7 th International Conference on Engineering Research, Innovation and Education School of Applied sciences & Technology, SUST, Sylhet Submitted: 16 October 2022 │ Revised: xx Month, xxxx │ Accepted: xx Month, xxxx pp. 1 Reduction of Fabric Defects Through the Application of Lean Tools Tanvir Ahmed 1 *, and Md Mostakinur Rahman Chowdhury 1 Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, 2 Square Textile Division Email: tanviripe30@gmail.com, m.r.chowdhury.sust.ipe@gmail.com *Corresponding author [Tanvir Ahmed] Keywords: ● Readymade Garment; ● Fabric defects; ● Lean tool; ● QC chart; ● 5S; ● 5Why. Abstract: Readymade garment (RMG) industry is making a great contribution to rebuilding the economy of Bangladesh, where 83% of total export earnings come from it. One of the major wastages in this industry is “Cut Panel Rejection” due to fabric defects. The purpose of this study is to analyze and reduce fabric defects by applying lean tools. Data on the fabric defects were distributed with a U chart to show the defect variation. After analyzing the total six-month cut panel rejection data due to fabric defects, six major defects are identified by Pareto analysis. “Five Whys”, a lean tool, is applied to find out the causes and effects of fabric defects. Further, the application of the remedies made the cut panel rejection within 5% by the application of 5S, Logical solution, and Control chart, which was almost 6.5% previously. This study was conducted by applying specific lean tools combined with a QC tool which can vary with other lean tools. 1. Introduction: The motto “Made in Bangladesh”, the pride of the nation, is commonly seen on the tag of readymade garments around the world. The readymade garment is the top foreign currency earning source of Bangladesh. The journey of the RMG industry started in 1978 when Reaz Garments exported its first consignment in the USA and earned 69 thousand USD. But the actual milestone was led by Desh Garments Ltd, established in 1979, the first 100 percent export- oriented company [1]. At present, Bangladesh is the second largest exporting country of readymade garments [2]. Despite having on a leading position, Bangladesh is facing challenges to keep it because of different challenges. To compete with the close competitor, the industry should have more concern about productivity and quality. The most important aspect of increasing productivity is reducing wastage. The major percentage of wastage occurs during the cutting process because of fabric defects. A huge amount of fabric throws away as waste. Fabric defect is the flaws of fabric standard quality requirements. To reduce wastage and improve quality control in the industry, an effective method is using lean tools. Lean manufacturing has minimized waste and, in turn, reduced costs by applying reforms introduced by “Toyota” in the 1990s, from which the technical term “lean” was derived and