RMG industry focuses on improving productivity

Staff Reporter :
The country’s ready-made garment (RMG) industry is increasingly focusing on enhancing efficiency and improving productivity to become more competitive in the global market in the coming days.
“Our apparel industry has immense potential for growth. We are making all-out steps to seize every opportunity that lies ahead where productivity enhancement is a key priority area as we are preparing for the next phase of development,” said Faruque Hassan, President of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA).
The BGMEA has established the Centre of Innovation, Efficiency and Occupation Safety and Health Improvement (OSH) at its head office.
The centre works on productivity improvements, Industrial Engineering, product developments, industry 4.0, sustainability, lean manufacturing and Occupational Health & Safety.
The NIPOSH initiative is the 1st stepping stone toward our Centre of Innovation, Efficiency and OSH, the BGMEA chief said while addressing the closing ceremony of the NIPOSH (Network to Integrate Productivity and Occupational Safety and Health) at a city hotel in Dhaka on Monday.
Winnie Estrup Petersen, Ambassador of Denmark to Bangladesh, Prof Dr Muhammad FazliIlahi, Vice-chancellor of Ahsanullah University of Science and Technology (AUST), Prof Peter Hasle, University of Southern Denmark, Søren Albertsen, Sector Counselor of Danish Embassy and Abdullah Hil Rakib, Director of BGMEA, among others, spoke on the occasion.
The NIPOSH was initiated to enhance productivity and efficiency of the RMG industry by integrating LEAN manufacturing and OSH. The project intends to develop a network of professionals in the RMG industry and create a culture of collective consciousness and build a strong connectivity amongst the factories.
The project is funded by the Embassy of Denmark in Bangladesh in collaboration with University of Southern Denmark (SDU) and Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA).
It was jointly implemented by Centre of Efficiency, innovation and OSH (BGMEA) and Ahsanullah University of Science and Technology (AUST).
A total of 25 factories were on boarded in this project. Every networking meeting was designed to train and motivate the participants through feedback and experience sharing about the implementation in their respective factories.
The network model is developed in such a way as to ensure a conducive learning environment for the factories and a smooth and real-time knowledge and experience sharing.
A total 10.87 per cent efficiency improvement in intervention time in factories and OSH improves 19.83 per cent in the intervention time in factories.
As the project has concluded, BGMEA will continue this work under a new name to support its member factories and continue the momentum.