Depending on the system used, there are various alternative methods. With some the operator will tell the system which order and operation she is working on and then only record the bundle number each time until either the order or the operation she is doing is changed. Another method is where each bundle has a unique number, which denotes the order, operation and bundle she is working on.

With all systems once the computer has this information it will automatically know the style, quantity, colour and size of that bundle.

The system will prompt the operator for the information it needs, when it needs it.

Off standard time will also be entered via these terminals, normally by a supervisor, who will enter her clock number or password and then the operator’s number together with the code for off standard. Time is not entered as the system has a continuously running clock and as soon as off standard is entered the operator is logged off at that time and back on again once work is available.

At the end of the day the operator clocks out again using her terminal. Pay rules for each category of off standard are known by the system, as are yield rates for each operator or operation as relevant. Overtime payment rules are also held.

The basic set up information that each specific system requires will differ, though in summary will tend to include:

• How the production capacity is structured i.e. factories, sections, teams etc.
• What labour resource is available, i.e., supervisors, direct and indirect operators. Skills analyses for the operators. Shift patterns for each operator if relevant. Target performance figures for each section, team or operator.
• Payment Rules, i.e., basic rates for each operator, average pay, guarantees, productivity bonuses, yield rates, allowances, off standard rules etc.
• Order Information, i.e., what order have been received, which are firm, and which are provisional; styles, colours, sizes, quantities.
• Manufacturing Method - operation routes, progress points, standard minute values, which operations are carried out in lay height, bundles and as single garments. Alternative methods.

As discussed, work will be identified by self generated tickets from the production order information, in normal printed or bar coded form and will identify contract, customer, style, order, size, colour, quantity and operation as relevant. The facility to increase or decrease bundle quantities should be present with the increase facility only assessable by a supervisor, not an operator. A facility whereby tickets can contain special instructions can be useful as a means of communication to the shop floor. These instructions will normally be printed on to the top of each ticket, the ‘ticket header’ and may contain special quality points, which trim or components to use, packaging instructions etc. These instructions are usually held against the style details, allowing an editing facility at order level, useful, for example, if the tickets are printed after a bad cut has been found, e.g.; ‘PLACE POCKET ½" TO THE LEFT OF DRILL HOLE.’ ‘SLEEVE HEAD NIP MISSING – SEE SUPERVISOR.’

Up-to-the-minute accurate information available from a real time production system will include details about:

Work in Progress. Normally available will be data by contract, customer, style, order, size, colour, bundle and delivery date. Analyses of this information will be available in various levels of detail – for example, quantities ordered, issued, completed and faulty; progress points; individual operation and individual operator. Valuations of the work in progress are also usually available.

Labour Cost Control. Typical data will include attended time; overtime; off standard time; standard minutes earned on and off standard; performance on and off standard; efficiency; utilization; excess cost by category and total; quantities produced on and off standard and totals; actual cost per unit; build up to gross pay by category and total gross pay; automatic calculation of average hourly rates using appropriate calculations; skills inventories. Analyses will be shown at various levels of detail for individuals and by supervisor, team, section, and factory. Systems should normally be able to cater for different methods of payment systems, for example, piecework, team and/or factory bonuses and where relevant a mixture of payment systems within a factory.

All the foregoing details will also be available from a good batch production system, though as discussed above, by necessity this information will only be accurate to the last time of input. Additional information that is only available using real time often includes:

• On line motivational feed back to operators during the day.
• Post costing information to order/colour/size level.
• More detailed labour cost analysis.
• Line balancing information during the day.
• Work load forecasts throughout the day.
• Continuous automatic production study information.
• Skills inventories showing performance on each skill.

Although all these additional facilities are extremely useful to supervisors and management alike, the key benefit must be the on line motivational feed back of information to the operators and often this feature alone will result in a quick pay-back for the investment required for these systems.

XeBusiness (formerly Kewill-Xetal), the major supplier of real time systems in the UK, provide 29 categories of information available to operators through an LCD style display on the workplace keypad. This information includes: name of operator clocked on to the terminal; attended time so far today; total pay earned so far today; current category of pay, i.e.; whether on or off standard; efficiency so far today; on and off standard performances so far today; current performance on this bundle; predicted pay at the end of the day dependant on efficiency so far; predicted pay to the end of the week depending on the current situation to date this week; individual actual pay for each day of the week; current order and operation number, operation description; standard minutes for the current operation; any special bundle allowance applicable to the current bundle; any standard minute or time allowances operational; the number of the last bundle claimed; quantity and standard minute value of current bundle being worked on; number of standard minutes produced in total and on standard.

