75

CHAPTER 5
TAXONOMY OF APPAREL MANUFACTURING

5.1

VALUE CHAINS IN APPAREL PRODUCTION

5.1.1

Overview
Apparel production, also known as garment production is a process

where fabric is being converted into garments. The term apparel production is
basically used when garments are manufactured in a factory. Traditionally
apparel manufacturing factories have been divided into two sectors such as
domestic and export. A factory produces bulk quantity of garments for a style
or design at a time. Prior to starting production of an order, factory needs to
gone through some activities which are known as pre-production. Preproduction process includes sampling, costing, production planning, sourcing
of raw material and production pattern making. Fabric cutting, printing,
embroidery, sewing, thread trimming, washing, ironing, folding and packing
are the production functions
5.1.2

Sampling
Sampling is a process where factory develop garment samples

according to buyer's specified design. This is also known as product

development stage. Samples are required at various stages to get approval
from buyer on a particular design. As per the development stages samples are
named as Proto sample, Fit sample, Size set sample, Sales man sample,
production sample, Top Of Production (TOP) sample and shipment sample.

76
5.1.3

Costing
A business is all about making profit. So correct costing of a

product before order finalization is very important. Costing of garment is the

cumulative cost of raw materials, direct labors and direct and indirect
overheads. After developing sample or directly receiving buyer's sample,
factory needs to send FOB (freight on board) price of the garment. To decide
FOB of a garment, factory makes cost sheet including raw material cost, total
of direct labour costs of each processes, and factory overhead. An FOB is the
sum of garment cost, factory margin and taxes.
5.1.4

Production Planning
After receiving the order, factory plans for raw material

requirement for the order. Raw materials like fabrics, sewing threads, packing
materials, hang tags and other accessories are sourced. Factory plans time
lines like when to start cutting, when to submit pre-production sample, when
to finish sewing and finishing, final inspection date and shipment date. In
production planning stage job responsibility for different processes are
defined.
5.1.5

Cutting
In this stage fabrics are layered on a table, layer by layer, up to a

certain height. Then by means of a cutting machine fabric are cut into garment
shapes or pattern and separated from the layer. Fabric layering is possible for
both manual spreading and automated spreading. Cut parts are then numbered
and bundled and sent to sewing room. The quality of end product (garment)
very much depends on the good cutting quality. Secondly, fabric is the
primary raw material of the garment represents about 70% of total garment

77
cost. That is why cutting is an important process to minimize the cost of
production.
5.1.6

Sewing
Garment panels are stitched together in sewing room by means of

sewing machines. In sewing 2D fabric patterns are converted in 3D forms. An

operator run the machine and using sewing threads garment parts are joined
together. Various types of sewing machines are available for sewing.
Machines are selected according to the seam and stitch requirement. In
industry traditionally sewing machines are laid in row. Cut parts are fed at the
start of the line, passed through the line and at the end of the line a complete
garment comes out. Each machine is run by individual operator and an
operator sews only one or two operations of the garment. A line consist of
sewing operators, helper to feed them with cut parts, thread and other trims,
quality checker and one fully or partially devoted supervisor.
5.1.7

Thread trimming
After stitching, all hanging thread are cut by means of hand

trimmer. Auto thread trimming machines are also available to perform this
task. All loose threads inside a garment are removed as well. Garments
without any loose thread and long tail are basic quality requirement.
5.1.8

Washing
This process is performed when buyer wants washing or special

finishes to the garments. There are various kind of special washing are
available such as emzyme washing,stone washing, Acid washing, Silicon
washing, softener washing etc For light color garment washing is carried
out to remove dirt and stains though buyer does need washed garment as per
orders.

78
5.1.9

Finishing
Generally this process includes checking of garment, measurement

checking, ironing, and spotting. After sewing of the garments, all pieces are
checked by quality checker to ensure that garments are being made as per
buyer quality standard. Checking normally is done for visual appearance and
measurements. Spotting is required to remove stain in the pieces. Various
chemicals (solvents) are used to remove various kinds of oil stain, marks and
hard stain. Each garment then ironed to remove creases by means of press.
5.1.10

Packing and Folding

Each pressed garment is then folded with tissue or card board.

