Textiles

Start with who needs fabrics, uniforms and home textiles and why. Around hotels, hospitals, schools and retailers drive demand in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and the other emirates.

• List 10 offers or suppliers in the UAE with price per piece in AED and who buys.
• Interview 5 people from hotels, hospitals, schools and retailers: what do they buy now, how often, what do they pay, what annoys them?
• Learn three terms: GSM (grams per square metre, a measure of fabric weight); Cut plan (how pieces are laid on cloth to waste less); AQL (a sampling rule for accepting or rejecting a lot).
• Write a one-page brief: user, need, hoped-for price, and the rule that matters most.

Activity. Complete the market table, five interview notes and the brief.

Standard to meet. Price ten offers, interview five users, and state one need in one sentence.

Know the rule before the work. Main hazards here: needle injuries, fire and dust. Hazard thinking means list each step, ask what could go wrong, and decide the control.

• Ask your local authority or free zone which licence, permit or inspection applies. Write the answer and the date you asked.
• For each step (design and cut; stitch; check and finish; pack) write the hazard and the control.
• Use a hierarchy: remove the hazard, replace it, separate people from it, change the way of work, then protective equipment last.
• Keep a one-page incident rule: who you call, what you stop, what you record.

Activity. Draw the flow and mark hazard and control at each step.

Standard to meet. Name a hazard and a control for every step, and answer the licence question in writing.

The work is a short chain: design and cut, stitch, check and finish, pack. Learn each link, then link them with records.

• Write a checklist for each of the 4 steps: input, action, check, output.
• Time each step three times and note the slowest.
• Record a defect or delay each time it happens: what, where, cause, fix.
• Measure pieces passed first time; this is your main number.

Activity. Run the chain three times (simulated or real) and fill the log.

Standard to meet. Complete three logs, and give the slowest step a cause and a fix.

What you do not measure you cannot improve. Your main measure is pieces passed first time.

• Define pieces passed first time: what counts, what does not, and over what period.
• Draw a simple chart of the last 10 results and mark the average.
• Find the top two causes of loss with a tally sheet, then fix the biggest one first.
• Check measuring tools: are they accurate, clean and in date?

Activity. Collect a tally for one week and make a Pareto chart.

Standard to meet. Complete the tally, name the biggest cause, and plan one fix with a date.

Know the cost of one piece before you set the price. Include materials, labour, energy, transport, licence share, waste and a safety margin.

• Cost per piece = total cost divided by pieces sold (not made).
• Margin = (price minus cost) divided by price.
• Break-even units = fixed costs divided by gain per unit.
• Test the price with two users and write down the answer.

Activity. Build the cost sheet with AED on every line and have your mentor check it.

Standard to meet. Check that no cost is missing, and calculate the margin twice by different routes.

Customers return when you keep promises. Promise only what your workflow can deliver.

• Write a one-page offer: what is included, what is not, price, time, how you fix mistakes.
• Write a short script for the first call or visit.
• Agree dates in writing; confirm each change.
• Handle a complaint in four steps: listen, apologise for the impact, fix, record what changed.

Activity. Present the offer to two users and note changes.

Standard to meet. Write an offer with scope, price, time and a fix rule, and collect comments from two users.

Small, real and recorded. Change one thing at a time and learn quickly.

• Keep a daily log: date, units, cost, delays, defects, safety notes.
• Hold a 15-minute review each week with your mentor.
• Write down every complaint and what you changed.
• Take photos only where allowed and never of people without consent.

Activity. Complete 30 days of the log and four weekly reviews.

Standard to meet. Log 30 days, give each defect a cause, and keep weekly notes.

A decision beats a feeling. Compare plan with result and choose to scale, change or stop.

• Make a before and after table: cost per unit, defects, delays, repeat users.
• Write three lessons.
• Decide scale, change or stop, with the numbers behind it.
• Give two peers one strength and one fix each.

Activity. Present to a review room and collect one written comment from a user.

Standard to meet. Justify the decision with numbers, and give two peer reviews.

Fabric choice sets comfort, wear and price.

• Learn weave, knit and blend.
• GSM (grams per square metre) shows weight; light fabrics suit heat.
• Shrinkage must be tested before cutting.
• Colour fastness: rub and wash tests.

Activity. Test shrinkage on a sample and adjust a pattern.

Standard to meet. Record the result and adjust the pattern.

Plan the cut to waste less and the line to avoid waiting.

• Lay pieces to use cloth well.
• Balance operations so no one waits.
• Check measurements at set points.
• Safety: needles, scissors, lighting.

Activity. Draw a cut plan and compare two layouts.

Standard to meet. Compute the waste percent.

A sampling rule decides if a lot is accepted.

• Pick a sample size by lot size.
• Count and classify defects.
• Decide accept or reject by the rule.
• Record and feed back to the line.

Activity. Inspect a sample lot and decide.

Standard to meet. Apply the rule correctly and classify defects.

On the slide: L1 Basic · Fabric, thread and garments

Notes: Name GSM, cut plan and AQL and the hazards of needle injuries, fire and dust. Notes: use a uniform as the example and hold two fabrics of different weight; keep scissors and needles in a holder.

On the slide: L2 Awareness · Shrinkage, fastness and safety

Notes: Know that fabric must be tested for shrinkage and colour fastness before cutting and that light fabric suits heat. Notes: show a washed sample and measure the change; keep exits clear and lint cleaned to reduce fire risk.

On the slide: L3 Foundation · Test shrinkage and adjust a pattern

Notes: Test shrinkage on a sample and adjust a pattern to match. Notes: a cotton sample that shrinks 4 per cent in length means a pattern lengthened by 4 per cent; record the result.

On the slide: L4 Practitioner · Plan the cut and inspect a lot

Notes: Draw a cut plan, compare two layouts and inspect a sample lot by the sampling rule. Notes: raising cloth use from 82 to 88 per cent saves about 7 metres in every 100; a lot of 500 with a sample of 50 and 3 defects is accepted at a limit of 3.

On the slide: L5 Specialist · Compare lines and decide

Notes: Compare two stitching line set-ups by pieces passed first time and decide to keep, change or stop. Notes: price AED 45 against cost AED 28 gives AED 17 a piece, a margin of 37.8 per cent; decide with a rule written before the trial.

On the slide: L6 Advanced · Coach a line on quality

Notes: Lead a sewing line to balance work, check measurements and use the sampling rule. Notes: sample five finished lots a week; target pieces passed first time and track defects by operation.

On the slide: L7 Super expert · Design the uniform supply system

Notes: Design a cutting, stitching, inspection and delivery system for large institutional uniform orders with an audit and a 12-month plan. Notes: audit sampling records and fire safety; present one risk, one saving in cloth and a delivery date rule.