Introduction - Uttaron Technologies

Fire Safety in Work Places
o Root Causes Finding o Recommendations o Capacity Building
Apartment 402, Cinfigure Shadhona, 3E South Kallyanpur, Dhaka- 1207, Bangladesh. Hotline- 0167 8631 636 email: info@uttaron-technologies.com Web: www.uttaron.webs.com
UTTARON
TECHNOLOGIES
General Supply and Engineering Solutions
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Introduction
Uttaron Technologies from its inception in 1995 is doing all sorts of Engineering Works including consultancy for various types of clients. With the recent development in concept and meaning of safety, UT has started factory inspections since last three years. Which is a new concept but fundamentally it is an implementation of the expertise in a systematic way only. Following the rules, codes and guidelines is must to avoid any sorts of disaster causes from fire due to unplanned installation, maintenance and follow-up. UT does the assessments in compliance with the regulations, prepare the report with the list of areas to improve and provide guidelines to build the capacity to mitigate the disasters within the limitations. UT finds the weak areas, where to concentrate for an installation. Weakness, itself is a vast in meaning. We defined the weakness for the factories in a systematic way. Generally the incident for garments manufacturing factories indicates the following issues to concentrate, still prevalent in many units. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Congested, non-ventilated, ill-lit, hot and humid Escape route are crammed with work-tops and combustible materials Improper wiring and electrical design, illegal connections Absence of Fire Marshals Careless smoking and heating habits
Consideration during Assessment