Folding varies with product to product and also buyer to buyer. Hang tags,
special tags and price stickers are attached with plastic Kimble or threads.
Folded and tagged garment are then packed into poly bag. During packing
garments are randomly checked by internal quality controllers to ensure that
only quality goods are being packed.
5.1.11

Final Inspection and Dispatch

Once garments are packed (also known as shipment), before

dispatching quality inspection of the garments is carried by buyer Quality

Assurance (QA) department. Many times a third party quality auditor is hired
for this final inspection job. If the packed goods meet the buyers quality
standards, shipment is accepted by buyer. Factory then dispatches goods to
the buyer.

79
5.2

APPAREL PRODUCTION SYSTEMS

Sewing fabric is a large segment and the most labor intensive

process involved in the production of garments. The sewing room has also
undergone changes to improve the productivity and responsiveness in sewing
(Malhotra 1991). Apparel products fall into the category of piece part goods
like automobiles, ships, airplanes, appliances; etc.The production process
involves the manufacture of numerous discrete parts that are then assembled
into finished products (Malhotra 1991). Most of the production systems
employed in clothing factories is as follows.
5.2.1

Make through/Whole Garment System

This is essentially the traditional method of production whereby

one operator assembles the entire garment. In men's bespoke wear, it is not
uncommon for a tailor to perform nearly every operation required to make the
garment, including machining, hand work and pressing. With this production
system the operator would be given a bundle of cut work and would proceed
to sew it according to his or her own method of work. Of necessity, the labour
required by this system must be highly skilled and versatile, a combination
which is becoming exceedingly rare and increasingly expensive.
This type of system is effective when a very large variety of
garments have to be produced in extremely small quantities. A typical
application would be in the sewing room of a boutique, which produces its
own merchandise. In the whole garment system one individual makes the
entire garment from cutting the cloth to sewing and pressing the garment. The
garment is ready for dispatch once the operator completes the final operation.
This type of system is used in a few places, which are engaged in customwholesale. They are normally high priced and exclusively made for a
particular customer. They are limited in number and distribution; normally

80
about 10-20 garments are made.It is the traditional method of manufacturing
in which an operator makes one garment at a time right through. That is one
operator will do all the stages of the sewing operations of one garment and
after completing it he/she will go for the next garment.
Advantages
This system is more effective when a very large variety of
garments have to be produced in extremely small quantities.
In individual piece rate system the operators will do their work
with full involvement to finish more pieces, to earn more
money.
Operator will be specialized in his own working area.
As the pay depends upon the complication of the operation,
the operator will try to finish the complicated operation also
without any difficulties.
The Work in Progress (WIP) is reduced, and at a time one cut
garment is given to one operator and so the amount of
inventory is reduced.
Disadvantages
Highly skilled labourers are used, so the cost of labour is high.
The operator is more concerned on the number of pieces
finished rather than the quality of work.
Productivity is less due to lack of specialization.
For long run/bulk quantity of same style is not effective in this
system.

81
5.2.2

Progressive Bundle System (PBS) - Batch System

This system is exactly what its name implies, a system whereby the

garments are gradually assembled as they move through successive

sub-assembly and main assembly operations in bundle form. This is the most
commonly used manufacturing system for the sewing room till date. In this
system, the work pieces move in bundles, creating larger inventory,
increasing the space requirement and creating material handling problems.
One of the popular variations of the bundle system is the skill center bundle
system, where the sewing room operations are grouped into sub-assembly
sections. Each sub-assembly section can accommodate style variations to
some extent, giving the system flexibility for style changes. This system is
currently used in a large number of plants. The slow response time of the
bundle system, however, makes it unsuitable for quick response production.
Other flexible and faster ways of physically moving the fabric through the
plant have also been developed through the following types of apparel
manufacturing systems.
The amount of machinery for each operation would be determined
by the output required. A work store is positioned at the start and end of every
section of these buffers and is used to store work received from a preceding
operation, and to hold work completed by that section. Due to these work
stores or buffers, each section is not directly dependent on the preceding
section, but can absorb slight variations in output via the stocks held within
the section. The progressive bundle system, while being somewhat
cumbersome in operation and requiring large quantities of work in progress, is
probably one of the most stable systems with regard to output. Unless there is
serious absenteeism or prolonged special machine breakdowns, most of the
usual hold-ups can be absorbed because of the amounts of work in progress.
Balancing and the changeover to new styles are also somewhat difficult, due
to the amount of work held in reverse.

