Exercise 7 will give you practiceto stitch curves both right and left asyou start at the mark. There are twolines to follow. Complete one line andthen start the second line. Practice onpaper first and after your deviationsare few, use fabric and stitch with SPIof 9 or 10. Repeat this exercise with2 plies of fabric placing two fabricpieces one over another. You will take two pieces of fabricof even size 30 cm x 6 cm. Place the fabric pieces one above the other. Draw a line1cm from the right edge as in the picture. Stitch on the line and reverse stitch atboth edges (top and bottom). You now unfold or open the two fabric pieces. Lay it straight on the reverse side.Topstitch flatten the two fabric pieces (Red dotted line). Practice this exercise. Now you have gained enough practice and are ready for the next exercise.You can make a simple patch pocket using the plain seam you have stitched andpracticed. For this exercise, take 20x20 cm and 6x8 cm fabric pieces as in Picture 1. Fold thesmaller piece (Picture 2) in the middle (Picture 3) to make it 3 cm equal (Picture 4).Now cut on one end of the fabric to make an angle, as in Picture 5 and open thefold (Picture 6). As in Picture 7, fold 2 cm at the top of the piece and topstitch asin picture 8 to make the mouth of the pocket. Fold the three edges of the pocketpiece and place it on the large fabric piece in its centre. Finally, edge stitch on thethree sides along the edges as in Picture 9. This pocket helps you to practice sharpangular stitches.53 Sewing Machine Work Sheets © ISHA Learning Systems Pvt. Ltd.
This exercise can be repeated with a curved pocket insteadof angular pocket. This pocket stitch will give practice ofstitching smooth curves. Assess your proficiency in each of the exercises by record-ing as below:© ISHA Learning Systems Pvt. Ltd. Sewing Machine Work Sheets 54
MODULE 14GARMENT CONSTRUCTIONLearning ObjectivesAt the end of the lesson you will have learned about garment construction and its pro-cesses in the garment industry1. How to sew and attach different parts of a garment2. You will know the order of sewing different parts of a garment Key Points 1. Construction of garment and sequence of operations 2. How to make different parts 3. Methods of attaching parts to a garmentMain ContentThere are many parts in every garment. Each of these parts have to be carefullymade so that they can fit into one another to make a garment. This is similar to wearing slippers on your feet. You cannot wear the left slip-per to the right foot and vice versa. They will not fit and you cannot walk. So youmust wear the correct slipper suited to the foot.Take the toys of your son. There are buildingblocks toys with which we are familiar. Take theset with which you can make a building. You canonly use that that fit into each other for differ-ent parts of the building. Thereare blocks with which you makethe floor. Then you can add dif-ferent blocks to make the wall.There are windows and doors Building Blocksthat you can fit into these walls.© ISHA Learning Systems Pvt. Ltd.
Then there are different shapes of roofs from which to choose. Choose the correctsize in the shape you want and fix it on the four walls. The building is now ready. Other toys that we buy our children, like the engineer set with which childrencan make motorcycle, bicycle, car, truck, jeep, bus, also need precision in fixingthe parts. Similarly in the garment industry, all parts must fit into one another per thepattern. Therefore, the pattern must be correct, just like the building blocks. Oth-erwise, you cannot stitch and construct the garment. In the garment industry, garments are produced in an assembly line followinga series of sewing operations. We will take the example of making a men’s shirt.The parts of the shirt, like the building blocks, must have accurate patterns toconstruct the shirt. Garment construction starts with making the parts, which are then assembled.Let us understand the process of a men’s shirt construction. A men’s shirt hasthe following parts:CollarCuffsSleevesFrontBack & Yoke Each of these parts is prepared and they are then assembled to make a shirt.CollarCollar has 2 parts – collar and collar band. Collar is the part that is wide at both ends and nar-row in the middle. Begin by fusing the top collar piece with fusibleinterlining. Make a mark 1/8” from the edge of thecollar on the reverse side of one of the parts. It iscalled the top collar. After the mark is drawn, the top and its bottomparts are sewn together along the mark. This is calledthe run stitch. It gives shape to the collar. The collar is now turned inside out so that theright side of the fabric comes on the top. In theprocess, the collar gets a shape defined by therun stitch. While turning the collar, the pointsare pulled so that both ends appear similar.This process is carried out by a collar-turningmachine which also presses the collar after turning and trims the edge.56 Garment Construction © ISHA Learning Systems Pvt. Ltd.
