#Workforce
Every The Knit Journal article about workforce, for clothing brands, workshops and entrepreneurs.
Starting a clothing brandBuilding a team for a new clothing brand: hire or outsource?
A clothing brand needs more skills than one person can cover, but no more staff than it can afford. The trick is knowing what to keep in your own hands.
Garment manufacturingHow to recruit and test sewing machine operators
A shortage of skilled operators is one of the biggest problems in garment making. A well-run practical trial protects you from hiring mistakes.
Garment manufacturingHow to train a new sewing operator: a practical 6-week plan
A beginner left to learn on the job ends up either slow or unsure. A clear six-week plan brings her to a steady pace much sooner.
Garment manufacturingSkill matrix and cross-training for sewing operators
When the only operator who can set plackets is off, the whole polo order stops. A skill matrix shows the risk before it becomes a problem.
Garment manufacturingPiece-rate or hourly pay in a garment workshop: what works?
A pay system changes behaviour on the line more than any rulebook. The wrong choice can cost you either quality or productivity.
Garment manufacturingLine balancing explained with a hoodie production line
A line is only as fast as its most loaded station. Balancing moves minutes from one station to another until bundles stop piling up.
Garment manufacturingHow to measure productivity in a garment workshop: key KPIs
We worked hard today is not a metric. A few simple figures recorded daily show exactly where the workshop loses minutes and where it gains them.
Garment manufacturingBundle system or modular flow: which suits a small factory?
The bundle system was built for long runs. Workshops that now make runs of 200 pieces and five styles a month often need something different.
Garment manufacturingHow many garments a day can your workshop make? Capacity maths
Capacity is not machines multiplied by eight hours. It is what the workshop can realistically deliver after absence, efficiency and its slowest department.
Garment manufacturingHealth, safety and ergonomics in a garment workshop
Back pain and cutting-knife injuries are not just part of the job. Most of them can be prevented with simple, inexpensive measures.
Garment manufacturingHow to grow a sewing workshop from 5 to 25 operators
A five-person workshop runs on the owner's memory. A 25-person one needs roles, rules and numbers. Getting from one to the other is the riskiest stage.
Costing, pricing & marginsSewing minutes (SAM): how to calculate labour cost per garment
A sewing workshop is really selling minutes. Know how many minutes a garment takes and what a minute costs, and you know what labour should cost.
Quality, compliance & sustainabilityInline quality checks: how to catch sewing defects mid-production
Final inspection tells you whether a lot is good. Inline checks tell you why it is not, and they do it when the defect is in ten pieces rather than three hundred.