Quality Inspection Audit

“Quality comes not from inspection, but from improvement of the production process.”— W. Edwards Deming

What Type of Inspections Do I Need?

There are several types of inspections available throughout the production process; First Article, In-Process and Pre-Shipment inspections. Our Account Managers are very capable to help choose the best source inspection service to fit your requirements. As a general guideline, the more uncertain your experience with your supplier the more protection you should use through product inspections.

First-Article Inspections

Our QC inspects first-article samples prior to volume production. This verifies that product specifications are being met and avoids unnecessary re engineering work later.

In-Process Inspections

These on-site inspections evaluate samples of your products selected during the manufacturing process. This confirms the quality of your product and allows any necessary changes to be addressed early on, reducing rework time and costs.

Pre-Shipment Inspections

During a pre-shipment inspection, our engineers verify that finished goods conform to your specifications. For example, if an Automotive Product or Auto Part Inspection is required, we would request your specifications and golden samples in advance and use them to ascertain the quality of the products produced at your supplier.

Container Loading Supervision:

We ensure that proper methods are employed during product loading, and we verify counts on-site.

Factory Audits

Quality System & Compliance Audit

A Quality System and Compliance Audit is a systematic examination of the quality system of an organization. It is typically carried out by an internal or external quality auditor or an audit team. Typically these would start out with a standard supplier audit or factory audit and trigger a process of continuous improvement.

Effectively assess the quality of your supplier

Inspection services are often useful in assessing the quality of a product. However, detecting product defects is a reactive approach because detection comes after the product has already been made. Moreover, inspection only tells you a snapshot of a manufacturer’s quality performance. If you want to take a proactive quality assurance approach with your supplier, the focus should be on assessing two crucial components – Quality Management System and Supply Chain Compliance.

Quality Management System (QMS) – The quality of your product is supported by the level of operational excellence in any given manufacturing processes, which is in turn supported by an effective quality management system. Each manufacturing industry has their own industry specific QMS with which factories need to comply.

Supply Chain Compliance – The integrity of your suppliers is often determined by complying with all applicable laws, rules and regulations, as well as an internal code of conduct, policies and procedures, and other compliance requirements from your supply chain . Aside from standard regulations, many big retailers have their own Supplier Code of Conduct requirements to ensure the practice of responsible sourcing and to protect and maintain their brand value.

Reliable Supplier

We provide factory audits to assess the reliability of your potential and existing suppliers. We are ready to partner with your team to ensure your suppliers uphold the integrity of your company. We also establish a regular monitoring program to evaluate the supplier’s internal environment, ensure they operate efficiently, deliver high-quality products, and support a culture of continuous improvement.

Our Offerings

• Quality Management System
• Social Compliance
• Environmental Compliance
• Security Compliance
• Vendor Compliance
• Combined / Customized / Regular Audit

Results you can expect

• Measuring Performance.
• Concrete Actions
• Company Alignment
• Supply chain
• Responsible Production
• Sustained Performance

Vendor Compliance

When your company decides to sell products to big retail stores, there’s is an exhaustive application process and criteria that must be fulfilled before your products land on the retailer’s shelves.

One of the most important criteria is to ensure the supply chain of your products comply to that specific retailer’s own compliance. The standards can be called Standard Of Supplier, Vendor Code of Conduct, Responsible Sourcing and many other names. We will call it the vendor compliance program. If your product supplier or the sub-suppliers in your supply chain fail to comply with the retailer’s vendor compliance program, you run the risk of your suppliers being penalized. The normally means a refusal to sell to this retailer for between 6 months and 2 years. In some cases, if your suppliers fail to sustain the needed performance or receive multiple violations, it will result in a permanent ban.

Quality Tools:

Defect Classifications

Critical

Any condition found which poses the possibility of causing injury or harm to, or otherwise endangering the life or safety of, the end user of the product or others in the immediate vicinity of its use.

Major

Any condition found adversely affecting the product’s marketability and sale-ability or adversely affecting its required form, fit, or function, and which is likely to result in the end user returning it to the source from which it was purchased for replacement or refund.

Minor

Any condition found which while possibly less than desirable to the end user of the product, does not adversely affect its required marketability, sale-ability, form, fit, or function and is unlikely to result in its return to the source from which it was purchased.

