6 Markers (chapters 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 11) Flashcards
What is Quality? Mention its dimensions.
- Performance
This dimension focuses on the primary operating characteristics of products. Such characteristics may relate to size, model, color, design, structure, and operating outcomes. - Features
It involves specific or extra characteristics of the product as compared to others. Such features may relate to quality, price, operating cost, or extra service, etc. - Reliability
This dimension involves the consistent performance of products within a specified period. There is a minimum probability of defects or breakdown of products within a specified period. The rate of repair and maintenance of such products is rare.
Suppliers provide a warranty for the repair and maintenance of such products for a specified period such as the dealer provides six months free service facility. - Conformance
Conformance involves the degree to which the design and characteristics of products and services meet the specific standards of the customers. Based on the level of income and desire, different customers may have different degrees of standards. - Durability
The length of the useful life of products or services is another of important dimension of measuring quality. Some products provide service for a long period of time whereas some products become useless within a short period of time. - Serviceability
Courtesy, competence, and easy availability of repair and maintenance services are other important dimensions. In the service sector, courtesy and competent services to customers facilitate earning of reputation and prestige in society. - Aesthetics
Aesthetics is a subjective dimension of quality. It involves the looks, taste, feel, sound, and smell of products or services. It is a matter of personal judgment and a reflection of individual preference. - Perceived Quality
It is concerned with how the customers perceive the product or service. Quality is conveyed through market standing, brand name, and reputation of the product.
Long-term standing in the market and service to the customers supports earning brand reputation and prestige in the market.
What is Quality? State its importance.
- Meeting the expectations of the customers
Irrespective of the industry, customers will not choose a particular product merely based on the price, nonetheless often on quality. According to some studies, customers are willing to pay a higher price for a product or service if they consider it as a well-made product that surpasses the quality standards. - Gaining competitive advantage
Companies want to attain competitiveness with differentiation. This happens when there are distinctive qualities in a product that cannot be imitated by rivals. A distinctive product can be patented in order to avoid other companies from replicating it for almost 20 years. This would mean that a company can sustain its competitive advantage for a long time. - Quality is crucial for the satisfaction of customers
If an organisation fails to meet the expectation of its customers, then it will look for replacements. Quality is essential to satisfy customers in order to retain their loyalty so that they will be willing to buy in the future as well. Quality products make a significant impact on revenues in the long run. Quality is what differentiates a company in a crammed market. - Quality develops reputation
Quality signals on an organisation’s reputation. Nowadays, there is an increasing significance of social media which means that the customers can effortlessly share both positive and negative opinions on the quality of a product/service on different platforms. Therefore, a sound reputation for quality could be an essential factor that can differentiate an organisation in a market that is highly competitive. - Influence on sales volume
If a product matches the requirements of the customers, then the demand for that particular product will increase, hence allowing the company to boost its profit levels. As people become wealthier, their desire for good quality products also increases as they are not constricted by their income.
Quality helps in managing costs effectively - Poor quality products escalate costs. If an organisation does not have an efficient quality control system, they may have to bear costs to assess peculiar products in order to evaluate the main causes. They may have to get rid of faulty products and incur extra production costs for their replacement.
What is a Quality Circle? Explain its techniques.
Quality circles use specific techniques to maximise improvement and solve problems effectively. They mainly apply the techniques below:
* Brainstorming: This gives all members an opportunity to raise issues and offer ideas. A member of the group writes down all the ideas for evaluation.
* Mind mapping: This is a helpful system for recording information and collating facts and ideas. It facilitates the early stages of problem-solving.
* Pareto analysis: An effective method for prioritising tasks and identifying methods that might deliver the highest impact on the problems.
* Cause and effect analysis: Recording the cause and effect of the problems and solutions on a fishbone diagram is a simple, reader-friendly way of summarising problems and solutions.
* Data gathering: This is essential for verifying cause and effect. An analysis of the data follows this step.
* Charts, graphs and drawings: These are effective ways of recording and representing data relating to problems and solutions.
* Management: They approve the implementation of the project and carry out regular monitoring and controls.
Explain the PDCA Cycle/Describe the stages of PDCA Cycle.
What is the PDCA Cycle?
The PDCA cycle is a process-improving method that involves a continuous loop of planning, doing, checking, and acting. Each stage of the PDCA, meaning the Plan-Do-Check-Act, cycle contributes to the goal of identifying which business processes work and which of them need further improvement. This methodical approach is also utilized to avoid recurring mistakes and errors in operations.
Stages of PDCA Cycle
The PDCA process consists of four stages (also known as the PDCA steps): Plan, Do, Check, and Act. It aims to solve problems and methodically implement change. So, what is the role of each stage in the whole cycle?
- Plan
First, note that this stage is the backbone of the whole cycle so you have to be as comprehensive and as detailed as possible.
Specifically describe the problem to be solved and state why it is important to be addressed. Discuss objectives and create Smart, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound (SMART) goals that your team members and relevant stakeholders agree upon. Aside from that, the end of this stage should materialize in a comprehensive plan answering information-building questions such as: - What is the cause of the problem?
