Learn Industrial Engineering the practical way
Free articles, Excel templates and calculators on IE, Excel and the garments industry - written from real factory experience.
Hoshin Kanri, the X-Matrix and Human Value Stream Mapping
Align yearly company goals with department projects using the X-Matrix, and align people with work using Human Value Stream Mapping, a skill matrix and a Kaizen suggestion system.
MerchandisingGarment costing step by step: building an FOB price
Fabric, trims, CM from SAM and cost per minute, washing/printing, commercial costs and margin - a worked T-shirt example and the common costing mistakes.
Value stream mapping, Kanban and pull systems from sample to bulk
Draw the current and future state of your sample-to-bulk flow, see lead time vs value-added time, and use Kanban cards and a pull system between cutting, sewing and finishing to cut WIP.
MerchandisingThe garment merchandiser: role, skills and the export order flow
What a merchandiser does from enquiry to payment, the ten steps of an export order, the documents at each step, and the habits of a good merchandiser.
TPM for sewing and cutting: the 8 pillars, OEE, MTTR and MTBF
Total Productive Maintenance for garment machines: the 8 pillars, autonomous maintenance by operators, and how to calculate OEE, MTTR and MTBF with a worked sewing-line example.
UtilityWater, ETP and fire safety systems: what every manager should know
The steps of effluent treatment, the main parts of a factory fire system, which extinguisher to use on which fire, and the checks buyers and inspectors look for.
Six Sigma for garment factories: DMAIC, DPMO and sigma level
What Six Sigma means, DMAIC vs DMADV, the main tools, and a worked example that turns 500 defective garments out of 50,000 into DPMO and a sigma level - with the conversion table.
UtilityElectrical power in a garment factory and how to save energy
Grid, substation, generator and distribution in a single-line view, power factor, load balancing, and the energy savings that pay back fastest - servo motors and LED lights.
Process mapping: SIPOC, swim lane and VA / NVA / delay analysis
Map any garment process - sample approval, size set or cutting - with SIPOC for the big picture, a swim lane for who does what, and activity analysis to measure how much time really adds value.
Calculators for everyday IE work
Target, efficiency, line balancing, man machine ratio, machine requirement and time study.
Templates & guides
Excel, PDF and Word files, ready to use. Files marked 🔒 are for members.
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