Quality Terms

Accept / Reject Criteria

This refers to the measurement and decision of whether or not the quality and performance of a product or service is acceptable. These criteria can be technical specifications (such as level of size tolerances allowed in parts), contract terms and conditions, or performance of a process or service. Implied in the term is the idea that all processes, products, and actions should have an assigned level of acceptable performance that one can measure. Consistent with the understanding that criteria grow out of process capabilities, technicians should periodically measure for acceptability to find out how well a process or item is meeting specification.

Acceptable Quality Level (AQL)

AQL is limit of a satisfactory process average at a particular quality level when a continuing series of lots is considered.

Acceptance Number

In judging the acceptability of a lot or batch, this is the maximum number of nonconformities allowed within a sample, based on a count of the nonconformities. If the batch passes, that is, it’s amount of nonconformities falls at or below the acceptance number. If a batch does not pass, this usually indicates there is a problem with the process.

Acceptance Sampling Plan

This is a plan for setting up the acceptable sampling technique that includes criteria setting sample size, and for accepting and rejecting a component, product, or service based on samples meeting prescribed quality criteria. Plans may involve single, double, sequential, chain, multiple, or skip-lot sampling techniques. With variable samples, management may deploy single, double, and sequential sampling techniques.

Adequacy of Standards

This is a manufacturing term that refers to the ability of a standard to be used for calibrating the accuracy of a gage or instrument used to measure quality or performance. It is best if such standards are traceable to the National Bureau of Standards. The term also appears when dealing with the measurement of processes and procedures.

Affinity Diagramming

This is a technique for organizing a variety of subjective data into categories based on the intuitive relationships among individual pieces of information. It is often used by groups to find commonalties among concerns and ideas on any subject from members. In this technique, you organize information into logical groups.

Agile Manufacturing

This is a set of flexible manufacturing processes that leads to the rapid design and manufacture of products that provides customers with what they want, when and where they want it. Using agile manufacturing rather than traditional manufacturing methods, firms can offer more customized products at competitive prices with no compromise in quality or damage to the environment.

Analysis of Means (ANOM)

This is a statistical technique used when running experiments to identify problems and/or capabilities of an industrial process to deliver an end product with the desirable characteristics.

Analysis of Variance (ANOVA)

This is a method for breaking down and analyzing the total variation in the outputs of any process, understanding the causes of this variation, and then assessing their significance. The goal is to come up with a process in which variation in outputs will be minimized.

AOQ

This is an acronym for average outgoing quality. This refers to the maximum percent of defective products that can go to a customer after inspection is performed by an acceptance-sampling plan. AOQ requires 100 percent inspection if defectives in a batch or lot of products exceed some minimum standard. This helps reassure customers that suppliers will deliver products that will not include more defectives than expected.

Audit (Quality)

An independent review conducted to compare some aspect of quality performance with a standard for that performance.

Average Run Length (ARL)

Assuming a process is in statistical control and the upper and lower control limits are known, the ARL is the expected number of subgroups inspected and measured before an operator detects whether a process has shifted to a new level of control with a new center line and control limits. There are statistical methods for calculating the ARL.

Batch

A definite quantity of some product or material produced under conditions that are considered uniform.

Bathtub Curve

This is a composite curve derived from data on early failure rates and constant failure rates combined with a normalized curve of wear-out failure rates. This curve is used in assessing products that have a certain degree of reliability over time. It assumes that failures will either come early on in product life or late in the product life. Between early and late, the rate of failure is lower and generally constant over the life of the product.

Bimodal Distribution

This is a distribution with two modes in the frequency of occurrence of whatever the population is being measured. It is usually displayed using a histogram. The bimodal distribution documents a relationship between two factors in a process, such as time of day and level of traffic.

Calibration

In quality management, this is a comparison of one measurement system or instrument not verified as accurate to another standard measurement system or instrument with verified accuracy. This is done to identify variations from a required specification for performance.

Capability Process Index (Cp)

This is a technique for making a ratio of the specification width (the range within which an output is considered to meet specification) in relation to the process’s natural distribution for assessing whether the process can regularly meet specifications. Process capability is used to determine which processes are not capable of meeting specifications, to identify those processes operating suboptimally, and to estimate the output proportion that will not conform to specifications.

