total quality management in garment industry

1. AKSUM UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
DEPARTMENT OF TEXTILE ENGINEERING
Course Name: Garment Manufacturing Technology
Chapter seven :Total Quality Management in
Apparel Industry
Prepared by :kibrom g/her 1

2. What is Quality ?
Quality different meaning to different people.
Quality is degree of excellence . ( )Dictionary)
Quality is fitness for use. (Juran)
Quality is conformance to requirements/
specifications. (Crosby)
Quality should be aimed at the needs of the
customer, present and future. (Deming)
Quality is what the customer says it is. (Fegenbaum)

3. Quality control and Quality assurance
 Quality control is the engineering & management activity by
which we measure the quality characteristics of the product,
compare them with specifications or requirements, and take
appropriate remedial action whenever there is a difference
between the actual performance and the standard.
Quality Control : “A part of quality management focused on
fulfilling quality requirements”.
What is Quality Control?

4. What is Quality Assurance?
Quality assurance (QA) is a process-centered approach
to ensuring that a company or organization is providing
the best possible products or services.
Quality Assurance : “A part of quality management
focused on providing confidence that quality
requirements will be fulfilled.”

5. The Difference Between Quality Assurance and Quality Control
The following are a few differences between the quality assurance and quality control processes
• Quality assurance focuses on defect prevention and quality control focuses on defect
identification.
• Quality assurance is a proactive process while quality control is a reactive process.
• Quality assurance is a process based approach while quality control is a product based
approach.
• Quality assurance involves processes managing quality, and quality control is used to verify
the quality of the product.
• Quality audit is an example of quality assurance. Inspection and testing are examples of the
quality control process.

6. QUALITY ASSURANCE IN APPAREL
MANUFACTURING
Quality of apparel means ?
The garment must fit to the label size and should be free from defect like stains
,loose seams , un cut thread ,misaligned button , shade variation etc. …..
 it must withstand a normal day to day laundering , dry cleaning and pressing with
out any shrinkage
Stages of inspection
1. Raw material inspection
2. In process inspection
3. Final inspection

7. Raw Material Inspection
It includes inspection of:
 Fabric
Accessories
• Sewing thread
• Zippers
• Buttons
• Lining and interlinings
• Hook and snap fasteners
• Elastics etc.
Fabric inspection in quality assurance is one of the major areas in textile and garment industry. American
Apparel Manufacturers Association (AAMA) 4-point grading system is used worldwide by fabric/garment
manufacturers. Another fabric inspection system is 10 a-point system. The adoption of both systems help in
making uniform standard of gradation of fabric worldwide

8. Raw Material Inspection
Accessories inspection - The performance accessories are same as for the main
fabric.
If accessories are of textile in nature following parameters Shrinkage
,Colorfastness ,Strength ,Crease recovery Abrasion resistance ,Pilling and Color
matching etc.
For non-textile accessories the main requirements are: Strength , Metal should free
from rusting Should withstand normal day-to-day cleaning process

9. In-process inspection
In-process inspection means the inspection of different parts before their assembly into
a complete product.
In-process inspection is to check the quality of components and identify the problems as
early as possible. In-process stage contains instructions for patterns, spreading, cutting,
sewing, pressing and finishing.

10. Patterning
All the pattern pieces required for a particular design should be there.
All the patterns must be aligned with the fabric grain.
Grain line should be parallel to the selvedge.
Pattern pieces of different sizes should be correctly labelled in marker.
Darts, notches, drill marks should be at correct location and distinct.
Number of cut pieces required for a particular part (like for Shirt cuff - Cut 4) should be mentioned.
While doing grading the increase or decrease in size should be proportionate according to the
given size range.
In the marker there should be enough space for knife movement for proper cutting.
Patterns for checks and stripes should match properly.
Pattern lines should be defined properly (e.g. chalk too thick may lead to inaccurate cutting)

11. Spreading
The objective of spreading is to place the number of plies of fabric according to
the production requirement & the length of the marker plan While layering
following points should be considered .:
Fabric faults like holes, flaws and stains etc. should be detected before
spreading.
The fabric layers should be tension-free and straight.
The length and width of the lay should be equal to length and width of the
marker plus minimum extra outside the marker plan.
The ply direction should be according to the type of fabric either face up, face
down or face to face

12. Cutting
Cutting means to separate fabric parts as replicas of the pattern pieces in the marker
plan While cutting one should take care of the following points:
Pattern pieces should be cut accurately to the pattern shape
Raw edges of pattern pieces should not show fraying, fuzziness or snagging.
Ply edges should not fuse together.
Size and placement of notches should be accurate.
Cutting knife should be sharp enough for accurate and consistent cutting.
Knife edges and cutting speed should be checked regularly.
Cleanliness and safety should be ensured.

13. Sewing
Sewing In-process inspection in sewing involves inspection of work each
operator against an established quality standard . Following defects arise
during sewing
Skipped stitches
Uneven stitch density
Puckered seams
Broken stitches
Staggered stitches

14. Pressing/Finishing
Pressing/Finishing The main objective of finishing is to achieve quality
and good appearance . Garments should be checked for the following
defects before as well after all stages of pressing.
Water spots or stains
Burned or scorched garments
Shrinkage due to heat and moisture
Garment not properly dried
Unwanted creases/impressions
Broken buttons, zippers etc.
Gloss and/or change in color

15. Final Inspection
Ready and packed garments are inspected randomly for final inspection. The following aspects of garments are
checked at this stage.
 Correct dimensions/measurements
 Garment symmetry
 Seam pucker, seam allowance
 Pressing/fusing defects
 Loose threads
 Correct matching of fabrics and accessories
 Shade variation
 Correct fitting and alignment of closures
Correct placing of labels
Packaging and Packing
Garment packages should be designed in such a way so as to ensure that the garments reaches
the consumer in satisfactory condition. The following points should be checked:
 Method of garment folding
 Number of garments in each package
 Type and quality of outer packing

16. GARMENT QUALITY STANDARDS
The following pages provide the general garment quality standards for all products
• Garments shall be free of needle holes, snags, open seams, broken stitches,
puckering/excessive fullness, more than one skipped stitch or any other flaws
or defects that may affect the appearance or the durability of the garment.
• Garment shall not contain fabric defects that do not comply with the fabric zone
chart
• Garment shall not contain any stains or soils
• Fabric stitch, pattern, and nap directions within a garment shall be the same for
all parts.
• Garment shall not have any shaded parts.

17. GARMENT QUALITY STANDARDS
The following pages provide the general garment quality standards for all products
• Garments shall be symmetrical and balanced for patterns, stripes,
embroideries, and dimensions
• No sleeves or legs shall be twisted.
• All pockets, flaps, lapels, etc. shall be balanced and even.
• All seam clean finished.
• Hems shall be even and neat
• Garment shall be properly pressed
• All parts shall be fused properly (plackets, waistbands, pockets).