"Effectiveness of "Gemba Kaizen" Methodology in the garment Industry to Improve the Quality of Productive Processes"

Based on the vision of national post-oil transformation in 2030, Saudi Arabia has been prioritizing the improvement of the industrial and business sectors. Japan and Saudi Arabia adopted the internationally recognized Kaizen methodology to lay sustainable foundations for improving the quality and productivity of public and private enterprises in their various economic sectors. The aim in this research is to define the basic principles of the Japanese "Gemba Kaizen" methodology for the continuous improvement of the garment industry and the elimination of waste in operations, time, or resources at work (3M's), and to emphasize the application of methodology requirements for the garment industry and the measurement of its effectiveness. The research concluded that the Gamba Kaizen methodology is effective in improving performance and increasing productivity. The results demonstrated that the elimination of non-value-added processes, the reduction of stock levels of "on-the-job production" to their lowest levels, and the contribution of the proposed design of the men's dress production line resulted in reducing the time taken to produce the garment and increasing worker productivity. Consequently, production efficiency was increased, losses in all units were diminished (defective units, waste of raw materials, wasted operating time within sewing lounges, or effort and movement of workers), and the results showed significant differences between the before/after application of the Gemba Kaizen methodology and the improvement of the quality of productive processes.