Apparel Online Bangladesh Magazine Magazine April 2018 | страница 26

EXPORTER STRATEGY APPAREL RESOURCES NEWSLETTERS FACEBOOK FRIENDS To subscribe, send us an email at [email protected] Join more than 10,000 people who are already fans of Apparel Resources on facebook. Search for Apparel Resources at https://www.facebook.com/apparelresources/ Training session in process at Utah The well maintained and spacious aisle at the shopfloor is an effective measure against accidents they follow their duty while getting entertained at the same time.” Easy-looking system is not so easy to implement However, implementing such strong systems is not an output of just one day. Indika believes it is ‘cultural change’ that requires a lot of hard work and intense training of the operators. “The rigid mindset of the workforce and the ‘attitude’ of subordinates were the major challenges we faced before the system came into force,” unveils Indika stating, “Whenever we started something, defects in the garments occurred and that is obvious. People used to say that due to the new system, defects came in place.” To overcome these challenges, Utah started a practice of doing trials for every system that are supposed to be implemented on the shopfloor. “We implement a system or practice only after ensuring positive results in the trials. Lean is the best example of this ‘try and follow’ method. This way people see the positive changes and start accepting new executions,” claims Indika. Technology: An essential contrivance for growth Shipping majority of its output to the European retailers such as “Training is ‘Life Line’ for our unit. Imparting education to the workforce can deliver things in the way we want and this is why we keep conducting practical trainings for workplace safety and cleaning.” – WANIGABADUGE SUJEEWA INDIKA H&M, Tesco, Target, s.Oliver, Mango and NEXT, Carters, Oshkosh, JCPenney, Utah believes that the next growth driver for the company is automation which greatly boosts the profit margins and helps grapple with the rising labour wages. The four production floors of UFL are equipped with 1,620 UBT machines, majority of which are Juki, Pegasus, Kansai and Brother. Endorsing the need for automation strongly, Indika shares that pocket attachment and pocket setting process in jeans are entirely automated with Euromac machines in UFL. The machines can be handled by the basic operators eliminating the need for skilled operators, thereby, saving cost to a great extent. Apart from the mentioned operations, UFL uses automated solution for shirts’ placket preparation and button attachment. As far as button attachment is concerned, Utah uses fully automated Juki machines to save time and minimize manual intervention. “With these machines, we eliminate the human efforts such as pulling buttons, feeding them, aligning them and then attaching them,” avers Indika. 26 Apparel Online Bangladesh | APRIL 2018 | www.apparelresources.com 2018 is bright as capacity will double Scope of improvement is always there. UFL is no exception. For 2018, the company has strings of improvement plans. Utah is doubling its sewing capacity this year in a completely new building which is under construction adjacent to the current one. In this new set-up, UFL will execute systems and activities such as in-house designing, which are not in practice right now. “We are in process of hiring some designers as we want to provide our own designs to the buyers from next year onwards,” tells Indika. Another major improvement that is in the pipeline is bringing production, washing and finishing on the same floor. As of now, the company is experiencing time-loss due to transportation of garments as washing and finishing floors are different. This increased movement in material causes fall in overall floor efficiency as well as loop holes which exist in monitoring of the processes. “Bringing all three processes on the same floor will help reduce hastiness of the line in-charge as he does not need to move on separate floors. The same concerned person can now monitor both finishing and washing processes. It’s a new layout with new concept,” concludes Indika.