for customers to express their feelings is very low. These industries don t have quality improvement programs and they spend most of their time on detecting the defects of the products rather than preventing the defects. As a result, the quality control activities are inspection-based instead of prevention-based. They use visual inspection techniques which are not an effective method and there is no awareness and application of the statistical process control tools. Because of poor management commitment to quality, most of the garment industries don t have their own business culture to support total employees involvement in quality improvement. Therefore, the quality vision, mission objective statement and relative measures do not exist. 68% of the respondents agree that the garment industries do not have self evaluation techniques. As a result, the industries don t have internal/external quality audit system and also do not calculate their cost of quality. Therefore, they are unable to identify the existing problems and take necessary measures. By: Alem Gemechu Page 32

43 According to 72% of the respondents, the garment industries do not have any mechanism to evaluate the performance their fabric and accessory suppliers. The industries focus on price instead of quality in the selection of suppliers. According to the information from Ethiopian Garment Association, all garment factories in Ethiopia are not ISO certified. But, four garment industries i.e. NovaStar Garment, Maa Garment, Addis Garment and Nazrethe Garment are in the process of WRAP certification. The Worldwide Responsible Garment Production Principles (WRAP) is core standards for production facilities participating in the Worldwide Responsible Garment Production Certification Program. The Program s objective is to independently monitor and certify compliance with these socially responsible global standards for manufacturing, and ensuring that manufactured products are produced under lawful, humane and ethical conditions. These industries want to use WRAP for marketing purposes under AGOA export benefit Gap Analysis One of the first steps in quality improvement is to compare the current Quality Management System (QMS) to the requirements of the ISO 9000:2000 standard. This is most commonly called a Gap Analysis. A Gap Analysis is used to assess an organization s scope, readiness, and its resources for building an ISO system [27]. Therefore, in this research a quality management preliminary gap analysis for Ethiopian garment industries is done based on the data collected from the questionnaire, interview and personal observation. The possible responses of the questions and their qualitative interpretations are shown in Table 3.1. The preliminary gap analysis for ISO 9001:2000 in Ethiopian garment industries is shown in Table 3.2. Benchmarking for the analysis result is shown in Table 3.3. By: Alem Gemechu Page 33

44 Table 3. 1 Qualitative interpretation of questions 0 The company does not know what is required or believe it is necessary 1 The company does not perform this activity 2 The company understands this activity is a good thing to do but do not do it 3 The company does this sometimes 4 The company does this but not very well 5 The company does this quite well. Table 3. 2 Preliminary Gap Analysis for ISO 9001: 2000 Quality Management System Preliminary Gap Analysis Score Decide on a number from 0 to 5 for each item below 1 to 5 1 Establishing, documenting, implementing and maintaining a QMS to any system including 1 ISO 9001, ISO 9002 or ISO Identification of the processes needed for QMS i.e. 1 a. The sequence of the production and service delivery processes b. The criteria and methods needed to ensure the processes are effective, and c. Have the resources and the information needed to support the processes 3 Availability of: 1 a. Quality Manual including Quality Policy and quality objectives b. Written procedures and work instructions 4 Do the records provide evidence that the business processes are effective? 1 5 Commitment of Top Management to the development and implementation of a QMS 1 6 Communicating the importance of meeting customer and other business requirements to all 3 the employees by top management 7 Commitment of top management to ensure that customers requirements are top priority 2 8 Do quality objectives include requirements for production and delivery? 1 9 Are quality objectives measurable? 1 10 Have the responsibilities and authorities of managers and employees been defined and 3 communicated to them? 11 Does the management have the drive and resources needed 1 a. To implement, and maintain a QMS and continually improve its effectiveness, By: Alem Gemechu Page 34

45 and b. To enhance customer satisfaction by meeting customer requirements 12 Procedures to select competent personnel for work activities 3 13 Provide training or take other action to help develop people 2 14 Adequate provision of: 2 a. Buildings, workspace and utilities b. Process equipment c. Supporting services such as transport or communication 15 Review customer order for: 3 a. Requirements specified by the customer, including the delivery and post-delivery activities b. Requirements not stated by the customer but necessary for specified use or known and intended use c. Statutory and regulatory requirements related to the product 16 Inform customers concerning 3 a. Product information b. Enquiries, contracts or order handling, including changes c. Channels for customer feedback and complaints 17 Planning and controlling product design and development activities 1 18 Maintain records of design or development review, verification and validation activities 1 and resulting action? 19 Inspection or confirmation of purchased products, materials, components and services 3 conform to the specified purchase requirements 20 Selection of suppliers depending on how important the purchased product is for production 2 21 Evaluation of suppliers (subcontractors or vendors) based on their ability to satisfy the 2 companies requirements 22 Ensuring that production has 3 a. The information that describes the characteristics of the product b. The necessary work instructions, c. Suitable equipment, and d. The monitoring and measuring devices needed 23 Confirming regularly that production and service processes are capable of consistently 2 meeting the companies requirements 24 Proper handling of products during both production and delivery to the customer, by 3 providing suitable identification, packaging, storage, preservation and handling 25 Availability of instructions needed to identify inspection or monitoring activities to be done during production or service delivery and the devices to be used 3 By: Alem Gemechu Page 35

