COMMENTS , RESULTS AND ANALYSIS OF TH E MODERN
SPINNIN G MILLS OF CHIL E
A. General comments
226. The individual productivity of the modern Chilean spinning mills, included in the sample, appears in
graph 5, together with the general averages, the productivity of the standard mills which served as norms of
comparison, and the results of the three old spinning
mills which were added to the observations of the general
Latin-American study.
227. A general examination of the curves of the
graph referring to the modern spinning mills (marked
"M") reveals no apparent correlation between the size
of the mills and-their productivity. The mill showing
the greatest productivity (1-KM) is one of the smallest,
and the lowest productivity of all was recorded in the
largest mill of the sample (5-KM). This lack of correlation is due to the fact that the managers of the larger
mills have not made the best use of the flexibility for
work specialization afforded by a high mill capacity.
Mill no. 6-KM, however, is so small (1,900 spindles)
in comparison with the others that it could not eschew
a lower level of productivity, since theoretically,
it must
have an excess labour consumption of 75 per cent, even
if all other conditions were perfect.
228. It is interesting to note that while the general
average of the results is low, the productivity of at least
one spinning mill (1-KM) is higher than the standard
for mills of its size.73 This indicates that whatever they
may be, the factors affecting productivity do not involve
insuperable difficulties.
229. Mill no. 4-KA is equipped with old machinery
purchased in 1934, though it has some new machines for
spinning preparation, one-process pickers, and approximately 20 per cent of its spindles are modern. Mill no.
7-KA imported old machinery during the last war, but
its pickers are modern (1949). The productivity of these
two factories is higher than that of some of the completely modern mills, and comparison shows that in the
spinning mills the type of equipment is not as important
" To avoid confusion only the standard productivity for mills
of 25,000 spindles has been shown on the graph. If the small size
of the mills is to be taken into account in the comparisons, the
standard productivity must be divided by the influences of size
which appear in the chapter on methodology. The influence of
size of mill no. 1-KM, manufacturing 20's, is approximately 1.32.
74 There are no standards of comparison for the observations
made of yarn counts 12 and 14, but the corresponding productivities can be estimated as at least 10 per cent higher than the
standard.
" The extremes of productivity of the old mills are approximately 71 per cent (no. 4-KA) and 14 per cent (no. 9-KA) of
as other factors which depend on the distribution of the
personnel and the management of the operations.
230. The extremes of productivity observed were
found in mill no. 1-KM, where, with 20's, it was 103
per cent of the standard for its size,74 and in mill no.
5-KM where the lowest result was only 25 per cent of
the standard productivity.75
231. Generally speaking, mill conditions are fairly
good, with the exception of two circumstances. There
are more workers than necessary and attempts to obtain
greater production are based on speeds which are higher
than normal and on intermediate products of a greater
weight than is recommended for the best quality. The
workers' training appears to be incomplete, and only in
few mills are there adequate controls for the quality of
the products, the efficiency of the processes, and for
cotton wastage. The work-loads are not determined rationally, that is according to the number of elementary
functions assigned to the workers and the normal time
spent in performing them.
B. Analysis of the results
232. Table 29 is the summary of the analysis of the
influences, that is, of the indices of importance of the
factors affecting productivity in the modern spinning
mills.76 The total influence and its principal components
—the influences of opération and size of the mills—are
the averages of the influences corresponding to each yarn
count, which were obtained in table 30, by means of comparisons between the actual and the standard consumption of labour per kilogramme of yarn.
233. The influence of size is of the greatest importance (1.20) because it reflects the extent of a structural
flaw—the small size of the units—inherent to the modern
textile industry since its inception. Table 31 reveals that
nearly 60 per cent of the spinning mills, old and modern,
is made up of mills of 5,000 spindles or less. These will
always be affected by an excess of labour consumption
per kilogramme manufactured, however perfect the
other manufacturing conditions and the organization of
personnel. Only one of the Chilean spinning mills, which
has 32,400 spindles, is completely unaffected by this
influence.
234. The influence of operation (1.91) was broken
down into the influences of the draft schedule, speed,
efficiency and excess of direct, indirect and miscellaneous
labour. This was done by analysing mills "B " and "C"
(tables 32 and 33) in which productivity is respectively
higher and lower than the general averages. Since the
average influence of operation of the small sample was
exactly equal to that obtained from the observations of
all the spinning mills, no adjustment was necessary to
extend the results of the small to the general sample
(table 38).
the standard for mills of the same size and manufacturing the
same product.
