Coordinated safety authority crucial to ensure compliance

In order to reduce fire incidents and ensure safe working environment in the country’s factories and commercial buildings, Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) has recommended forming a “coordinated safety authority” and establishing a “safety council”. 

It also recommended making the safety authority fully functional with legal authorisation so that it can set standard criteria to monitor organisations aligned with the safety authority.   

BIDA submitted its recommendations recently to the national committee on workplace safety, formed by Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) on July 15, 2021, to ensure compliance in the country’s factories.

BIDA Executive Chairman Md Sirazul Islam told The Business Post on Saturday, “We have submitted our recommendations to the national committee. Now, the national committee would decide how the new authority would be formed.” 

Besides forming a new safety authority, we have recommended strengthening the DIFE and other agencies concerned, he said.

“In a meeting last week with the national committee, presided over by Salman F Rahman, the prime minister’s adviser for private industry and investment, we have pointed out several weaknesses in structural engineering and design, mechanical engineering and electrical engineering and observed that there is no authority to look into it,” Sirajul Islam Said. 

“A particular authority is needed. Several authorities are looking into the matter in their respective fields, but due to lack of proper coordination it has not been that fruitful,” he added. 

“A separate committee, led by President of Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh Nurul Huda, has been assigned to submit recommendations in this regard,” he said, adding that the final decision would be made by the national committee once this committee submits their recommendations.

BIDA has made several sets of recommendations after visiting some 5,206 factories and commercial buildings under 32 sectors across the country.

Some 108 integrated inspection teams have completed the inspections. 

Before making the recommendations, BIDA has also taken opinions from different stakeholders including government agencies and institutes.

According to BIDA, they have received opinions from 11 agencies concerned. Six agencies have already agreed to form a new safety authority, and three agencies provided their opinions about monitoring activities.   

The BIDA executive chairman said, “It was a timely inspection schedule to bring these industries under compliance. Our readymade garments are in good state and so we recommended mainly for other industries lagging behind.”

To lessen accidents in the factories and commercial buildings, BIDA has made common, special sectoral, element base, short, mid and long-term and some overall recommendations. 

In the five-point overall recommendation, BIDA has explained how the safety council would be formed. 

The council, which would be responsible to initiate realistic measures to make the factories a safer workplace, would be formed with government, private and voluntary safety agencies across the country.

Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE) may provide development assistance to 100 factories, identified earlier, to bring them under compliance framework, said the five-point recommendation.

It is necessary to determine separate zones for small and mid-level industries including chemical, plastic production and food processing, it said. 

BIDA has made 16 common recommendations emphasising the effective acquisition of required certifications and proper authorisation. 

For instance, all the factories or commercial buildings need to acquire certificates of building design, fire safety plan and load capacity of the building from the authorities concerned. 

They have also recommended auditing the electric wearing of a factory or commercial building once a year. The factories should acquire and preserve the certificate. 

The factories should keep the evacuation plan on the entrance, and the emergency exit should be hassle-free. They should also ensure the storage of required safety gear for all of the workers.     

Short, mid and long-term recommendations  

BIDA has made 28 short-term recommendations, 33 mid-term recommendations and 18 long-term recommendations. 

The 28 short-term recommendations should be implemented immediately including the ones mentioned in the common recommendations. Deployment of a safety officer during working hours should be made compulsory, said the short-term recommendations.  

The 33 mid-term recommendations include acquiring certificates from the environment department and energy regulatory commission. 

Gas supply line and release pipe should be installed accurately and maintained properly, it added. 

Broiler safety inspection and certification need to be done regularly, besides ensuring waste management to reduce air pollution.  

The 18 long-term recommendations include authorising storage design for factories from the Department of Explosives and two exit routes for every 20 workers. 

Underground water preservers should maintain authorised specifications. Along with installing a biological reactor tank, a full functional ETP plant has to be installed in the factories concerned, said the BIDA recommendations.

Sector-based recommendations    

The integrated inspection teams of BIDA have placed some six to nine recommendations for 10 particular sectors.

Inspecting 303 chemical-based factories, BIDA recommended ensuring authorisation of the design of the establishment from the Department of Explosives, keeping the fire hydrant system active round the clock and installing a chemical auto transfer system.

Visiting 344 plastic factories, they made six recommendations including acquiring a design certificate from the local government along with fire safety and environment certificates from respective offices. 

After inspecting 74 pharmaceuticals, they recommended having a biological reactor tank and installing a hose pipe properly on every floor of the factories.

Inspecting 386 engineering farms, BIDA made six recommendations including acquiring various certificates and ensuring an emission system to reduce air pollution.

They have visited 982 food processing factories and in their six recommendations, they emphasised ash management and proper instalment and management of broiler and generator.  

A number of 152 readymade garments and 224 textile factories have been inspected during the time. 

For textile industries, BIDA recommended installing a dust collector on the production floor and a separate certificate from environment authorities for a captive power plant. All readymade garments or factories should have showcased the evacuation plan for any fire incident at the entrance so that every worker and official would know where to go and how.

Visiting 89 electrical and electronics factories, 60 re-rolling mills and 66 agriculture farms, they have made several recommendations including the instalment of heat detectors, smoke detectors and multi detectors.  

The inspection teams have made element base recommendations in five categories – fire safety, electrical wearing safety, structural safety, machinery safety and environmental safety. 

Besides, the building containing the boiler must have a fire protection system at least for two hours, the inspection teams recommended. The teams also recommended easing the licensing process and conducting fire safety drills every six months. 

Most of its recommendations have been included in sector and term-based recommendations. 

Shopping malls come next  

After completing the inspection of factories and commercial buildings, BIDA is now set to inspect the safety measures at shopping malls in urban areas.  

“We have visited 5,206 factories and commercial spaces in the first stage, and we are planning to inspect over 5,000 factories and commercial spaces. We have already started our necessary preparations and hope to start the second phase as early as possible,” Sirazul Islam said. BIDA Director Arifur Rahman said that they are now preparing for the second stage. The BIDA authorities recommended providing a certificate and renewal certificate through a One Stop Service (OSS). 

The national committee on workplace safety was formed following a tragic fire at the Hashem Foods factory in Narayanganj that left over 50 dead last year.