SPORTS

FOOTWEAR
6TH SEM
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TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Acknowledgement ………………………………………………. 02
Abstract …………………………………………………………. 02
Introduction ……………………………………………………… 03
Sports footwear …………………………………………………. 03
What is a Quality? ………………………………………………. 04
What is Quality control in Footwear industry? …………………. 04
Why is Footwear inspection so important? ……………………... 06
Pre-production quality checks …………………………………... 05
Quality checks in cutting ………………………………………... 09
Quality checks in closing ………………………………………... 10
Quality checks in lasting ……………………………………….... 11
Quality checks in finishing ……………………………………… 112
Labelling ………………………………………………………… 12
Packaging ………………………………………………………... 14
Conclusion ………………………………………………………. 15

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I would like to express profound gratitude to my guide and my lecturer “Mr.

Deepak Choudhary Sir” for his invaluable support, encouragement, supervision,
and useful suggestions throughout this project work. His moral support and
continuous guidance enabled me to complete my work successfully.

Footwear manufacturing is an extremely diverse industry, which includes

athletic shoes, industrial safety footwear, dress shoes and many more. Hence, a
footwear inspection is conducted to detect major and minor defects in shoes.
There can be different types of defects in shoes. This can be a manufacturing
defect or a design defect, which makes footwear inspection necessary.

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Sports footwear: Sport shoe or athletic shoe is a generic name for the footwear
primarily designed for sports or other forms of physical exercise, but recently it
has come to be used for casual everyday activities. There are many types of
sport shoes

Quality is the measure of excellence or state of being free from defects,

deficiencies, and significant variations. It can be defined as “The totality of all
features and Characteristics of a product or service that bears on its ability to
satisfy stated or implied needs.”

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QUALITY CHECKING

F ootwear is a highly diverse category, with thousands of models that use a

wide range of materials, and require a number of different production processes.
This makes footwear testing and quality assurance a highly demanding and
specialized process.

As a quality and control manager I will expertise the quality and safety of every
type of footwear, including fashion and formal shoes, athletic footwear,
specialized and professional footwear, and children's shoes.
Knowing how to check the quality of a shoe is also a great skill to have as a
shoe buying customer in a store. You don’t need any special tools or lots of
time. In just a few seconds you can quality check a new pair of sports footwear
in a store without damaging the shoe or hassling the store employees. If you see
a problem pick a different pair. Here is how to grade and inspect a shoe like a
professional.

BY DIFFERENT GRADES

A grade shoes:
Shoes without any functional defects or cosmetic defects that will impair the
marketability of the shoe are A grade. These are high-quality shoes, they look
good and fit correctly. An A grade must follow the production specifications
and match the approved confirmation sample.

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B grade shoes:
Shoes without any major functional defects and which will not cause injury to
the person wearing the shoes are B grade. B grade shoes may have cosmetic
defects, production mistakes, or workmanship issues that cannot be properly
repaired. These B grade shoes will be discounted and/or diverted to markets
more tolerant of cosmetic defects.

C grade shoes:
C grade shoes have major functional defects that could cause injury to the
wearer or major cosmetic defects that cannot be repaired. Shoes are also
considered C-grade if they have poor workmanship or material defects that
could shorten the normal life expectancy of the shoe, or damage the companies
reputation. These shoes should be destroyed.

The system is based on the following principles.

1. Well defined specifications
2. Checking and testing all input materials.
3. In-process control
4. Final quality check
5. Monitoring quality.
The main objective is to achieve a consistent quality standard for the product.

MAIN AREAS FOR QUALITY CONTROL

1. Material
2. Cutting
3. Closing
4. Lasting

STORE QUALITY CONTROL SYSTEM

In order to set up a proper quality system, we need to look at four

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major areas
a) All input material
b) Production process
c) Final inspection
d) Product specifications
Input Material

One of the biggest problems faced by manufacturers is inconsistent

quality of input materials. Factories realize this but feel they can do
very little about it because of lack of alternate suppliers; the
footwear industry is known to source globally and sell globally.
Therefore, if we cannot find a suitable supplier in Ethiopia we must
look worldwide find the right supplier.
Companies fail to interact frequently with suppliers to discuss
problems and needs of the customer. The major problem areas are:
a) Lack of clear specification for material to suppliers.
b) No system of checking materials.
c) Not enough effort put on suppliers to improve quality.
d) Poor planning resulting in frequent emergencies where they
have to
accept poor quality material.
e) Concentrating more on price rather than quality.

