RESEARCHES ON QUALITY MANAGEMENT IN THE FIELD OF KNITWEAR INDUSTRY

ABSTRACT OF THE PHD THESIS RESEARCHES ON QUALITY MANAGEMENT IN THE FIELD OF KNITWEAR INDUSTRY Alexandrina MEGYESI Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, Romania The issues concerning quality that are being presented in this PhD thesis are due to the fact that, for a while, The Romanian organizations have been submitted to major changes as far as their processes and market are concerned, within an environment created by the intensification and globalization of competition, the increase of the customers requirements and the rapid development of the technologic progress. In these conditions, the adjustment of the quality philosophy has been imposed as a determining factor for survival and success in business. The content of this thesis has been composed as a guide in the implementation of improving quality in the field of knitwear industry. The PhD thesis includes pages which are organized in 5 substance chapters and one chapter for conclusions. The auxiliary apparatus of the paper also includes a bibliography, the list of figures, the list of tables, the list of photographs and 2 annexes. There are 68 figures included in the paper, 24 tables and 15 photographs. The appear also has 287 footnotes. The paper s logic develops on two major coordinates: quality management and the issue of knitwear firms. There is a connection between those two, represented by the characteristics of quality management to which the present state of the knitwear firms within the North-Western Romanian region will be associated. The research has been developed on two plans. A theoretical research which had to answer to many objectives and a practical one that needed to prove that the theoretical area has an impact on reality. The research started from the quality area, with the initial vision of a convergence point with management, with results in the field of textile industry, especially the knitwear sub-sector. From the theoretical point of view, the trajectory of the research has been the quality paradigm the history and the evolution of quality the benefits of quality

management customer s satisfaction the implementation of the quality standards the identification of the methods, techniques and instruments which are mostly used within the enterprises the state of textile industry, respectively the knitwear industry the formalization of quality management in the Romanian knitwear firms. The practical research has initially been only one, further on some more studies have been added, and finally the research has been divided and together with the study cases, have been distributed throughout the thesis s chapters. Thus a questionnaire has been elaborated, the data have been processed and the results have been interpreted and evaluated. Even if the partial conclusions have been underlined at the end of each chapter, the complexity and the importance of the presented theme requires the underlining of some general aspects, relevant for the theoretical approach and the practical researches within this paper. The first five sections of the paper start from general to particular and refer to: insuring the control of the products quality within the organizations, the systematic improvement of the activity, aspects of the introduction of quality management in the organizations, general and practical aspects of the textile and knitwear industry. The practical aspects include a study concerning the firms preoccupation in the Romanian North-Western region for identifying the most appropriate options for improving quality, a study regarding the use of the instruments, techniques and methods at different management levels and an application at SC Tricotaje Somesul SA Cluj-Napoca. The major objectives that are pursued during the five chapters are the following: Understanding the quality paradigm; Underlining the dynamic character of the quality concept; Identifying the types to approach quality, imposed by the technologic-social changes where the enterprise is developing its activity; Identifying the importance of quality management; Knowing the quality in the vision of the six quality parents ; Underlining the characteristics of the principles of quality management; Knowing the appearance and the present state of the family of standards ISO 9000; Identifying the most used methods, techniques and instruments within the firms; Presenting the situation of the textile industry, respectively of the knitwear subsector;

Identifying the most appropriate option for the improvement of quality in the knitwear firms from the Romanian North-Western region. The documentation process for the elaboration of this thesis has started four years ago, it involved the consultation of more than 279 titles from the literature of the field, a part of them in Romanian and some small parts in English and French. The bibliographical sources refer to quality, quality management and textile industry. Within the bibliography there are titles of books, courses and also scientific papers from journals, conferences and symposiums. To this bibliography another 132 titles of articles are added, which reflect the intense study of Internet and media. All chapters start with a set of objectives and end with the conclusions. Further on we will present the main conclusions of this paper. Chapter 1 is called Approaches of the quality concept and defines the substance of the research. Within it there are a series of historical references that have marked the concept of quality in a smaller or larger measure and for a longer or a shorter period of time, since the antiquity until now. Quality has not appeared in a précised moment in history. It is a fundamental element of human behaviour, which has been more or less developed, according to the circumstances and necessities. If we go back to the origin of civilization, the history shows us that the specialists of quality have begun their activity together with the introduction of a centralized power, leaded by tribe chiefs, kings or Pharaohs. We may call them the first inspectors, with the same type of power as today. They have elaborated the first clauses, which allow them to accept or to refuse the products which are being presented to them. The way to approach the social and economic environment that exists at a certain moment, within a certain stage of the development process of the quality concept will be presented by structuring the information in three periods: the pre-industrial period, the industrial period and the quality management period. The same temporal delimitation will also be used for underlining the practical use of the quality concept, in certain moments of its existence. The industrial revolution and the system of factors assimilated to it have brought, together with the increase of the complexity level of the products and processes and in parallel with the changes in the organizational management, a revolution in the way to apply the quality concept. If the industrial revolution is the period which started the intensification of the development process of the quality concept, the decisive moment in the trajectory of the quality concept is being assimilated to the researches which have

