Case study: Quality control procedures

Designer

"I know that we should be doing Quality Control checks on all the garments that come out of the unit but I don’t really know what I should be looking for… is there anywhere I can get a checklist that I can use together with my manufacturing unit to make sure we are both working to the same standard?"

Quality Control (QC) is incredibly important, but it needs to be applied rigorously throughout the industry by both designers and manufacturers in order for the standard of products to be maintained.

Buyers are not happy about garments being delivered to stores that are faulty, and the reputation of a  designer will be damaged if this happens. To make matters worse, at this point it will usually be too late to return the goods to the manufacturer, so the designer is left with faulty stock and a stockist who is short of garments.

However, if QC checks have been carried out throughout the production process, such problems are usually avoidable. Good QC practice is when a designer or their production manager visits the factory frequently during production. Although some designers may be concerned that this is time-consuming, it means that any QC issues arising can be rectified during the production process rather than at the end when it may be more difficult to resolve.

The question of where garments are QC-ed once they have been completed can also become important. Some manufacturers will take the approach that once the garments have left their premises, they are no longer their 'problem' and may be unwilling to do further work. Clarification of this may be necessary for dispute resolution and so it is useful for this to be discussed before production begins.

Top Solutions

• Creation and application of a standard.

• Clear discussion of responsibility for faulty goods if no Terms and Conditions have been signed.

Relevant sections from the Fashion Toolkit:

• Garment Specification

• Production Management

• Quality Control