Application of predetermined motion and time system in sewing automat to enhance the productivity and operator utilisation
Abstract
Purpose
Automation and the new buzzword, “Industry 4.0”, have dominated the media headlines in recent months. In this scenario, apparel manufacturers should not only install automatic machines but also standardise them based on specific industry requirements, and precise measures are required for daily target demands.
Design/methodology/approach
This study demonstrates the application of Predetermined Motion and Time System (PMTS) tools in various automatic and semiautomatic machines to obtain higher productivity and the highest utilisation percentage of operator and automats between the 1:1 and 1:2 man vs machine configuration models. In this study, timeSSD® was used to calculate the micro motions of humans. In addition, a video annotation and modelling software Tracker was used to calculate high-speed machine movements with loading frames of 30 FPS.
Findings
After the implementation of PMTS tools, it was found that for a 1:1 man vs machine configuration, the operator utilisation is 75% per shift and the operator idle time is 50% per cycle time, and the operator is sitting idle for 2 h per 8 h of shift. So, there is scope to improve the utilisation and idle time of operator.
Research limitations/implications
With the PMTS software, an industrial engineer professional with knowledge of the micromotion economy can only calculate micromotion.
Originality/value
Exploring the first time in the world to establish standard allowed minute (SAM) of a partly automated single-unit sewing machine with partial human intervention and a semiautomatic machine. Theoretical underpinnings indicate that manufacturers use the experience to determine the SAM of any operation over time, necessitating this work to calculate standard minutes automatically.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to give special thanks to their sponsoring Company, DataS Romania, for providing us standard data system software solution called timeSSD® and continuously supported us. The authors would like to give thanks to Mr Laszlo Szabo (CEO DataS, timeSSD®), Mr Bela Marthi (Consultant DataS), Mr Teisanu Marius Dan (Managing Partner of EMESSA DENIM CO.) and Mr Anis Trabulsi (owner and General Manager of Emessa Denim) and Mr Nadim Swid (owner of Emessa Denim) for their encouragement, timely support and guidance.
The authors would like to give thanks to their family and close friends for their love and support.
Ethical compliance: All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
Citation
Mondal, P. and Jana, P. (2022), "Application of predetermined motion and time system in sewing automat to enhance the productivity and operator utilisation", Research Journal of Textile and Apparel, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/RJTA-08-2022-0092
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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