Useful Formulas for Industrial Engineers

12 Useful Formulas for Industrial Engineers (Poster)

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I love formulas for mathematical calculations. Because a formula helps me getting the result quicker and it specifically mentions what all data I need to collect to find result of the desired thing.

In garment manufacturing, industrial engineers, production managers and planners measure factory performance on daily basis. Performances are measured using standard formulas. I guess you are already using such formulas for calculating performance.

Don't you think, it would be a good idea to have a poster of commonly used formulas in your work space? A poster is very useful tool for many reasons. I have made one poster for you and sharing it with you.

Following are the common formulas those are used by garment industry professionals.

Formula#1:

Daily Line Target = (Total working minutes in a day X No. of operators in a line X Line eff%)/Garment SAM

Formula#2: 

Individual operator target = (Total working minutes in a day X line efficiency %)/Operation SAM

Formula#3: 

Individual operator Efficiency% = (units produced X operation SAM X 100)/Total minutes worked

While you are developing skill matrix for sewing operators, you need measure individual performance. Secondly, if you plan to start performance based incentive scheme for individual operator, measuring individual operator efficiency is essential.

Formula#4: 

Line Efficiency% = (Line output X garment SAM X 100)/(Number of operators X minute worked in day)

Note: include helpers and worker doing manual operations in case you have included SAM of those operations.

Formula#5: 

Machine Productivity: Line output / No. of machine used

Machine productivity is measured in production per machine per shift day.

Formula#6: 

Labor Productivity = Line output / No. of total manpower (operators +helpers)

Formula#7: 

Line WIP (work in process) = Total pieces lie on the line for a particular order line
WIP of the line of an order is equal to Total pieces loaded till date minus Total piece out till date.

Formula#8: 

Standard Time = (Observed time X observed rating) + Allowances

Allowances – Relaxation allowance, contingency allowance

Formula#9: 

Machine utilization% = (Actual Machine running Time X 100) / Time available

Formula#10: 

Cost per minute = Total cost incurred in labor / Total available working minute in a day X no. of labors

Formula#11: 

Production Cost pet unit = Total cost incurred in production in a day/ no. of garment produced in a day

Formula#12: 

Man to Machine ratio = Total manpower of the factory / Total no. of sewing machines (utilized)

Poster: 12 useful performance measuring formulas (Click to enlarge the image).

suitable for printing and hanging near your work space when you need to see it most.

Note: Our purpose is to provide you correct information. Still if you find any formula that is not correct you may comment in the below comment box.

Application of Industrial Engineering

Application of Industrial Engineering in Garment Industry

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Many articles have been written and published on industrial engineering since the inception of this blog. What is the new in this post?

This post is written to explain the application of Industrial Engineering (IE) concepts in garment Industry. To many, this is important to know why one should set up an IE department in garment factory. I have taken help of two questions to explain this topic in detail and also recommended a book at the end of this post for your further reading on this topic. Two questions are -

1. What is the application of Industrial Engineering in apparel industry?
2. How Industrial Engineering concepts are used by apparel manufacturers?

What is the application of Industrial Engineering in apparel industry?

Industrial Engineering concepts are used in garment manufacturing to fulfill the following purposes -

• Monitoring production floor and having better control over the production floor
• Improving processes and improving method of working to increase factory's overall performance and standardized garment manufacturing processes

Overall application of Industrial engineering can be explained better by describing common tasks of the IE department. Coomo tasks of an IE department are as following but not limited to these

• Work measurement of sewing operations, cutting room jobs and finishing jobs
• Setting standard time for sewing operations and manual operations
• Style analysis and conducting research and development (R&D) of the styles 
• Improving method of work and design workstation 
• Production planning and factory capacity determination
• Work aids development
• Work station designing and machine layout planning
• Labor cost estimation
• Performance measuring of workers 
• Training of workers (sewing operators)
• Designing incentive scheme and calculating incentive for sewing operators
• Setting line production target of the sewing lines and chasing production from line supervisors and operators
• Application of lean tools

Read full list of job profile of the industrial engineering department in a garment factory.

How Industrial Engineering Concepts are used by apparel manufacturers?

Factories those are using IE techniques mostly have a complete IE set up (department). An IE department consists of an IE managers (in-charge) and Industrial Engineers and juniors engineers. The strength of IE team widely varies based on the maturity level of the department and on the focus of application of Industrial Engineering. Without having enough team members, an IE department can not work effectively.

