Work In Process By Ranjan Kumar Saha Associate Professor. NIFT-Mumbai What is WIP? • WIP is work in process. • The parts of the garment operation is not completely finished and is yet to complete , is considered to be WIP in the production line. • For e.g. a bundle of shirt that has every thing done but only ready collar need to be attached . Measurement of WIP • WIP can be measured in units of number or in units of time. • For e.g. if we know that an operation like attaching of collar takes 2 minutes/pc. And we have • 20 bundles in WIP and each bundle consisting of 10 pcs. then the total WIP is no. of bundles X no. of pcs. in each bundle X work content /pc. • i.e. 20 x 10 x 2 = 400 minutes. Need of WIP
• It is recommended that WIP should be
there in progressive bundle system but that is up to a controlled limit , i.e. it can be from half hour to a maximum 2 hours. • In some factories it is seen the WIP is too high , you can find some operations that have days of inventory waiting to be processed. This is harmful for a factory Why the WIP should not be very high? • There is financially loss if the WIP is high , as it involves investment in raw materials . • The more WIP in line means more throughput time , and more the throughput time the more it effects on the cash flow of the factory. • The more WIP means , there is more chance of concealed problems in the bundles which are difficult to trace out. • The more WIP means large inventory and more difficult to control inventory and production. • Low through put time permits better co-ordination between buyer and manufacturer. How can we manage WIP? • WIP can be managed , If we can take following steps.
1)Production planning: Production planning should be proper based on the production target , how many manpower and machine to be require. How can we manage WIP? 2) Trims control: • What ever the trims require to manufacture the garment , should be kept ready in store before the cut bundle to be fed in the assembly line. An update inventory of the trims should be kept.
• It is often seen that the cut bundles are fed in the line and a specific trim is not in the store. • For e.g. 5000 pcs. are cut and fed in the line but collar can not be attached as the labels are not received in the store yet. • This practice is not acceptable at all , as this could lead to other problems also . How can we manage WIP? 3) Balancing: The production line to be properly balanced, in order to reduce the WIP. • If the line gets unbalance due to some reason , to regain balance in an unbalanced situation you can use utility operator, operator transfer or overtime. Effect of WIP on through put time:- • WIP & through put time.
• The more WIP in production line mean
more throughput time if throughput time increases in production line it can effect certain factors, like. Effect of WIP on through put time:- • The more the throughput time the more it effects on the cash flow of the factory.
• There is financially loss if the through put time is
high, as it involves investment in raw materials.
• The more throughput time mean large inventory and
more difficulty to control inventory & production.
• Low through put time permits better co-ordination
between buyer & manufacture. Clock Time:
• It is defined as the total time available to
an operator for doing work during the day. • It does not include the lunch time.
• Clock time = on standard time + off
standard time. Off standard time:
• It is the time during which an operator is
unable to do some work, due to factors which are beyond his control. I.e the time is spent in factory hours with out any productivity. • For. e.g. Power failure, machine breakdown or doing repairs for some other person On standard time:
• It is the time made available to the
operator for producing productivity work. • It can also be defined as the difference between clock time and off standard time.
• On standard time = clock time - off
standard time. SAM ( standard average minutes) : • It is defined as the time taken by a 100% normal operator to do a particular operation including the personal , fatigue and delay allowance. SAM produced:
• It is defined as the standard minutes
produced by an operator in a particular day . It is calculated as :
• SAMs produced = number of pieces
produced X standard minutes for that operation. Efficiency:
• It is defined as the work done by an
operator during the time available to him in a day . • It can be shown as ,
• Efficiency = (SAM produced / Clock
time ) X 100 Performance :
• It is a tool used to quantify the work
content of an operator during the day. • It can be shown as,
• Performance = (SAM produced on
standard /On standard time ) X 100 Utilization:
• It is a tool used to determine the time
percentage during which the operator worked in a day. • It can be shown as , • Utilization = ( on standard time / clock time ) x 100 . What is production ?
• Production is the process which convert
materials (input ) into complete finished products (out put ) • An apparel production system is an integration of materials handling, production processes, personnel, and equipment that directs work flow and generator finished products. Productivity: • Productivity is based on the relationship between inputs and outputs and is a measure of performance towards an established goal , i.e. the final expected out put or outcome.
The concept of productivity is getting the maximum and
valuable out put from , • Each machine & method. • Each employee • Each shift/day/month/year • Each working space or working unit. • Each material given as input , and etc etc…. Productivity: • Input: • Input may be one of the variables that go into the operation of a firm such as time, money , labour , materials, space and training. • Output: • Out put is final resultant product after the input. Partial productivity :- • Partial productivity in the ratio of output to one of input . for eg. Labour productivity (the ratio of output to labor input) is a partial measure.
• Similarly , material productivity (the ratio of
output to material input ) and machine productivity (the ratio of output to machine input) are example of partial productivity.
• Operators productivity = 2000 pcs shirts / 100
operators per shift = 20 shirts per shift. Total productivity :-
• Total productivity is the ratio of total out
put to the sum of all input factors thus a total productivity measures reflects the joint impact of all inputs in producing the output . it is a kind of a higher level of productivity assessment combining several or many partial productivity measures Advantage of partial productivity:-
• Partial productivity measures are easy to
understand and use. The data needed are both easy to obtain and easy to compute.
• Partial productivity is also a good diagnostic
tool for pinpointing improvement areas , so this can be used by the department or section in charge to evaluate its performance or to plan improvement. Disadvantage of partial productivity :- • If partial productivity is used alone , it can be misleading and may lead to mistakes .
• Partial measures can not be used to
explain overall cost increases Advantage of total productivity: • Total productivity measure consider all the quantifiable output and input factors, therefore it is a more accurate representation of the real economic picture of an enterprise. Disadvantage of total productivity • Total productivity measure does not tell the management of a firm which of its products or services is causing a decline or growth nor does it tell them which particular inputs – workers , material capital energy or other expenses are being utilized inefficiently so that corrective action can be taken. Lead time :-
• The amount of time between placing an
order and merchandise delivery, we use to call lead time. Throughput time:-
• the amount of time it taken for a style
to go through the production process, starting form cutting to finishing we use to call throughput time.
