Sociology

Social Compliance Issues in the Apparel Sector

Social Compliance Issues in the Apparel Sector
Objective
The objective of the study was to prepare a complete Social Compliance Manual for the Company of CAMIO USA KNITWEAR Ltd. This manual provides the procedures to set up social compliance for any Garments Industry. It will also help in making better environment. Ensure motivational activity in the organization. This will also help to maintain a good employee relationship and a sound working environment in the organization.  
Methodology
Before preparing this assignment through survey was conducted among the employee of the organization CAMIO USA Knitwear ltd. . First I have to visited various department and talked to the Departmental heads & related employee. I tried to mark their views and opinion which would help me to prepare the manual for them. For example, how will be the procedures for personal protective equipment & how to use it, Electrical Safety, Documents required etc. I collected all of data after go through all of department. Then I tried to match it with the existing Labour Laws of the country also important buyers’ code of conduct. Thus I prepared the draft of the total Compliance Procedures & Policies for the organization. All these draft were first given to al departmental head of the company. With all of their inputs and valuable suggestion it was modified and corrected where necessary. Then it was again verified with the relevant Labour laws and standard of renowned buyer. Finally, it was prepared, published & distributed to as many employees as possible. To communicated these Compliance policies & procedures in CAMIO USA KNITWEA Ltd . At last, HR personnel conducted various awareness programs with the help of Welfare Officer to all employees.

LIMITATIONS

During preparation of the assignment, I actually could not receive the view of almost all the employees. Production department personnel always give priority production only. Sometimes they do not care regarding issues of safe working environment. Again to match with existing practice of some polices by the employee of CAMIO USA Knitwear Ltd, it is a little bit difficult to maintain with this standard. However, ultimately we tried to synchronize those standards with existing practise as much as possible. And we tried to make this standard easier for the employee in their day in day out practices.

Executive Summary 

The purpose of this report was to examine the implications on Social Compliance in an Apparel Sector in Bangladesh.  Research for this report included a review of current Practice & Various audit report regarding Social Compliance issues…  The major finding indicates that while there is a need for some caution, awareness should be seen as a way of enriching the standard of social compliance. While it is clear that   company needs take necessary action to develop and implement its current practise of social compliance standard to make a safe & good working conditions.

History Background

Social Compliance is now an important factor for any export oriented Industry. It not only emphasis on comply with existing labour law of country & buyers code of conduct as well. It also makes a working environment safer & comfortable for workforce.  INTRODUCTION OF SOCIAL COMPLIANCE Social Compliance / Social Accountability are an important parameter in international business today, and buyers from major markets global markets, are increasingly insisting on adherence to social compliance norms.

Social Accountability  is the measure of an organization’s state of being mindful of the emerging social concerns of internal & external stakeholders (community, employees, governmental and nongovernmental organizations, management, and owners). It is reflected in the organization’s verifiable commitment to certain factors (which may or may not be tied directly to its processes) such as
(1) willing compliance with employment, health and hygiene, safety, and environment laws,
(2) respect for basic civil & human rights, and
(3) betterment of community and surroundings.
Social Compliance  is the result of conformance to the rules of social accountability by the extended organization including not only the organization’s own policies and practices but also those of its supply and distribution chains. It is a continuing process in which the involved parties keep on looking for better ways to protect the health, safety, and fundamental rights of their employees, and to protect and enhance the community and environment in which they operate. A social compliance program is usually based on adherence to rules of social accountability, established by certified conformance to international standards such as SA8000.
Importance of Social Compliance for Leather Products & Footwear – Leather Products like Garments, Accessories, Small Leather Goods, & Footwear are termed life-style consumer products. In recent years, through the efforts of Human Rights Organizations and media, consumers have become increasingly aware of suspected unethical labor practices throughout the world. This knowledge has put pressure on retailers and manufacturers to ensure that they supply ethically manufactured products. Until recently, the assumption that the manufacturers complied with local legal requirements was assumed to be monitored by local authorities. But retailers and manufacturers are beginning to act independently to ensure that fair and ethical labor practices are employed in the manufacture of their products. Doing so helps these companies ensure that their reputation is not tarnished by forces previously assumed to be out of their control. Bangladesh is a sourcing destination for many international brands for leather products and as sourcing by some large American and European Buyers increased, it necessitated the advent of social compliance programs in the leather goods factories. All compliance programs are aimed at ensuring legal compliance to laws of the country/ region and going beyond that for improving workers’ conditions in the export-oriented factories.  This is a relatively new business challenge for our industry, although major disturbing issues like child labor, minimum wages and health & safety at the workplace have been tackled quite successfully. Major international players (Footwear Retailers, Dept Stores, Chain Stores etc) who insist on Social Compliance/Audits, are well-known retailers Like Levis, Puma, Adidas, Decathlon, Artsana, Inditex, who have also developed their own policies/ Code of Conduct (CoC). Many retailers request third party organizations to audit their suppliers’ for compliance to the COC. Some clients like Marks and Spencer, Tesco, Debenhams follow Sedex (Supplier Ethical Data Exchange) Methodology, if the facility is already certified for SA 8000, WRAP etc they wave off the Sedex audits. Retailers like Esprit, Migros, Metro follow the Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI) audit methodology, and Carrefour, Siplec and some French clients follow ICS certification.

