APPAREL-INDUSTRY
(PPC DEPT)
INTRODUCTION
Production planning entails the organization of an overall
manufacturing process to manufacture the end product. In the garment industry,
various activities to be carried out in production planning are designing the
end product, determining the machinery required and capacity planning, plant
layout and material handling, establishment of sequence of operations for a
style and nature of the operations to be carried out and specification of
certain production quantity and quality levels. There
are different types of work like as task scheduling, material resource planning
(inventory), loading production, process selection and planning, select
location, estimating quantity and production cost, capacity planning, line
planning, follow up and execution etc are done by production planning and control
department. In this article all process of production planning and control
department in garment industry are discussed elaborately.
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Roles
of Production Planning Department in Garment Industry
Production planning and control (PPC) department plays an important role in ready-made garment (RMG) industry. PPC department has to build-up strong relationship with the other departments to achieve maximum output from the export order.
Production planning and control (PPC) department plays an important role in ready-made garment (RMG) industry. PPC department has to build-up strong relationship with the other departments to achieve maximum output from the export order.
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Fig: Roles of PPC dept. in
garment industry
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Production planning involves everything from
scheduling each task in the process to execution and delivery of products. In
most cases the production of garments is very time sensitive in order to ship
goods to stores and boutiques for the upcoming season. In the context of
apparel manufacturing, the primary roles of the PPC department are listed
below. Each function is explained briefly, just as an overview of the task
Task scheduling:
It involves planning of Time & Action (T&A) calendar for every order from the receipt of the order to dispatch of the same. The task schedule comprises a list of jobs to be processed for the style of garment. Alongside each task the production planner cites the start time of a task and the scheduled date for completion.
Material resource planning:
It is the planning and creation of material requirement sheet based on sample product and the specification sheet. The consumption of raw material such as fabric, button, sewing thread, and twill tape and their costs are estimated.
Loading production:
Production planner delineates which garment style and how the quantity has to be put into the production line.
Patterns and markers:
Pattern making, grading, and markers are a crucial part in planning for production. Once markers of each style are finalized, one can easily calculate the yield of fabric needed for production and in turn can order the fabric. When planning for the production schedule one must speak to the fabric supplier about the turnaround of the fabric and any additional time needed for dyeing or washing the fabric.
Process selection and planning:
The operations required to finish an order differs from garment style to style. Based on the buyer requirement, production planning section decides on processes for the orders. Sometimes additional operations or processes are removed to minimize the cost of production.
Facility location:
For a garment industry that has multiple factories for production and are set for specific products, the production planner has to identify which facility will be the most appropriate for new orders.
Estimation quantity and costs of production:
The production planner should estimate the daily production based on garment style work content. Based on the estimated production rates, production runs and operator involvement planner also estimate production cost per pieces.
Capacity planning:
The PPC department plays a vital role during booking of orders. They have to provide information regarding quantity of order they could accept based on their estimated production capacity.
Line planning:
It is the preparation of comprehensive production line planning along with daily production target for the specific production line. In a majority of cases, line planning is prepared after having a discussion with the production department and the IE in the industry.
Cost control:
Garment manufacturers cannot afford to lose time or materials in the production process. Raw material prices rise consistently, and poor planning can lead to missed opportunities and higher costs. With styles changing rapidly and vendors making increasingly smaller orders to keep up with changing trends, the planning phase of each production piece must be as accurate as possible.
Reduce loss:
About 60-70% of the cost of a garment is in the fabric. As such, it is vital that one orders appropriately and tracks the cutting room processes to keep errors to a minimum. Effective production planning relies on the ability to order the appropriate amount of fabric for a run and to realize no more than a 2-3% rate of error in cutting. That means that the number of garment components produced should equal 97-98% of the garment components cut.
Deliver timely shipments:
Early delivery can be as harmful to the company’s future as late delivery, because buyers then must accommodate early deliveries with additional storage capacity. Ideally, the planning should allow for exact delivery when the customer demands. At the same time, there must be sufficient labor and raw material delivery in the exact proportions to meet the deadlines without having to pay extra for overtime.
