Vocational Training on Manufacturing Women Reusable Menstrual Hygiene Pads

Terms of Reference for Suppliers to Provide

 Vocational Training on Manufacturing Women Reusable Menstrual Hygiene Pads

“Building the resilience of vulnerable Lebanese and refugee communities amidst multi-faceted crises”

Oxfam in Lebanon

Background:

Oxfam is a global movement of people, working together to end the injustice of poverty through campaigning and responding to the needs of the poor. Oxfam has been working in Lebanon since 1993. We provide humanitarian assistance to vulnerable people affected by conflict, and we promote economic justice and good governance, and women’s rights. Oxfam also works with local partners to contribute to the protection and empowerment of marginalized women and men.

The project aims to increase the resilience and social stability of 12,600 Lebanese and refugee women, men, girls, and boys affected by the multi-faceted crises in Lebanon.  The outcomes include 1. Crisis-affected populations in Tripoli and the Beddawi Camp, particularly women and youth, have strengthened agency and improved access to protection and basic services, and 2. Crisis-affected populations and local actors in Tripoli and the Beddawi Camp are active agents in the promotion of protection, resilience, and social stability.  The project is implemented in partnership with Association Najdeh, Utopia, and ABAAD.

Activity Objective: 

Under this activity, Oxfam is seeking a supplier to provide Vocational Training for 60 women on manufacturing Reusable Menstrual Hygiene Pads to girls and women, in a sewing and knitting factory in Tripoli in the area located between Qobbeh, Tebbaneh, Abou Samra, and Mitein street.

At the end of the training, the supplier is expected to distribute certificates to participants

Content of Works:

• Provide Vocational training on manufacturing reusable menstrual pads based on the attached SOP, to 60 women.
• The list of participants will be provided by Oxfam GB.
• Provide a list and sample of raw material to be approved by Oxfam.
• Design a schedule for the vocational training between September and October.
• Design a fabric bag for packaging.
• Produce 2,000 women’s pads
• Oxfam reserves the right to monitor the training sessions and all needed documentation.
• Oxfam will check the quality and the condition of the products and has the right to request replacing the items that do not comply with the agreement
• The supplier is responsible for the transportation of the products to the Utopia center in addition to hiring workers with each truck for off-loading the kits onsite.

Submission of offers and samples:

The supplier should send a sample with the financial offer to Oxfam’s logistics team.

Financial and Technical offers should be submitted to Oxfam before September 5th, 2022.

Coordination and Supervision:

The procurement will be supervised by Oxfam’s logistics team.

Questions / Request for clarification:

Any requests for clarification may be submitted by email to lebanonprocurement@oxfam.org.uk

Timeframe and Payment:

100% payment after providing the requested quantity & quality and submitting the financial documents.

Standard Operating Procedure

For manufacturing of

Reusable Menstrual Pads

 Raw Material

Characteristics

Location

Measure

Who

Recording

Method

Raw Materials

Inhouse

Visual

Top Fabric – Terry width 72 to 80” – 220gsm

Inner absorbent layer – Terry White width – 72 -80” – 240gsm

Pique Bottom fabric with PU lamination Width – 72-80” – 180gsm

(PU lamination – 15gauge thickness)

RR / Partner

Regular check up

By Visual

Top layer – Terry fabric          Inner absorbent layer – White Terry          Bottom layer – PU Lamination

Quality Parameters to Check in fabrics: Fabric defects

Knitting defects

Stains

Color / shade variation

Cut holes

Selvedge damage

Oil stains

Improper lamination

 Cutting

Characteristics

Location

Measure

Who

Recording

Method

Cutting

Inhouse

As per standard size for Day and Night cut the fabric accordingly.

Top Fabric

Inner absorbent layer

Button fabric with PU lamination

RR / Partner

Regular check up

By Visual

Cutting dimension

Top layer

Inner Absorbent

Bottom Layer (PU)

Day pad

A-Length – 28cm

B-Width – 21 cm

C-Length – 22.5cm

D-Width – 7cm

E- Length -28cm

F- Width – 21cm

Night pad

A-Length – 35cm

B-Width – 21 cm

C-Length – 29.5cm

D-Width – 7cm

E- Length -35cm

F- Width – 21cm

 Placement

Characteristics

Location

Measure

Who

Recording

Method

Placement

On site / Production centre

Align the inner absorbent pad in the middle of Top fabric.

