Textile Mill Management, Maintenance and Safety
What the exam tests
This domain joins management theory to the shop floor: productivity measures, maintenance strategy and the statutory safety duties of a textile mill.
Management and productivity
The functions are planning, organising, staffing, directing and controlling. Work study splits into method study (improving how a job is done) and time study (setting a standard time, often as standard minute value, SMV). Machine utilisation compares running time with available time; operator efficiency compares produced minutes with attended minutes. Overall equipment effectiveness, OEE = availability × performance × quality.
Maintenance
Preventive maintenance follows a schedule of cleaning, lubrication and overhaul (card grinding, loom shedding checks). Breakdown maintenance repairs after failure. Predictive maintenance acts on condition data such as vibration analysis, thermography and oil analysis. Spare-parts control keeps critical items in stock without locking up capital.
Safety
Cotton dust in the blow room is a fire and health hazard, and oily waste can self-heat. Machinery must be fenced, nip points guarded, and loose clothing banned near cards and looms. Loom sheds commonly exceed 85–90 dB, so noise monitoring and ear protection are required. The Factories Act 1948 and the Tamil Nadu Factories Rules govern hours, welfare, ventilation, fire exits, first aid and safety committees.
Worked example
A shift of 480 minutes includes a 60-minute break, leaving 420 minutes. Downtime is 42 minutes, so availability = 378 ÷ 420 = 90%. Output is 850 pieces against a 1000-piece ideal, so performance = 85%. Of these, 30 are rejected, so quality = 820 ÷ 850 = 96.5%. OEE = 0.90 × 0.85 × 0.965 = 73.8%.
Traps
Quoting machine utilisation as OEE; treating preventive and breakdown maintenance as the same thing; assuming guards can be removed to raise output.