UT has developed the way to approach the shortfalls of this RMG industry in Bangladesh. In the assessment phase the following things are addressed 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. Effective implementation of inadequate legislation Building plan Unauthorized change in building use Provision of single operational staircase Presence of escape routes and hindrance of escape by congestion and sealed exits Presence of security measures driven to extremes, causing safety hazards Presence of waste disposal and maintenance pattern Use of combustible materials for finish and interior works Smoking habits Use of heat appliances Installation and operation of electrical connections and equipment Maintenance pattern of electrical installations Presence of emergency training and drill involving employees Presence of adequate detection and alarm systems Presence of appropriate notices, signs and symbols Accessibility into the buildings to fight the fire General awareness regarding the dangers of fire
Apartment 402, Configure Shadhona, 3E South Kallyanpur, Dhaka- 1207, Bangladesh. Hotline- 0167 8631 636 email: info@uttaron-technologies.com Web: www.uttaron.webs.com
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Methodology
A fire hazard is anything that may cause a fire to start. List the fire hazards including building facilities, electrical short circuits, ignition, fuel, and oxygen sources. In a garments factory it may include boiler room, stores, raw materials, heater, laundry, gas cylinder, and oven, etc. Mitigating the hazards, the following steps are done a. Electrical System This cluster is for Electrical Network starting from the substation/power plant to the nodes, where the equipments, accessories, machines and appliances are connected. i. Electrical Drawing- Checking the electrical drawing and to give unique identity of each and every individual component in the network. Where there is absence of electrical drawings, our Engineer prepares a single line diagram to ease the whole process ii. Thermography- Thermal Imaging of the control points and main cables iii. Actual condition of the network Measuring of Loads, Voltages in different nodes and control switches Measuring of OFF Load and ON Load Currents Measuring of leakage current Insulation resistance checking Earth resistance checking Selection of cables, wires and breakers are compared with charts Physical checking of the electrical joints and connection on the basis of thermal images Power analyzing may required to understand the overall power quality from the commercial source. This will facilitate the understanding on various component of the power that using by the factory iv. Checking the competence of the Engineers and Electricians- Educational background and experiences are checked to find the eligibility to carry out the assigned responsibilities. Also the habit of using PPE and awareness of the personnel on following the safety measures are evaluated. b. Fire Safety This cluster is for the finding the risks to fire, availability of fighting equipments, creating awareness, building and training a team to act in emergency i. Identify and listing the following issues ii. Checking the log, data sheet or information to understand the pattern of using of boiler, heater, gas cylinder, oven any other hazarders accessories or appliances for developing a guideline complying to the codes and regulations iii. General cleanliness- Whether accumulation of rubbish can cause fire by being ignited iv. Functional hazard- Whether process and use of any machinery can cause fire v. Smoking behavior- Whether 'No Smoking' sign is strictly observed, and whether smoking habits are increasing the possibility of a fire vi. New Materials- Whether new materials have been included which might have an adverse effect on Fire Load
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vii. Training of staff- Whether staff has been trained to take charge during any emergency, to operate fire-fighting equipment, etc. viii. Fire Drill- Whether drills are held at least twice a year in which all the workers and staff takes part. ix. Warning and alarm system- Whether installed, operational and understood x. Firefighting equipment- Whether the condition of extinguisher, sprinkler system, hose reels, etc. meet safety requirements xi. Means of Escape- Whether requisite number of doors and outlets are in operation for timely escape by all workers and staff; whether aisles, corridors, lounge, lobby and foyer are clear of any furniture, material, rubbish, etc. xii. Assembly Point- Whether a safe assembly point, sufficient to accommodate all the workers and staff, has been earmarked and displayed as such within safe distance from the factory xiii. Fire Services: Whether the telephone number of the Fire Services is known and whether the telephone system is reliable and accessible to the staff during any emergency xiv. Listing the people who are at risk from fire or smoke. Identifying where people would be stationed in case of fire and who specifically at risk. xv. Design for fire safety: A good and safe factory building should meet the following (list is not exhaustive) Capacity: number of workers will determine number of doors, size of entry/exits Layout: volume per person, aisle width, floor finish and distance to exit should meet standards; congestion should not impede escape Building and finish materials: determines Fire Load Emergency Lighting: to make escape possible when power is cut off in a fire Means of Escape: each person should be able to escape to a place of safety unaided within 2.5 minutes of starting a fire Number and location of fire extinguishers: based on size and proper utilization of spaces Sprinkler system: depending on risk, space should have an overhead sprinkler system Early detection and warning systems: Smoke detectors, prerequisite for maximum safety City Traffic: location of the factory, its surroundings, neighboring land-use, traffic congestion, pattern and behavior, width and turning radii of roads, over-bridge clearance, etc. Water requirement: availability of water, size of reservoir, type of riser (dry/wet) Assembly Point: place for escapees to assemble so that every person supposed to be in the factory building can be accounted for, drill c. Building Envelope (Factory Building) This cluster is for inspecting existing buildings, emphasis is laid on the following: i. Visit the site / building physically ii. Collect the layout & structural drawings if any or take interview of Engineer / Mason who have done the job during construction or physically take the structural members dimension iii. Knowing the production of concrete and its strength if sample test done.
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iv. Reinforcement/ Ms bar tensile strength. v. Collect the soil report or execute sub soil investigation. vi. Past use of the different floor (s) vii. Age- how many years it is constructed viii. Building design, addition and/or alteration- Whether any change has been made to the building since it received planning permission, either structurally or with regards to finish materials, number of exits, size of exits, etc. ix. Number of workers- Whether number has increased x. Then execute the calculation of different structural members with its stability d. Tools, Codes and Regulations- Using of calibrated certified world class equipment is one of the factors, which makes us different from the others. We follow the BNBC (Bangladesh National Building Code), BER (Bangladesh Electricity Rules 1937), IEC ( International Electrotechnical Commission), NEMA standards (National Electrical Manufacturer Association), IEEE (The Institute of Electronics and Electrical Engineers), NFPA Codes (National Fire Protection Association, USA), BS (British Standards), Different guidelines from Local Fire and Civil Defense Authority, Best Engineering Practice and CoC (Clients Code of Conduct) e. Record findings to implement them.