2 inner absorbent strip / pad

For both Day and Night pads placement will be in Middle

Production supervisor

Regular check up

By Visual

 Stitching

Characteristics

Location

Measure

Who

Machine

Method

Stitching

On site / Production centre

Stitching absorbent pad on inner part of the top layer fabric in the middle as aligned.

Stitching method: Either complete stitch over the inner pad or 6 tuck stitch in each side to fix the inner pad to Top fabric

Terry / pile facing top fabric

Stitching length – min 2 cm

Tailor / Production supervisor

Single Needle machine

By Visual

 Top and bottom attachment

Characteristics

Location

Measure

Who

Machine

Method

Single needle Stitching

On site / Production centre

To avoid shape issue we need to stitch top layer and bottom layer of the pads to have a better shape while overlock sewing. While making this process a wash care label need to be attached

Tailor / Production supervisor

Single Needle machine

By Visual

 Stitching

Characteristics

Location

Measure

Who

Machine

Method

Over lock Stitching

On site / Production centre

Once the top and bottom are stitched make a complete overlock stitch with top fabric.

Stitch per inch – 14

Use Polyester Filament yarn for softer feel.

Tailor / Production supervisor

5 or 4 thread over lock machine

By Visual

 Button placement

Characteristics

Location

Measure

Who

Machine

Method

Button Placement

On site / Production centre

Once stitching completed fix the button in the middle of the wings without any misplacement of buttons with a template. The buttons should be in middle of the wings when it is folded.

1 x Male button & 2 x Female buttons or vice versa

Operator / Production supervisor

Button fixing machine

By Visual

Characteristics

Location

Measure

Who

Machine

Method

Button Placement

On site / Production centre

Fix 1 x Male and 2 x Female buttons separately in each wing. After Fixing the button in middle of wings check if its firmly fixed and workability

Operator / Production supervisor

Button fixing machine

By Visual

 Checking

Characteristics

Location

Measure

Who

Machine

Method

Checking

On site / Production centre

After button placement, check for all quality defects as below

QC

-

By Visual

Defects:

- Stitching defect

- Improper stitching

- Fabric defects if any

- Stains

- Improper button placement

- Button cross

- Easy removal of buttons

- Shape of pads

- Stitching of inner absorbent pad if its<2cm

- Stitching of care label

Pads

Dimenssion +/-5% tollerance

Absorption

A

B

C

D

E

F

Day pad

27 cm

20 cm

22.5 cm

7 cm

6.5 cm

10mm

20ml

Night pad

34 cm

20 cm

29.5 cm

7 cm

8 cm

10mm

30ml

A – Pad Length

D – Absorption Pad width

B – Pad widht including wings

E - Wings to pad top

C – Absorption pad length

F – Button size

Packing

Characteristics

Location

Measure

Who

Machine

Method

Packing

On site / Production centre

Assign packing materials as per requirement

Plain poly bag

Safepad pamphlet

Storage bag – Black color

QC

-

By Visual

Maintaining hygiene at production facility is essential for ensuring products are appropriate for consumers use. Following are recommended guidelines for ensuring hygiene at manufacturing facilities:

 Location should be free from bad odor, smoke, dust and other contaminants.

 Separate area should be defined for storing raw materials, production and final product storage.

 Separate area shall be defined for storing personal belongings and personal protective equipment of unit workers to minimize risk of contamination.

 Toilet and hand-washing station shall be provisioned away from storage/production area.

 Provision of 70% isopropyl alcohol (IPA) solution for hand sanitization inside the production facility.

 Appropriate lighting and proper ventilation of the facility shall be ensured.

 Flooring shall be either concrete, tiled or LVC coated floor to ensure ease of cleaning. Floors, walls, ceilings, doors and windows shall be easy to clean and without cracks or openings that shall not allow accumulation of dirt.

 Regular pest control measures shall be put in place.

 Adequate bins should be used to store the stitched pads and separate color bins for disposing waste generated within the facility; color coding should be followed and displayed within factory.

 Poster/sign encouraging safety and hygiene practices like use of personal protective equipment, use of hand sanitizer etc. shall be displayed.

 Finished product shall be checked thoroughly and ensured to be free from Defects, foreign particles, dirt, hair, and other visible contaminants.

 A cleaning and maintenance schedule shall be defined for cleaning of the facility, toilets, washing areas, waste containers and for cleaning / disinfection of the equipment.