Inspection

INSPECTION

Inspection Visual examination or review of raw materials, partially finished components of the garments and completely finished garments in relation to some standard, specifications or requirements, including the measurement of the garments to ensure the satisfaction of the customer.

Principal Involved Inspection Detection of Defects Correction of Defects Feedback of these defects to appropriate personnel Determination of Causes and defects

Advantages and Importance: Avoids wastage of time and money. Avoids the unnecessary use of resources Helps in timely delivery of goods. Guarantees Customer’s satisfaction.

Different type of Inspections followed in Garment Industry: Raw Material Inspection In-Process Inspection Finished goods Inspection

Raw Material Inspection Fabric Inspection : Important as it is directly co related with the quality of the final garment . Fabric Inspected to determine it acceptability from a quality view point, other wise extra cost may be incurred due to either the loss of material or time Fabric should be inspected before cutting, the defects marked and the patterns cut around the defects so that they are not included in the final garment. Width of the marker is critical, specially to the manufacturer of basic garments.

4-Point system  Also called the American Apparel Manufacturers Association point grading system for determining fabric quality.  Defects are assigned point values based on the following :

Length of defect in fabric , either length or width points allotted Up to 3 inches Over 3 in. up to 6 in. Over 3 in. up to 9 in. Over 9 in. Holes and openings 1in. or less Over 1 in.

1 2 3 4 2 4

Total Defects per square yard are calculated and normally those fabric rolls containing more than 40 points per square yards are considered rejected.

Therefore: Points per square yard = Total points scored in a roll X3600 Fabric width in inches X Total yards inspected

The greatest weakness of point grading system is the difficulty in evaluating seriousness. Nevertheless, the quality obtained by this system bases a measurable relation to garment quality. General use of this grading system will prove profitable to the seller and buyer alike.

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Sewing Threads : A good quality sewing thread should be able to produce uniform consistent stitches in the chosen sewing material at the highest machine speed under normal conditions. Factors which determine a good quality sewing thread:

1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6)

Imperfections Finish Color Package density Winding Yardage

 Zippers : They should be checked for following – 1) Dimensions. 2) Top and bottom stops should be fastened properly. 3) Zipper tape should be uniform in color if required. 4) Zipper should not cause wrinkling or puckering, after it is sewn in the garment. 5) If the zipper can be washed or dry cleaned? Will it fade? Will the slide deform under pressing or ironing ? 6) The force it takes to pull open the zipper. 7) Pull tab should be affixed firmly to the slider body. 8) Slider should ride freely but must not be so free that it is loose on the chain. 9) Check also to be sure the slider locks securely.

Avoiding Zipper problems:   

Improper installation methods in the sewing room. Questionable garment design or construction. Incorrect product application

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Factory and / or retail customer abuse

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Buttons, Buckles and Snap Fasteners:  Buttons should have large, clean sew holes that are free from flash and will not cut the thread. Holes must be located properly in relation to the edge of the button. Buttons should be able to withstand laundering, dry cleaning and pressing without any changes such as cracks, melting of surface and change in color or shade.

 Buckles should be checked for any visual defects such as sharp , blurred edges, if a buckle is cloth or vinyl covered, there should not be any appreciable difference in the buckle and garment materials.

 Snap fastener’s attaching machinery should locate the snap fasteners accurately and at proper pressure. The snap fasteners should attach firmly and withstand the maximum pull that they can be expected to endure on the garment. The snapping action of snaps should be positive yet easy enough for practical use.

IN-PROCESS INSPECTION 

It means inspection at various points in the entire manufacturing process from spreading fabric to pressing /finishing.

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Check the quality of component parts to identify the source of quality problems as early in the manufacturing process as possible.

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To uncover deficiencies in workmanship as well as equipment malfunctioning.

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It can be performed by either quality control inspectors or individual operators themselves after they perform their respective operations.

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ADVANTAGES:Reduction of major surprises from the customers due to bad quality. Decrease in labor cost due to a decrease in repair rates.

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These advantages are generally derived from the fact that due to in-process inspections:

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The operators and supervisors are constantly reminded that the company has a specific quality level to meet, just be the very presence of the inspectors in their section on a daily basis.

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Because each worker will realize that his/her work is subject to being inspected at any time through out the day the quality of the work produced by workers will improve.

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The data obtained can be effectively analyzed and utilized by the production supervisors and pant manager in correcting problems or improving quality.

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Spreading Defects : Variation in either width or length alignment. Bowing is the distortion of filling yarn from a straight line across the width of fabric. Splicing is the overlapping of two ends of fabric in a ply. A short or insufficient overlap will result in incompletely cut pattern sections and a long overlap will result in waste. Static in the fabric may cause a distorted spread, resulting in incompletely cut pattern sections.

Following are the pattern defects:

1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8) 9) 10) 11) 12)

Pattern parts mixing. Mixed parts. Patterns not facing in the correct direction on napped fabrics. Patterns not all facing in the same direction either way on a one way direction. Patterns not aligned with respect to the fabric grain. Line definitions poor. Skimpy marking. Generous marking. Markers too wide. Not enough knife clearance freedom. Mismatched checks and strips. Notches and drill marks omitted , distinct or misplaced.

 Cutting Defects: The quality of work leaving the cutting room is determined by how true the cut fabric parts are to the pattern, how smooth or rough the cut surface is, material or fabric defects in the cut fabric parts, shade differences between cut fabric pieces within a bundle.

