Vogue Tex Quality Month

An inspiring inauguration of integrating & reassuring ‘Quality’ into the workforce of Vogue Tex Kosgoda Factory took place on the 29th of October 2021. The Quality Month program, which was conducted by the Vogue Tex Kosgoda team, under the supervision of the factory General Manager Mr. Harsha Perera, stretched for a month’s time, in which the employees of the factory were given comprehensive training – not only relevant to their particular job role and responsibilities, but they were also tested in other positions as well. The idea of this program was to give a better understanding to the employees on the overall functionalities of the factory and how they can achieve quality through quality assurance and reducing manufacturing errors. The impact of this program is expected to have a positive effect on the performance of the factory in the long run.

Sri Lanka is renowned for having the highest quality needlework and workmanship in the apparel manufacturing industry, and we, as an apparel exporter, quality assurance plays an integral role in our supply chain management. Starting from the initial stage of developing concepts to sourcing raw materials such as fabrics and then to the final stage of dispatching the garments, we have established highest quality assurance to ensure that the standard is maintained throughout the development and production stage of the manufacturing process.

Waste minimization and re-work elimination goes hand in hand with quality assurance. Lacking a strong process control in the quality framework will lead to the need of working additional hours, potentially requiring extra manpower to inspect, alter and repair the goods. The repercussion of rework will likely lead to more garment rejection or short shipments and also potentially cause a push back on the delivery dates. (which could then lead to the bearing of Air Freight cost to salvage the order commitment)

Finding a perfect balance between effective quality assurance vs increasing productivity and efficiency is the next challenge the Kosgoda Team has undertaken. To succeed, they have set objectives to reduce End Line and Batch Audit defect rates, fulfill the target cut to ship ratio, improve the customer inspection first-time pass rate and achieve zero (0) customer claims. Better productivity and efficiency will lead to minimum fabric wastage and resources being used, which directly reflects on our company’s sustainability policies.

During the quality month program, the employees were given extensive training prior to an exam and they were tested in a number of manufacturing checkpoints like; labeling, cutting, storekeeping, button attaching, as well as in overall general functionalities of the manufacturing process. On a lighter note, employees stated that this very much reminded them of their school days and they expressed their experience of this program as being worth participating in since they had the opportunity to refresh their memory regarding the overall factory procedures.

Marking the end of the quality month, an awards ceremony was held at the factory premises (adhering to the health regulations of the country).  At the ceremony, individuals who received the best results were rewarded with a personalized certificate, along with winners of the best work cycle practice, best quality workplace, best quality line, and leaflet design competition. It was refreshing to witness the joy on the faces of the factory operators who received certificates for their achievements. Afterwards, an awareness exhibition was organized – highlighting the defects of the clothes that occurred during the production stage such as stain marks, runs, uneven measurements, to name a few. This exhibition served the purpose of reminding everyone at the production line to take ‘loss of shipment’ as crucial since these consequences could have been prevented with a bit of attention to detail and implying quality assurance procedures.

The overall participation and the interest shown by the employees for this program was commendable to an extent that we noticed that numerous employees conducted their own internet research and read up on relevant materials before sitting for the exam. Moreover, a series of discussions & exchange of ideas took place between the colleagues of other departments due to the excitement of this program. Employees also acknowledged the impact the work of one department can have on the next and in the overall business.

The success of the Quality Program Month reinforced our team’s dedication towards their workplace and their commitment to learn and upgrade their own skills towards the betterment of the Vogue Tex! Mr. Rasika Nelson, Kosgoda Factory Quality Manager, believes in influencing the employees to think outside of the box and not to contain themselves in a predefined structure, which can happen for the factory employees over the years.

Vogue Tex is dedicated to supporting personality development programs that will motivate and increase the spirits of the employees and create a positive working environment for all.