82
When properly managed, the progressive bundle system is versatile
and efficient.
Advantages
High productivity
A high level of labour utilization can be achieved
Training time and costs can be reduced
Individual performance can be monitored and incentives
offered.
Semi-skilled labour can be used, since the operations are
broken into small simple operation. Hence the cost of labour is
very cheap.
The components are moved in bundles from one operation to
next operation, so there is less chance for confusion like, lot
mix-up, shade variation, size variation, etc.
Disadvantages
Machines and operations are organized into sections according
to basic functions, which produce sub components.
Within each sections work is balanced according to time
required for each sub-functions.
Machine investment costs are high.
The system is not very adaptable for short-run production and
frequent style changes, as these require rearrangement of the
workstation.

83
It involves high handling costs for bundle handling and
transportation.
It requires a high level of work in progress and therefore a
high capital commitment.
It requires a high level of management skills to arrange the
workflow and decide on the number of operators for each
operation.
5.2.3

Unit Production System (UPS)

The model of Unit Production System (UPS) is shown in

Figure 5.1. This system moves the fabric pieces for one garment on a single
hanger through the factory. A computer balances the line by routing garments
to sewing operators with higher performance and lower inventory
(Albrecht 1989). The garment components are automatically transported from
work station to work station according to pre-determined sequence according
to Albrecht (1989). The work station are so constructed that the components
are present as close as possible to the operators left and in order to reduce the
amount of movement required to grasp and position and component to be
sewn. UPS addresses the problem that a bundle system generates, where 80%
of the production operator's time is devoted to material handling. It also helps
to eliminate time spent for labeling and moving fabric pieces. This system
also helps improve quality by spotting the sewing errors sooner, and thus
corrections can be made on them before large quantities of garments are
affected. Another benefit of UPS is lower work-in-process. With this system,
throughput is quicker and the garment can be shipped to the customer sooner
(Albrecht 1989).

84

Figure 5.1 Unit production system (Albrecht 1989)

Unit Production Systems (UPS) are good for large garments like
pants, coats, skirts, dresses etc., because large parts are normally difficult to
handle in the conventional way when they are in bundles (Lokiec 1990).
According to Lokiec (1990), under the UPS the parts can be better
prepositioned before they are fed into the machine.
Advantages
1.

Bundle handling completely eliminated.

2.

The time involved in the pick-up and disposal is reduced to

minimum.

3.

Output is automatically recorded, eliminates the operator to

register the work.

4.

The computerized systems automatically balance the work

between stations.

5.

Up to 40 styles can be produced simultaneously on one

system.

Disadvantage
1.

Unit production system requires high investments.

2.

The payback period of the investment takes long time.

3.

Proper planning is required to be effective.

85
5.2.4

Modular Manufacturing System (MMS)

Another system for moving fabric quickly through the factory is

called the Toyota Sewing System (TSS), synchronized, or the more popular
term, Modular Manufacturing System (MPS) as shown in Figure 5.2. The
Modular Manufacturing System is a U shaped layouut holding small group of
machines to complete parts of a garment or a total garment (Albrecht 1989).
According to Albrecht (1989), in a modular layout the number of operators
are less than the number of machines. Each operator is cross trained on two or
more machines and moves from machine to machine to balance the line as
necessary. Albrecht (1989) also suggests that modular manufacturing
provides small manufacturers with short lead times while producing high
quality garments under good management control. Of course, larger
manufacturers can also benefit from it. Quality can be achieved in modular
manufacturing through team work to keep the line balanced or fabric pieces
moving through smoothly. Modular manufacturing means sewing a variety of
garments within a module. To accommodate some garments, machines in the
module are changed rather than trying to fit various garments into the
production line.