Follow-Up and execution:
The PPC department ensures that the order is moving in a particular production line as per the production plan. Once the plans are set for a garment run and delivery deadlines, one must institute strict follow-up procedures to ensure that the plan is followed correctly. If the cutting room, for example, falls behind in its production schedule, then the sewing and finishing lines must wait, leading to backlogs and missed delivery deadlines for shipment. To avoid this, one must have a daily oversight of each step and keep the rest of the line updated with any delays so that plans can be adjusted to pick up the slack.
Task scheduling:
It involves planning of Time & Action (T&A) calendar for every order from the receipt of the order to dispatch of the same. The task schedule comprises a list of jobs to be processed for the style of garment. Alongside each task the production planner cites the start time of a task and the scheduled date for completion.
Material resource planning:
It is the planning and creation of material requirement sheet based on sample product and the specification sheet. The consumption of raw material such as fabric, button, sewing thread, and twill tape and their costs are estimated.
Loading production:
Production planner delineates which garment style and how the quantity has to be put into the production line.
Patterns and markers:
Pattern making, grading, and markers are a crucial part in planning for production. Once markers of each style are finalized, one can easily calculate the yield of fabric needed for production and in turn can order the fabric. When planning for the production schedule one must speak to the fabric supplier about the turnaround of the fabric and any additional time needed for dyeing or washing the fabric.
Process selection and planning:
The operations required to finish an order differs from garment style to style. Based on the buyer requirement, production planning section decides on processes for the orders. Sometimes additional operations or processes are removed to minimize the cost of production.
Facility location:
For a garment industry that has multiple factories for production and are set for specific products, the production planner has to identify which facility will be the most appropriate for new orders.
Estimation quantity and costs of production:
The production planner should estimate the daily production based on garment style work content. Based on the estimated production rates, production runs and operator involvement planner also estimate production cost per pieces.
Capacity planning:
The PPC department plays a vital role during booking of orders. They have to provide information regarding quantity of order they could accept based on their estimated production capacity.
Line planning:
It is the preparation of comprehensive production line planning along with daily production target for the specific production line. In a majority of cases, line planning is prepared after having a discussion with the production department and the IE in the industry.
Cost control:
Garment manufacturers cannot afford to lose time or materials in the production process. Raw material prices rise consistently, and poor planning can lead to missed opportunities and higher costs. With styles changing rapidly and vendors making increasingly smaller orders to keep up with changing trends, the planning phase of each production piece must be as accurate as possible.
Reduce loss:
About 60-70% of the cost of a garment is in the fabric. As such, it is vital that one orders appropriately and tracks the cutting room processes to keep errors to a minimum. Effective production planning relies on the ability to order the appropriate amount of fabric for a run and to realize no more than a 2-3% rate of error in cutting. That means that the number of garment components produced should equal 97-98% of the garment components cut.
Deliver timely shipments:
Early delivery can be as harmful to the company’s future as late delivery, because buyers then must accommodate early deliveries with additional storage capacity. Ideally, the planning should allow for exact delivery when the customer demands. At the same time, there must be sufficient labor and raw material delivery in the exact proportions to meet the deadlines without having to pay extra for overtime.
Follow-Up and execution:
The PPC department ensures that the order is moving in a particular production line as per the production plan. Once the plans are set for a garment run and delivery deadlines, one must institute strict follow-up procedures to ensure that the plan is followed correctly. If the cutting room, for example, falls behind in its production schedule, then the sewing and finishing lines must wait, leading to backlogs and missed delivery deadlines for shipment. To avoid this, one must have a daily oversight of each step and keep the rest of the line updated with any delays so that plans can be adjusted to pick up the slack.
Production
Planning in Apparel Industry:
To manage with the short lead time and
small but frequent orders, apparel manufacturers strive to improve their
production processes in order to deliver finished products within the
expected time frame at the lowest production cost. Production planning is
therefore gaining importance in contemporary apparel manufacturing.
