QUALITY CONTROL in clothing

Neeti Banga Asst Professor LD, NIFT New Delhi

What is QUALITY ?
Definitions
1.

General: Measure of excellence or state of being free from defects, deficiencies and significant variations ISO 8402-1986 standard defines Quality as- the totality of features and characteristics of a product or service that bears its ability to satisfy stated or implied needs.

2. Manufacturing: Strict and consistent adherence to measurable and verifiable standards- to achieve uniformity of output that satisfies a specific customer or user requirements.

What is QUALITY ?
Definitions

3.Objective : Measurable and verificable aspect of a thing/ phenomenon,expressed in numbers or quantities , such as lightness, heaviness, thickness, thinness, softness, hardness..etc .
4. Subjective- Attribute, characteristi, or property of a thing or phenomenon that can be observed and interpreted , and may be approximated (quanitified) but cannot be measured , such a beauty , feel, flavor, taste..etc

American Society for Quality control (ASQC) defines quality as : systematic approach to the search of excellence (productivity, cost reduction , scheduled performance , sales, customer satisfaction, team work, the botom line ) .

Quality may also mean :

-the degree of excellence an item may possess -being the best that money can buy -meeting a specification -craftsmanship No more than 1% defective lot. -anything Japanese !

Quality in business, engineering and manufacturing has a interpretation as the non-inferiority or superiority of something. Consumers may focus on the specification quality of a product/service, or how it compares to competitors in the marketplace. Producers might measure the conformance quality, or degree to which the product/service was produced correctly.

Many different techniques and concepts have evolved to improve product or service quality.

In Apparel industry , fashion dictates the marketplace & it has variables in terms of- Raw materials, manufacturing processes, operators and so on , the importance of quality is not universally recognized. Lots of success stories have been built on quality like Levis, Jockey international, etc

QUALITY IS THE MAIN INGREDIENT IN A PRODUCT THAT DELIGHTS THE CUSTOMER BY EITHER MEETING OR EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS .

Quality is one of the most important criteria their customers use in selecting a product or service.

Ignorance to quality, has a tremendous cost ,which may be bigger than the gross profit. Unless its broken down into details, its impact is not realized by management ! Quality audits recover that of all factory hands do not produce anything - they just rework things that have not been done right for the first time . Add in expense of repairing/ replacing flawed products that slip into the market- total burden of bad quality can mount to a punishing 30% or more of production costs.

Are consumers ready to pay more for high quality products ? Do they look for top quality when shopping ?

Findings of a survey done in US by Grey Advertising in 90s was :

a/ 87 % consumers always look for top quality- means its their no. 1 criterion.

b/ 84 % consumers will pay more for top quality, suggesting that for today VALUE has a different meaning !

VALUE: BEST QUALITY IN GIVEN PRICE.

Six Benefits of quality are :

GREATER MARKET SHARE .

HIGHER GROWTH RATE

HIGHER EARNINGS

PREMIUM PRICE

LOYAL CUSTOMERS

HIGHLY MOTIVATED EMPLOYEES

Eight Dimensions of quality are :

Performance Features Reliability Conformance Durability Servicability Aesthetics Perceived Quality

HIGHER / BETTER QUALITY PRODUCT can also be used as a product Differentiation Strategy in the marketplace. Earlier saying If it aint broke, dont fix it . Is changing to If it aint broke- IMPROVE IT !

QUALITY IS REFLECTION OF CUSTOMERS OPINION ON THE VALUE THEY SEE IN YOUR PRODUCT ,as COMPARED TO THAT OF YOUR COMPETITOR.

SOME FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE CONSUMERS PERCEPTION OF QUALITY :

1.

2.

3.

4.

PRICE & apparent value for money : customers tend to associate quality with higher price. TECHNOLOGY : factors such as fabric and seam strength , colorfastness, shrinkage ,waterproofing, warmth, sweat absorption and other factors that are affected by the state of technology in the industry. PSCYCOLOGY : A garment can be attractively prices & best that technology can offer, BUT if its not attractive in appearance . If its not fashionable ( as per the target group or period) , or if it does not meet aesthetic requirements of consumer , then it is not a quality garment. Individuality of appearance.. Image enhancement TIME ORIENTATION : This indicates durabilityof appearance and function .Its importance varies with the categories of garments.