Figure 5.2 Modular manufacturing system (Albrecht 1989)

86
Modular manufacturing can be compared to the Just - In-Time (JIT)
management system which works toward a zero inventory buffer and total
quality control (Albrecht 1989). According to Albrecht (1989), flexibility via
modular manufacturing is important for a company to remain responsive to
the market. Flexible manufacturing includes the ability to quickly produce
quality products in the quantities needed. The Modular Production System
(MPS) approach is more like a culture, concept or philosophy, rather than a
technology that requires a total company commitment throughout the
organization (Gilbert 1990). Gilbert (1990) suggests that the modular
manufacturing is a process, not a program.
Advantages
Operators can work freely as a team.
All operators are highly skilled in the operation of all the
different machines in one workstation.
In-process inspection stations are built into the line and the
inspector is able to return faulty work via the system to the
operator concerned.
Quality of the garment is very high because the operator
handles the garment in quality conscious manner.
As there are so few garments on the line throughput time is
extremely short, which is the objective of this system.
A typical unit would have eight work stations arranged
around the transport system.

87
5.3

IMPORTANCE OF LAYOUT DESIGN

Layout design is one of the key activities that determine the long-

run efficiency of operations. Layout design has numerous strategic

implications because it establishes an organizations competitive priorities
with regard to the capacity, processes, flexibility and cost as well as quality of
work life, customer contact and image. An effective layout can help an
organization to achieve a strategy that supports differentiation such as cost
reduction, or response (Heizer and Render 2000). The layout must consider
how to achieve the following.
1.

Higher utilization of space, equipment, and people.

2.

Improved flow of information, material or people.

3.

Improved employee morale and safer working conditions.

4.

Improved customer/client interaction.

5.

Flexibility (whatever the layout is now, it will need to

change).

5.3.1

Assembly Line Balancing

Different line design layouts are all associated with an Assembly

Line Balancing (ALB) problem. Balancing distributes tasks to work stations

and work content per station and variant. Line balancing is divided in areas
depending on layout of the assembly line. To minimize work overload,
sequencing is carried out (Boysen et al 2008). The sequence determines
spreading of material demand and labour utilization at workstations.
Line balancing is usually undertaken to minimize imbalance
between machines or personnel while meeting a required output from the line.
The production rate is indicated as cycle time to produce one unit of the

88
product, the optimum utilization of work force depends on the basis of output
norms. The actual output of the individual may be different from the output
norms. Hence the time to operate the system keeps varying. It is, therefore,
necessary to group certain activities to workstations to the tune of maximum
of cycle time at each work station. The assembly line needs to balance so that
there is minimum waiting of the line due to different operation time at each
workstation. The sequencing is therefore, not only the allocation of men and
machines to operating activities, but also the optimal utilization of facilities
by the proper balancing of the assembly line . The process of assembly line
balancing involves three steps (Heizer and Render 2000)
1.

Take the units required (demand or production rate) per day

and divide it into the productive time available per day
(in minutes or seconds). This operation gives us what is called
the cycle time. Namely, the maximum time that the product is
available at each workstation if the production rate is to be
achieved.
Cycle Time

2.

Pr oduction Time Available per Day

Units Re quired per Day

Calculate the theoretical minimum number of workstations.

This is the total task duration time (the time it takes to make
the product) divided by the cycle time. Fractions are rounded
to the next higher whole number.
n

Minimum Numer of Workstations

i 1

Time for Task i

Cycle Time

Where n is the number of assembly tasks.

89
3.

Balance the line by assigning specific assembly tasks to each

workstation. An efficient balance is one that will complete the
required assembly, follow the specified sequence, and keep
the idle time at each work stations to a minimum.

5.3.2

Takt Time
Takt is a German word for a pace or beat, often linked to

conductors baton. Takt time is a reference number that is used to help match
the rate of production in a pacemaker process to the rate of sales. This can be
formulated as below (Rother and Harris 2001).

Takt Time

Available Work Time perShift

Customer Order Quantity per Shift

Takt time can be defined as the rate at which customers need

products i.e. the products should be produced at least equal to takt time to
meet the customer demand. Takt time works better when customer demand is
steady and clearly known; but if the customer demand varies on the daily
basis then it is difficult to calculate the takt time as well as balance the
production facility according to varying takt time. So if the orders are varying
every day the information of actual shipments (not orders) should be gathered
for last few months or years and takt time for the particular product should be
calculated. In this way, the production can be balanced to meet changing
customer demand.

