Rana Plaza

1. Rana Plaza Collapse:
Causes and Our Role to Ensure Construction of Safer Buildings
P R E S E N T E D B Y
M D . M A F I Z U R R A H M A N
E X E C U T I V E E N G I N E E R
P W D D E S I G N D I V I S I O N - V & D P M , C N C R P .
A N U P K U M A R H A L D E R
S U B D I V I S I O N A L E N G I N E E R
P W D D E S I G N D I V I S I O N - V & M E M B E R T E A M - 2 C N C R P .

2. 15th May, 2013.

3. RANA PLAZA
23rd April, 2013

4. OUTLINE OF THE PRESENTATION
1. BUILDING DESCRIPTION
2. APPROVAL OF THE BUILDING
3. STRUCTURAL ASSESSMENT
4. CONSTRUCTION AND QUALITY CONTROL
5. OCCUPANCY OF THE BUILDING
6. SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
7. RECOMMENDATIONS

5. LOCATION MAP

6. BUILDING DESCRIPTION
(Before Collapse)
Name RANA PLAZA
Location Savar Bazar Bus stand, Savar, Dhaka.
Storey 1 Basement+ 9 Storey
Building Height 108’-0” Above plinth
Structure Type R.C.C. Frame Structure
Foundation Type Pile Foundation
App. Length of Building (Column c/c) 220’-0”
App. Width of Building(Column c/c) 85’-0”
Building Area 20,000 Sft (approx.) per floor.
Total floor Area 2,00,000 Sft (approx.)
Year of Design 2005
Year of Construction Started in 2006

7. BUILDING DESCRIPTION Cont…
 Relevant Information :
 Developer: Tonmoy Housing Ltd ( up to 1st Floor)
Building Owner (from 2nd to 8th Floor)
 Consultant: Vaastukalpa Architects (up to 5th Floor)
 Architect : Architects of Vaastukalpa (up to 5th Floor)
 Structural Engineer: Engr. Sajjad Hossain, IEB M-1016380,Rajuk E-00152
 Supervising Engineer: None (Owner’s supervision)
 Completion Date: Incomplete
 Opening of the Building: 2010
 Date of Collapse: 24th April,2013

8. FLOOR PLAN
(FROM APPROVED DRAWING)

9. SECTION &
ELEVATION
(FROM APPROVED
DRAWING 2006)

10. AS BUILT DRAWING (prepared by CNCRP)
COLUMN LAYOUT

11. OPENING IN 1ST FLOOR
AS BUILT DRAWING (prepared by CNCRP)
BEAM LAYOUT

12. AS BUILT DRAWING
(prepared by CNCRP)
SECTION

13. APPROVAL OF THE BUILDING
Approval Stage (stage 1) 2006
Approving Authority Savar Pourashabha
Usage Basement for parking, level 1 to 3 as shops, 4 to 6 as office
Number of story 1 Basement+ 6 Storey
Available Drawings Two architectural drawing sheets containing
 Floor plan
 Section
 Elevation
No structural drawings and Soil Investigation Report found
in Pourashabha office.
Approval Stage (stage 2) 2008
Approving Authority Savar Pourashabha
Usage Basement for parking, level 1 to 3 as shops, 4 to 10 as office
Number of story 1 Basement+ 10 Storey
Available Drawings Three architectural drawing sheets containing
 Floor plan
 Section
 Elevation
Two structural drawing sheets found in Pourashabha office
(Not approved)

14. APPROVAL OF THE BUILDING

15. ASSESSMENT OF THE STRUCTURE
Assessment Criteria Considered (Stage: 1 for Seven Story)
Compressive Strength of Concrete f’c=2,500 psi with brick chips
Rebar Yield Strength fy=60,000 psi
Dead load Slab 6” =75 psf , Floor finish=25 psf
Partition wall=40 psf (shop), 20 psf (office)
Live load For shop=80 psf, for office=60psf
Wind Load 210 Km/hr ( For Dhaka)
Earthquake Load z=0.15 As per BNBC-93
Column Size 20”X20” in Basement
18”X18” in Ground & First floor levels
15”X15” in rest of Top levels
Beam Size 20”X30”/20”X20”/12”X20”
Analysis Method 3-D finite element analysis
Software Used Staad Pro V8i and ETABS 2013
Seismic assessment (Japanese Method ) Seismic Evaluation of Existing Reinforced
Concrete Buildings, 2001