Supplier Rating System

1. The purchase manager must have clear specifications and standards for all
materials to be purchased. These are given in the manual.
These specifications and standards should be documented and available at the
purchase department. No supplier should be allowed to meet the purchase
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manager unless his materials meet company specifications and test standards.

2. Suppliers should be rated for quality and delivery into three categories
A, B, & C. A is the lowest and C the highest category.

STORE QUALITY SYSTEM

PROCEDURE
All input materials to be tested for quality. These are:
1) Leather
2) Synthetic linings
3) Inter linings
4) Threads
5) Counters
6) Toe-puffs
7) Insole
8) Soles
9) Adhesives
10) Boxes
11) Laces
12) Eyelets

PROCEDURE FOR CHECKING LEATHER IN STORES

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All incoming leather must be checked for quality and quantity before being
accepted.
For checking quality
Each bundle should be supplied with a list of skins and their individual
areas. The list should be checked 100%.
Area measurement check - sampling to be done as per table 1.
If area variation is more than 3 % check entire lot. The purchase
order should
clearly state % of area variation acceptable. (International norm is 3%)
Prepare report as in table 2.

Quality checks

a. Physical Checks

i. Colour If as per order

ii. Size of skins if as per order
iii. Grain if as per order
iv. Wet and dry rub fastness if in doubt send for lab test
v. Substance check
vi. Cracking single and double fold
vii. Grade re-grade all material and enter
data in table 3 to calculate the purchase
Profit/loss on account of grading.
Special software is also available for this
viii. Nap for Nubuck/suede

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Laboratory tests

I. Lastometer
II. Break pipeness
III. Fat Content
IV. Flexometer

Sports footwear manufacturing is easy when compared to leather shoe on basis

of quality checks. In sports shoe we don’t use leather therefore there will be less
maintenance in quality control. Component inspection:
• Checking of components piece by piece after cutting and keeping of records.
• Roaming supervisor checks randomly.
• After pre-fabrication (splitting, lamination, skiving, printing) 100% checking
pair by pair by quality checker and keeping record.
• Final checking by the Cutting quality in-charge as per AQL requirement
before supplying to the sewing dept

. Documents used:
• Daily Quality Report by individual checker.
• Daily Quality Report restatement as per Department.
• Random inspection report.
• Corrective & Preventive action report

• Check all dies with master patterns & ensure accuracy. Cut one set of paper
patterns with dies & compare with master patterns, repair or replace defective
dies.

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• Get a sample of the shoe and the colour combination chart if it is a multiple
colour shoe, this should be signed by the design department.
• Ensure that all dies are properly labelled with style no. & size.
• Check dies for interlining reinforcements also before starting production.
• Mark all upper dies with yellow paint & lining dies with white paint to avoid
any mix up.
• No wrinkles while cutting fabric.
• Avoid wasting rubber or mesh.
• Check machines before cut the patterns.
• Try to use one sheet if there is a small component.
• Due to more components in a pattern, there will be a confusion so ensure that
every component should be in set after cutting.
• Avoid scratches on rubber while cutting.

Sewing is the most labour-intensive operation in sports shoe making and

involves a number of machines and factors which affect sewing. Sports shoe
quality is an inspection of the work-in-progress done at the sewing section. The
main objective of the Sewing Inspection is to ensure conformity to quality in
terms of material performance and Workmanship. Most supervisors do not
know how to control quality in sewing or how to spend time monitoring quality.
They are also not aware of what they should check and how to go about it.

• Checking of stitched components piece by piece after every sewing operation

of sports shoe.
• After sewing, checking of stitched upper pair by pair by quality checker.

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• Random checking by the quality supervisor before supplying to the lasting/

hand sewing dept. and making report. Documents used:
• Daily Quality Report of sewing.
• Minor and major defects report.
• Random inspection report.
• Corrective & Preventive action report.

In demand to attain a constant quality standard in lasting preparation is very

important. If the tooling and preparation of work for the machine is not
accurate, we cannot get the best results. Documents used:
• Daily Quality Report of lasting.
• Lasting defects.
• Random inspection report.

• Carbon paper test for sole press adjustment before starting production every
day.
• Check accuracy of working of counter moulding machine, heat setter, flash
activator by using an infra-red or digital thermometer.
• Check that moulds on counter moulding machine, toe bands, upper plates,
pincers & sole press pads suit the last being used.
• Linings are shorter than upper in the lasting margin.
• Check all pairs after lasting, the advantage is that if there are any defects in
lasting, they can be corrected or if they cannot be corrected then they are taken
off the line so that further value addition does not occur on a reject upper.

