Computer Aided Design And Computer Aided Manufacturing Training, Competency And Usage In Textile Industries Of Northern Nigeria

ABSTRACT

Computer Aided Design (CAD) and Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM) is the

use of technology to design and produce textile goods with greater productivity at

low cost. It s usage demands some level of training and competency. The purpose of

the study was to assess CAD CAM training, competency and usage in textile

industries of Nor thern Nigeria in order to develop a CAD CAM training model. The

objectives of study were to identify the level of CAD-CAM training received, to examine the competencies of textile staff, to determine the relationship between work experience and CAD-CAM usage, to establish the relationship between the availability of CAD-CAM program and CAD-CAM usage, to determine the organizational leadership and financial influence on CAD-CAM usage, and to develop a CAD-CAM training model Purposive sampling was used in se lect ing the

states and industries. Stratified sampling was used to divide the unit of analysis into strata such as CEOs, designers, and technologists. Census sampling was used in selecting eight CEOs. A sample size of 152 was selected from a population of 196. Self-administered questionnaires were shared to CEOs, designers, and technologists. This study used a cross-sectional descriptive survey to collect quantitatively data with a response rate of 96.1% (146), then analyzed it, using statistical package for social science (SPSS) 20. Descriptive statistics were used to generate, group and summarize the data in terms of tables, percentages, means and standard deviation. Pearson‟s correlation was also used to determine associations between availability of CAD-CAM program, work experience, CAD-CAM training, staff CAD-CAM, staff competency, leadership style, financial status, and CAD-CAM usage. The study findings revealed a low level 44.2%) of CAD CAM training training; this was significantly related with CAD-CAM usage. Similarly, 76.0% of the staff lack competency in CAD-CAM technology, this was significantly related with CAD-CAM usage. Lack of leadership support and financial investment in CAD-CAM technology are some of the key issues impeding CAD-CAM usage. Leadership style in textile industries is weak, and does not have any mediating effect on CAD-CAM usage in the industries. Additionally, financial status has no significant influence on CAD-CAM usage. Multiple linear regressions were performed in determining the independent variables that were related to the dependent variables and to infer the correlational relationship. Six hypotheses were tested at p