QUALITY SYSTEMS FOR GARMENT MANUFACTURE ACHIEVING THE RIGHT FINAL PRODUCT ON TIME

Quality Control Of Garment

QUALITY SYSTEMS FOR GARMENTMANUFACTURE

ACHIEVING THE RIGHT FINAL PRODUCT ON TIME1. PLAN OF THE OVERALL FUNCTION OF QUALITY CONTROL The cost of qualityFunctions of Quality AssuranceCommercial advantages form effective control systemsEconomic aspects of quality assuranceThe role of quality control2. THE ROLE OF QUALITY CONTROL IN THE CONTEXT OF QUALITY MANAGEMENT

Outline of quality control systems requirementsData generatedBritish Standard 57503. FINAL PRODUCT SPECIFICATIONS

Quality control in the sampling/development departmentFrom sample to full productionThe Specification layoutProcess specificationSample garment specificationSeam specificationPerformance specification4. THE MAIN RAW MATERIAL - FABRIC

Fabric and garment dimensions - fabric stability and finished widthFabric inspection - examination of fabric on receipt

5. BASIC SEAMING TECHNOLOGY

Basic technology of seamsStitch forming actionQuality checks on seams

6. LAYING-UP AND CUTTING

6. QUALITY MONITORING THROUGH CUTTING AND GARMENT ASSEMBLY

7.1 Recording

Recording systems - making upSupervisors check list7.2 TolerancesTolerance limits

7.3 The threshold of faultsTraining quality standards and faults analysis

7.4 Sampling techniquesChecking levels of faults and seconds7.5 Technology if InspectionGarment examinationSeeing colour and the effect of type of illuminant on the apparent shade of a sampleEffects of intensity, angle of illumination and type on the apparent shade of a sampleEffects on shade of other colours in adjacent areasMounting and displaying for viewingColour vision7.6 checking operatives and examinersAssessment of operative effectiveness from recordsThe supervisor and quality controlWeather trials

7.7 Auditing Boxed StockBoxed Stock Quality Audit8. QUALITY COMMUNICATIONS

Control of quality in garment assemblyExample of quality feedback - marks and stainsAction checklist to improve garment cleanlinesseconomics of cleanlinessFault cost assessment recordQuality Control Requirements - Order of Priorities"Quality" is defined as that combination of design and properties of materials of a product which are needed for the intended end use and level of the market in which it is sold. "Requisite Quality" is defined as the design and composition of a product, which has been thoroughly proved by adequate development work, in order to establish its reliability under the conditions to which it will be subjected in use and to avoid producing too high a grade of product for the intended market.Quality Assurance "The establishment and maintenance of ALL activities and functions concerned with the attainment of requisite quality"

Quality Control "The systems required for programming and co-ordinating the efforts of the various groups in an organisation to maintain the requisite quality" As such Quality Control is seen as the agent of Quality Assurance or Total Quality Control Quality for textile and apparel:

Quality may be defined as the level of acceptance of goods or services.For the textile and apparel industry, product quality is calculated in terms of quality and standard of fibers, yarns, fabric construction, colour fastness, designs and the final finished garments. Quality control in terms of garment manufacturing, pre-sales and posts

sales service, delivery, pricing, etc are essential for any garment manufacturer, trader or exporter.

Certain quality related problems, often seen in garment manufacturing like sewing, colour, sizing, or garment defects should never be over looked.

These defects are discussed below -

Sewing defects Open seams, wrong stitching techniques, non- matching threads, missing stitches, improper creasing of the garment, improper thread tension etc. are some of the sewing defects which can affect the garment quality adversely.Colour defects Variation of colour between the sample and the final garment, wrong colour combinations and mismatching dyes should always be avoided.

Sizing defects Wrong gradation of sizes, difference in measurement of various parts of a garment like sleeves of XL size for body of L size garment can deteriorate the garments beyond repair.

Garment defectsBroken or defective buttons, snaps, stitches, different shades within the same garment, dropped stitches, exposed notches, fabric defects, holes, faulty zippers, loose or hanging sewing threads, misaligned buttons and holes, missing buttons, needle cuts, pulled or loose yarn, stains, unfinished buttonhole, short zippers, inappropriate trimmings etc. all can lead to the end of a brand name even before its establishment.

Some of main fabric properties that are taken into consideration for garment manufacturing for export basis:

Overall look of the garment. Right formation of the garment.

Feel and fall of the garment. Physical properties. Colour fastness of the garment. Finishing properties Presentation of the final produced garment.Methods of quality control:

Basically two methods are used for garments quality control i) Testingii) Inspection.

Maximum garments manufacturers apply inspection method due to high cost of testing equipments.

Inspection: Inspection may be defined as the visual examination in relation to some standards.

Objective: The main objectives of inspection are i. Detection of defects.ii. Correcting the defects or defective garments.To inspect garments an integral method named Inspection Loop is used given below Inspection

Correction of the defectsDetection of defects

Inform defects to appropriate personnelDetermination of causes of defectsFig: Inspection Loop.

Steps of inspection in garments industry:

i) Raw materials inspection (Fabric and Accessories)ii) In Process inspection.iii) Final inspection.

Raw Materials Shade - checked to be within tolerance of standard pattern. Delivery weights - checked and any shortfall claimed.