90
5.3.3

Cycle Time
Cycle time is defined as how frequently a finished product comes

out of our production facility (Heizer and Render 2000). Cycle time includes
all types of delays occurred while completing a job. So cycle time can be
calculated by the following formula.
TotalCycleTime Pr ocessingTime Set UpTime WaitingTime MovingTime
InspectionTime ReworkTime Other DelaystoCompletetheJob
To meet customer demand or monitor productivity the cycle time
and takt time should be balanced in parallel. The higher cycle time than takt
time may result in late delivery and customer dissatisfaction whereas shorter
cycle time than takt time may cause excess inventory or excess use of
resource which is considered as process waste.
5.3.4

Cycle time Vs Takt time

The cycle time is the time it takes for one unit of product to go

through the manufacturing process. The Takt time is the rate of customer
demand. Ideally, for a lean process, the cycle time of each step should be
equal to the Takt time. In other words, the product should be produced at the
rate that the customer is demanding the product. Producing faster than the
Takt time creates overproduction; while producing slower than the Takt time
leads to bottlenecks. The Takt time should be used to determine the rate of
production.
For example Figure 5.3 below shows the cycle times of each step in
the assembly operation process. The Takt time was found to be 96 seconds.
One can see the discrepancies between the cycle times and Takt time for each
step in the process. Earlier steps cycle times were found to be much shorter

91
than the Takt time, while the later steps cycle times were longer than the Takt
time. These discrepancies led to the build-up of WIP inventory.

Figure 5.3 Comparison of cycle time Vs talk time

5.3.5

Setup time
Setup time is defined as the time it takes to go from the production

of the last good piece of a prior run to the first good piece of a new production
run (Trvino 1993). Setup cost is a non-value added cost; that explains why
many companies look to reduce the setup time. Trvino (1993) developed a
total cost function, which can utilize the setup data. Recommendations were
made to reduce the setup, and the information is applied to the total relative
cost function to decide if setup time is economically feasible. A general
equation was derived expressing relationship between percentage setup time
reduction and required investment.

92
Lee, et al (1994) applied goal programming to provide insight into
setup time and lot size reduction. The objective of their model was to reduce
production length, WIP cost and setup cost minimization. Rajendran and
zeigler (1997) considered static flow shop with sequence dependent setup
time of jobs. The main objective of their heuristic is to minimize the sum of
weighted flow time in a sequence dependent setup time scenario. Genreau
et al (2001) presented a heuristic for the multiprocessor scheduling problem
with sequence dependent setup times. The goal of his algorithm was to
minimize overall processing time by determining assignments of jobs to
machine and cyclic sequence of jobs on each machine
5.4

METHOD STUDY
Method study focuses on how a task can be accomplished. Whether

controlling a machine or making or assembling components, how a task is

done makes a difference in performance, safety, and quality. Using
knowledge from ergonomics and methods analysis, methods engineers are
charged with ensuring quality and quantity standards which are achieved
efficiently and safely. Method analysis and related techniques are useful in
office environments as well as in the factory. Methods techniques are used to
analyze the following (Heizer and Render 2000)
1.

Movement of individuals or material. Analysis for this is

performed using flow diagrams and process charts with
varying amounts of detail.

2.

Activity of human and machine and team activity. Analysis

for this is performed using activity charts (also known as manmachine charts and crew charts).

3.

Body movement (primarily arms and hands). Analysis for this

is performed using micro-motion charts.

93
5.4.1

Labor Standards and Work Measurements

Effective operations management requires meaningful standards

that can help a firm to determine the following (Heizer and Render 2000)
1.

Amount of labor contribution for any product (the labor cost).

2.

Staffing needs (how many people will it take to meet required

production).

3.

Cost and time estimates prior to production (to assist in a

variety of decisions, from cost estimates to make or buy
decisions).

4.

Crew size and work balance (who does what in a group

activity or on an assembly line).

5.

Expected production (so that both manager and worker know

what constitutes a fair days work).

6.

Basis of wage-incentive plan (what provides a reasonable

incentive).

7.

Efficiency of employees and supervision (a standard is

necessary against which to determine efficiency).