Production planning can be defined as the technique of foreseeing every step in a long series of separate operations, each step to be taken at the right time and in the right place and each operation to be performed with maximum efficiency. It in a way helps the organization to work out the quantity of material, manpower, machine, and money required for producing a predetermined level of output in a specified period of time. An outline of an apparel production cycle is shown in Fig 2.
Production planning can be defined as the technique of foreseeing every step in a long series of separate operations, each step to be taken at the right time and in the right place and each operation to be performed with maximum efficiency. It in a way helps the organization to work out the quantity of material, manpower, machine, and money required for producing a predetermined level of output in a specified period of time. An outline of an apparel production cycle is shown in Fig 2.
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Fig 2: Outline of an
apparel production cycle
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Managing production in an organization
mainly involves planning, organizing, directing, and controlling
production activities. It deals with converting raw materials into
finished goods along with proper decision making regarding the quality, quantity, cost, etc. involved in it.
The basic planning process in apparel manufacture includes:
The basic planning process in apparel manufacture includes:
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Receiving the order.
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Proper planning to check if there
is sufficient plant capacity is available to achieve the delivery date
specified.
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Checking availability of cut parts
and panels in the non sewing areas (cut embroidery if any, print, wash,
and pack).
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Checking if there is ample time to
order and receive fabric, trims, approve sample, lab testing, etc.
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Confirmation of the delivery date
to the customer.
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Proper communication between
departments for smooth flow of the process.
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Monitoring progress against plan.
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Replan if required.
However,
skills and efficiency vary for different teams and absenteeism is also
always taken into account. For instance, if a team normally makes woven
garments, a change to knitted T-shirts means that they are less skilled at
handling that item. Automatically there is a fall in the rate of
production, which impacts planning.
The clothing industry is
still very much dependent on human labor, despite increasing usage of
automatic machines and processes. Now, with the ever-changing fashion market,
which demands constant style changes, it becomes a challenge in achieving
efficiencies and optimizing operator skills. So the trick here is to have
the same team of operators working on a similar type of product for as
long as possible, hence minimizing production loss. The planning must also
consider special areas where loading might impact resources.
Most business systems offer some capacity planning, while many of them are not graphical, complex to use, and not user-friendly. Using spreadsheets has its own drawbacks: lack of transparency, not visual, cannot be shared on a network, which limits coordination, and is cumbersome and difficult to manage with large orders.
Most business systems offer some capacity planning, while many of them are not graphical, complex to use, and not user-friendly. Using spreadsheets has its own drawbacks: lack of transparency, not visual, cannot be shared on a network, which limits coordination, and is cumbersome and difficult to manage with large orders.
To overcome these obstacles companies can change:
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From flow line production to production in cells, where there is
more team work and more skilled labor, which saves time.
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Just-in-time (JIT) approach to deal with the inventory.
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Strategically having partners to gain short lead times.
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Service orientation rather than product orientation.
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Emphasis on accuracy of output than volume of output.
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Long-term capacity planning.
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Short-term detailed planning, that is, planning of cutting room and sewing room activities.
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Inventory control—raw material purchasing, finished goods, etc.
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Critical path control.
The management must allocate
HRs in the form of Planning Executive (PE), Merchandising Executive, Factory Planners, and
Planners so that planning and control activities are well carried out. The
Planning Executive will liaise with customers and merchandising executives to
establish requirements for this season and next; agree to delivery
schedules as planned; respond to the changes that must be made on the
basis of consumer demand; allocating garments to appropriate factories to
achieve customer requirements and control of critical path.
The factory planner takes information from the Planning Executive and works on them in the factory, such as scheduling and sequencing work lines with delivery dates; working closely with the production department at the factory; liaising with fabric suppliers for procurement of fabric. The planner does the detailed planning of work for each line as per the customer information supplied; purchasing of fabric and trimmings; loading the cutting room in time; production control, that is, to ensure that quantities ordered match with the cut quantities.
