International Journal of Textile and Fashion Technology (IJTFT) ISSN 2250-2378 Vol.

2, Issue 3 Sep 2012 34-42 TJPRC Pvt. Ltd.,

TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT AN OPPORTUNITY FOR HIGH PERFORMANCE IN TEXTILE WET PROCESSING
J. N. SHAH & S.R. SHAH Department of Textile Chemistry, Fac. of Tech.&Engg.,,The M.S. University of Baroda,Vadodara, Gujarat, India

ABSTRACT
Textile sector is probably the worlds largest industry dealing with every human being as customer. Customer now governs the largest world textile market. Quality awareness in textile industry is need of the day even for survival. The concept of quality has been contemplated throughout history and continues to be a topic of interest today. Quality has been defined differently at various times e.g. as value (Abott., 1955; Feigenbaum, 1951), conformance to specifications (Gilmore, 1974), fitness for use (Juran, 1974, 1988) etc.1 Quality management is a necessity for survival and growth of the organization in a global environment. TQM philosophy and guiding principles continuously improve the performance in wet processing and result in quality product; the need of the day.

KEYWORDS: Textile Production, Wet Processing, Quality Management. QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS (QMS)
Quality standards can be achieved through Quality Control and Quality Assurance. Since 1950s, quality was considered to be by quality control which emphasis on the product assessment. It can be demonstrated through process control, inspection, testing and calibration. On the other hand Quality Assurance is an entire shift from product assessment to the assessment of process and methods, which includes the inter development cooperation and the emphasis is on controlling the process rather than the product. Quality management system caters for the quality not only in the manufacturing and processing but also in the allied functions like purchasing, marketing, training, handling documents and very importantly the communication in the organization. It can be demonstrated through Reviews, Audits, Trainings and Documentation.2 Various QMS like ISO 9000 series, ISO 14000 series, etc. have been adopted in industries. Majority of textile industries have adopted ISO 9000 system. Earlier, textile was a suppliers market and now-a-days it is totally a buyers market and the consumer demands consistent quality of the product which leads to shift the product loyalty from one manufacturer to the other. Customers are having more options available with them for selecting a quality product at a much competitive price. For textile sector, the only way left out to bring down the cost and to generate more yields, with competitive quality products,

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Total Quality Management An Opportunity for High Performance in Textile wet Processing

is to adopt the QMS based approach. ISO 9000 quality systems provides all such inputs to work towards the Management by Objectives rather than the Management Crisis.

ISO 9000 STANDARDS

A technical committee TC-176 under a Geneva based organization formed and the first series of ISO 9000 standards were brought out in the year 1987. ISO 9000 gives us a common platform to fulfill customer requirements, which varies from place to place and country to country, i.e. ISO assuring for a product, fulfilling all the standard norms which remain same throughout the world. These standards are product neutral and can be adopted by any sector of the industry. It says: let us perfect the system, the product will take care of itself. The basic theme of these quality system standards is to do the right first and every time and thereby assuring for a product consistent in its quality. Since, 14th July 1994, these standards have been revised to make advanced and better for the units wishing to go for registration, these are: ISO: 9001, ISO: 9002, ISO: 9003 (for contractual requirements) and ISO: 9004 (for non-contractual requirements)3. Textile industry can select the standard as per its requirement. For instance Raymonds is ISO9001 whereas Reliance has adopted ISO9002 certification.

REQUIREMENT OF TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT

It is not only the system that brings success to the organizations/company, but the people involved in the system must be creative or innovative. Without the combination of system and creativity, no company can grow successfully. Quality can not be achieved merely by establishing a QMS. The system must be developed intelligently and implemented intelligently by the people. Achievement of quality requires a systematic approach supported by innovative people who are capable of preventing failures or non-conformities in product. Thus, in order to obtain a quality product a Total Quality Management (TQM) is required.4 The term TQM is becoming more and more popular today as a means of describing any companys approach to quality, because it is mobilization of the whole organization to achieve quality continuously and a strategic approach in producing the best product or service. To establish TQM either in production or processing of textiles we need a management which maintains the consistency of quality throughout the entire process of a textile product i.e. Fiber to Finished fabric. TQM spells like: Total means satisfying all stake customers. Quality means sustained customer focus. Management means continuous improvement with facts and data based decisions in a planned way. 5 Off the many ways one may define TQM as: TQM is the process of achieving agreed customer requirements at the lowest effective cost by bringing the talents of all the employees

