What is project management?
Project management is a management system that involves performing in the entire project by the application of knowledge, skills, methods, experience, tools, and techniques to achieve the project objectives. In a simple word, project management is maintaining a system of appropriate planning, organizing, and managing tasks and resources to accomplish a defined goal. Project management is a vital task in textile and apparel industry. It includes initiating, planning, executing, monitoring, closing etc.
But are you still confused about, what’s the function of project management in textile and apparel industry? Let’s clear about the topic.
How project management is part of textile and apparel industry?
Textile industry is one of the most capital-intensive sectors among the industrial sectors all over the world. Therefore, when a new project begins, the management have to careful assessment of all factors involved in. Every textile and apparel company or industry are faced some common challenges which are often called to the ‘iron triangle’ categories.
Iron triangle of textile, apparel and RMG industry are as follow:
- Deadlines,
- Budget,
- Scope and Quality.
Textile and apparel industry, or fashion industry, is not immune to similar types of challenges. Project management knowledge provides a systematic approach to overcome these difficulties in textile and apparel industry.
The purpose of textile project management is, acquiring new knowledge and skills by implementing techniques, tools, processes, and methodologies. The products of textile and apparel industry depend on the fashion chain and collections. Which are varied and developed according to trends, market specifications, and market profiles? Therefore, the industry should have their main objective in the development of new and innovative products.
To deliver a new collection of apparel, the whole process of elaborating is executed based on a per-project approach. Each apparel collection must be unique, having a well-defined beginning to end.
The development of an apparel collection should consider the processes at the industrial level, will originate the final product. Thus, requiring a project management methodology integrates the development of the project from the initial phase to conception of the product idea; until the final stage the start of production to market.
Project management processes in textile and apparel industry:
Textile project management in textile and apparel industry describes as technology, engineering and administrative procedures and techniques involved in designing, constructing, procuring requisite machinery and equipping, organizing and commissioning new textile industries.
Phases of Project Management:
A production concentred project in textile or apparel industry, have a lot of moving parts. There are so many parts to coordinate and execute a successful project, from yarn or finished fabric to final textile product or apparel. That’s why project management is necessary in textile and apparel industry.
In textile industry projects are broken down into small to smaller phases. It organizes the total production so that industry can make perfect progress. In project management in textile or apparel industry, there are five phases. These are as follow:
- Initiating,
- Planning,
- Executing,
- Monitoring & Controlling,
- Closing
Let’s give a closer look to these phases of a project management in textile and apparel industry.
1. Initiation: The value of the project as, well as its possibility should be determined in the initial step. Before any project approved or rejected, these two documents as: business case and feasibility study are created to sell the work to investor or stakeholders.
2. Planning: If any project is approved in textile and apparel industry, then the next step is to assemble a project team. A project team or leading team has to start planning how to manage the project. Consequently, it can achieve its production goals within budget and on time.
The project management plan will include what resources are needed, financing and materials. Some resources must have to provide by industry to the leading team. Such as:
- Written scope statement,
- Define the specific tasks,
- Determine the duration of task or schedule,
- Estimate cost,
- Quality objective,
- Dedicated organization,
- Responsible staff,
- Frequency communications,
- Determine highest and lowest risk,
- Procurement of necessary materialsand many other things.
3. Execution: Now the industry has done the planning, it’s time to execute the project. This phase can be categorized in two parts. One is Executing Plan and another is administration.
4. Executing the Plan: In this step have to follow the created plan, assign the tasks to general team members or garments floor level operator. It has to manage and monitor their progress like a project management tools,
5. Administrate: Manage the proper contracts to secure the project.
6. Monitor and Control: To ensure, the project plan is being executed, all aspects of the project production must be monitored. And adjusted as needed.
7. Closing: All project management phases are needed to constantly monitor and report. It will be scrambling to gather actionable data, track production progress and meet deadlines. When the objective of the project management is satisfied or unfulfilled only then the project can be closed or shut down.
References:
- Brenda SILVA, Anabela TERESO, António AMARAL “Analysis of Project Management Practices Within the Textile and Clothing Industry”
- Joshua Babatunde, Issac Adeyemi, Olawale Ibrahim “An Evaluation Of The Effects Of Project Management Techniques On The Performance Of The Textile Industry In South-Western Nigeria” Transnational Journal of Science and Technology, May edition vol.2,No.4
- https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/project-management-processes-phases-saloni-arora-/
- https://www.fibre2fashion.com/industry-article/7020/project-planning
Author of this Article:
Md. Mahedi Hasan
B.Sc. in Textile Engineering
Textile Engineering College, Noakhali.
Email: mh18.bd@gmail.com
