Manufacturing and Production

Sewing Line Balancing and Apparel Industrial Engineering

A sewing line produces at the speed of its slowest operation, and most factories carry that bottleneck for the life of a style because nobody measured where it was. This course provides the measurement and the remedy. Delegates work through operation breakdown, building a style into its component operations and sequencing them. Time study follows, including rating, allowances and the standard minute value that everything downstream depends on. Predetermined time systems are introduced as an alternative. Line balancing is worked through practically: theoretical operator requirement, work station allocation and the reallocation that removes a bottleneck. Layout options are covered across progressive bundle, unit production and modular working. Work in progress control and its effect on throughput time are addressed. Operator training, learning curves and the cost of a style change follow. Efficiency, performance and their honest calculation are covered. The course closes on capacity planning and on costing a style from its standard minutes.