Rudholm Group
Staff Handbook
www.functionalthinking.com
Contents
Who We Are 01
Mission Statement
02
Core Values
03
We Care- Environment
04
We Care- Work force
05
FSC 06
Oeko-Tex 07
Blue Sign 08
QMS
09
Collections
10
Customer Profile 11
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Contents
Technical 12
Functional Thinking Tips
14
Case Study
15
The Square Watermelon
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Who We Are
01
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Mission Statement
Our mission is to constantly
bring inspiration and innovation
to all garment accessories
from design to distribution
Mission Statemen t
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Core Values
“WOW”
We must continue to wow and inspir
customers around the world with
our products, service, innovation
and creativity .
e
Understanding Our Core Values
“PASSION”
We must show we are committed an
passionate about our products, servic
and everything we do .
d
e
Understanding Our Core Values
“RESPECT”
a
We must respect and value all workplaces
environments and people, whoever they ar
nd wherever they are from .
,
e
Understanding Our Core Values
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We Care- Environment
We Care about producing greener products, this means thinking about the design, the manufacturing, the
materials, the distribution & finally its recycling capabilities. With this is mind we are always striving to find
new ways to reduce the impact on the environment.
Enviromental Policy
The Rudholm Group of Companies will follow the
following principles & these are our aims regarding
the Environmental Policy:.
■ We will ensure that there will be conservation of
Energy, Water, Paper & any resources not mentioned.
■ We will seek to ensure the maximisation of
renewable energy.
■ We will ensure where possible that we do not use
■ We will follow any current laws or regulations
ozone deleting substances.
both Locally & Nationally in whichever country we
■ We will ensure that we will where possible seek to
are involved with or have offices/factories in.
reduce emissions of air pollutants & the reduction of
■ We will ensure that we will constantly work to
noise levels to within legal limits.
reduce any damage to the Environment.
■ We will continue to develop and maintain effective
■ We will ensure that all of our direct employees
management control systems & we will ensure that
or our manufacturing factories along with any sub
contract factories are working to reduce any adverse this policy is reviewed annually on the anniversary
date.
effects on the Environment either by knowledge or
understanding.
■ We will ensure that all facilities are constantly
working to reduce pollution or any other negative
effects on our environment wherever possible.
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We Care- Workforce
We care about our workforce and are fully committed to their well-being by ensuring they are treated
with respect and dignity and their working conditions are safe and healthy.
Ethical Compliance Policy
The Rudholm Group is working in many markets
with a wide range of Customers all who have
differing demands/requirements and we as your
partners need to ensure that the Rudholm supplier
base is working and complying with the recognised
standards and requirements. We are sure that you
are very aware of the many varied organisations
which will give to you a service to ensure that
your supplier base is performing to a recognised
Ethical standard some of which we list below:
■ Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI)
■ The Ethical Trading Initiative.
■ SA8000 – 2001
■ Fair Trade Labelling Organizations International
(FLO)
■ The Fair Factories Clearing House (FFC)
■ International Council of Toy Industries (ICTI)
■ The No Sweat Shop Label
■ The Rugmark Label
■ Social Accountability International
■ Worldwide Responsible Apparel Production
(WRAP)
■ SEDEX
We then looked at the vast range of items being
supplied by the Rudholm Group & found that no
one of the above would be able to cover
everything we supply & so we decided to complete
our own survey of our supplier/partnership base &
carry out our own Ethical Compliance survey on an
annual basis only when we are totally satisfied that
our factories comply with all of our requirements
with regard to Internationally recognised Ethical
Standards and not before will we issue a
certificate to state that ALL of our factories do
comply with the International Standard demanded.
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FSC
Rudholm is now FSC certified showing that we comply with the highest social & environmental standards on
the market.FSC (Forest Stewardship Council™) is an independent, nongovernmental, not-for-profit
organization established to promote the responsible management of the world’s forests. Established in
1993 as a response to concerns over global deforestation, FSC™ is a pioneer forum where the global
consensus on responsible forest management convenes and through democratic process effects solutions
to the pressures facing the world’s forests & forest-dependent communities. Forests provide us with clean
water, fresh air and they even help combat global warming. They also provide food, medicine & important
natural resources, such as timber and paper. If managed responsibly, forests and plantations benefit people
– both people dependent on forests and the global community at large.
To learn more about FSC™, visit www.fsc.org
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Oeko-Tex
The Oeko-Tex 100 standard is an independent test and certification system for many products which go
to make up a complete garment.
