LONDON, UK – 19 AUGUST 2026 – Coats Digital today announced the launch of GSD RealMotion, an AI-powered solution that gives apparel manufacturers unprecedented visibility into factory-floor execution. By analysing shop-floor video and applying Coats Digital’s proven GSD methodology, GSD RealMotion replaces dated time-study tools and manual stopwatches—enabling industrial engineers to turn 45-minute manual timing into 15-minute video-assisted studies, spot inefficiencies, and eliminate margin leak from unverified costing.
For decades, industrial engineers have devoted hours to timing a tiny sample of operations rather than improving shop-floor execution. Stopwatch studies record elapsed time without revealing motion-level waste, while manual frame-by-frame analysis requires roughly eight hours per operation. Consequently, comprehensive factory analysis remains unfeasible at scale, leaving gaps between costed methods and floor reality uncorrected.
GSD RealMotion transforms this process. Using AI and computer vision, the solution converts phone video into structured, motion-by-motion studies that engineers validate and refine in minutes. Every motion is classified as value-added, necessary, or non-value-added, allowing manufacturers to measure every critical operation across every production line.
Based on internal modelling, addressing these operational inefficiencies delivers significant financial and operational impact:
- $2M-$3M in potential annual cost savings per site
- 60,000 additional garments produced per year through recovered capacity
- 12,000 engineering hours saved annually
What distinguishes GSD RealMotion is the engineering intelligence behind the analysis. Rather than simply recording elapsed time, GSD RealMotion benchmarks observed floor methods directly against GSD standards held within GSDCost. Verified observed standards publish back into GSDCost under approval, ensuring future quotes reflect true floor execution.
Rahul Bhardwaj, Product Manager, GSD, Coats Digital, said: “”GSD RealMotion verifies that the method your SMV is built from matches what operators run on the floor. By pairing AI detection with GSD benchmarks, manufacturers can identify method variation, understand root causes, fix the method by comparing it with the standard, and unlock the capacity to produce more pieces with time saved on the floor. Industrial engineers can focus efforts on method improvement rather than method measurement where it yields the highest return. Validated improvements transfer across comparable lines, while completed studies build a central library of reusable engineering knowledge.”
Key capabilities of GSD RealMotion include:
- AI-assisted detection and validation of GSD motion codes from video
- Automated creation of motion-by-motion method studies with observed times
- Classification of value-added, necessary, and non-value-added motions
- Visual operation sequencing through method Gantt analysis
- AI-assisted identification and prioritisation of high-impact improvement opportunities
- Side-by-side study comparisons to pinpoint actionable method variances
- Direct benchmarking against engineered GSD standards.
- Searchable central library of reusable method studies and institutional knowledge
Himanshu Mehrotra, Managing Director, Coats Digital, said: “We are thrilled to launch GSD RealMotion, as it will make a genuine, transformative difference to fashion manufacturing. Coats Digital is committed to investing in next-generation AI technologies that empower the fashion industry to navigate evolving global headwinds and build a resilient future. GSD RealMotion demonstrates how practical AI can transform decades of deep domain expertise into actionable insight—giving brands and manufacturers the operational clarity needed to protect margins, elevate productivity, and thrive in an increasingly complex supply chain.”
Designed for industrial engineers, manufacturing excellence teams, and production leaders, GSD RealMotion provides a scalable approach to method engineering—improving productivity, strengthening costing confidence, and embedding continuous improvement across operations.
Additional Resources:
- Learn more about RealMotion
- Learn more about GSDCost
About GSD RealMotion
GSD RealMotion is an AI-powered motion analysis solution that transforms shop-floor video into structured, GSD-coded method studies. Using advanced artificial intelligence and Coats Digital’s proven GSD methodology, GSD RealMotion analyses how work is performed by identifying individual motions, highlighting improvement opportunities, and benchmarking operations against engineered standards. Designed to support industrial engineering teams, GSD RealMotion helps apparel manufacturers replace traditional manual observation with faster, evidence-based method analysis—enabling more accurate costing decisions and driving continuous improvement across manufacturing operations.
About GSDCost
GSDCost is the international standard for establishing and optimising accurate method-time-cost benchmarks for sustainable garment cost optimisation and manufacturing excellence. It supports a more collaborative, transparent, and sustainable supply chain through the use of standard motion codes and predetermined times. This common language facilitates accurate cost prediction, fact-based negotiation, and improved manufacturing efficiency—while helping brands and suppliers meet CSR goals.
In 2025, GSDCost was recognised for its exceptional contributions to the fashion industry, winning the Standout Platform/Technology/Tool Silver Award at the UK Digital Excellence Awards, as well as the Innovation – Supply Chain and Environmental – Technology awards at the Just Style Excellence Awards.
Coats Digital – Digitally Transforming the Fashion Supply Chain
Coats Digital is the leading digital transformation partner for the fashion supply chain, powering sustainable processes and high value insights through connected technologies. Our intelligent, connected, business critical software solutions are embedded with deep industry expertise, proven in enabling fashion brands and manufacturers to digitally transform key processes across design, development, costing, sourcing, production planning and manufacture.
With Coats Digital, you can achieve a more agile, resilient, efficient, transparent and sustainable fashion supply chain. Coats Digital is the software business of Coats Group, the world’s leading industrial thread company and a trusted industry player. Our apparel, footwear and textile specific solutions harness industry best practice and the latest technology to improve agility, speed to market, efficiency, transparency and sustainability, and are trusted by brands and manufacturers around the world. Learn how you can stop wasting fabric and start increasing profits. coatsdigital.com
