Resolving customer complaints in mills

In spite of taking efforts to produce defect-free yarn packages, due to some disturbances in the process and machinery settings, mills still receive some complaints from the end users, feel R Soundararajan and D Shanmuganandam and moot steps to avoid complaints.

A consumer complaint or a customer complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction on a customer´s behalf to a responsible party. As we know, like other manufacturing / service sectors, spinning mills have also been receiving complaints from the consumers who are invariably weavers or knitters, with regard to defective products / packages and / or deficiency in service. One of the major activities of a quality assurance (QA) department in a spinning mill is attending customer complaints promptly. Two principles are considered as paramount in QA: ¨Fit for purpose¨, i.e. the product should be suitable for the intended purpose and ¨Right first time¨, i.e. mistakes should be eliminated. In spite of taking efforts to produce defect free yarn packages, due to some disturbances in the process and machinery settings, mills still receive some complaints from the end users viz. weavers and knitters. Complaints being received by spinning mills The following are the major complaints being received by spinning mills from customers.

-High yarn breaks in warping.
-High yarn breaks/needle breaks in knitting.
-Yarn defects such as long thin faults, short thick faults, high neps including white neps and high hairiness.
-Package defects such as soft package, deformed cones and damages in packages during transportation.
-Shade variation in finished fabrics, etc.

High yarn breaks during warping
Mills manufacturing yarns that are meant for weaving, receive complaints regarding higher yarn breaks during warping. Higher yarn breaks, i.e., more than the stipulated values, would not only lower the warping machine´s efficiency significantly but also mar the appearance of the fabric due to more number of knots in the yarns. Therefore, weavers (or warpers) are very serious about the warping breaks. Hence, in order to retain the customer base, spinners have to attend this type of complaints very promptly. This Focus discusses the suggestions, based on a detailed study, that were offered to a spinning mill to resolve a customer complaint viz., higher warping breaks. In fact, the main objective of bringing out this publication is to inform mills how systematically one has to approach a customer complaint towards resolving the same.