Lean-Six Sigma Approach for Enhanced Efficiency and Quality in Textile Manufacturing; a Case of Else Addis Industrial Development P.L.C., Ethiopia
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Date
2025-03
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
The study focuses on addressing textile product quality and process inefficiency challenges, as well as how to enhance product quality and efficiency through the Lean Six Sigma principles, tools, and techniques in Ethiopia’s textile industry, specifically targeting the production of 40Ne yarn count. This particular yarn count was selected due to its recurring quality and efficiency issues, making it a critical area for improvement. The research employs both qualitative and quantitative methods to assess product quality and process efficiency, ensuring a comprehensive validation of the existing problems. During case company observation major defect were recorded with amount of defect rejected. The major defect identified were count variation, yarn hairiness, thin-thick place, winding fault, shape of the cone, bad piecing, and nep formation. From the major defect Pareto chart analysis revealed three major defect types contributing to 64% of quality issues. These are count variation (24%), yarn hairiness (22%), and thin/thick places (18%). Root cause analysis using fishbone diagrams identified key contributors including machine inconsistencies, operator skill gaps, material flow inefficiencies, and measurement errors. Also, from observed data, process efficiency evaluation showed big waste, with only 47.7% value-added time versus 52.3% non-value-added activities, primarily from motion waste (40.4%). The current sigma level of 3.25 indicated big process variability. The DMAIC framework was applied to address these challenges, integrating Lean tools like 5S and Value Stream Mapping (VSM) to reduce waste and Six Sigma methods to minimize defects DPMO and sigma levels was determined based production per months and defect rejection in production per month. Through the compressive analysis of the winding process using tools, process mapping, 5S, and DMAIC approach with tools, and based on the findings of the analysis, this study was developed and proposes an improvement strategy for the yarn manufacturing industry.
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Keywords
Lean-Six Sigma, DMAIC, Yarn Defects, Process Efficiency, Textile Manufacturing, Quality Improvement.