The Design of New Transfer and Manipulation Devices for the Garment Industry

Abstract

Over a period of several years the Department of Trade and Industry supported the development of high-speed transfer and manipulation devices for use in the garment industry. The main aim was to improve the efficiency of garment manufacture and specifically to provide an alternative to the widely-used `bundle system'. Because the devices appeared to be so promising, and their impact on garment manufacture so unpredictable, the University of Lancaster's O.R. Department was asked to study their likely overall effect. An actual production line was examined in detail and the effects of the new devices were then simulated under conditions that were as realistic as possible. This paper describes how operational research was used not only to predict the effect of the new devices but also to affect their design.