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• Clean the lasts frequently.

• If new lasts used the lining may stick to the last making it difficult to de-last.
Use boric powder for a few days.
• Keep the department clean & tidy. Do not clutter the shop floor with shoes,
packing boxes, repairs etc.
• Check that sufficient grinderies are available for the day. i.e., nails, adhesive,
labels etc.
• Brushes must be clean to avoid stains on shoes.
• The soles and heels should be checked to ensure that they correspond to the
specifications (height and length of heel, cleanliness of soles and heel etc.)

The shoe sample after finishing must be checked for any damage in finish as it
may give rise to customer’s complaints. After making the outsole, some of them
need to fabricate (Cutting, buffing, joining sole & heel, sole & wedge, fixing
welt, attaching different/same materials, shaping, profiling, bevelling, colouring
etc) and finish them as per requirement depending on the type of outsole to
make them usable following the approved sample. Inspection:
• After every critical operation there is a checker, up to the finishing. Then
checking of ready shoe on the line pair by pair by quality checker before
packing and making report.
• Random checking by the quality supervisor as per AQL requirement after
checking by the quality checker before packing and making report.

• Sole bonding test after finishing and making report. Documents used:
• Daily Quality Report of finishing. • Random inspection report.
• Corrective & Preventive action report.
• Daily Process parameter test report. Quality checks:

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• Uniform brightness and colour. • Proper colour fastness.

• No damage to the surface.
• No damage to the sole (especially rubber soles). One should be careful while
brushing the shoe on cotton rollers, especially if it is a rubber sole. In case the
sole comes in contact with the brush, it may be damaged and the dirt could
migrate to the upper.
• Sport shoe is mostly of fabric or mesh or rubber so make sure to clean them
without dirt.
• Cut excess rubber on the sole.
• Edge to be completely set.

Footwear must be labelled with an indication of the main material from which
the upper, lining and sock, and outer sole are made in the form of either
pictograms (symbols) or words. The label should be attached to at least one item
of footwear per pair and it may also appear on the packaging.

WHAT INFORMATION SHOULD BE DISPLAYED?

When you describe the materials and indicate the parts of the footwear, you
should use the pictograms or a written indication in the languages of the country
where you want to market your footwear. Your labelling must describe the
materials of the 3 main parts of the footwear:
• the upper
• the lining and insole
• the outer sole in each case, the label should state whether the material is made
of:
• leather

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• coated leather
• textile
• other materials

Shoe packaging which obviously includes shoes packed in attractive boxes

supports essential functionality of protecting, storing, transporting and
communicating brand value to consumers. Shoes are a part of day-to-day
dressings be it formal or casual. Broadly shoes are classified as athletic shoes,
casual shoes and formal shoes, wherein each category has different packaging
needs.
Shoe packaging provides protection against atmospheric moisture, dust,
damage, shocks, etc. Corrugated boxes have been traditionally used as primary
form of shoe packaging. However, shoe suppliers are inculcating multiple layers
of primary packaging such as plastic film covers, thin protective wraps, bubble
wraps, etc. in order to improve the shock resistant features of shoe packaging
systems.

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Now, holding the shoe from the bottom, roll the uppers together side by side.
You are now checking the alignment of the shoe parts. Starting from the front,
roll the shoes to align the parts, toe caps, vamps, overlays, eye stays, and
eyelets.
Next, hold the shoes up, looking at the heels. Make sure the shoes sit on
the outsole straight. A shoe inspector checks to confirm the upper is not rotated
off-center.Now, rolling the heels together, check that the back height
and collar lines match.AT this point, study the shoe bottoms. Do they match?
Are the color blocks in the same location? Look over the midsole sidewall for
wrinkles. Check the seam joining the upper to the outsole. Look out for any
extra glue on the upper. 2mm is the limit for “over gluing.” Also, look for over
buffing of the upper.
On the shoe bottom, check for color bleeding between color blocks. Look
forany paint covering mistakes. Check to make sure the outsole parts fittogether

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Quality has always been a primary requirement and considered to be the life,
comfort and fashion of Footwear. A manufacturing company is committed to
achieve customer’s satisfaction by producing the highest quality footwear and
providing best possible service to its customer. Quality brings customer loyalty.
Companies must invest in training, special purpose machines, design and
research to improve quality. Companies must recognize that quality is the key to
survival in business.

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