proved that Taylor and his contemporaries have represented the organizations only in the bi-dimensional plan, considering the processes at the organization s level as linear processes which begin with the product s specification, continue with production and end with inspection. The results of Shewhart s research have brought a tri-dimensional approach of the processes that take place at the organization s level, an approach that has been deepened and developed during the last 60 years by Deming Juran, Crosby, Feigenbaum, Ishikawa and Taguchi. The ideas and the contribution of each of the personalities that have marked the development of the quality concept have been underlined in chapter 2. Together with the increase and diversification of the products demand and together with the development of the industrial production, the notion of quality has evolved and diversified. The process of the evolution of the quality concept is still yet to be at the end, because the environment in which it develops is continuously changing and the phenomenon of the real world are being characterized by complexity and interconnectivity and it require a permanent correlation between theory and the more and more dynamic economic environment. The quality concept has been included in the science of management only two and a half decades ago, when in Europe the certification activity has been initiated, and the actions for quality have been created at the level of each organization through objectives and organizational structures. Thus, the organization s management has been improved with a new field quality management and chapter 2 is dedicated to it. Chapter 2 is called Theories and principles elements of success in quality management and it is one of the biggest chapters of the paper. The concept of quality management is best defined by Chorn, in 1991, as a new approach of the organization s management. The importance of quality management results from: the planned and efficient usage of the human, material and financial resources of the organization, offering credibility to the customer by implementing the quality management system, taking into consideration the firm s requirements. Quality management includes functions which have the role to insure the development of products and processes which concur with the customers requirements. The organizations have to deeply know their clients in order to use the technical and professional competences to transform their desires in products and to launch new businesses. Clients satisfaction determines the analyses of the relationship between the firm and its clients, concerning the requirements of the clients and the key factors of

quality which determine the market competition. The satisfaction created by the product has its origin in the product s characteristics and represents the reason why the customers are buying it. Actually, the investment in expertises of the satisfaction insures a high profit. The means, experience and available resources can help the satisfaction of the clients, of the associates and of the employees. The main ideas and concepts belonging to the specialists in the quality field (Deming, Crosby and Juran) that have significantly influenced the evolution of the quality concept at the organization s level, in the last 60 years, are being presented in the thesis. Chapter 3 with the title Theoretical and practical aspects concerning the standardization and certification of the quality system has been entirely dedicated to underlining the partnership quality-standardization at micro and macro economic level, with an accent on the importance of the use of standardization as a managerial instrument in the process of creating quality at the organization s level. The products and services which are being achieved according to standards increase the consumers trust in that product or service, in the quality level of the product or service. Certification represents a confirmation of the management s ability to achieve products/services which bring direct or indirect satisfaction to all those interested in the organization. Until December 2005, at least 776.608 certificates ISO 9000 have been emitted in 161 countries and economies. The 2005 total represents an increase of 116.476 (+18%) compared to 2004, when the total has been 660.132 certificates in 154 countries and economies. Chapter 4 with the title Methods and instruments for quality improvement underlines the most important methods and instruments for quality improvement used in organizations. The specialists feel that choosing the techniques and instruments for quality improvement do not have to be based on a hierarchy of their importance. They suggest that it is wrong to appeal to just one technique or instrument. The economic practice has underlined the fact that the frequency of the use of different techniques, instruments and methods differs from case to case, but the introduction of the operational support in all the life stages of the product has a strategic importance with the purpose of creating competitive advantages. The determining factors which influence this process are: the enterprise s field of activity, its size, the structure of the personnel, the experience in the field, the existing culture etc.

Chapter 5 called General and practical aspects concerning the textile industry and the knitwear sub-sector is entirely designed to textile industry, respectively the knitwear sub-sector, because, in the last period of time, the textile industry has been noticed as an economic branch which can have a special contribution to the development of the Romanian economy. We believe that it is useful to mention the following aspects: there is a tradition in the field of textiles which can be developed to transform this branch of the manufacturing industry in a representative one for the country s economy; there is a special accent set on the quality of production in the textile field; a greater effort is required to promote the national products of this branch; a development of the distribution network is being required in order for the entire scale of manufactured products to reach the furthest consumption places; there is a need for preparing the personnel for promoting and selling the products; the enlargement of the products market is imposed, inside as well as outside, on new markets, stimulating the export; actions meant to determine the recognition of the viability of the products on the internal and external market; a continuous modernization of products and technologies in order to face the changes determined by season and fashion. Thus, we can talk about the textile industry, respectively the knitwear industry in Romania as a dynamic industry. The textile industry is being characterized by a well dimensioned industry, in order to answer well defined requirements and also due to the lack of financial resources, raw materials, endowment with equipments. In the units that work in an lohn style, the technologic progress is obvious, they being able to develop on their own, which also means that lohn is a positive factor. The products of the easy industry present a great imitative potential with relatively low entering barriers which facilitate the entrance of a great number of producers on this market, and implicitly the appearance of competition between them. Within this chapter the situation of the firm Tricotaje Somesul SA has been presented, beginning with a short history of the firm and of the restructuring process in the field of production and products quality. The firm has an important tradition in the knitwear sub-sector and it is specialized in knitwear, with a wide range of articles.

