The Collapse of Rana Plaza

24 APRIL 2013 TOTAL OF 1,134 DEATHS Major Disaster

Page |1 FACULTY OF ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT OF CHEMICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING UNIVERSITI PUTRA MALAYSIA ECH 3602 SAFETY AND RISK ASSESSMENT MAJOR DISASTER RANA PLAZA COLLAPSE, DHAKA EPORTFOLIO Prepared by Group: 14 NAME MATRICS NO. Group members: 197080 198681 NO. 200124 198742 1. Noor Ainina Syafrina Noor Aizam 2. Nurazliyani Jamaluddin 3. Nor Fadhilah Mohd Tahir 4. Nazeera Zukernain

Page |2TABLE OF 4. CONTENTS 1 BACKGROUND 2 THE CAUSES 3 PROCESS HAZARD 4 IMPACTS 5 THE ACTIONS TAKEN 6 PUBLIC PERCEPTION 7 CONCLUSION

Page |3 BACKGROUND Bangladesh is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of garments. Rana Plaza is one of garment factories in Bangladesh that produces apparel for big brands such as Prada, Gucci, Primark, Walmart and many more. The Rana Plaza building or otherwise called Savar building is an eight-story commercial building. There were clothing factories, a bank, apartments, and several other shops. Figure 1: Brands that Rana Plaza factories supply for The owner of the Rana Plaza building is Sohel Rana who is allegedly the leader of the local Jubo League unit. The 35-year-old Mr Rana was identified as the archetypal Bangladeshi muscleman, known locally as a \"mastan\" or heavy neighborhood. His authority, power and resources came from supplying local officials with muscle. He took advantage of his title to conduct his illegal businesses. Rana Plaza was originally being acquired jointly between Sohel Rana’s father and Rabindranath Sarkar, the co-owner of building. However, Sohel Rana and his father took the land forcibly from Rabindranath to get full ownership.

Page |4 On 24th April Rana Plaza collapsed in Dhaka, Bangladesh, killing more than 1,100 garment workers. This gained worldwide attention in areas of the 2013, worldwide supply chain. It also raised the question of what could be done to improve working conditions, especially for low-wage workers developed countries worker in developing countries around the world. According to press reports, on the day of the building collapse employees arrived and saw cracks outside the building where five manufacturing operations were trying to reach production deadlines for clothing goods on the U.S. and European Union (EU) markets. Management allegedly informed them that the building was secure and threatened staff that they would not be compensated if they did not operate. An hour before the building collapsed. It was marked the worst disaster in the history of the textile industry. Figure 2: Rana Plaza building before collapse Figure 3: Rana Plaza building after collapse

Page |5 THE CAUSES The main causes of this tragedy firstly are from crack to collapse. According to media reports, Rana Plaza staff saw cracks in a massive structure the day before the collapse, but the authorities did not take any precautionary measures. The owner of the building, Sohel Rana, reportedly told the media on the same day that cracks were \"no extreme\" and on 24 April, the day of the deadly incident, employees were forced to work and threatened with a month's pay cut if they did not comply. All this in a country with the lowest minimum wage in the world. Secondly, illegal building extension. Emdadul Islam, Chief Engineer of the State-run Capital Development Authority, told the media that the owner of the building had not obtained the proper building consent to obtain a permit for only a five-story building from the local municipality. However, the building was unlawfully expanded by a further three floors to a total of eight — an act overlooked by the authorities due to Rana 's political links. Figure 4: The Hose of Cards

Page |6 PROCESS HAZARD Process hazard is a presence of a stored or connected material or energy with inherent characteristics having the potential for causing loss or harm. There are three type of process hazard which are: 1 Material Hazards 2 Energy Hazards 3 Chemical Interaction Hazards The process hazard that exist for the case of Rana Plaza collapse is energy hazard. Energy hazard is defining as any electrical, mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic, chemical, nuclear, thermal, gravitational or other energy that can cause loss and harm. There are some generators in the building and the machine itself can cause harm and loss when they were put on the crack structure in the building. The generators weighed several metric tons each and they contain mechanical energy as the work is done by the machine. When the generators turned on, the continuous vibration from the generators produce kinetic energy and the vibration pulsed through the building that contained over three thousand workers and other industrial machines. The vibration of the generators causes the crack structure of the building to collapse. Therefore, vibration of the machines is the inherent characteristic that can cause harm and loss. Other than that, electrical energy in the machine can also cause loss and harm but for the case of Rana Plaza collapse the vibration of the machine cause the building to collapse.

