Exploring Stitching Efficiency In Indian Garment Manufacturing Houses & The Role Of Garment Flow Lines

Exploring Stitching Efficiency In Indian Garment Manufacturing Houses & The Role Of Garment Flow Lines

India is among the top garment exporters in the world. Apart from adopting technology and infrastructural development, one of the major factors that influence India’s consistent growth in the apparel market is its factory floor efficiency. Indian garment manufacturers and cloth manufacturing companies utilize a garment flow line to ensure efficiency on the factory floor. What is a garment flow line, and how does it influence productivity and stitching efficiency in manufacturing houses? Let’s find out.

What is A Garment Flow Line?

A garment flow line, also commonly known as a flow line, is the set process of how the garment manufacturing moves from one station to another. This set process helps factory floor workers be aware of the larger process at play and also fulfill their specific roles efficiently. 

Even in cases where individual workers may not be available, having a clear flow line can help the manufacturing unit maintain efficiency and continue working forward. The assembly line of garments involves many steps, ranging from attaching sleeves, hemming, and adding buttons, among others. 

This chronology of how an individual piece of fabric becomes a finished garment is the garment flow line.

Types of Garment Flow Lines Used in Indian Garment Factories

There are three types of garment flow lines used by the Indian apparel manufacturing industry.

1. Unit Production System (UPS)

UPS flow lines are expensive to maintain, but they are highly efficient and suitable for high-end export units. These systems function with an overhead conveyor belt at their heart. Each workstation handles its work and sends the garments to the next step using the overhead conveyor systems. These systems minimize handling time and reduce quality issues as the transport system is automated.

2. Progressive Build System (PBS)

Progressive build systems are built on the efficiency of people whose job it is to move the elements from one workstation to another. As you can imagine, this is a cost-sensitive design that focuses on labor rather than technology. Considering India has the largest population in the world, this works fine thanks to the abundant availability of labor. In some cases, the workstation artisans themselves also carry the bundles of garment pieces from workstation to workstation. These systems are as efficient as the people working in them, and sometimes, it can cause bottlenecking and wait times due to worker fatigue.

3. Modular or Team-Based Systems (MBS or TBS)

MBS or TBS systems work as a more developed version of PBS garment flow lines. The system breaks up the production floor into small teams that either manufacture one part of the garment or the whole garment. This allows teams to decide how to efficiently finish their task at hand with the available labor. It also creates group unity and focuses on growing efficiency with teamwork. These systems empower workers; however, they generally require highly skilled labor to function optimally.