Fabric Parameters, Fabric or Garment Blank Checks :

Shade and appearance correct jacquard pattern correct, absence of barrenness. Width normal - (this is only a guide with grey fabric). Fabric weights per square metre (or preferably weight per predetermined revs) - checked to within tolerance of specification. Blank weight per dozen to be within tolerance of specification. Check fabric for faults and stains. Finishing loss - on-going record of losses on scouring etc. Accountability of knitters.

Sewing thread inspection:A) Thread construction: To know about thread construction the following should be tested i. Thread count.ii. Thread ply.iii. Number of twist.iv. Thread balance.v. Thread tenacity.vi. Thread elongation

B) Sew ability: The sewing ability of a thread is called sew ability. During sew ability test the following quality of thread should be tested i. Imperfectionii. Finishiii. Package densityiv. Windingv. Yardage

What are the things used to check todetermine the quality of Zipper:

i. Measuring Zipper Dimensionii. Top and Bottom stops should be securediii. Uniform in coloriv. Slider should ride freely but not so freev. Slider lock must be secured.vi. Durability of finish of zipper chain to laundering or dry cleaning.vi. Color fastness to zipper to light, to crocking (rubbing) and to laundering.In-process InspectionSewing Checks Stitches per cm. and thread run-in ratio checked to be within tolerance of specification. Evenness, balance and correct bight, no stitching missed Extensibility and security correct (i.e. no cracking or laddering). Absence of skip stitching. Accountability of machinist.

Final Inspection Shade correct and not varying from one part of garment to another.Cut is correct - e.g. neck, collar and sleeves balanced, pockets correct. Measurements within tolerance of specification, weight correct. Appearance correct, patterns matching. Seams finished correctly, absence of miss stitching, cracking and laddering. Accessories correctly applied and working. Absence of fabric faults and stains.Correct labelling. Recovery InspectionCheck whether remedial works satisfactory. Check on volume of work successfully recovered. Avoidance of work recycling.

Product Tests Colour fastness to agreed agencies: (e.g. washing, rubbing, perspiration, lights) - checked and on-going continuity cards generated, showing rating, checked against specification. Stability: Shrinkage, and extension recovery where needed - to be within tolerance of specificationEndurance:Abrasion, pilling or snagging - tested where needed. Rating checked against specificationFlammability: Performance rating in appropriate test checkedagainst specification. AQL Random Sampling Inspection

# The AQL inspection takes the samples from a goods, inspect them and depends on the quality of samples inspected and decide to accept or reject them.# The standard is based on Military Standard 105D (MIL-STD-105D)

# It provides with the sampling plans, the number of samples to be inspected and the acceptable quality level (AQL)# AQL 1.5 is applied to very severe inspection on high-class expensive item. # AQL 2.5 is applied when textiles of normal/good quality are involved.

AQL (II)# Three types of sampling plans -single, double and multiple.# Each sampling plan can be performed in three level- normal, tightened and reduced, depending on quality of products.# In garment industry, single and double normal sampling plans are applied.

Sample Size Code LetterThe Sample Size Code Letter shows different lot sizes to different code letter.There are seven inspection level, four for general inspection and three for special inspectionFor garment inspection, General Inspection level II would be used.

Sample Size Code Letter

Single Sampling Plan for normal inspection

Double Sampling Plans

ExampleSingle Sampling Plan-Normal InspectionAssume AQL is 2.5% and lot size is 600 garments, find out the following :

The total number of samples need to inspectThe acceptable number of the samplesThe rejection number of the samples

AnswerSingle Sampling PlanFirst, from Table 1 find out the code letter for lot size of 600 and inspection level II is JFrom Table 2 (single sampling plan), the letter J corresponds to sample sizes of 80.So, 80 samples are needed to inspect out of 600At AQL 2.5%, if defective garments are less than or equal to 5, whole lots will be accepted, if it is found to be 6 or more, whole lots will be rejected.

Try this oneIf the garment lot is 300 dozens, and AQL is 4.0%, find out the number of samples to be inspectedthe acceptable number and rejection number

Example IIDouble Sampling PlanAssume AQL is 4% and lot size is 2000 garments, find out from double sampling plan on the following:The total sample sizes need to inspectWhat is the first acceptable numberWhat is the second acceptable number

AnswerDouble Sampling PlanFirst, Table 1 of 2000 lots at inspection level II is letter KTable 3, double sampling plan shows the sample size of letter K is 80.First inspection, at AQL 4%, the acceptable number is 5, rejection number is 9If any number between 5 to 9, second inspection is needed

AnswerDouble sampling Plan (II)For second inspection, the sample sizes again is 80At AQL 4%, the cumulated acceptable number is 12 and rejection number is 13.ConclusionIf the number of defective garments found in the first sample is 6, and in second sample is 5, making a total of 11, then the whole lot of 2,000 pieces will be accepted.

ReferencesGarments and TechnologyProf. M. A. KashemJimmy K.C. Lam The Hong Kong Polytechnic UniversityIntroduction to garments manufacturingHarold CarrFashion dictionaryEngr. Mohammad Faizur Rahman (Rashed), Assistant Professor (Garments Technology), Department of Textile Technology, AUST

THANK

YOU

ALL