IMPORTANT SOCIAL COMPLIANCE PARAMETERS:

Compliance with all national laws and regulations – Organizations are required to abide by all applicable laws, regulations and standards applicable to its particular industry under the national laws of the countries where the organization is doing business. Should the legal requirements and the standards of the industry conflict, organizations must comply with the laws of the country in which the products are being manufactured. Organizations should, however, strive to meet industry standards whenever possible. If state or local legal requirements apply to the organisation’s manufacturing activities, they must comply with the state and local requirements.

Employment practices –
Organizations are to respect its employees and to strive to improve conditions whenever possible but in all instances to be in compliance with the specific requirements relating to employment conditions.
Wages & Benefits – Organizations shall provide wages, overtime compensation and benefits at not less than the minimum levels required by applicable laws and regulations or which are consistent with the prevailing local industry levels, whichever is higher. Working Hours – Organizations shall maintain employee work hours in compliance with local standards and applicable laws of the jurisdictions in which they are doing business. Unless the national law is different, the maximum standard working time is 48 hours per week or 60 hours per week including 12 hours of overtime work.
Child Labor –
Exploitation of child labor or any vulnerable group (illegal immigrants for example) is totally unacceptable. No person shall be employed at an age younger than the legal minimum age for working in any specific country and in no circumstance shall any worker be younger than 14 years of age. In general, all children under the age of 18 must not be employed in hazardous work; not work night shifts; and are entitled to more breaks than adults.
Forced Labor –
The use of forced or involuntary labor is unacceptable. Organizations shall maintain employment on a voluntary basis. They are not to directly or indirectly use in any manner, forced labor or prison labor.
Nondiscrimination / Human Rights
Cultural differences exist and different practices apply in various jurisdictions. However, all terms and conditions of employment should be based on an individual’s ability to do the job, not on the basis of physical characteristics or beliefs. Employees must not be exposed to physical punishment, threats of violence or physical, sexual, psychological or verbal harassment or maltreatment. Freedom of Association
Organizations must recognize their employees’ rights to choose whether or not to associate with or establish any organization including labor organizations.
Working ConditionsOrganizations must provide adequate working conditions for employees and comply with all applicable worker safety laws and regulations.

Social Compliance an overview:

Whether it is large or small manufacturer, a traditional retailer or a supplier/sub-contractor – social accountability is the order of the day. Increasingly, the public and more importantly your consumer has become sensitive to how ‘business houses’ demonstrate accountability for social compliance along their supply chain.