There are two parts of Collar band. Take one ofthe collar bands and fuse the interlining to it on thewrong side along the mark. Turn up the bottom flat edge of the second collarband and stitch. Press it neat and flat. Place the Collar on top of the Collar band withoutfusing. Sandwich these with the remaining Collarband at the bottom and sew. Turn the collar band and make peak ready. Peakis that part of the collar band that extends beyondthe collar and where you find the collar button andbuttonhole.CuffsThere are 2 cuffs with two parts each. Cuffpreparation follows the same methods asthat of a collar. Fuse the top cuff part on theinside with fusible interlining. Mark the runstitch 1/8” from the cuff edge. Turn andpress the cuff and trim the bottom.Sleeve PlacketTake the rectangular cut piece. Fold the piece unevenly as shown in the picture.Make the under lap. Fuse the fusible interlining to another rectangular cut piece. Fold it into half onthe wrong side of fabric. Mark as in the picture on one side of the folded piece.Then sew along the edge. Under lap prepartion Overlap prepartion 57© ISHA Learning Systems Pvt. Ltd. Garment Construction
Then cut and trim along the mark. Then unfold along the seam and press. Take the sleeve and mark the placket on it at its cuff or narrow end as in thepicture. Place the underlap on the left side and the upper lap on the right side, as in thepicture. Make sure that their edges meet in the centre. Sew along the dark marked straight lines, stopping at the corners. Cut along the centre vertically and fold the overlap, underlap and the top tri-angular piece to the inside and press. Edge stitch the laps as shown in the picture. Now fold the overlap on to underlap and stitch through the thicknessFrontTake the left front placket. Fuse it on the wrong side with fusible interlining. Foldit to the inside stitch it. This is the front with buttonhole placket. Mark the buttonholes and sew using buttonhole machine. Cut fabric according to the pattern. Place pocket pattern and fold pocket mouthand press the fabric. Topstitch pocket mouth. Place the pocket on the left shirt front on the markings and sew pocket. Sew front button placket hem. Then fold the placket edge inside and press.Insert wash care label. Topstitch along the seam allowance. Back © ISHA Learning Systems Pvt. Ltd. Attach size label to main label. Fold the main label at center and place on the center mark of the yoke and sew on the inside yoke.58 Garment Construction
Insert top yoke in the shoulder attach folder, rightside up, place the back piece right side up into the sec-ond part of the two-part folder. Place the bottom yokebelow the back piece. Sew the three together. Topstitch back yoke.AssemblyAttach the inside yoke to the front pieces. Fold the top yoke at the seam allowance. Topstitch the shoulder. Pick collar and align the under collar stand with the yoke notch. Pin the collar stand to shoulder. Attach and sew the collar stand along the neck opening to the shoulder. Topstitch along the collar stand and finish. Pick the sleeves and pair them. Tack the sleeve to the armhole. Attach sleeve to the shoulder. Match the notches; sew along the curve and sew with an overlock machineor a French seam with lockstitch machine. The French seam is used for arm-hole stitching because it has strength to withstand the different pressures on thearmhole.© ISHA Learning Systems Pvt. Ltd. Garment Construction 59
Then topstitch armhole and finish. Complete both sleeves.Topstitch must be neat and without puckering. Match the front and back sides. Hold them equally and closethe side using feed-of-arm machine or overlock machine or adouble needle lockstitch machine with folder. Start from thebottom hem and sew up to the sleeve end on one side. Simi-larly start from the sleeve end and sew up to the hem of theshirt. Use right folder to close right side of shirt and left folder forleft side. These seams are lap seams. Take care to not to pullwhile feeding, otherwise the seam will pucker. Pick the cuffs from the left and pair them. Attach cuffs tothe sleeves by inserting the pleat end of sleeve. Edge stitchthe cuffs and press. Now trim the bottom of the shirt and hem. Fold the bottomof the shirt and edge stitch. Mark buttonholes on the front placket and make button-holes. Make button holes on the collar band, cuffs and sleeveplackets. The buttonholes on the sleeve placket are smaller. Finally stitch the buttons. Mark button position by passingthe pencil tip through the center of the buttonhole. Mark fromcollar band down to the hem on the front placket. Sew button using a button stitch machine.60 Garment Construction © ISHA Learning Systems Pvt. Ltd.
MODULE 15DIFFERENT SEWING MACHINES& THEIR FUNCTIONS Learning Objectives At the end of the lesson you will have learned about different sewing machines that are specialised and are capable of specific functions. 1. In the garment industry, specialised sewing machines are used for specific operations 2. Many of the specialised machines are computer programmed 3. They work at high speed and accuracy Key Points 1. Sewing machines and their operations 2. Functions of specialised machines 3. Use of the specialised machines in the garment industryMain ContentIn the garment industry, there are many types of sew-ing machines used. Some of them are very big andsome are of normal size. We have earlier learnt about different types ofstitches and seams. All these machines stitch thesestitches. There two types of stitches – lockstitch andchain stitch.© ISHA Learning Systems Pvt. Ltd.