46 26 Measuring equipment are: 1 a. Calibrated or verified at specified intervals, or prior to use b. Adjusted or re-adjusted as necessary c. Identified to enable the calibration status to be determined d. Safeguarded from adjustments that would invalidate the measurement result e. Protected from damage and deterioration during handling, maintenance and storage 27 Monitoring customers information to assure customer satisfaction 2 28 Conducting internal quality audits at planned intervals 2 29 Use of suitable methods to monitor and, where practical, measure the performance of 2 processes 30 Inspection of finished products and record the results 2 31 Identifying nonconforming products and reviewing them for disposition 3 32 Collect and analyzing data to assess the suitability and effectiveness of the QMS 1 33 Using data to evaluate or identify where continual improvement of the QMS can be made 1 34 Continually improving the effectiveness of the QMS 1 35 Taking corrective action to eliminate the causes of problems and to prevent their 1 recurrence 36 Determining and eliminating potential nonconformities in order to prevent their occurrence 1 Table 3. 3 Analysis table % - 100% The company is almost ready to complete ISO 9001 QMS and apply for certification/ registration % - 74% The company is ready to implement the QMS. This will likely improve its business results % - 49% The company has a lot to do but should begin. You could consider seeking help from a consultant or specialist. The analysis of table 3.2 shows that the total scoring of Ethiopian garment industries is 66 which is below 50%. Therefore, we can conclude that Ethiopian garment industries have a wide gap compared to an ISO 9001: 2000 system. By: Alem Gemechu Page 36

47 3.2.2 Benchmarking For further analysis this research work has referred to the benchmarking done by UNIDO taking selected reference countries and competitor countries as shown in Table 3.4 [12] Reference countries Romania: An important EU supplier of high quality garments mainly on Cut Make Trim (CMT) basis using imported fabrics. Turkey: 2nd major supplier of garments in EU after China. Turkey is well known for its capabilities to deliver Free On Board (FOB) garments made from local fabrics. Competitor countries Bangladesh: An important FOB supplier for EU and US where 75% the country s export is textile and garment. Egypt: An African country which has a policy to attract textile & garment companies. Table 3. 4 Benchmarking of Ethiopian garment industries [12] Ethiopia Reference countries Competitor countries Turkey Romania Egypt Bangladesh 1 Availability of technology Average employees skills Marketing abilities Product development Business environment Certifications & testing labs Technical flexibility Productivity Quality level Management abilities Value added Availability of raw materials Price competitiveness By: Alem Gemechu Page 37

48 Based on Table 3.4, this research work compares Ethiopian garment industries with international best practice country (Turkey) and makes a performance gap analysis as shown in Figure Gap = Ethiopia Turkey Mean Ethiopia Mean Fig Performance gap of Ethiopian garment industries with best practice country From the benchmarking analysis, we can see that the gap between Ethiopia and best performance country (Turkey) is very high COQ in NovaStar Garment PLC This research work tries to look the total COQ in one of Ethiopian garment industries, NovaStar garment PLC. Although the industry does not calculate its cost of quality, this research work estimates its COQ for the fiscal year 2007/2008 based on the data collected from document review. Based on the components of COQ discussed in section 2.4, the total COQ is calculated as follows: By: Alem Gemechu Page 38

49 Internal failure cost Scrap: For the fiscal year 2007/2008 the industry consumed 285,000 m of fabric which costs 285,000 m X 15 Birr = 4,275,000 Birr. The amount of scrap was on average 175 m X 12 months=2,100 m Therefore, the cost of scrap is = 2,100 m x 15 Birr = 31,000 Birr Rework cost: The rework cost is the cost of re-processing the defective garments after inspection. The industry produces on average 50,000 pcs of clothes per month and the monthly production cost is 742,400 Birr. Taking an average of 20% defective garments per month and the cost of reworking defective garments per year is 1,776,000 Birr External failure cost Returns: According to the fiscal year 2007/08 the industry has lost a total of 332,000 birr due to returned material. Appraisal cost Inspection cost: The industry has 8 inspectors with an a rage salary of 750 Birr Therefore, the total inspection cost for the fiscal year 2007/08 is 750 Birr x 8 persons x 12 months = 72,000 Birr Quality audit cost: The industry has 2 internal auditors with an average salary of 1,200 Birr Therefore, the total quality audit cost for the fiscal year 2007/08 is 1,200 Birr x 2 persons x 12 months = 28,800 Birr Prevention cost Quality related training: The industry does not have training cost and relies on training given by MoTI By: Alem Gemechu Page 39

50 Total cost of quality Total cost of quality = Internal failure cost + External failure cost + Appraisal cost+ Prevention cost Therefore, the total cost of quality for the fiscal year 2007/08 is 2,239,800 Birr Table 3. 5 Estimated COQ in NovaStar garment PLC Quality cost element Total cost (Birr) Percentage 1 Prevention cost Appraisal cost 100, % 3 Internal failure cost 1,807, % 4 External failure cost 332, % Total cost of quality 2,239, % From the analysis of total cost of quality in Table 3.5, the percentage of quality cost elements is analyzed in Figure % 80.00% 70.00% 60.00% 50.00% 40.00% 30.00% 20.00% 10.00% 0.00% 80.68% 14.82% 4.50% Appraisal cost Internal failure cost External failure cost Qulaity cost elements Fig Percentage of quality cost elements in NovaStar garment PLC By: Alem Gemechu Page 40

51 The analysis of Figure 3.5 shows that 80.68% of the total cost of quality is the result of internal failure cost and the industry does not incur any prevention cost Application of SQC tools in NovaStar garment PLC Statistical Quality Control (SQC) tools are used to monitor the existing process in the manufacturing of women s shirt in NovaStar Garment PLC. Table 3.6 and 3.7 show the defect data collected during the inspection of style # for 31 days. Table 3. 6 Types and number of defects (day 1-15) Style #: Types of defects Fabric defects Oil spots & stains Pocket misalignment Seam pucker Label setting Staggered stitches Broken stitches Skipped stitches Size problems thers Checked quantity Defect quantity By: Alem Gemechu Page 41