16. ANALYSIS BY STAAD PRO & ETABS
STAAD PRO 3-D MODEL ETABS 3-D MODEL

17. CHECK FOR FOUNDATION DESIGN
UN FACTORED SERVICE LOAD

18. SOIL INVESTIGATION DONE FOR THIS STUDY SUBMITTED PILE DRAWING

19. PILE LAYOUT (Submitted drawing)
Foundation Type Pile (Cast in situ pile)
Length 60 ‘-0”
Rebar 6-20Φ
Pile diameter 18 “
Mat Thickness 15”
Pile Capacity 90 Ton (estimated )
Remark: Inadequate foundation design

20. ANALYSIS RESULTS
OVER STRESSED COLUMN AT BASEMENT FLOOR LEVEL (Staad analysis)
Column Size 20”X20”
Rebar provided 16-22Φ (2.4%)
Highly stressed columns More than 4% rebar demand

21. OVER STRESSED COLUMN AT BASEMENT FLOOR LEVEL (Etabs analysis)

22. OVER STRESSED COLUMN AT GR. FLOOR LEVEL (Staad analysis)
Column Size 18”X18”
Rebar provided 16-22Φ (2.96%)
Highly stressed column More than 4% rebar demand

23. OVER STRESSED COLUMN AT GR. FLOOR LEVEL (Etabs analysis)

24. OVER STRESSED COLUMN AT 1ST FLOOR LEVEL (Staad analysis)
Column Size 18”X18”
Rebar provided 16-22Φ (2.96%)
Over stressed column More than 4% rebar demand

25. OVER STRESSED COLUMN AT 1ST FLOOR LEVEL (Etabs analysis)

26. OVER STRESSED COLUMN AT 2ND FLOOR LEVEL (Staad analysis)
Column Size 15”X15”
Rebar provided 16-20Φ (3.45%)
Over stressed column More than 4% rebar demand

27. OVER STRESSED COLUMN AT 2ND FLOOR LEVEL (Etabs analysis)

28. OVER STRESSED COLUMN AT 3RD FLOOR LEVEL (Staad analysis)
Column Size 15”X15”
Rebar provided 16-20Φ (3.45%)
Over stressed column More than 4%

29. OVER STRESSED COLUMN AT 3RD FLOOR LEVEL (Etabs analysis)

30. SUMMARY OF ANALYSIS
FLOOR COLUMN % REBAR
PROVIDED
No of Columns where Rebar
demand >4%
STAAD ETABS
5TH 15”x15” 2.2% Design OK Design OK
4TH 15”x15” 3.45% Design OK Design OK
3RD 15”x15” 3.45% 8 12
2ND 15”x15” 3.45% 30 35
1ST 18”X18” 2.96% 5 19
GROUND 18”X18” 2.96% 25 32
BASEMENT 20”X20” 2.4% 20 30
COLUMN SIZE
REDUCTION