Lockstitch machines are highly used for almost alloperations in the garment industry because the stitchis strong and durable. Each stitch is secured below thetop stitch with a knot or loop by the bobbin thread.A lockstitch appears similar on both sides. In addi-tion to the common single needle lockstitch machine,other machines that give this type of stitch are but-tonhole, button stitch, and bartack. Chain-stitch machines are extensively used for various specialised functions.The chain stitch is not as secure because there is no bobbin thread. It forms aseries of intertwined loops on the back side of the stitch. Hence, on the top sideyou will see a single line of stitches, but on it back side you will see a series ofchains. Machines that produce chain stitch are single and double needle chainstitch machine; overlock machines of 3, 4, 5, and 6 threads; flat lock; buttonholeand button stitch machines; feed-off-arm machines; hemming machine; waistband attachment machines; pocket welting machines; pocket setting machines;belt loop making machines, etc. Many of these machines are very expensive and some of them can do the workof 3 to 4 operators using regular machines. They can cut and trim thread automatically after stitching instead of you doingit after completing sewing every time. These are machines fitted with bladesthat cut thread at the end of stitch. This equipment fixed to the machine is calledunder bed trimmer because the trimming blades are fixed below the bed near thebobbin shuttle. Some of these machines will stop by themselves if there is no thread or fabric.Similarly, some machines stop if the needle is not attached or is broken. All these machines work with electric-ity and they all have motors. These motorsare similar to the ones that we use forpumping water from one water tank onthe ground to a tank on the roof of a build-ing. These motors work differently. Some of these machines have flatbed, like what yousee on regular lockstitch machines. Because the bed isflat, you can stitch on any part of the garment, like thecentre, edge, or corner. In some machines, the bed of the machine is a raisedbed, as in overlock machines. These machines, like theoverlock machine, can be used for sewing togethertwo edges of the garment at a very high speed withoutaffecting the entire garment.62 Different Sewing Machines & their Functions © ISHA Learning Systems Pvt. Ltd.
Another raised bed machine is the waist band attaching machine. It has up to6 needles with which waist bands with inside elastic is attached to garments likeshorts, track pants, etc. Some machines, like the feed-off-arm machine, have a cylindrical bed. You canplace the two sides of the shirt and sew it completely up to the end of the sleevewithout stopping or turning. The shape of the bed is important for a particularfunction. It is similar to using tava to make roti and kadai to fry. There are other machines with post bed sleeve-setting machines. It is used toset armhole of a sleeve with ease because the armhole is curved and circular. In some machines, you keep fabric cuttings to set and stitch pant back pock-ets stacked on one another on a stand. The machine will pick up each piece andstitch and stack the sewn pieces. In the regular production line, 5 operators willdo the work of that machine. Profile stitching machines are used to make collars and cuffs in the shaperequired. It is an automatic machine which can sew up to 300 collars per day. Itcan do the work of 3 lockstitch machines and that many operators. These specialised machines are used in the garment industry. Factories thatmake jeans regularly use pocket setting machine that can produce up to 1,000pockets in a day. If this work has to be done with common lockstitch machines,5 machines are needed and as many operators. You must also know that in these industries, many thousands of fabric piecesare cut every day and garments are made out of them on these high speedmachines. To spread so much of fabric and cut it automatic, spreading and cut-ting machines are used. Fabric in rolls is spread by the spreader on a cuttingtable, which holds the fabric without moving. A computer programmed auto-matic cutting machine then cuts the fabric per the pattern in the computer. You will find these machines in many large garment factories.© ISHA Learning Systems Pvt. Ltd. Different Sewing Machines & their Functions 63
MODULE 16SEWING MACHINEMAINTENANCE Learning Objectives At the end of the lesson you will have learned about maintaining common sewing ma- chines that you will use in the industry. 1. Machines, if maintained properly and regularly, will give good service. 2. All machines need maintenance and repair because they have moving parts. 3. Moving parts of machines need to be adjusted regularly for precision and accuracy. Key Points 1. Regular machine maintenance is essential for better service 2. Preventive maintenance to avoid frequent breakdowns of machines 3. Well-maintained machines improve quality of garments producedMain Content You have many utensils in your kitchen. You do notuse all of them daily. Some of the utensils are usedevery day. For these vessels, after cooking, you cleanand wash daily. Once again, before you start washing,you rinse them. You are thus cleaning and maintainingthem, and so your utensils give you good service for along time. This is how you maintain your utensils. Similarly, you sweep and mop the floors in your house. Once a week you cleanall the cobwebs and dust the walls. Once in two years the walls are white washedand doors and windows are painted. You also check for any cracks and breaksand have them repaired. You make your house a well-maintained home.© ISHA Learning Systems Pvt. Ltd.