" If these influences are subtracted from 1 and multiplied by
100, they become the actual percentages of excess labour per
kilogramme manufactured, or the potential increases of productivity, expressed as a percentage of present productivity,
which could be obtained by the elimination of the causes affecting it. The component or partial influences have the same
significance as the total influences, but refer to a specific cause.
When two or more influences are multiplied together the product is the influence of the combination of these causes. The reciprocal of an influence, subtracted from 1 and multiplied by
100, is the loss of productivity, expressed as a percentage, originating from the cause of that influence.
54 Productivity of the Cotton Textile Industry in Latin America
235. The total influence of excess labour was attributed partly to lack of training and partly to superfluous
personnel (table 29). This allocation was made taking
into account the slowness with which certain important
operations—such as piecing of broken ends, doffing, and
the starting of the roving frames—were carried out, in
comparison with other countries. The value of 1.20 given
to the influence of lack of training is therefore only an
estimate which was expressed in figures to facilitate the
discussion and the comparisons.
III . COMMENTS , RESULTS AND ANALYSIS OF TH E
MODERN WEAVING MILLS OF CHIL E
A. General comments
236. The individual productivity of the modern
Chilean weaving mills included in the sample is shown
in graph 6, together with the general average and the
productivity of the standard mill which served as a norm
of comparison.
237. Examination of the graph reveals a certain parallelism between standard productivity and that of some
of the mills. This indicates that in these cases the workloads are rational in relation to the amount of human
effort needed to manufacture the fabrics ; even so, they
are all below the limit which might be assigned without
affecting the efficiency of the processes. A study of the
cases which do not reveal such parallelism brings to light
several interesting points concerning the causes of low
productivity. Mill no. 5-M shows different productivities
for almost equivalent fabrics ; according to the investigation, this appears to arise from the fact that the looms
are not assigned in proportion to the number of loomstops per hour which can be expected for each of the
fabrics.77 Mill no. 1-M should have had the same productivity for the two fabrics of approximately 130
counts, since they are of almost equal construction. The
difference in the results arises from the fact that in one
(sheeting) quality is of less importance than in the
other (shirting), a fact which has enabled a larger assignment of looms per weaver to be made in the former
(20) than in the latter ( 16).
238. There is no apparent correlation between the
size of the mills and their productivity, as is evident from
the fact that productivity is high in very small mills
(5-M) and low in others which are very large (3-M).
As in the case of the spinning mills, this means that
productivity is more affected by other factors, independent of size, which overshadow the influence of the
smallness of the mills.
239. If the effects of the small size of the mills are
set aside, the extremes of productivity may be found in
the same weaving mill, where the results vary between
73 per cent and 24 per cent of the productivity considered normal for a mill of equivalent size.
240. The following conditions were observed in most
of the weaving mills.
(a) An excessive number of mechanical stops per
loom per hour, indicates that the loom-fixers have prob-
" Data recording the frequency of stops, which should determine the allocation of looms, are not available in this mill.
However, an indication of the lack of balance lies in the fact
that fabrics of high, medium and low productivity were assigned 64,000, 41,000 and 25,000 warp ends per weaver, respectively. The differences between these assignments should not be
so great ; had the work-loads been related to the frequency of
ably not yet acquired sufficient experience to determine
the causes of the stops and correct them rapidly;
(b) The training of the weavers and cone-winder
tenders is also deficient, though it is relatively better than
that of the loom-fixers;
(c) The control of efficiency is practically nonexistent in the majority of the mills, while the control
of quality, where it exists, is limited to the separation
of the products according to categories or degrees of
perfection, without keeping statistical records which
would permit the systematic discovery of the cause of
the imperfection;
(d) The work-loads are low, even taking into account
other abnormal conditions such as the workers' lack of
training. In some mills, on the other hand, there is a
shortage of auxiliary labour, which compels the tenders
to carry out tasks which would not fall to them in a
more economically organized mill ;78
(e) In most mills the work-loads are not determined
by rational methods. That is to say, there is no systematic
measurement of the number of loom-stops, or yarn
breakages, in order to assign machines to the tenders
according to the actual time needed to carry out their
work;
(/) Frequent observations were made of cone-winders, warpers and looms working at speeds greater than
those considered normal;
(g) In some mills, defects were found in the warp
yarn, which had not been eliminated in the cone-winders
because the slub-catchers of these machines have purposely been left very open in order to obtain greater
production. Defects were also observed in the drawingin and slashing of the warp, and in the twist and winding
of the filling.
