Partial and Total Productivity Measurement Models for Garment Manufacturing Firms

The main objective of this study is to explore the productivity measures typically used in Ethiopian garment manufacturing firms and its shortcomings. A case study was carried out at NGM manufacturing firm. The analysis of existing productivity measures indicates that the firm does not have proper and systematic productivity measures to monitor its productivity performance. Garment manufacturing firms did not determine the resource (labor, material, machine, energy, etc.) utilization rate and considered productivity as an equivalent to labor productivity. Partial and total productivity measurement models are developed and applied to monitor the productivity status of the firm. The models are tested using the data of five consecutive fiscal years (2007/8 to 2011/12) collected from NGM firm. Accordingly, the partial productivity indices of the firm for current year (2011/12), as compare to base year (2009/10), for each input factor (human, material, capital, energy and miscellaneous input factors) are 2.36, 0.64, 0.51, 2.25 and 1.09, respectively. The total productivity index of the current year is 0.75. Furthermore, the partial and total productivity analysis trends of NGM firm were computed in the same fiscal years. All partial productivity indices of the company during the period of 2008/9 showed a decline as compared to the base period (2009/10) which is the lowest productivity in the specified period. The total productivity index also showed the lowest (a decline by 73%) in the same period. Therefore, the developed partial and total productivity measurement models had the scope to portray the firm's performance in a comprehensive manner. (C) 2015 Jordan Journal of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering. All rights reserved