Coats Digital launches AI solution to analyse apparel factory floor operations
Coats Digital has launched GSD RealMotion, an AI-powered solution designed to give apparel manufacturers deeper visibility into factory-floor operations by turning shop-floor video into structured, motion-by-motion method studies.
The solution combines artificial intelligence, computer vision and Coats Digital’s General Sewing Data (GSD) methodology to analyse how operators perform tasks on the production floor. According to the company, the technology is designed to help manufacturers identify method variations and motion-level inefficiencies that may not be visible through conventional time studies.
Traditional stopwatch studies primarily capture elapsed time, while manual video analysis requires engineers to review footage frame by frame. GSD RealMotion aims to reduce this workload by automatically detecting and classifying individual operator motions as value-added, necessary or non-value-added.
Industrial engineers can then validate and refine the AI-generated studies. The system also compares observed production methods with GSD standards stored in GSDCost, allowing manufacturers to identify differences between planned methods and actual shop-floor execution.
“GSD RealMotion verifies that the method your SMV is built from matches what operators run on the floor,” said Rahul Bhardwaj, Product Manager, GSD, Coats Digital. He added that combining AI detection with GSD benchmarks can help manufacturers understand method variation, identify root causes and recover production time.
The platform includes AI-assisted GSD motion-code detection, automated motion-by-motion method studies, observed-time analysis, method Gantt analysis and side-by-side comparisons. Completed studies can also be stored in a searchable central library, allowing manufacturers to reuse findings across operations.
Once an observed method has been reviewed and approved, verified standards can be transferred back into GSDCost. This creates a link between actual production methods and costing assumptions, potentially helping manufacturers improve the accuracy of their standard minute values (SMVs).
Coats Digital estimates that addressing operational inefficiencies identified through the system could generate USD 2–3 million in annual cost savings per site, free up around 12,000 engineering hours and recover production capacity equivalent to approximately 60,000 additional garments per year. These figures are based on the company’s internal modelling.
“GSD RealMotion demonstrates how practical AI can transform decades of deep domain expertise into actionable insight,” said Himanshu Mehrotra, Managing Director, Coats Digital.
The solution is aimed at industrial engineers, manufacturing excellence teams and production leaders, supporting method engineering, costing and continuous improvement across apparel manufacturing operations.
