Online Clothing Study

Heavy metals, we all have sometimes or other came across this term mostly in chemistry classes or labs, remember? What is a heavy metal? Google suggests a number of answers. But most recently the term ‘Heavy Metal’ has been defined as any metal or semi-metal with potential human or environmental toxicity, for example like Lead, Cadmium, Chromium, Mercury etc. Thus in a nutshell the substance which can post a threat to our life.

This is a guest contribution by Pradip Bhattacharya

So let us have some insight on Lead, a furious heavy metal, which is closely interlaced with our today’s lifestyle. 
Russian Chemistry Professor Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev published his periodic table in 1869, which states it as a metal with atomic number 82. Most of us have only this information about lead. 
But do you actually know how devastating LEAD is! It can affect every organ and system in our body. In humans, it is directly absorbed and distributed and acts as a slow poison. Its ability to inhibit the…

Frequently we receive inquiry on “how to get training on General sewing data (GSD) and where IEs can do certification course for GSD?”

I didn't have right answer before so I told them to contact directly to GSD, UK.

Today, I visited GSD stall in Garment Technology Expo 2012 held in New Delhi to get the right answer for this question. In India, garment manufacturers recently started using of standard time in labor costing, production planning, work measurement and in designing incentive scheme. Manufacturers even employed engineers to set standard time and get benefit from it. But they don’t have any system to calculate standard time. This is a real concern to be looked in.

At the GSD stall, I had a brief discussion with Mr. Jeevananda of DMS, a representative of GSD system. I asked him how young engineers can get training on GSD codes and its application to set standard time for a garment? Is there any certification course for engineers on GSD system?

Sorry guys, according to …

Note: This tools is not available. (updated on: May-02-2016)

A good news for apparel manufacturers. Now and onward apparel manufacturers can measure and benchmark their factory for free.

An online tool B-SMART (Best Self Measuring and Rating Tool) is providing the platform where factory can measure performance of its departments. It is a self assessment benchmark tool aimed at empowering apparel manufacturers to measure their performance and assess internal processes and departments in the factory for further improvements. B-Smart has been developed by Methods Apparel.

To use this tool first you have to register to this site with your company information. You will receive confirmation mail after submitting your information.

Read the user guide for details on how to use this tool and start survey. Once you are logged in you will also get access of video demo on how to conduct a survey. In the following picture factory departments has been shown for which you can conduct a self survey.



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Online apparel shopping is becoming very popular in India. At this stage most of the consumers shop from online portals as an experiment basis. Once they had good experience they continue shopping from their preferred online shopping portals.

Also See: 101 Online Clothing Shopping Sites for Indian Shoppers

In order to achieve the long-term industrial transformation of the Clothing Industry, LEAPFROG initiates atomization of tasks needed to manufacture clothes. Intelligent Transportation system is one of the developments by Leapfrog. 


It is an overhead transportation system consisting of a modular rail on which a discrete number of trolleys carrying parts can run forward and backward. The task of the transportation system is to dispatch the parts and sub-assemblies to the stations and cells that will perform suitable manufacturing operations to create a product. 
To ensure automatic, continuous, error-free parts identification RFIDs are embedded in the hangers and continuously updated with the part manufacturing data so that the complete traceability of the single parts is assured. 
Innovative features include miniaturized intelligent motion controller, compact power drive, high-performance motor with permanent magnets, ZigBee technology to ensure safe and robust communication, use of R…

By M.S. Pradeep and Abhishek Kumar

Any discussion on apparel business invariably steers towards the fact that how do you not only survive in a highly competitive marketplace but keep improving so that you are at a stage where you can choose your customers and not the other way around. Thanks to the quotas imposed on China till 2008, lot of suppliers in India as well as other parts of the world had got a breather, but now apparel manufacturers have to look beyond so that they can build truly sustainable business. Here are some long term and short term strategies that could be adopted. These ten strategies would help them to keep competition at bay. Some of these may sound simplistic but it takes meticulous planning and consistent efforts to implement these.

Ten strategies
Widen up product portfolio Vertical integration of business Improve service and on time in full (OTIF) Responding to the challenges and enter in domestic market Improve work environment to drive revenue growth Setting…

by Paul Collyer
The first stage in implementing a systematic approach to operator training in a garment factory is to gain the commitment and agreement of management at all levels. Whereas this may appear obvious the principles and activities utilised in a systematic approach will usually differ greatly from existing practices and will require a complete abandoning of long held beliefs and habits. If you miss my previous article Systematic Training of Sewing Industry Operators – An Introduction I suggest you go through it first.

Why to implement systematic training? Training is an investment and like any other business expenditure should only be used when a need is shown and results can be measured.

