Operational problems

Just like other factories MB Knits Fashion has quite a few operational problems. According
to the director of the company the main operation problems are:

 The supply chain problem: The supply chain is one of the main issues the company
has to face on a regular basis. The suppliers not only delay the delivery of the product
but they also sometimes send over the wrong product and accessories to the factory.
This hampers the lead time of the production and adds an extra financial burden.

 The In house production problem: Even after providing all the measurements to the
workers they sometimes cut more fabric than what is required in the cutting section.
This leads to a shortage of fabric, when this happens the company needs to wait
longer to get more fabric and hence, the entire process slows down. Fabric is also
wasted in the printing and sewing sections of the factory as some of the workers are
still quite unskilled. Due to unskilled workers the dyeing section also faces quite a
few problems; the workers fail to use the proper chemicals and temperature while
dyeing. This eventually leads to a mismatch of colours of the fabric.

 Lack of proper training grounds the employees to struggle while operating the
machines, apart from that the monotonous work environment creates a lack of
motivation in the workers.

 The factory does not have the proper machine ratio to maintain a good line balancing.
Sometimes the processes come to a halt as one of the lines does not complete the tasks
on time. The product layout is also faulty; it stops the production from reaching
maximum efficiency.

 All the problems combined decrease the efficiency and that is why the company has
an efficiency of only 60%
 Recommendations

All the problems combined lead to one big problem, which is the low efficiency of the
production line. Hence, each problem should be tackled individually to increase the
efficiency of the entire company.
Since, it is a labour intensive company the operator efficiency must be increased. This
can done in the following ways:
 Build the expertise of the operator by job placement training. Train them on good
movements, proper handling of products and a better way of doing a task.
 Assign operators to the tasks on what they are skilled.
 Motivate operators by giving benefits according to their performance
 Improve work methods where possible by motion study and motion
analysis. Eliminate excess motion from the existing working method.

Apart from increasing the operator’s efficiency the company needs to improve their
product layout. They should redesign the structure in a way that would increase the
efficiency. Since, the company uses line balancing they should make sure every line
is working in sync to ensure it is properly balanced and there is no delay. They can
also increase the number of machines where the process is critical and needs more
time to finish.

Last but not the least, the problems with the suppliers should also be addressed and
proper actions should be taken. The company should ensure that the suppliers are
provided with the correct information, including measurements and colour of the
products. The suppliers should be given a strict deadline so that they can deliver the
products on time. [ CITATION Pra \l 1033 ]