Different Social Compliance Audits Mainly, there are three types of SA audits. They are: Certifying audits such as SA 8000, which are universal. One can get an SA 8000 certification similar to that of ISO 9001:2000, buyers audit & audit of different apparel associations. Buyers & apparel associations have there own codes of conduct. They may not exempt a factory from their own COC audits just because the factory has got SA 8000.
Buyers who want to ensure social compliance in a company.
Almost all buyers located in US & Europe are looking for social compliance because this again their local statutory and regulatory requirement. Walmart, K mart, Disney, JC Penny are some famous & big groups that want to ensure social compliance before placing any order. Companies from other part of glob like Zara Internatiuonal, IKEA have also started to ask for compliance.

Related Regulation For Social Compliance Audit:

International Legislation: ILO Convention The United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights, The UN’s Conventions on children’s rights and the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women, The UN Global Compact and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and other relevant internationally recognized agreements, National Legislation: Labor Law 2006 Rules of Factories 1979 Industrial Relation 1969 Fire Safety Act 2006 & Amended 2011 Environmental Conservation Act 1995 Environmental Conservation Rules 1997 Custom Law BangladeshNationalBuilding Code 2006 A factory Social Audit What is Social Audit? The Social Audit (CSA) should be performed to ensure that company comply with Country’s rules & regulations in which social rights are respected.  Area to check during a Social Audit?

  • Child labor,
  • Forced labor.
  • Health & Safety.
  • Freedom of association and right to bargain.
  • Discrimination.
  • Disciplinary practices.
  • Working hours and Environment.
  • Compensation.
  • Management Systems.

Following a social audit, a Corrective Action Plan, explaining the required improvements and corresponding timetable to the factory. Why should take place a social audit? Dealing with a vendor who is not complying with international basic laws is not the right choice. Starting a proactive sustainable procurement approach could be valuable for a company. The Simple Factory Audit should be performed before the buyer places an order with a new vendor and only takes one day. The Simple Factory Audit is done at your manufacturer’s premises, anywhere in Bangladesh.What does auditor check during a Simple Factory Audit?

A. FACTORY PROFILE: name, contact details, licenses check etc.

B. EMPLOYEES and WORKFORC
E: management, QC, workers etc.
C. FACILITY CHECK: office, equipment, production lines etc.
D. CLIENTS and EXPERIENCE: trade history, samples check etc.
E. DOCUMENTS VERIFICATION: licenses, certificates etc.
F. Also includes: production line status, vendor organization, production capability and capacity, a quick check on the existing quality system.

SA 8000 Audit

SA8000 is a global social accountability standard for decent working conditions, developed and overseen by Social Accountability International (SAI). In summer 2000, CEPAA became known as Social Accountability International (SAI), a new entity whose remit was to develop voluntary standards governing social responsibility, and to certify companies that agreed to meet them. The first such standard is SA8000, which governs employees’ working conditions. The SA8000 standard for socially responsible employment practices first appeared in 1998 after nearly a year of drafting by the advisory board. It was modeled on the well-established ISO9000 quality standard. However, it is different from ISO 9001:2008 An advisory board comprising 25 experts from a wide range of backgrounds, including businesses, trade unions and non-governmental organizations, drafted the terms of SA8000. Now that the code has been finalized, SAI is overseeing the certification of companies that have expressed a desire to become SA8000-compliant. Social Accountability 8000 (SA8000) has been developed by Social Accountability International (SAI), known until recently as the Council on Economic Priorities Accreditation Agency. SAI is a non-profit affiliate of the Council on Economic Priorities (CEP). SA8000 is promoted as a voluntary, universal standard for companies interested in auditing and certifying labour practices in their facilities and those of their suppliers and vendors. It is designed for independent third party certification. The SA8000 provides two separate ways for companies looking forward to demonstrate their commitment to social responsibility. The first way is taking membership. This is designed for businesses that are doing retailing. The organization has to give commitment to do business only with socially responsible suppliers. SA8000 members are offered a self-assessment package and other tools to help them implement a policy on social responsibility. They are expected to notify their suppliers of their intention to implement SA8000 standards, and to set a timeframe for phasing out dealings with companies that fail to meet those requirements. The second way is certification. It is intended for manufacturers and suppliers themselves. The process is a stringent one, which begins with the company contacting an accredited auditor. Having demonstrated compliance with existing regulations and assessed how current practice compares with the provisions of SA8000, the company is given the status of ‘SA8000 applicant’. The business then implements an SA8000 programme, which is scrutinized by a ‘pre-assessment audit’. Any improvements that are recommended should be implemented before the formal audit takes place. After the formal assessment, the company is again given the opportunity to rectify any shortcomings, before being assessed again. If at the end of this process the auditors are satisfied that the company is fully compliant, they will recommend an SA8000 certificate, valid for three years. Benefits of SA8000 Initial evidence indicates that SA8000 certified facilities enjoy a competitive advantage and workers experience concrete benefits as the SA8000 management system and any needed  corrective actions are put in place. Benefits for Workers, Trade Unions and NGOs:

  • Enhanced opportunities to organize trade unions and bargain collectively.
  • A tool to educate workers about core labor rights.
  • An opportunity to work directly with business on labor rights issues.
  • A way to generate public awareness of companies committed to assuring humane working conditions.

Benefits for Business:

  • Drives company values into action.
  • Enhances company and brand reputation.
  • Improves employee recruitment, retention and productivity.
  • Supports better supply chain management and performance.

Benefits for Consumers and Investors:

  • Clear and credible assurance for ethical purchasing decisions.
  • Identification of ethically made products and companies committed to ethical sourcing.
  • Broad coverage of product categories and production geography.

SA8000:2008 Standard The SA8000 standard is the central document of SAI. It is an auditable certification standard based on international workplace norms of International Labor Organization (ILO) conventions, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.  This standard is the benchmark against which companies and factories measure their performance. Those seeking to comply with SA8000 have adopted policies and procedures that protect the basic human rights of workers. SA 8000 standard include contents as follows:

1. Purpose and scope of SA 8000 This standard specifies requirements for social accountability to enable a company .
2. Requirements of child labor The company shall not engage in or support the use of child labor.
3. Requirements of Forced labor The company shall not engage in or support the use of forced labor, nor shall personnel be required to lodge ‘deposits’ or identity papers upon commencing employment with the company.
4. Requirements of health and safety The company, bearing in mind the prevailing knowledge of the industry and of any specific hazards, shall provide a safe and healthy working environment and shall take adequate steps to prevent accidents and injury to health arising out of, associated with or occurring in the course of .
5. Discrimination rules in SA 8000 The company shall not engage in or support discrimination in hiring, remuneration, access to training, promotion, termination or retirement based on race, caste, national origin, religion, disability, gender, sexual orientation, union membership, political affiliation, or age.
6. Freedom of association & right to collective bargaining The company shall respect the right of all personnel to form and join trade unions of their choice and to bargain collectively.
7. Disciplinary practices in SA 8000 The company shall not engage in or support the use of corporal punishment, mental or physical coercion, and verbal abuse.
8. Rules of working hours The company shall comply with applicable laws and industry standards on working hours. The normal workweek shall be as defined by law but shall not on a regular basis exceed 48 hours. Personnel shall be provided with at least one day off in every seven-day period.
9. Remuneration rules The company shall ensure that wages paid for a standard working week shall always meet at least legal or industry minimum standards and shall be sufficient to meet basic needs of personnel and to provide some discretionary income.
10. SA 8000 policies Top management shall define the company’s policy for social accountability and labor conditions to ensure that it.
11. Management Review of SA 8000 Top management shall periodically review the adequacy, suitability, and continuing effectiveness of the company’s policy, procedures and performance results vis-a-vis the requirements of this standard and other requirements to which the company subscribes. System amendments and improvements shall be implemented where appropriate. 12. Management Representative of SA 8000 The company shall appoint a senior management representative who, irrespective of other responsibilities, shall ensure that the requirements of this standard are met.
13. Planning and Implementation of SA 8000 The company shall ensure that the requirements of this standard are understood and implemented at all levels of the organization; methods shall include, but are not limited to:
14. Control of Suppliers/Subcontractors and Sub-Suppliers The company shall establish and maintain appropriate procedures to evaluate and select suppliers/subcontractors (and, where appropriate, sub-suppliers) based on their ability to meet the requirements of this standard.
15. Addressing Concerns and Taking Corrective Action The company shall investigate, address, and respond to the concerns of employees and other interested parties with regard to conformance/non-conformance with the company’s policy and/or the requirements of this standard; the company shall refrain from disciplining, dismissing or otherwise discriminating against any employee for providing information concerning observance of the standard.
16. Outside Communication in SA 8000 The company shall establish and maintain procedures to communicate regularly to all interested parties data and other information regarding performance against the requirements of this document, including, but not limited to, the results of management reviews and monitoring activities.
17. Access for Verification in SA 8000 Where required by contract, the company shall provide reasonable information and access to interested parties seeking to verify conformance to the requirements of this standard.
18. Records management in SA 8000 The company shall maintain appropriate records to demonstrate conformance to the requirements of this standard.  SA8000 Elements

