Improvement of Operational Performance through Value Stream Mapping and Yamazumi Chart: A case of Bangladeshi RMG Industry
H. M. Emrul Kays1, MD. Shohag Prodhan2, Noorliza Karia3, A. N. M. Karim4, Sazzad Bin Sharif5
1H. M. Emrul Kays*, Operations and Business Analytics, University Science Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia.
2MD. Shohag Prodhan, Mechanical Engineering, International University of Business Agriculture & Technology, Dhaka, Bangaldesh.
3Noorliza Karia *, Operations and Business Analytics, University Science Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia.
4A. N. M. Karim, Engineering and Built Environment, Griffith University, Queensland, Australia.
5Sazzad Bin Sharif, Mechanical Engineering, International University of Business Agriculture & Technology, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Manuscript received on November 17., 2019. | Revised Manuscript received on November 24 2019. | Manuscript published on 30 November, 2019. | PP: 11977-11986 | Volume-8 Issue-4, November 2019. | Retrieval Number: D9926118419/2019©BEIESP | DOI: 10.35940/ijrte.D9926.118419

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© The Authors. Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering and Sciences Publication (BEIESP). This is an open access article under the CC-BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

Abstract: To secure a competitive position in the global market, the Ready Made Garment (RMG) sector in Bangladesh has been facing various challenges including the improvement of industrial operational performance. Among the various operational issues, balancing the cycle time along the production line is felt to be a common and effective way for enhanced performance. There are numerous exact and approximate methods which have already been proposed and are available in literature for repetitive batch production. Unfortunately such approaches are rarely applied in the real RMG shop floor presumably due to the enormous efforts needed to align with the frequent changes of product lines. Compared to the exact and approximate methods, adoption of lean tools like VSM and Yamazumi chart is highly acclaimed for their simpler and wider applicability with superior capability in addressing and solving the balancing problems. So for balancing purposes of the RMG shop floor an attempt is made to frame and apply an integrated model combining the VSM and Yamazumi chart as presented in this article. Depending on the theoretical framework, operational performance of an RMG shop floor is evaluated upon balancing the cycle time. In doing so, firstly a current state map (CSM) and the corresponding Yamazumi chart are plotted to comprehend the existing operational procedure and analyse the workstation cycle time with respect to the takt time. Using the Yamazumi chart, the workstations are reorganized to reduce or eliminate the non-value added activities, to introduce parallel workstations, and to merge workstations so that a balanced production line is attained. Performance is then assessed by means of Overall Effectiveness of Equipment (OEE), Capacity Utilization and Efficiency. The results as obtained through testing a real life case study of RMG industry, ensure the effectiveness of the integrated system of VSM and Yamazumi chart to identify the wastes, restore the line balance and improve operational performance.
Keywords: Value Stream Mapping, Yamazumi Chart, RMG Industry, Line Balancing.
Scope of the Article: Operational Research.