Introduction:
Rip Curl was started by two young surfers in the late 1960s at
Torquay, Victoria.
They originally made surfboards and wetsuits.
Today, the Rip Curl business is one of the most renowned surfing businesses in the world making a range of surfing and other adventure and leisure merchandise.
Developing T-shirts at Rip Curl became a significant complementary product for the business, as surfers wanted something to put on before and after getting into the water.
Operations Management Process in Producing T-shirts.
T-shirts are manufactured at Torquay.
250,000 T-shirts are produced at Rip Curl.
125,000 T-shirts are produced in Australia. The rest are manufactured in China and Fiji.
Advantages of Producing in Australia.
Fast response to market needs.
Ability to correct imported mistakes.

Operational Stages:
1.
Design:
The “Rip Curl” name is crucial to its success.
Latest trends are closely monitored overseas. That is, in USA and
France.
A) Arranging the pattern for T-shirt on screen.
The computer pattern making system is called Lectra. It generates a paper cutting sheet on a large printer. This minimizes waste when fabric is cut.
Specification Sheets are also made up which are instructions to be followed during machining.
B) Factory manager co-ordinates the factory process by: i) estimating the quantities of materials needed ii) estimating costings iii) organizing the work flow
C) Fabric arrives in 50 metre rolls from Melbourne.
Fabric is then laid out on cutting tables.
Once fabric is cut, the cut T-shirt parts are then grouped together with other accessories. That is, labels and tags. They are then put into bundles of 20.
D) Stitching then occurs where the edges of the sleeve and waist are welted or hemmed.
E) Machinists then sew the 5 T-shirt parts together.
F) As each bundle is completed, it is then checked and grouped according to the particular design that is going to be printed.
G) From the factory, the T-shirts are then moved just around the corner to Propaganda Screen Printing. It is here where the crucial Rip Curl Design will become part of the T-shirt.

2.
Printing.
A) Image arrives on computer by e-mail. After some additional computer manipulation, each separate colour layer of the image is printed onto transparent Black and White film.
B) This film is then placed on top of a screen, which has been coated with a light sensitive substance. Where the light comes through the film, it hardens the coating, allowing the softer areas to wash out when they are sprayed with water. These areas will allow ink to pass through in the printing process.
C) The screens are attached to an automated printing machine, which can handle up to 14 screens. That is, up to 14 different printing stages, each of which could have a different colour or type of ink.
D) Between the screens, heating units rapidly cure the inks
E) Another heating stage occurs to secure the design to the Tshirt.
F) The finished T-shirts are then placed back into boxes and returned around the corner to the Rip Curl factory.
3.
Quality Control.
A) T-shirts are thoroughly inspected for any possible defects and swings tags are attached.
B) The completed gear is then assorted into packs that Rip Curl retailers buy.
C) T-shirts are wrapped in plastic by special automated wrapping machines.
4.
T-shirts are transported to a Rip Curl Torquay Warehouse.
5.
T-shirts are then delivered to Retail Outlets. That is, Surf shops etc.

Design
Pattern
Cut
Bundle
Welt
Assemble
Quality Check
Separation films
Prepare Screens
Print
Final heat
Quality Check
Tag and Label
Package
1. Design
2. Print
OPERATIONS SYSTEM INPUTS
Facilities
PLUS:
Design Studio
Clothing factory
Printing factory
Warehouse
Machinery
Fabric
Threads
Labels
Tags
Packaging
Electricity
Employees Skills and Efforts.

PROCESSES INVOLVED
Creating design
Preparing patterns
Cutting
Bundling
Sewing
Quality checking
Printing
Transport
OUTPUT
Finished T-shirt
It is a very competitive market, where the colour, designs and Tshirt price are all crucial to consumers.
Other competitors include: - Mambo
- Billabong
- Rusty
- Quicksilver
Rip curl must maximize its profit to grow its market share.
Rip curl must ensure that it is operating as efficiently as possible to stay ahead of its competitors in the surf wear industry.
Rip curl does this by carefully monitoring its productivity and striving to constantly improve productivity.

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The Torquay factory is a very large open design, without any supporting columns to get in the way of machinery.
The factory is also flexible enough to be changed into a warehouse if it is ever required.
The Administration offices are located on the mezzanine floor above.
Related operations are grouped together.
Different doorways are used for supplies coming in and going out.
The Operation is in the form of an assembly line, although machinists do complete whole garments.
Some of the workers are multi-skilled. That is, maintenance workers help with packing when there are no machines to repair.
There is an interesting connection between the Manufacturing operation and Marketing.
With T-shirts, Rip curl does not sell individual items to retailers.
They sell packs of 24 T-shirts in assorted sizes and colours for each print.
Rip curl decides what these assortments will be.

This makes the Factory Manager’s job of working out how much fabric of particular colours to order much easier and basically simplifies production planning.
Rip curl has a close relationship with suppliers. Rip curl employs
J.I.T. (Just In Time) and orders just enough fabric for the next two weeks production.
Rip curl relies heavily on their suppliers supplying on time.
Rip curl has been using the same suppliers for over 10 years.
It is a mutually beneficial relationship.
Consumers who buy Rip curl T-shirts expect a certain quality garment.
In Managing the Quality of the Fabric a good relationship with suppliers is again crucial, so that if there is a problem with colour variation, it can be quickly rectified by the supplier.
Rip curl has a ‘Sweat Test’, where they can test how effectively the
T-shirt absorbs perspiration, using a perspirometer.
Sewing of the garment is carefully checked against a particular
Specification Sheet.
The Print is then inspected.

This has particularly had a significant impact on the Printing of the
T-shirt.
In the factory itself, new technology used are: i) automated welting machines which folds and stitches hems as they are passed through it. ii) computer based Pattern Plotting System which assists in working out the patterns, grading of sizes and more complicated patterns. iii) Heat Sealing of automated Plastic Wrapping Machines. iv) technological assistance in designing the T-shirt, such as,
- ideas from the Internet on new designs
- Graphic Image Manipulation using computer software like
Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator.
The computer image designed on the computer is then passed on to the Print Shop, which make the separation films.
Another computer application is the system used to mix the ink colours used for printing.
Rip curl has introduced the use of Plastocol inks when printing – these are inks which remain liquid at room temperature but which cure rapidly at high temperature.
This system of inks make the complex system of printing T-shirts possible.