[TC]² Technology Communicator
Seminar Offerings at [TC]²
Grading for Fit – March 16-18
Proper grading ensures good fit of a manufactured garment. Learn basic principles of fit and grading. Hands-on projects include deriving grade rules and manual grading of three basic garments.
Seminar Highlights:
• Analyze designs to determine where grading is needed |
This seminar is designed for technical designers, product developers, patternmakers, and small business owners/entrepreneurs.
Apparel Specification Components - April 28-29
Seminar Highlights:
Learn critical points for developing technical specifications:
• Fabric – characteristics and selection |
This seminar is designed for technical designers, product developers, patternmakers, and small business owners/entrepreneurs.
For additional information or to register, call Debra Gill at 919.653.3501, or use our contact form.
Applying Ergonomic Principles to Laptop Use
By Gloria McConnell, [TC]²
The laptop was originally designed as a short term replacement for the desktop, but today it is often the primary or only computer. When the keyboard is at a height to support neutral position of the elbows, the monitor is too low requiring bending the neck to look down at the screen. When the monitor is high enough for viewing without bending the neck, the keyboard is too high to use neutral elbow and wrist postures. So, without auxiliary items, there is a trade-off between poor neck head posture and poor hand wrist posture.
What is a neutral posture? There is not a single position, but a range in which the body is considered in a neutral posture. Generally, the head is centered over the spine; the shoulders are relaxed with the arms next to the body. There is a straight line between the forearm, wrist and middle finger. The elbow is bent no less than 90°, with elbows level with or slightly higher than the keyboard. The body’s weight should be supported evenly by a chair, with the knees level with, or slightly below, hip level. A chair back that reclines transfers much of the downward pressure off the spine.
The further the body is from neutral positions, the more stress is experienced. Trust the advice of your body when you feel discomfort. Stop and note the position of the uncomfortable part, and you will probably notice that it is far from a neutral position. To support a neutral posture there must be coordination between the positions of the work surface, chair and laptop.
The occasional user works on a laptop only intermittently and for short periods of time. In this case, the benefits of the laptop far outweigh the ergonomic limitations. The frequent user works on the laptop in the office, while travelling and in hotels. Each of these offers a new challenge to supporting ergonomic postures. When travelling, the goal is frequently to reduce weight, so we don’t often travel with an auxiliary keyboard or mouse. If the weight of the laptop and peripherals exceeds 10 pounds, invest in a wheeled carrier. Use cases with padded handles or straps. Switch shoulders frequently to provide rest to the working muscles.
Consider the task at hand. Depending on the type of work, there are different priorities in positioning the laptop for the most ergonomic benefit. If the task is reading, the position of the monitor should be the priority. Angle the screen toward your face when looking down and avoid bending your neck and head forward to see. Tuck your chin in, keeping your head and neck balanced over the spine. Raise the laptop on books so the top of the screen can be viewed at slightly below eye level without bending or rotating your neck. Smaller monitors are useful in mobile situations but can lead to more eye strain than larger ones. Make sure you can read the screen characters and can easily use the pointing device. Auxiliary items such as a keyboard and mouse can allow you to position the monitor in the correct position for your head.
If word processing is the task, the keyboard / mouse have priority. The keyboard should be approximately at elbow height and the wrist should be maintained in as neutral a position as possible. The typical desk is 29” which is too low for viewing, but too high for keying. If you have to place the laptop on a desk, try elevating the rear of the laptop so the keyboard is inclined, then lean back in the chair so that your arms are in line with the keyboard. Use whole hand and arm movements rather than moving from the wrist. Avoid resting or sliding your wrists on the wrist rest while typing. Glide above the surface; sliding wrists on a rest compresses blood vessels. Position the computer so it does not face a bright window. Turn off lights or pull shades down to reduce reflections on the screen.
If the task includes reading and typing, position your laptop for the most neutral wrist posture and angle the screen so you can see with the least amount of neck deviation.
Generally, laptops should not be positioned in your lap because of the poor keyboarding posture and the reduced air circulation around the unit. Placing a hard surface beneath the unit can reduce the possibility of overheating. Sit so that your knees and hips are level so the laptop rests comfortably. Switch from using the lap to a table every 30 minutes. This will permit your shoulders to relax after lap use and your neck and eyes to relax after table use.
If you don’t have access to an ergonomic chair, find a chair that is comfortable and that you can sit back in. Choose a chair without armrests so you have room to move your arms. If you have to raise your chair, use a footrest or a stack of books to support your feet.
Pillows and towels can help adjust seating to support neutral postures. Use a pillow to raise the seat high enough so that your elbows are level or slightly higher than the keyboard. If the seat of the chair is too deep, use a pillow to support your back. If sitting on a couch, a pillow can support your arms while keying. Roll up a towel at the lumbar region or place a removable back support cushion for temporary support.
Schedule mini breaks every 20 minutes. Focus on a more distant point and blink your eyes rapidly to refresh the tear film. During the rest break, spread fingers apart and massage fingers, wrists and forearms. By making use of these guidelines, the stress of being a road warrior can be reduced.
