This research presents how the stressful working environment influences on the normal work of the... more This research presents how the stressful working environment influences on the normal work of the fashion designers who are working for a fashion company. An expert group was formed for the purpose of the research and with the help of the group members; the stress factors influencing the work of the fashion designers were defined. After that, the stress factors were ranked by importance with the help of a survey, which was conducted with fashion designers working for a fashion company. Finally, a simulation of a stress situation was conducted, under a group of fashion design students and the result of their work was analysed. The results show that there are 21 stress factors that affect the work of fashion designers working for a fashion companies. Some of the factors selected as most important are: the limited time, difficult team ambience, lack of inspiration and the personal issue was listed as the least important factor. Also, fashion designers react differently under stress, which affects differently on the final result of their work. Based on how they react under conditions of stress, there are 5 types of designers that can be defined. Those are: surrealist, idealist, realist, literalist and non-complying designer.
The need for high product variety, smaller batch size, shorter delivery time and higher quality h... more The need for high product variety, smaller batch size, shorter delivery time and higher quality has encouraged apparel companies to concentrate on the development of digitization and information management. This speeds the response to those rapid changes occurring in the apparel industry. However, on the shop floor, it is difficult to achieve line balancing due to the different pitch time of each workstation. Simultaneously, differences in operators’ efficiency make this difficulty far greater. This paper will develop a simulation technique that can be applied to production lines, balancing the data derived and offering clear measurements of operators’ efficiencies. The data collected by the researcher from a dress assembly line in factory in China is used to build a simulation using ProModel software. An optimization solution is suggested that may be one route to improving production line performance. Results derived from the simulation hypothesise that by considering the operators’ efficiencies the production line could be changed generating higher productivity and lower work in process (WIP). Thus, simulation may also be effective in helping achieve better line balancing, even predicting problems before production starts.
The Assembly Line Balancing Problem (ALBP) engages the interest of many researchers. However, the... more The Assembly Line Balancing Problem (ALBP) engages the interest of many researchers. However, the number of researchers that treat this problem is still small in the field of apparel manufacturing. The fact that an apparel assembly line is labour intensive and insufficiently automated further complicates the problem. Operator Skill Level (OSL) as a category that has a significant effect on ALBP in the industry also has not been analysed enough. This study presents a model for evaluation and comparison of the OSL and based on that, designs algorithm for optimal scheduling of the operators on the production line in response to customer demand. The application of this model is demonstrated through conducting a case study in an apparel company. It is determined that the proposed model can lead to significant improvement of the performance of the production line by better operator allocation based on skill levels. The model can ensure improvements related to increasing the line efficiency for 28%, daily output for 27.3% and decrease labour force for 18.5% and production time for 20%.
The rapid changes in the fashion industry require taking actions for quick adjustment by the garm... more The rapid changes in the fashion industry require taking actions for quick adjustment by the garment companies. Chinese garment enterprises, as a part of the global scene, also follow the trend in garment production that exists in the western countries. This research aims to present the current state of garment enterprises in China, the problems they are facing, and the existing production trends for adaptation to the changes in garment industry. Therefore, a survey involving more stakeholders who can give a representative assessment of the situation regarding the garment industry in China was conducted. The results show that the companies are facing problems related to reduced flexibility towards changes in the garment industry and it‘s necessary to make changes in the management style, type of production systems and organizational culture.
Assembly line balancing problems are still present in garment manufacturing , especially so becau... more Assembly line balancing problems are still present in garment manufacturing , especially so because of the difficulty to take into account all the relevant factors affecting the balance of the line. This may be the main reason why many of the studies related to the simulation of assembly lines are incomplete in terms of the representation of a general yet complete picture that can reflect the real assembly line balancing situation in garment production. This research aims to fill the gap by proposing a performance factor assessment method: this aims to analyse all the factors influencing assembly line balancing and group them according to whether they add value to the final product or not. Results show that bundle manipulation – with an 8.7% occurrence – is a critical necessary non-value added activity that significantly affects assembly line performance and therefore needs to be eliminated. This method of analysis can be applied to other sectors of garment production regardless of product type or working conditions.
The mass-customization trend as flexible production philosophy has been adopted by many industrie... more The mass-customization trend as flexible production philosophy has been adopted by many industries as a reaction to the fast changing customer demand environment. In relation to that mixed-model production (MMP) is a possibility for increasing flexibility, especially in the assembly department. However, many apparel companies have failed in their transition from traditional manufacturing to new, flexible manufacturing, which makes it difficult for them to be selected as suppliers who are capable of MMP. In most of the studies that have been done before, the problem of supplier selection was based on productivity and cost as the main selection criteria. As an alternative solution this research presents a new group of criteria for supplier selection with respect to the goal of MMP. The methodology of combining the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) with the support of the commercial software package Expert Choice and cluster analysis (CA) is proposed in this study. The results obtained present a new group of criteria, ranked by their importance, that the supplier needs to fulfil in order to be selected for MMP. Furthermore the large number of available suppliers was grouped into four clusters based on their similar characteristics by using CA. Finally the most acceptable cluster for MMP was selected using AHP. The methodology presented in this study can support the apparel industry in better decision making in the process of selecting the best group of suppliers for mixed-model production.