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TQM approach, centered on quality, based on the participation of all members of organization and aims at long-term success through customer satisfaction, and benefits to all members of the organization, and to society6. Quality approach in 20th century may have been divided into four prominent eras regarding historical evolution of TQM (Table-1). Table 1: Historical evaluation of TQM in 20th century ERA QUALITY INSPECTION (QI) QUALITY CONTROL (QC) QUALITY ASSURANCE (QA) TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT (TQM) Beginning year 1910 1924 1950 1980

The key areas to ensure the success of a TQM program in an organization are commitment and a systematic approach. Commitment must start with top management and then be gained from each individual employee while a systematic approach requires the necessary infrastructure of people, systems and training. The results of a study conducted in Malaysia suggest that the implementations of TQM can lead to the enhancement of customer satisfaction and ultimately improve the financial performance of manufacturing companies in Malaysia.7

IMPLEMENTATION OF TQM IN TEXTILES

Textile Industry involves various functions performed by department and persons to convert raw material in to final product. TQM in textiles is not the work of a single department or person, but involvement of all persons and functions -Vis--vis- market research, product development, manufacturing, purchasing, inspection, and marketing and after sales services, this approach is illustrated in fig-1. TQM starts from top of the organization and recognize the importance of everyone committed to customer satisfaction. TM-Top Management --- Decide the Product quality cycle

MM-Middle Management --- Execute the decision made by TM LM-Lower Management --- Implement the execution done by MM Failure of Management to plan for the future and to foresee problems have brought about waste of manpower, of materials, and of machine & time, all of which raise the processing cost and price that the purchaser must pay. The consumer is not always willing to subsidize this waste. The inevitable result is loss of market. They have to do things right first time without error6.

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Total Quality Management An Opportunity for High Performance in Textile wet Processing

Figure 1: TQM cycle in textile industry

TQM IN TEXTILE WET PROCESSING

Various approaches e.g. Kaizen, Juran have been utilized for implantation of TQM in textile wet processing. The general features needs to be maintained are: 1] 2] 3] 5] 6] Control on waste at all stages of wet processing. Proper housekeeping & material handling. Inventory control Product identification at all stages through proper system. Process and quality control

Implementation of TQM in textile wet processing simultaneously increases market share, quality and profits8. Various stages of TQM in textile wet processing are grouped into Quality Control and Process Control9 (fig. 2) Quality/Process control in textile wet processing

Quality control

Process control

Raw Materials

Process Materials

Grey Inspection

Bleaching & Mercerizing

Dyeing

Printing

Finishing

Figure 2: Various stages of TQM in textile wet processing

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TQM GUIDELINES FOR VARIOUS STAGES OF TEXTILE WET PROCESSING

In order to develop TQM in wet processing, it is necessary first to consider process parameters along with quality parameters to meet ISO standards and customer requirements. At all stages of wet processing process control, and quality control parameters should be designed and maintained within norms. Few such parameters are listed in table 210. It is responsibility of middle management to design the proper manual and to execute properly through various levels of management. Records of PC and QC parameters should be maintained and authorized by assigned authority at right place and should be easily retrievable. Following guidelines may be followed for implement of TQM at various stages: Table 2: Checklist of PC & QC parameters in wet processing Stage Process control Singeing burner position, flame height, flame intensity, speed Desizing Enzyme concentration, wet pick-up, pH, temperature, reaction time Scouring steam pressure, time of boiling, caustic alkalinity in process and in effluent Bleaching Concentration of bleaching agent, pH, time of reaction, residual Cl2/H2O2in drain Mercerizing Concentration of caustic, Speed of the mercerization machine, dwell time, pick-up, temperature of mercerizing liquor, residual alkalinity Absorbency, fat and wax content, fluidity, scouring loss Whiteness, whiteness retention, Size removal, fluidity Parameters Quality control Pilling test

fabric strength degree of mercerizing (Barium activity no.), luster %, width

shrinkage, residual alkali, fabric strength

SINGEING
Process control in singeing should be taken care through various parameters listed in table 2. Above all this, proper working of guide rollers and expanders, immediate quenching bath after singeing of cold water to lower down the temperature of cloth etc. should also be ensured for consistent quality in singeing. Failure in QM not only leads to faults but may also leads to hazard. Management decision here is also important for selection of machine which reduces the manual control. Oshthoff is one such machine which is having much automatic function and can result consistent singeing quality.