You have a bicycle at home. Your sister or brother or fatheruses it daily. Before anyone takes it out and rides it, they cleanit. Once a week they will bring cycle oil and, using a dispenser,put oil drops in all its moving parts. They check the chain andgrease it so that it will move smoothly. Similarly they swirlthe pedals after applying grease in their joints. Regularly theycheck the tyres for air pressure. If the pressure is low, they willfill it with air. If the tyre is flat, they willtake it to the mechanic who will check thetube inside the wheel for any holes andseal them with suitable material. Then,the tube and wheel are ready to serve forsome more time. When the tubes havetoo many holes, they are replaced. Theyare doing a regular maintenance andperiodic preventive maintenance. Finallywhen required, they attend to repairsand replacements. All these are examples of mainte-nance in our daily life. Similarly, we have to maintain themachines or other equipment that we use in our place ofwork. Maintenance is the constant attention that we pay tokeep all the parts of a machine working at all times. There are different types of maintenance:1) General maintenance is daily maintenance. It is checking the common parts of the machine for their correct functioning. It is the daily maintenance of cleaning all parts that you see. You start by cleaning the machine head and table when you sit for work. You check the needle, thread tension, bobbin and its case, needle shaft, and presser foot. Usually lot of thread and fibre, called “lint,” gathers in the hook. So, when you remove the bobbin case from the hook, clean the hook of all lint. Because you use the machine, you must make it a habit to attend to your machine daily. It is your duty.2) Periodic maintenance involves stoppage of work and changing worn out parts and lubricants and replacing with new. For periodic maintenance, some parts of the machine have to be opened and cleaned. These parts of the machine must be opened in in a sequence and re- assembled in the same sequence. This is done by65 Sewing Machine Maintenance © ISHA Learning Systems Pvt. Ltd.
trained mechanics in the maintenance department in the factory. Before the maintenance department takes up periodic maintenance, it makes an announcement and informs all of you. Usually such maintenance activity is taken up after all of you leave in the evening or on Sundays or holidays. It involves opening and removing outside moving parts, such as the needle shaft, throat plate, feed dog, etc. Then, they check these parts and replace them. Parts such as feed dog and throat plate are changed whenever a new garment order is given to the production line. This depends up on the fabric used and the needle size required. Needle point is checked and replaced when it is worn out or when a new style requires change. Oil is changed periodically when it is old and lot of dust and lint is in it and the oil becomes dirty.3) Preventive maintenance is overhauling the machine at specific intervals for replacement of aged critical parts, although they may be working This maintenance is carried out by the maintenance department at specified times per a schedule. On every machine in the line, you will find a sheet hanging on the thread stand in a plastic cover. The preventive maintenance (PM) schedule is in a chart is printed on the sheet. The chart shows the last PM and next PM date. For this, the machine is taken away to the maintenance department, where it is dismantled completely and all parts are checked and worn-out parts replaced.4) Breakdown maintenance is attending to repair of the machine after it stops working. This is taken up when the machine stops completely. If the periodic and preventive maintenance is carried out regularly, breakdown maintenance is not required. In breakdown maintenance, the mechanic will identify the part that stopped working and replaces it. It is not scheduled and hence you cannot work. It means there is loss of production to the factory until the machine is repaired. It is similar to a bicycle tube puncture while riding to school. You have to getit repaired by a mechanic at a mechanic shop. You will wait until it is repaired.Therefore you are late to school.© ISHA Learning Systems Pvt. Ltd. Sewing Machine Maintenance 66
MODULE 17INDUSTRIAL REMUNERATION Learning Objectives At the end of the lesson you will have learned about the remuneration and salary struc- ture in the garment industry. 1. In the industry, the employees are paid monthly salaries 2. Salary is paid based on their employee’s grade 3. A t the time of recruitment, operators are tested for their speed, accuracy, and ability to work on different machines Key Points 1. Salary and deductions 2. Statutory deductions – ESI, PF 3. Incentives – attendance bonus, higher productivity, bonusMain ContentThe garment industry employs a large num-ber of industrial sewing machine operators.They work on a variety of high-speed indus-trial sewing machines. Many of these ma-chines are numerical or computer controlledautomatic machines that perform special-ised and accurate functions. Therefore, you must be trained to workand operate on these machines if not alreadyexperienced. You must be able to read andwrite. If not fluent, at the least you must be able to identify alphabets and num-bers. It is also important that you must be able to identify some alphabets inEnglish. too.© ISHA Learning Systems Pvt. Ltd.