Page |7 IMPACTS The incident has cause a huge impact to those that were involved. Garments workers across rioted in the industrial areas of Dhaka, Chittagong and Gazipur two days after the collapse targeting vehicles and factories. Protest then happened where thousands of protesting workers marched through central Dhaka on the International Worker’s Day to demand safer working conditions and Sohel Rana’s death penalty. Furthermore,18 garment plants, including 16 in Dhaka and two in Chittagong, were closed down after the incident. Textile minister, Abdul Latif Siddique, reports that as part of strict new steps to ensure protection, more plants will be shut down. Seven inspectors were suspended on 10 June and charged with negligence for renewing apparel factory licenses in the collapsed building. Besides that, some workers were experiencing a severe post-traumatic stress after the collapse. A sixteen-year- old Sabina who was forced to work to support her younger sisters and parents is traumatized by the collapse, and she doesn’t want to go back working at the garment factory. Furthermore, the tragedy has also causes families to not having any source of income and children are forced to drop out of school to help supports their family. A mother whose arm was amputated after the incident and his husband who also suffers chronic health condition is no longer able to work. Thus, young children are pressure to work to help their parents and supports the family. A memorial for the disaster was inaugurated on the Figure 5: The Crude Statue 30th August by injured workers and family members of those who died there along with workers’ rights activists, a crude statue of two hands thrusting towards the sky grabbing a hammer and sickle.

Page |8 THE ACTIONS TAKEN There are several actions were taken after the building collapsed. Early rescue efforts were conducted by local people who emerged as first responders before army soldiers arrived on the scene. Rescuers dug survivors out with their bare hands and cut the limbs of those who trapped under the slabs of concrete with hacksaws and no anesthetic. Victims were taken to Enam Medical College and Hospital, less than a mile away from the collapse site. Figure 6: Survivors were dug out with bare hands Furthermore, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina declared a national day of mourning after the building collapsed. The day after the Rana Plaza building collapsed, Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Capital Development Authority) filed a case against the owners of the building and the five garment factories operating inside it and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina ordered to arrest Sohel Rana and the owners of the five garment factories who leased the building. Four days after the building collapsed, the owner of the Rana Plaza, Sohel Rana, was arrested at Benapole, Jessore District by security forces. Two government engineers were also arrested. This is because the engineers responsible for the construction and maintenance of the building were found to violate the following National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) codes of ethics.

Page |9 Moreover, while bodies were being identified, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina announced a compensation package for families that were being killed and workers at the building. The government and garment association were compiling a list of surviving employees to establish who must be paid and compensated. Next, 18 garment plants, including 16 in Dhaka and two in Chittagong, were closed down. Textile minister, Abdul Latif Siddique, told reporters that more plants would be shut as part of strict new measures to ensure safety. Finally, Bangladesh garment workers and their advocates have made inroads in 2018. A report released by Mark Anner, director of the Center for Global Workers’ Rights at Penn State, the accord has made more than 2.5 million laborers safer. The Accord was created to enable a working environment in which no worker needs to fear fires, building collapses, or other accidents that could be prevented with reasonable health and safety measures. Under the terms of the Accord, the signatories agree to establish a fire and building safety program in Bangladesh within a period of five years. The Accord specifically deals with safety in the Bangladesh Ready-Made Garment firms that are a part of the supply chains of the signatory corporations. The Accord aims to improve fire and building safety by means of safety inspections. The risks highlighted in the inspections require remedies, for which funding will be made available by the signatory companies and others. Factory managers, workers, and security staff will be trained to enable them to voice concerns and to actively participate in activities to ensure their own safety. As a result of the accord, 97,000 of 132,000 hazards at factories in Bangladesh have been eliminated.

P a g e | 10 PUBLIC PERCEPTION After this disastrous incident, many reactions can be seen and observed from the public. The perception towards this incident comes not only from the locals but also from people all around the world. Most of them are questioning about how this illegally constructed building passed the safety inspection before it caused a major catastrophe and killed more than 1100 people. The questions and perceptions that circulating not just pointed to ethical and moral, but also the legal responsibility of the Western companies and institution that put pressure on these garment industries. From the local’s perspectives, they were not even surprise when Rana Plaza collapse. They also marched along the street of Dhaka to seek for justice as they lost their love ones. said a single mother who was a sewing operator at the fifth floor of the building. Living in a poor condition, even though the locals know that the building was not safe, they had to work as they afraid if they did not, they would not be paid at the end of the month. While for the managers, they thought that it was too risky to stop all the operations since many US and European retailers kept demanding and pressuring this garment industry to deliver the goods on time. Indeed, loss event happen as people dare to face dangerous situation to make living. Besides, a survey was conducted by Bangladeshi engineers had found that around more than 50% of garment industry buildings in Bangladesh are at risk of collapse. This is because many factories were built during 1980s with no architectural drawing at all. Plus, Bangladesh had many problems regarding police employment right capacity that were at stack, lacking of health and safety