Gloria is a Senior Industrial Engineer who specializes in ergonomics and compensation systems. She has over twenty six years of project and plant engineering experience and has assisted many companies with establishing engineering standards.
[TC]² Activity
INTERMODA January 2010
By Arturo Rodriguez, Latin America Industry Services, [TC]²
With more than 25 years of uninterrupted presence as Mexico’s premier apparel fashion and supplier show, the January 2010 edition of INTERMODA was held in Guadalajara, Mexico. This time it was to showcase garments for the upcoming Spring / Summer seasons.
As part of the SPESA EXPO 2010 committee for Latin America, we staffed a booth during the 4 days of the show to provide information on the upcoming Atlanta, GA event.
For the second year, we were the initiators of the panel on the state of the Mexican apparel industry. Called “Made in Mexico”, both the INTERMODA organization as well as the Jalisco chapter of the Mexican Sewing Chamber asked us to again reunite the experts, which included: Simon Feldman, president Mexican sewing chamber; Jose Plasencia, president Jalisco textile chamber; Sergio Lopez de la Cerda, president Jalisco sewing chamber; Gustavo Millet, president Yucatan sewing chamber; Jaime Barba, president Intermoda; Rosario Mendoza, director Takasami (fashion designer); Jorge de Leon, GM Gerber Mexico; Guillermo Espinoza, Economic Secretariat Jalisco state government; and myself.
During the next 2.5 hours, the panel tackled current problems that are affecting the industry today such obtaining a “priority” industry status. It is the consensus of the panel that the sector has not been granted the safeguards from the Mexican government that are the mainstay in many of the main apparel exporting countries. For this reason the panel recommends that a diagnosis of sound economic numbers be done to show the importance of the sector. The emphasis should be at a state level, rather than at the national level.
Taking lead from the recent Minerva Fashion event in Guadalajara, the panel insisted that a Nation Council of the Fashion Industry (apparel, textile, footwear and jewelry sectors) is necessary to coordinate all the major initiatives. Fashion without sales is a loss and the panel realized that in future events the commercializing part also should be present. In the training part, we asserted that the various design careers in Mexico must be certified by the industry in terms of meeting minimum requirements, thus being able to supply competent partners to the industry. At this time, the panel is diligently working on the manifest that will encompass the above ideas which will be distributed by the respective chambers.
A separate mention is in order for the Peruvian designer, Meche Correa, whose creations inspired in the ancient roots of her Andean country captivated the audience of the premier catwalk on the 20th of January.
Finally, to end on a positive note, Erick Guerrero (Mexican economist for Television Azteca) in his economic conference stated that in his opinion Mexico is heading for 3 years of improving results, so we plan to actively participate in the next Intermoda edition next July.
[TC]² Activity
“COLOMBIATEX” de las Americas 2010
Medellin, Colombia
January 26 – 28, 2010
By Arturo Rodriguez, Latin America Industry Services, [TC]²
Medellin, the site of Colombiatex 2010, is the second largest city of Colombia and is where 50% of all apparel manufacturing is done in that Andean country.
In addition to a booth presence, several meetings were lined up with Colombia’s key industry associations, paving the way for a Colombian country pavilion in the Supply Chain of the Americas area of SPESA EXPO 2010 in Atlanta.
Colombia is struggling from a very difficult 2009, for they have yet to finalize the FTA with the USA and their major export market in South America, Venezuela, closed up for them. Colombians are resourceful people and have started to expand markets in Canada, Chile, Brazil, Mexico and Europe. It seems that they are on the way to a slow but steady recovery.
This year’s show focused on the functional aspect of clothing, starting with textiles. By doing so, they are betting on value-added propositions that will catapult Colombia into becoming a major industry supplier. The show included 879 international buyers and sales expectations for some 84 million USD were accomplished, according to show organizers.
Member Profile - Gütermann Thread
By Karen Davis, [TC]²
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Located in the heart of Germany’s Black Forest, Gütermann has been producing a quality sewing thread for over 140 years. Starting in the silk thread business, Gütermann now produces a variety of silk, polyester, nylon, Lyocell, Cotton and decorative threads with the look and feel of silk. The company is a worldwide leader in the production of sewing threads for the apparel, swimwear, lingerie, furniture, shoe, automotive and related industries. It maintains sales offices and factories around the globe to be convenient to its customer base, including the US headquarters in Charlotte, NC.
With offices or agents in over 80 countries, Gütermann offers a diverse product range that offers everything required by a modern, creative retail business:
• High quality sewing threads for the Industrial Apparel Industry and related production
• Sophisticated threads for the Technical Textiles business segment
• ‘SOLUTIONS’ for their customer via Technical support
• Commitment to the worldwide home-sewing industry through creative, innovative products
Gütermann of America has made a substantial donation of product to help stock the Haiti Apparel Center in Port-au-Prince. The donation was sent to [TC]² who will facilitate the transfer to Haiti when the Apparel Center is back in operation. [TC]², working in cooperation with CHF International with funding through US AID, had been conducting training programs prior to the earthquake. Two apparel classes had already completed training, with the goal of 1,000 sewing operators and mechanics graduating over a 12-month period. The building is still standing, and is currently being used for UN relief supplies.