SOME FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE CONSUMERS PERCEPTION OF QUALITY : 6. EASE OF CARE :crease and stain resistance, shape retention, washability, etc

7. CONTRACTUAL : This refers to product guarantee , the refund policy of a store, and so on..
8. ETHICAL: honesty of advertising , courtesy of sales personnel ..etc

There are two common quality-related functions within a business. One is Quality assurance
All actions taken to ensure that standards and procedures are adhered to and that delivered products or services meet performance requirements.

It is the prevention of defects, such as by the deployment of a quality management system and preventative activities like FMEA. A failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA) is a procedure in operations management for analysis of potential failure modes within a system for classification by severity or determination of the effect of failures on the system. Failure modes are any errors or defects in a process, design, or item, especially those that affect the customer, and can be potential or actual. Effects analysis refers to studying the consequences of those failures It is widely used in manufacturing industries in various phases of the product life cycle and is now increasingly finding use in the service industry.

The other is Quality Control

What is quality control ?

A system for ensuring the maintenance of proper standards in manufactured goods, especially by periodic random inspection of the product

It is the detection of defects, most commonly associated with testing which takes place within a quality management system typically referred to as verification and validation. The term is conventionally used to describe the process by which management seeks to monitor the quality of output , to compare it with the accepted standards and to act upon the difference. Term Quality Assurance- may be used to define the functions purpose.

Cost of quality
The KEY to profitable garment manufacture is to provide for the best combination at the lowest cost , the economic quality level . The cost of quality comes from : Style Fabric and trimmings Make, including repairs and rejects Quality control function.

It is the combination of characteristics of properties of a product which make the product usable.

The extent to which a product successfully serves the purpose of the user ,during usage is called fitness of use. Fitness of use is determined by the features of a product that a user can recognize as beneficial ..fitting of garment, beauty of painting, status of club membership, fresh baked taste of bread , clear reception of radio reception , timeliness of bus, trains etc. It should be judged from a consumers point of view and not from ether manufacturers or sellers perspective.

For a garment to be FIT FOR USE (provided its acceptable style) :

1.

2. 3.

It should be free from defects such a stains, material (fabric / leather ) defects , loose hanging threads (untrimmed) , misaligned buttons and button holes, defective zippers , and so on. Must fit properly for the labelled size .The kind of fit and shape. Must perform satisfactorily in normal use , meaning that a garment must be able to withstand normal laundering / dry cleaning/ pressing cycles without color loss or shrinkage ; seams must not come apart ,fabric must not tear ,etc . FITNESS OF PURPOSE COMPRISES OF : Quality of design Quality of conformance Quality of delivery and service.

Quality needs of the retailers

Consistency (dependant on clear specifications with tolerances, the means to achieve the required quality level ; the will to conform of Management and workforce).
Delivery on time. Low cost to support competitive price.

STATISTICAL QUALITY CONTROL ( SQC) : SQC is the term which implies that only a proportion of garments are examined and that they are chosen according to the rules which come from the theory of statistics. *Based on AQL levels- acceptable quality level (to consumer) *Based on LTPD- low tolerance percent defective (The level of "poor' quality that the consumer is willing to tolerate only a small percentage of the time)

TOTAL QUALITY CONTROL (TQC)-was a movement which arose as a reaction to SQC..it implied a return to the idea that good quality is a part of the whole manufacturing process . It emphasises on ZERO DEFECTS and RIGHT FIRST TIME .

Quality Control
At sampling stage *Sample could be one or small no. of garments ,which are examined. If sample is representative of the whole, it is possible to monitor quality at the minimum cost . *It is done in a way in which we get best chance to look at garments and key features . QUALITY CONTROL DEPARTMENT They have to work on methods to improve quality and it has to be done at the minimum cost , balancing the expense of the department against the savings it makes possible in terms of reducing the repairs and rejects. One aspect is to define the quality or level of work of the plant and the workplaces in it. The maintenance of quality at agreed levels means giving clear specifications with approved tolerances.