You must know that the garment industry mainly exports its garments to vari-ous countries, like the USA, UK, France, Germany, Canada, Japan, etc. Custom-ers from these countries order and buy garments from many companies in India. Sometimes the customers visit the production lines and talk to you. You mustbe able to answer properly through your supervisor. Although all instructionsand details are told to you by your supervisor, it is important for you to recog-nise English alphabets and be able to read and write numbers. Therefore the factory conducts tests before employingyou. After completing all tests, the official from the factorywill explain to you about the company, benefits of workingfor it, and your duties and responsibilities. Thereafter, theofficial will take a form and write your details – name, age,parent’s name, address, contact number, date of birth, edu-cation, etc. If you have worked earlier, he or she will ask forthe appointment letter or the last salary slip. He will thenkeep all your details in a file. You are then placed in the training section of the factory.There you will be asked to show your skill. The confidencewith which you operate the machine, the speed of your stitching, and the qual-ity of your work all will be observed by the trainer of the section and the official.Together they give marks for your overall performance. Based on the marks,they will give you an initial grade. Grading in the industry is based on the skills you have and the machines thatyou can operate and work. The lowest grade is D and the highest is A++ or AA.It is similar to driving different vehicles, like a bicycle, motorcycle, small car, abigger car or SUV, mini bus, bus, and multi-axle bus. The D-grade employee is fresher and without experience. She is trained butnot experienced. She will help other operators in the production line. She willmark on the cuttings per a template or pattern given, like run stitch on collar,buttonhole, or buttons, etc. The C grade is the next level. The person employed will know sewing, hasmachine control, and reasonable speed and efficiency. She knows ironing partsin the production line and is able to sew simple stitches on the single-needle lock-stitch machine, such as making back or sleeve pleats, preparing loops, edge stitchshoulder, etc. She has an experience in a production line of at least 6 months. The B grade operator is more skilled and has an experience of at least 1 year.She must be able to make buttonholes, work with a collar and cuff-turningmachine, stitch buttons, close side seams with a overlock or single needle lock-stitch machine, and iron and press pocket shape. The A grade operator has an experience of more than 2 years as a B-gradeoperator. She can operate feed-off-arm; multi-thread chain stitch machine for68 Industrial Remuneration © ISHA Learning Systems Pvt. Ltd.
waistband attaching; make collars and cuffs; attach back yoke, etc., bartack, andbottom hemming; and use some of the folders. The A++ or AA grade operator can work on other specialised machines, likeautomatic pocket setting machine, attach collar to the body, back yoke attachwith double needle machine with folder, etc. She has an experience of minimum3 years as A-grade operator. The grades are given by the capacity of the person to work with variousmachines and make different parts. Different companies give grades based onthe products they make and the operations they have. A knitwear company mayconsider operator with B grade in a wovens factory as A grade. Some companies that employ you give yousome benefits, deducts some part of the salary,and deposits double of that amount on yourbehalf with the government organisation.Such deductions include – EPF or employeeprovident fund and ESI or employee stateinsurance. EPF is a compulsory saving by theemployee and to this the company adds anequal amount and deposits the total money ina government organisation called ProvidentFund. The money is deposited every month inthe Fund and it receives interest. This is yourcompulsory savings. ESI is a medical facil-ity given to all those employees who cannotafford medical treatment in private hospitals.For the medical treatment of all employees,ESI hospitals are established in all impor-tant industrial towns and cities in the coun-try. Any employee with ESI ID card can go tothese hospitals for free treatment and surgeryif required. Absence during the treatment period is considered as leave and theemployee is paid salary for the period. Every month a small amount is deductedfrom your salary and is deposited with the government medical company, calledEmployee State Insurance Corporation (ESIC). The medical benefit is also givento the other family members, such as children. Some benefits that an operator may get are – bonus equal to one month salaryevery year, incentive for attendance, incentive for achieving daily productiontarget, incentive for quality, subsidised transport, paid holidays, medical check-up, etc.© ISHA Learning Systems Pvt. Ltd. Industrial Remuneration 69
MODULE 18HEALTH, HYGIENE AND SAFETYIN GARMENT INDUSTRY Learning Objectives At the end of the lesson you will have learned about health, hygiene, and safety in a garment factory. 1. Operators work in a production line. 2. They work as a team. 3. Production line is useful for mass production. Key Points 1. Employee safety 2. Health and hygiene in the factory and at home 3. First aid and medical facilitiesMain ContentThe garment industry mostly employs wom-en. The number of women in a garment fac-tory far exceeds men. For every machine inthe production line, there is one woman andfor every 10 machines, there is a helper whois also a woman. So, if a factory has 200 ma-chines, it has more than 250 women workingin sewing, cutting, and trimming. It is impor-tant that the hygiene and health of so manywomen is the responsibility of the company.© ISHA Learning Systems Pvt. Ltd.
