Garments Inspection and Quality Control

"Quality"
According to Philip Crosby, Quality is the fulfillment of the
buyers requirement.
or
Quality consists of those product features which meet the
need of customers and thereby provide product satisfaction.
Control: Control is to check or verify and hence to regulate.
Quality Control: Quality control is the checking , verification and
Regulation of the degree of excellence an attribute Or property of
somethings.
Quality Assurance: The term quality assurance covers all the
processes within a company that contribute to the production of a
quality product.
Methods of quality control:

Basically two methods are used for garments

quality control –
i) Testing
ii) Inspection.

Maximum garments manufacturers apply

inspection method due to high cost of testing
equipments.
 Testing: A definite procedure by applying engineering
knowledge and Science for the identification, measurement
and evaluation of Criteria and properties of any textile
product (such as fibre , Yarn or fabrics) that produce a test
result is called textile Testing .
Inspection:
Inspection may be defined as the
visual examination in relation to some standards.
Objective:
The main objectives of inspection are –
i. Detection of defects.
ii. Correcting the defects or defective
garments.
 Difference between Garments Inspection
and Garments Testing
S/L Substance Garments Garments
Inspection Testing
01 Definition Inspection can be defined as It is the process of evaluation
visual examination or review the quality of goods by specific
of material. standard.
02 Based on Garments inspection should be Garments testing should be
based on a specific specification based on some standard test
for specific products such as size method to compare the result.
measurement for
a specific shirt.
03 Process In garments inspection is a In garments testing is not a
continuous process. continuous process.
04 Follow Follow a few common rules of Here follow hard and fast rules
standard for garments inspection. of standard for garments
testing.
05 Number of In this process number of errors In this process number of errors
errors is higher than garments texting. is lower than garments
inspection.
06 Size of sample This is done by randomly Here, specific size of sample is
process therefore, no need needed for garments testing.
specific size of sample for
garments inspection.
07 Time required Inspection is a time This is time consuming process
saving process therefore, higher time required
therefore, lower time required for garments texting process.
for garments inspection process.
Defect Taxonomy: Taxonomy of defects refers to identification and
classification of defects into Critical, Major and Minor Categories. The
objective being:

➢ Standardization of defects classification

➢ Exact quantification of defects

➢ Elimination of opinion based decisions

➢ Better Inspections

During inspection, all defects found are classified into 3

categories: Critical, Major, and Minor. These classifications are
made based on the following principles:
Critical: A Defect that is likely to result in producing
an unsafe condition or contravene mandatory regulation.
In our normal practice, no Critical Defect is accepted; any of
this kind of defect found will be subjected to an automatic
rejection of inspection result.
A Critical Defect is also defined as anything that can
potentially be considered harmful to the product user or
render the product unsalable and thereby lead to the
cancellation of the order
Major: A Defect that would reduce the usability of
the product, or that shows an obvious appearance
defect that would affect the sales of the product.
Any defect (if not repaired properly) that can
potentially lead to cancellation of the entire or a part
of the order is also classified as a major defect.
Major defects are those that if conspicuous on the
finished product, would cause the item to be a
‘second’.
Minor: A Defect that does not reduce the usability of
the product, but it is still beyond the defined quality
standard.
As the name suggests these defects are modest and do
not affect the saleability of a product. Minor defects
are those defects that would not cause the product to
be termed a second either because of severity or
location. Defects such as birdseye, needle line and
slub are classified as minor defects depending on
Location of defects (zones) The impact of a fault definition
(major or minor) may depend on the location within the
Garment. The diagram below is a guide that illustrates the
obvious and less-obvious zones, which should be used in
conjunction with the final inspection checklist to assist in defining
the fault.
 Inspection Loop
• To inspect garments an integral method
named ‘Inspection Loop’ is used given
below – Inspection

Correction of the defects Detection of defects

Inform defects to
appropriate personnel

Determination of
causes of defects
Fig: Inspection Loop.
Steps of inspection in garments industry:

i) Raw materials inspection (Fabric

and Accessories)
ii) In Process inspection.
iii) Final inspection.
i. Raw materials inspection (Fabric
and Accessories)
◼ Fabric
◼ Accessories oZipper,
o Sewing Thread,
 i. a) Fabric Inspection System
✓ Fabric need to inspect before bulk cutting
✓ Usually 10% fabric is inspected
✓ If 10% fabric is failed on inspection, 100% fabric is
inspected
✓ In case of defective fabric, fabric supplier replaces the
defective fabric on their own cost
Four systems are used for fabric inspection:
➢ 4 point system
➢ 10 point system
➢ Graniteville "78" system.
➢ Dallas system.
But among them four point system is widely used.
 Four Point System
Fabric defects are assigned points based on the followings:
Size of defect Penalty
3 inches or less 1 points
Over 3 but not over 6 2 points
Over 6 but nor over 3 points
9
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
Knit fabric defects
 i. b) Sewing thread inspection:

A) Thread construction:
To know about thread
construction the following should be tested –
i. Thread count.
ii. Thread ply.
iii. Number of twist.
iv. Thread balance.
v. Thread tenacity.
vi. Thread elongation
 i. b) Sewing thread inspection:

B) Sew ability:
The sewing ability of a thread is
called sew ability. During sew ability test
the following quality of thread should be
tested –
i. Imperfection
ii. Finish
iii. Package density
iv. Winding
v. Yardage
 i. c) Zipper inspection

What are the things used to check to

determine the quality of Zipper:
i. Measuring Zipper Dimension
ii. Top and Bottom stops should be secured
iii. Uniform in color
iv. Slider should ride freely but not so free
v. Slider lock must be secured.
vi.Durability of finish of zipper chain to
laundering or dry cleaning.
vi. Color fastness to zipper to light, to
crocking (rubbing) and to laundering.
 Quality of Trims /
Accessories
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 size should be as specified.
 ii. In-process Inspection
a. Marker Making
b. Fabric Spreading
c. Fabric Cutting
d. Fabric Sewing
e. Pressing or Finishing
ii. In-process Inspection
a. Marker Making
ii. In-process Inspection
a. Marker Making
Quality Management in Bulk
Productions
Quality Control in Marker Making:
◼ To check notch or drill mark

◼ Fabric width must be higher than marker width

◼ Fabric length must be higher than marker length

◼ Matching of grain line

◼ Check pattern size and dimension

◼ Matching of check and stripe taking into

consideration
◼ Considering garments production plan

◼ Cutting table length consideration

◼ Pattern direction consideration

ii. In-process Inspection
b. Fabric Spreading
ii. In-process Inspection
b. Fabric Spreading
 Quality Management in Bulk
Productions
Quality Control in Fabric Spreading:
◼ Fabric spreading according to correct alignment with
marker length and width
◼ Maintain requirements of spreading

◼ Matching of check and stripe

◼ Lay contains correct number of fabric ply

◼ Correct Ply direction

◼ To control the fabric splicing

◼ Tension control
ii. In-process Inspection
b. Fabric Cutting
 Quality Management in Bulk
Productions
Quality Control in Fabric Cutting:
◼ The dimension of the pattern and the cut piece
should be same and accurate
◼ Cut edge should be smooth and clean

◼ Notch should be cut finely

◼ Drill hole should be made at proper place

◼ No yarn fraying should occur at cut edge

◼ Avoid blade deflection

◼ Maintain cutting angle

◼ More skilled operator using

ii. In-process Inspection
d. Fabric Sewing
ii. In-process Inspection
d. Fabric Sewing
ii. In-process Inspection d. Fabric Sewing
 Quality Management in Bulk
Productions
Quality Control in Sewing Section:
◼ Input material checking

◼ Cut panel and accessories checking

◼ Machine is in well condition

◼ Thread count check

◼ Special work like embroidery, printing panel check

◼ Needle size checking

◼ Stitching fault should be checked

◼ Garments measurement check

 Quality Management in Bulk
Productions
Quality Control in Sewing Section (contd.) :
◼ Seam fault check
◼ Size mistake check
◼ Mismatching of trimming check
◼ Shade variation within the cloth
◼ Wrong placement of interlining
◼ Creased or wrinkle appearance control
 Quality Management in Bulk
Productions
In-Process quality control (Sewing):
During the swing “In process quality control” is done by the
line QC’s through 7 pcs inspection system. For critical
operations 100% process inspection are carried out.
The following parameters are also checked in sewing process-
a) Machine check.
b) Tension.
c) SPI checks
d) Needle check.
e) Cleanness.
d) Table inspection.
f) Inspection before wash, etc.
 Quality Management in Bulk
Productions
In the Washing Section, the following
points are thoroughly checked to ensure
quality:
◼ Garments hand-feel.
◼ Wash standard.
◼ Shade matching.
◼ After wash thorough inspection.
Quality Management in Bulk
Productions
Quality Control in Finishing Section:
◼ Proper inspection of the garments including
measurement, spot, dirt, impurities
◼ Water spot

◼ Shading variation check

◼ Smooth and unfold in pocket

◼ Insecure or broken chain or button

◼ Wrong fold

◼ Proper shape in garments

◼ Properly dried in after pressing

◼ Wanted wrinkle or fold in lining

 Quality Management in Bulk
Productions
Quality Control in Finishing Section (contd.) :
◼ Get up checking

◼ Collar closing

◼ Side seam

◼ Sleeve placket attach

◼ Cuff attach

◼ Bottom hem

◼ Back yoke

◼ Checking of every parts of the garments.