52 Table 3. 7 Types and number of defects (day 16-31) Types of defects Fabric defects Oil spots & stains Pocket misalignment Seam pucker Label setting Staggered stitches Broken stitches Skipped stitches Size problems thers Checked quantity Defect quantity Based on the Pareto data sheet in Table 3.8, a Pareto diagram is constructed in Figure 3.6 so that priorities for process improvement can be identified by highlighting the vital few in contrast to the useful many. Table 3. 8 Data sheet for Pareto diagram Type of defects Number of defects Cumulative total Percentage of overall total Percentage cumulative total Seam pucker Pocket misalignment Skipped stitches Broken stitches Staggered stitches Size problems Label setting Fabric defects Oil spots & stains thers By: Alem Gemechu Page 42

53 Number of defects % 66.4% 56.4% 43.8% 30.6% 15.9% % 82.9% 79.5% % 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0 0% Types of defects Fig Pareto diagram for defective shirts The analysis of the Parteo diagram shows that seam pucker and pocket misalignment are major defects during the 31 days. U-Chart A u-chart has been constructed to understand the distribution of the number of defects per shirt during the 31 days period and to evaluate whether the process is in or out of control. The data sheet for the u-chart is prepared in Table 3.9 By: Alem Gemechu Page 43

54 The process average defect per shirts is calculated as: u total number of defects in all the samples = total number of shirt in all the samples 1900 = = The value of standard deviation is given as: σ i = u ni From u and σ values, we can determine the different control limits during each day as follows: UCL i = u + 3σi UWLi = u + 2σi UZCi = u + σi CLi = u + 0 σi = u LZCi = u σi LWLi = u 2σi LCLi = u 3σi By: Alem Gemechu Page 44

55 Table 3. 9 Data sheet for the construction of u-chart for defective shirts Days Number of shirts inspected Defective shirts Proportion defective Standard deviation UCL UWL UZC CL LZC LWL LCL By: Alem Gemechu Page 45

56 Based on the data sheet in Table 3.9, a u-chart is constructed in Figure Defects per shirt (u) Zone A Zone B Zone C Zone C Zone B Zone A U Average UCL +2 Sigma +1 Sigma -1 Sigma -2 Sigma LCL Days Fig u-chart for the number of defects per shirt Analysis of the pattern of the u-chart The u-chart indicates an out of control condition either when one or more points fall beyond the control limits, or when the plotted points exhibit some non-random pattern of behavior. Therefore, Table 3.10 shows the evidence of causes of variations in the u-chart. By: Alem Gemechu Page 46

57 Table Evidence of causes of variations in the u-chart S.N Evidence of special causes Points (Days) 1 Points falling outside ±3σ 1,8,9,11,15,16,26 2 Seven successive points on the same side of the central line 8,9,10,11,12,13,14 3 Seven successive points that increase or decrease of 3 successive points are on the same side of the central line and are outside ±2σ 5 4 of 5 successive points are on the same side of the central line and are outside ±1σ 6 Oscillatory trend - 7 Linear trend - 8 Avoidance of Zone C 9 Run in Zone C 15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22 4,5,6,7 - Table 3.10 shows that 71% of the points are out of control. Therefore, the industry does not control its production. In order to determine the causes for these problems during the identified particular days, defect data of each day is used and analyzed. For instance a Pareto diagram is constructed for day 1 from the data sheet in Table 3.11 Table Determination of the causes of variation in day 1 Types of defects Number of defects Cumulative total Percentage of overall total Percentage cumulative total Seam pucker Pocket misalignment Staggered stitches Skipped stitches Broken stitches Fabric defects Size problems Label setting thers By: Alem Gemechu Page 47

58 100% Number of defects % 20.2% % % % % 87.6% 92.1% % 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0 0% Types of defects Fig Pareto diagram of defective shirts of day 1 From the Pareto diagram we can analyze that the major cause of defective shirts in day 1 is seam pucker which constitutes about 20% of the total defects. Hence, Figure 3.9 shows that after removing the significant cause of the defect (seam pucker) during day 1, the process will be in control. Figure 3.10 shows the Cause-and- Effect diagram of seam pucker. By: Alem Gemechu Page 48

59 Defects per shirt (u) U Average UCL +2 Sigma +1 Sigma -1 Sigma -2 Sigma LCL Fig u-chart after significant cause of variation during day1 is avoided. Incorrect operator handling Tight tension thread High stitch density Unskilled operator Seam pucker Elastic thread Feed dog teeth problems High feeding speed Unsuitable thread Problem in fabric feeding Fig Cause and effect diagram of seam-pucker By: Alem Gemechu Page 49