Causal Analysis

This technique concentrates on identifying specific failures or defects, discovering root causes of those failures, and concluding with recommendations on how to eliminate those defects by implementing solutions that address the appropriate cause.

Continuous Sampling Plan

This is an approach to sampling that is most appropriate for the output of processes that deliver a continuous flow of a product. In this plan, a company begins by inspecting 100 percent of the units coming from the process. After a certain number of items that have been inspected with no defects, the plan goes to inspecting only a fraction of items. This continues until the company finds a nonconforming unit. At that point, the plan reverts back to 100 percent inspection following the same pattern.

Control Chart

This is a graph and a statistical process control method used to track the capability and performance of a process over time.

Control Chart Factor

This is a factor based on mathematical probability that facilitates the calculation of control limits on X-bar and range charts.

Cost of Poor Quality (COPQ)

These are the extra expenses caused by delivering poor quality goods or services to customers. These expenses have two sources: (1) internal failure costs (from defects before customers get the product) and (2) external failure costs (costs after a customer receives the poor product or service). Rework, repairs, lost future business, and warranty payments are all examples of costs associated with poor quality.

Cost of Quality (COQ)

This refers to all costs involved in the prevention of defects, assessments of process performance, and measurement of financial consequences. Cost of quality is the cost justification of quality efforts.

Critical Defect

This is a defect that, based on experience, is considered hazardous to employees or to have the potential to harm or injure end users of a product or process.

Defect

This is (a) any nonconformance from a customer’s requirement (b) any attribute of a product or service that fails to meet specifications (c) any state of unfitness for use. Defects are usually cataloged into four types by degree, being very serious, serious, major and minor.

Demerit Chart

This is a tool for tracking defects, or various types in process outputs. This type of chart is a way to measure the quality of outputs from a process. Demerits are usually broken down into the four categories of defects: critical, serious, major and minor. These are given weights, and each type is then tracked for a specified number of demerits by the total number of products. Using this as a baseline, the companies can then track additional lots or batches of outputs to measure improvement.

Design of experiments (DOE)

This is a formal branch of applied statistics that focuses on planning, conducting, studying and interpreting the results of controlled tests. Genichi Taguchi, a Japanese quality expert, is a pioneer in developing the DOE approach. Common steps in DOE are to (1) define a problem to be solved; (2) list the factors that might affect the way the process operates; (3) conduct experiments that allow for different combinations of these factors to be studied; (4) choose the combination that yields the best result.

Double sampling

This is an inspection technique in which you inspect a first lot of n1 size, which leads you either to accept or reject it. If you reject it, then you inspect a second sample of a larger lot size n2, which in turn leads to a decision to accept or reject the lot.

Failure Mode Effects Analysis (FMEA)

This is a method for designing in reliability and minimizing the causes of failure in a product. It focuses on analyzing origins of product failure by examining raw materials, components, and assembly processes. The goal is to determine the probability of failure in these items and take preventive action based on this analysis.

Inspection

This includes the acts of measuring, testing, examining, or gaging one or more characteristics of the output of a process and then comparing results to specified requirements. The objective is to determine if the output features conform to the specifications of size, function, appearance, and other characteristics that may be relevant to the product or service.

ISO 9000 Standards

This is a set of quality standards developed in 1987 by the International Organization for Standardization. The three major areas of certification are as follows: ISO 9001, ISO 9002 andISO 9003.

ISO 9001

which covers all the processes of a company from design and development to procurement, production, testing, installation and service.

ISO 9002

which covers everything except design and development

ISO 9003

which covers only inspection and testing.

Lot Tolerance Percent Defective (LTPD)

This is a way of quantitatively defining the relationship between the probability of acceptance by a customer of a product lot compared to the possible percent of defectives within that lot. This relationship shows that the higher the percent of defectives, the lower the probability of accepting the lot.

Lower Control Limit (LCL)

This is the line on a control chart indicating the lower limit within which a process is in statistical control. The LCL is positioned on the chart three standard deviations below the average of the measurements of process outputs through time.

Minimum Acceptable Quality

This is the maximum level of defectives or variants in a specified quantity of products, components, or services that, for purposes of quality sampling, can be considered satisfactory as the average for the outputs delivered by a process.