Industrial Engineers are utilized in the following ways but not limited to those -
Factories apply all or few of the above listed functions to

• assist line supervisors by preparing resource requirement plan (machines and equipment and manpower), line setting and line balancing etc. 
• assist production managers in target planning and production planning, 
• help merchandiser and marketing personnel by providing labor cost and production lead time, 
• help HR department by providing operator performance level, and help in operator recruitment 
• prepare MIS reports and show management team product status on daily basis and alert management team if their attention is needed
• set up standards operating procedures for new tasks, new process required for ever changing fashion products

More than the regular jobs, IEs are also responsible for thinking of continuous process improvement. Initiation of new projects and implementation of the project that has been undertaken, showing the improvement opportunity within the factory to management team. Engineers are involved in performance improvement tasks of the cutting department and finishing department.

Companies those have limited manpower in IE team, only involves engineers for routine jobs like, making operation bulletin, thread consumption, preparing daily production reports etc.

Conclusion:

No doubt that Industrial engineering department is adding a lot of values to the company. Without having Industrial Engineering team one would not know how things are going on the shop floor, what corrective measures need to taken on time, effective utilization of manpower and machines.

Industrial engineering concept need to incorporate at the time of plant set up instead of changing and modifying things later after factory starts making garments.

Applications of IE tools are also explained in other articles. Check our archive page of industrial engineering articles. You can also refer the free eBook 'Industrial Engineering 101' on which you will get the full list of industrial engineering topics. Details of the topics are available in this site. You can read those articles by clicking on the topic.

To increase your knowledge on Industrial Engineering subject and production management irrespective of industry, I recommend you to read this book. In India you can also buy this book from flipkart.

Right Career Option: Merchandising or Production (Industrial Engineering)?

What is the Right Career Option: Merchandising or Production (Industrial Engineering)?

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Did anybody ask you this question before?

I have been asked this question many times by my juniors and by OCS readers. I thought it would be a great discussion if you share your thought on 'what to choose as career option- apparel merchandising or Garment production?'.

I am happy to share that when I was studying in a fashion institute, I also asked this question to my seniors and to our faculties.

I would not write too much today. Just I will share one of my responses that I wrote to one of my fans. I would like to hear from you and share your views with newcomers to help them choosing right career option.


Question: "Actually I am a student of garment technology and I am very much confused to select the area of job from Merchandising & Industrial Engineering (IE). Please suggest me which one is the best option from Merchandising and IE"

My reply was: 

To me both are the best. If you ask me to answer in one line my answer for you is - being a garment technology student you should choose Industrial Engineering as your career. Reason, you have gained in-depth knowledge on production areas rather than merchandising.
Though a course does not matter much when you have your dream job in your mind. If your dream is to become a merchandiser then you can work in merchandising.

I would say, selecting 'the best option' totally depends on you. What do you want to be? What are your key skills that are required in career growth in the apparel industry. Following are the important Key skills one need to be considered.

- Negotiation skill

- Logical thinking

- Communication skill

- Convincing power

 - Managerial skill

- Team leading skill

- Communication skill both in written and verbal

If one does not have some of the above skills can be learned.

Here I would just show you the real facts of these two job profiles according to my point of views. You have to choose one out of two based on your interest and competency. In a moment I will share 4 key points that you need to look into before you select your career option.

#1 Job challenges and work profile:

When I look into these two profiles from business point of view, merchandising job is more challenging compared to an IE.

Being an IE you need to interact with people within your company (factory). You will have a small team. Most of time interact with production team. You will be involved in improving factory performance, reducing labor cost continuously, setting internal systems etc.

On the other hand being a merchandiser, you have to deal with buyers, buying office, testing labs, production team, sampling, sourcing, subcontracting jobs and many uncertain jobs for the business. To be an expert you have to acquire knowledge of wider fields.

For those who are interested in core production: When it comes for core production you need to work under lot of work pressure and have to manage a big team. Longer working working hours in a day.

If you have not already read please check job responsibilities of an export house merchant and industrial engineers.  

#2. Future growth:

In merchandising you will have wider range of job opportunities. Like - export houses, buying houses, buyers, retailing etc. This is considered as more sophisticated job profile (when you are in higher rank) than an IE.

For an IE the job profile is limited to garment production. But Industrial Engineering is one of the growing field in garment industry. IE are in demand now. Overseas job opportunities are also there for IEs.

 Also read: Career opportunities in the Apparel Industry

#3. Job satisfaction:

Job satisfaction are there in both kind of works. Individual job satisfaction again depends on various factors. Like, who is your boss, your expectation from the company, work culture in the company and HR policies, yearly growth etc. 

