APPLICATION OF TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT ON GARMENTS MANUFACTURING IN SUDAN

Abstract

This study aimed to use and attempted to apply total quality management TQM in the Sudanese garment manufacturing factories to improve productivity and profitability and product quality and solving the factory's problems to meet customer satisfaction and decrease the garment imported and determined the potential of competition of local factories in the local and global market. The study designed and employed two methods, one for local garments factories in Sudan and the second for Sudanese consumers. The first one survey conducted among a sample of the local garment factories in Sudan to determine the impact on company strategy, management practices and performance, to identify the weakness and strength and solving problems. The second survey was conducted and employed for Sudanese consumers, the purpose of this survey is attempted to explore and identify how the Sudanese consumers evaluate garment quality and determine all the factors influence perception of garment quality and selection. The study focus on all operations of garment manufacturing start from design to storage and this study used Just in time, 5S checklists, quality assurance, and six sigma. Also the research focus on time cycle for manufacturing one piece of shirt and trouser between three workers to calculate the average time and identified the waste of time reason and losses time at the factory and time cycle elongation, the factories does not have a standard operation time. Similarly, the study observed non-value activities such as unnecessary transportation and manual operations, waiting for raw material due to poor layout and there were also product defects due to poor applying of 5S system and unqualified the workers. After implementation lean tools, using process flow chart and check sheets, quality assurance, the cycle time analysis, the standard time operation was determined. Likewise, the non-value added activities were reduced, thus productivity was improved, the scrape, rejection and defect of production are reduced and the factory meeting the customer expectation in the time delivery and quality of the product and the factory have a good name and reputation in the market. This study proved the importance and greater advantageousness have been investigated of application of TQM in garments manufacturing in Sudan.