Improvement on findings
Depending on the findings at assessment level, improvement as per codes and regulations may required at following levels to mitigate any fire incidents 1. Detection/Notification: System building on finding out that there is a fire, as early as possible, letting all building occupants know about it, and notifying fire service to respond. 2. Emergency Egress (escape): Ensuring on having ways to exit the building safely and to make sure everyone is out. 3. Incipient Suppression: Ensuring the presence of automatic sprinkler systems, fire hoses (provided water is available) and portable fire extinguishers that can put the fire out in its early stage (i.e. within 3 minutes). 4. Electrical System: Starting from the substation (electricity entrance or generating point) to user points may need some up-gradation, rewiring, redesigning, etc. and 5. Changing, rectification or replacement of any process, system, layout, and etc. as per requirement. 6. Evaluate the risk and decide on precautions. The risk is the chance (high, medium, or low) of starting a fire at any place without notice. Decide what is being done or can be done to reduce or remove the risk. 7. Review on implementation
Capacity Building
Findings from the assessment and improvement phases, there might be numerous recommendations to improve the overall safety of the factories. The management will need to focus on the following issues to ensure the overall safety of the factory as well as the workers and financial loses.
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1. Factory Building- Base on the findings, recommendation(s) will be incorporated in the report. Some of them might be a major capital expenditure and some them might be a minor renovation. Giving the priority on the urgency and risk, execution plan should be followed as per recommendation from assessment and improvement phases. 2. Electrical Safety- There might be a need of replacing controls, gears, modification, renovation, rewiring, etc., which need to be executed as per following the recommendations prepared on codes and regulations. Moreover, proper training sought to the existing staff for a better response. 3. Fire Safety- Base on the findings, recommendation(s) will be incorporated in the report. A complete list of existing equipment, new requirement basis on building envelope and numbers of workers and nature of uses will ease the management on further investment. Report will includes the following i. Guideline on Train all workers on such procedures to take charge during any emergency, to operate fire-fighting equipment, etc. ii. Capacitate management to run such training in the future at least twice a year in which all the workers and staff takes part. iii. Identify and train a corps of fire safety marshals to assist in case of fire iv. Preparing a comprehensive guideline to capacitate management and marshals in regular record keeping (safety check list, drills, etc.) in line with international standards 4. Core Team- Identifying a team consisting members from Engineering and Management group to keep continuous monitoring on implementation the recommendations and rectification. This group will ensure the overall safety issues by following the recommended codes and regulations with a close coordination to the consultant. This group may define as Safety Committee. Size of the committee depends on the numbers of the workers and volume of the factory.
Timing
Example: A 5 (Five) storied factory building having area of 50,000 Sft. Floor area will require at least 42 (Forty Two) man days from the kickoff of the project to submitting the report to the authority. Appendix-10 enclosed.
Milestone
A factory considered in to three parts i.e. Building Structure, Electrical System and Fire Safety issues. Milestone for each cluster of action is as below. Building Structure= 6 (Six) Man days Electrical System= 16 (Sixteen) Man days Fire Safety= 8 (Eight) Man days
Deliverable
After proper assessment and consequent survey on the total installation the following documents, information will be prepared and presented to the management for further review and ease the modification, rectification and renovation works for each area. 1. Building Health Compiling all data and information gathered from calculation and physical verification a SUMMARY OF THE FINDING will be included in the report submission focusing on the following issues. Structural Strength
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Building is sound or not for further modification or extension Recommendation on any further improvements, modification and extension 2. Electrical Safety Grouping the risks in the category of High, Medium and Low Hazards and physical existing condition of the Electrical Network a SUMMARY OF THE FINDING will be included in the report submission focusing on the following issues to ease the further initiatives for the corrective measures. Single Line Drawing, if previously not present at site Thermography Report for easy locating the faults Classification of Hazards supported by captured pictures Measurement Data sheet Recommendation on strengthening the capability of the existing staff and new recruitment if required 3. Fire Safety Grouping the risks in the category of High, Medium and Low and physical existing condition of the fire safety issue a SUMMARY OF THE FINDING will be included in the report submission focusing on the following issues to ease the further initiatives for the corrective measures. Data on existing physical condition of the systems and equipments Recommendation(s) on aligning the existing system with the conformity to the codes and regulations List of the system(s) or equipments to meet the conformity to the codes and regulations to ensure the full proof safety List of the potential staff to be trained Guideline and schedule on training the selected staffs Guidelines and plan for the staff and workers to follow in emergency Providing the format for the record keeping
Contingency
Deliverable may delayed due to following issues Absent of proper information and desired documents Natural disasters Road Blockage Instability at factory level due to workers vexation Any unwanted situation beyond control
Budget
A factory is not only a structure of iron, brick, sands and cement; whenever we said its an envelope having thousands of lives in it then the meaning is something different where there is no excuse on any issue relates to the safety of those lives. Costs varies on area and loads, which need pr-assessments before submitting.
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Key Personnel
UT has its own team to conduct the inspections and preparing the report. In addition to these in house trained staff, we have a panel consisting of senior and vast experienced and dedicated personnel to guide and review each and every step from the inception to the finishing of the projects. Our honourable panel members name is as below and the CVs are attached as per number of annexure. 1. Sayem U Ahammed M.Sc. Electrical and Telecomm Engg, MBA CEO, Uttaron Technologies Expert on Electro-Mechanical Engineering issues Project Head 2. Colonel Tajul Islam Ghani (Retired) M.Sc. HRM, MBA Expert on Health and Security issues Team Member Social and OSH Compliance Audit 3. Md. Mahmudul Alam B.Sc. Civil Engineering Expert on Building Construction issues Team Member- Building Safety Audit 4. Mohammad Mamun Choudhury B.Sc. Electrical & Electronics Engineering Expert on Fire Fighting & Safety issues Team Leader- Fire Safety Audit 5. Utpal Kumar dey B.Sc. Civil Engineering Expert on Structural Design issues Team Leader- Building Safety Audit 6. Shameem Ahmed Masters in Sociology, Expert on Social and OHS Compliance Team Leader- Social and OSH Compliance Audit
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Reference of Previous Works