P a g e | 11 measures and building standards. Hence, the internal dysfunctionality and deficiency may lead to undesired event, so, improving the internal issue will reduce the likelihood of a major loss event. Moreover, the collapse had brought the public interest and attention world widely to death-trap workplaces within garment industry. This resulted in more political pressure to change which led to the establishment of the Accord of Fire and Safety Building. Due to this Accord, an online petition was organized by Avaaz, a human rights group with the title ‘Crushed to Make Our Clothes’ which gathers one million signatures from around the world to pressure the biggest buyer of Bangladeshi-made clothes, H&M and Gap Inc. to sign the Accord. Unfortunately, H&M did not respond. Avaaz then increase up the pressure by launching a campaign featuring a photo of CEO of H&M, Karl-Johan alongside a young Bangladeshi woman in tears. The solidarity that shown by Avaaz had indirectly helped the locals as a medium for the voices to be heard to fight for their rights. Figure 7: Photo from Avaaz following the Rana Plaza building collapse in Bangladesh. 5 years after the Rana Plaza building collapse, the locals are still living in the perception that when the Accord of Fire and Building Safety expired, all will return to how it was. “The labor law in this country is pro-owner, not pro-worker”, said Mr. Hridoy, the survivor of the collapse. It becomes one of the reasons why the safety in the industries are still questionable. On the other hand, the memories of the collapse are still haunting the survivors where in 2015 and 2016, two of them committed suicide by hanging themselves in living rooms. It can be seen that this incident also affecting the survivor’s mental health as they may suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

P a g e | 12 CONCLUSION In conclusion, there are so many things that can be learned from this incident. First, the upper management should not be taken lightly when there are some deviations from the normal condition. This is because it is the starting point of accidental event where the major accident can be prevented if risk analysis is considered. Besides, cutting cost does not mean to sacrifice the safety of the workers. The industry itself must show its commitment to change, not just only think about profit but also the welfare of the workers along with the effort from the government to improve the structural and fire safety. Moreover, there are many ethical issues regarding the garment industries have been debated ever since the collapse such as the minimum wage of the workers is incomparable with their working hours and the fast fashion trend effects on environment. Public should be more aware of this issue and start to consider on supporting fast fashion industries so that the garment industries will stop to exploit the locals for their own profit. All in all, the safety comes first; hazard avoidance and control measures should be applied and ensure industries follow the standard safety specifications.

P a g e | 13REFERENCES 1. Islam, S. M. S. B. (2013, May 3). Profile: Rana Plaza owner Mohammad Sohel Rana. BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia- 22366454 2. Reason and responsibility: The Rana Plaza collapse. (2013, May 9). OpenDemocracy. https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/opensecurity/reason-and- responsibility-rana-plaza-collapse/ 3.Thomas, D. (2018). Why Won't We Learn from the Survivors of the Rana Plaza Disaster. The New York Times. Retrieved 2020, from https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/24/style/survivors-of-rana- plaza-disaster.html 4.Ashfaquzzaman, Mir, \"Analyzing Rana Plaza crisis discourse from a postcolonial perspective: Implications for identity and crisis communication studies\" (2017). Dissertations and Theses @ UNI. 471. 5.North, A. (2013, May 14). Dhaka Rana Plaza collapse: Pressure tells on retailers and government. BBC News. Retrieved 2020, from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-22525431 6.Chao, R. (2013, May 16). Dhaka factory collapse: How far can businesses be held responsible? The Guardian. Retrieved 2020, from https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/dhaka-factory- collapse-businesses-held-responsible 7.Accord on Fire and Building Safety In Bangladesh. (n.d.). Safe Workplace. Retrieved from https://bangladeshaccord.org/ 8.2013 Dhaka garment factory collapse. (2020). In Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_Dhaka_garment_factory_collapse 9.A Case Study of the Collapse of Rana Building. (n.d.). Eddu saver. Retrieved from https://www.eddusaver.com/a-case-study-of-the- collapse-of-rana-building/ 10. Huq, C. (2013, June 25). Aftermath of the Rana Plaza Tragedy: Social and Health Issues Emerge Amid Struggle for Workers’ Rights. Law at the Margins. Retrieved from https://lawatthemargins.com/aftermath-of- the-rana-plaza-tragedy-social-and-health-issues-emerge-amid- struggle-for-workers-rights/