60 4. PROPOSED QUALITY IMPROVEMENT MODEL There are a number of methods and techniques employed by different companies in the world to initiate a quality improvement program. As a result, the quality improvement model developed for Ethiopian garment industries considered the specific nature of the garment industry, present technology, culture, financial ability, organizational structure and personnel involved. There is good evidence that the full implementation of TQM increases competitiveness and customer satisfaction, reduces waste and improves the working lives of employees [28]. However, as Japanese industries have demonstrated, provision of quality requires continuous improvement grounded in culture and founded on practices conducive to such changes. Different countries have different cultures. Some of them are inborn from their tradition and ethical values system, and these often influence their organizational structure [29]. TQM by itself is a culture and it should be adapted to different economies. Therefore, when trying to implement TQM in Ethiopian garment industries, we must consider culture and organizational structure. For successful TQM implementation, some studies argue that a cross-functional matrix organizational structure would expedite and coordinate across cross-functional interfaces. A flatter organizational structure is often preferred with less social distance between manager and workers [20]. From the survey result, it is more difficult to achieve in Ethiopia because dominant Ethiopian culture reflects concentration of power, paternalism and personalization. An ISO implementation can also serve as basis for a TQM implementation. Where there is an ISO system, about 75% of the steps are in place for TQM [30]. The requirements for TQM can be considered ISO plus. However, the cost of ISO implementation and certification by third party systems is a major factor for Ethiopian garment industries. Most of these industries are not strong financially. Therefore, the cost of upgrading their infrastructure to meet international standards and the cost of certification is unbearable. By: Alem Gemechu Page 50

61 Taking these into consideration, in this research we developed a hybrid model that has the potential to overcome the stated problems. Based on the assessment of these industries, we indentified seven major potential areas for quality improvement. These are: leadership, supplier improvement, self evaluation, garment design, garment quality control, education and training activities and external customer focus. The details of the components may vary for different garment industries depending on the size and complexity of products Leadership In a country like Ethiopia where power is traditionally centralized, the role of management is vital for quality improvement. Therefore, the management of Ethiopian garment industries has the responsibility of defining how the requirements for quality will be met. There is no way that Ethiopian garment industries can implement quality improvement activities if the top managers are bystanders. Top management should make quality improvement plans to establish the objectives and requirements for quality and the application of quality system elements. The plans should be made in such a way that they can be implemented in practice, and should focus on eliminating the major problem areas. When quality improvement plans are drawn up, how to implement them should be well developed. Therefore, Ethiopian garment industries need to arrange sufficient resources in order to ensure that the quality improvement plans can be implemented. Quality system documentation is one of the essential components for quality improvement. However, most of Ethiopian garment industries do not have quality system documentation. Therefore they shall implement and maintain a documented quality system as a means of ensuring that garment products and services conform to specified requirements. This documented system shall include quality manual (quality policy manual, quality procedures manual) and work instructions supported with detailed procedures and specifications of the industry. In Ethiopian garment industries, top By: Alem Gemechu Page 51

62 management is responsible for developing and communicating the quality policy and the importance of meeting customer requirements to the employees. The quality policy should be brief, clear, and believable. It should be used as a criterion for all employees to measure whether actions are in conformance with the standards. Ethiopian garment industries should set quality goals based on their quality policy. Hence, top management shall ensure that it is understood and applied to the daily work of the organization through the establishment of goals and quality objectives. Top management should also strongly encourage employees involvement in quality improvement activities, attach great importance to employees suggestions, take responsibility for employees actions and be open and willing to listen to the voices of employees. The responsibilities and authorities of different functional departments should be clearly defined by system procedures. Quality system procedures should cover all the applicable elements of the quality system standard. They should describe the responsibilities, authorities, and interrelationships of the personnel of the garment industries Supplier Improvement The primary cause of poor quality products in Ethiopian garment industries is poor quality fabric. Garment industries must obtain from their fabric and accessory suppliers sufficient information to judge whether they have the capability to provide products and services that meet all fitness-for-use requirements. The selection of suppliers must be based on the reputation of the supplier, the investigation of its manufacturing facility, and other relevant information about the supplier. Product quality should be regarded as the primary factor in selecting suppliers. Garment industries should frequently evaluate the performance of products and services that they receive from fabric and accessories suppliers and give feedback on the performance of suppliers. In order to conduct supplier performance evaluation, the garment industries should have a supplier information system that stores detailed By: Alem Gemechu Page 52

63 performance information about different suppliers. Supplier rating can be used in supplier performance evaluation which is an index of the actual performance of a supplier in terms of its product quality, service quality and delivery performance. Figure 4.1 demonstrates the customer-supplier relationship in Ethiopian textile and garment industries Cotton farming Ginning Spinning Weaving & Knitting Dyeing & Finishing Garment Production Distribution Fig Supply chain of textile and garment sector 4.3. Self Evaluation In order to have a continuous improvement, it is essential that Ethiopian garment industries monitor their performance on regular basis. Self-assessment allows the garment industries to discern clearly their strengths and weakness. As a result, improvement areas can be identified and proper actions can be taken. One of the self-assessment techniques used is quality auditing which is a systematic and independent examination to determine whether quality activities and related results comply with planned arrangements and whether these arrangements are implemented effectively. Through quality audits, Ethiopian garment industries can identify their problems and take necessary measures to solve them. The outputs of quality audits are very valuable for quality improvement activities. Ethiopian garment industries should also use benchmarking which is an effective catalyst for change and an effective tool for continuous improvement. Through benchmarking, the garment industries will be able to compare their practice and performance against that of international competitors. As a result, the industries will understand their gap and can improve their overall performance. By: Alem Gemechu Page 53

