We manufacture apparel products in two factories in China and the other two in Vietnam. There are various clients and customers behind this industry. And it has various apparel categories such as suits, casual wear and sportswear, although there must be much more categories.  

Coaching of technique to meet client’s needs

What is required in the sewing process differs among categories and clients. While what is in common in every process is to stick to fundamentals, for other points, we think it important to make all kinds of efforts and adjustments to meet the needs of respective categories and clients. We are also focusing on technical guidance so that we can continue to comply with various needs.

   

For example, when it comes to producing ladies suits, three-dimensional fabrication is required in order to fit the rounded body. For this purpose, a lot of press processes are a must. After the stitching, we press the clothing to pull into shape, resume stitching and again press it. Pressing gives clothing the shape of roundness and curve. By contrast, there are some press processes to produce a sports wear. But unlike ladies suits, there should be less number of times to use the press in order to reduce unnecessary processes.

  If the same processes are applied to every apparel product, it causes unnecessary labor and time and results in high cost. It is inconvenient and unsuitable to the apparel category and client. We think the real meaning of “technique” is to make the most of our accumulated know-how to manufacture satisfying products which meet the demands of respective categories and clients.    

Factory Administration

Both back-office and production departments basically have a common belief in terms of factory administration: clear and transparent administration. It enables administrator not only to pay attention to various on-site problems and solve them in a moment but also to obviate such risks.    

Secure line work carried out by workers

  Production department employs basket flow system. Under this system, each production line has as many number of baskets as workers standing along the line. The basket containing the components enough to produce five items is moved parallel to the U-shape production line. When some baskets stall midstream, i.e. a worker on the line has them in front, we find that he/she gets into some kind of trouble. So we go there to solve the problem. Meanwhile, when there is no basket in front of a worker, he/she is at a loose end. So we help the process of worker(s) before him/her. Or rather, we reconsider the allocation of processes within the line. We consider it as a smooth operation when baskets flow at a steady pace and each worker has one basket in front. Otherwise, there is something wrong with the operation flow. On average, one production line has 15-20 workers. As each worker passes a basket in turn, single skill worker basically has difficulty creating a flow. So the worker on the line needs to be versatile so that he/she can carry out not only its own task but also the ones around him/her. However, there are horses for courses. Product line’s leader needs to determine each worker’s ability and allocate the operation process suitable for them.    

When it comes to payroll system, we employ incentive compensation. It reflects how many apparels the production line had finished. In particular, we make clear the amount of salary by applying the number of finished products to salary calculation with the fixed formula. Also, as the disparity of individual salary arises among production lines only on the basis of production-based salary, we evaluate each worker’s ability to pay for performance. This payroll system is also one of the transparent administration. Additionally, we have received guidance from a mass merchant to put an equipment management system in place and acquired an authorization.

Administration and management cannot be done without rules and regulations. Lack of compliance with them means no administration and management. Especially, we have made it a rule to keep a log for equipment management. In this system, a worker keeps a log and obtains confirmation from the supervisor. Also, the worker routinely checks the equipment. By doing them repeatedly, we urge employees to observe the rules and regulations.