Bangladesh: first reports mark new era of responsibility

IN DEPTH_ Not even a year ago on 24th April 2013, one of the worst industrial tragedies struck Bangladesh’s garment industry: the Rana Plaza building in Savar, Greater Dhaka that housed five garment factories collapsed, killing 1,133 garment workers. Not even a month later on 13th May

2013, the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh was created with the aim to establish a fire and building safety program for the country. Exactly ten months later, reports of the first factory inspections have been published, indicating that though none of the inspected factories is in as bad a shape as the Rana Plaza building was, fire, electrical safety and potential structural problems are widespread. FashionUnited took a closer look at the first ten reports.

The factory inspection reports can be accessed via the Accord website, bangladeshaccord.org. The first pleasant surprise is the organized manner, in which each report can be accessed: Sorted alphabetically by factory, those interested can download a report each for fire, structural and electrical issues, complemented by a fourth report that lists a corrective action plan for all areas. Apart from each problem, the latter lists a priority grade, recommended action plan, a proposed action plan by the factory, timeline, contact information of the responsible person (usually an engineer) and the estimated cost in Bangladeshi taka and US dollars.

Reports provide cross-section of Bangladesh’s garment factory landscape

Those who go through the trouble of checking each report will see that they do not disappoint in terms of the information provided and the structure followed. Each report summary clearly mentions the inspected factory as well as the company that carried out the inspection and the date when it was performed. The assessment follows right away – if significant issues were found - followed by a table that lists all major safety issues in detail together with recommendations to address each issue and a timeline.

Especially helpful are the reference photos (complemented by structural drawings in case of structural reports), which not only support the findings visually but also constitute important evidence. Once complete, all reports will also provide a representative cross-section of the different types of Bangladesh’s garment factories that international buyers can expect to find in the country.

If maintained and utilized correctly, the reports could work as an invaluable database for not only buyers wanting to commission work to a particular garment factory in Bangladesh. For the factories, the reports are important documents that show their commitment to safety and openness to inspections. Once completed, the reports also act as import quality statements. For unions and non-profits advocating on behalf of the workers, the reports act as important points of accountability for each factory.

Thus, as important as the actual findings is the effort that has been put into the creation and accessibility of the reports. They show that it is possible to systematically assess garment factories and to make those findings available not only to those concerned but also to the general public in a transparent and user-friendly fashion.

Though as mentioned earlier (see “Bangladesh: first factory reports published” of 11th March), “the main task still lies ahead with 38 teams set to conduct inspections of 1,500 factories between February and September 2014”, a good framework has been established. In addition, the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety, a group of group of 27 North American retailers and brands using about 400 garment factories in Bangladesh, has completed inspections of half of these supplier factories. After much turmoil, Bangladesh’s garment industry and international stakeholders seem to have finally come up with a model that could become a blueprint for other apparel producing countries.

Photos: AFBSB