Application of FAHP Methodology to Rank Productivity-Affecting Factors in Blanket Factory: A Case Study

Abstract

Blanket factory as a textile industry is one of the manufacturing sectors in Ethiopia; however, the sector productivity is the main issue of the business owners. For the reason of improving the productivity of the sector, factors affecting productivity should be identified and prioritized since improvement is capital intensive measurement. In this research, a FAHP methodology has been developed to prioritize the identified productivity-affecting factors of the blanket factory. Productivity problem is sourced from different factors. However, the concept of productivity-affecting factors has been considered in previous literature, its integration with productivity of the blanket factory and the FAHP methodology has not been studied. For the sake of filling this gap, this research has been conducted using the following main steps: at the beginning, productivity-affecting factors have been identified from previous literature. Then, as there are many productivity-affecting factors in different manufacturing sectors, the list of potential productivity-affecting factors has been investigated to check which factors are most common in the blanket factory. Finally, a FAHP model has been applied to prioritize productivity-affecting factors. According to this model, the result showed that skilled employee and on and off job training, production process line balancing, and better technology and manufacturing system are the most important factors of productivity problem in the blanket factory. Based on the normalized weight, these factors scored 35.92%, 22.94%, and 17.06%, respectively. As the main implications, the research procedure and obtained results using the developed methodology can help industry managers, operation managers and practitioners, business owners, academicians, and researchers to determine productivity-affecting factors so that they can provide possible solutions to the blanket factory.