Two foreign agencies – Accord and Alliance– have been creating confusion for the ready made garment factory owners and their buyers by placing different inspection reports on the same factories.
They were supposed to follow a uniform standard for the inspection including scrutinising the factory buildings’ concrete strength and avoid duplication in examining 300 factories. But now they are not complying with the understanding.
Accord, the group of European buyers, and Alliance, representing a group of North American importers, have around 300 factories in common to examine. But during inspection of these factories, both the agencies are creating hassles, the owners allege.
In a meeting with Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed in April, officials of both the groups had agreed to avoid duplication in inspection. They had also agreed to allow factory buildings having 1,500 PSI (very strong) to operate, but now have opted for relaxed but different PSI standards.
The Accord inspectors are repeatedly examining the factories which were earlier checked by the Alliance engineers. So far, the Alliance closed five RMG factories while the Accord shut down 20-25 units in Dhaka and Chittagong in the last one year.
There are allegations that some factories, approved by the Alliance men, were later labelled as “vulnerable” by the Accord inspectors because they are both following different standards.
For instance, both the organisations examined Dragon Sweater Bangladesh Ltd, situated in Malibagh Chowdhurypara, and came up with two different reports.
The inspection report of Accord says: “Smoke alarm activation sounds only a local alarm and does not provide automatic fire alarm notification to occupants. The fire alarm system is not regularly tested and maintained.”
On the other hand, the Alliance’s report stated that there had been no trouble in the fire alarm control panel. Centralised automatic fire alarm and smoke detection systems were available with the control panel.
About the fire exit,the Alliance says: “One Exit discharge on the ground floor is protected from utility room and dining by the fire door.” But, the Accord claims that the exit stairs are not protected with a fire door.
About the structural safety,the Alliance mentioned that no load plans had been prepared for each floor, documenting the actual maximum operational loading,which is intended or allowable on each floor.
But the Accord report says: “The building appears to be generally in good structural condition. There was no visible evidence of overloading, distress, damage, excessive deflections or settlements. The structure seems, based on visual inspection, to function properly.”
Mostafa Golam Quddus, chairman of the factory, told the Dhaka Tribune: “The BGMEA and the factory owners told them [the two agencies] to create a uniform code of conduct. But they are talking differently on this issue.”
Accord blamed for charging high
Many factory owners allege that the Accord’s engineers, appointed by the organisation,are doing business centring retrofitting.
Asking not to be named, a factory owner said: “The Accord engineers are doing business centring retrofitting. They are asking for Tk70 lakh for the task while local engineers offer the service for only Tk20 lakh.”
He mentioned thatthe owner of Selim and Brothers was asked to pay Tk70 lakh for the retrofitting of his factory building. “The Accord officials told me that they do not rely on the Alliance’s inspection,” the owner added.
BGMEA Vice-President ShahidullahAzim, who also represents the garment owners’ organisation in the review committees, said: “The Alliance is allowing 2,100 PSI as concrete strength whereasthe Accord is allowing 1,750 PSI. This is creating variations in inspection reports.”
The Accord mentioned earlier that they would not inspect the factories already checked by the Alliance engineers to avoid overlapping. “But, they are not maintaining the procedure,” he stated.
Azim said: “Now the Accord is saying that the review committee is non-functional. It does not pay the workers’ wages [in case of factory closure], while the Alliance is maintaining it. It is the Accord which is creating all the problems.”
He said: “We are in big trouble. We cannot quit our business at once as the workers are also involved here.”
The inspection reports on Alif Garments Ltd in Mohammadpur have mismatches too.
About fire safety,the Accord mentioned that inspection, testing and maintenance records for the fire alarm system were not available at the time of the survey. Emergency evacuation plans were not provided on each level.
However, the Alliance mentioned that an emergency evacuation plan had been developed and communicated to all employees, stating, “Through the interview, it is noted that the workers are aware of the evacuation procedure upon commencing the alarm.”
About the fire exit, the Accord mentioned that the main and the rear exit stairs were not separated from the work areas and other spaces on each floor by fire-related construction, stating,“The stairs open directly into the factory areas. Also, the main exit stair discharges inside the building on the ground floor, next to the generator room.”
But, the Alliance reported that there was a steel-made external stair available separated from the building and there were openings – sealed from inside on exterior wall within 3.05 metres (10ft) beyond the ends of the stair structure.
About the structural design of the factory building, the Accord says the structural drawings provided do not match the as-constructed structure, particularly with respect to column locations and the inclusion of building movement joints.
The Alliance reported that the building structural drawing and architectural drawing were found, and those matched with the existing building.
When contacted, Azizul Islam, chairman and managing director of the factory,refused to make any comments on the issue.
Raozan Sweater Ltd in Chittagong was visited by the Alliance inspectors, and recently, the Accord has sent an email to the authorities that they would inspect the factory.
Shabbir Mostafa, managing director of the factory, told the Dhaka Tribune: “The Accord personnel want to visit the factory. They informed me about it via email, three-four days ago. But the Alliance inspectors already visited the factory around 15 days ago.”
Alliance blames Accord
Mesbah Rabin, managing director of the Alliance,alleged that the Accord was not following a verbal understanding to not overlap the inspection task.
He said: “We came to a mutual understanding [verbal] that the inspections will not overlap. It means the Accord will not visit a unit which was already inspected by our engineers. But, the Accord is not following the commitment.”
“Of the five factories, three were temporarily shut and the rest were told to continue production. We have already inspected 530 factories among 626 factories on the list,” Mesbah said.
The government has so far recruited only 32 factory inspectors in the last one year whereas it was supposed to take 250 by this time. “We want to declare all the factories safe within July 26,” he added.
Accord defends its work
Accord’s Executive Director Rob Ways claimed that they were following transparent procedures during inspection.
“The Accord is following the procedures of our inspection regime and providing the inspection findings information with the factory owners, brand representatives, worker representatives, and when convened, the review panel members. The procedures the Accord is utilising are transparent and the information being provided on the inspection findings is very clearly presented,” he said in an email.
“Accord’s factory inspections are organised in a documented and methodical manner, and are coordinated with the factory owners prior to the arrival of the inspectors. In some cases, when the inspectors arrive for a factory inspection, it becomes known that there are other Accord producing factories in the same building not scheduled for inspection on that day. In these situations, the Accord engineers will often ask that factory owner or his/her representatives if it would be possible to also inspect that factory for efficiency purposes. When such requests are made, the factory owner can ask that the inspection be conducted through the normal scheduling procedures. The Accord’s requests in these circumstances are simply an attempt for efficiency and efficient resource utilisation,” he added.