Many clothing manufacturing companies will have problems with:
long training times high labour turnover high reworks and rejects low operator performance & line inefficiency low operator morale Style change.  A systemic approach to management incorporating systematic operator trainin…

Home > Event


An upcoming event Garment Technology Expo 2012 will be held in New Delhi from 17th Feb. – 20th Feb. This is a yearly event where you can explore latest machinery, technology, accessory suppliers and lot more. You get to see IT based garment manufacturing solutions providers such as CAD/CAM, Planning software, ERPs related to garment manufacturing, RFID systems for bundle ticketing and real time data information etc.

Section wise machinery list provided by the event organiser are as below. SEWING: Computerised, Industrial, Over lock, Flat Lock Machines and Spares.
KNITTING: Circular, Flat, Socks and Collar Machines.
DYEING & LAUNDRY: Soft Flow, Relax Dryers, Tumblers, Laundry and Dry Cleaning Machines, Dyes & Chemicals.
QUILTING MACHINES: Single and Multi-head Quilting Machines, Mattress Making Machines.
FINISHING: Compacting, Steam Ironing Machines, Conveyor Systems and Boilers.
CAD/CAM: Designing, Cutting Room and all related Software.
EMBROIDERY: Industrial, M…

Garment Inspection is a common task in garment manufacturing. Do you like to know how garment inspection is done by factories those makes export garments? Read this post to learn it.

Checkers and auditors inspect garments at the end of a line, in finishing and in various audit stages. All do garment inspection but not the right procedure. An effective inspection procedure would help you to increase the quality of the inspection job as well as productivity on this task.

In this article, a standard method of garment checking has been explained step by step. A Polo shirt has been taken for example. Inspection of a garment is done in a clockwise direction as shown in the following figure.

First, check appearance by holding the garment at shoulder points. Examine the front and back of the garment. 
Lay the garment flat on the audit table. Check for garment details. 
Open and check center front opening. 
Inspect inside and outside of the collar and Neck. Inspect inside shoulder seams 
Fold garme…

The operation breakdown of a trouser with two front pocket and two back pocket has been given in the following table. SMVs mentioned here against each operation are just for your reference. It may vary according to machine types, workstation layout and equipment used. Operations needed to make a trouser have been listed section wise. Machines that are used for the operations have been also mentioned in the table.

To determine approximate GSM (grams per square meters) of a given fabric, you can use the following formula. One of my colleagues used to use this formula in the testing lab. In case different counts of warp thread or weft thread are used then this formula will not give you correct GSM. It is also known as conversion formula from fabric construction to fabric weight.

Fabric GSM = (EPI/warp count + PPI/Weft count) x (100+crimp %) X 0.2327

For example, construction of a fabric is 40 X40 /120 X 60 and warp and weft crimp is 6%. Then GSM of this fabric will be,

GSM = (120/40 + 60/40) X (100+6%) X 0.2327

GSM =104.77

Also See: What is Crimp% in Fabric and How to Measure Warp and Weft Crimp%

I found others to use this formula with different multiplying factors.
Fabric GSM= ((EPI/warp count X 1.1) + (PPI/weft count x 1.04)) x 23.5 By Dharmi
In the above formula, 1.1 and 1.04 are warp and weft crimp factors respectively.

Related ArticlesHow to Calculate GSM of Fabric?

Home > Industrial Engineering

A bottleneck operation determines hourly production of a sewing line. In a bottleneck operation garments are piled up compared to other operations in the line and produces lowest number of garments. Efficiency of the line as well as labor productivity is affected by work in process (WIP) level at bottleneck operations. By reducing WIP level at bottleneck operations labor productivity can be improved. In this article, 7 practical ways have been discussed that will help you to reduce WIP.

1. Method improvement: For the method improvement you first need to conduct method study for the bottleneck operations. Method study is the in depth monitoring and analysis of the way an operator performs its task. Once the method study is done, look for better ways to save time and less effort by the operator. This could be done by improving work motions or providing work aids like gauges, folders, attachments, trolleys, movers, tracks or machine automation. As mu…

This is a guest contribution from Paul Collyer

To profitably run a garment production factory an effective operator training system is essential; however many companies either have no facility or one that is not fit for purpose to meet the demands of the modern industry. Training can take two separate identities, the giving of skills and knowledge to new recruits and the upgrading of the abilities of the existing workers.

High labor turnover in the first few days of training is often reported but is something that can be actively attacked and reduced. It is a symptom of poor selection, ineffective initial training or a combination of both. Pre-employment tests such as dexterity and eyesight are essential but must be allied to structured trainability assessment. The ability to absorb, remember and act upon information is crucial if training is to be worthwhile but unfortunately, not all applicants will have these qualities. Not everyone can be trained to become a sewing industry operat…