 If you work in production you have to work longer hours in a day. 

#4. Pay packages:

As a fresher you will get similar pay package in both job profiles. In long term, if you can grab a good position in a company you can pocket good salary in both jobs.

In garment factories there is no performance incentives for merchandisers as well as IEs. Merchandisers who work in buying offices or as a buyers may get good incentives by achieving target. (But this is not true for all).

So, what do you want to be? It is up to you to select right path for your career.

I missed to share that I was a Fashion Technology (Garment Technology) student. I selected garment production field as my career option. And till date I am mostly involved in garment production (Industrial Engineering).

This is what I had to say to all those are struggling to choose one out of these two job opportunities and newcomers who is still thinking to change his/her job and want to shift to other.

Now it is your turn to add some valuable notes for future professionals of the garment industry.

Meaning of SAM in Garment Industry

What is the Meaning of SAM in Garment Industry?

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As defined in the book Introduction to Work Study, ILO,

SAM is the time value arrived at for a task based on the average rate of output which qualified workers will naturally achieve without over exertion provided that they know and adhere to the specified method and provided that they are motivated to apply themselves to their work. 

Here SAM stands for Standard Allowed Minute.


In garment industry, specifically in production SAM is used for measuring work. In the factory work study department (also know as Industrial Engineering department) measure and calculate SAM for sewing operation using standard calculation method. Read 'How to calculate SAM of the garment' 

SAM is used many ways directly and indirectly. Some of those are

• Factory as well as individual operator performance is measured by means of SAM
• Labor cost and associated cost ratios are measured by SAM 
• Operators payroll and incentive amount is calculated based on earned SAM
• Latest production scheduling systems like line balancing system and performance measuring systems use SAM as one of the primary parameters. 

An organised garment manufacturing company can not think about managing and controlling shop floor without using SAM of the garment and  individual operations. Even apparel buyers do negotiation of garment manufacturing price based on garment SAM. 

To derive most appropriate SAM value of a garment, factories use PTS based systems. Standard Time is also derived from time study method. 

Thread Consumption

Thread Consumption Calculation Process for Garments is Simplified

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Calculating Thread Consumption of a garment is one of the common processes in garment manufacturing. It was never an easy task to find average thread requirement for a style in bulk production. First reason, this is a time consuming process. Secondly, though factories use scientific method for calculating thread average, most of the time factories source extra threads for production or factories found lot of leftover threads after style completion.

However, you need to follow the process everyday. When you get a new style, extra time needed to understand the operations (construction details). One other important point I like to mention that till date providing thread average is a job of a production guy or an Industrial Engineers.

Thread manufacturing company American & Efird (A&E) has simplified thread average calculation process by introducing ANECALC. Now anybody, who knows about garment operations, machine types to be used to make the garment in each operation, can calculate the average threads requirement for the garment by using ANECALC.

Thread Consumption Calculator by A&E

ANECALC is an MS Excel based thread average calculation sheet. A&E made Thread Consumption Sheet for most of the apparel products (See below). List of operations of the those products are already written in the calculation sheet. Formula are added into the sheet. Most of the required information are pre-filled. You just need to modify values where needed. If required you can add or discard operations on the sheet. Instruction of using the ANECALC sheet (New Help Guide) is there in a separate worksheet of the same file.

1. Men’s Neck Tie
2. Missy’s Long Sleeve Knit Shirt
3. Missy’s Knit Shirt
4. Missy’s Knit Dress
5. Missy’s Henley Shirt
6. Missy’s 5 Pocket Jeans
7. Men’s Work Shirt
8. Men’s Work Pants
9. Men’s Work Coverall
10. Men’s T-Shirt
11. Men’s Tank Top
12. Men’s Suit Trouser
13. Men’s Suit Coat
14. Men’s Short Sleeve Polo Shirt
15. Men’s Long Sleeve Polo Shirt
16. Men’s Long Sleeve Mock Stretch Knit Shirt
17. Men’s Protective Clothing- Long Sleeve Shirt
18. Men’s Protective Clothing- Pants
19. Men’s Protective Clothing- Coverall
20. Men’s Thermal Underwear
21. Men’s Knit Brief
22. Men’s Hockey Jersey
23. Men’s Gym Shorts
24. Men’s Fleece Sweatshirt
25. Men’s Dress Slacks
26. Men’s Dress Shirt – Short Sleeve
27. Men’s Dress Shirt, Long Sleeve
28. Men’s Chino Pants
29. Men’s Casual Woven Shirt
30. Men’s Carpenter Jean
31. Men’s Boxer Shorts
32. Men’s Blazer
33. Men’s Athletic Jacket
34. Men’s 5 Pocket Jean
35. Kid’s T-Shirt, Long Sleeve, Crew Neck
36. Kid’s Tank Top – Size 4
37. Application Guidelines: Kid’s Polo Shirt
38. Kid’s Knit Shirt
39. Junior’s Fancy 5 Pocket Jean
40. Girl’s Henley Shirt
41. Boy’s Jean
42. Boy’s Carpenter Jean
43. Baseball Cap
44. Ladies Panties
45. Ladies Tank Top
46. Ladies Swimsuit
47. Ladies Jeans
48. Ladies Bra – Petite
49. Ladies Bikini
50. and More ...

