The effect of time variations in assembly line balancing: lessons learned in the clothing industry in South Africa

Abstract

South African clothing sector has undergone large-‐scale restructuring over the past 15 years. The global economy is pressurizing organisations to improve productivity of their business processes. Competition is forcing organisations to focus their energy on “core competencies.” Like many industries, the clothing industry is witnessing changes in technology, diversification of labour, managerial implications while competing on the global market. The South African clothing and textile industries have the potential to create jobs, but this potential has been steadily diminishing over the last decade. In this context, the clothing industry is regarded as a powerful engine for economic and employment growth. Nevertheless, the performance of the clothing industry, whether in terms of efficiency, working conditions or degree of social protection, is unstable. This paper aims to highlight some of the problems experienced by manufacturers’ through a semi-‐structured questionnaire and provide suggestions for improvement of the clothing industry through the application of line balancing as a means of productivity improvement. The research methodology employed in this paper is qualitative and exploratory in nature making use of applicable literature and appropriate case studies