Nondestructive Testing and Evaluation (NDE or NDT)

This refers to testing and evaluation techniques that do not damage or destroy what is being tested, such as products or parts.

Number of Defective Units Chart (np Chart)

This kind of control chart is used to evaluate the stability of a process by looking at the total number of units with particular defects from a series of lots in which the sample size from each lot remains constant.

Pareto Chart

The Pareto Chart is based on the 80/20 rule and illustrates, in descending order, the frequency of occurrence of particular events or process outputs.

Process Quality Audit

This is an analysis, appraisal, and evaluation of process performance against certain standards. The audit includes an evaluation of how operators maintain process quality and make accept/reject decisions about outputs.

Q9000 Series

This is an abbreviation for ANSI/ASQC Q9000-1 series of standards, the U.S. version of ISO 9000 standards, adopted by the American National Standards Institute in 1987. They are quality standards, documentation, and audit procedures for a variety of activities performed primarily by manufacturing organizations./dd>

Quality Control

This term refers to those activities a company and its employees undertake to ensure that organizational processes deliver high-quality products or services.

Quality Engineering

This incorporates the skills and expertise needed to apply statistical quality control techniques in the design and implementation of manufacturing processes to assure they operate efficiently, improve continuously, and deliver products that are free of defects and with minimum variation.

Random Sampling

This is a standard sampling method by which random samples of units are chosen such that all combinations of these units have an equal chance of being chosen as the sample.

Reliability Engineering

This is the branch of engineering devoted to improving product performance. It includes a set of practices that focus on accurately predicting when and under what circumstance products or processes might fail or not deliver acceptable outputs.

Representative Sampling

This is a process by which samples are pulled from batches or lots of units so as to contain minimum bias between the values of the samples characteristics and the batch, or lot, as a whole.

Sample

This refers to a specific number of items of a similar type taken from a population or lot, for the purpose of examination, to determine all members of the population or lot conform to quality requirements or specifications.

Statistical Process Control

This is the body of statistical techniques used to measure and monitor the performance of processes. The reason for applying these is to identify specific areas for improvement in processes and to measure variation in outputs of processes, all leading to actions that will reduce variation in outputs.

Statistical Quality Control

This is a broader term than statistical process control, implying the use of statistical techniques to measure and improve processes and quality.

Taguchi Methods

Named after Genichi Taguchi, a leading Japanese expert on quality improvement, these methods comprise a variety of techniques for evaluating quality and figuring out how to improve it. Taguchi based his methods on the idea that any variation from customer requirements represents a loss to customers and to the company.

Variation

This is an idea that suggests there will always be some difference between any two or more actions within a system and in the outputs of that system.

Quality FAQ

What are the differences in the types of inspections offered?

How does sampling work during an inspection?

What is an AQL, and why is it such an important consideration?

What is the difference between a “rejection” and a “hold shipment”?

What is a “criteria” and why is it important?

What kinds of reports are available?

What is an audit, and what does it generally include?

How do inspections reduce costs?

What are the differences in the types of inspections offered?

There are basically three types of inspections: first-article, in-process, and pre-shipment. First-article inspections are conducted with the onset of initial production. An in-process inspection takes place on the assembly line, or during the manufacturing process and determines whether the appropriate tests and checks are taking place and whether the quality checks are consistent with the customer’s requirements. A final inspection is a final sampling of finished product to check that conformance is acceptable prior to shipment. Based on the outcome of a final inspection, a lot can be accepted, rejected, or placed on hold.

How does sampling work during an inspection?

We recommends ANSI Z1.4 2003 sampling tables to determine the number of units that will be randomly selected for evaluation. Based on the lot or batch size, code letters are assigned that cross-reference to the sample size required depending on which plan is being employed. Single and double normal sampling plans are the most commonly used.

If you do not have existing sampling requirements, Our QCwill assist you in determining which plan works best for your specific needs.

Samples are checked against a detailed inspection plan for appearance, applicable functionality, packaging integrity, workmanship, etc. If you currently do not have an inspection plan, Our QCcan assist.

Defects noted are classified as major, minor, or critical depending on inspection plans. The acceptable quality level (AQL) is determined by totaling the defects and using the corresponding accept/reject criteria within the sampling plan.

