Apparel Online Bangladesh Magazine November Issue 2018 | Page 46

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/ Myth Buster Understanding time’s measures to achieve better production Time is the single most important commodity in garment production; thus correct measure of time is very important. There are different measures of time in garment manufacturing: Standard Allowed Time, Utilisation of Time, Pitch Time and Throughput Time. These are some of the most commonly used terminologies amongst garment production executives across the world. However, there are many other similar terminologies, often used interchangeably but may have different meanings altogether. As long as we are using macro measures to evaluate our performance, probably many such measures will not make too much difference. But nowadays companies are using professional micro measures to measure time. Properly defining and fine tuning these measures to what we want and using correct terminology is of paramount importance. SMV and SAM: Both are same RIGHT Standard Minute Value (SMV) and Standard Allowed Minute (SAM) is arguably the single most controversial topic today amongst garment production executives across the world. Mostly they are used alternatively as many people, including the experts, don’t know if there is any difference. There are three schools of thoughts in this regard: first, both are same; second, SAM is an extension of SMV; and third, SAM and SMV are completely different measures. In all work study books, there is only a reference to Standard Time. SMV and SAM are neither defined nor mentioned. In American published books, SAM is mentioned, while in European published books, SMV is mentioned. Similarly, factories in Asia which are under the influence of European consultants use the term SMV, while factories in South America which are under the influence of American consultants use the term SAM. SMV or SAM is commonly calculated as: Observed Time (Time Study) + Rating Allowance + PF&D (Personal Fatigue and Delay) Allowances; or Takt Time is a simple concept, yet counter- intuitive, and often confused with Cycle Time or machine speed. Takt Time is the pace of production needed to meet customer demand or production target. Synthetic Time (PTMS) + PF&D (Personal Fatigue and Delay) Allowances. When SAM is used as an extension to SMV, i.e. it is the allocated time for a task rather than the measured time; it is SMV plus policy allowances, if any. It is worth mentioning here that these calculations are from experienced experts and consultants and not from any text book. While in other schools of thoughts, units for both are in minutes, the third school of thought (but not really used in garment industry), talks about completely different things. Standard Allowed Minute means time (in minutes) that is assigned to a specific operation after doing Time Study or using PMTS (Predetermined Motion Time Systems). While Standard Minute Value means the Cost Factor (in cost/minute) that is multiplied with SAM to get the cost of the operation. For example: Operation name: Bottom hemming SAM: 1.3 minutes SMV: 0.50 INR/minute Cost/bottom hemming operation: 0.65 INR 46 Apparel Online Bangladesh | November 2018 | www.apparelresources.com Utilisation, Line Efficiency and Balance Efficiency are always same WRONG All three terminologies are again used interchangeably across organisations. All measure as to how efficiently/effectively time is utilised by operators in the line. While utilisation is percentage of attended time that the operator spends ‘on standard’, line efficiency is the calculation of ‘standard minutes earned’ / ‘time attended’. Although it can be calculated for individual operators, it is most useful as a measure of sections or lines. In reality, factories generally calculate line efficiency but often use the term ‘utilisation’. In micro measure, there is a fine line of difference between utilisation and efficiency. In first case, simply how much time is utilised productively is calculated; while in second case, how efficiently the available time is utilised is taken into account. Let’s explain with an example: One operator attends work 480 minutes in a day and spends 440 minutes on a standard (40 minutes lost due to machine breakdown and no cut components); completes pocket attaching of 500 pieces, and SMV for pocket attach operation is 0.80 minutes.