The tests for harmful substances coverLegally banned and or controlled substances
Chemicals known to be harmful to health but not yet banned
Parameters for health protection
We aim to obtain a pass at Class 1 which cover Babies and Toddlers group the best or worst case
scenarios but occasionally we have to use a class 2 & 3 because the product being will not pass at
class 1 rating
The testing is done on an annual basis and we have to sign Declarations of Conformity to Oeko-Tex
as part of the certification process to ensure that the bulk supplies are to the same standards as the
samples tested by Oeko-tex
We have to undergo site audits by Oeko-tex usually in HK again as part of the certification procedures.
We have to supply our quality Management system to Oeko-tex and they will ensure that we are working
within that set of guidelines- the last audit was in 2012.
As you will se eon each certificate there is a section which certifies that we meet the REACh regulations
which are current at that time.
A certain amount of control testing takes place by Oeko-tex where they will randomly or by request
selected garments from a store & test them to the class level required e.g. Children's garment will be
tested to Class 1
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Blue Sign
Rudholm is now bluesign® system partner and can offer bluesign® approved woven labels produced in
our china factory, meaning we are committed to meeting highest standards regarding environmental and
consumer protection.
The bluesign® standard developed from a project initiative in 1997. In order to guarantee that the
standard is independent and therefore implementable for the greatest possible number of companies,
bluesign technology was founded in 2000, with headquarters in Switzerland.
The bluesign® standard makes sure those operating sustainably – meaning conserving resources and
reducing the environmental impact to a minimum – also act responsibly and innovatively. Wanting to
produce sustainable goods though involves a detailed examination of all materials and processes used
as well as the impact of the production on the environment.
Only this holistic observation, which starts well before the actual production, will guarantee a final
product that is harmless to human beings and the environment.
To learn more about bluesign, visit www.bluesign.com
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Quality Management System
Our Quality Management System manual was designed to give a formal approach for many areas of our
business as followsSuppliers, Customers, Quality, Systems and Processes
The manual is set out in such a way that you should be able to take the approved version and talk with
any customers or supplier and come from the meeting with all the information required to process
accounts, sampling etc. There is a defined Quality Checking procedure complete with forms to complete.
A further section on both designing and product approval.
The "Test to Failure" process is defined together with explanations of this process. The supplier process
is a little more involved and the system has been refined a little by out HK colleagues bringing in audit
reports form both supplier offices ad factories, this encompasses both the environmental health and
safety requirements of the supplier.
The whole manual is available as a compressed zip file if anyone needs to see the complete document.
The document originally was introduced and approved by Oeko-Tex and they used this as a base
document when they carried out the audit at RHHK last year.
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Collections
Our collections are created every season and a lot of hard work in research and inspiration is put into
creating them. They cost a lot of money to create in time, sampling, moulds, it is a huge investment to
make Rudholm more unique from our competitors.
It is important that not only our sales teams, put also our product development teams and sales support
teams have overview and an clear understanding of what they are for.
n The purpose of the collections is to open the door to existing and potential new customers and WOW
them.
n We want to demonstrate to our customers that we as a team have put a lot of research in to the
catwalks and trends for the coming season .
n We want to show innovation and inspiration to different products on each page especially in
processes.
n It is so important that we all have understanding of the function of each product within each
concept.
n It is a starting point to inspire our customers and we can do this with PASSION and understanding
what we are presenting.
n Finally our customer pages , are to name drop who we are working with currently and this is a huge
selling point sometimes especially to new customers .
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Customer Profile
Customer Profile
Name: TESCO
Location of Head Office:
Type of Customer:
UK & USA
RETAIL SUPERMARKET
Target Customer:
FAMILY FOOD & GMTS
Standard of Products:
Price Level :
Size of Business :
HIGH QUALITY , OEKO TEX, REACh
LOW
HUGE VOLUMES
Location Of Regional Office / Agents & Known Production Locations:
Hong Kong , Sri lanka , India , Pakistan , Vietnam, Turkey , Bandladesh , are the main Countries
RH Group Tools to promote our company:
We have our own Country Offices as a big selling tool with local vendors and regional Tesco offices
We have a PDF document from Tesco's naming Rudholm as an approved trim supplier we should use
this to spread the word , to all know contacts and ask can we come and present our collections to the
design teams .
Main Sourcing and Logistics:
HK and China for sourcing or local offices provided meets the standards of Tesco
Distribution is RH HK & CHINA hubs
Known Vendors :
Vendors we are currently working with but know more are known to all of our
offices . Li Fung , Casual Sport , Black Dog , Fashion Forum, Rich Echo, Icewear Creation, Suzhon
New Distrtict Dimei, Thara Textiles and Trouser World.
