Fabric inspection systems for apparel industry

While discussing the various fabric inspection

systems for garment manufacturing, Nitika Rana
affirms that of all systems, the 4-point inspection
system has got wide acceptance and is adopted
globally by fabric and garment manufacturers.

Fabrics have certain desirable characteristics

depending on end-use. Various defects in the
fabric either mar the appearance or adversely
affect some of these desired characteristics. Thus
fabric produced must be inspected before releasing
it for dispatch so that proper quality goods reach
the customers.

Inspection

Inspection in reference to the apparel industry can be defined as the visual

examination or review of raw materials (like fabric, sewing threads, buttons, trims,
etc), partially finished components of the garments and completely finished
garments in relation to some standards. The main objective of inspection is the
detection of the defects 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.

Purpose of fabric inspection

Fabric Inspection is an important aspect followed

prior to garment manufacturing to avoid rejects
due to fabric quality and facing with unexpected
loss in manufacturing. Fabric inspection is done
for fault/defect rate, fabric construction, end to end
or edge to edge shading, colour, hand or feel,
length/width, print defect and appearance. Fabric
inspection ensures to minimise the rejection of cut panels or rejected garments due
to fabric faults. Cutting inspected and approved fabric ensures not only finished
garment quality but also reduces rejects, improves efficiency and timely deliveries.

The purpose of fabric inspection is to determine the quality and acceptability for
garments. As fabric is received, it should be inspected to determine acceptability
from a quality viewpoint. Some garment manufacturers rely on their fabric
suppliers to perform fabric inspection and fabric defects. In many small
companies, spreading and cutting is done by the same personnel and fabric is
inspected as it is being spread on a table for cutting.

Fabric inspection, mapping or marking defects is important prior to spreading and

cutting because:

 Spreading can be done more quickly because the spreader is not also
inspecting the fabric.
  A cutter's productivity will increase because the defects are already
marked.
 The patterns are cut around the defects so as not to include them in the
finished garment.

Fabric inspection machines

Fabric inspection is usually done on fabric inspection machine. These machines

are designed so that rolls of fabric can be mounted behind the inspection table
under adequate light and rerolled as they leave the table.

Defects can be seen readily with these machines,

as the inspector has a very good view of the fabric
and the fabric need not be reversed to detect
defects. These machines are power driven or the
inspector pulls the fabric over the inspection table.
The defects are located, marked and recorded on
an inspection form. These machines are also
equipped to accurately measure the length of each
roll of fabric as well as monitor the width of the
fabric. The variation in width of fabric can result in a higher cost of manufacturing
for basic garments since profit margin for these garment manufacturers is usually
lower than that for fashion garment manufacturers and therefore, maximum fabric
utilisation is vital.

How much to inspect?

When a sewing factory receives fabric from the mill, it is difficult to conduct a full
100% inspection of the fabric. A minimum 10% inspection of all piece goods prior
to spreading the fabric is recommended.

Fabric Inspection Systems

There are various fabric inspection systems:

 10-Point System.
 Graniteville "78" system.
 Dallas system.
 4- Point system.

Ten Point System

It was developed in the 1950's. This system assigns penalty points to each defect,
depending on the length of the defect.

Penalty points are assigned as per the following:

Under the Ten-Point System, a piece is graded a "first" if the total penalty points
do not exceed the total yardage of the piece. A piece is graded a "second" if the
total penalty points exceed the total yardage of the piece.

The following points are noteworthy:

 This system is bit complicated because points per length are different for
warp and weft defects.
 It is difficult in practical use.
Graniteville "78" system

This system was introduced in 1975 for the field of fabric grading. The system
divides defects into major and minor types .The major defect is one, which is very
obvious and leads the goods to second quality. The minor defect is one, which
may or may not have caused garment to second, depending on its location in the
end use item.

Penalty Points are assigned as per the following:

The following points are noteworthy in this system:

 The principle was established in garment cutting piece, in which, the short
length defects (less than 9") will normally be removed.
 The system tries to balance the importance of longer defects (over 9") and
put less weight on 1-10" defects such as slubs.
 The system also suggests the viewing distance of 9 foot instead of normal
3-foot viewing distance.
 The system tends to eliminate very small defects from the total penalty
score.
 This is mostly recommended for use, where larger garments are to be cut
with fabrics of wider widths.

