Industrial engineering in apparel industry

1. “Industrial engineering in Apparel industry”
Introduction:
Engineering - a science by which the properties of matter and the sources of energy in nature
are made useful to man. The truth is that engineers and engineering mean many things to
many people. In our discussion on engineering, we want to talk about the branch of
engineering known as Industrial Engineering and, more specifically, Industrial Engineering
as it relates to the apparel industry. Before we do this, however, let's see if we can define
some basic terms and concepts that will make our discussion more meaningful. In this article
we will discuss introductory and continuation will be in the next few articles about industrial
engineering. We going to reveal department wise application of the industrial engineering in
the apparel industry.
Industrial engineering:
Industrial Engineering is the engineering approach applied to all factors, including the human
factor, involved in the production and distribution of products and services. It was just a
couple of years back that demand of an industrial engineer has increased many times. Reason,
an Industrial engineer can do a lot to improve performance of a company. There are
numerous tools and techniques which are used in by industrial engineers to establish an
effective production system in the company.
Now that we have arrived at a definition of Industrial Engineering, let's talk about what
things are done by an Industrial Engineer. Let's refer to these as the scope of this job.
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Study, measure, and improve the way individuals perform their jobs.
Design and install a better system of coordinating the jobs assigned to individuals into
a group effort.
Specify, predict, and evaluate results obtained.
From this we can, perhaps, oversimplify things for the purpose of understanding. Now let's
go one step farther and define Industrial Engineering. Everybody will agree that a simple
definition of Industrial Engineering is:
A logical way to find out:
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The best way to do something
The time required to do it
The way to measure results
Apparel Engineering:
Apparel engineering will analyse, develop, and implement methods and procedures to
produce apparel products that will meet the firm's standards for quality, efficiency, and
productivity. Engineers are responsible for designing processes for material handling and
utilization to maximize productivity. They design plant layouts to provide efficiency, safety,
and effective use of equipment while minimizing costs. Methods analysis and work
measurement are engineering functions related to determining plant capacity and throughput

2. times. Engineers analyse methods of assembly and equipment required for garment
production and establish production rates and capacity for individual styles and plants.
Scope of apparel engineering:
The two steps of finding the best way to do a job and then timing to find out how long it takes
are referred to as Motion Study and Time Study. Engineers are taught to do the Motion Study
first, as any time study data on incorrect motions is not of much value.
Some uses of apparel engineering are:
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Quotas and piece rates
Costing: By knowing how long it takes to perform a job, the total time and cost for
manufacturing a product can be determined. Determine sales price.
Manpower Planning: By knowing how many units one person can produce it can be
determined how many people are needed to produce a given volume.
Machine Requirements: The number of machines required can be determined by
knowing the output from one machine.
Production Planning: Time study enables us to measure the capacity of a plant to
produce. Decision as to how much volume to load into a plant can be made.
These are only a few of the common uses of Motion and Time Study. As we can now see, the
information obtained is useful far beyond just setting quotas and piece rates.
Work of apparel engineer:
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Plant Layout - The location of machines and equipment to provide the best work flow.
Production Flow System - Determine the best way to move work from job to job
(individual pieces, tied bundles, on trucks, etc.)
Machines and Attachments - What machines are the best for a given job? What
attachments simplify the job?
Pay Systems - Deciding the best way to pay people for their work effort. (Straight
time, piecework, split incentive, group incentive, straight time bonus, etc.)
Operator Performance - Responsibility for operators achieving expected performance
levels.
Operator Training - Responsibility for program of training new employees.
Production Control System - Design system of measuring and controlling production
flow through plant.
Cutting Room - Engineering jobs in cutting room for incentive plan. Also might
include program to increase material utilisation.
Quality Control - Design program to measure and control quality of workmanship in
plant.
Distribution - Engineer warehouse and shipping facilities.
Payroll System - Design payroll procedure to handle pay system and generate
necessary cost reports.
Others - Plant safety, maintenance, supplies.

3. Benefits by using engineering in apparel industry:
Work Simplification:
One of the main benefits of almost any engineering effort is that it makes work simpler to
perform. This holds true for operators, supervisors, and top management. When an engineer
analyses any area of work, he does so with the thought in mind. Do not be misled about into
thinking, however, that work simplification means people always will be doing less work.
They may, in fact, do more work but within the same amount of time as before. Because
work has been simplified, people's ability to produce is increased.
Increased Productivity:
The ability to produce more within the same amount of time is a company's insurance for
survival. This ability means that the company can now accept more work. It means that costs
can be lowered by avoiding overtime. It means that fixed costs can be spread out over more
units of production. It means that profits Improve.
Increased Profits:
When a company's profits increase, everyone involved is in a better position. Owners and
stockholders prosper. Management and supervision are rewarded for their performance.
Money is available to do more for the operators. A company is able to expand which creates
more Jobs.
Increased Earnings:
Most engineering projects not only increase company profits, but also result in higher
earnings for employees. Most companies are willing, and in fact eager, to share with its
employees the financial gains that are available through engineering.
We will continue with the application of industrial engineering in the apparel industry
according to the department wise in the next upcoming issues.
Sent by:
M.Muhundhan,
Project Executive,
Centre for Research and Excellence,
Tirupur.
Mail id: mdhan87@gmail.com, muhundhan@crex.in