Unit 3 Quality Control and Inspection

3.1 Quality Control and Inspection

Meaning of Quality-
Quality in garment manufacturing is a very broad subject as it encompasses both
process and product as you will learn later. But it basically constitutes the
characteristics of a salable good that determine its desirability and which can be
controlled by a manufacturer to meet certain basic requirements.
OR
Quality in apparel industry refers to the product free from staining faults, sewing
defects, fabric faults, size measurement faults, matching of color and stripe faults,
cutting faults, etc.
OR
Quality means “Performance upon expectations” and “fit for functions.” A product is
said to be of good quality if it satisfies the customer requirements in terms of
performance, grade, durability, appearance and intended use/purpose, etc.

Inspection -:The aim of garment inspection is to visually inspect articles at random

from a delivery in order to verify their general conformity and appearance with
instruction/description and/or sample received. There are different types of inspection
following by inspectors as requirement of consumers.
OR
Inspection, in reference to quality management in the apparel industry, can be defined
as the 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.
3.2 Raw Material Inspection
Raw Material for Garments:
Fabric, sewing threads, buttons, trims, etc are the raw material in garments industry.
The quality of a final garment depends on the quality of a fabric when it is received as a
roll. Even the most outstanding manufacturing methods cannot compensate for
defective materials. So before production of garments quality check of raw material is
very important task in garment industry.

Raw material inspection (fabric) in garments industry

Fabric Inspection
There are various systems for fabric inspection. Among them followings are very
important:

4-Points 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). Inspection is done about 10% of the products in the shipment.

Fabric Quality 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). It is an
important aspect followed prior to garment manufacturing to avoid rejects due to fabric
quality and facing with unexpected loss in manufacturing.

The quality of a final garment depends on the quality of a fabric when it is received as a
roll. Even the most outstanding manufacturing methods cannot compensate for
defective materials. Normally, we inspect 10% of the rolls we receive and evaluate
them based on a four-point system. This way, we can avoid fabric related quality
problems before it is put into production. Normally four systems are used for inspection
of finished garments.
4 point system
1. 10 point system
2. Graniteville "78" system.
3. Dallas system.
But among them four point system is widely used. Now a short description of 4 point
inspection system is given below.

Apparel inspection
Four 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:

Size of defect Penalty

3 inches or less 1 points
Over 3 but not over 6 2 points
Over 6 but nor over 9 3 points
Over 9 inches 4 points

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:

= (Total points scored in the roll * 3600) / Fabric width in inches * Total yards
inspected

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.

10 Points system
The 10 point method is a point per fault system, which gives a measurable guide to
quality grading per roll. In 1955s “Ten Points” piece goods evaluation was adapted by
the Textile Distributors and National Federation of Textiles.

10 Points System
For production of high quality garments, need high quality piece goods. It is an
universal truth. When a sewing factory receives fabric from the mill, it is difficult to
conduct a full 100% inspection of the fabric. So then minimum 10% inspection of all
piece goods prior to spreading the fabric. There are several methods of fabric inspection
in garments industry. Ten Points system is one of them.

Fabric Inspection in Garment Industry

The 10 point method is a point per fault system, which gives a measurable guide to
quality grading per roll. In 1955s “Ten Points” piece goods evaluation was adapted by
the Textile Distributors and National Federation of Textiles. The system assigns penalty
points to each defect as per following guideline.

Warp Defects
Size of defects →→→→→→→→→→→→→→Penalty
 Up to 1 inch →→→→→→→→→→→→→1 Point
 1 to 5 inches →→→→→→→→→→→→→3 Points
 5 to 10 inches →→→→→→→→→→→→5 Points
 10 to 36 inches →→→→→→→→→→→10 Points

Filling/Weft Defects

Size of defects →→→→→→→→→→→→→Penalty

 Up to 1 inch →→→→→→→→→→→→ 1 Point

 1 to 5 inches →→→→→→→→→→→→3 Points
 5 inches to half the width →→→→→→5 Points
 Half to Full width →→→→→→→→→→10 Points
A maximum 10 Points is charged for one linear yard of fabric.

