National Clothesline

Part 2

What is a quality garment? In addition to last month’s definitions, a few more answers are:

• Whatever pleases the customer.

• The garment is free of spots, smells fresh, feels good, sparkles (not dull or dingy-looking) and is

finished properly.

• What the customer will accept without complaining (this, of course, is a negative definition).

• The garments are packaged properly to preserve their quality.

A detailed discussion of the elements for finishing quality were discussed in my National Clothesline articles of June and July 1993.

What finally determines the quality of a garment is the finishing, the most productive process in the plant.

Quality finishing is determined by three factors:

1. The skill of the operator and her/his motivation and attitude toward the job.

2. The proper steam and air pressure and vacuum (strength and length of time).

3. The type and amount of finishing equipment available to the operator and its layout for efficiency.

What makes a good finisher?

Skill in a job that requires manual dexterity and decision-making is critical. Certainly, finishing is a job that requires those two attributes plus determination and stamina.

Skill is achieved only by proper training coupled with enough practice to seal the knowledge acquired by the proper training. Improper training techniques result in bad habits leading to poor quality. Training must always be conducted to ensure proper finishing procedures by experienced finishers as well as novices.

Without motivation and the right attitude about the job and place of employment, the finisher’s quality will suffer, as well as production.

Worker motivation for “Total Quality Management” (TQM) was discussed in my National Clothesline article of November 2001, and other articles discussed the concept of “Total Quality Management as it applies to the fabric care industry: September 1989, February 1996 and October 2001.

The TQM concept was taught to the Japanese by US industrial engineers after World War II in order to solve the old problem of poor quality in Japanese products.

As you are quite aware, that problem was solved by the production of first-class quality products, especially automobiles and electronic items through precise inspection at each step of the production process. Each department, or level within the production process, was treated as a customer and had to be satisfied. If not satisfied, the item was returned for quality correction.

Reward and recognition were given to workers at all levels, and managers and executives had to gain a working knowledge of the processes which they were responsible for. It was not uncommon to find an executive “on the line” with his sleeves rolled up and working.

In our industry, we are required to give reward and recognition to our employees, and the finishing department’s performance depends on it.

We also have learned, the hard way, that a lack of working knowledge of all the processes in the fabric care process can result in gross hardship for a manager or owner/operator.

Cleaner/spotters and finishers can sense the manager’s lack of knowledge, and they take advantage of it. Therefore, reward and recognition are vital to a productive process such as finishing.

After all, payment of straight hourly wages to a production worker is actually a penalty if she/he gets the job done too quickly. The penalty is a shortened workday and its corresponding loss of wages. Therefore, the greatest motivator to a production worker is reward for quantity produced. How then can we get quality along with satisfactory production?

The answer is simple: By inspection and penalty (of pay) if the garment is rejected because of poor quality. Inspection procedures were discussed in detail in my National Clothesline articles of February, March and April 2001. Various incentive systems for production workers were discussed in detail in my National Clothesline article of March 1989.

Quality control in silk finishing

Unlike men’s wearing apparel, it is difficult to relate dresses, blouses, skirts, gowns and robes to high production standards. We know what standard the pants unit or coat unit can maintain, but the silk unit is the most difficult to relate to a fixed production standard.

The reason for this is diversified styling. Ladies’ garments are tailored into many different styles and contours and some are loose-fitting while others cling the body as though painted to each curvature. Some skirts are pleated all around and some are not pleated at all, while some skirts have “kick pleats” in the back or sides. Some blouses are sleeveless while other blouses have large puffed sleeves. Almost every garment the silk finisher processes is different from the last one.

Dozens of split-second decisions have to be made during the silk finisher’s working day. Decisions such as: opening seams and pressing darts before or after completion, using the puff irons or small end of the utility press, using the up-air hand finishing board or buck of the utility press as an ironing board, using the steam-air form finisher (tensioning or conventional), using the puff iron set, using the mushroom press, using the vertical sleeve finisher, whether to pleat on the reverse side or front side of the skirt, etc. The list of decisions is virtually endless.

Since poor quality in silk finishing is quickly noticed and always quickly rejected by the customer, a thorough inspection is mandatory. The inspector should be familiar with the techniques of quality silk finishing and should be able to discern between correctable and non-correctable deficiencies. A good inspector is one who can touch up a garment without asking the silk finisher to perform that task. However, the inspector must be uninhibited enough to return a garment for refinishing when necessary without any resistance or undue conflict.

The following deficiencies mentioned in my National Clothesline article of April 2001 are explained, with corrections:

Shine and seam impressions. These are caused by too much pressure from the pressing machine head or hand iron. Applying vacuum while the press head is down will always produce shine and seam impressions. Correction is by steaming from the buck. Sometimes a light brushing or water spray is effective after buck steaming.

Crooked seams. These are caused by pulling the skirt across the press buck. The silk finisher should lift the garment to move it forward (away from her/him) to a new position since working toward the finisher encourages her/him to drag it rather than lift and drop it. In seldom cases where the garment must be worked toward the finisher, caution should be exercised so that the garment is lifted and then dropped into the next position.

Both hard and soft finished appearance. This is the result of steaming the bodice or skirt, while the other portion is pressed hard or hand ironed. The bodice and skirt should both be finished with the same pressure.

If some parts must be hand ironed while others are steamed, the silk finisher should feather-out the “leave-off marks” with the puff iron. Make sure that the garment is kept smooth while moving it over the puff iron.

