For the first time in any global supply chain, genuinely independent inspections of garment factories are identifying and correcting life safety hazards that have killed hundreds of Bangladesh garment workers in recent years. The inspections have generated public reports with photographs of hazards and lists of the mandatory corrective actions with timelines – and a dozen factories have been temporarily evacuated because the structurally unsound factories posed an immediate threat to workers, supervisors and managers.
The “Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety” began regular inspections in February 2014 and is scheduled to complete fire, electrical and structural integrity inspections of 1,800 garment factories by November. The public reports of these inspections, including photos of hazards like cracked columns, damaged electrical and locked fire exits, are posted on the Accord’s website, www.bangladeshaccord.org.