  1. Child Labor: No workers under the age of 15; minimum lowered to 14 for countries operating under the ILO Convention 138 developing-country exception; remediation of any child found to be working
  2. Forced Labor: No forced labor, including prison or debt bondage labor; no lodging of deposits or identity papers by employers or outside recruiters
  3. Health and Safety: Provide a safe and healthy work environment; take steps to prevent injuries; regular health and safety worker training; system to detect threats to health and safety; access to bathrooms and potable water
  4. Freedom of Association and Right to Collective Bargaining: Respect the right to form and join trade unions and bargain collectively; where law prohibits these freedoms, facilitate parallel means of association and bargaining
  5. Discrimination: No discrimination based on race, caste, origin, religion, disability, gender, sexual orientation, union or political affiliation, or age; no sexual harassment
  6. Discipline: No corporal punishment, mental or physical coercion or verbal abuse
  7. Working Hours: Comply with the applicable law but, in any event, no more than 48 hours per week with at least one day off for every seven day period; voluntary overtime paid at a premium rate and not to exceed 12 hours per week on a regular basis; overtime may be mandatory if part of a collective bargaining agreement
  8. Compensation: Wages paid for a standard work week must meet the legal and industry standards and be sufficient to meet the basic need of workers and their families; no disciplinary deductions
  9. Management Systems: Facilities seeking to gain and maintain certification must go beyond simple compliance to integrate the standard into their management systems and practices.

Key Focus Areas:

  • Child Labor
  • Health & Safety
  • Working Hours
  • Discrimination
  • Disciplinary Practices
  • Remuneration / Compensation
  • Freedom of Association and Right of Collective Bargaining
  • Forced Labor
  • Security
  • Management Systems
  • Environment

Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI) Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI) was founded in 2003 for the purpose of developing the tools and procedures for the European Business Social Compliance Programs. Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI) is the common European platform of retailers, industry and importing companies for monitoring and improving social standards in supplier countries for all consumer goods. The BSCI is based on the labour standards of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and other important international regulations like the UN Charter for Human Rights, as well as on national regulations. The Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI) was officially launched on 30 November 2004. It represents a coordinated effort by the European retail industry to implement a harmonized code of conduct and improve working conditions in supplier countries on a voluntary basis. The driving force behind the BSCI is the Brussels -based Foreign Trade Association (FTA), which is the association for European commerce lobbying particularly on foreign trade issues. What are the benefits of the BSCI? The benefits of the BSCI as a broad and comprehensive monitoring system for social standards in the supply chain are numerous: Synergy effects, reduction of multiple auditing thereby reducing costs are one characteristic. Factories/companies which are being audited can improve their competitiveness through improved social standards as better working conditions and an improved management system leads to better product quality, higher productivity, fewer work accidents, less sick leave producing more highly motivated workers and lower staff turnover. The result of this is an improvement ethically, but also economically for both involved employers as well as employees. The economic advantages in this respect – in parallel taking into account the objectives to reduce excessive overtime and raise salaries where necessary, have been shown in research studies in this field. Therefore, benefits of the individual company also have a positive effect on the broad public. Does the BSCI provide a certification? The BSCI is not a certification system and therefore does not issue a certificate. The BSCI provides a specific process with uniform management instruments for Members, suppliers, auditors and qualifiers. This approach ensures uniform audit procedures and evaluation and therefore comparability of the results. If I do not get a certificate what do I receive as proof of the audit? The cover page of the audit report outlining the results and the validity of the audit can be displayed in the factory premises and be used as proof of the audit. Which products are covered by the BSCI? Audits within the BSCI can be conducted in any production facility worldwide. The type of articles covered by the BSCI varies widely. There are quite a number of department stores as members, who sell all sorts of soft goods, clothing, home textiles, small appliances, toys, and accessories. There are also members that focus on one particular product group, for example clothing stores, shoe retailers, baby products, or sports goods. For the implementation of the BSCI in the food industry, the BSCI has developed a special module for the primary production . BSCI Social Requirements

