A repeatable inspection sequence
Lesson 1 of 4
Objective
Inspect every garment in the same order so that no area is missed and identity is never lost.
Technical explanation
Start with the overall hanging appearance: balance, drape and obvious faults. Then lay the garment flat and inspect the front, then the back.
Turn it inside out and inspect seams, seam allowances, labels and internal components. Finish with closures and trims.
Follow the same sequence every time. A consistent route is what stops you missing an area when you are busy.
Keep the garment ID with the garment throughout. A defect that cannot be traced to a unit is hard to act on.
Worked case
Factory scenario: the missed inside seam
An inspector who checked only the outside of jackets passed a lot that later showed open seams inside the lining. After switching to a fixed outside-then-inside sequence, the same type of fault was found at inspection instead of at the customer.
Common mistakes
- Jumping straight to the area where defects were found last time.
- Skipping the inside of the garment.
- Removing tickets or tags and losing the garment ID.
Your action
Write your own inspection sequence for one product type as a numbered list of zones.