B. Analysis of the results
241. Table 34 is a summary of the average values
of the influences, that is, the indices of the importance
of the factors affecting productivity. The total influence
and its principal components, the influences of operation
and size, are the averages of the influences corresponding to each fabric count which were obtained in table 35,
by comparisons between the actual and the standard
consumption of labour per kilogramme of fabric.79
242. As regards the influence of size, the comments
made concerning the spinning mills are equally true of
the weaving mills, as the small size of die mills also
increases average consumption of labour considerably
(13 per cent) in the mills included in the sample. Table
36 shows the concentration of the total industry, old and
modern, in small mills.
243. The influence of operation (2.29) was broken
down into the influences of speed, efficiency and excess
of direct, indirect and miscellaneous labour, by the analysis of mill "D" (table 37), where productivity is higher
than the general average. The influences of all the processes of this mill were adjusted, in table 38, so that the
loom stops, the three products could probably have been manufactured with at least the highest productivity obtained.
" An extreme case was found where weavers attended only
four looms and loaded their own batteries.
" For the corresponding values of productivity, and the
relevant charts, see chapter I of this report, where a comparative summary covering all the countries is given.
Chapter III. Chile .; 55
Graph No. 5
PRODUCTIVITY O F TH E SPINNIN G MILLS INCLUDED IN TH E SAMPL E
Chile
X—Yam count
Y—Productivity in kilograms per man-hour
I—Average of the old mills
II—Average of the modern mills
III—Standard productivity of an old 25000-spindle mill
IV—Standard productivity of a modern 25000-spindle mill
K—Means carded yarn
C—Means combed yarn
A-—Means an old mill
M—Means a modern mill
The first number of a mill's key number is a reference. The
number underneath is the size of the mill in spindles.
56 Productivity of the Cotton Textile Industry in Latin America
result should equal the influence of operation which had
already been determined by means of the general sample.
244. The redistribution of the influences as shown in
table 34 was made in the light of the following considerations, drawn after a study of the analysis of mill "D"
and the general observations made in the industry.
245. A study of the origin of loom stops made in
some mills led to the conclusion that the lack of efficiency
(estimated influence value of 1.18) is principally due to
mechanical causes which could be attributed to the lack
of experience of loom fixers,80 and, to a lesser extent,
to defects in the warp and the filling. The lack of skill
on the part of the weavers and cone-winder tenders,
reflected by their slowness, was considered more important than the defects in the warp and the filling, but of
much less consequence in the determination of efficiency
than the mechanical stops. These opinions were expressed numerically by sub-dividing the influence of
efficiency into a very high influence value (1.10) attributable to the lack of skill and progressively lower values
for other causes (1.04, 1.02 and 1.01).
246. As a result of these observations of loom stops
and slow work, it was estimated that under present conditions the mills could continue to work at their present
efficiency, with a maximum excess of labour equivalent
to not more than 26 per cent of the standard staffing.
This percentage (infl. 1.26) was divided amongst the
same causes as in the case of the low efficiency and in
about the same proportion (1.13; 1.06; 1.03 and 1.02).
The remainder of the, total influence of excess labour
was attributed to the presence of absolutely superfluous
80 Mechanical stops may also be caused by variations of humidification, which throws parts made of wood or of leather
out of adjustment. This factor was not considered important,
labour which could be eliminated, even under the present
conditions of inadequate training and of defects in the
warp and filling.
247. In the lower part of table 34, the influences have
been rearranged into groups corresponding to causes
which require managerial action in order to reduce superfluous labour, train the workers, correct manufacturing conditions and normalize the speeds. A separate
column shows the influence attributable to the spinning
mills which supplied the raw material. A division has
also been made into groups of remediable causes, the correction of which would increase productivity by 129
per cent, and causes which cannot be corrected, at least
within a short time, and which cause an excess labour
consumption of 13 per cent per kilogramme in the mills
