Standard Operatring Procedure

Basic Technical SOP for Cutting Section in Apparel Mfg Facility

This research paper is relevant to Indian Apparel manufacturing sector.

SOP Designed under guidance of Mr. Jayashantha Perera

Inputs Details related to Fabric such as face side /Shade bands etc..
1. Shade swatches along with the face side swatch approved by the buyer should be received from the Go down and Merchandising dept respectively. 2. Shade segregation should be complying with the approved swatches. 3. Verify whether the shade segregation is matching to the standard. 4. Approval from H/office mandatory if the received lots of fabric are not matching to standards. 5. The approval must have a checklist form for all the tests & approval standards w. r. t colour, wash, embroidery, printing, hand feel 6. Shade band details (Shade A, B, C, D) after verification should be received from fabric inspector & spreading team also should be given a copy for reference. 7. Shade grouping also must be received from the fabric godown. 8. Fabric details such as to face/back, nap direction; hand feel should be received from the godown duly approved by the merchant. 9. Shade wise/widthwise segregated rolls only should be received, checked & then should proceed for laying. 10. Both ends of every roll should have sticker consisting details of shade no, roll no, width and other relevant detail to enable easy identification of rolls.

Cutting Forecast shade wise

1. Cuttable quantities from each lot and shade should be informed to marketing, QA, & Buyer QA in advance for approval.

2. Cutting of rolls/bales should be done shade wise as per the breakdown of the PO

Note: Rolls should be allotted in such a way that no of shades included in a single lay or shipment or size range is minimized.

Spreading of fabric for Relaxation

1. Unroll the fabric from rolls & lay on table/flat area in concentric folds. 2. Allow for free relaxation without any obstruction the period should be studied and pre determined by the Go down and the factory Fabric Inspector 3. Record the time of unrolling and ready time laying of each roll 4. Relaxation of the lay should be pre determined and will be around 3-6hrs (for stretch fabrics if necessary especially for knitted fabcrics

Fusing-Study of Fusing Shrinkage

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Cut fabric swatches with square template of size 18 X18(or 12x 12) Fuse the fabric & specified interlining at specified temperature, pressure & time. Allow for cooling of the fused parts. Check for fusing shrinkage and record same ---this should be incorporated into the patterns as allowance for fusing. Check for shade variation if any due to fusing. If you observe any shade variation, report to the Cutting In Charge and initiate corrective action. Check the fusing for defects like peel off, bubbles etc. Inform deviations/defects if any to the concerned for necessary corrective action. QA team has to educate/specify area of fusing, and temperature and pressure to be set for fusingFusing tests must be carried out twice a day, once at the start of the machine then in the afternoon.

Fusing Machine-- Tests & Daily Maintenance: >> Fusing validation trial tests must be carried out regularly, when the new style begins fusing parameters has to be finalised (temperature, time & pressure). >>Check the fusing machine pressure rollers nip, affecting the fusing quality, by passing a fabric strip through the machine & by pulling it backward --the need for re alignment of the rollers pressure can be identified when this is done at three points i.e left/center/right of the belt. >>By passing a carbon paper placed on top a white paper through the machine the impression on the white paper can be observed. This would also will help us to determine any inconsistence of the roller pressure at left>center> Right >>Cleaning of the belt thoroughly and check for the required temperature and pressure when the fabric/colour changes.

Washing Shrinkage
1. Percentage of washing shrinkage lengthwise and widthwise should be received from fabric section and recordedthe suppliers should ensure that the shrinkages are as specified by the buyers (international standard limits are 3% lengthwise and 3% -widthwise ) 2. Identify the face & reverse side as per the swatch . Mark the roll no, PO, Style, QC, Taka No etc 3. If the washing shrinkage % is more that 1.5% then the shrinkage test to be conducted for all the rolls/bales received (100% of rolls) 4. If there is a big variation in shrinkage, multiple markers to be prepared. For Example: For absolute shrinkage % range of 3.0 4.5 % marker/pattern#1 & for shrinkage of 4.5% - 6% - Marker/Pattern # 2 like that.

>>Color codification should be done to trace rolls of shrinkage groups , if the range is too large or inconsistent.

Cutting of Pilot Run

Objective: carried out in order to make the necessary amendments in patterns/laying procedure/cutting procedure /cutting allowance/ marker changes/panel inspection/numbering area/bundling size.
1. Cutting incharge, production manager & IE shall plan for the pilot & bulk cutting. 2. Pilot run cutting shall be done as per the colour/size/quantity advised by FM/PM/IE.-the selection of the rolls should cover all the shades and shrinkage groups 3. Make a report of observations, comments, suggestions, amendments, simplification, risk analysis, corrective action plan based on the above analysis. 4. Obtain feed back from the sewing & buying QA and then act upon the necessary corrective action.

Marker drawing & Preservation of patterns

1. Carbon Papers could be used for duplication of markers in case of non-CAD markers.In case of Nike orders it is not allowed---efforts be made to obtain computer markers from a close by plant.. 2. The pattern/marker being suggested by HO team is only a starting point for the cutting incharge to work on better fabric utilisation. Cutting incharge should try out different markers to maximize fabric 3. A Parts Checklist has to be maintained by the marker drawer to ensure coverage of all parts in the lay.