Similarly, the safety of every employee is the concernof the company. To provide safety safe environment, thecompany has to take many preventive measures for dif-ferent occasions, like fire, electrical shocks, chemicals,injuries, etc. There is a medical centre with a trainednurse for many of the daily injuries and other medicalcomplaints. In a factory where the employee number ismore than 500, the company appoints a doctor on call.The doctor also visits the medical centre once or twicea week. The workplace also provides quality food at sub-sidised prices and offers a clean environment in theemployees’ canteen. The company also maintains a crèche for the infants and small children of theemployees. Depending on the size of the organisation and the age of the chil-dren, some crèches employ teachers to teach primary school children.Health and HygieneBecause a large number women is employed inthe industry, it is necessary for the company tomaintain hygiene. All factories have to complywith the law and meet the requirements of theircustomers to maintain standards of hygiene.As a rule, therefore, the company must provideone toilet for every 20 employees. The toiletsfor men and women must be located far awayfrom each other. All toilets must be washed andcleaned with disinfectants at least three times aday. All of them must have running water. It isimportant that the ladies’ toilets are providedwith covered trash cans. Wash basins and water taps are placednear the toilets or rest rooms. All employ-ees must be educated to wash their handsafter using the toilets. Women must betaught to use sanitary napkins and thecompanies provide, where necessary, suchitems in the ladies bathrooms. In a garment factory that employs somehundreds of people, a medical centre islocated. It is staffed by a trained nurse andhas basic medical requirements, such asobservation table, general medicines, and71 Health, Hygiene and Safety in Garment Industry © ISHA Learning Systems Pvt. Ltd.
some of the more common prescriptions. Thecentre must have access from at least two sidesin case of emergency. An ambulance must beavailable close by with a stretcher and othernecessities. There must be first aid kits in the factory ineach section, kept at height which will be visi-ble and accessible to all. In each section, at least6 members must be trained in first aid admin-istration. The first aid kit must be placed on awall or pillar and all around it. The kit mustcontain the following:• Sterile dressings to stop bleeding• Cleansing agent/soap and antibiotic to disinfect (Dettol)• Antibiotic ointment to prevent infection (Neosporin or Betadine)• Ointment to apply on burns (Burnol)• Adhesive bandages of different sizes• Surgical cotton to dress wounds• Eye wash solution to flush the eyes or as general decontaminant• Thermometer• A pain relieving spray like Move or Iodex or Volini• Common medicines like Crocin, Aspirin, All operators and helpers working in the garment industry are advised to wearnose masks to protect themselves from fibre and dust. This dust will cause aller-gies and breathing problems if the employees are exposed to it for long periods.SafetyThe garment industry employs a large number of people in different activities.The industry employs a safety officer who is responsible to oversee all the safetyconcerns of the company, together with a team. Among the main safety mea-sures that the company implements are –1. Check all the electrical connections and wiring for any loose wires, wires without insulation, and wires open and naked. All such wires must be insulated and covered. They must be kept out of reach of all employees.2. All the work areas in the factory must have 6 exits. The high number of© ISHA Learning Systems Pvt. Ltd. Health, Hygiene and Safety in Garment Industry 72
exits is prescribed for easy exit or evacuation of employees working inside in case of emergency. All the exits must be marked clearly in big letters and symbols, as in the pictures. The symbols must be visible from a distance of at least 10 feet. There must be arrow marks as shown in the picture, pointing the way to exit. These symbols will be of great use in case of an emergency to evacuate all the employees. The number of exits will help in avoiding stampedes in case of emergency.1. All the employees working in the cutting section with cutting machines must wear metal mesh glove on their left hand while using the cutting machine. This will prevent cutting their hand by accident.2. All sewing machines must have needle guards. These prevent the needle parts, when broken, from flying off toward the operator’s eye.3. Water hydrants are long canvas pipes with nozzle to put out fires. The water comes through at a very high speed. More that one person has to hold the pipe because of the water pressure and speed. These must be placed in the factory around the building and at other locations and they must be checked regularly. All employees must be trained via fire evacuation drill. Mock drills must be conducted once in six months. Assembly points must be marked and displayed.4. Fire extinguishers must be placed inside the factory. They must be filled with suitable chemicals for different types of fire. Employees must be trained in using the extinguishers.5. Symbols for fire extinguishers and hydrants must be diplayed at all vantage points inside the factory in suitable colours.6. All exits must have free passage and there must not be obstructions. There must be sufficient gap between rows and columns of machines for easy movement.7. All employees must be introduced to the various safety measures taken by the company from time to time, particularly new recruits.73 Health, Hygiene and Safety in Garment Industry © ISHA Learning Systems Pvt. Ltd.
