Features of modular production system are:

Employee empowerment - There is transfer of authority and responsibility

Team based system Throughput, quality, production goal, smooth work flow, motivation,
decide method of assembly
Interdependency relationship to utilize everyones strength.
Direct labor cost increase and indirect labor cost decrease
Team meetings to discuss operational issues, problem solving, etc.
Operator compensation is given in the form of group wages, bonus.
The operators are cross trained and interchangeable among task
Team may produce product or part of it.
Engineers and supervisors are facilitators
Work flow: It is a pull system which demands WIP from next operator. The WIP is
minimum in this system
Sitting arrangement: horse shoe configuration, operators stand up or sit down.
Each operator is given a Work zone which is a group of sequential operations.

In the beginning of 20th century, textile and apparel industry completed the transfer procedure
from hand workshop mode to typical mass production based on Taylorism. Apparel mass
production which is based on assembly line and special manufacture equipment as well as
concentrated on the productivity, quality and cost, became the typical industry manufacturing
mode. In apparel industry, however, handicraft production, such as tailor ship, still exists and has
an important influence on individual and fashion style. Nowadays, because of increasing of
standard of living and production, contrasting to intensive market competition, and production
technology progress, apparel mass production faced the challenges in two aspects.
Uncertainness: diversing and variety in style season and fashion;
Competition: brand, quantity, price, and quick response in market.
American futurologist Avin Toffler supposed a new mode of production in the book Future
Shock to solve this kind of problem1, by taking advantages of standardization, special equipment
in cost and time saving to satisfy the customer particular demand for product and service. At a
later time, in1987, Stan Davis first putted forward the concept of Mass Customization (MC) in the
book of Perfect Future2. Since then, developed countries, such as United States, Euro and Japan
etc., devoted a great deal of resources to the development of new manufacturing strategy, and the
manufacturing industry occurred a new change in evolution progress (show in figure 1).
By nature, mass customization represents an innovative combination of mass production and
customization in order to get the advantages of mass production, standardization and adapt the
varieties and competition to the market. Along with the progress of the global economy and
modern
Information technology, MC was accepted in a large range of industry. Under this kind of
background, the mode of MC was spread in industry sectors and becomes the trend of manufacture
in the future. In apparel industry, the Levi Strauss provides the best example of apparel mass
customization. In domestic Younger Co., located in Ning Bao city, has accumulated lot of
experiences about mens suit in mass customization practice. Based on the concept of MC and the
survey on apparel industry in Zhejiang.

System attributes

Production systems
Progressive bundle

Unit Production

Modular Production