Chapter 6 called Conclusions, theoretical and practical contributions has been reserved for conclusions and proposals for the improvement of quality in the knitwear firms, with the perspective of increasing the competition in all the sectors of activity, as a result of Romania s integration in the European Union. Thus, the opportunity of the thesis comes from the fact that in such a competitive economy only those enterprises will survive and develop which will give lots of attention to quality, to the employees mentality and the change of the organizational culture in the direction of improving the quality of all the activities within the organization. At the end of each chapter there is a practical research concerning quality improvement in the Romanian North-Western knitwear firms. At the level of the applicative research we have obtained the following results, according to the objectives that are mentioned at the beginning of the paper: o 90,91% of the ones who answered declare that they have employees with specific attributions concerning quality; o for 81,82% of the firms, the quality concept represents the satisfaction of the customer s needs ; o 60,61% of the investigated firms say that they do not have a quality department; o 65% of the subjects intent to have a quality deprtment in the following 2 years; o 78,79% of the investigated firms have not implemented the quality management system; o 36,36% of the investigated firms are guided by the internal norms; o most of the firms state that the employees are the ones who are involved in the activities for improving quality, followed by the clients and then by the suppliers; o 39,39% of the firms use a system for measuring the customers satisfaction, while 39,39% answer that they do not measure the customers satisfaction; o out of the quality spiral, the production process brings the best contribution to the improvement activity of the firms; o out of the methods, techniques, instruments used to improve the quality in the firm, the mostly used method is the Analyses of the way of damage and their effects in a percentage of 42,42% o the knitwear firms totally agree that quality improvement cannot take place without the existence of some policies in the field of quality; o in the majority of the firms the costs could be reduced by keeping under control the quality of the support processes;

o 72,73% of the firms are preoccupied for actions to improve quality; o most of the firms deal with financial problems in the implementation of the strategies for quality improvement. The main common problems identified by the investigated firms have been the lack of a strategic direction, the general lack of financial and human resources which is specific to the small and medium knitwear firms, with a critical impact on the existing quality systems, generating negative effects on the possibility to raise the quality of the personnel, its participation to education and qualification programs. The theoretical and practical contributions of this thesis are: Based on the theoretical and practical arguments, I have synthesized the crystallization, evolution, extensions and reduction registered by the quality concept, since its existence and until today; A reflection on the process for the development of the quality concept, approached by the structure of information in three periods: the pre-industrial period, thew industrial period and the quality management period; Based on documentation, I have synthesized the information in a single expression and I have defined the concept of quality; As a result o studying the approaches of Ilies, Garvin, Harvey and Green I have identified two approaches of the concept of quality; I have tried a synchronization of the information concerning the textile industry with the aspects of quality throughout the history; I have presented the content and the process of the marketing research within the thesis; I have underlined the importance of quality management in an organization; I have expressed different points of view concerning the functions of quality management; I have analyzed the relation between customers satisfaction and getting the competitive advantage; The presentation of the common and divergent points in the minds of the 7 wise in the field of quality; The presentation of the characteristics of the quality management principles with its benefits; The characterization of the family of standards ISO 9000; The presentation of the situation of the firms in the North-Western region regarding the implementation of the quality management system;

The systematization of a great number of information that has been found in the literature of the field, concerning the different models of presentation and interpretation of the methods, techniques and instruments specific to quality management; The exemplification of the diagram cause-effect for identifying the factors which lead to a poor quality of a knitwear product; The exemplification of the brainstorming method by a scheme for the development of such a meeting in the knitwear firm Tricotaje Somesul ; The delimitation of the main criteria for evaluating the methods, techniques and instruments; An abstract of an applicative study concerning the implementation of the methods, techniques and instruments of quality management in the textile firms from Great Britain; Gathering information on textile industry from the media, from the paternali of textile industry, the Ministry of Commerce and the NAtinal Institute of Research- Development for Textiles and Leader; Describing the history and evolution of the knitwear industry worldwide and in Romania; Presenting a textile firm from Romania, 1 June from Timisoara, which has obtained two certificates for the consumer s safety and the environment s: Oko Tex and Sanitized AG; Presenting the present status of the greatest knitwear firm in Cluj-Napoca: SC Tricotaje Somesul SA. Presenting the situation of 66 knitwear firms from the North-Western region with the purpose of identifying the most appropriate options for quality improvement. By the presented information, the thesis has underlined enough arguments to sustain the idea that the knowledge of the evolution of the quality concept is important because it offers the necessary instruments for the analyses of the existing situations, for perfecting the existing concepts and which, correctly used, allow the organization to fulfill its mission: to offer solutions that will contribute to the satisfaction of the customers and of the society as a whole.