Dew Fashions Ltd. Le-Nouveautex Ltd. Structural Inspection Report

Dew Fashions Ltd. Le-Nouveautex Ltd.

House-65,Board Bazar, Gazipur, Dhaka (+23.93941N,90.38554E)

22 June 2014

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Structural Inspection Report Authors: Robert Hale/Billy Allen

Reviewed by: Hugh O’Dwyer Approved by: Aidan Madden

Category Red Revision : Issue 1 Date: 7th July 2014

DEA

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Executive Summary On Sunday 22nd June 2014 Mr Robert Hale and Mr Billy Allen of Arup carried out a visual structural survey of the Dew Fashion Ltd and Le-Nouveautex Ltd Garments Factory at the address and co-ordinates given on the cover page of this report. We met with the Deputy General Manager of the factory Mr. Nasimul Hassan and inspected the following five buildings. • A 7 storey factory building consisting of the ground floor plus 6 suspended concrete beam and

slab floors of which the sixth level was the roof. The concrete roof slab had a metal framed roof over 50% of the floor area.

• A Dyeing Shed - 58m x 38m on plan • A two storey Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP) building intended to be extended to 5 storeys. • A two storey Utility Building intended to be extended to 5 storeys. • A two storey Office Building intended to be extended to 6 storeys. It should be noted that the inspection of the factory building was limited due to the presence of false ceilings on the soffit of the 4th, 5th and 6th floor slabs. In addition, access to the roof of the south east stair core, which supported water tanks and a communications tower, was not available. We were shown copies of the following drawings and reports: • Drawings for a 7 storey garment factory building for Le-Nouveautex Ltd approved by the Factory

Inspectorate dated 16/10/2011. No Structural Approval drawing were available. • Drawings for a one storey industrial building dated May 2011. • Drawings for a 5 storey ETP building dated September 2012. • Drawings for a 5 storey combined Utility and ETP building dated May 2011. • Drawings for a 6 storey Office Building dated March 2011.

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Executive Summary (continued) • Visual Inspection Report by MCS (Medway Consulting Services) on behalf of Tesco dated 13/11/13. The

building was rated Amber. No load calculations were undertaken.

Dew Fashions occupy 1st floor and 3rd floor of the main factory building and Le-Nouveautex occupy the remainder of the complex. The factory manager informed us that the 7 storey main factory building was constructed in 1992. All remaining buildings have been built since 2010 when the current owner purchased the site. This current owner has added the steel roof structure to the main factory building. The Utility and ETP building are currently being extended from 2 to 5 storeys. The Office Building is also being extended from 2 to 6 storeys. We have important and urgent concerns in relation to the adequacy of the structural support columns in the main factory building, which give rise to our recommendation for FULL EVACUATION of this building and an immediate Detail Engineering Assessment (DEA).

The principal reason for our concerns is that the columns appear to be stressed to levels that require immediate action and review. Some of the overloaded columns occur in the ground floor double height space. The effective length of the columns in this area will exacerbate the stress state in these columns. In addition, the column sizes as measured appear to be smaller than shown on the construction drawings and the reinforcement as scanned during the survey was also less than shown on the drawings.

Following evacuation of the main factory building, we would recommend that the Detail Engineering Assessment for this building be completed within 6 weeks of receiving this report.

4 Immediate Action Required

IMMEDIATE EVACUATION

Executive Summary (continued)

Main Factory Building to be evacuated with immediate effect. Columns are highly stressed.

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Executive Summary (continued) A high level and non exhaustive list of key concerns are: • Main Factory Building - Columns appear to be stressed to levels that require immediate action

and review. • Dyeing Shed - Wall and roof bracing sagging significantly. • Apparently non-engineered steel structures:- Roof to main factory building, all stairs and landings

to the utility structures and canopy roof structure adjacent to main factory. • Props to cantilevers in ETP structure not documented • Absence of structural information and inconsistencies noted between drawings and as built

construction • Areas not surveyed Further actions with associated priorities and timeframes are given at the end of this report. Please note that these actions should be completed as soon as practically possible and certainly within the timeframe noted. We have reviewed the property from an outline seismic perspective and would consider that the building along with many others in the Dhaka region to have a significant risk of damage in a major Seismic event. Our Limitations and Assumptions are also noted at the end of this report.