Before a garment can go onto the production line, there is a huge amount of pre-production activity that must take place. Sometimes it is done as specified by the customer or on a general basis. Activities are allocated to individuals who can cross-examine them before sending them to the sewing floor, for example, label information, wearer trials, quality seals, and fabric approval. By doing this it becomes easy for the planning department to track where the product is on the planning board and where it needs to be pushed forward or backward, and hence maintain a critical path to attain the target. If by any case the production is delayed by some weeks or days, the problem is highlighted on the planning board. So the PE must postpone the start date and try to expedite the pre-production process.
Therefore, only the fittest and leanest organizations survive in the race for manufacturing quality apparel in the desired time by working efficiently, cost-effectively, responsively, and flexibly.
The factory planner takes information from the Planning Executive and works on them in the factory, such as scheduling and sequencing work lines with delivery dates; working closely with the production department at the factory; liaising with fabric suppliers for procurement of fabric. The planner does the detailed planning of work for each line as per the customer information supplied; purchasing of fabric and trimmings; loading the cutting room in time; production control, that is, to ensure that quantities ordered match with the cut quantities.
Before a garment can go onto the production line, there is a huge amount of pre-production activity that must take place. Sometimes it is done as specified by the customer or on a general basis. Activities are allocated to individuals who can cross-examine them before sending them to the sewing floor, for example, label information, wearer trials, quality seals, and fabric approval. By doing this it becomes easy for the planning department to track where the product is on the planning board and where it needs to be pushed forward or backward, and hence maintain a critical path to attain the target. If by any case the production is delayed by some weeks or days, the problem is highlighted on the planning board. So the PE must postpone the start date and try to expedite the pre-production process.
Therefore, only the fittest and leanest organizations survive in the race for manufacturing quality apparel in the desired time by working efficiently, cost-effectively, responsively, and flexibly.
Production Control in Apparel Industry:
Production control is the
process of planning production in advance of operations, establishing the
exact way of each individual item part or assembly, setting, starting, and
finishing for each important item, assembly or the finishing production,
and releasing the necessary orders as well as initiating the necessary
follow-up so that the production may run according to the original or revised
schedule.
Areas of Production Control:
Despatching:
Dispatching is an important step as it translates production plans into production. Dispatching involves issue of production orders for starting the operations. Conformation is given for:
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Moving of materials from process to process.
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Assigning of work to machines.
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Issuing of tools to production departments.
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Issuing of job orders.
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Recording of time taken.
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Ensuring necessary changes.
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Having proper liaison with routing
Follow-up or expediting:
Follow up or expediting is
that branch of production control procedure which regulates the progress of
materials and part through the production process. It is done to check if there
are any bottlenecks in the flow of work and to ensure that the production
operations are occurring in accordance with plans. It spots delays or
deviations from the production plans. It also helps to reveal defects in
routing and scheduling, under loading or overloading of work, etc. All
remedial measures are taken to ensure that the work is completed by the
planned date.
Inspection:
To ensure the quality of goods inspection is also very important. The purpose of inspection is to see whether the products manufactured are of requisite quality or not. It is carried on at various levels of production process so that pre-determined standards of quality are achieved. Inspection is undertaken both of products and inputs.
Corrective measures:
Corrective measures may involve any of those activities of adjusting the route, rescheduling of work, repairs and maintenance of machinery or equipment, and control over inventories. Alternative methods are suggested to handle peak loads.
Inspection:
To ensure the quality of goods inspection is also very important. The purpose of inspection is to see whether the products manufactured are of requisite quality or not. It is carried on at various levels of production process so that pre-determined standards of quality are achieved. Inspection is undertaken both of products and inputs.
Corrective measures:
Corrective measures may involve any of those activities of adjusting the route, rescheduling of work, repairs and maintenance of machinery or equipment, and control over inventories. Alternative methods are suggested to handle peak loads.
Importance of Production Planning and Control in Apparel
Industry:
Production planning and control is important for the
following reasons –
A. For Increasing Production: Main purpose of production planning is to arrange inputs. Production control programme minimizes idleness of men and machines. It thus helps in raising industrial output.
B. For coordinating plant activity: In planning production is carried out in a number of processes and thus activities are synchronized for smooth working.
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