Properly set labor standards represent the amount of time that it

should take an average employee to perform specific job activities under
normal working conditions. The labour standards are set in by historical
experience, time studies, and predetermined time standards and work
sampling.

94
5.5

TIME STUDY
The classical stopwatch study, or time study, originally proposed by

Federic Taylor in 1881, is still the most widely used time study method. The
time study procedure involves the timing of a sample of workers
performance and using it to set a standard. A trained and experienced person
can establish a standard by following these eight steps (Heizer and Render
2000).
1.

Define the task to be studied (after methods analysis has been

conducted).

2.

Divide the task into precise elements (parts of a task that often
takes no more than a few seconds).

3.

Decide how many times to measure the task (the number of

cycle of samples needed).

4.

Record elemental times and rating of performance.

5.

Compute the average observed cycle time. The average

observed cycle time is the arithmetic mean of the times for
each element measured, adjusted for unusual influence for
each element.

Average Observed CycleTime

6.

Sum of the Times Recorded to Perform Each Task

Number of CycleObserved

Determine performance rating and then compute the normal

time for each element.

NormalTime (AverageObserved Cycle Time) (Performance rating Factor)

7.

Add the normal times for each element to develop a total

normal time for each task.

95
8.

Compute the standard time in the form of Standard minute

value (SMV). This adjustment to the total normal time
provides allowances such as personal needs, unavoidable
work delays and worker fatigue.
S tan dard Allowable Minutes (SMV)

Total NormalTime
1 Allowance Factor

Personal time allowances are often established in the range of 10%

to15% of total time, depending upon nearness to rest rooms, water fountains,
and other facilities. Delay allowances are often set as a result of the actual
studies of the delay that occurs. Fatigue allowances are based on the growing
knowledge of human energy expenditure under various physical and
environmental conditions. The major two disadvantages of this method are;
first they require a trained staff of analysts and secondly the labour standards
cannot be set before tasks are actually performed.
As per the Lean principles, any form of allowance is non value
added time though it is unavoidable. In this context up to cycle time
measurement is the value added time. Moreover in cycle time, the exactly
needle moves is the value added time, even though we cannot skip out the
material handling time though this a kind of non value added time which is
technically called necessary non value added time. SMV would be used to
balance the product line in progressive bundling time. But in Lean production
system cycle time is the factor that would be considered for product line
balancing.
5.5.1

Predetermined Time Standards

Predetermined time standards divide manual work into small basic

elements that already have established times (based on very large samples of
workers). To estimate the time for a particular task, the time factors for each

96
basic element of that task are added together. Developing a comprehensive
system of predetermined time standards would be prohibitively expensive for
any given firm. Consequently, a number of systems are commercially
available. The most common predetermined time standard is methods time
measurement (MTM), which is the product of the MTM association (Heizer
et al 2000 ).
Predetermined time standards are an outgrowth of basic motions
called therblings. The term "therblig" was coined by Frank Gilbreth.
Therbligs include such activities as select, grasp, position, assemble, reach,
hold, rest and inspect. These activities are stated in terms of Time
Measurement Units (TMUs), which are each equal to only 0.00001 hour or
0.0006 minutes. MTM values for various therbligs are specified with the help
of detailed tables. Predetermined time standards have several advantages over
direct time studies. First, they may be established in laboratory environment,
where the procedure will not upset actual production activities. Second,
because the standard can be set before a task is actually performed, it can be
used for planning. Third, no performance ratings are necessary. Fourth,
unions tend to accept this method as fair means of setting standards. Finally,
predetermined time standards are particularly effective in firms that do
substantial numbers of studies of similar tasks.
5.6

SUMMARY
This chapter reviewed the process value chains in garment

production system and the need of lean process implementation to the

garment industry is further understood. Subsequently various production
system involved in garment production are analyzed .With this review the
suitable layout is understood for lean implementation and various other
advantage and disadvantages of Production systems are also analyzed. The
choice of best apparel production system will depend on the product and

97
policies of the company and on the capacities of manpower. In addition to
this, Method study, time study and predetermined motion cycle are further
reviewed, since these tools are used for method analysis and time analysis of
various garment operations.