Building Extents

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Dew Fashions Ltd and Le-Nouveautex Ltd Garments Factory - Site location

Factory site location

North

7 Building Extents

Building Extents

Site Layout

Factory building 1 (seven storey)

Dyeing Shed

Utility building Generator building

ETP building

Office building

North

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Building Extents

Factory Building 1 (West elevation) Factory Building 1 & Dyeing Shed (North elevation)

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Factory Building 1 & Dyeing Shed (South elevation) Generator Building (West & South elevation)

10 Building Extents

Office Building (North elevation) Utility Building (North elevation)

ETP Building (North elevation) Security room

11 Building Extents

Building Extents

Factory Building 1: Current Use of Factory Floors

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Le Nouveautex

Dew Fashion

Le Nouveautex

Dew Fashion

Le Nouveautex

Le Nouveautex

Le Nouveautex

Dyeing & finished goods store

Sample, sewing & finishing

Office & cutting

Sewing & finishing

Dining, prayer & roof

Water tank

GF

1st Flr

3rd Flr

2nd Flr

5th Flr

4th Flr

6th Flr

Status of permit: Construction on going as per new permitted drawing.

Year of construction: Completed construction work in 1992 (approx.). No other history found from meeting and documents.

Drawing permission: No permit drawing at the time of construction later the Dew Fashion Ltd. management obtained permission from LGED local office of Gazipur in 2011.

Number of Storeys: Factory building 1: Seven storey building (GF+6) Dyeing Shed: One storey steel shed. Office building: One storey building, basement and ground floor, construction work on going Utility building: Two storey building, construction work on going. Generator building: One storey building. ETP building: Two storey building.

Building permission details

13 Building Extents

Structural System

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Typical floor plan

Type of structure: Factory Building 1: Beam column frame structure (Ground – 6th Floor) Façade: Rendered brick walls. Stability system: Moment/ Sway concrete frame(Ground – 6th Floor) Foundations: Isolated pad footings indicated on structural drawings.

Critical dimensions Floor to ceiling height: 2.95m (average) Column Grid: Smaller 6.92X6.48 m, larger 9,92X6.48 m Slab thickness: 203mm including finishes Columns: 370mm x 370mm (Internal) inc. plaster 490mm x 370mm (internal) inc. plaster Beams: 530mm d/s x 300mm wide in both directions

Larger grids Smaller grids

15 Structural System

Internal beam & column joint

Shed at roof Internal beam & column(Typical floor)

Beam and column double height area


Type of structure: Dyeing Shed: Single storey portal frame. Façade: Rendered brick walls. Stability system: Braced portal frame Foundations: Isolated pad footings indicated on structural drawings.

Critical dimensions: Apex height from floor: 10.194 m Eaves height from floor: 8.244 m


Type of structure: ETP and Utility Building : RC Beam column frame structure Façade: Rendered brick walls. Stability system: Moment / Sway concrete frame. Foundations: Isolated pad footings indicated on structural drawings.

Critical dimensions Floor to ceiling height: 3.9 m Column Grid: 6.75x5.18 m (maximum) Slab thickness: 150mm excluding finishes Columns: 750mm x 560mm (Internal) ex. Plaster Beams: 390mm d/s x 300mm wide in both directions


Type of structure: Office Building : RC Beam column frame structure Façade: Rendered brick walls. Stability system: Moment/ Sway concrete frame. Foundations: Isolated pad footings indicated on structural drawings.

Critical dimensions Floor to ceiling height: 2.7 m Column Grid: 4.43x4.43 m (maximum) Slab thickness: 150mm excluding finishes Columns: 405mm x 405mm (Internal) ex. Plaster Beams: 310mm d/s x 300mm wide in both directions


Office Building – cantilever slab

ETP Building beam and column

Construction on going Utility Building

ETP and Utility Building joint


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Observations

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Main Factory Building - Columns appear to be stressed to levels that require

immediate action & review

23 Column Strength

IMMEDIATE EVACUATION

Main Factory Building

Main Factory Building to be evacuated with immediate effect. Columns are highly stressed.

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Brick aggregate was observed in the ground floor columns

Ground floor column layout

North

Column Strength

Cursory calculations indicate that columns are working at high stress levels requiring

immediate action.

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Dyeing Shed - Wall and roof bracing sagging significantly.