- What are the current standards and procedures regarding the specific process?
- What resources are needed to implement the proposed changes?
- What are the potential hindrances in achieving the project goals?
- Do
Since you’ve identified potential solutions to the problem in the first stage—”Do” is the part where you’ll execute them. Apply the changes but only on a small scale or controlled environment such as specific department, project, or with just a particular demographic.
This is to ensure that if ever the changes were ineffective or if they resulted in a negative impact to your process or business, there won’t be much damage to deal with and minimal resources were used.
After the initial testing, gather all the relevant data to show if the recognized potential solutions worked or not.
- Check
This is the analysis stage—with your data from the previous stage, evaluates the effectiveness of the implemented solutions. Compare them to the success criteria included in the planning stage.
Assess if the result is already satisfactory and the solutions are already working according to the objective, or if they need further improvements to achieve the overall goal.
If further adjustments are needed, go back to the first stage—Plan—and try other alternatives that you think could work to solve the problem. If it’s considered a success, however, you can now proceed to the next stage, Act.
- Act
Once you’ve recognized the effectiveness of the solutions, “Act” is the stage where you’ll fully implement them as part of your business process.
To continuously achieve greater and more standardized results, it will be helpful to also address the following questions:
1. What resources are needed to successfully implement the solutions?
2. Would training be necessary in implementing the developed solutions?
3. What other opportunities can be maximized?
What is the PDCA Cycle. State its importance.
- The PDCA method is a simple yet powerful tool that gives you the option to repeat the cycle if you think that the solutions can still be improved. In some cases, you may need to go through the four stages again if there are factors or changes that could affect the way the implemented solutions work.
- The PDCA cycle is one of the widely used methods of monitoring quality management systems and is applicable to international standards such as ISO 22301, ISO 9001, ISO 45001, and ISO 27001.
- This helps strengthen the efficiency of the cycle and eliminates ineffective elements until an ideal solution is identified.
- The PDCA cycle is versatile—it can be used across all industries, by big businesses, and even by specific teams or departments within a company.
Define 6 Sigma and explain its process.
Six Sigma is a set of methodologies and tools used to improve business processes by reducing defects and errors, minimizing variation, and increasing quality and efficiency. The goal of Six Sigma is to achieve a level of quality that is nearly perfect, with only 3.4 defects per million opportunities.
- Define
The “Define” stage seeks to identify all the pertinent information necessary to break down a project, problem or process into tangible, actionable terms. It emphasizes the concrete, grounding process improvements in actual, quantifiable and qualifiable information rather than abstract goals. - Measure
In the “Measure” phase, organizations assess where current process capabilities are. While they understand they need to make improvements and have listed those improvements concretely in the Define phase, they cannot go about tweaking and tailoring changes until they have a data-backed baseline. - Analyze
The “Analyze” phase examines the data amassed during the Measure stage to isolate the exact root causes of process inefficiencies, defects and discrepancies. In short, it extracts meaning from your data. Insights gleaned from Analyzation begin scaffolding the tangible process improvements for your team or organization to implement. - Improve
The “Improve” initiates formal action plans meant to solve the target root problems gleaned from your Analyzations. Organizations directly address what they’ve identified as problem root causes, typically deploying a Design of Experiment plan to isolate different variables and co-factors until the true obstacle is found. - Control
In the final phase, “Control,” Six Sigma teams create a control plan and deploy your new standardized process. The control plan outlines improved daily workflows, which result in critical business process variables abiding by accepted quality control variances.
Explain the different types of defects found in the garment production industry.
- YARN
Different defects in Yarn Quality - Neps Formation: Neps are an entanglement of fibers in a small ball form.
- Thick and Thin Place: These are the irregularities in the diameter of the yarn.
- Yarn Hairiness. Fibers protruding out from the main body of the yarn or the hairy fibers on the yarn surface are called yarn hairiness.
- Yarn Count Variation: Yarn count is a numerical expression that denotes yarn fineness and coarseness. Variation in yarn count results in the thick or thin ends that cause unevenness on the fabric.
- Snarls: Yarn twists more than normal result in the formation of snarls.
- Foreign Materials: Unwanted matters like metallic components, plastic materials, or color fibers get mixed with yarn during different spinning processes and degrade the fabric’s appearance.
- Yarn Stains: It can appear from any source such as oil from machinery, factory dust, or improper way of handling materials.
- FABRIC
- Bad selvedge,
- Broken ends or warp,
- Broken picks or weft,
- Loose warp,
- Loose weft or snarl,
- Double-end,
- Tight end,
- The float of warp,
- Wrong end color,
- PROCESSING / DYEING DEFECTS
- Barre
- Bleeding
- Crease Mark
- Crocking
- Cross Bar
- Dye Spot
- Fading
- Off Shade
- Shade Bar
- Shade Variation
- Stains
- Uneven Dyeing
- TEXTILE FINISHING DEFECTS
- Wet Squeezer Marks: These marks are caused due to excessive pressure of the squeezer rolls on the wet fabric.
