India is one of the few countries in the world which has production at each level of textile manufacturing viz. fibre manufacturing, spinning, weaving, knitting, processing and garmenting. Textile sector is the second largest sector after agriculture in India. Significant growth has been observed over the years, which motivates entrepreneurs to invest in the industry or to expand their existing plants. However, Indian textile and apparel industry has struggled in FY18 due to the lingering effect of GST. The overall consolidated sales of the top 10 companies increased by 2% during FY18. However, EBITDA declined drastically by 16% in the same period. Due to increasing raw material, power and other costs many spinning mills are under stress. Textile is one of the sectors which accounts for most of banks stressed assets. Many companies are declared NPA and are under NCLT (National Company Law Tribunal) at the present. Higher volatility in cotton prices have impacted the complete scenario for spinning mills. Mills with lower spindle capacity or narrow product range, faces challenges during market volatility. Lower manufacturing cost, higher productivity rate, labor skills and uniform quality can leads to higher profitability. To sustain in the competitive market, efficient operational management is required. Regular monitoring and value addition to the process is essential to move forward. Followings are the main challenges faced by spinning mills;
1. Lower Productivity
Productivity is the major factor affecting directly on yarn cost. In practicality, mills are following same standard of GPSS (Gram per spindle per shift) or productivity from long time. They are more focused on production, in place of productivity. Major spinning leaders have raised their standard of productivity by modernizing machines or optimizing process parameters. Preparatory processes plays an important role in ring spinning. Better processing of raw material with uniform quality helps in gaining more productivity in ring frames and lesser cuts in winding section. Major factors influencing the yarn productivity are as follows;
2. Low Utilization Level
Various factors are involved in lower utilization of spinning processes. These include more downtime due to adverse working performance, labor shortage, quality distortion, doffing loss, etc. Proper gap analysis and right approach to meet the standards is very essential to meet standard of utilization level. Labor shortage problem is commonly faced by many spinning units. Due to unavailability of operators or more absenteeism, it results in higher downtime of machines. Old units without auto doffing systems or modernization are highly dependent on workers and producing less utilization.
3. Lower Efficiency
Higher efficiency is must to maintain productivity level of existing spinning mills. Lack of technology upgradation, manual controlling of machineries, increased work load and higher dependency on man power leads to lower efficiency. Improper tools and material handling, lack of knowledge about machine operations and functions is main barrier in case of lower efficiency.
4. Poor Yarn Realization
Improvement in realization is must to match industry standards for better profitability. Raw material covers major part of inventory and directly influenced with realization factor. More generation of waste leads to lower realization. Wastage is generally more when process engineering is not up to the mark. Optimization of process is essential to control waste level in blowroom, carding, comber, ring frame and autoconer. Soft waste can be used in back process up to some extent but hard waste can’t be reused. Losses also occurs in form of invisible waste e.g. fly, fluff etc.
5. Higher Power Cost
Power and fuel are major factor affecting yarn cost. Consumption of power can be controlled for both old and new machinery by proper analysis. In old machineries, most of the mechanism is mechanical and required high capacity motors to drive them. Heavy shafts and couplings were used in mechanical buildup of machines. Due to heavy mechanical mechanism of old machineries, power consumption is on higher side. Leakages in compressed air pipes and more load on specific machines increase power consumption of the unit.
6. Lack of Modernization
Most of the industries are still using old machinery for yarn manufacturing. Technology has been upgraded to deliver best results. These include Auto doffing system, bobbin transport system (BTS), Spindle Individual monitoring system (SIMS), Roving individual monitoring system (RIMS), Variable frequency drive (VFD) control system etc. These modernization in technology uplifts the standards of working performance and productivity level. Use of right technology and regular monitoring change the profitability of the spinning mills. Center and state government is also contributing in technology up-gradation via several schemes e.g. Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (TUFS).
7. Less Emphasis on Product Development, Value Creation and Services
Market demands keep varying as per fashion trend and specific requirements of consumers. Due to significant improvement in the economy, superior goods are more preferred in place of inferior goods.We need to modify count range of yarn or type of yarn as per market demands. Most of the spinning mills are focused on producing normal yarn, while market demands shifted towards special yarns e.g. compact yarn, Fancy yarn, Siro yarn, Lycra yarn, Melange yarn, Neppy yarn, Slub yarn etc. The prevailing problems in the spinning sector are due to the reasons like lack of exposure for the staff as they are trained in the same conditions which leads to lack of knowledge towards the best practices of the industry. The routine staff is unable to identify the gaps in the process due to the familiarity with the ongoing process. Apart from concentrating on regular processes, special attention is required to be paid on development section. Cumulative loss ranges from 5 to 20% is due to low productivity, poor yarn realization and high power cost. Operational part is way behind from its capabilities. Few of the spinning mills have already achieved industry best. Moving beyond to industry best, they have started focusing on implementation of new strategies and operational excellence. Many plants are still in struggling phase and require proper guidance. A third party evaluation is the need of the hour which will help in productivity improvement. Specialized consultants with hands-on experience in domestic and international markets should be consulted for the gap analysis, monitoring and value addition. Following methods can be adopted for prospective of operational excellence.
