Part Family Formation of Ethiopian Cultural Clothing by using Group Technology Coding System
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Date
2016-07
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
The study took place on small and micro enterprises that produce cultural clothing around
Gulele subcity. These enterprises apply an informal ways of grouping for the products they
produce. This act results in spending too much time looking for the exact product; estimating
inaccurate price; spending too much time negotiating and explaining the characteristics of a
certain product, This research mainly focuses on proposing an appropriate classification and
coding system for Ethiopian cultural clothing. And it is expected that, application of group
technology will assist in minimizing the problems stated above. A sample of 111 small and micro
enterprises was studied for this research; in order to understand more about the features of
cultural clothing. A questionnaire and a semi-structured interview were conducted to collect the
required information regarding the attributes of cultural clothing and the problems that arise
from applying an informal way of grouping. Therefore it was possible to create a part family
based on the shared characteristics of cultural clothing. This act was assisted by applying
DCLASS coding system for Tibeb kemis, Netela and Buluko. It is expected that users will
understand the principle of this code and apply it for improvement. The cloths can also be
documented for later use, so than producers will save energy and time from preventing
duplication of effort when they try to draft previously designed cloth for the second and third
time; estimate accurate selling price and minimize the time spent for negotiation. The coding
system can also assist them to come up with new designs for the future market. Finally future
researchers can apply group technology to the rest of Ethiopian cultural clothing.
Key words: Group Technology, SMEs, Ethiopian Cultural Clothing
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Keywords
Group Technology;SMEs;Ethiopian Cultural Clothing