Calculating machine productivity is one way of measuring line productivity or the factory’s productivity. If you are already measuring the labor productivity of your sewing lines, you might be also interested in calculating machine productivity for your lines. It is easier to estimate the production capacity of a line for the given products if you have machine productivity data for various product categories. In this post, I will show you how to calculate the machine productivity of a sewing line.
Formula to calculate machine productivity:
Machine productivity = (Number of total garments produced / Total stitching machines used)
Productivity is the ratio of output and input of a process in a defined time frame. Divide the garment output of a line by machine input.
In the readymade garment production, factories measure productivity majorly as labour productivity and machine productivity. Labour productivity calculation method has been already discussed in this post.
Machine productivity calculation method:
To calculate the machine productivity of a stitching line you need the following data.
Count total stitching machines in a line
Count line output at the end of the day (number of garments produced)
Note shift time (in hours) and total hours factory works
Calculate machine productivity using the above formula
Example: A 40 machines line produced 400 pieces of shirts in 8 hours shift day.
Machine productivity = 400/40 pieces in 8 hours.
= 10 pieces per 8 hours shift
This method is applicable in calculating machine productivity for individual sewing lines as well as the whole factory.
In case your factory shift time is 10 hours, you can measure machine productivity as machine productivity per 10-hour shift. Or convert 10 hours productivity into 8 hours of machine productivity by following this formula.
Machine productivity in 8 hours = (Pieces produced*8)/ (Number of machines * Actual shift hours)
Exercise: Calculate machine productivity in 8 hours for the following cases.
Line No. Product type No. of m/c Total Pieces Produced (Line output) Hours worked/Day
1 Casual shirt 30 400 8
2 Formal shirt 40 350 10
3 Trouser 44 420 10
Answers: 1=13.3, 2=7 and 3=7.63