Recently we deep-dived PGF's core values at an off-sight meeting over a scrumptious glass (or 2 or 3) of Oregon Pinot. We assessed #4: HONOR PROCESS. One thing we landed on was quality. What is the key to producing quality garments and soft goods even when the projects vary widely? When working on as many as 10 different projects at once, how do we maintain our high standards for construction and efficiency?
In order to create quality items for our customers, we maintain a clear and repeatable process, effortlessly moving projects from design, to prototype, to sample, to production, to completion.
Each step of the process involves a unique set of checks and balances to ensure problems are caught and solved early before moving on to the next stage. Every employee at all stages of production has the ability to stop the process to address a quality or construction concern and gain input or suggest a solution. The process ensures that we do not enthusiastically jump ahead, sacrificing quality, or become paralyzed by challenge, sacrificing efficiency. Through adhering to our process, honed over 8 years in business, we are strong, efficient, and accurate.
And yet, what is a process if it cannot evolve? Here in the factory, the process is anything but rigid. We've made many tweaks and changes over the years, improving upon bottlenecks, fostering communication, and creating innovative solutions to everything from the best way to cut fabric for a mitten to the best way to implement a design change. We've created an order flow that not only works the first time, but every time. And that order flow, that process, is integral to our success in designing, prototyping, and producing quality goods.