Professional Garments Industry Learning Guide

How to Calculate CM (Cost of Making) in the Garments Industry

Learn complete garments CM calculation methods including Basic CM Formula, Advanced Label CM Formula, Industrial Engineering Method, SMV, CPM, Efficiency, EPM and professional garments costing systems.

Basic CM

CM

Machine Quantity × Machine Cost ÷ Production Quantity × 12

IE Method

SMV

SMV × CPM × 12 = Per Dozen CM

Efficiency Formula

(Total Production × SMV) ÷ (Manpower × Working Hours × 60) × 100

Introduction

In the garments industry, CM (Cost of Making) is one of the most important parts of costing. CM helps calculate how much it costs to produce a garment in the factory. Below are some common and professional methods to calculate CM.

Method 01

1. Basic CM Formula

Before calculating CM, you need 3 important pieces of information:

  • • How many machines are required
  • • Production quantity in 10 hours
  • • Machine operating cost

After collecting this information, CM can be calculated easily.

Formula

{(Machine Quantity × Machine Cost) ÷ Production Quantity in 10 Hours} × 12

Machine Quantity = Total machines required for the item

Machine Cost = Operating cost per machine

Production Quantity = Total production in 10 hours

× 12 = 1 dozen contains 12 pieces

Method 02

2. Advanced Label CM Formula

This method is more professional and accurate because it includes factory cost, machine capacity, working days, and production target.

Required Information

  • • Factory monthly cost
  • • Total factory machines
  • • Layout machines for the item
  • • Hourly production target
  • • Monthly working days
  • • Daily working hours

Formula

{((((Factory Monthly Cost ÷ Monthly Working Days) ÷ Total Machines in Factory) × Layout Machines) ÷ (Hourly Target Quantity × Day working hours)) × 12}

Factory Monthly Cost

Total monthly factory expense

Monthly Working Days

Total working days in a month

Total Factory Machines

Total available machines

Layout Machines

Machines required for the item

Hourly Target

Production target per hour

× 12

Per dozen calculation

Professional Industry Method

3. IE Method

This is one of the most professional CM calculation methods in the garments industry.

SMV × CPM × 12
= Per Dozen CM

What is SMV?

SMV stands for Standard Minute Value. It means the standard time required by a skilled operator to complete a garment under normal working conditions.

SMV is very important for:

Costing
Production planning
Line balancing
Efficiency measurement

SMV Formula

SMV = Basic Time + (Basic Time × Allowance %)

Allowances Include

  • • Machine Allowance
  • • Personal Allowance
  • • Fatigue Allowance
  • • Bundling Allowance

Basic Time Formula

Basic Time = Observe Time × Rating

• Less than 100% = Slower than standard speed

• 100% = Standard speed

• More than 100% = Faster than standard speed

Example

If Observe Time is 0.50 minute and Rating is 110%:

0.50 × 1.10 = 0.55 minute

Observe Time Formula

Observe Time = Average Cycle Time ÷ 60

Average Cycle Time Formula

Average Cycle Time = Total Cycle Time ÷ Number of Cycles

What is Cycle Time?

Cycle Time means the time required to complete one operation. During a time study, the same operation is observed 5–10 times using a stopwatch.

23 sec
20 sec
25 sec
22 sec
24 sec

Total Cycle Time
23 + 20 + 25 + 22 + 24 = 114 sec

Average Cycle Time
114 ÷ 5 = 22.8 sec

Observe Time
22.8 ÷ 60 = 0.38 minute

Total SMV of a Garment

A garment is made through many sewing processes. Each process has it's own SMV. After adding all process SMVs together, the final garment SMV is obtained.

Example: T-Shirt Processes

Back part and front part matching
Shoulder joining
Neck rib making
Neck joining
Neck binding
Front neck top stitching
Back neck top stitching
Sleeve matching with body
Sleeve joining
Side seam
Bottom hem
Sleeve hem
Thread cutting
Quality checking
The total of all process SMVs gives the final garment SMV.

What is CPM?

CPM means Cost Per Minute. It shows how much the factory spends for every production minute.

CPM = Factory Cost Per Month ÷ Total Available Minute Per Month

What is Available Minute?

If one operator works 10 hours daily:

10 × 60 = 600 minutes/day

If the factory works 26 days per month:

600 × 26 = 15,600 minutes/month

If the factory has 750 workers:

750 × 15,600 = 11,700,000 minutes
This is called the total available minute of the factory.

What is Efficiency?

Efficiency measures how effectively workers or production lines are performing.

{(Total Production × SMV) ÷ (Manpower × Working Hours × 60)} × 100

Total Production

Total garment output

SMV

Standard Minute Value

Manpower

Total workers

Working Hours

Daily working hours

What is EPM?

EPM stands for Earning Per Minute. It measures how much money the factory earns per production minute.

(Production Quantity × CM) ÷ (Manpower × Working Hours × 60)

Formula Explanation

Production Quantity = Total garment output

CM = Cost of Making

Manpower = Total operators

Working Hours = Daily working hours

Higher EPM means better factory earning performance.