Quality 4.0 - How it actually works in Apparel Industry

In my previous Article I talked about the evolution of Quality4.0. Now let's analyse it further and see how the apparel industry can adopt these tools.

How I see and Define Quality 4.0

“It provides a data-driven approach to managing quality, so that production is not just measured according to how quickly products are produced, but on their level of quality, along with the quality of every related item and transaction across the supply chain.”

The most common impact of Quality is “Recalls”, irrespective of the Industry.

According to a recent State of Quality Management Survey, 96% of manufacturers have had a product recall in the past few years.

With price of poor quality becoming visible (from product recalls to lawsuits leading to weakened brand reputations) Quality 4.0 is gaining traction.

So what does it take to become prepared for Quality 4.0 success?

1. Strategic business alignment
2. Quality is a journey that needs a purpose
3. Investment in the quality tech requires an integrated approach
4. Data is king when it comes to Quality
5. An obstacle to Quality 4.0 is a lack of qualified talent

While Industry 4.0 is the current period in the evolution of manufacturing, it will always continue to grow and change. It’s important to keep up with the shifting trends and make sure your company can adapt to the new modes of production. If you resist the changes, you’ll miss out on the benefits that come with each new development.

The Benefits Of Industry 4.0

Scalability

As your business grows, you need to be able to scale your company. Automation and machine learning encourages and helps facilitate scaling, making it easier to integrate new systems and expand as a whole. With highly capable systems, you’ll have the freedom to transfer staff to different departments that need more assistance.

The dependency on the on-site IT staff will reduce drastically with cloud technology becoming the centre of your operations. No more managing and maintaining software and hardware networks for your team. Instead, your software runs remotely through third-party cloud servers, so all the upgrades and fixes happen automatically. Smaller companies with limited resources will especially benefit from implementing a system that doesn’t require tech specialists.

Security

One of the largest concerns when it comes to data management is security. Companies need to know  that their information is safe from any damage or theft. Even power outages and natural disasters come into play, especially where on-site servers are concerned.

Industry 4.0 has a clear focus on implementing cloud technology and integrating it as a central location for all data. Cloud-hosted software gives your information maximum security, protecting it from human error, unauthorised use and even uncontrollable weather-based circumstances. 

Control and Visibility

In today's world every stakeholder looks for data visibility .The cloud servers also provide a higher amount of control and broader data visibility. It’s essential that you make your digital records available and accessible to all points of your production system. Your teams should be able to see the database worldwide, in real-time and at a moment’s notice.

Customer Satisfaction

When you fully apply an Industry 4.0 system to your processes, you’ll make your customer relations efforts easier and far more effective.  You can notify them of order and shipping progress, give them specific details about the product, create customised items and give them any details they may want; from order fulfilment to delivery.

You can collaborate more closely with both customers and suppliers to provide a higher quality product

There are many forms of advanced digital technologies that come into play with a custom clothing or footwear company.

Some of the tools include:

• Augmented reality and computer vision for fitting and design
• Thermal imaging for niche uses
• Artificial intelligence for shop floor operations
• Machine learning for logistics
• 3D printing and knitting for producing personalised garments
• Robotics for packaging and distribution

The term Automation is big for the fashion industry. We aren’t equipped for robotics assembly line or Unit production system like FIFO. I see automation as shift in mindset from how things have been done earlier.

Today , India can make 16 shirts/Machine of basic SAM of 26min. Whereas China, Srilanka can make 21 shirts/Machine. It’s the basic understanding of reducing non value additions. Its newly termed as automation but there is in fact science behind it, we actually must re-engineer our process for making improved productivity.

Digitalisation has various forms, 20 years back tracking production was on paper, now it's on cloud. Technology has an ability to monitor downtime of factories across globe by line and Machine at a click.

The only way I look at technology is to replace human interventions and take quicker actions and align the entire supply chain. Since our industry has the highest iterations from Design to shipment unlike other industries, the act of taking decision faster is the game changer.

Digital transformation is complex to define.I put this one first because it’s often the first hurdle businesses need to overcome. Many companies are dissuaded from digital transformation because they can’t define it or feel it’s too complex, it means different things to different people.

Some study and benefits from CIMData, Aberdeen Group, Gartner Group

• 50% reduction in unplanned downtime
• 97% lower ramp-up defects
• 90% improvement in right-first time quality
• 3-8% reduction in service labor cost
• 40% reduction in maintenance cost
• 20% reduction in warranty costs

In conclusion, Quality 4.0 is still at a very early stage in the apparel industry. With improvements in technology like AI, machine learning, big data etc. soon we will see an apparel industry with no people working. But how long it is going to take for that remains a question. A bigger question to ask is do we even want this or not?

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