Download the excel sheet for the specific product and start calculating average thread consumption.
If you find this article helpful, you can share this with your friends.

Industrial Engineering Procedure of Garment

Industrial Engineering Procedure

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Question

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Could you please define what is the Industrial Engineering  procedure? I want to know the exact answer. ... asked by Rukshan

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Answer

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This one is really a tough question to answer. As I don't know if there is a defined IE procedure for the garment industry. So, instead of defining Industrial Engineering (IE) procedure I would to explain things for better clarification. 

In garment production Industrial Engineers do a number of tasks. They use number of tools and techniques, and methods for the tasks. I would say it is not exactly IE procedure but procedures of implementation of IE tools and techniques. 

IE Work Flow Chart

Still if you like to know about IE procedures, it can described with a work flow. Most common tasks of an IE are presented in an order in the following.

Style analysis --> Make operation breakdown --> Thread consumption calculation--> Making line layout on paper --> Select m/c and equipment --> arrange guides and attachment -->Planning for production target --> Setting line when new style is loaded --> Do line balancing --> Record production data --> Make production reports --> Report to higher management (P.S. This is just an example of work flow).

Most IE tasks are aimed to make better work flow, improve utilization of resources, increasing factory performance, and reducing production cost. As IE department get matured in a factory, it includes more tools to help production team to increase the factory performance.

Work flow chart of IE department is shown in the following chart. (Click to enlarge image)

Industrial Engineering Work Flow Chart

Industrial Engineer's Job Profile

If you are new to Industrial Engineering fields, read list of jobs done by Industrial Engineers and Industrial Engineering department.

1. Industrial Engineer's Job Profile in the Apparel Industry
2. Role of the Industrial Engineers in Garment Production Management

Implementation Procedure of IE Tools

IE procedure can be explained as the procedure of using Industrial Engineering tools. To learn how Industrial Engineering tools are used by IEs in garment industry read on the following articles.

• Time Study Procedure
• Standard Minute Estimation Procedure
• Operation Bulletin Preparation Procedures
• Operator Training Procedures
• Sewing Operator Recruitment Procedure 
• Thread Average Calculation 

There are many other IE tools used by IE department. To know more about procedure of other IE tools search by keywords using the search box in top right corner.

Comparison of Cost and Production Between a Traditional Bundle System and a Unit Production System

Comparison of Cost and Production Between a Traditional Bundle System and a Unit Production System Installed (Downloadable Research Paper)

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I was earlier complaining about not having much study materials on the net for us. Study materials like articles on various topics related to Garment Production, Technology, Did-it-Yourself Guides, Tutorials etc. Do you also think so?


Now I would say that I was wrong. Actually there are enough study materials for learning from the net. Just we need to become smart in searching in Google.


Yesterday I discovered one such valuable document (A Research Report) from Fashion Institute of Technology's Advanced Apparel Manufacturing Technology Department (AAMTD). This research report is the result of work performed under sponsorship of the Fashion Institute of Technology and the United States Department of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency.


You can Read this research Paper. This report explains facts related to Traditional Bundle System (PBS) and Unit Production system (UPS) and Apparel Production Methods. And shows comparison of Cost and Production between PBS and UPS installation.


Comparison in Brief from the report

"A manufacturer that was using a bundle system switched over to a UPS. Data critical to an analysis of the two systems was collected prior to and after the changeover and then was critically analyzed. Analysis revealed that with the UPS installation weekly output increased by 9.6%; the number of workers decreased by 10.3%; production time per unit decreased by 17.3%; and, unit production costs decreased by 12.3%", as reported by author of this research paper. 

This report would be helpful guide for fashion students and research scholars to design their research project report.