64 It was noted that most of the Ethiopian garment industries do not measure their COQ. COQ data is useful a measurement tool for Ethiopian garment industries. This data can be used very effectively to identify and prioritize improvement opportunities. The strategy for using COQ data for improvement is to attack the failure costs and drive them to zero. Implementing this strategy results in problem solving and improving the processes that produce a garment product. The cost of investigating and correcting the problems that result in failure costs are prevention costs. Appraisal costs activities should be minimized, as they are non-value adding. They are defined as non-value adding as they do not change the quality of the garment. The more inspectors or verifications conducted the less likely poor quality will be shipped to the customer; however these activities do not prevent the poor quality from being produced. By spending more money on prevention activities, appraisal activities can be reduced and this leads to lower failure costs. With reference to the garment industries COQ are classified into four as shown in Figure 4.2 Prevention Cost: The costs of all activities specifically designed to prevent poor quality garment or associated processes. Appraisal Costs: The costs associated with measuring, evaluating garment products or auditing related production factory to assure conformance to quality standards and performance requirements. Internal Failure Costs: Failure costs that arise before a garment industry supplies its product to the customer i.e. prior to delivery or shipment of the product. These are due to deficiencies discovered before delivery and are associated with the failure (nonconformance) to meet the needs of customers. If internal quality failures of defective merchandise are identified before shipping then optimistically there may be no external failure costs. By: Alem Gemechu Page 54

65 External Failure Costs: These are typically due to errors found by customers. Failure costs arise after a garment product is supplied to the customer. These costs can be much higher than internal failure costs. Table 4.1 shows the external failure costs of Ethiopian garment industries and the departments incurring the costs. Table 4. 1 COQ of Ethiopian garment industries Types of COQ Prevention cost Appraisal cost Internal failure cost External failure cost Quality cost elements Education and training costs Continuous improvement efforts Process control Market research Preventative maintenance Quality audit Fabric and accessories inspection In-process and final garment inspection Salary of quality administration staff Supplier evaluation cost Scrap Rework Re-inspection Overtime cost due to non-conforming product Returned garment Warranty charges Processing customer complaints Loss of good will 4.4. Garment Design The garment industry is a consumer-oriented industry that exhibits interactive and dependent relationships. Consequently, consumer behavior deeply influences the operations of the garment industry. Garment designers should cooperate with manufactures, so that they can design and manufacture products that meet customers needs. The integration between new product development and consumer support By: Alem Gemechu Page 55

66 requirements should also to be considered. Therefore, Ethiopian garment industries should use concurrent engineering and quality function deployment (QFD) systems during the design stage in order to translate the customer requirements into final product. QFD should be used to link manufacturing techniques and market demand from the consumer s perspective. QFD uses matrix charts to define and prioritize customer wants and needs, and to focus efforts on meeting the customer s true desires. The QFD method can eliminate unnecessary redundant designing and manufacturing by subsuming consumers demand in designing procedures. Therefore, Ethiopian garment industries should use QFD to improve the quality of garment design. Concurrent engineering emphasizes the establishment of cooperative relationships throughout the garment design process. Representatives of different garment departments as well as external suppliers and customers should meet with the design staff to articulate the details of product design. At planning meetings, designers should use concept boards to present their ideas to the management teams. These concept boards should be typically collages of color and fabric swatches, fashion sketches, and magazines photos that capture the theme or mood of the design ideas. Previous season s sales figures, sales forecasts for the new season, and the overall outlook of upcoming seasons should also be discussed in these planning sessions. After the design team reviews the line, designers transform those final designs destined for actual production into sample garments. If the product meets customer requirements, the final designs are translated into garment specification sheets. A garment specification sheet consists of all the important information required to complete a pattern and prototype of the design. Concurrent engineering can ensure that fewer problems occur during the subsequent production or assembly process. The skills of the pattern designers are critical to the success of new garment design. Garment designers should also have marketing experience so that they need to go out into the marketplace and acquaint themselves with customers needs and expectations. By: Alem Gemechu Page 56

67 4.5. Quality Control Most of Ethiopian garment industries spend most of their time detecting the defects of the products rather than preventing the defects. As a result, the quality control activities are inspection-based instead of prevention-based. However, inspection actually does not build quality; quality is built into the process. Inspection itself is not a value-adding process, but a waste of human resources and cause of extra cost. If quality can be ensured, it is not necessary to implement inspections. In fact, defective products cannot be reduced merely by making improvements at the inspection stage, although such improvements may eliminate defects in delivered goods. When a defect shows up, the information should be sent back to the work stage so that processing can be corrected. Thus, defects occurring are prevented in the first place. For inspection to be effective, the entire inspection loop shown in Figure 4.2 must be completed. Inspection Correction of the defects Detection of defects Determination of causes of defects Feedback of these defects to appropriate personnel Fig Inspection loop Garment inspection should be done at three stages i.e. 1. Raw material inspection: The inspection of fabric and accessories delivered from suppliers. 2. In-process inspection: The primary purpose of the in-process inspection is to identify problems as early as possible 3. Final inspection: The inspection of finished garment. By: Alem Gemechu Page 57

68 Ethiopian garment industries should continuously use quality control tools for measuring, prioritizing and improving their processes. Therefore, the applications of the seven quality control tools flow chart, pareto diagram, cause and effect analysis, scatter diagram, check sheet, histogram, and process control chart, statistical process control is mandatory Education and Training It was noted that the general awareness of quality in the garment factories is low. Therefore, quality awareness education should be provided to ensure that employees have a common understanding of the importance quality. The quality awareness program should aim to ensure that employees know their roles within the firm, and build a desired organizational quality culture. The frequency of trainings given to Ethiopian garment employees is very low. As a result the overall skill of the employees is poor. Training is the critical for the success of Ethiopian garment industries. It enables the workforce to acquire the skills needed to improve and maintain the quality of the production process. Education and training should be given in the garment industries on continual basis to improve the performance of workers. Job training is specific training for different employees to meet the requirements of their jobs. Every employee in the garment industries needs to accept necessary job training so that they can perform their jobs better. Different employees need different skills and should accept different training. Therefore, the garment industries need to develop criteria for job requirements and identify characteristics and skills needed by employees. The development of employees skills and capabilities should be harmonized with the development of technology in the industries. In order to make the Ethiopian garments more productive and competitive, managers should invest further in training employees, as this can result in more competent and committed employees. By: Alem Gemechu Page 58

