What solutions for product counting in the garment industry

The garment products are not the shape of the block, then most of factories are counting garment product manually. Automated or semiautomatic counting solutions with connecting will help garment factories optimize resources, save time, monitor efficiency and support fast, synchronous quality control.

In the increasingly competitive environment with the global integration trend, with Third rank of export value in the World, to keep rank and possibly grow stronger, Vietnamese garment enterprises face with pressure on ensuring productivity, progress and product quality. Many garment companies around the world have adopted technology to help control and increase productivity. It is also a trend that Vietnamese businesses must follow.

In manufacturing, product counting and progress control are important. The garment products are not the shape of the block, so apply of automatic counting is relatively difficult. With the block products (such as tire, shoes, water heater, …), when the product passing through can use fit sensors to count automatically. For garment products, checkpoints are still required by workers to perform manual counting with the help of counters.

Our solution we proposed is to connect the counters at the lines, synchronize information throughout the factory for monitoring, tracking continuous and real time. This solution also saves labor when counting and quality control is concentrated at QC.

How does this solution work?

• At QC points there are buttons to count products (with differentiated good products and defective products). Counters are synchronously connected to a system.
• Each passing product, QC test, push on the Good or Defect count button. Information is recorded and transmitted to the central software system.
• Software records the total products, performs calculations, sends information about the display device to display the output information immediately. At the lines or in the lobby, the management area will have LCDs that will display information on current progress and completion rate compared to plan.
• Software center can set daily or each shift production plan. The planned indicator data will provide a quick and intuitive way to compare actual finished products.
• With counting Good or Defect products, the system calculates the defect rate, and can display an indicator light (multi-color lamp or tower light) to indicate the current quality status. GREEN light show that the quality is good, YELLOW light means that quality rate is low within the control range, RED light mean the quality is too low, it needs to be adjusted immediately.
• Solutions to help managers, supervisors monitoring the target, productively and quality in real time, the ability to complete orders continuous and visual. Data warehousing will help managers monitor, track and analyze for the best possible policy for future manufacturing.

The solution have been successful and effective application in some FDI factories in Binh Duong, Phu Tho.

In addition, for more professional and accurate control, factories can apply Bar code  and Radio Frequency identification technology. The application of these modern technologies will increase the cost of products as each product, because we have to add printing bar codes or chips to the product. Therefore, these forms are usually only applicable to premium segment products.

Applying modern technology, however, must be appropriate and flexible, which is the standard for all economic sectors, especially the manufacturing sector, towards a “smart manufacturing”.