31. SEISMIC ASSESSMENT BY JAPANESE METHOD
(1ST LEVEL)
 BASIC ASSUMPTIONS
 Material strength and cross sectional dimensions required for calculation of
strength of structural member
 Cracking of concrete and deformations of structure for evaluation of time index.
 Building configuration for evaluation of irregularity index.
 Is >0.8 for 1st level Screening (standard for Japan)
Is >0.3 for 1st level Screening ( Proposed Standard for Bangladesh)
 RESULTS SUMMARY
Story
∑W (Kn) τ. Ac (N) f'c(Mpa) (n+1)/(n+i) βc Cc F Eo T Sd Is
6 13950 6004687.5 17.24 0.57 0.86 0.37 1 0.21 1 1 0.21
5 35805 6004687.5 17.24 0.62 0.86 0.14 1 0.09 1 1 0.09
4 49755 6004687.5 17.24 0.67 0.86 0.10 1 0.07 1 1 0.07
3 71610 6004687.5 17.24 0.73 0.86 0.07 1 0.05 1 1 0.05
2 93465 8646750 17.24 0.80 0.86 0.08 1 0.06 1 1 0.06
1 115320 8646750 17.24 0.89 0.86 0.06 1 0.06 1 1 0.06
Basement 137175 10675000 17.24 1.00 0.86 0.07 1 0.07 1 1 0.07

32. Where:
Is=Seismic index of structure
Eo=Basic seismic index of structure
SD=Irregularity index
T= Time index
n = Number of stories of a building.
i = Number of the story for evaluation,
CW = Strength index of the walls.
CC = Strength index of the columns.
α1 = Effective strength factor of the columns at the ultimate deformation of the walls, which
may be taken as 0.7. The value should be 1.0 in case of Cw=0.
FW = Ductility index of the walls , which may be taken as 1.0.
Fc = Ductility index of columns, which may be taken as 1.0
1st level Screening
Seismic Index of Structure(Is)

33. 1st level screening procedure
Classification of vertical members in the
Vertical Member Definition Ductility Index F
Column ho/D>2 1.0
Extremely Short
Column
ho/D≤2 0.8
Wall Walls including those without
boundary columns
1.0
Strength Index:
Ductility Index:

34. 1Basement + 9 Story BUILDING
(Load case: Factored Gravity Load only)
3-D VIEW OF OVER
STRESSED COLUMNS
ALL MOST ALL COLUMNS ARE OVER STRESSED
AT 2ND FLOOR LEVEL (COLUMN SIZE 15”X15”)

35. OVER STRESSED COLUMN AT BASEMENT FLOOR LEVEL
(Load case: Factored Gravity Load only)
1463 K 2019 K
1756 K 1858 K
2130K
MAX. COLUMN CAPACITY =1000 K
1915K
1780K1708 K
1538 K
STAAD Pro OUTPUT
ETABS OUTPUT
HAND CALCULATION BASED ON TRIBUTARY AREA

36. CONSTRUCTION AND QUALITY CONTROL
 No working structural drawing was available
 Design concrete strength f’c and steel strength fy was not
specified in the submitted structural design.
 Brick chips was used as coarse aggregate.
 Test of construction materials (rebar, cement, concrete etc )
was never done.
 Work progress was never submitted to Pourashabha authority.
 Faulty construction sequence/ method
 Absence of proper detailing.
 No standard QC and QA was followed.

37. CONSTRUCTION AND QUALITY CONTROL cont..

38. CONSTRUCTION AND QUALITY CONTROL cont..

39. CONSTRUCTION AND QUALITY CONTROL cont..

40. CONSTRUCTION AND QUALITY CONTROL cont..
USE OF PLAIN BAR USE OF DEFORMED BAR

41. CONSTRUCTION AND QUALITY CONTROL cont..
NON MONOLITHIC BEAM-SLAB CASTING

42. OCCUPANCY OF THE BUILDING
(At final stage)
FLOOR PERMITTED USE ACTUAL OCCUPANCY
Basement Parking Parking & Garments office
Ground Floor Shop Shop
1ST Floor Shop Shop
2ND Floor Shop Garments
3RD Floor Office Garments
4TH Floor Office Garments
5TH Floor Office Garments
6TH Floor Office Garments
7TH Floor Office Garments
8TH Floor Office Unoccupied

43. OCCUPANCY OF THE BUILDING cont..

44. OCCUPANCY OF THE BUILDING cont..
GENERATOR INSTALLED IN 2ND , 6TH AND 7TH FLOOR

45. OCCUPANCY OF THE BUILDING cont..
FLOOR USED AS
GARMENTS GO-DOWN

46. SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
1. Wrong building approval.
2. No provision for verification and approval of structural
design by approving authority (Savar pourashabha)
3. Faulty and inadequate structural design.
4. Gross structural irregularity due to architectural design.
5. Non engineered construction.
6. No material standard.
7. Change of occupancy.
8. Administrative failure to prevent use of the building
despite getting advance signs and symptoms of collapse.