69 4.7. Customer Focus There is a large gap between customer requirement and the products of the Ethiopian garment industries. This is because the degree of communication with the customers to understand their requirement and translating into products is not satisfactory. Hence, Ethiopian garment industries should make faster and more flexible response to their customers. Market investigation can obtain various suggestions for improving the quality of the products of Ethiopian garment industries. The garment industries should be sensitive to changing and emerging customer and market requirements, competitors offerings, and the factors that drive customer satisfaction. Through market investigation, the strengths and weaknesses of their products and their competitors can be identified. Such information can be used for benchmarking so as to determine the improvement areas. Hence, obtaining valuable information through market investigation is vital to the success of the garment industries. Ethiopian garment industries must also make frequent customer satisfaction surveys to obtain the customer satisfaction level with the products and services that they provide. Methods used to conduct the customer satisfaction survey include questionnaire surveys, formal and informal feedback from customers, personal interviews and telephone surveys. Regular customer satisfaction surveys can track customer perceptions of the quality of the industries and their competitors. This information can be used to improve the quality of products of Ethiopian garment industries. By: Alem Gemechu Page 59

70 Fig Quality improvement model for Ethiopian Garment Industries By: Alem Gemechu Page 60

71 The proper implementation of the proposed quality improvement model in Ethiopian garment industries will result in cultural transition to an atmosphere of continuous improvement. The process of implementing the suggested quality improvement model depends on the size of the garment industry, the available human resource, complexity of the processes, financial ability and the organizational structure. There are 8 stages which must be considered in the implementation of the proposed quality improvement model as shown in Figure 4.4. Step 1: Top Management Commitment Top management of the garment industries should demonstrate a commitment and a determination to implement the proposed quality improvement program. Without top management commitment, no quality initiative can succeed. The top management should provide evidence of its commitment to the development and implementation of the continuous quality improvement program by communicating to the organization the importance of meeting customer requirements. Defining the organization's quality policy and make this known to every employee Ensuring that quality objectives are established at all levels and functions Ensuring the availability of resources required for the development and implementation of the quality management system Appointing a management representative to coordinate quality management system activities Conducting management review Step 2: Establish Implementation Team The next step is to establish implementation team to plan and oversee implementation. Its members should include representatives of all functions of the organization - marketing, design and development, planning, production, quality control, etc. The members of the implementation team should be well trained. By: Alem Gemechu Page 61

72 Step 3: Provide company-wide training Quality awareness programs should be conducted to communicate to the employees the aim of the quality improvement, the advantage it offers to employees, customers and the organization. It also shows the roles and responsibilities of the employees within the system. A top-to-bottom briefing exercise is often the best way to explain about quality within the garment industries. The awareness program should emphasize the benefits that the garment industry gets through quality improvement. The programs could be run either by the implementation team or by experts hired to talk to different levels of employees. At the completion of the awareness program it is necessary to measure the effect. This can be done by the simple expedient attitude survey test. This is because of the fact that surveying people increases the awareness of the issues in question. Step 4. Formulate a quality planning Ethiopian garment industries should plan before they do anything so that they don t get mixed up when they do it. From the initial outline plan, there should be a series of projects, which have to be identified. These should cover education and training on a more extensive scale as well as the actions needed. For each project, there should be a time-phased plan identifying targets and milestones, resources required, costs and projected benefits. Step 5. Implement quality improvement plan Once the plans are prepared, it is the task of the team is to prioritize them and to allocate resources. It is a good idea to put into effect some projects, which will show quick and clearly visible benefits. This helps to build up enthusiasm. Step 6. Observe and check of results The implementation of the improvement plan needs to be continually monitored to understand whether things are going according to the plan and causing the expected change. This process also includes checking immediate results by implementing the improvement plan in order to understand whether the system is functioning. If necessary, By: Alem Gemechu Page 62

73 corrective measures should be taken to ensure that the plan is effectively implemented. The effects of implementing the improvement plan on overall business performance should be checked. Step 7. Investigate and analyze results After the implementation of the quality improvement practices are checked, the garment industry can obtain a great deal of information about its implementation and its effects on overall business performance. Therefore, it is essential to analyze the results obtained from the check stage. The analysis of results shows whether the implementation of the plan effectively improves the overall business performance. Step 8: Implement the result on a wider scale: If the analysis concludes that the implementation has not been effective, the PDCA cycle returns to the plan stage to search for other improvement plans that may have better effects. If the implementation of the improvement plan has produced the desired results, the firm should consider how to consolidate the results. Hence, the PDCA cycle continues forever in the never-ending improvement. By: Alem Gemechu Page 63