Dallas System

This system was developed in 1970s specifically for knits. It was approved by
Dallas Manufacturers Association. According to this system, if any defect was
found on a finished garment, the garment would then be termed as a "second". For
fabrics, this system defines a second as "more than one defect per ten linear yards,
calculated to the nearest ten yards". For example, one piece 60 yards long would
be allowed to have six defects.
4-Point System

The 4-Point System, also called the American Apparel Manufacturers (AAMA)
point-grading system for determining fabric quality, is widely used by producers
of apparel fabrics and is endorsed by the AAMA as well as the ASQC (American
Society or Quality Control).

The 4-Point System assigns 1, 2, 3 and 4 penalty points according to the size and
significance of the defect. No more than 4 penalty points can be assigned for any
single defect. Defect can be in either length or width direction, the system remains
the same. Only major defects are considered. No penalty points are assigned to
minor defects.

In this system, one should inspect at least 10 per cent of the total rolls in the
shipment and make sure to select at least one roll of each colour way.

Fabric defects are assigned points based on the following:

Total defect points per 100 square yards of fabric are calculated and the
acceptance criteria is generally not more than 40 penalty points. Fabric rolls
containing more than 40 points are considered "seconds".

The formula to calculate penalty points per 100 square yards is given by:

The following are noteworthy points for this system:

 No more than 4 penalty points can be assigned for any single defect.
  The fabric is graded regardless of the end-product.
 This system makes no provision for the probability of minor defects.
 4 point system is most widely used system in apparel industry as it is easy
to teach and learn.

General Inspection Procedures

1. Fabric inspection is done in suitable and

safe environment with enough ventilation
and proper lighting.
2. Fabric passing through the inspection
frame must be between 45 - 60 degree
angles to inspector and must be done on
appropriate Cool White light above
viewing area. Back light can be used as and
when needed.
3. Fabric speed on inspection machine must not be more than 15 yards per
minute.
4. All fabric inspection must be done when 80% of good or lot is received.
5. Standard approved bulk dye lot standards for all approved lots must be
available prior to inspection.
6. Approved standard of bulk dye lot must be available before starting
inspection for assessing colour, hand, weight, construction, finish and
visual appearance.
7. Shade continuity within a roll by checking shade variation between centre
and selvage and the beginning, middle and end of each roll must be
evaluated and documented.
8. Textiles like knits must be evaluated for weight against standard approved
weight.
9. Fabric width must be checked from selvage to selvage against standard.
10. All defects must be flagged during inspection.
11. The length of each roll inspected must be compared to length as mentioned
on supplier ticketed tag and any deviation must be documented and
reported to mill for additional replacement to avoid shortage.
12. If yard dyed or printed fabrics are being inspected the repeat measurement
must be done from beginning, middle and end of selected rolls.

Conclusion

Apparel manufacturers inspect the fabric stock upon arrival, so that any fabric
irregularities are caught early in the production process. Textile producers also
generally inspect fabrics before sending them to manufacturers. After
identification of fabric defects, a system needs to be followed to grade the defects
to ascertain its acceptance or rejection. 4-Point fabric inspection system is mostly
used in textile industry around the globe now. This test method describes a
procedure to establish a numerical designation for grading of fabrics from a visual
inspection. It may be used for the delivery and acceptance of fabrics with
requirements mutually agreed upon by the purchaser and the supplier. This system
does not establish a quality level for a given product, but rather provides a means
of defining defects according to their severity by assigning demerit point values.
All type of fabrics whether grey or finished, can be graded by this system.

References

1. Managing Quality in Apparel Industry by P V Mehta and S K Bhardwaj.

2. Fabric Inspection and Grading by Daniel D Powderly.
3. Fabric Inspection: The New Order by Fred Fortress.
4. Fabric Science by J J Pizutto.
5. www.textileschool.com/School/Apparel/ApparelManufacturing/
FabricInspection.aspx.
6. www.fabricinspection.com.
7. www.acginspection.com/Standard_4.html.
8. www.asiathai.com/images/fabric_inspection1.jpg.
9. 158.132.122.156/itc/macau/fabric-inspection/tsld022.htm.
10. www.textilesindepth.com/index.php?page=fabric-selection-inspection.

Nitika Rana
Adjunct Faculty
Institute of Apparel Management (IAM),
Mumbai Campus.
Email: nitikarana2009@hotmail.com.
published August , 2012