ROLE OF QUALITY CONTROL
“In the garment industry, garment quality control is practised right from the initial stage of sourcing raw materials to the stage of a final finished garment. Shelton Vision provides machine vision solutions that help detect and reduce the number of defects within the production process” (SheltonVision 2017)
The first part of the quality control process is the sealing sample, made to the selling standard for the brand with all of the correct fabrics and trims included, however they may not be made in the correct colour. There will be two of these samples created so that the office can receive one and the factory can keep one for reference. Buyers and quality controllers will look through these samples and discuss the make quality as well as any issues with the garments such as puckering. The type of hem used will be confirmed, along with the number of stitches per button, number of spare buttons and where any poppers will be attached. Another part of the quality control process is measuring the garment to ensure that it meets the sizing requirements stated on the specification sheet, and any measurements that are slightly different to this would have to meet the tolerance defined in the quality control manual. Quality controllers, buyers or assistant buyers will usually be involved in this process to approve samples as well as a specialist in the garment area that is being approved. This process needs to happen quickly so that the garments can be sent into production soon after the meeting.
ESTABLISH QUALITY BENCHMARKS CHECK PRODUCTS FOR QUALITY ISSUES
Different companies use different names for their various sealing samples, but most retailers use the colours red, gold and green. The red seal is used on the first approved sample, to show the factory that this is along the right lines but might not be made in the correct colour. These samples are now ready to be made in the correct fabrics and colours. The gold seal is used pre-production, to show that the garment is completely correct down to the colour and trims. These garments are now ready to be put into production.
ANALYSE VARIANCE BETWEEN SAMPLES AND TARGETS PRODUCT TESTING
The green seal is used post-production, to show that the garments have been produced to the retailers standards and are ready to be shipped out to the warehouse.
RED SEAL
• May be required to re-submit multiple times until the garment is ready to be moved onto a Gold Seal. • Will normally be submitted in testing fabric, most likely the wrong colour with similar trims and fittings. • This is normally the very first sample of a garment from the factory for the Buyers and Quality controllers to see.
GOLD SEAL
• May be required to re-submit multiple times until the garment is ready to be moved onto a Green Seal. • Only one sample will be submitted in the final fabric with all the correct fittings and trims to ensure it is correct with no unnecessary wastage. • Once a gold seal is approved the garment can be put into a full production run.
GREEN SEAL
• Two garments will be submitted for a green seal straight from production. • Green seal garments need to be presented as if they were about to arrive in the warehouse with all of the correct swing tickets, labels and packaging. • Once a green seal has been approved it can be sent out to the warehouse and retailers as the garment has passed all quality control checks.
CORRECTIVE ACTIONS TAKEN PRODUCTS READY TO BE PRODUCED
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