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Roof plan bracing

Steel cable was used in the Dyeing Shed to provide longitudinal stability. However these cables were observed to be loose therefore providing no resistance to lateral movement of the frame. These cables should be stressed appropriately as instructed by Building Engineer

Side bracing

Loose cables

Dyeing Shed - Bracing

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Apparently non-engineered steel structures

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Lightweight steel roof to main factory

Roof to main factory building. Structural assessment to review; • Overall roof design including support of trusses on

RC columns and between columns where trusses appear to be supported on light steelwork.

• Overall lateral stability • Connection/bearing details • Some section sizes appear to be slender Building Engineer to review stability of these structures and propose strengthening works, if required.

Some elements of the roof to main factory building appear to be non-engineered – Building Engineer to carry out a structural assessment

Intermediate truss support to be reviewed

Non-engineered structures

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Utility building stair Canopy structure adjacent to factory building

Non-engineered structures

Building Engineer to carry out a review of the structural adequacy of lightweight steel structures.

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Props to cantilevers in ETP structure not documented

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Two concrete columns were observed in the areas shown above. These columns prop the underside of cantilever beams. Along this gridline, there are four cantilever beams, but only the centre two are propped. Building Engineer to review the props and check capacity of cantilever area for proposed additional floors.

North

ETP – Props to Cantilever

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Absence of structural information and inconsistencies noted between drawings

and as built construction

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The only structural documentation was one set of drawings dated 2011. The original construction drawings were not available. As part of the Detail Engineering Assessment a full set of as built drawings is to be produced for the main factory building. Undocumented concrete columns were observed in the ETP building, see previous observation. Toilet block on 5th,

4th, 3rd & 2nd floors

North

Metal deck floor on steel construction 1st floor only

Stairwell to 1st floor only

Toilet block on 1st floor

Drawing Inconsistencies

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Areas not surveyed

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Ceiling tiles covering soffit of slabs at underside of 4th, 5th and 6th floors.

Areas of the slab soffit were not visible due to ceiling tiles on the underside of 4th, 5th and 6th floors. No access was gained to the roof over the south eastern stairwell which supports the water tanks. A communication tower was also located over this area. As part of the Detail Engineering Assessment for the main factory building, slab soffits are to be inspected and full inspection of water tank area is to be carried out including a check of communication tower anchor detail/capacity.

Water tanks & mast at roof level

Areas not surveyed

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Priority Actions

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Problems Observed ITEM 1: Main Factory Building - Columns appear to be stressed to levels that require immediate action and review ITEM 2: Dyeing Shed - Wall and roof bracing sagging significantly ITEM 3: Apparently non-engineered steel structures ITEM 4: Props to cantilevers in ETP structure not documented ITEM 5: Absence of structural information and inconsistencies noted between drawings and as built construction ITEM 6: Areas not surveyed

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Priority 1 (Immediate - Now)

Item 1 and actions Main Factory Building - Columns appear to be stressed to levels that require immediate action and review

Priority 2 (within 6-weeks)

• Produce and actively manage a loading plan for all floor plates within the factory giving consideration to floor capacity and column capacity. This should establish a safe imposed load for each floor.

• Detail Engineering Assessment to be completed.

Priority 3 (within 6-months)

• Strengthen building as appropriate • Continue to implement load management plan

• Immediately evacuate the entire building • Factory Engineer to review design, loads and column stresses . Verify insitu

concrete strengths (using min. 4 no. 100mm dia. cores) and existing reinforcement for all columns.

• A Detail Engineering Assessment of Factory to be commenced, see attached Scope

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This Schedule develops a minimum level of information, Analysis and testing expected as part of a Detail Engineering Assessment. The Building(s) have been visually assessed and it is deemed necessary that a detailed engineering assessment be carried out by a competent Engineering Team employed by the factory Owner. This Request should be read in conjunction with the BUET developed Tripartite Guideline document for Assessment of Structural Integrity of Existing RMG Factory Buildings in Bangladesh (Tripartite Document), the latest version of this document should be referenced. T his document also gives guidance on required competency of Engineering Team. We expect that the following will be carried out: 1. Development of Full Engineering As-Built Drawings showing Structure, loading, elements, dimensions , levels, foundations and framing on Plan,

Section and Elevational drawings . 2. The Engineering team are to carry out supporting calculations with a model based design check to assess the safety and serviceability of the building

against loading as set out in BNBC-2006, Lower rate provisions can be applied in accordance with the Tripartite Guidelines following international engineering practice, justification for these lower rate provisions must be made.

