Key Terms:

Style Categories

A style category represents a group of similar garment items, such as shirts, dresses, trousers, or skirts. The category groups the stages shared across all items within it, meaning you add a stage once in the style category and then copy it to the required style — instead of re-entering it every time.

Example: a factory specializing in trousers might have one style category called "Trousers," while a more diverse factory might have multiple categories such as "Shirts," "Dresses," and "Skirts."

Styles

A style is a specific variation within a style category. Within the "Shirt" category, for example, there can be different styles: short-sleeve shirt, long-sleeve shirt, zip-front shirt. Styles from the same category share the majority of their stages, with only minor differences in specific stages.

Base Stages vs. Stages

• Base stages: the stages added to the style category. They serve as the template for the stages needed to produce any item within that category.
• Stages: the specific standard stages added to the style, derived from the base stages and tailored to accommodate style variations. Users only need to select stages from the standard list within the style category — not recreate them from scratch.

Steps in Order

1. Add Style Categories and Base Stages

Start by creating style categories and adding their base stages. This step builds the foundation from which all styles will be derived.

2. Add Styles and Stages

Once style categories are set up, add individual styles and define their stages, derived from the category's base stages.

3. Assign Stages to Production

Once a production order is set up, it's time to assign employees, stages, and machines. The system supports many-to-many assignments:

• One employee can work on multiple stages at once and across different production orders.
• One stage can have multiple employees working on it at the same time.

There are two ways to assign:

• Supervisors: assign stages to machines and employees through the supervision app.
• Planners: assign machines to stages from the production order planning page.

Note: when multiple stages are assigned to the same device and employee, the actual production time calculation differs from the single employee on a single stage scenario.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Must a style category be created before adding styles?
  Yes, the style category is the foundation from which styles are derived. It must be created first along with its base stages.
• Can stages be copied from a style category directly to a style?
  Yes, that's the main purpose of a style category. You add a stage once in the category and copy it to any style within it.
• What's the difference between a supervisor and a planner when assigning stages?
  The supervisor works from the supervision app and controls employee and machine assignments, while the planner works from the production order planning page and focuses on assigning machines to stages.
• Can more than one employee work on the same stage at the same time?
  Yes, the system supports this. A single employee can also work on multiple stages simultaneously.

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