UT has successfully completed safety inspection in different factories. Below is the name, where we have completed the inspections. This inspection was done with a team approach consisting of different partners. Realizing the neediness and effectiveness of such inspection, UT has now all the experts to provide a One Point Service. Due to confidentiality, we are not providing any contact details for the factories we inspected. One may wish to talk to the factories to know the benefits in terms of safety they received from us. Name of some valued among many is mentioned below, where we conducted the Electrical inspection successfully in recent past. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. Ha-Meem Group- Thats It Fashion, Head Office, AGL Fashions Medler Apparels Unique Garments Pacific Jeans Ltd. Jeans 2000 Ltd. Universal Jeans Ltd. MBM Garments Ltd. Akij Foods and Beverage Ltd. Opex Sinha Group- WG-01, WG-02, WG-03, WG-04, Wash Building, Security Bldg.,SDFL, SYDFL, etc Dressmen Ltd. Sunman Group Standard Group Epic Garments Peninsula Garments Denimach Golden Horizon Artistic Design Ltd. Sparrow Apparels Ltd. Ratul Knitwear Ratul Fabrics Radial International Comfit Composite Knit Ltd. Unit- 1, 2, 3 Shin Shin Apparels Ltd. Dekko Knitwear Ltd. Epyllion Knitwear Ltd. Vision Apparels Ltd. Vision Composite Ltd. Bengal Hurricane Ltd. Miami Apparels Ltd. AST Knitwear Ltd. Arabi Fashions Ltd. Arva Textile Ltd. Islam Garments Ltd. Fakir Fashions ltd.
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35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. 51. 52. 53. 54. 55. 56. 57. 58. 59. 60.
Primkie Apparels Ltd. Vintage Denim Ltd. Unilever Bangladesh Ltd. TRZ Garments Burtz Group Kuanton Apparels SQ Birichina Birds Garments Comfit Composit Unit-3 Fakir Fashions Ltd. Amazon Garments Ltd. Durable Plastic- Concern of Pran Group Kimia Complex Ananta Garments Liz Complex Bando Fashions Ltd. Zuma Fashions Ltd. Kuliarchar Sweaters Industries Ltd. Arunima Apparels Ltd. Garments Export Village Ltd. Delta Composite Knitting Ltd. Midland Fashions Ltd. Zinnat Garments Ltd. Pioneer Sweaters Ltd. Mascotex Ltd. Dragon Sweater

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Introduction - Uttaron Technologies

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Fire Safety in Work Places

o Root Causes Finding o Recommendations o Capacity Building

Consideration during Assessment

Reference of Previous Works

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