- GSM Variation: Roll to roll variation in the process parameters of the fabric like overfeed and widthwise stretching of the dyed fabric on the STENTER, calender and compactor machines.
- Bowing: Uneven distribution of tension across the fabric width while dyeing or finishing the fabric.
- Skewing: Improper feeding of the fabric while compacting.
- Shrinkage: Shrinkage is primarily due to high tension during the knitting, dyeing and the finishing processes.
- Over Compaction: Excess overfeed (compaction) given to fabric with respect to potential shrinkage.
- Fabric width variation: If the stretched width is vary from roll to roll while feeding the fabric in the stenter and compactor.
Describe the steps of In-Process Quality Control in the garment industry.
The various steps of garment manufacturing where in-process inspection and quality control are done are mentioned below-
1. In Sample making section
2. In- Marker making section
3. Inspection in fabric spreading section
4. Inspection in fabric cutting section
5. Inspection in fabric sewn section
6. Inspection in pressing & Finishing section
Quality Control in Sample Section:
1. Maintaining buyer Specification standard
2. Checking the sample and its different issues
3. Measurements checking
4. Fabric color, gsm, color fastness etc. properties required checking
5. SPI and another parameter checking
Quality Control in Marker Making:
1. To check notch or drill mark
2. Fabric width must be higher than marker width
3. Fabric length must be higher than marker length
4. Matching of green line
5. Check pattern size and dimension
6. Matching of check and stripe taking into consideration
7. Considering garments production plan
8. Cutting table length consideration
9. Pattern direction consideration
Quality Control in Fabric Spreading:
1. Fabric spreading according to correct alignment with marker length and width
2. Maintain requirements of spreading
3. Matching of check and stripe
4. Lay contains correct number of fabric ply
5. Correct Ply direction
6. To control the fabric splicing
7. Tension control
Quality Control in Fabric Cutting:
1. The dimension of the pattern and the cut piece should be same and accurate
2. Cut edge should be smooth and clean
3. Notch should be cut finely
4. Drill hole should made at proper place
5. No yarn fraying should occur at cut edge
6. Avoid blade deflection
7. Maintain cutting angle
8. More skilled operator using
Quality Control in Sewing Section:
1. Input material checking
2. Cut panel and accessories checking
3. Machine is in well condition
4. Thread count check
5. Special work like embroidery, printing panel check
6. Needle size checking
7. Stitching fault should be checked
Quality Control in Finishing Section:
1. Proper inspection of the garments including measurement, spot, dirt, impurities
2. Water spot
3. Shading variation check
4. Smooth and unfold in pocket
5. In secured or broken chain or button
6. Wrong fold
7. Proper shape in garments
8. Properly dried in after pressing
State the benefits and types of JIT.
- No big storage areas or godowns are required, avoiding building costs.
- No additional security personnel to guard these godowns, reducing labor costs.
- No excessive buying leading to less capital investment
- No excessive production leading to time & labor cost saving.
- Reduced overheads & scrap
- Reduced WIP as a result of production against demand
TYPES:
1. JIT distribution (JITD) - It is the inclusion of a third party logistics. This allows the companies to focus on their core competencies and areas of expertise and logistics distribution carried out by a third party.
JITD requires efficient transportation management system, because inbound and outbound material can have a great effect on production when there is no buffer inventory.
- JIT purchasing (JITP) - this is counter to traditional purchasing where materials are bought well in advance, before their use. Under JITP supplier selection, product development and production lot sizing are critical.
Define AQL and state its benefits.
AQL stands for Acceptable Quality Level. It is a statistical sampling method used to determine the quality of a batch of products.
- Consistency: The AQL system ensures that the quality of the apparel products is consistent with the desired standards. This helps to maintain the brand image and customer satisfaction.
- Cost-effective: AQL system helps to identify and reject defective products before they reach the customers, reducing the cost of rework, returns, and potential liability.
- Objective measurement: The AQL system provides an objective measure of the quality of the products, which reduces the chances of bias or subjective evaluation.
- Standardization: AQL system provides a standardized method for quality control, which can be easily communicated and understood by all stakeholders.
- Early detection: The AQL system helps to detect and correct quality issues early in the production process, which reduces the risk of production delays or costly recalls.
- Quality improvement: By monitoring and analyzing the AQL data, the apparel industry can identify the root causes of quality issues and take corrective actions to improve the overall quality of the products.
- Risk management: The AQL system helps to mitigate the risk of quality-related lawsuits, reputation damage, and financial losses due to poor-quality products.
What is EMS? Mention its benefits.
- Analyzing the environmental impact of your company
- Reviewing your company’s environmental goals
- Assessing compliance and/or legal obligations
- Setting environmental objectives and targets
- Establishing practices and protocols to achieve those targets
- Ensuring employees are aware of environmental goals and compliance
- Reviewing, evaluating and improving the EMS.
Define ISO 14000 and mention its benefits.
- Improved public relations
- Improved government relations
- Improved profits
- Increased corporate social responsibility
- Fewer non-tariff trade barriers
- Fewer regulatory problems and inspections
