Globalisation creates fierce competition in the economy. The purchasing power of the consumer is increasing due to an increase in disposable income, which has led to a rise in customer demands. As such, the apparel industry is facing an immense challenge in producing goods of the right quantity and quality, in time and at minimum cost. Industrial Engineering plays a pivotal role in meeting these challenges.

According to the American Institute of Industrial Engineers (AIIE), “Industrial Engineering is concerned with the design, improvement and installation of integrated system of men, materials and equipment. It draws upon specialised knowledge and skills in the mathematical, physical sciences together with the principles and methods of engineering analysis and design to specify, predict and evaluate the results to be obtained from such system.” (Engineering, 2021)

Industrial Engineering plays a very important role in apparel manufacturing and production. Learning and implementing IE tools and methods on the production floor can enhance the overall performance. The objective of industrial engineering is to establish methods for improving operations and controlling production costs by eliminating waste and non-value-added activities, hence increasing productivity. Industrial engineering ensures the effective utilisation of resources.

The concept of IE is linked with the industrial revolution. It has passed through many phases to reach the present advanced stage. Adam Smith in 1776, through his book titled Wealth of Nations, laid a foundation for scientific manufacturing. He introduced the concepts of division of labour which eventually influenced skill development, time savings and the use of the specialised machine.

James Watt, Boultin Mathew, and Robinson in 1864 obtained a place in the history of Industrial Engineering because of their work related to improvements in the performance of machines and industries. James Watt was known for the steam engine and advanced the use of mechanical power to increase productivity.

Frederick W Taylor (1859-1915) was a mechanical engineer who initiated investigations of better work methods. He developed an integrated theory of management principles and methodologies and proposed data collection and standards for workers through scientifical training of workers. He vouched for cooperation between management and labour for better production. Taylor gave the concept of division of work between management and labour and assigning to those who are best suited.

The period between 1882 and 1912 was a critical period in the history of Industrial Engineering. Important works during this period are the Factory system; Owner, Engineer and Manager Concept; equal work, equal pay; and incentives, scheduling and Gantt Charts.

In 1917, Frank and Lillian Gilbreth developed Method Study as a tool for work analysis. He developed Micro-Motion study, a breakdown of work into fundamental elements called therbligs (Price, 1989).

In 1993, Henry L. Gantt worked in the area of motivation field, development of task and bonus plan, measurement of management results by Gantt Charts, recognition of social responsibility of business and industry. He also advocated the training of workers by management.

Today, IE has reached a point where various techniques are not only defined, but also used to improve the productivity of an organisation by optimum utilisation of resources. These techniques are Method Study; Time Study (Work Measurement); Motion Economy; Financial and Non-Financial Incentives; Value Analysis; Production, Planning and Control; Inventory Control; Job Evaluation; Material Handling Analysis; Ergonomics (Human Engineering); System Analysis; and Operations Research Techniques.

An Industrial Engineer performs several jobs in the garment industry. These are as follows:

• Providing pre-order from tech-pack cost and post order cost from samples in coordination with merchandisers.

• Making Operation Bulletin (OB) considering the line balancing principles for better productivity in sewing and finishing.

• Calculate Standard Allowed Minute (SAM)/Standard Minute Value (SMV) using MTM, by doing motion study through video analysis.

• Providing SAM/SMV to merchandising department for product costing.

• Providing SAM/SMV to the production planning department for product planning and scheduling.

• Based on SAM/ SMV efficiency calculation, operator allocation, and set targets for an assembly line.

• Setting production targets based on difficulty criticality of job and available skill matrix.

• Controlling factory efficiency by calculating capacity study, assembly line performance, changeover efficiency, time and motion study, machine breakdown, etc.

• After re-engineering, making standard operating procedure (SOP) for different processes and departments. Implementing production and quality SOP in various departments.

• Ensuring implementation of various industrial engineering practices in every possible area for maximum productivity and optimum resource utilisation with the implementation of Quality Control Order.

• Doing capacity booking and open capacity plan as per the factory business plan.

• Identifying training need based on quality and conducting skill assessments of new operators.

• Ensuring timely delivery of products to the customer by coordination with product development to make the product more feasible for production.

• Ensuring cost reduction by reducing various wastages and implementing Kaizen.

• Ensuring compliance for worker safety, product safety and product quality.

• Designing work aids and workplace considering Ergonomics.

• Studying and implementation of different tools of method study and work measurement.

• Involve in the implementation of lean principles in an organisation as Lean is an extension of Industrial Engineering.

• To ensure optimum material utilisation is done, do various calculations like thread consumption, button consumption and fabric consumption and also calculate the consumption of other trims of the garments.

• Prepare factory/ floor layout for minimal transportation to ensure effective utilisation of men, machines, and material.

• Solve the problem of bottleneck, doing line balancing.

• Prepare skill inventory of operator in a factory.

• Make a workforce recruitment plan in coordination with the HR team.

• Check the production report of cutting, sewing, finishing, also check absenteeism, cutting balance, loss time monitoring report, cut plan rejection report, efficiency and compliance report on the progress of work and problems occurring in production.

• Arranging pre-production meetings with the production, quality, planning, merchandising and product development team before starting production.

• Make work-in-progress (WIP) reports of cutting, sewing and finishing according to the File, PO, Style and colour to understand the status of the production at various stages of production.

• Maintaining leftover status reports with the ERP team.

• To ensure that packing has been done according to CT-PAT.

• Accumulating various reports and consolidation and variation reports so that it can be sent to top management, taking proper action on the variance between build-up and actual production and solving the problem with proper collaboration with top management.

• Ensuring a safe workplace for employees.

Thus, the Industrial Engineering department works for the continuous growth of the business, by believing in continuous improvement. Though this department is not directly related to any of the five pillars of business, it is an essential support system in an organisation. In the current competitive scenario, any garment manufacturing company needs to have this department.