3. A geotechnical Report describing ground conditions and commenting on foundation systems used/proposed. 4. A report on Engineering tests carried out to justify material strengths and reinforcement content in all key elements studied. 5. Detailed load plans shall be prepared for each level showing current and potential future loading with all key equipment items shown with associated

loads. 6. The Engineering team will prepare an assessment report that covers the following:

• As-Built drawings including • Plans at each level calling up and dimensioning all structural components • Cross sectional drawings showing structural beams, slabs, floor to floor heights, roof build-ups and Basic design information of the

structure • Highlight any variation between As-built compared to the designed structure • Results of testing for strength and materials • Results of geotechnical assessment and testing/investigation • Details of loading, inputs and results of computer modelling • Commentary on adequacy/inadequacy of elements of the structure • Schedule of any required retrofitting required for safety or performance of Structure

Any proposals for Retrofitting to follow guidance developed in the Tripartite Document

Detail Engineering Assessment

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Item 2 and actions Dyeing Shed - Wall and roof bracing sagging significantly


• Bracing cables should be stressed appropriately as instructed by Building Engineer


• None required

• None required

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Item 3 and actions Apparently non-engineered steel structures

• None required


• Building engineer to check the capacity of non-engineered structures under horizontal and vertical loading including all connections and make any necessary alterations required.


• None required

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Item 4 and actions Props to cantilevers in ETP structure not documented

• None required


• None required


• Building Engineer to identify purpose of props, by reference to the original structural design, and check capacity of cantilever area for proposed additional floors.

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Item 5 and actions Absence of structural information and inconsistencies noted between drawings and as built construction

• None required


• Building engineer to prepare a set of “as built” drawings for all structures linked to the factory’s activities. (Refer to Item 1 – Detail Engineering Assessment)


• Ensure all documentation reflecting “as built” construction is produced.

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Item 6 and actions Areas not surveyed

• None required


• As part of Item 1 – Detail Engineering Assessment, ensure all areas of the building are inspected including the water tanks, soffit of floor slabs (where ceilings are present) and roof mounted communications mast.


• None required

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This report is for the private and confidential use of Accord for whom it was prepared together with their professional advisors as appropriate. It should not be reproduced in whole or in part or relied upon by third parties for any use without the express written permission of Arup. This report can be used in discussion with the supplier or factory owner as a means to rectify or address any observations made. The report is not comprehensive and is limited to what could be observed during a visual inspection of the building. This Report is not intended to be treated as a generalised inspection and does not cover the deterioration of structural members through dampness, fungal or insect attack, nor does it deal with problems and defects of a non-structural nature. Other non structural aspects of the building such as fire safety have not been assessed in this survey. Except as otherwise noted, drains and other services were not viewed or tested during our inspection and are therefore similarly excluded from this Report. We have not inspected any parts of the structure which are covered, unexposed or inaccessible and we are therefore unable to report that any such part of the property is free from defect. External inspection of the façade walls has generally been carried out from ground level only by visual sighting. No opening up works were carried out (except as noted) and we rely on the Architects and Engineers drawings provided to us for our views on concealed parts of the structure and in particular foundations. Strengths of materials and components are untested and we recommend that the factory owners Building Engineer carries out insitu testing over and above those suggested to satisfy themselves with the material strengths and component details. Recommendations, where given, are for the purpose of providing indicative advice only, are not exhaustive, relate solely to identifying key and obvious structural defects as identified in this presentation, and do not take the form of or constitute a specification for works. We take no responsibility for the works as constructed. This report does not interfere with the factory owners Building Engineers responsibility for the structural performance of this building, The Building Engineer remains fully responsible for the structural adequacy of the building. This report does not comment in detail on the future seismic performance of the building and only highlights the fact that the building may experience significant damage or collapse in a seismic event along with many others in the Dhaka region. The observations in this report are based on the Engineering Judgement of the lead surveyor/engineer at the time of the survey. We assume in making these observations that no covering up of faults defects, filling or plastering over cracking or significant repair work has been carried out by the building owner. Any future alteration or additional work by the building owner will void this report.

Survey Limitations and Assumptions

Dew Fashions Ltd. Le-Nouveautex Ltd. Structural Inspection Report

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