Inspections in the Finishing Section
Following inspection/audit is done to attain AQL (1.5/2.5/4.0
etc).
◼ Process inspection: Garments are checked process wise in
the finishing section to identify defects and pass only to the
passed garments.
◼ Two hourly audit: Every after two-hours audit is done on
finishing
lot to attain the required AQL.
◼ Days final audit: At the end of the day accumulated lot of
finished garments are statistically audited to attain required
AQL.
◼ Lot final audit: On completion of packing of one complete
lot of garment, QA manager conduct statistical audit based on
required AQL garments. Garments are offered for final
inspection by buyer /clients for shipment only when these are
through in this audit.
 iii. Final Inspection
• Shade correct and not varying from one part of
garment to another.
• Cut is correct - e.g. neck, collar and sleeves
balanced, pockets correct.
• Measurements within tolerance of specification,
weight correct.
• Appearance correct, patterns matching.
• Seams finished correctly, absence of miss stitching,
cracking and laddering.
• Accessories correctly applied and working.
• Absence of fabric faults and stains.
• Correct labelling.
 Acceptable Quality Level (AQL)
Definition:
A statistical measurement of the maximum
number of defective goods considered acceptable
in a particular sample size.

# The AQL inspection takes the samples from a

goods, inspect them and depends on the quality of
samples inspected and decide to accept or reject
them.

# It provides with the sampling plans, the number

of samples to be inspected and the acceptable
quality level (AQL)
# AQL 1.5 is applied to very severe inspection
on high-class expensive item.

# AQL 2.5 is applied when textiles of

normal/good quality are involved.

#Buyers instruct about the required AQL

Usually Major – 2.5
Usually Minor – 4.0
Usually Critical – zero tolerance
 AQL
➢ #Three types of sampling plans
-single, double and multiple.

➢ Each sampling plan can be performed in

three level- normal, tightened and
reduced, depending on quality of
products

➢ In garment industry, single and double

normal sampling plans are applied.
 Sample Size Code Letter

• The Sample Size Code Letter shows

different lot sizes to different code letter.
• There are seven inspection level, four for
general inspection and three for special
inspection
• For garment inspection, General
Inspection level II would be used.
Sample Size Code Letter
Single Sampling Plan for normal inspection
Double Sampling Plans
 Example
Single Sampling Plan-Normal Inspection

• Assume AQL is 2.5% and lot size is 600

garments, find out the following :

– The total number of samples need to

inspect
– The acceptable number of the samples
– The rejection number of the samples
Answer
Single Sampling Plan
• First, from Table 1 find out the code letter
for lot size of 600 and inspection level II is
“J”
• From Table 2 (single sampling plan), the
letter “J” corresponds to sample sizes of
“80”.
• So, 80 samples are needed to inspect out
of 600
• At AQL 2.5%, if defective garments are
less than or equal to 5, whole lots will be
accepted, if it is found to be 6 or more,
whole lots will be rejected.
 Try this one

• If the garment lot is 300 dozens, and AQL

is 4.0%, find out
• the number of samples to be inspected
• the acceptable number and rejection
number
 Example II
Double Sampling Plan
• Assume AQL is 4% and lot size is 2000
garments, find out from double sampling
plan on the following:
– The total sample sizes need to inspect
– What is the first acceptable number
– What is the second acceptable number
 Answer
Double Sampling Plan
• First, Table 1 of 2000 lots at inspection
level II is letter “K”
• Table 3, double sampling plan shows the
sample size of letter K is 80.
• First inspection, at AQL 4%, the
acceptable number is 5, rejection number
is 9
• If any number between 5 to 9, second
inspection is needed
 Answer
Double sampling Plan (II)
• For second inspection, the sample sizes
again is 80
• At AQL 4%, the cumulated acceptable
number is 12 and rejection number is 13.
• Conclusion
– If the number of defective garments found
in the first sample is 6, and in second
sample is 5, making a total of 11, then the
whole lot of 2,000 pieces will be accepted.