DESIZING

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Total Quality Management An Opportunity for High Performance in Textile wet Processing

In desizing process parameters, and manual work should be carried out efficiently so that no re-desizing batch would occur, final testing according to QMS should be properly carried out for desizing. Table-3 QC of desized fabric Desizing Efficiency, % 90 85-90 80-85 70-80 70 Descriptive Grade Excellent Very Good Good Moderate Poor

Efficiency of Desizing can be judged by QC of desized fabric which arbitrarily grade desized fabric. It should not be less than 85%. Thus by stricter control during desizing it is possible to achieve 85% desizing efficiency. Using required concentration of enzyme. It has been reported, that optimum concentration of enzyme for this purpose is 0.25% W/V9. Higher concentrations do not increase desizing efficiency to any appreciable extent but simply add to the chemical cost of the operation. Similarly other process parameters like digestion time for enzyme, temp. & pH of the process should be maintained carefully.

SCOURING
Off the process parameters which need to be controlled here, caustic alkalinity at the time of drain should not be less than 10% of the starting concentration in order to maintain impurities in the suspended form. For this purpose a periodic check of alkalinity in the kiering solution is desirable during the course of scouring operation. Quality Control checks determine efficiency of scouring & should be maintained under norms.

BLEACHING
Bleaching is carried out either by conventional batch methods using a kier or by semicontinuous pad steam method or by continuous J box system. Record should be kept of each of the wet processes operation in a log book maintained by the department & various controls listed should be scrupulously entered.

MERCERISING
In mercerizing, an hourly check of the strength of the caustic soda in mercerizing liquor is necessary for the uniform degree of mercerizing especially for goods meant for subsequent dyeing and for goods mercerized by wet on wet method. All the measures listed in table 2 are aimed at obtaining a well mercerized fabric without undue shrinkage and wastage of costly caustic soda thereby enabling the

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mills to produce quality mercerizes fabric at optimum cost. A well mercerized fabric should not give a Barium Activity number below 135. Increase in luster % by 5-7 units due to mercerization can be considered satisfactory11.

DYEING
R.F.T. dyeing factor must be considered here for efficient Quality dyeing results. Process parameters like concentration of dye bath, temp. of bath, nip pressure in padding, pH etc. should be controlled. Total Quality Management, manual must provide the following information: Dyes and pigments along with their CI number Chemicals in use Material safety data sheets for all items Processing methods used Quality parameters of the final product Test methods for each of the items Frequency at which each test needs to be conducted Eco-label requirements Besides testing of dyestuffs and pigments for their strength before using in dyeing the scope of the laboratory should be further extended by suggesting cheaper combinations to department by matching of fancy shades without any adverse effect on the fastness properties of dyeing obtained. This alone has been found to help many mills to reduce their cost of dyeing considerably. The quality control involves testing of dyed materials for fastness tests to various agencies like light, washing, rubbing perspiration, solvent dry-cleaning and others depending upon the end-use of fabric. As regards process control while dyeing checkups of the concentration of chemicals, especially caustic soda and hydrosulphite, temperature of dyeing the density of the package, temperature measurements, time of reversal of cycles, pump pressure etc. should be taken regularly12.

PRINTING
The dyestuff and pigments as well as other auxiliaries used in printing should be tested as per the quality manual before accepting them for use in bulk production. Besides this it is always desirable to check the basic cloth for width variation, creases, absorbency, whiteness etc. which would otherwise lead to higher percentage of damages. The desired consistency of the printing paste and its suitability on storage is also an equally important check. Fastness characteristics of the prints should be checked for all the designs as a routine quality control measure.