This research presents how the stressful working environment influences on the normal work of the... more This research presents how the stressful working environment influences on the normal work of the fashion designers who are working for a fashion company. An expert group was formed for the purpose of the research and with the help of the group members; the stress factors influencing the work of the fashion designers were defined. After that, the stress factors were ranked by importance with the help of a survey, which was conducted with fashion designers working for a fashion company. Finally, a simulation of a stress situation was conducted, under a group of fashion design students and the result of their work was analysed. The results show that there are 21 stress factors that affect the work of fashion designers working for a fashion companies. Some of the factors selected as most important are: the limited time, difficult team ambience, lack of inspiration and the personal issue was listed as the least important factor. Also, fashion designers react differently under stress, which affects differently on the final result of their work. Based on how they react under conditions of stress, there are 5 types of designers that can be defined. Those are: surrealist, idealist, realist, literalist and non-complying designer.
The need for high product variety, smaller batch size, shorter delivery time and higher quality h... more The need for high product variety, smaller batch size, shorter delivery time and higher quality has encouraged apparel companies to concentrate on the development of digitization and information management. This speeds the response to those rapid changes occurring in the apparel industry. However, on the shop floor, it is difficult to achieve line balancing due to the different pitch time of each workstation. Simultaneously, differences in operators’ efficiency make this difficulty far greater. This paper will develop a simulation technique that can be applied to production lines, balancing the data derived and offering clear measurements of operators’ efficiencies. The data collected by the researcher from a dress assembly line in factory in China is used to build a simulation using ProModel software. An optimization solution is suggested that may be one route to improving production line performance. Results derived from the simulation hypothesise that by considering the operators’ efficiencies the production line could be changed generating higher productivity and lower work in process (WIP). Thus, simulation may also be effective in helping achieve better line balancing, even predicting problems before production starts.
The Assembly Line Balancing Problem (ALBP) engages the interest of many researchers. However, the... more The Assembly Line Balancing Problem (ALBP) engages the interest of many researchers. However, the number of researchers that treat this problem is still small in the field of apparel manufacturing. The fact that an apparel assembly line is labour intensive and insufficiently automated further complicates the problem. Operator Skill Level (OSL) as a category that has a significant effect on ALBP in the industry also has not been analysed enough. This study presents a model for evaluation and comparison of the OSL and based on that, designs algorithm for optimal scheduling of the operators on the production line in response to customer demand. The application of this model is demonstrated through conducting a case study in an apparel company. It is determined that the proposed model can lead to significant improvement of the performance of the production line by better operator allocation based on skill levels. The model can ensure improvements related to increasing the line efficiency for 28%, daily output for 27.3% and decrease labour force for 18.5% and production time for 20%.
The rapid changes in the fashion industry require taking actions for quick adjustment by the garm... more The rapid changes in the fashion industry require taking actions for quick adjustment by the garment companies. Chinese garment enterprises, as a part of the global scene, also follow the trend in garment production that exists in the western countries. This research aims to present the current state of garment enterprises in China, the problems they are facing, and the existing production trends for adaptation to the changes in garment industry. Therefore, a survey involving more stakeholders who can give a representative assessment of the situation regarding the garment industry in China was conducted. The results show that the companies are facing problems related to reduced flexibility towards changes in the garment industry and it‘s necessary to make changes in the management style, type of production systems and organizational culture.
Assembly line balancing problems are still present in garment manufacturing , especially so becau... more Assembly line balancing problems are still present in garment manufacturing , especially so because of the difficulty to take into account all the relevant factors affecting the balance of the line. This may be the main reason why many of the studies related to the simulation of assembly lines are incomplete in terms of the representation of a general yet complete picture that can reflect the real assembly line balancing situation in garment production. This research aims to fill the gap by proposing a performance factor assessment method: this aims to analyse all the factors influencing assembly line balancing and group them according to whether they add value to the final product or not. Results show that bundle manipulation – with an 8.7% occurrence – is a critical necessary non-value added activity that significantly affects assembly line performance and therefore needs to be eliminated. This method of analysis can be applied to other sectors of garment production regardless of product type or working conditions.
The mass-customization trend as flexible production philosophy has been adopted by many industrie... more The mass-customization trend as flexible production philosophy has been adopted by many industries as a reaction to the fast changing customer demand environment. In relation to that mixed-model production (MMP) is a possibility for increasing flexibility, especially in the assembly department. However, many apparel companies have failed in their transition from traditional manufacturing to new, flexible manufacturing, which makes it difficult for them to be selected as suppliers who are capable of MMP. In most of the studies that have been done before, the problem of supplier selection was based on productivity and cost as the main selection criteria. As an alternative solution this research presents a new group of criteria for supplier selection with respect to the goal of MMP. The methodology of combining the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) with the support of the commercial software package Expert Choice and cluster analysis (CA) is proposed in this study. The results obtained present a new group of criteria, ranked by their importance, that the supplier needs to fulfil in order to be selected for MMP. Furthermore the large number of available suppliers was grouped into four clusters based on their similar characteristics by using CA. Finally the most acceptable cluster for MMP was selected using AHP. The methodology presented in this study can support the apparel industry in better decision making in the process of selecting the best group of suppliers for mixed-model production.
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