What is an AQL, and why is it such an important consideration?

An AQL, or Acceptable Quality Limit, is a probability limit chosen for a given product or process characteristic. There are normally three limits chosen, one for critical, major and minor. Usually, each of these three limits is different for each category. A typical sampling plan would be as follows:

Level  Critical            Major  Minor

General Level II        0.01    1.5       4.0

The lower the number, the fewer defects can be accepted in the sample of product. When choosing AQLs, it is important that one understands the balance between setting them too low, and rejecting many shipments, and setting them too high and releasing unacceptable product.

What is the difference between a “rejection” and a “hold shipment”?

A lot is rejected when there is a clear non-conformance with the inspection plan. A “hold shipment” normally occurs when the problem is subjective against the inspection plan definition of non-conformance.

What is a “criteria” and why is it important?

The AQL sets a numerical limit for the acceptance of non- conformances in the sampled lot based on critical, major and minor problems. Each of these “criteria” is a description of a problem based on the effect it has. These descriptions are critical to performing an inspection, as they describe what is important to the appearance, the shape and/or the function of the product. International standards, industry standards, the quality engineer’s experience and/or the buyer can determine inspection criteria.

What kinds of reports are available?

Our QCoffers secure online reporting and scheduling. Reports and other relevant information, such as digital photos, are uploaded to an online database where clients are provided confidential access.

What is an audit, and what does it generally include?

Audits identify problems or shortcomings in the management system that could allow poor quality product to be produced and brings it to the attention of management so they can correct the problem. Audits are often preventive actions in that they identify problems before they have produced poor quality product. This is why audits are often used as part of the basis for selecting suppliers.

How do inspections reduce costs?

First article inspections immediately identify conformance issues with new product as it is initially produced. In-process inspections identify problems as they develop on the production line and save time in making corrections and reduce costs of reworking completed product. Pre-shipment inspections identify non-conformances prior to shipment, reducing the risks to the buyer of receiving defective product along with the associated delays in receiving replacement products.

Useful links

American National Standards Institute

–http://www.ansi.org

Standards Council of Canada

–http://www.scc.ca/en

International Organization for Standardization

http://www.iso.org

Standards Council of Canada

http://www.astm.org

1.The Textile Quality Control Solutions That We Offer

1. A) Fabric & Raw Material Inspection

Garment quality starts with fabric quality. Handbag quality starts with leather quality.

Our fabric and raw material inspection program assists customers in preventing faulty components or textiles. It also detects and settles quality issues at a very early stage.

Main Checks Performed

• Visual assessment of 10%, 20%, 50%, or more, of the produced quantities
• Usage of 4 or 6 demerit point system or any other system agreed with our customers
• 100% assessments for expensive fabrics and leather hides
• Check on A, B, C grading of tanneries
• Conformity check : dimensions, colors, weaving, knitting, shading, tanning, finishing, coatings…

Control of quality

• Picking of samples for laboratory testing
• Fabrics and Raw Materials That We Focus On
• Fabrics: Natural fibers, synthetics, blends
• Greige and PFD ( Prepared for Dyeing )
• Leather hides
• Other components such as trims, laces, elastic, ribbons

1. B) Incoming Material Control

Components and accessories are inspected upon arrival at the finished garment manufacturer. This will prevent wastage and rework if they do prove to be faulty or have other quality issues.

Main Controls Performed

• Control of reception process and stock – taking process
• Review of incoming control reports and tests performed
• Random check on quantities received

Evaluation of risks (storage conditions, control performed upon reception, marking of defects observed (if any), cutting issues evoked by manufacturer… or other constraints preventing production from starting)

Fabrics and Raw Materials That We Focus On

• Fabrics
• Leather hides
• Other components such as trims, laces, elastic, ribbons
• Hardware accessories: Buttons, zippers, metallic parts

1. C) Top of Production Inspection

We will perform this inspection when 3% to 5% of an order is ready, with the aim of identifying quality issues before a full production has been completed.

