Industrial Engineering is a New Concept of Garment Industry

Industrial Engineering: 
Engineering makes things useful to man. Industrial engineering is the engineering approach applied to all factors, including the human factor, involved in the production and distribution of products and supplies. Industrial engineering is the new concept of apparel engineering. 

Apparel engineering is a questioning technique, it questions each process/operation of the total work content and by using innovative methods of construction and technology you can reduce the work content and increase profitability.

Production in Apparel Industry

The world economy is changing in significant ways during the recent years, especially in the areas of international trade and industrial organization. Two of the most important new features of the contemporary economy are the globalization of production and trade. Therefore today's technological systems are characterized by orientation to productivity; this can be achieved through the apparel engineering. 

Simple industrial engineering applied specifically to the apparel industry. Main activities of an industrial/apparel engineer Plant layout:

1. Production flow system
2. Machines and adjustments
3. Operator performance
4. Operator training
5. Production control system
6. Cutting room
7. Quality control

Role of Apparel Engineering:

1. Distribution
2. Payroll system / incentives
3. Plant safety
4. Maintenance.

Methodology of Apparel Engineering : 

1) Standardization: 
Supervisors will always appreciate the need for standard condition in managing a department efficiently. Higher amount of confusion would result if the work is not standardized. Some case studies are as follows:

• If each sewing operator performed their work in different ways.
• If each sewing operator use different type of machine for same type of work.
• If payroll department changed its method of paying employees each week.
• If quality specifications changed every day.

Effective supervision would be impossible without standardization of methods, equipments and conditions. Engineering helps to standardize. 

2) Production scheduling:

• Without a firm production schedule the department’s ability to produce efficiently is hampered.
• Impossible to plan the quantum of work to be loaded.
• It would result in the delay in delivery or more idle time.
• In order to schedule work accurately, someone needs to know how long it takes to go through each operation.
• Engineering data help to prepare a firm production schedule.

3) Fair payment to the employees:

• To ensure fair payment to the employees.
• Need to know the value of the work produced by an employee.
• Need to measure the work.
• Compare the employee’s contribution.

4) Prevention of any system failure: 

• Any attempt to run any department or firm without standardized conditions, without production schedule and without fair payment to employees is doomed to chaos and failure.
• Without having someone performing the above functions, it would be impossible to operate for very long.

Benefits of Apparel Engineering: 

Work simplification: 

• Effort to make the work simpler.
• Kill the skill of the work enabling a medium skilled employee to perform efficiently. (Higher and consistent output).

Increase in productivity: 

• The ability to produce more within the same amount of time is company’s insurance for survival.
• Results increase in capacity, and thus, scope for getting more orders.
• Avoids overtime cost.

Increase in profits: 

• Timely deliveries and increase in the quality and quantity of the product delivered results in higher profits.
• Ensures smooth operation functions without a break due to continuous orders.

Increase in earnings: 

• Increase in profit will enable the owners and stock holders to reward all the employees involved in the industry.
• Will enable for further expansion thus creating more jobs and improving the economy of the area in which the company is located.

Conclusion: 
Apparel engineering is very important for production. It increases the productivity & profit. It makes the operation process smooth & easy. It increases the quality of the product & increases the scope of getting more order. 

References: 

1. Industrial Engineering in Apparel Production By- Ramesh Babu
2. http://www.fibre2fashion.com