Jo Lanka reduces end-line defect rate by 25% with H ONE smart factory solution

Known for their ‘quality-first’ approach, Jo Lanka recently moved to world-class apparel quality management solution, RES.Q | Quality Management Solution (QMS), developed by Hirdaramani’s enterprise IT solutions arm, H ONE.

RES.Q | QMS belongs to a suite of cloud-based smart factory solutions which leverages over 100 years of apparel manufacturing expertise to give decision-makers a 360° view of production quality on the factory floor. In addition to streamlining quality inspection with a simple, digital interface-driven process available in Sinhala and English, it also helps manufacturers use real-time data to quickly identify and resolve production issues, reduce overall defect rates, and improve their cut-to-ship ratios.

“We are proud to partner with Jo Lanka on this project. Our teams are working closely to ensure they get great value out of RES.Q. Jo Lanka plans to achieve great things in the manufacturing arena around quality, sustainability and lean manufacturing. We look forward to being a part of their journey and growing with them from strength to strength,” said H ONE CEO Samath Fernando. 

With a 3,000-strong workforce and production facilities across Sri Lanka – from Wadduwa to Kottawagama, Jo Lanka caters to young, stylish and affordable European brands. While most manufacturers have chosen to invest heavily in production tracking technology, industry veteran and Group GM, Denver Jayasundera sees quality-focused solutions like RES.Q | QMS as key to keeping customers brand-loyal, and securing future orders. “RES.Q is developed ‘by’ apparel ‘for’ apparel. It gives our buyers and the brands we work with greater confidence in our commitment to quality, continuous improvement and innovation through technology. This, in turn, will help us stay ahead of the competition,” says Denver.

“The solution has had an immense impact on our operations. Management is now able to access analytical dashboards with the data they need to make decisions, whether they are in the office, or on-the-go,” he says. “Instead of spending days preparing reports from manually compiled documents, our quality leadership team has shifted their entire focus to resolving production-critical issues. They use the system to identify the root cause of issues within minutes and take corrective action to minimise their impact on production. We have so far experienced a 25% reduction in our defect rates in initial production runs, as a direct result of this focus shift.” 

RES.Q’s Solution Center allows users to access and utilise past remedies to solve issues more efficiently. The solution also leverages defect data to uncover larger defect trends and patterns that would otherwise remain undetected by the conventional quality process. This enables Jo Lanka to make strategic decisions about which garments to produce and where. It also helps them pinpoint which training is required to lower defect rates on certain lines, and encourages smarter use of their training dollars. 

“We want quality to be our signature. Quality is not the job of a single department or even a quality manager. Every sewing operator and quality inspector needs to feel the gravity of getting quality right,” says Denver. He mentioned that greater performance transparency has promoted healthy competition between production lines as well as better communication and closer collaboration between operators and inspectors to reduce defect rates as joint owners of quality. 

Discussing the challenges of introducing smart technology on the factory floor Denver explained that there is always initial resistance to change. “However, our experience has been largely positive. With RES.Q, we want to uplift our workforce, give them a good working environment, and make them feel respected in the industry. Exposure to smart technology and certification paths will add value to their careers,” he said. 

“The skills and training we get will really help me grow in my career. Working with technology is the future and I am part of that future,” said a Jo Lanka employee. 

RES.Q, which was rolled out at Jo Lanka’s flagship facility in Baddegama, took just 10 days to complete and involved stakeholders from across the Group. The teams received training and access to resources and certification to ensure adherence to solution standards and process best practices. Commenting about Jo Lanka’s partnership with H ONE, Denver said, “H ONE really took the time to understand our business and ensure the project was a success,” he said. “The difference is really in the details. Unfortunately, most tech solutions for apparel manufacturers are not developed with the input of apparel experts. In the end, they fall drastically short.” 

Gearing up for expansion, Jo Lanka is in the process of rolling out RES.Q across the rest of its facilities, which they hope to complete in April2018. They are working closely with the H ONE team to ensure their teams are trained, certified and actively contribute towards quality gains. 

H ONE is a Microsoft Tier One Partner and #1- ranked Microsoft Large Account Reseller serving the largest number of Enterprise Agreement customers in Sri Lanka. With over 60,000 cloud seats deployed across Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Thailand, H ONE is also synonymous in the industry with proven cloud solutions expertise.