47. RECOMMENDATIONS
[A] BUILDING APPROVAL
 Authority of building approval and regulation must be entrusted to a
single office, Building Regulatory Authority(BRA), as proposed in BNBC. No
overlapping of jurisdiction shall be allowed.
 Building Regulatory Authority (BRA) should not be engaged in any activity
which would create conflict of interest.
 Approval of structural design drawings, electro-mechanical and building
services design drawings along with architectural design drawings must be
incorporated in the approving procedure.
 The Building Regulatory Authority(BRA) shall open design review wing.
They may engage qualified registered consultant for this purpose, in case
the authority lacks in capacity.
 ‘Approval Fee’ may be increased to bear the extra costs.

48. RECOMMENDATIONS Cont…
[B]BUILDING DESIGN
 Building owner shall engage qualified registered architect,
structural design engineer, electro-mechanical engineer &
building services engineer/ consulting firm for design of
buildings.
 Only registered architect and engineers shall prepare
architectural, structural, electro-mechanical and building
services design drawings.
 A government statutory professional registration body should
be set up for this purpose. A model of any developed country
could be followed.
 Information of all such registered architects and engineers/
consultancy firm should be displayed in the website of the
professional registration body.

49. RECOMMENDATIONS cont…
[C] BUILDING CONSTRUCTION & QUALITY CONTROL
 The Building Regulatory Authority(BRA) shall monitor whether
construction of buildings are being executed as per approved design
drawings following standard quality control procedure.
 A standard quality control and assurance system has to be established to
ensure standard of construction. All building owners will follow that
standard. The Building Regulatory Authority(BRA) shall develop a system
to monitor the matter.
 Building owner shall engage qualified, registered construction
company/developer for construction of buildings.
 Only qualified registered engineers shall supervise the construction work.
 Regular progress reports in prescribed forms has to be submitted by
supervising engineer to Building Regulatory Authority(BRA) at certain
stages of construction. This provision is already in Dhaka Mahanagar
Imarat Bidhimala 2008 but needs immediate and stringent enforcement.
 Standard of construction material must conform to provisions of BNBC.

50. RECOMMENDATIONS cont…
[D] BUILDING OCCUPANCY
 The Building Regulatory Authority (BRA) shall strictly enforce issuance of
“Occupancy Certificate”(as per provision of Dhaka Mahanagar Imarat
Bidhimala-2008) after checking thoroughly all relevant reports and
certificate from architect, structural engineer, eloctro-mechanical and
building services engineers, supervising engineer, etc. employed by the
building owner.
 Building permit and occupancy certificate should be displayed at some
suitable place of the building.
 Building permit related information including “Occupancy Certificate” shall
be displayed in the website of the Building Regulatory Authority(BRA).

51. RECOMMENDATIONS cont…
[E] BUILDING MAINTENANCE & EVALUATION
 “Occupancy Certificate” has to be renewed every three years instead of
every five years (As prescribed in Dhaka Mahanagar Imarat Bidhimala
2008). BRA shall renew the certificate after inspecting maintenance and
occupancy situtuation.
 In any reported case of building distress, Building Regulatory
Authority(BRA) shall assess the building and take necessary action to
ensure safety of the building and its occupants.
 Evaluation of existing buildings shall be the responsibility of BRA and shall
suggest retrofit measures for vulnerable buildings.

52. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
 Dhaka District Administration
 Bangladesh Army
 Fire Service and Civil Defense Department
 Bangladesh Police
 LGED
 HBRI
 RAJUK
 IEB
 IAB
 Local Volunteers

53. THANK YOU