74 Fig Quality improvement implementation model for Ethiopian Garment Industries By: Alem Gemechu Page 64

75 5. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION 5.1 Conclusion Based on the survey from 11 Ethiopian garment industries, this research work addresses the current situation of quality related problems in Ethiopian garment industries. The surveyed industries are located in Addis Ababa and Oromia region which represent 95% of the total national garment industries. Therefore, it is believed that the samples from these regions can give directions on the whole situation of garment industries in Ethiopia. The data analyses revealed that there are a number of quality related problems in Ethiopian garment industries. These problems can be broadly summarized as: poor supplier relationship, lack of proper education and trainings, poor leadership, weak external customer focus, unavailability of self evaluation techniques, poor quality control, poor quality design, low technological level, lack of teamwork and lack of recognition activities. Though, most of these problems are potential areas for quality improvement, problems pertaining to technological upgrading and teamwork may not be feasible to the Ethiopian garment industries for various reasons. These industries have financial constraints to renovate their technology in order to improve the quality of their products. On the other hand the current Ethiopian dominant work culture does not encourage teamwork. In order to overcome the stated problems of the sector, a quality improvement model consisting of seven components is developed. These components are improving supplier relationship, provision of education and trainings, improving leadership, proper external customer focus, implementing self evaluation techniques, proper quality control, implementing quality system activities and improving quality design which are identified as potential areas for quality improvement in Ethiopian garment industries. The proper implementation of the proposed quality improvement model is believed to make the sector competitive in the global market. This research work can serve as a basis for future research works in areas such as quality improvement in Ethiopian textile industries, By: Alem Gemechu Page 65

76 supply chain of Ethiopian textile and garment sectors and quality improvement in Ethiopian garment training centers. 5.2 Recommendation To be competitive in today s market, it is essential for Ethiopian garment industries to provide more consistent quality and value to their customers. Now is the time to place behind the old adversarial approach to management style. It is time to develop better and more direct relationships with customers, initiate more teamwork and produce better quality work. Continuous quality improvement can definitely keep Ethiopian garment industries at the leading edge in the marketplace. All the garment industries should be engaged in the implementation of the proposed quality improvement model as soon as possible. The implementation process requires the commitment of top management and continuous trainings. These will result in profound achievement such as reduction in cost of production, better relation with customers and suppliers, more committed and motivated workforce which will make the sector competitive in the global market. Government and non-governmental organizations should also play a vital role in the support of the implementation process. These bodies can be involved in financial supports, upgrading the domestic textile industries, improving the quality of garment training institutes and so on. This research work recommends the following points in order to adopt the proposed quality improvement model: Top management should sustain their commitment to quality improvement initiatives and take an active role in all quality management activities. The high level of visibility of top management will reinforce the organization s commitment to quality and provide the much needed motivation to lower level employees. By: Alem Gemechu Page 66

77 A program of on-going, on-the-job education and training needs to be developed and implemented. This will require substantial resources to be allocated both in terms of people and facilities. Top level managers must first learn the philosophy and methods of quality improvement and then teach these to lower level employees. A culture of teamwork and cooperation must be developed throughout the organization. Education and training will play a key role in this respect. An atmosphere of trust and sharing must be developed where all employees respect each other and willingly participate in activities. The application of the appropriate tools and methods of quality control must be encouraged by all employees. The positive effects of the use of these tools and methods on both operational and financial performance must be demonstrated to all employees. ISO 9000 registration must be encouraged for export oriented garment industries. In addition going through the certification process helps identify potential areas for improving quality and efficiency. Acquiring a better understanding of the internal quality management process By: Alem Gemechu Page 67

78 REFERENCES [1] Shu-Hwa Lin, 1994, Productivity and Production in the Apparel Industry, International Journal of Clothing Science and Technology, Vol. 6 No. 1, pp [2] Y.Y. Huang and Bertram Tan, 2007, Applications of quality function deployment to apparel design in Taiwan, Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management, Vol. 11 No. 2, pp [3] Promoting the Ethiopian Textile and Garment Sector, 2009, Project Document, ecbp [4] Yu Ronggeng, 2004, Study report on the development strategy of Ethiopian Cotton/Textile/Garment sub-sectors, China Textile Planning Institute of Construction [5] Paul Cochrane, 2008, Ethiopia struggles to meet textile expansion plans [6] Central Statistics Agency, 2008, Addis Ababa, Report on Large and Medium Scale Manufacturing and Electricity Industries Survey [7] Rahel Abebe,, 2007, Opportunities and Challenges of Development for Africa in the Global Arena, AGOA: The Case of Ethiopian Textile Sub-Sector, African Economic Conference [8] Helena M.De Klerk and Stephna Lubbe, 2008, Female consumers evaluation of apparel quality: exploring the importance of aesthetics, Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management, Vol. 12 No. 1, pp [9] G. Raj Kumar and V. Krishnaveni, 2009, Coimbatore, Apparel Quality Inspection, Kumaraguru College of Technology [10] Pradip V. Mehta, Satish K. Bhardwaj, 1992, New Delhi, Managing Quality in the Apparel Industry, National Institute of Fashion Technology [11] Joseph M. Juran and A.Blanton Godfrey, 1999, USA, Juran s Quality Handbook, MCGraw-Hill [12] Razvan Ionele, 2008, Addis Ababa, Ethiopian Garment Sector Assessment, UNIDO, Project no: YA/ETH/08/002 [13] The History of Quality Overview By: Alem Gemechu Page 68

79 [14] The Evolution of quality, Department of Trade and Industry [15] A van der Wiele, 1997, ISO 9000 series registration to total quality management: the transformation journey, International Journal of Quality Science, Vol. 2 No. 4, pp [16] www. netsigma.com [17] P. Aravin Prince, B.Tech, 2008, Application of Six-Sigma concepts in garment manufacturing, A.J.K.K.S.A. Polytechnic College, Gobi, Erode, T.N [18] fibre2fashion.com [19] Adedeji B.Bandiru and Babatunde J.Ayeni, 1993, London, Practitioner s Guide to Quality and Process Improvement, Chapman & Hall [20] Daniel Kitaw and Fasika Bete, 2003, Addis Ababa, Quality Management: Efforts and problems in Ethiopian Manufacturing Industries, Journal of EEA, Vol. 20, pp [21] [22] [23] Subrata Das, February 2009, Importance of Cost of Quality in Apparel Sector, Apparel Views [24] Veeri Arumugam and Keng-Boon Ooi, 2008, TQM practices and quality management performance, The TQM Magazine Vol. 20 No. 6, pp [25] Dan and JoCeal Urbaniak, 2002, Introduction to the Apparel Industry, Fashion Forward, Los Angeles [26] Garment production systems: An Overview [27] David Hoyle and John Thompson, 2002, ISO 9000: 2000 Auditing Using the Process Approach, Elsevier Science, USA [28] Ana Reyes Pacios Lozano, 1997, ISO 9000 and the total quality management models, Library Management Volume 18 Number 3,pp By: Alem Gemechu Page 69

