Inspection

Product Variation And Classification Of

Defects
Factors that contribute to product variation
– Materials
– Equipment
– Operators
– Processes
– Environment
– Inspection systems
Variation may occur:
– Within a single piece of garment,
– Between pieces of the same type within a garment
– Between garments of the same type
– Between products in the line.
 Inspection
• Conformity evaluation by observation and judgment accompanied as
appropriate by measurement, testing or gauging. (As per ISO 9000-2005 and
ASQ 2005)
• It is visual examination or review of raw materials (such as fabric, buttons,
zippers, sewing threads, trims etc.), partially finished components of the
garments and completely finished garments in relation to some standards ,
specifications, or requirements , as well as measuring garments to check if
they meet the required measurements.
• The principle involved in inspection is the early detection of defects,
feedback of this information to appropriate people, and determination of the
cause, ultimately resulting in the correction of the problem.
 Defects

• Variations that exceed tolerances or do not meet

specifications are called defects.
1. Critical – will prevent usability or performance. A critical
defect is likely to hazardous or unsafe condition for individuals
using or maintaining that item.
2. Major – may affect usability or may interfere with
performances.
3. Minor – will not affect usability. It is a defect which makes
item less useful than it should be.
• Inspection helps in the detection of defects and non
conformance as early as possible in the manufacturing process
so that time and money are not wasted later on in either
correcting the defect or writing off defective garments.
• Inspection results provide information about quality levels of
merchandise being produced or shipped.
• For inspection to be effective, the entire inspection loop must
be completed.
Inspection Loop
 Purpose of Inspection
1) Products have been made according to specification
(2) Products meet standards
(3) Products are acceptable
 How Much to Inspect ?
• Purpose- To make a sound judgment on the disposition of
product, whether to accept it or reject it.
• Should the entire shipment be checked to decide-To
Accept or Reject? Or only a part of it ? If so how big or
small a part ? How many pieces out of a shipment ?
 Some Options
• No Inspection
• 100% inspection (100% inspection in 100% effective)
• Spot Checking
• Arbitrary Sampling
• Statistical Sampling
 No Inspection
• No one knows if material is defective until the material is
in critical demand.
• This situation increases cost.
• Defective products might reach the customer.
• Cost is increased and a loss of goodwill.
• Not practical from business point of view .
 100% Inspection
• This is the other extreme of no inspection.
• 100% inspection is the inspection of every unit of a
product
• It gives a better idea of product quality than any other
inspection alternative
• However, 100% inspection does not guarantee detection of
all defects….
• The direct cost of 100% inspection is high.
 Spot Checking
• Between no inspection at all and 100% inspection.
• Spot checking means inspecting a few pieces as and when there is
time or as and when management thinks something needs to be
inspected and consists of inspecting random shipments or
production.
• It is only partially effective since some shipments are accepted
without inspection.
 Arbitrary Sampling
• A certain percent of a shipment is inspected.
• Accept/reject decision regarding that shipment is made,
based on the inspection results of that certain percent of
the shipment.
• The most popular or widely used plan under this
alternative is called 10% sampling
• For some shipments or lots, 10% is too small a sample to
be representative, whereas for other shipments or lots, it
may be too large
 Statistical Sampling
• Also known as acceptance sampling.
• Large shipment is not over inspected and small shipment is
not under inspected.
• Risks of making a wrong decision are known and
controllable.
• Most practical and economical means for determining
product quality.
 Statistical Sampling
• Also referred to as random sampling inspection
• Takes a sample of units from a lot/shipment, inspects
samples for defects and makes a decision whether to
accept or reject a lot.
• It is applicable to inspections of raw materials, partially
finished goods and outgoing final product shipment.
 Stages of Inspection
• Raw material Inspection
• In-process Inspection
• Final Inspection
 Raw material inspection
• Also called as incoming or receiving inspection.
 Inspection Guidelines
 The fabric store should always inspect the fabric as soon as it reaches
the facility.
 Always store the fabric in a clean, moisture free environment.
 As soon as the fabric arrives, a swatch, (of dimensions as specified by
the laboratory), should be submitted to a laboratory, to check the
fabric for adherence to fabric performance standards that are required.
Many companies prefer to undertake fabric checking while spreading,
In some companies, the fabric is checked beforehand as a separate
operation. This is because, while spreading, a spreader is concerned
primarily with spreading the fabric and not to inspect the quality of the
fabric.
 Fabric Inspection
After fabric is received, it should be inspected to determine its
acceptability from a quality viewpoint to avoid the problems of
extra cost or customer dissatisfaction.
Some garment manufacturers rely on their fabric suppliers to
perform fabric inspection and mark fabric defects.
However, fabric inspection should be performed by garment
manufacturer also soon after receving the shipment from the
supplier.
Fabric inspection is usually done on fabric
inspection machines. These machines are
designed so that rolls of fabric can be
mounted behind the inspection table , fabric
passes over the inspection table under
adequate light and is rerolled as it leave the
inspection table.
 Sewing Thread
• Quality of sewing thread has marked effect on sewing
productivity because if the sewing thread keeps breaking
often it will force sewing machines operator to slow down.
It should be inspected and tested for :
• Construction
• Sewability
• Finish
• Color
• Spool Hardness
• Yardage
 Other trims
• Trims like zipper, waistband, button, buckles and snap
fasteners linings, interlinings etc. should be inspected for
their suitability and compatibility.
 In Process Inspection
• Means inspection of parts and sub assemblies before they
are assembled into a complete product.
• Advantages:
1.Reduction of major “surprise” from the customers due
to bad quality.
2. Decrease in labor cost due to a decrease in repair rates
 In-process Inspection is important
because
• Operator and supervisors are constantly reminded that the
company has a specific quality level
• Workers realize that his/her work is subject to being
inspected
• Data obtained can be effectively analyzed and utilized by
the production supervisors and plant manager in correcting
problems
 Expected Defects in Spreading and
Marker Making
a) Not enough plies to cover the quantity of garments
required
b) Narrow fabrics
c) Plies not all facing in the correct direction.
d) Mismatching of checks.
 Expected Defects in Patterns
a) Pattern parts missing
b) Mixed Parts
c) Patterns not facing in the correct direction.
d) Patterns not aligned with respect to the fabric grain.
e)Poor line definitions
 Expected Defects in Cutting Room
• Frayed edges
• Fuzzy, ragged, or serrated edges
 Sewing Defects
• Needle damage
• Feed damage
• Skipped stitches
• Thread breaks
• Broken stitches
• Seam grin
• Seam pucker
 Seaming defects
• Incorrect or uneven width of inlay
• Irregular or incorrect shape of sewing line
• Insecure back stitching
• Twisted seam
• Mismatched checks or stripes
• Mismatched seam
• Reversed garment part
 Assembly Defects

• Finished components not correct to size or shape

• Finished garments not to size
• Parts, components, closures, or features omitted
• Components or features wrongly positioned
• Interlining incorrectly positioned
• Garment parts shaded
 Pressing / Finishing Defects
• Burned or scorched garments.
• Water-spots/stains
• Creases not correctly formed
• Edges wavy and stretched or thick and cockling
• Garments not thoroughly dried
 Final Inspection
• Inspection of individual garments on completion of the
manufacturing process
• Disadvantages
– If it is the sole inspection, then an operator producing bad work
continues for a long time before it is found out
– Could delay delivery
– Process of alteration often results in an unsatisfactory product
– Routine alterations often involve the creation of an organization to
handle them
– The final outgoing quality level is rarely acceptable even with all
this expense