The Accord will inspect 200 more garment factories that were added to its list after completion of its initial assessment in September last, sources said. On December 17 last, the Accord sought a proposal from the interested firms for carrying out fire, electrical and structural integrity assessment of 100 to 200 garment factories, they added. Accord, the European Union-based group with over 190 members including H&M and Inditex, rolled out its initial safety inspection in February 2014 and completed assessment of some 1,103 factories in September last, they said. Factories that were added by signatory companies to the Accord’s factory list after August 15 last year remained outside initial inspection purview. The platform was formed to ensure workplace safety in the country’s apparel industry for a period of five years following the Tazreen and the Rana Plaza tragedies that killed more than 1,200 workers. “We will hire engineering firms to inspect the additional newly-listed factories. The selection process is near completion and these inspections will commence within the next couple of weeks,” Rob Wayss, executive director of the Accord told the FE. At present, the Accord has some 38 full-time permanent local engineers, he said. Besides, firms would be hired to do reviewing and approving of structural detailed engineering analyses (DEA), designs of fire alarm and sprinkler systems of inspected factories, to conduct verification work at inspected factories and provide technical support to/field queries from the factory owners and brands in executing remediation, he explained. Replying to a question, he said all factories supplying to signatory companies must be disclosed by the companies to the Accord and will be inspected regardless whether it has a direct sourcing relationship or through a buyer/agent/authorized subcontract. After each factory is inspected for fire, electrical and structural safety, factory owners and signatory companies will develop a Corrective Action Plan (CAP), which will be published online after approval by the Accord. So far, about 750 CAPs have been finalised and the rest are in process of being finalised, the Accord ED added. According to its official website, some 541 CAPs were published after approval. The Accord has a team of engineers who are monitoring progress and verifying implementation of CAPs through follow-up visits. The team has done follow-up inspection at over 200 factories, it said adding 73 CAPs were updated after follow-up inspection reports. After its initial assessment, the Accord said it had found more than 80,000 safety hazards in its assessed garment factories. The Accord inspections have also identified more substantial safety requirements, such as installing fire doors and automated fire alarm systems, establishing fire protected exits from factory buildings, and strengthening columns in the buildings. In its monthly update, the Accord said over 11,000 safety issues have been remediated and they would be verified by the Accord engineers during their follow up inspections and will then be marked as complete in the CAPs on the Accord website.