Quality Control Department

Earlier job was to stop bad work leaving the factory and reaching the consumer. Now stress is on modern thinking of reducing the amount of bad work being made. Savings in cost of repairs/ rejects + speeds delivery

Extra costs Planning Prevention Inspection Monitoring the effects

Savings Delays in delivery Repairs Remakes Returns

There could be some extra costs outside QC dept- like machines and training also

GOOD QUALITY IS CHEAP, IT IS POOR QUALITY WHICH IS EXPENSIVE.

Extra costs Planning costs definition of required quality characteristics and quality level by market research Establishment of revised quality control procedures Evaluation of sampling levels and selection of examination process Calculation of appropriate manning levels

Prevention costs Specifications and tolerances Fabric and trimmings to specifications Appropriate machinery in good condition Correct methods and good training

Extra costs

Inspection/Appraisal costs properly selected and trained examiners Standard examination procedures, with suitable equipment. Testing costs Rapid feedback of information, checked against results.

Monitoring checking the efficiency of the examination Seeking out trouble spots Comparing defect ratios with budgets Comparing the costs of prevention with those of poor work.

Savings Delays

Shipments which are held over and awaiting the completion of repairs require extra capital to finance them If dispatch dates are delayed orders may be lost. With the modern emphasis on just in time manufacture and small inventories ,balancing problems caused by repairs can cut output drastically.

Repairs and remake

Repairs cost money in extra handling and supervision ,restitching. Remakes may mean extra cutting and problems of shading , which result in good parts being discarded ,with a high cost in wasted material. The labor cost of a repair is usually estimated at least half the total labor cost of garment , to which overheads have to be added

Savings

Returns

These may mean lost orders . Often it is too late to replace the returned garments and the revenue is lost for ever.

Plant quality level

THIS IS THE LEVEL OF QUALITY WHICH CAN BE ATATINED WITHOUT UNUSUAL CARE AND AT AN ECONOMIC PRODUCTION RATE . It can be with respect to section, process, machine or operative .

Depends on : Type of machinery Work aids Processes in use Cloth, leather and trimmings being used Operative skills

Plant quality level

It MUST be recognized so that it can be compared with the AQL and full consideration given to any shortfall when considering prodn of a new style. Long term quality improvement program can often raise both productivity level and plant quality level. It is also related to outlet : -branded outlet concentrate on individuality and aesthetic features or on well known qualities associated with the brand -chains stores place emphasis on conformity and consistency , details like no thread ends etc. Too many minor defects can cause rejection of garments. Consistency is very important to maintain the average PLANT QUALITY LEVEL.

Quality Specifications

It helps if the factory standards and specifications do not change very often- outdated copies should be with drawn immediately. Aim should be minimum paper and maximum information. Factory specifications cloth and trimmings, button spacing Thread and needle types and sizes , by fabric and seam time SPI Seam types, seam margins and tolerances Standard blocks and size ranges Cutting standards

Quality Specifications

Style of Garment Specifications Special size ranges and grading Key features and quality points Special tolerances Fabric and trimmings, colors and shades shade cards checked regularly to fading Points to watch

Should be easy to read More visuals than words where possible Dimensions and tolerances on sketches P.O.M should be clear

Defects : Material defects can be defined into three categories : Critical : prevents usability or performance Major : may affect usability or interfere with performance Minor : will not affect usability

First quality : If quality of the garment is evaluated as acceptable. Rest are evaluated as seconds, thirds, irregulars, scraps depending on no. and type of defects. Average rate of defective garments is 10 12 %.

NACERAP
This is a word which stands for :

N = NAME A= APPEARANCE C= CAUSE E=EFFECT R= REPAIR A=ACTION P=PREENTIONS

NACERAP

It provides a systematic approach to defects and is very useful in training . Thee has to be a name and record for all faults which occur /likely to occur ..each identified with picture name and if possible a sample. There could be more than one cause for the same defect- this needs to be defined. It is important to specify if certain defects should be repaired ,since it may cost too much. Repair may be done in many ways but one maybe best.