Main Checks Performed

• Inspection of first pieces off the production lines
• Ensuring that the first piece of the production line complies with customer’s expectations
• Sampling across available styles, sizes and colors
• Checks running back into the productions lines and at cutting and storage level
• Check on: Conformity (style, trims, fabrics & color), measurements, quality (appearance, workmanship, construction)
• Evaluation of production problems: Cutting, bundling, assembling, stitching….
• Establishment of a corrective action plan to improve the rest of production

Products We Focus On

• Home textiles
• Socks
• Garments, shoes, accessories, bags
• Complex items
• Complex assembling and constructions
• Products with development issues

1. D) Inline Textile Inspection

Our quality experts conduct an inline inspection at your facility when 15% to 20% of an order is ready, checking finished and semi-finished garments for issues.

Main Checks Performed

• Intervention when 10% to 15% of production sewing is completed
• Inspection of finished and semi-finished pieces off the production lines
• Checks running back into the production line from finished pieces, to pieces under assembly on the lines, to raw material and components
• Control of conformity, measurements, quality
• Evaluation of production problems and suggestion of solutions to the manufacturer
• Definition of the root causes of the problems detected and checking that the factory can improve / solve these problems
• Establishment of a corrective action plan in order to improve the rest of production

Production That Benefits from This Service

• Home textiles
• Socks
• Garments, shoes, accessories, bags
• Complex items
• Large orders of garments, shoes, accessories, and bags
• Orders that require particular attention with regards to quality and production timing

1. E) Continuous Inline Textile Inspection

This quality inspection type consists of SgT inspectors visiting your facility regularly in order to monitor the progress of production, and assure that quality standards remain high.

Main Checks Performed

• Intervention once a week for a determined time period, whatever the production status
• Controls running back into the production line from most finished pieces, to pieces under assembly on the lines, to raw material and components
• Definition of root causes of problems detected and checks that the factory can improve / solve the problem
• Provision of recommendations for bulk production improvement
• Comparison of the improvements from one week to another

Production That Benefits from This Service

• Garments, shoes, accessories, bags
• Complex items, large size runs or color runs
• Products with complex production and assembling steps
• Very large orders that require particular attention to quality and timing

1. F) Final Textile Inspection

A final inspection is an assessment of finished production at Manufacturer facility by our inspectors when it is 100% complete and at least 80% packed.

Main Checks Performed

• Conformity
• Quality
• Assembling / construction
• Workmanship / packing / packaging
• Labeling
• Measurement and fitting

Application of MIL-STD-105E / ISO 2859 methodology or otherwise, as agreed with customers

Products We Focus On

• Home textiles
• Socks
• Garments
• Shoes
• Accessories
• Bags

1. G) 100% Textile Inspection

This type of inspection is performed on all of your finished products on-site at factories, or at our inspection centers (i.e in a neutral environment.) by  QC experts.

Main Checks Performed

• All pieces presented are checked
• The products can be segregated as rejected, accepted, repairable, and re-checked immediately after repairing

Products We Focus On

• Home textiles
• Socks
• Garments, shoes, accessories, bags
• Any textile orders which need to be assured of having 100% quality

1. H) Textile Production Follow Up Control

Textile production follow up involves regular visits to factories, where we monitor production steps and work-in process and ensure that high quality standards continue to be met.

Products We Focus On

• Garments, shoes, accessories, bags
• Orders which need to be 100% guaranteed in terms of timing
• Orders with a lack of visibility provided by manufacturers

Main Checks Performed

• Check of the factory WIP, theoretical and in the production lines
• On – site check of fabrics, material and trims received
• Review of any sources of actual or potential production delay
• Follow up of production stages through various visits
• Control of input, output and productivity

Production That Benefits from This Service

• Home textiles
• Socks
• Garments, shoes, accessories, bags
• Orders which need to be 100% guaranteed in terms of timing
• Orders with a lack of visibility provided by manufacturers.

2. Textile Quality Audit Solutions

Our experts assess the efficiency of your vendors’ ‘Quality Management System’. Through different types of textile audits we evaluate their capability and capacity to deliver safe, quality products which conform. Through these audits, we also help your production partners to comply with international labor / social standards, and ‘best practices’.

Our 3-Step Textile Quality Audit Process

We have designed a progressive and cost efficient 3-step approach to managing a textile supplier/factory audit. Actions are taken based upon the level of risk presented by the supplier: A factory which presents a greater risk will take longer to investigate onsite.