8. All safety symbols must be displayed prominently at places where employees gather and in specific work areas where chemicals and equipment are stored. The symbols must be in approved colours.9. All safety related instructions must be written in the local language and English. These various symbols to be displayed in the industry are This sign prohibits flames and smoking. This is the placard that indicates a flammable gas This is the hazard symbol for non-flammable gas Protective eyewear sign Eye protection required sign Gloves required symbol Fire extinguisher sign Escape route sign© ISHA Learning Systems Pvt. Ltd. Health, Hygiene and Safety in Garment Industry 74
First aid symbol This is the hazard symbol for Toxic This is the hazard symbol for Corrosive This is the hazard symbol for Oxidizing This is the hazard symbol for Harmful or Irritant This is the hazard symbol for Flammable material Fire exit Warning No sitting Fire alarm Gang way75 Health, Hygiene and Safety in Garment Industry © ISHA Learning Systems Pvt. Ltd.
MODULE 19WORKING IN A PRODUCTIONLINE TEAM WORK Learning Objectives At the end of the lesson you will have learned about working in production in a garment factory. 1. Operators work in a production line. 2. They work as a team. 3. Production line is useful for mass production. Key Points 1. Production Line 2. Team work is the best way to share work 3. Team work increases productivityMain ContentYou are required to carry a bag full of rice. You can carry if the quantity of riceis just one or two kilos. But if the quantity is more you cannot carry alone, youneed another person to help you. There is a long wooden piece. It is too long and heavy for you to lift and keep itaside. You require someone to help you. So your brother comes to help you andtogether you lift it easily and keep it aside. You have invited many friends and relatives for a function at your home. Youare worried about preparing lunch for all your guests; they are about 40 people.What do you do? You will ask a catering service to prepare and serve to all. Thecatering service employs many people for various tasks involved. One personwashes all dishes, another washes all vegetables and cuts them. A third personkeeps all the ingredients for cooking ready at hand near the stoves. The cook orchef now comes and starts cooking. From time to time he instructs the assistants© ISHA Learning Systems Pvt. Ltd.
to perform various tasks such as grinding, mixing, pouring, frying, etc. The chef,together with his assistants, makes the lunch and serves to the guests. The chefand his assistants are a team. Your brother plays football. He plays with his friends in the school. When theyplay, they form a team and play with another team with an equal number ofmembers. You all know a game called “Tug of War.” A rope is pulled on either side bypeople. The side that has stronger members wins or more number of peoplewins. In these examples we see that it is teams that played. How do teams work? Letus see some examples. Sugar Ant looks at Ant tries to lift Ant tells a Together both They bring morecrystals the sugar the crystal friend ants try to move ants to move You throw some sugar on the floor. After a while you will find an ant com-ing to see the sugar crystals. It inspects the crystals and then goes away. It theninforms the members of its colony. A few minutes later you will find a colony ofants carrying the sugar crystals to their residence. After a while there will be nosugar crystals. It is a team of ants that successfully removed all the crystals andcleaned the floor for you. In the evening you lift your head to the skies. You will find birds flying. Some-times you see a flock of geese flying. They always fly in a formation. The forma-tion is like an arrow. They fly in a team. The lead bird in the formation flapsits wings rapidly. This helps the bird behind it. It will flapless number of times. The birds at the back flap less and soare less tired. All birds rotate their position to reduce theirfatigue. The flock flies this way long distance, coveringhundreds of kilometres daily. They fly from one countryto another. Both ants and birds know the advantages of workingin a team. In the garment industry, also, all the operatorswork in sequence of their operations. The total work of producing a garment ismade simpler by dividing it into many parts. These parts then are distributedto a line of operators. The distribution is based on the sequence or hierarchy ofoperations. It is the supervisor of the line who selects and builds the team. Heor she identifies and prepares a list of skills of each operator and gives themsuitable operations. This list is called a skill matrix. But all operators, due totheir experience, can perform many operations and thus are versatile. Due to the77 Working in a Production Line Team Work © ISHA Learning Systems Pvt. Ltd.