RH Team to Look after this Brand:
Action Plan:
UK - Sarah Jones
More activities with our regional offices and getting
Hong Kong - Karen Chui , Ling and Stephanie
our collections to departments
Sri Lanka - Jonathan and Milroy
Maybe build an electronic directory of all trims
Bangladesh - Rojal and Joanthan
developed and achieved bulk orders .
Additional notes and information:
Special Request:
Products currently supplying Jeans buttons ,
To keep our prices competitive we used aluminium
rivets, snaps , polyester sew on metal and
rivet nails rather than brass .
PU labels .
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Technical- Semi Auto Fastening Machine
RH developed the Semi-Auto Fastening Machine, DGBZD-01, for large scale garment production. It is
suitable for attaching our fasteners products to all types of garments.
Features
■ A compensator assembly is designed for
automatic adjustment to different
fabric thickness.
■ The height of the lower toll holder can be
easily adjusted to accommodate
fastners of various sizes and shapes.
■ Simple structure facilitates maintenance,
minimizes troubles and
enhances safety.
■ Motor powered machine is operated by a
pedal (Double tripping prevention
mechanism provided).
■ The fitting unit is equipped with safety
devices.
■ A build-in laser light beam for more accurate positioning is provided.
Specification
Model: DGBZD-01
Dimensions: Width 700mm, Depth 450mm, Height 1230m m
Weight: 78Kg
Power Supply: 100-120V AC/ 220-240V /A C
Power Source: 0.37-0.6kVA, 50/60Hz, Single phase moto r
Motor Cycle Time: 0.2 sec per cycl e
Machine Cost
USD 750 per Machine EX Hong Kong
Price not including any freight cost, tax and custom clearance.
Customer needs to bar all the freight cost, tax and custom clearance.
Shipping Cost
India- MIn charge- USD 245
Bangledesh- MIn charge- USD 245
Sri-Lanka- MIn charge- USD 220
Pakistan- Min Charge- USD 245
Vietnam (HCMC port)- Min charge- USD 220
Vietnam (Haiphong/Danang port)- Min charge- USD 490
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Technical- Attaching Products
n Forbidden to attach products on uneven fabric surface otherwise could cause insecure closure and
eventually detatch from the garment
n Attached see a copy of technical data sheet, this is done for every fabric and garment style for a lot
of our customers, already but our customer needs to enforce this with our vendors, to ask us about this
service or our sales teams promote this service
n Look how much Free advertising we could have if we get our machines into the vendors factories with
RH Logo on .
n Machinery prices – with freight costs to the vendors in different countries.
n We face many QC problems from our customers, Vendors will always blame the trim supplier, we have
got really push our strap line “functional thinking” to cut down quality issues and claims.
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Functional Thinking Tips
We sell and produce a vast amount of products with in the Rudholm collection and they are sold to many
different areas Fashion , Workwear and Industrial , and soft furnishing in some cases, our
strap line functional thinking needs to be used a lot more throughout our company but the starting point
is the sales team when working directly with the customer and developments.
n Is the product suitable for the garment you are attaching it to or should we do the same designed
item but in different constructions so that it is functional for different fabrics or location of garments.
Our standard product guide is a good tool to use on the web site
n Is the product for functional or decorative use , do we need to create the same look from inspired or
bought garment but in a different way to ensure it meets our customers needs.
n Is the product we are selling going to go under any special Additional Process – such as heavy
washing , hot washing, enzyme etc , if so this needs to be tested by the customer / vendor to ensure
that it meets the requirement at development stages not at bulk .
n Is the product being attached to Swim Garments , if so maybe we need to add high heat lacquer to
metal items or something to protect the product a little so it does not effect the outlook the customer is
looking for , again testing and information is required at development stages with us as the supplier and
the vendor / brand .
n Metal being attached to leather , Leather is created with chronium salt IV during process called
Tanning , our plated items in metal are also covered in a mix chemicals if a product in many cases with
our brands are attached to real leather then we need to advise our customer that we need a HIGH HEAT
LACQUER to help prevent any contamination and effects to the leather or the metallic product .
n We also need to think and ask if our products are being attached to specially treated fabrics,
sometimes our are customer is attaching to cotton fabric , then the same item might go on a treated
fabric at the mill or at the vendor , this might need high heat lacquer to avoid reaction to the metal item
n We have our own Technical Lab to give support on attaching metal items to garments, promote this
service
n Last season 5 out of 10 QC problems were attaching issues , either , product not suitable for the
garment fabric to thin, too thick, incorrect construction maybe we have made a snap 280 12mm but
really it should be pronged snap. Jeans buttons sold for jackets not jeans fabric to thin again this is
knowledge we need to learn but most of all at development stages we should ask our customer - what
are you putting this component on, shirt, jeans, jumper etc.
n Forbidden to attach products on uneven fabric surface otherwise could cause a product becoming
detached from the garment at some point
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Case Study
Case Study – Eyelet attached to Swimming Shorts
Summary of the problem raised by the customer –
n The customer complained that the finish on the Eyelet was ‘Bleeding’ onto the shorts during the
garment wash
Please see below photo showing the problem.
