Key inefficiencies and improvement opportunities in the textile sector: A case study

Abstract

The textile sector in Portugal has a relevant economic and social importance. In this sector, dyeing and finishing are a significant part of the value chain of a textile product and the majority of companies are SMEs, lacking specialized human resources. Most of these companies have human and technological resources necessary for a smooth operation, however, they may lack management resources that allow efficient performance of the dyeing/finishing processes. The objective of this work is to highlight the organizational inefficiencies of a SME in a dyeing and finishing textile company, in Portugal, identifying their wastes, and improvement opportunities, highlighting the barriers and obstacles to the adoption of quality management and lean manufacturing principles. This paper presents the diagnosis of the performance of an SME in the textile sector, in Portugal. Through a case study, identifies key inefficiencies and wastes, documents the dyeing and finishing process, and detects problems using Quality and Lean tools. These inefficiencies can be translated by productivity losses or an increase of operational costs making the company less competitive. To overcome these problems and to improve production process performance, improvement suggestions were developed.