The management of each individual factory can determine whether all, or a selection, of these enquiries are available through the keypads to the operators.

Using the facilities of real time and acting quickly on the information that is made available can produce many benefits for the manufacturer. The exact nature and degree of relevance of these will depend on the circumstances of each individual company and the actual facilities available from specific systems. Experience shows that advantages over batch production control are likely to be encountered in the following areas:

Increased Productivity - leading to an addition in the number of standard minutes available for manufacturing. Although prime costs per product remain fixed, overheads remain constant. Therefore the unit costs reduce and all contribution on additionally produced garments becomes increased profit. Increased productivity results from three areas as follows: -

(1) Increased performance of operators (normally a minimum of 5%) mainly due to the increased self-motivation resulting from the immediate feed back of performance and wage information. Further reasons include better selection of operators for operations due to improved management information.

(2) Increased utilisation (10% should be achievable) of operators and machines due to quality data for use in line balancing and immediate feed back of information high-lighting potential danger areas.

(3) Reduction in standard minute values (0.1sm minimum per bundle) due to a reduction in time spent booking work. Identification of loose rates is quicker and easier. Data on performances on each individual bundle is normally available providing much useful management information in this area.

Improved Quality Control - due to the ability to identify immediately, not only those operators who are causing faults, but also those who, whilst carrying out subsequent operations, fail to notice the problem. Facilities normally allow for the tracking of rejects/rework and provide much of the documentation required by BS5750. On line performance data clearly identifies to operators how their performance drops whilst they stop producing to carry out their repairs, reinforcing the managements argument that it is more cost effective to each operator to produce good work in the first instance.

Improved Contract/Style Costing. Real time is a method of cost effectively and accurately allocating excess costs directly to the bundles, operations, orders and styles, even to the size and colour for which they are attributable. True actual verses standard costs can therefore be measured and precise information can be used as a basis for costing in the future.

Reduced Labour Turnover and Absenteeism. By using the feed back from the terminals, operators not only achieve higher performances and thus higher wages, at no additional cost to the company, but they also learn how to pace themselves better through-out the day, thus reducing fatigue. More effective and controlled management, together with an increased level of security, results in reduced labour turnover and absenteeism.

Reduction in Clerical and Wage Costs. Gross wages are automatically calculated by the system requiring minimum wage costs. In any system requiring an aspect of manual calculation, inaccuracies will inevitably occur. Where these favour the operator they normally go uncorrected. Where wages are calculated automatically, this not only reduces the manpower required for this function, but inaccuracies are reduced: in some cases this amounts to a minimum ½% of the wage bill. With the built-in safeguards of a real time system overbooking of both work completed and off standard time will be reduced. This may amount to 1% minimum of the wage bill.

Reductions in Work in Progress, Bottlenecks, Late Deliveries, Overtime and Progress chasing. These reductions are due to more accurate and up to date information for management to act upon; and in turn can lead to reduced throughput times, increased flexibility, faster deliveries, release in capital employed, reduction in borrowing and space requirements, reduction in freight costs and more profitable sales.

With the increasing interest in Team Work, XeBusiness have developed a modified real time system to cater for this alternative method of manufacturing. Instead of each operator requiring a terminal, one terminal per team is used to collect and feed back data from and to the teams. The first such system is now operational at J.A. Hickey and Co. Ltd in Ireland. This factory has a mixture of team working and conventional production methods and the real time system caters for both simultaneously.

Another example of where real time is integrated with the manufacturing method is with unit production systems such as Eton. Here instead of tickets accompanying the work, the individual garment carriers have a bar coded identification which distinguishes the work completed at each workstation.

As will all production control systems, further benefits are expected to result when independent systems or modules are integrated together. When considering the implementation of a new manufacturing system we need to ask the question: ‘What control systems do we need to run our company and all our resources, efficiently and profitably in line with our current and future aims and objective?’

This question leads us to extend our thoughts to include materials, finished goods, order processing, sales forecasting, capacity planning and scheduling, costing and even payroll and ledgers. A fully integrated business solution appropriate to our needs, which can be phased in, if required, to address the key priorities of a company must be the favourite.

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