Gütermann has worked closely with [TC]² for many years in support of its Cary, NC demonstration center and past student intern programs. [TC]² and CHF gratefully acknowledge this contribution to the Haiti Apparel Center.
AAFA Human Resources Leadership Council Meeting
March 24-26, 2010
Under Armour Facility – Baltimore MD
Under Armour is hosting the HR Leadership Council’s Spring meeting at its Baltimore headquarters March 24-26. On March 25th Under Armour will host committee and non-committee members for the session “We Must Protect this House”. Attendees will hear the company’s success story and tour its facility.
Will Duncan, HRLC Chairman, comments, “this will be a tremendous opportunity to learn about one of the most progressive and rapidly growing companies in our industry. We encourage AAFA members and interested industry partners to attend this dynamic event.”
For more details, visit http://www.apparelandfootwear.org/Events/event.asp?EVENT_ID=350&
Annual Meeting of Members and The Board of Directors – [TC]²
April 13, 2010
[TC]² cordially invites all members to attend the annual meeting at its Cary, NC facility on April 13th. The meeting will commence at 9:30 a.m. with updates on [TC]²’s activities, followed by industry presentations. Chuck Millsaps of Great Outdoor Provision Company will discuss the retail business environment from his perspective. Fred Jackson of American & Efird will talk about “Going Global when Global wasn’t Cool.” A&E has for years conducted joint ventures in other countries, and Fred will explain how domestic manufacturing can take place anywhere.
Representatives of GeniSys Networks will demonstrate the company’s IT products and how global communication can be improved. And, Susan Nichols of Apparel Magazine has invited SAS, a global supplier of Business and Analytics and Business Intelligence software, to share some of their innovative practices.
Following the meeting, lunch will be provided. To help us make luncheon arrangements and to plan seating, please RSVP by April1st via our contact form or call Debra Gill at 919.653.3501.
We appreciate your continued support, and look forward to seeing you in April.
Cool Zone Demonstration
At SPESA EXPO
May 18-20, 2010 – Georgia World Congress Center
By Karen Davis, [TC]²
SPESA EXPO will feature an all new COOL ZONE v2.0 presented by [TC]². This special 6000 square foot exhibit will demonstrate a totally digital supply chain through the creation, precision cutting and manufacture of digitally printed products.
Two [TC]² NX-16 3D body scanners will show automatic body measurement and high resolution avatar creation (including face texturing from photo) from the body scan. This output will then be used live in virtual fashion, animation, weight-loss visualization, and other applications on large screen displays. An avatar engine (on the web) will demonstrate similar functionalities using measurement input instead of a body scan. One of the virtual fashion visualizations will feature custom jeans and will show various jean styles on a personal avatar, with links to online providers for ordering custom jeans from 3D body scans.
[TC]² will demonstrate the use of its SizeUSA database as a resource for analysis of existing size ranges and development of size guidelines for new products and markets. This demonstration will also highlight the analysis of body shape characteristics through the generation and comparison of avatars that represent key body measurements for graded size ranges.
Other confirmed Cool Zone exhibitors include:
• American & Efird - threads used to assemble all digitally printed products |
Free registration is now available for attendees of SPESA EXPO 2010 online at http://www.spesaexpo.com. One registration will provide admission to three trade shows that form Textile and Sewn Products Industry Week in Atlanta – ATME/I MEGATEX, TECHTEXTIL NORTH AMERICA and SPESA EXPO. The combined events will provide this year’s most comprehensive showcase of products and services for the industry.
Important Dates
March
10-12 |
AAFA Executive Summit, Washington, DC. For details visit www.apparelandfootwear.org |
16-18 |
Grading for Fit Seminar at [TC]². Click here for details. |
23 |
Apparel Tech Conference West, Los Angeles. For information or to register, go to www.apparelmag.com |
23-25 |
APPS 2010, Guatemala. For details visit www.apparelexpo.com. |
24-26 |
AAFA Human Resources Leadership Council Spring Meeting, Baltimore, MD. |
April
13 |
Annual Meeting of Members and the Board of Directors, [TC]² Cary, NC office. |
28-29 |
Apparel Specification Components Seminar at [TC]². Click here for details. |
28-30 |
PeruModa 2010, Lima. For details visit www.perumoda.com. |
May
18-20 |
SPESA EXPO 2010, Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta, GA. For details or to register, go to www.spesaexpo.com. |
For detailed information about industry events, visit www.techexchange.com
Thanks to the techexchange site sponsors
Apparel Magazine, Gerber Technology, Lawson, Lectra, Methods Workshop and Reach Technologies.
A Look Ahead in the Newsletter
SPESA Expo 2010 Updates
Fashion Week Bogota
APPS 2010
PeruModa 2010
View previous editions of this newsletter
[TC]²
5651 Dillard Drive
Cary , NC 27518
www.tc2.com
Phone: 919-380-2156
Fax: 919-380-2181
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