Working Procedures
 Under the 10 Points system, a piece is graded as “First”, if the total penalty points
do not exceed the total yardage of the piece.
 In case of a fabric wider than 50 inches; “First” quality is considered if the total
defect points do not exceed the total yardage of the fabric.
 A piece is graded as “Second” if the total penalty points exceed the total yardage of
the piece.

Graniteville “78” system:

The system assigns penalty points to each defect as per following guideline.

For either Length or Width

Size of defects →→→→→→→→→→→Penalty

 Up to 9 inches →→→→→→→→→→→1 Point

  9 to 18 inches →→→→→→→→→→→2 Points
 18 to 27 inches →→→→→→→→→→→3 Points
 27 to 36 inches →→→→→→→→→→→4 Points
The maximum penalty points per linear yard that can be assigned are determined by
dividing the fabric width in inches by 9.

Therefore,
Maximum penalty points for 48 inches wider fabric = 48/9 = 5.33 or 6.
Maximum penalty points for 60 inches wider fabric = 60/9 = 6.33 or 7.
The maximum penalty point per square yard is 4.

Sewing Thread Inspection

Sewing threads should be checked and tested for the following characteristics:

Construction
 Yarn count
 Yarn ply
 Number of twists per unit length (TPI or TPM)
 Twist balance
 Yarn strength (tenacity)
 Yarn elongation
Sew ability
At least three sewing thread packages from a lot should be used for at least 100 yards of
sewing under normal conditions and record kept of running performance. A good
quality sewing thread should be able to produce consistent stitches in the chosen sewing
material at the highest machine speed under normal conditions.

Finish
Sewing thread is basically finished by one type of lubricant. As lubricant applied 3 to
5% of the weight of thread, it provides slip easily and smoothly through the needle eye
and other i.e. various parts through which it passes.

Color
Color of sewing thread should match with the original or standard sample and should
not vary too much within a lot or shipment of sewing thread. Color should not bleed
during washing and/or dry cleaning and fade in sunlight.

Package density
Package density of sewing thread should be consistent from package to package within
a shipment or lot and from shipment to shipment. It the package density varies too
much sewing machine operators will have to adjust the tension frequently resulting in
lower productivity.

Winding
Winding of sewing thread on packages should be uniform; otherwise, it may result in
excessive thread breakages again causing lower efficiency.

Yardage
Length of sewing thread on each package should be at least the specific amount or
within a certain tolerance such as ± 2% and so on.

Zipper Inspection
Zipper should be checked for the followings:
 Dimension: Tape width, tape extensions, and overall useable length of zipper
should be as specified.
 Top and bottom stoppers should be fastened securely.
 Zipper tape should be uniform in color.Zipper should not cause wrinkling and
puckering after sewn into garments.
 Puller or pull tab should be affixed firmly to the slider body.
 Slider should ride freely but must not be so free that it is loose on the chain.
 Slider should be locked securely.
 Zipper should be perfect and washing and/or dry cleaning and will not fade.
 Zipper should not deform under pressing and ironing.
 Zipper should be well-matched with garments design.
 Zipper should be azo-free, nickel free, non-magnetic and non toxic painting.
Button Inspection
Button should be checked for the followings:
 Button holes should be large, clean, and free from flash, so that it will not cut the
thread.
 Button holes should be located properly.
 Button thickness should be uniform.
 Button shade should be within tolerance.
 Button should be able to withstand laundering, dry cleaning, and pressing without
any change or deforms.
 Button size should be as specified.
 In case of any special requirements button should have all.

In-Process Inspection
From the starting point of garment manufacturing up to garments ready to shipment, the
inspection done is called in process inspection. At least 65 to 80% faults can be checked
and controlled through in process inspection.
 In-Process Inspection in Garment Industry

Benefits or results of in process inspection:

 Reduction of major ‘surprises’ from the customers due to bad quality.
 Decrease in labor cost due to decrease in repair rates.

In process inspection includes:

Spreading inspection or Spreading defects

1. Not enough plies to cover the quantity of garments required.
2. Narrow fabric or wide fabric; alignment of one side should be accurate.
3. Plies all are not facing in the correct direction i.e. not all the plies are spread face
down, face up, or face to face as required.
4. Mismatching of checks i.e. plies not spread accurately one above another for
cutting.
5. Spreading tension to each ply should be uniform and optimum.
6. Splicing or bowing
7. Overlapping should be in proper length and width.