80 [29] A.B. Ngowi, 2000, Impact of culture on the application of TQM in the construction industry in Botswana, International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, Vol. 17 No. 4/5, pp [30] Ton van der Wiele and Barrie Dale, 2000, Business improvement through quality management systems, MCB University Press, pp [31] Djoko Setijono, 2008, The value of quality improvements, International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management Vol. 25 No. 3, pp [32] Amare Matebu, 2006, Addis Ababa, Model development of quality management system for Ethiopian textile industries, AAU, Technology faculty [33] Nathan Williams, 1997, ISO 9000 as a route to TQM in small to medium-sized enterprises: snake or ladder?, The TQM Magazine Volume 9, Number 1, pp, 8 13 [34] Production Facility Handbook, USA, Worldwide Responsible Apparel Production (WRAP) 2200 [35] AS/NZS ISO 9001:2000, GAP ANALYSIS CHECKLIST [36] Jelka Gersak, 2002, Development of the system for qualitative prediction of garments appearance quality, International Journal of Clothing Science and Technology, Vol. 14 No. 3/4, pp [37] [38] 20 May 2008, Ethiopia struggles to meet textile expansion plans By: Alem Gemechu Page 70

81 APPENDIX 1 LIST OF ETHIOPIAN GAREMENT INDUSTRIES No Company name Location Region Telephone No Status 1 Adei Abeba yarn Saris Addis Ababa Operational S.Co Addis Garment Old Air Port Addis Ababa Operational S.Co Akaki Garment Akaki kaliti Subcity Addis Ababa Operational S. Co Ambassador Yerer Addis Ababa Operational Garment Concept Addis (Saris) Addis Ababa Operational International Ethiopia Industry Village 6 Edget Garment factory Addis Ababa Operational 7 Elthabet Garment Operational 8 Feleke Garment Lafto Industry Addis Ababa Operational Village GG Super Debrezeit Oromia Operational Garment GMM garment Lafto Industry Addis Ababa Operational plc Village Gullele Garment Gullele Addis Ababa Operational S.Co Haile Lafto Industry Addis Ababa Operational G/Egzthiaber Garment Village 13 Kebire Enterprise P.L.C. (Ma'a garment) Mekele Tigray Operational By: Alem Gemechu Page 71

82 14 Knit to finish Gelan Oromia O Operational PLC O Lusi Garment Operational 16 Meloyem General Operational Clothing PLC Mulat Garment Addis(Saris)Industry Addis Ababa Operational Village Nazareth Garment Nazareth Oromia Operational S. Co 19 NovaStar Garment PLC Gelan Oromia Operational 20 N and N Garment Gelan Oromia Operational 21 Oasis Abisinia Addis(Saris)Industry Addis Ababa Operational PLC Village Progress Operational Garment PLC Soney Garment Operational PLC 24 Spectrum Operational Business Group 25 Tays Garment Operational P.L.C Unis Grament Addis(Saris)Industry Addis Ababa Operational Village 27 Wossi Garmnet Addis(Saris)Industry Addis Ababa Operational Village 28 Wow Gelan Addis Ababa Operational International Garment Abdurehiman Nure On project phase By: Alem Gemechu Page 72

83 Garment Factory 30 Abreham Molla Garment Factory On project phase 31 Alemgasha PLC On project phase 32 Axum garment industry Plc On project phase 33 Birihanu sahillie Garment Factory On project phase 34 EAE family PLC On project phase 35 Hagay plc On project phase 36 Kedija Ahmed Garment Factory On project phase 37 Mekonen Betru Garment Factory 38 Mulugeta Adugna Garment Factory 39 Rekik Girma Garment Factory 40 Saftomaz Interlational PLC 41 TAAS International PLC 42 Tariku Argaw Garment Factory 43 Tiruwork Kere Garment Factory 44 Wudinesh Shimekit Garment Factory 45 Yabets Garment Factory On project phase On project phase On project phase On project phase On project phase On project phase On project phase On project phase On project phase By: Alem Gemechu Page 73

84 APPENDIX 2 QUESTIONNAIRE FOR SURVEY ADDIS ABABA UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES FACULTY OF TECHNOLOGY DEPARTEMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING GRADUATE PROGRAM IN INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING Acknowledgement With sincerity we would like to extend our deep appreciation to your company and the staff for the willingness and cooperation in undertaking this valuable research. This questionnaire is developed to conduct a scientific research by one of our students, Alem Gemechu on Quality Improvement in Ethiopian Garment Industries. Therefore, we assure you that the information obtained from this questionnaire will be kept confidential and will not be transferred to other parties for any other purpose. In case you need, please feel free to verify these statements from us personally. For other questions pertaining to this project, please contact Addis Ababa University, Faculty of Technology, and Department of Mechanical Engineering Tel: Yours Sincerely Thank you for your assistance! By: Alem Gemechu Page 74