The Rana Plaza building collapse in 2013 was the deadliest garment factory accident in history, killing over 1,000 people. The eight-story building housed garment factories and other shops. It collapsed due to unsafe construction practices, including the illegal addition of extra floors and use of low quality materials. Inspectors had found cracks in the building the day before but workers were ordered to return. Investigations found that vibrations from heavy machinery, an unstable foundation on reclaimed land, and overcrowding likely contributed to the structural failure. Many warning signs had been ignored in the rush to produce cheap clothes for global brands.

1. Bangladesh
The Rana Plaza Tragedy
Submitted by: Manjot Kaur
C0718546
Rajjat Chanotra
C0703193

2. Background:
 Bangladesh is one of the world's
most densely populated
countries
 Poverty is deep and widespread
 The country is trying to
diversify its economy
 High expectations are forced on
the factories with little time,
and small budget
 40% of the population is
underemployed
 work is only for a few hours a
week.

3. Rana Plaza, where clothes were made
 Rana Plaza, Eight storied unstructured building
 The prospect of Bangladesh garment industry
 The garments industry accounted for 13% of GDP of Bangladesh
 Single largest source of exports which is around 78%
 12% of BD women is employed in garments industry
 Many Leading fashion brands sourced items from Bangladesh
 Several reactions occurred to the tragedy
 Consumers BGMEA Global Labor Activities BD Government US
Government

4. What happened on 24 April 2013
 an eight-story commercial building, collapsed in
the Greater Dhaka Area, the capital of Bangladesh.
 The search for the dead ended on 13 May with the
death toll of 1,129.
 Approximately 2500 injured people were rescued
from the building alive.
 On Wednesday 24 April morning there was a power
cut and diesel generators on the top floor were
started.
 The building collapsed at about 08:57am, leaving
only the ground floor intact.
 3,122 workers were in the building at the time of
the collapse.
 It is considered to be the deadliest garment-
factory accident in history, as well as the deadliest
accidental structural failure in modern human
history.

5. Risk and Hazards Involved
Building site
 collapse blamed on swampy ground and heavy
machinery
 Rana Plaza was built on, the "extremely poor quality"
construction materials (Building owner Sohel Rana used
poor quality iron rods and cement)
 massive, vibrating equipment were operating above the
ground floor
 A portion of the building was constructed on land which
had been a body of water before and was filled with
rubbish
Illegal building extensions
 Rana had added two floors illegally so he could rent
them out to garment factories
 the building was not built for industrial use
 vibrations contributed to the building collapse.

6. What was ignored?
 The building contained clothing factories, a bank, apartments, and several
other shops.
 The shops and the bank on the lower floors immediately closed after cracks
were discovered in the building.
 Workers had been complaining about cracks in the building for weeks. And
the day before it collapsed there was even a formal safety inspection
 Garment workers were ordered to return the following day and the building
collapsed during the morning rush-hour.

7. What is Engineering Failure?
 Engineering failure is
something designed by
an engineer that fails
to complete its
purpose of existence
and lead to disasters.

8. What were the Causes of Engineering
Failure?
 an investigation conducted by the Home Ministry found several problem which
led to the engineering failure:
 It was partially constructed on a water body.
 The Bangladesh National Building Code was not followed.
 Inferior quality construction materials were used
 Though the building was designed for six storeys, Savar City Corporation gave
the owner permission to add four additional floors.
 A tenth floor was under construction at the time of the collapse

9. Contd.’
 Despite being designed for commercial use, the third to eighth floors housed
garment factories, each of which used heavy machinery not considered in the
structural design.
 The building also had large generators on the top floors, the weight and
vibration of which had contributed to the collapse
 Inadequate consideration of the effect of surrounding systems (eg. Vibration
frequencies, corrosion due to specific metals contacting, effect of
electromagnetic interference, etc.)
 Extreme conditions or environments, and, most commonly and importantly
combinations of these reasons.

10. Were they identified before/after
 Officials have blamed the collapse on shoddy construction methods. The upper
four floors of the plaza, for example, were reportedly constructed illegally
without permits, and a crack was seen on the building exterior a day before the
collapse. The building was not built in compliance with the safety rules and
regulations.
 The building was also situated, like most recent buildings in the Dhaka region, on
a former watercourse.
 Overcrowding and machine vibrations alongside illegal construction and
manufacturing created instability and ultimately circumstances for the collapse.
 Just a day before the collapse, the building was briefly evacuated when cracks
appeared in the walls. However, workers were later allowed back in or told to
return by the factory owners.

11.  Preliminary findings suggest vibrations from four
giant generators on the compound's upper floors
triggered the collapse.
 Rana Plaza's architect, Massood Reza, said the
building was planned for shops and offices – but
not factories, noting the structure was potentially
not strong enough to bear the weight and
vibration of heavy machinery.

13.  On 23 April 2013, a TV channel recorded footage that
showed cracks in the Rana Plaza building. Immediately
afterward, the building was evacuated, and the shops and
the bank on the lower floors were closed. Later in the
day, Sohel Rana said to the media that the building was
safe and workers should return to work next day.
Managers at Ether Tex threatened to withhold a month's
pay from workers who refused to come to work.

14.  From photos of the scene, it also appears as if sections of
the plaza were still under construction when the disaster
happened. Some floors lacked walls, for example, and
exposed columns with protruding rebar are visible on the
upper levels."It looks like the building was partially built
and used, "Occupying a building under construction is just
a recipe for disaster."

15. References:
 https://www.opendemocracy.net/opensecurity/william-gomes/reason-and-
responsibility-rana-plaza-collapse
 https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/04/25/bangladesh-
collapse-factories/2111803/
 http://www.latimes.com/world/asia/la-fg-bangladesh-rana-plaza-collapse-
guide-htmlstory.html
 http://www.spiegel.de/fotostrecke/photo-gallery-how-demand-for-cheap-
clothes-turned-deadly-fotostrecke-98719-2.html
 https://prezi.com/s6x5wzdhdwlf/rana-plaza-case-study-factory-
management/
 https://www.gov.uk/government/case-studies/the-rana-plaza-disaster
 http://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-22891840/how-bangladesh-factory-
safety-concerns-were-ignored
 https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/may/31/rana-plaza-
bangladesh-collapse-fashion-working-conditions