Critical Analysis of Material Consumption and Cost Reduction Techniques for the Apparel Cutting Processes

Revenues generation in the garment industry is synonymous with material consumption. This study thus analysed material consumption and cost reduction techniques in the Tanzanian garment industry. The research employed quantitative (experimentation) and qualitative approaches (document review and observation technique) in the apparel cutting processes. Experimental results of material consumption from ten tests averaged efficiency of 78.67%, the wasted pieces (19.2%), and unnoticed waste (2.03%). Essential considerations to reduce material waste include: digitalising the fabric cutting processes; providing workers training; deploying appropriate practices in the cutting room (e.g. pattern engineering and pattern accuracy); considering the quality of the procured fabric and fabric efficiencies relative to different human body shapes and proportions; and considering the separation process rather than extending facings, splitting substantial components, slight reductions in a flare, and seam displacements. The study implies that apparel enterprises can benchmark their actual material consumption circa 50-70% of their total garment manufacturing costs. Keywords: Material waste, Garment industry, Fabric losses, Cost reduction techniques, Small and medium-sized enterprises

Anthropometric measurements for ergonomic design of students’ furniture in India

AbstractThis paper presents anthropometric measurements regarding engineering students in India. Health survey (ergonomic assessment) was carried out to know the health status of all students who have been using poorly designed furniture. The data were measured with the help of various tools. After data collection and analysis, authors came up with exhaustive dimensions for designing adjustable classrooms furniture. Dimensions recommended include; bench surface height, bench depth and width, back rest width and height, backrest angle, desk height, desk depth, width, and desk angle. Therefore, an implementation of these data will help to create comfortability, safety, well-being, suitability, reduce Musculoskeletal disorders, and improve performance of students in terms of attentiveness. Also, it is highly recommended to consider requirements from students in designing classrooms furniture and conduct seminar or workshop to educate students regarding the negative impact towards adapting poor posture in the long usage of classrooms furniture

Student-defined quality by Kano model: A case study of engineering students in India

Engineering Students in India like elsewhere worldwide need well designed classrooms furniture which can enable them to attend lectures without negative impact in the long run. Engineering students from India have not yet been involved in suggesting their requirements for improving the mostly out-dated furniture at their colleges. Among the available improvement techniques, Kano Model is one of the most effective improvement approaches. The main objective of the study was to identify and categorise all the main attributes regarding the classrooms furniture for the purpose of increasing student satisfaction in the long run. Kano Model has been well applied to make an exhaustive list of requirements for redesigning classroom furniture. Cronbach Alpha was computed with the help of SPSS 16.0 for validation purpose and it ranged between 0.8 and 0.9 which is a good internal consistency. Further research can be done by integrating Kano Model with Quality Function Deployment