4. Pattern should be verified for required allowances, tolerances, notches and embellishment placement marks, grain line, nap direction indications before marking. 5. Constant usage of patterns results in wear & tear of pattern, this has to be regularly monitored and worn out patterns to be replaced even daily if the case demands to ensure cutting quality. 6. Cello tape could be used to preserve the edges of the pattern boards for big quantities plastic boards could be used to duplicate the pattern for marker drawing 7. If the patterns are worn out, it has to be replicated & cross-verified for required measurements, allowances and tolerances. On satisfying these factors the worn out pattern has to be replaced. 8. Worn out patterns are to be destroyed after conformation on the correctness of the specifications mentioned in tech pack. 9. Lay sheet on which the marker is drawn is torn in the middle & stickers are pasted consisting details like PO no, Serial no, Fabric code no, Lot no. Hence easy identification of cut panels.

Lay Preparation:
1. Layers shall collect lay slip, cutting job card, lay sheet from the minusing person. 2. Layers shall lay the fabric according to the lay slip details. 3. Layers shall collect rolls of only one shade and one width for the lay at a time ,if any shade change is noticed then use separators- i.e. lay sheet has to be placed for identification. 4. The cutting incharge has to decide upon the kind of lay such as face-to-face, face to back, face up, face down, grain line, nap direction during the PP meeting stage upon the analysis of the garment. 5. Use lay separator sheets to separate rolls of different shades if used in the same laythe shade category should be mentioned on every lay separator sheet also.

Lay Precaution:
5. During laying the layers should check the lay-to-lay shade variation & also center to selvedge variation as a part of online check procedure. 6. QC shall inspect the lay for lay tension, width, length, grain line, nap direction etc. 7. End wastage for laying of fabric shouldnt be more than 1 cm.

Bulk Cutting

1. Lay wise manpower requirement must be planned.

2. Cutters must be trained on the methods of accurate cutting, especially for parts with deep curves. If possible diagrammatic representation of the direction of movement of the cutter needs to be illustrated. 3. Cutters shall inspect the cutting machine for oil leakage, straightness of the blade, sharpening quality, evenness in sharpening of the blade, dust accumulation before cutting. 4. Cutters shall cut lay as per the mark up using straight knife m/c and move the parts to band knife as per the discussion in PP meeting. 5. QC shall inspect all the cut parts using patterns and initiate corrective action upon the detection of defect. 6. Prepare 1st cut bundle inspection report; notify fabric defects and cutting defects to FM/PM. 7. QC should have a cutting checklist against which 1st bundle audit has to be conducted. Checklist should have details of allowances, tolerance included in pattern, notches and embellishments placement markings details. 8. The size of the straight knife for cutting lightweight fabrics should be 6 only. 9. Straight knife must be uniformly sharpened from top to bottom as frequently required,. This ensures even sharpening along the full 10. length of the knife/blade.

Note:If sharpening of blade is uneven/inconsistent, it would result in uneven depth of notch marks and variation in cutting too..
11. For Band knife cutting , patterns preferably made of tin should be used. 12. The patterns used for band knife must be changed regularly upon monitoring the wear and tear on the pattern, due to frequent usage.

Numbering
1. Numbering plan must be given by the numbering incharge, specifying the style #, colour, P.O No., Serial No., No. Of garments cut, sizes. 2. All the parts shall be numbered in a pre determined sequence and at pre determined location. 3. Numbering stickers gum strength (Light/Medium/Heavy) has to be decided keeping in mind the kind of fabric being cut.

Panel Checking

1. The checkers carried out panel checking by placing the cut panels on the pattern and checking for accuracy of notches, grain lines, nap direction, crocked cutting, measurements & tolerance. 2. Mark the pattern on a board (Acrylic. Card Board) along with +/- tolerance as dotted lines around the outline marked. Place the cut panel (component) on this marked area. It becomes easier to asses if the cut panel is within or out of tolerance. This inspection board has to verified and approved by pattern maker before usage. 3. Once the fabric is cut, they shall be bundled and marked with inspection status. 4. When a bundle is checked, they shall be marked with green as c. 5. When cut panels are inspected they shall be marked with green as I. 6. All panels shall be checked for fabric defects.

Bundling & Sorting

1. Cuts shall be bundled in to a pre determined bundle size and will be segregated size wise as well as lot wise and stored in bags. 2. Bags shall be stored in racks batch wise. 3. Issues of cut bundles to batches be done out as per the loading plan 4. Bundle tags will have details such as lot no, serial no, size, bundle no. 5. Mention shade category (A, B, C) on the cut panels for easy identification and tracking.

Re cutting & End bit Control:

8. Layers shall mark both end bits with roll number, cut-lot number, meter age --all the bits every lay shall be bundled and given to recutting department. 9. End-bits should be always laid face-up, no change in laying procedure without prior information from the incharge 10. End-bits should be placed separately (Shade wise) to avoid discrepancies, the roll & taka number should be written and stacked separately 11. Re-Cutting should be done from the same lot of fabric, matching the shade, to avoid shade variation.