The solutions found are as follows –
n When we took this development from the customer we had established that the Eyelet was being
attached to Swimming Shorts & so the PD team in HK ordered sampling with High Heat Lacquer already
applied to the Eyelet which would then enable the Eyelet to pass the Salt Water & Chlorine based tests
required for Swim Shorts.
n The customer failed to tell us that the wash the garment was being put through was in fact a 10
minute Enzyme wash.
n We explained to the customer that the High Heat Lacquer applied to the finished plating would
suffice to pass the M&S standard for both laundry wash and Salt Water/Chlorine immersion which was
the standard required by our customer.
n If the garment was then subjected to additional processes & in this case a further Enzyme wash
which resulted in the failure of our product in the eyes of the garment factory.
n The problem was resolved by Rudholm advising the garment factory to attach the Eyelet AFTER the
Enzyme wash to resolve this issue, this was the only solution in this case.
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Lessons of the square watermelon
Japanese grocery stores had a problem. They
are much smaller than their US counterparts and
therefore don’t have room to waste. Watermelons,
big and round, wasted a lot of space. Most people
would simply tell the grocery stores that watermelons grow round and there is nothing that
can be done about it. That is how the vast majority
of people would respond. But some Japanese farmers took a different approach. If the supermarkets
wanted a square watermelon, they asked themselves, “How can we provide one?” It wasn’t long
before they invented the square watermelon
.
The solution to the problem of round watermelons
wasn’t nearly as difficult to solve for those who
didn’t assume the problem was impossible to begin
with and simply asked how it could be done. It turns
out that all you need to do is place them into a
square box when they are growing and the watermelon will take on the shape of the box.
Breaking yourself from assuming this way can
greatly improve your overall life as you are constantly looking for new and better ways to do
things.
Question habits: The best way to tackle
these assumptions is to question your habits. If
you can make an effort to question the way you
do things on a consistent basis, you will find that
you can continually improve the way that you live
your life. Forming habits when they have been well
thought out is usually a positive thing, but most of
us have adopted our habits from various people
and places without even thinking about them. It’s
a never ending process, but by doing this, you can
consistently strive toward making all aspects of
your life more enjoyable instead of defaulting to
what you have now.
Be creative: When faced with a problem,
be creative in looking for a solution. This often
requires thinking outside the box. Most people
who viewed this question likely thought they were
being asked how they could genetically alter water
melons to grow square which would be a much
more difficult process to accomplish. By looking
at the question from an alternative perspective,
however, the solution was quite simple. Being
creative and looking at things in different ways in
all portions of your live will help you find solutions
to many problems where others can’t see them.
Look for a better way: The square water-
This made the grocery stores happy and had the
added benefit that it was much easier and cost
effective to ship the watermelons. Consumers also
loved them because they took less space in their
refrigerators which are much smaller than those in
the US meaning that the growers could charge a
premium price for them.
What does this have do with anything
besides square watermelons? There are
a few lessons that can you can take away from this
story which help you in all parts of your life. Here
are a few of them:
Don’t Assume: The major problem was that
most people had always seen round watermelons so
they automatically assumed that square watermelons were impossible before even thinking about the
question. Things that you have been doing a certain
way your entire life have taken on the aura of the
round watermelon and you likely don’t even take the
time to consider if there is another way to do it.
melon question was simply seeking a better and
more convenient way to do something. The stores
had flagged a problem they were having and
asked if a solution was possible. It’s impossible to
find a better way if you are never asking the question in the first place. Get into the habit of asking
yourself, “Is there a better way I could be doing
this?” and you will find there often is.
Impossibilities often aren’t: If you begin
with the notion that something is impossible, then
it obviously will be for you. If, on the other hand,
you decide to see if something is possible or not,
you will find out through trial and error. Take away
the lessons from the square watermelons and
apply them to all areas in your life (work, finances,
relationships, etc) and you will find that by consistently applying them, you will constantly be
improving all aspects of your life.
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