In the apparel industry, it is important to have quality control to ensure that the products that are being produced meet high standards. This is a difficult task, however, as many factors can affect the quality of an article of clothing. In this article, we will discuss some methods used to ensure quality control in the apparel industry.
What is Quality Control?
An integral part of quality control is ensuring that the final product parameters are continually monitored and controlled. QA is designing, producing, evaluating, and assessing products for a company’s target market to ensure they meet their quality standards. Generally, quality control involves assessing a product’s quality after it has already been manufactured and sorted into acceptable and unacceptable categories. Quality assurance is costly for companies focusing only on quality control instead of quality assurance.
What is Quality Management?
Quality management is the process of ensuring that the products and services produced by a business meet the required quality standards. It includes establishing policies and procedures to ensure that products and services are produced in a consistent, reliable, and safe manner. Quality management also includes tracking and monitoring the quality of products and services to ensure that they meet customer expectations. Planning, implementing, and improving the quality of the product is part of this process.
Quality Control in the Apparel Industry
The apparel industry is a $2 trillion dollar industry and is one of the fastest-growing industries in the world. With so much money on the line, the apparel industry must maintain high-quality control to ensure that consumers accept their products. Quality control includes ensuring that materials used in garments are of good quality, accurate measurements are taken, and garments are properly sewn. In addition, it is important to have a system in place to track and audit production.
Consumer demand is one of the main reasons for quality control in the apparel industry. Consumers expect high-quality garments and will not buy them if they do not think they will be satisfied with the result. This pressure has led to many apparel companies adopting ISO 9000 as their quality standard. ISO 9000 is a set of standards that defines how a company should operate to maintain quality control. It includes requirements such as having an effective system for measuring and monitoring performance, documenting procedures, establishing controls and exercising them and having a training program for employees.
It is important for buying house in Bangladesh or garments to have a system to track their production because it allows them to identify any problems early on.
To control the quality of apparel, it is necessary to classify the entire industry into the following subdivisions:
- Pre-production stages
- Production stages
- Post-production stages.
1. Quality control in Pre-production:
Fabric quality control
- A comfortable environment
- Properties of colorfastness
- Properties of durability
- In addition to GSM, carded/combed yarns, compositions, EPI, PPI, etc.
Accessories and trimmings such as:
- Zippers, buttons, hooks, snap fasteners, drawstrings, etc.
- Interlinings/interfacing
- Stitching thread
- Waistband with elastic
- Braids, beads, fringes, sequins, etc.
2. Quality control in Production:
- Spreading quality control
- Quality control in cutting
- Assembling parts with quality control
- Sewing quality control
- Finishing quality control.
3. Post-production/Final inspection quality control
Technical parameters
- Yarn and fabric defects.
- Accessories and trims with defects.
- Defects in the stitching.
- Defects in seams.
Performances such as:
- The overall appearance.
- Fit and sizing.
Quality Management Components
Quality Planning- Criteria
- The standard-setting process identifies and determines how to satisfy the standard.
- It specifies roles and responsibilities, resources, procedures, and processes to meet quality control and quality assurance requirements.
QA- Prevention
- A review is conducted to ensure that the quality standards are being met.
- Organizing and systematically conducting quality activities.
- Confidentially meet standards.
QC- Inspection
- As part of Quality Assurance, it addresses the assessment of corrective actions.
- Test specific results to make sure they meet the standards.
- Through monitoring and analysis, SPC is used to identify and correct special causes of process variation.
Dimensions of Quality:
Dimensions of quality are parameters used to measure the quality of a product or service.
- Durability
- Performance
- Features
- Serviceability
- Reliability
- Aesthetics
- Conformance
- Perceived quality.
Methods of Quality Control Used in the Apparel Industry
Quality control ensures that products are made appropriately and consistently and meet the required specifications. Many methods are used to ensure quality in the apparel industry, and this article will outline a few of the most common.
1) Design Control: This is one of the most common methods to ensure apparel quality. The design must be consistent with the specification, and management must approve any changes. This method can be difficult to use when changes are often needed, but it is crucial to ensuring quality.
2) Manufacturing Control: This method tracks the production process from start to finish. Every process step must be documented, and any deviation from the plan must be tracked and corrected. This method helps identify problems early on, which can often be corrected before they become serious.
3) Quality Assurance/Control: This is a group of workers responsible for monitoring and correcting defects during manufacturing. They are usually hired as a part of manufacturing control, and their job is to ensure that products meet specified standards. This method can be expensive, but it is essential in ensuring quality products.
Conclusion
As a designer in the apparel industry, you must have a high level of quality control when creating your products. This means ensuring that all patterns are correctly cut, sewn, and hemmed; that zippers and buttons are properly installed; and that the fabrics used are of the highest quality. If you fail to meet these standards, not only will your customers be unhappy with the result, but also you could face legal action from disgruntled consumers. By ensuring high quality throughout every step of your product design process, you can ensure that you provide your customers with garments they will love and be proud to wear.