Pattern and marker making inspection or defects

1. Pattern parts missing; correct number of parts for all sizes not included by the
marker maker.
2. Mixed parts; parts are not correctly labeled in marker, so a marriage of wrong size
parts.
3. Patterns not facing the correct direction or napped fabrics.
4. Patterns not facing the same direction on a one way fabric.
5. Patterns not aligned with respect to grain line of fabric. As a result garments may
not drape or fit properly.
 6. Line deflections poor (e.g. chalk-too thick, indistinctly printed line, perforated lay
not fully powdered), leading to inaccurate cutting.
7. Inadequate marking; either the marker did not use outside edge of the pattern or
the pattern was moved or swung after partial marking to squeeze the pattern into a
smaller space in the interest of fabric economy. Alternatively, the pattern is wound
around the edges and should be replaced.
8. Adequate marking; a combination of points 7 and 8 results in components being
sewn together with puckering or pleating.
9. Marker too wide; garment parts at the edge of the lay are cut with bits missing.
10. Not enough knife clearance freedom.
11. Mismatched check and strips.
12. Notches and drill makes omitted, indistinct or misplaced.

Cutting inspection or cutting defects

1. Frayed edge; the amount of fraying depends on fabric finish and construction,
improper cutting tools or blunt knives.
2. Fuzzy; ragged or serrated edges; may come due to faulty knives edges such as
burrs, chips or dullness.
3. Ply to ply fusion; single ply whose cut yarn ends are fused to form a hard brittle
rim on the cut edge.
4. Pattern precision; misshape of the patterns perimeter as cut also top, bottom and
middle plies part should be checked against the patterns.
5. Notches; notch size should not be too large (more depth large notch).
6. Drilling; the drill holes should be in optimum size and no fusion problem along the
plies.
7.
Sewing inspection or sewing defects
In sewing section, the in process inspection is divided into three defects by Lowe and
Low Coke as sewing defects:

Sewing defects:
 Needle damage: evidenced by holes, picked threads, ruptured threads or damage to
the fabric; caused by wrong size or types of needle, blunt needle, needle heat,
machine feed difficulty.
 Skipped stitches
 Thread breaks
 Broken stitches
 Seam grin
 Seam pucker
 Pleated seams
 Wrong stitch density
 Uneven stitch density
  Staggered stitch
 Improperly formed stitches

Seam defects:
 Mismatched of adjacent part
 Wrong seam or stitch type used
 Wrong shade of thread used.

Assembly defects:

 Finished components not correct to size or shape or not symmetrical

 Finished garments not to size due to from incorrect patterns, inaccurate marking or
cutting, shrinkage and stretching fabric, incorrect seam width.
 Parts, components, closures or features omitted, caused by bad work flow, parts
omitted in cutting, careless operator.
 Components of features wrongly positioned or misaligned arising from incorrect
marking or sewing not following the mark.
 Interlining incorrectly positioned, twisted, too full, too light, cockling.
 Lining too full, too tight, showing below the bottom of the garments, twisted,
incorrectly pleated and so on.
 Garments parts cockling, pleated, twisted, showing bubbles and fullness.
 Garment parts shaded due to being mixed after cutting.
 Parts- in one way fabric in wrong direction
 Mismatching trimmings
Finishing inspection or finishing defects
1. Spots/burn/melt at the time of ironing
2. Broken button, zipper and so on.
3. Flattened nap or surface
4. Change in color
5. Crease not correctly formed
6. Garments not thoroughly dried
7. Stretching in fabric during pressing
8. Pocket and collar incorrectly aligned at the time of pressing and ironing.
9. Lining showing pleats, creases, wrinkles, shines, etc.
10. Shrinkage due to heat and moisture.
11. Incorrectly folding
12. Mismatched trimmings
13. Incorrectly packing (not as per packing instruction).

Final Inspection:
Final inspection consists of inspecting finished garments from the buyer’s point of
view; size measurements, form fitting (putting garments on the proper size manikins to
see if they properly fit labeled sizes); and live modeling if necessary (again to see if the
garments properly fit the labeled sizes). Final inspection may occur before or after
garments are packed in poly bags and cartons. If it is done after garments packed, then
proper size and style markings on the package can also be checked.

Final Inspection in Garment Industry