About 15 per cent of the BUET-surveyed garment factories have structural flaws, while most of the units lack required fire and electrical safety measures, people connected with the inspection process said.
The BUET (Bangladesh University of Engineering Technology) has already submitted its initial findings on 80, out of 200, surveyed garment factories to the government.
Of the 80 factories, the teams recommended detail assessment of 10 manufacturing units, as they were not satisfied with their structural designs and other safety compliances.
"The BUET teams have submitted their report on 80 factories with recommendations, which is being scrutinized by the technical committee," a senior labour ministry official told the FE Thursday.
The National Tripartite Committee, formed to implement the national plan of action on building and fire safety in RMG sector, will take the next decision in line with the final recommendations of the technical committee, he added.
The government, in association with the International Labour Organisation (ILO), is carrying out a project that is expected to inspect about 1,500 to 2,000 garment factories that remain outside the inspection purview of Accord or Alliance.
On October 22, the government and the ILO launched the $24.21 million initiative - including the new Better Work Programme - to improve working conditions in the RMG industry in Bangladesh.
"We have already assessed fire and structural integrity of 200 garment factories, while reports on 80 have been handed over to the authority," said BUET professor Mehdi Ahmed Ansari, who is involved with the process.
During the inspection, the teams found flaws in structural designs and fire safety measures of some factories.
But the flaws are not very major ones, and the teams did not recommend shutdown of any factory, he added.
"We are not satisfied with the reports of 10, out of the 80, garment factories, and recommended their detail assessment," a source involved with the process said.
Two factories are recommended to carry out the assessment within a month, some by three months, and the rest within six months.
A total of 30, out of the 200 factories, might need the detailed assessment, he concluded.
Another professor, also involved with the process, said most of the factories lack fire and electrical safety measures.
He said many factories do not have adequate fire extinguishers and lack regular use of those equipments. These units also do not have appropriate stairs or have narrow ones, and lack water reserves and fire doors or have no fire door at all.
Fire can occur from any object, and there are also obstacles surrounding many factories. If any fire occurs, fire service people will not be able to reach those units smoothly, he opined.
Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh was formed by the European Union retailers, and Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety Initiative by North American retailers. They will separately inspect the factories that manufacture products for their members.
Accord published a list of around 1,600 factories, while Alliance a list of around 620 apparel units for inspection.
15pc have structural flaws
Monira Munni | Published: February 07, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00
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