DUSHANBE, July 26, 2011, Asia-Plus — Tajikistan textile and clothing manufacturers, government agencies and support services involved in the textiles and clothing sector in the country have gathered in Dushanbe to share their knowledge, their experience, and the challenges faced during quality and productivity improvement.
Quality and productivity gain-sharing workshop for sustaining the improvement in the textile and clothing sector of Tajikistan was held today, on July 25, under ITC’s Trade Promotion Program in Tajikistan, which is financed by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO).
Facilitated by the ITC international expert on Quality Management Dr. Rajesh Bheda, the event aimed to bring together the participating enterprises in the ITC Trade Promotion Program in Tajikistan and provided them with the opportunity to learn from the experiences of fellow entrepreneurs and plan further improvement actions, Saidmumin Kamolov, National Program Manager, Trade Promotion Program in Tajikistan International Trade Centre UNCTAD/WTO (ITC), said.
The workshop also offered inputs utilizing Quality Management for improving competitiveness, identifying and eliminating waste from the manufacturing processes. The production simulation game was used to explain the principles of line balancing and lead time reduction. It was also an opportunity for the participants to clarify doubts on the issues related to quality and productivity in the textile and clothing industry.
Bahodur Mahkamov, “Nafisa” deputy general director, says that these workshops are highly important for the sustaining the improvement of the productivity. Mr. Mahkamov believes that productivity improvement is essential for the successful competitiveness of the manufacturers in the local and foreign markets.
During the last 18 months many of the Tajik textile and clothing companies participating in the ITC project have improved their productivity by 10% to 25% following Dr. Rajesh Bheda’s recommendations. Dr. Bheda is an expert in Clothing Manufacturing Management with focus on Quality Management, Productivity Improvement and Corporate Social Responsibility and collaborates with ITC for many years. Founder of Rajesh Bheda Consulting (rajeshbheda.com) and consultant to leading stakeholders in the apparel industry and government bodies, Dr. Bheda is a researcher and educator with over two decades experience in the field. During his visit to Tajikistan he will also visit textile and clothing companies of Dushanbe and Khujand.
The overall objective of Trade Promotion Program in Tajikistan is to contribute to the sustainable expansion and diversification of SMEs’ exports in Tajikistan, by increasing the competitiveness of the textile and clothing industry and improving the quality management infrastructure of the country. This project is funded by the Government of Switzerland through the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO).
