Apparel Online India Magazine May 1-15, 2019 | Page 38

INDUSTRY LIVE
MOBILE USAGE HINDERING
PRODUCTIVITY
A
mong the top apparel
production countries, India
is at the lowest rank in terms of
productivity which is somewhere at
around 40 per cent. Despite all the
training and improvement initiatives,
it seems that apparel manufacturers
are still unaware about how to
keep their head above the tide as
challenges are mounting significantly
and continuously. One such challenge,
which has grown much over the
last few years, is the growing use
of the mobile phones by workers
on the shopfloor. In discussion with
Apparel Online, the floor in-charge
to production managers and factory
owners unanimously accepted that
this issue is a challenge and whatever
productivity a factory has, 5 to 7
per cent of overall productivity is
hampering due to the excessive use of
mobile phones during working hours.
In a challenging scenario, where every
single penny counts and apparel
manufacturers are struggling to bring
down their cost, this issue needs to be
solved on priority basis. But is it that
easy as it seems…?
One can’t exactly judge whether a
phone is really important or workers
are wasting time. They use it on the
floor, in washroom or even when they
go for water. Apart from calls, use
of social media especially YouTube,
WhatsApp and Facebook is another
big headache for factory management
as the majority of workers waste
time on the same. The issue is
comparatively more with the workers
who are on salary or daily wage as
many of them have the freedom of
not getting their money deducted
even if they miss the target. Though
in the assembly line, due to one such
operator, the entire work of shopfloor
suffers, but the co-workers hardly
push the ones who are on phone.
Even when the floor in-charge asks
them to stop, they often resist and
have arguments or sometimes quarrel
with him.
HR and Production Departments have
a different take on this issue. Even
in most of the cases, HR teams are
also helpless as they want to retain
the workers while production teams
don’t want to have such workers who
are having less productivity especially
due to this issue. In some factories, it
requires the consent of 5 to 7 persons
to fire a worker on such issues.
Especially when there is a shortage
of workers, even the production
department is forced to continue with
such workers.
HKL MAGU,
MD, Jyoti Apparels, Gurgaon; and Chairman, AEPC
“Yes, the industry is facing this issue and is trying to
overcome the same. We have also pasted posters
giving warning that use of phones in factory premises
is prohibited.”
SHASHI BHUSHAN JHA,
GM – Quality, Global Mode and Accessories, Noida
“Though our factory comparatively does not face this
issue much, but overall it is a problem in the industry
as we discuss this in our professional circles. None of
the supervisors or mid-level technical professionals
use mobiles on the shopfloor in our factory. Even if it
is work-related or unavoidable, we keep the discussion
as short as possible.”
BABUL SINGH,
Senior IE Manager, Team Krian, Noida
“Strict behaviour or any kind of punishment for
unnecessary use of cell phone is not a long-term
solution as it just has a very temporary effect. If we will
be stricter, the worker will not prefer to work with us.”
Mobile Theft
Some of the factories are also witnessing
increasing cases of mobile thefts within the
shopfloor. Many workers prefer to keep their
phones near the machine which increases
such incidents.
EXCEPTIONAL CASES
Many industry professionals shared that the companies or factories
offering extra facilities to workers, less comparatively face this issue
as workers are more sincere there and they don’t want to lose their
jobs in those factories. Shahi Exports is one of the best examples in
this regard.
SOLUTIONS OR EFFORTS
• Proper and effective counselling about this issue, especially at the
timing of joining of a worker.
• To develop a culture where workers refrain themselves from an
unnecessary call or use of the phone.
• Seniors should also limit their phone usage, especially on the
shopfloor to set examples for others to follow.
The image shared by HKL Magu, MD, Jyoti Apparels, Gurgaon; and Chairman, AEPC
38 Apparel Online India | MAY 1-15, 2019 | www.apparelresources.com