FINISHING

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Total Quality Management An Opportunity for High Performance in Textile wet Processing

Proper selection of finishing ingredients such as starches, gums, resins, catalysts, softeners etc. and it is many a time said that the final finish decides the quality of the fabric for which the consumer pays. The relevant Indian Standards serve as best guide for the selection of finishing ingredients. In this respect comparative evaluation of resins and costly auxiliaries should be critically made before their use in bulk. As regards comparative chemical analysis and performance of the commercially available resins for wash-n-wear and durable press fabrics recently BTRA has published a report which enumerates the various test procedures on the resins used and on the resin finished fabrics11. On the other hand resin finished fabric should be invariably tested for physical properties such as tensile and tear strength, abrasion resistance, wrinkle recovery angle and wash-n-wear or D.P.Ratings as the case may be, whereas chemical test would include nitrogen and formaldehyde determination, resistance to acid or alkali hydrolysis, chlorine retention and subsequent loses on scorching etc. These should conform to the various standards laid down by different authorities like Tootals for tebilised fabrics or Textile Commissioners Standards for wash-n-wear or Koratron (U.S.A) for durable press fabrics.

IMPACT OF TQM IN TEXTILE WET PROCESSING

Establishment and efficient implementation of TQM in textile wet processing results in many beneficiary impacts to the textile industry. Eliminates unnecessary Processes and items, Business oriented work, Proper maintenance, Stock level controlled, Orderliness maintained, Colour coding done properly, Better Material handling, Eco-parameters maintained, Re-utilization of steam, heat, Auxiliaries from effluents etc. All these impacts ultimately gives quality product at optimum cost which helps in capturing market share considerably.

ROLE OF I.T. IN TEXTILES

Use of Information Technology in this era assures complete quality process and reduces manual errors, helps in re-utilizing process waste, also makes laboratory and testing work more efficient with utilizing data bank of standard and produced samples. Optimum utilization of dyes, auxiliaries and chemicals at various stages of wet processing like, pre-treatments, dyeing, printing and finishing become possible with I.T. using lowest effort. Efficient management of entire activities of various stages of wet

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processing spread over huge area can be carried out from one place by lowest no. of manpower simply sitting in chair through computers by I. T. 13 In India several textile organizations have implemented TQM & found to be efficient. TQM encourages participation amongst shop floor workers and managers. Also, that include all functions and all employees have to participate in the improvement process; that organizations need both quality systems and a quality culture. Finally it can be concluded that only a strong organizational culture with determined management and a controlled feedback mechanism will ensure the effective implementation of the quality system as required by the Total Quality Management and the best output is achieved in textile wet processing.

REFERENCES
1. Academy of Management Review 19(3), 1994, 419-45 2. R.R.Gorakhia,Colourage Texindia Fair 97 special/ 19th-21st Dec. 1997/25-26 3. Dr. S.U. Kulkarni, Colourage/UDCT Seminar cum exhibition special,1993/ 57-58 4. Suresh Dalela and Saurabh, ISO: 9000 A Manual for Total Quality Management, Second Edition, 1997,50-56 5. G.D Premi, Colourage, Vol. 22, December 1997, 27 6. Indra Doraiswamy & K. P. Chellamani, Colourage Southtex, Vol. No.XLIII, ISS. No. 10, 96 Special/30th Aug.-1st Sept,1996,35,42-43 7. Rozeia Mustafa, http://www.simplyquality.org/ISO%209000%20case%20study.htm 8. M.Subramanian Senthil Kannan, ISS. No.0019, Vol. No. M5/116 The Indian Textile Journal, September 2005/62-63 9. A.A Vaidya, Process and quality control in Textile Chemical Wet Processing, Atria, (Indian Science Abstracts), Vol. No. 19, Part-II 10. S.M.Doshi and H.A.Shah, Chemical processing tablet IX, The Textile Association, India. 11. N.S.Saraiya and S.M.Doshi, BTRA Scan,5,Edition no.-1,79-87 12. http://www.fibre2fashion.com/industry-article/7/679/the-evolution-of-a-dyehouse-doctor1.asp 13. http://www.arel.com.au/outsourcing.html