Inspection Loop Pre-production
The quality of a garment is subject to the perspective from which we are assessing it. For a user, fitness to use is quality, i.e. the value the product generates for the user; and for a manufacturer, quality is simply conformance to standards, but what aligns both these perceptions is inspection. Inspection helps us ensure we get the quality, as perceived both by the user and by the manufacturer.
Let’s get to the basics:
Inspection process in apparel industry Part I
Inspection in garment industry refers to the visual examination of the raw material, the work in progress and the finished garment, against the expected specifications for the garment, on an allocated inspection workstation, assigned to inspect a particular set of specifications, as needed at that stage.
The basic principle of inspection can be defined by the Inspection Loop:
In my last article what is fabric inspection and grading, I focussed on the need and process of fabric inspection when it is received at the fabric store. This article series explains the various inspection processes which should ideally be followed during and post manufacturing of a garment to maintain quality and avoid any rejections.
To ensure the garments are produced as per the quality expected, proper inspection planning needs to be set in place, i.e. identifying the critical points where inspection should be conducted, and the specifications against which the garment needs to be inspected.
The first stage at which the inspection should be conducted are:
PRE-PRODUCTION INSPECTION:
Pre-production inspection is conducted for getting the buyer’s approval, for which, samples are prepared before the actual production starts. This is done in the sampling department. Samples in this inspection stage are assessed against:
At the pre-production stage, different customers’ may have specific requirements in terms of quality features and prices, inspection and testing of material, washing, lap dip, checking of paper patterns, markers and cut parts, and production sample. These specifications are actually the buyer’s requirements, characteristic to the particular style.
The following guidelines should be considered for pre-production inspection:
The next inspection stage that follows the pre-production inspection is the initial Production Inspection or the Pilot Run.
INITIAL PRODUCTION INSPECTION:
The initial production inspection or Pilot Run is conducted on the initial production batch to identify any variations to the required specifications before the bulk production commences. A pilot run is conducted on actual fabric, to assess:
The test method and the respective specifications and tolerances selected for this inspection are subjective to the buyer’s requirements.
Mandatory and supplementary performance tests are used as a general guide for the garments in different countries. It is noted that the test method is selected in accordance with the exporting country of the merchandise. The listed tests and requirements are used for normal quality evaluation purposes. Individual customers and certain specific items may have different requirements and /or tolerances.
Once, the Pilot run successfully completes, bulk production starts, and in-process inspection stage arrives.
The Pre-production inspection stages are the 2nd step of inspection after fabric inspection stage. There are various other processes of inspection which are followed in the industry to maintain quality. Watch out this space for explanation of the next set of inspections.
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Source: ThreadSol
