DEXTERITY AND PERFORMANCE OF SEWING MACHINE OPERATORS: IN CASE OF A GARMENT FACTORY SITUATED IN KATUNAYAKE INDUSTRIAL PROCESSING ZONE, SRI LANKA

Abstract

Dexterity is the skill in performing tasks, especially with the hands. It is the ability to perform a difficult action quickly and skilfully with the hands, or the ability to think quickly and effectively. Some garment factories, highly concentrate on the dexterity of Sewing Machine Operators to check their competence and it is used in the stages of recruitment, training and performance evaluations etc. This paper explores the impact of dexterity on their work performance. 88 machine operators from a garment factory situated in Katunayake Industrial Processing Zone were selected. This factory currently uses four types of dexterity tests such as Marble, Pin Board, Cards and Puzzle. These four types of dexterity tests were conducted among the selected sample and their scores were recorded. Their current performance records were obtained from the factory Management Information System. Hypotheses were tested by using multiple regression analysis and it was found that Marble, Cards and Puzzle abilities positively impact on Operators’ performance.