Use a cover over the puff iron to ensure a disbursed puff of steam. When finishing a hard finish cotton, linen or silk dress, a mushroom press in the silk unit is a must since the bodice cannot be machine finished with the same high pressure as the skirt when using the mushroom puff iron (even if equipped with fabric heads and vacuum).

Note: If your puff irons are not equipped with fabric heads and vacuum they are not effective on any type of finish, especially hard finish.

Distortion and stretching of knits. This occurs when too much tension is applied while puffing, or by pulling the garment while shooting steam from the hand iron or the pressing machine buck.

Another cause is dragging the garment across the buck while it is still warm and/or slightly moist with steam. Again, make certain that the garment is lifted and then dropped into the next position.

Rough-dry or limp appearance. The use of a spray sizing (if not sized in the cleaning machine) can work wonders on cotton, linen or silk, hard finish weaves.

Apply head or heavy hand iron pressure to the sprayed area. Using a fine water spray then high head pressure will give cottons, linens and silks a smooth, crisp and lustrous appearance.

Satin weaves are vastly improved with this method of finishing. Remember one thing, however, hold the water spray gun high and quickly cover the area from side to side with a fine spray. Do not concentrate heavy droplets of water on the fabric since rings will develop during the head closing cycle.

Closed seams with crooked impressions. Always turn the skirt and bodice wrong side out and inspect for closed seams before beginning the finishing process. Use the hand iron without a teflon shoe to better utilize the pointed end of the iron as a seam opener.

Pleats with hard impressions. Pleats are replaced better by using medium or soft pressure. If the pressure is too hard, impressions will result behind each pleat.

Pleating a skirt on its reverse side has the advantage of producing shine and hardness on the inside rather than the outside, not to mention opening of the seams.

Topping a pleated skirt and then finishing the lower portion gives the advantage of setting small pleats easily in the narrow, circular portion first, while continuing the pleats into the wider area. Make sure the pleats are sharp but not too hard and running straight without curving.

Strong emphasis must be placed on training programs for both silk finishers and inspectors. A “job description” for quality silk finishing, containing the points described in this article should be prominently posted in the finishing department. Training should be targeted toward each point and aimed at both the silk finisher and inspector since both are equally responsible for quality and customer satisfaction.

As I wrote last month: “Quality work takes more time and patience than shoddy work, and consumers want quality work NO MATTER WHAT PRICE THEY PAY.”

Note: My spotting video, “The Caplan Method of Stain Removal,” which includes my comprehensive text and handy spotting board reference available in English, Spanish and Korean (video only in Korean) from the Golomb Group, c/o Dennis McCrory, 7664 Plaza Court, Willowbrook, IL 60521, phone (800) 679-5856. A lecture and demonstration are presented similar to my classes over the years at IFI and SDA. This video and text are ideal for training inexperienced spotters as well as a good review for experienced spotters. Digesting with enzymes, bleaching, oxidized oil stains and caramelized sugar stains are discussed and demonstrated. An article on “Removing Spots in the Cleaning Machine” and an article on “How to Increase Production in the Spotting Department” are included in the comprehensive text book.

Also available from the Golomb Group, in English and Spanish, is my video on step-by-step shirt finishing which includes my comprehensive text in loose-leaf form outlining each procedure for single-operator and two-operator cabinet shirt unit using a cabinet sleeve press. Proper forming of the collar using heated collar formers is demonstrated. Each lay is demonstrated for top quality with very little effort by the operators. Attractive detailing and packaging of the hangered shirt, padding, steam pressures and timing are all discussed. A unique wash formula for whiter whites and brighter colors and removal of grease and body oils is included in the loose-leaf text book.

My experience with shirts spans over 55 years with US Army as a principal laundry and dry-cleaning concessionaire at Ft. Meade, MD, where average shirt volume was approximately 10,000 per day. We were constantly “sampled” for excellent quality in both finishing and washing in laundry and drycleaning and in tailoring.

We operated our own 40,000-sq.-ft. plant for over 35 years.

Note: My spotting video, “The Caplan Method of Stain Removal,” which includes my comprehensive text and the handy spotting board reference, is available in English, Korean (video only) and Spanish (video only) from the Golomb Group, c/o Dennis McCrory, 7664 Plaza Court, Willowbrook, IL 60521, phone (800) 679-5856. A lecture and demonstration are presented similar to my classes over the years at IFI and SDA. This video and text are ideal for training inexperienced spotters as well as a good review for experienced spotters.

Also available from the Golomb Group, in English and Spanish, is my video on step-by-step shirt finishing which includes my comprehensive text in loose-leaf form (English only) outlining each procedure for a single-operator and two-operator cabinet shirt unit using a cabinet sleever. Proper forming of the collar using heated collar formers is demonstrated. Each lay is demonstrated for top quality with very little effort by the operators. Attractive detailing and packaging of the hangered shirt, padding, steam pressures and timing are all discussed. A unique wash formula to give whiter whites, brighter colors and total removal of grease and body oils is included in the loose-leaf note book.

Stan Caplan has over 35 years experience in his own high volume dry-cleaning, laundry and tailoring plant and two package plants with adjoining coin-operated laundry and drycleaning. Stan is the former chief instructor at the International Fabricare Institute, the Southwest Drycleaners Association and various other trade association-sponsored schools throughout the US and courses in Canada, Mexico, South Africa, Singapore and Hong Kong. Stan offers consulting, training and engineering services in all areas from customer service area to the boiler room since 1981. His complete system withtotal quality management will produce maximum efficiency, economy and product excellent quality. Stan can be reached at 3601 Clarks Lane, Suite 307, Baltimore, MD 21215, phone/fax (410) 358-0870. His e-mail address is stancap100@aol.com.