Accord to inspect factories that were already assessed

The Accord will inspect the factories that have already been assessed by the third party auditors of the Alliance brands.
"The Accord has adopted a policy regarding the joint Accord-Alliance factories and according to it Accord cannot consider Alliance inspection reports prepared as per direction of Alliance brands," Accord's Executive Director Rob Wayss told the FE.
"The Accord will give qualified consideration to inspection reports by firms working for the Alliance staff and utilise these reports in the formulation of corrective action plans," he added.
However, industry leaders said the duplication of inspection would create confusion among the manufacturers and also create additional burden and unnecessary hassle for them.
There are about 340 to 350 factories that produce apparel products for both Accord and Alliance-signatory brands and retailers, according to sources.
Out of them, Walmart, a signatory to Alliance, alone has assessed 203 garment factories by third party auditor, they added.
More than 200 garment factories are likely to face overlapping in inspection, they further noted.
The Accord in a statement issued Friday said, "all corrective action plans must meet the approval of the Accord's Chief Safety Inspector, the Accord programme will be fully carried out, including follow up inspections during the remedial process, which will allow Accord engineers to address any and all shortcomings of the Alliance inspections.
"All Accord obligations will remain effective for Accord brands, including remedial financing, regardless of whether Alliance brands accept these obligations," it added.
This approach will address concerns that have been expressed by stakeholders about duplicate inspections, while ensuring that Accord safety standards are being met and an acceptable level of safety to life is achieved in all factories producing for Accord brands, the statement said.
"The Accord Steering Committee agrees that the independence and integrity of the overall Accord inspection programme is maintained through this approach," it noted.
Accord Chief Safety Inspector Brad Loewen said that they have postponed the inspection of common factories and would assess those units at the end of the process.
However, when contacted, Alliance Managing Director M Rabin declined to make any comment in this regard.
Opposing the duplication, Md Shahidullah Azim, vice president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) said it would be an additional burden on the owners saying they would face unnecessary hassle while production would be hampered.
Moreover, the two inspections would provide two corrective action plans which would create confusion among the manufacturers, he explained adding it would be nothing but wastage of time and money.
 "The individual buyers did the assessment through world recognized auditors and the Accord should accept their reports," he added.