Structural Integrity Inspection
Accord finds ‘serious faults’ in a factory
Accord, a platform of EU retailers, has detected a garment factory, Jeans Care Ltd, in the capital with some ‘serious’ faults in its structural integrity and asked the factory authorities to shut down the unit. The review panel under the National Tripartite Committee, however, on Tuesday allowed the company to run its factory but asked it to take steps to remove some faults the panel found during a physical inspection to the factory following the Accord’s move.
Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh chief safety inspector Brad Loewen on Monday sent an e-mail to the authorities of Jeans Care Ltd asking them to evacuate the factory immediately.
‘There are some serious concerns with the structural integrity of the building you occupy. In order to ensure the immediate safety of the workers, I request that you evacuate the building immediately,’ he said in his e-mail.
It was the first time the Accord asked to close a factory due to safety reasons since the start of its inspection of fire, electrical and building safety in the Bangladesh garment factories from where the retailers under the group procure products. Accord has so far inspected 50 garment factories after it began inspection on February 18 this year.
After the Accord’s suggestion for closing Jeans Care Ltd, the review panel consisting of two engineers from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, one engineer from Accord and one engineer from Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety, a platform of North American retailers, a representative of garment factory owners and the chief inspector of factory and establishment discussed the issue at a meeting on Tuesday.
As per rules, Accord or Alliance assessment teams may suggest for closer of a factory for 48 hours but the final decision on the closer of the factory will be taken based on unanimous recommendation of four engineers of the review panel.
Brad in his e-mail said that a review panel made up of four structural engineers from BUET, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association and the government and labour union representatives would convene a meeting within 48 hours to review the findings.
‘Until such time it (the factory) must remain empty,’ he said.
On February 28, structural inspectors of the Accord carried out a visual inspection to Jeans Care Ltd.
The authorities of the factory, however, said that they were running their business for many years in the commercial building which is situated at Tejgaon in the city.
‘I do not think there in any serious structural problems in the building for which the factory should be shut down,’ Md Shofiullah, managing director of Jeans Care Ltd, told New Age on Tuesday.
He said that they had informed the
decision of the Accord to the BGMEA as a total of 700 workers were employed in the factory.
Shofiullah said, ‘The Dhaka office of a German retail brand has already made an enquiry that weather there is any structural fault in the factory as the Accord has also sent its primary observations to the brands and buyers under the group before the review.’
A member of the review panel said, ‘There are some structural inadequacies in the factory. But the unit can be run with rectification.’
After the Rana Plaza building collapse on April 24 last year that killed more than 1,100 people, mostly garment workers, the retailers and apparel brands formed Accord.
The consortium announced its action plan including factory inspections, training and worker empowerment and said that they would inspect over 1,600 factories that manufacture products for them.
-With New Age input