The 3 steps are the following:

Step 1

• Data collection from supplier
• Checking of certificates available
• Checking of internal documentation Feedback from our Field technician (e.g from inline/final inspections done on site, if any)

Step 2

Technical audit carried out on factories, which are identified as weak, not certified and/or getting negative feedback

Step 3

Full scale social audit for the factories failing the technical/social audit

We Offer the Following Quality Audits for Textiles:

• Textile Factory Assessment
• Textile QMS Evaluation
• Textile Technical Audit
• Textile CSR Audit

Textile Factory Assessment

This assessment enables a first overview of a factory’s set up, performances, and its principal points of compliance with international standards.

The overview evaluates both technical and social aspects, as well as the premises and key safety points. It is a snapshot evaluation which can be carried out in a short time period and which gives a good illustration of factory’s set up and potential weaknesses. This first overview can be followed by a thorough audit on either technical or social aspects, depending on the results it brings to light.

Factory Assessment Focus Points

1. Manufacturer Profile
2. Manufacturing Process
3. Premises and Equipment
4. Working Conditions and Environment
5. Hygiene and Safety.

Textile QMS Evaluation

Evaluating textile QMS consists of an expert analysis of all QC steps established by the manufacturer, whether prior or during the production. Raw material reception, lab testing, internal control process. This is to help guarantee the quality, safety and conformity of finished products.

The auditors control the quality system implemented, evaluate the bottlenecks and suggest best practices. The evaluation also helps to understand the manufacturer’s ability to improve.

Focus Points Of QMS Evaluation For Textiles

1. Quality System
2. Management of Raw Materials
3. Manufacturing Process
4. Testing Protocols
5. Steps of Control
6. Non Conformity and Claim Management
7. Quality Control Resources & Management

Textile Technical Audit

The technical auditors evaluate the effectiveness of the production organization, the production capacity and know-how of a specific factory.

We rely on a pool of experienced auditors with a textile background. Specific modules can be added for different market segments or products type (ex: denim with a 2nd tier audit of a laundry).

Technical Audit for Textiles Focus Points

1. Development Process
2. Quality System
3. Management of Raw Materials
4. Process Control
5. Storage, Packing, Shipping
6. Premises and Equipment
7. Working Environment
8. Manufacturing Process

Textile Social Audit

A social audit enables evaluation of the ability of a manufacturer to comply with local labor laws and international social standards.

We have a pool of SA8000 certified auditors with a textiles background. The auditors will check the manufacturer’s compliance with local labor law, international best practices, and the brand’s code of conduct. The goal is to assure that your supply chain is socially compliant, reducing the risk of working with non-compliant factories which could lead to damage to your brand’s reputation if you were found to be selling goods produced in illegal or unsafe working conditions.

What happens next?

Following the social audit and depending on the results, a corrective and preventive action plan is proposed by the manufacturer and re-checked by the auditors within 6 to 9 months, depending on the gravity of observations and points to be corrected.

Each Textile Corporate Social Responsibility Audit Examines:

1. Child labor
2. Child Labor
3. Forced Labor
4. Health and Safety
5. Freedom of Association
6. Discrimination
7. Discrimination
8. Disciplinary practices
9. Disciplinary Practices
10. Working Hours
11. Compensation

3.Textile Technical Advisory

The majority of recalls and product safety issues stem from the product development stage. Development follow-up and pre-production textile sample validation are fundamental to assuring the overall quality, conformity and compliance of the finished product.

Our technical team works closely with our client’s development teams to help identify product issues at an early stage.

Technical Advisory Key Elements

• Prototype validation
• Size set sample validation
• Salesman sample validation
• Pre-production sample validation

Core Textile Evaluations

• Conformity of raw materials (including fabrics, components, and accessories)
• Construction and assembling methods
• Functionality, performance and safety
• Workmanship and stitching
• Measurement, grading and fitting

Lab-Testing

In today’s global market, manufacturers, retailers and importers must be mindful of product quality and safety requirements of their target markets. Failure to do so results in costly product recalls, legal issues, and reputational damage.

We can do the In-house Testing for Home textiles and garments i.e.

• Physical Testing
• Chemical Testing.

Below mentioned Test are normally offered to Home textile and Garment products.