Following lists the defects that may arise in cutting: 1) Frayed edges. 2) Fuzzy ragged or serrated edges. 3) Ply-to ply fusion. 4) Single-edge fusion. 5) Pattern Precision. 6) Notches. 7) Drilling

 Sewing : In-process inspection in sewing involves the  1)

2)

3) 4)

inspection of work from each operator, with a quality standard established to limit the amount of bad work permitted and a provision for operators to re inspect and repair entire bundle. Various sewing defects are listed below :Needle damage as evident by holes, picked threads, ruptured threads or other damage to the fabric, caused by wrong size or type of needle, blunt needle, needle heat or machine feeding problem. Feed damage, particularly on thicker or sheer fabric, from incorrect type of teeth, excessive pressure by foot, improper alignment of feed and foot damaged throat plate , excessive machine speed. Skipped stitches, from the hook irregularly failing to pick up the loop of thread from a needle’s eye owing to a number of causes. Thread breaks, arising from too thick a thread for the needle, too thin an thread, needle heat, or too tight tensions.

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5 Broken stitches arising from the wrong stitch type, too tight tensions, a badly formed joint in the seam where the second line of stitch runs over the first and cracks it, sharp feeds and too great a pressure. 6) Seam grin, arising from too loss a tension or too large a stitch, or the use of wrong stitch type. 7) Seam pucker, because of incorrect handling by the operator, misaligned notches or tight thread tensions. 8) Pleated seams,, where operator failed to ease in fullness evenly. 9) Wrong stitch density, too many gives rise to jamming and rupture of fabric threads, too few grinning or weak seams. 10) Uneven stitch density, Operator causes machine to snatch and does not allow machine to control fabric. 11) Staggered stitch, from faulty feed motion, incorrect needle and other machine parts. 12) Improperly formed stitches, caused by bad tension, incorrectly adjusted timing, ill fitting machine components. 130 Oil spots or stains

 Seaming Defects:)

1 Seams burst open, raw edges show, slippage of weave threads occur or notches are exposed all due to uneven width of inlay , arising from bad handling by operator. 2) Irregular or incorrect shape of sewing line ( Sometimes called run-offs) in top stitching, arising from lack of or badly set guide, not following a mark or incorrect handling. 3) Twisted seam leading to irregular puckering or the garment parts not hanging correctly when worn, caused by improper alignment of fabric parts, mismatched notches, and allowing one ply to creep against another. 4) Insecure back stitching, because subsequent rows do not cover the first row of stitching. 5) Mismatched checks or stripes. 6) Mismatches seam( e.g.; Inside leg seam at the fork of trousers) 7) Extraneous part caught in the seam, an unrelated piece showing through the seam.

8) Reversed garment part, where part is sewn with face side opposite from specification, perhaps when the cut for one side of garment is sewn in the other , or when the whole garment is assembled inside out. 9) Blind stitching showing on the face side, or not securely caught on inside, arising from improperly adjusted bender. 10) Wrong seam or stitch type used. 11) Wrong shade of thread used.

Assembly Defects : 1)

Finished components not correct to size or shape or not symmetrical. 2) Finished garment not to size, arising from incorrect patterns, in accurate marking or cutting, shrinking or stretching fabric, in correct seam widths. 3) Parts, components, closures, or features omitted, caused by bad work flow, wrongly printed work tickets, parts omitted in cutting, careless operator. 4) Components or features wrongly positioned or misaligned arising from incorrect marking, or sewing not following the mark. 5) Interlining incorrectly positioned, twisted too full, too tight. 6) Lining too full, too tight, showing below the bottom of the garment, twisted incorrectly pleated and so on. 7) Garments parts, pleated, twisted, showing bubbles and fullness, for e.g.; sleeve in relation to the armhole, pockets, tapes, zips pads in relation to the shoulder. 8) Garment parts shaded owing being mixed after cutting. 9) Parts in one way fabric in wrong directions, usually only small parts, such as pockets. 10) Mismatched trimming.

 Control of Fusing operation : Adjustment of time, temperature and pressure for given type of material to be fused based on the manufacturer’s recommendation, in order to attain certain peel strength.

 Control of Screen Printing Operation : 1) Placement of Design 2) Ink Coverage

 Control of Embroidery Operation : 1) Placement of Design 2) Incorrect thread tension

 Pressing /Finishing : 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8) 9) 10) 11) 12) 13)

Appearance is the basis of most consumer’s judgment on whether or not to purchase a garment. The quality of a pressing operation can be measured by evaluating the following : Burned or scorched garment. Waterspots or stains Gloss and/or change in color. Flattened nap or surface. Broken zippers or buttons etc. Creases not correctly formed. Fabric of finished garment not smooth, wrinkle free, and showing its proper appearance. Edges wavy and stretched or thick. Garments not thoroughly dried. Pockets not smooth. Lining showing pleats, creases, wrinkles, shine. Garments not correctly molded, wither in detail or total silhouette. Shrinkage due to heat and moisture.

Quality/Workmanship Standards :  Open Seams  Skipped Stitches  Cracked Stitches  Stitches/Inch  Uneven seams  Crooked, puckered, curled, pleated seams  Needle and feed cuts  Unclipped threads and long ends  Raw Edge, untrimmed

 Labels  Snaps, fasteners  Buttons  Elastics  Measurements  Mends or repairs  Stripe  Hems  Smocking  Trim  Broken needle  Distortion

FINAL INSPECTION  Final inspection consists of inspecting finished garments from the consumer’s point of view.  Final Inspection may occur before or after the garments are packed in poly bags and boxes. If it is done after the garments are packed, then proper size and markings on the cartons are also checked.

:To be continued in next class