distribution along a production line, operators in the line become a team. Thus,the work of production is shared among members of the line or team. The teamof operators also realise that when they distribute work, it is easier for them toreach their target of producing the number of garment per day. It is similar to theants forming a team to lift the sugar crystals or the birds rotating their positionsto fly long distances.The advantage of working in a team –1. Each operator in the production line makes one part of the garment.2. Repetition of same operation improves her efficiency and productivity.3. The team members make few mistakes.4. Quality of their work improves.5. There will be no rejections.6. The line of operators completes its daily production target.7. If operators change or shift or exchange positions, their monotony of doing the same operation will be reduced. Their fatigue level reduces.8. As a team, the line performs better.9. The understanding among the team members will be better.10. There will few misunderstandings and the team members cooperate with each other better. In many garment factories, production is done by teams. The teams work tomake a complete garment or each team makes one part of a garment. As long asall the members work together in the team, efficiency of the team improves.© ISHA Learning Systems Pvt. Ltd. Working in a Production Line Team Work 78
MODULE 20WORKING WITH SUPERVISOR Learning Objectives At the end of the lesson you will have learned about how to work with a supervisor in a garment factory. 1. Every production line is managed by a supervisor. 2. Each production line has many operators. 3. Supervisor and operators must work as a team. Key Points 1. Production supervisor 2. Production operators work with supervisor 3. Team work increases productivityMain ContentAll of you are interested in cricket. There are elven players on acricket team. One of the players is the captain of the team. Theteam plays the matches together. Captain of the team leads the team. He knows who can bowl well and who is a good batsman.Accordingly, he will decide who must be a bowler and when toask him to bowl. Similarly, he knows how each of the batsmen will play.He decides when each batsman will play and in what order. When the side is fielding, the captain knows how to use his team members.He knows who is good at taking catches, so he places the person closer to thebatsman.© ISHA Learning Systems Pvt. Ltd.
Just as a captain knows all about his team members, the supervisor of the pro-duction line knows all his operators and their strengths. He knows who can stitch a collar topstitch better and who can attach a back tothe yoke. Accordingly, he will place the operators in their respective operationsat which they are good. The cricket team captain discusses with all his team and plans a strategy forthe match. He asks his team members to cooperate with him and treat him as oneof them. Sometimes he acts like a big brother and inspires the team members. Sometimes he will scold some of the members if they are not doing well. When they bat or bowl well, he compliments and encourages them. He willmake sure that all the team wants him and respects and loves him. In the garment industry, the supervisor is equal to the captain. He must makesure that the team of operators working with him knows him as a big brother. Hemust encourage them to trust him and his decisions. Sometimes when the workis not done as required, he will shout. But, the next minute he will be normal and80 Working With Supervisor © ISHA Learning Systems Pvt. Ltd.
friendly. He is only showing or expressing his frustrations if the team has notdone a job correctly. Every day before the team of operators sits at its places for work, the supervi-sor gathers them and talks to them. He will review the performance of the team’sprevious day and tells them the quantity and quality of production of the previ-ous day and informs the quantity remaining. He then sets the target for the day. In case any one of the operators is absent, he will rearrange the work by ask-ing a senior operator to handle two jobs. It is similar to playing cricket when oneof the team members was hurt in the previous innings, so the team has only 10members instead of 11. In the production line the supervisor makes sure that the final assembly isdone by senior operators who can complete the operations neatly. If any of theoperators does not do well, the supervisor guides them and teaches them howto do it correctly. If a mistake is repeated many times, supervisor will give a lastchance to the operator. If there is no improvement even after that, he will assignthe operator a lower job, like a grade C operator is given grade D operations. In the evening, after the work the day’s work is completed, the supervisor tellsthem what was completed that day and compares the team’s performance withthe previous day. He will inform each of the operators or team members whattheir performance and where they made mistakes. When some perform well, hecompliments them in front of the team as an encouragement. The supervisor guides them, coaches them, encourages them, and sometimeshe scolds them for bad work. But he will not abuse them. He acts as their teacherand teaches when required. He shows love and affection when required. Hetakes part in the team functions like birthdays and anniversaries. All these actsof the supervisor earns him the respect of the operators. Thus, he is accepted andconsidered as a captain by the team. The supervisor must consider the team as his own. He must show the empathythat some members may sometimes demand. Some members require his atten-tion for guidance. Some others want him to give direction. Others ask him tosolve their problems. The supervisor must patiently listen to each of them andtry to help them with their issues. This will help the supervisor to gain their trustand cooperation. The team members must understand that the supervisor is responsible forachieving the target given to him by the management. Because he depends onthe team to achieve the target, the team members must understand the commit-ment and stand by their supervisor. Unless the team gives the commitment, thesupervisor cannot achieve the target. Thus, the team and the supervisor achievethe target. The relationship between the supervisor and the operators is one of mutualunderstanding and commitment. The supervisor must be a good captain andleader. Operators must be committed to their team and its performance.© ISHA Learning Systems Pvt. Ltd. Working With Supervisor 81
NOTES
Education is a liberating and democratizing forceenabling access to opportunities cutting across variousbarriers.ISHA Learning leverages the power of Informationand Communication Technologies (ICT) to supportDemand Driven, Technology Enabled Employability andCareer Advancement Programmes enabling greateraccess to Education,Employment and Earnings for all. Education > Employment > Earnings
Search