Identifying gaps are most important part, which helps in creating roadmap to manufacturing excellence. A panel of experts can be deployed or hired which contains deep understanding of various departments. Joint effort of the panel helps in finding root cause analysis and prepare a detailed report. Based on detailed report, robust action plan can be prepared which is fully capable of filling the gaps and benchmarking the level of profitability via innovative strategies. Systematic method is followed for identifying the gap. Current process parameters of spinning processes analyzed in terms of productivity, quality, man, machine, maintenance activities and unit power consumption. Benchmarking of company’s data with industry standards and audit for practical observation of gap. After complete assessment of process, detailed step by step plan is followed for filling up the gaps.
In order to stay competitive in domestic and international market, continuous improvement is must in terms of higher productivity and quality. Following steps are required to be followed for betterment of spinning processes;
1. Process Optimization
Continuous improvement in productivity level, quality, utilization and yarn realization is very important for efficient working of operations. Optimization of process can be done after proper analysis of processes. Due to poor process engineering at preparatory processes and adverse conditions of humidification plant, high TM needs to be imparted in ring frame for better working performance. Step by step action plan is required for optimization of processes from blowroom to ring frame. Machine and process settings are required to be fine-tuned, so as to match with required quality level with controlled wastage. Technology like roving individual monitoring system helps in controlling waste level in terms of less fly generation and less pneumafil waste.
2. Technical and Technological Upgradation
Rapid improvement has been done by textile machine manufacturers to simplify the work practices and to achieve higher productivity level. Few technology can also be implemented in old machinery as well. Selection of right technology for the product is very essential to gain maximum output. Upgradation in technology helps in reducing man power, increase productivity, lower power consumption, lesser maintenance cost etc. Manufacturing of special yarn requires retrofit arrangement, additional attachment, sourcing of material etc. which needs proper planning and execution. With the help of upgraded technology, new product can be efficiently manufactured on old machineries as well.
3. System and Processes
Extensively labor is involved in different processes of textile industries. Developing system and follow them perfectly is the biggest task. Many industries are following traditional systems over the years and struggles to retain them. Standard operating procedures (SOP) must be followed regularly in such a manner to maintain productivity and make processes more efficient. Regular monitoring of current processes and establishing new systems as per current requirement is very essential to seal the gap. Bypassing of systems and rules create hurdle in maintaining standardization of the process. Time to time audits can help in cross checking systems and processes.
4. Power Saving
Many steps can be initiated for improving power cost by smart engineering. Based on analysis of individual machineries or plant, corrective actions can be initiated to improve power consumption. High efficient bearings with suitable grease used for smooth running of shafts to reduce load on motors. Timing belts, Servo drive or Variable frequency drive, modified circuits etc. has been developed and successfully implemented in many spinning industry to reduce power consumption. Humidification plant also contains large scope of improvement by regular checking of compressed air pipeline, supply air and return air maintenance. Corrective actions can be initiated after identifying the area of scope. Further, power cost factor has been taken in consideration and mechanical mechanism has been modified with electronic & electrical system controlled by Programmable logic controller (PLC) for new machines. Scope of power saving increased drastically with latest technology. Machine manufacturers are also providing separate kits for power saving purpose.
5. IT Focus
Centralized data monitoring system not only helps in making database of the processes, it helps in achieving higher efficiency and improved quality of production by regular tracing. Management Information System (MIS) and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) are widely used monitoring system for spinning industries. Data monitoring at regular interval helps in quick identification of trouble creating part and rectify the same at the earliest. More data collection helps management in decision making for continuous improvement and value addition.
6. Skill Development
Right skills for the right operations is very essential for effective utilization of man power. Sorting in maxing, sliver and waste handling in preparatory, cleaning of machines, and creeling of material in different stages, piecing in ring spinning, gaiting and doffing in ring frame. These type of practices must be trained to workers for better handling of machine operations and functions. Class room training and field training of workers in order to enhance skill level of the operators. Do’s and Don’ts must be trained to workers for reducing human errors. Achieving Operational Excellence in textile industry has become imperative to sustain the growth India has achieved. It is a path in which organizations continually develop and evolve to deliver extraordinary performance in its operations and management thus leading it on a path to success. The article has been authored by Sanjay Arora, Business Director and Gagandeep Garg, Consultant. It was published in August 2018 in Fibre2Fashion.