  • Management Practice.
  • Documentation.
  • Working Time
  • Remuneration.
  • Child labour/Young Labour
  • Forced Labour/Discrepancy Measures/Prison Labour.
  • Freedom of Association and Collective Bargain.
  • No Discrimination.
  • Working Conditions.
  • Health and Social Facilities.
  • Occupational Safety and Health.
  • Dormitories.
  • Environment.

BSCI Best Practices for Industry The BSCI currently recognizes SA8000 as its best practice. Some points of crucial important are as follows

  • Policy Establishment.
  • Proper Planning and Implementation.
  • Management Review.
  • Control of Subcontractors/Suppliers/Sub-suppliers.
  • Control of Home workers.
  • Compensation.
  • Child Labour.
  • Evasion.
  • Outside Communications.

Commitment of BSCI audited companies At present, BSCI audited companies have to commit themselves to auditing and integrating 2/3 of their soft goods suppliers or 2/3 of their buying volume in defined risk countries into the compliance program. SA8000 Auditors must carry out this auditing and integrating within a timeframe of 3 ½ years after joining the BSCI. The Supervisory Council checks the fulfillment  Immediate requirements: Social : Work/labor rights Conditions of work Safety at work (ILO 184) Safe work environment No forced labor (ILO 29&105) Child labor prohibited (ILO 182) Condition of employment Minimum age (ILO 138) Equal remuneration (ILO 100) Workers empowerment Freedom of association (ILO 87) Collective Bargaining (ILO 98) No discrimination at work (ILO 111) Short-term requirements: Environment: Chemicals Equipment and training on chemical use Storage/disposal/waste Management of chemicals Waste Pollution management Disposal of waste Water Disposal of grey waters and run off Social: Social/human rights Housing and sanitary facilities in place Gender issues Cultural/religion rights (ILO 169) Indigenous rights Minority rights Work/labor rights

  • Conditions of work
  • Safety at work (ILO 184)
  • Training on safety issues
  • Safety equipments and emergency kits
  • Safe handling chemicals
  • Healthy work conditions
  • Access to safe drinking water
  • Access to sanitary facilities at work
  • Access to medical assistance/ insurance
  • Training requirements on site
  • No use of physical violence
  • Condition of employment
  • Contract labour policies and practices
  • Transparency of employment practices
  • Leave days clearly specified
  • Timely payment of wages
  • Minimum wage requirements

Work/labor rights

  • Condition of employment
  • Living wages to cover basic human
  • Services /savings
  • Maximum number of working hours set 

BSCI Evaluation Scheme Structure of Audit

Part A – Recording Master Data: Business and master data of Supplier Company. Part B – BSCI Audit: Recording and evaluation of compliance with minimum social and environmental requirements. The implementations of corrective actions arising from Part B are compulsory. Part C – Recording and Assessment of Best Practice for Industry: Part C audit is compulsory; implementation of corrective actions arising from Part C is voluntary. Following an initial audit where serious issues have been found, corrective actions may be required before arranging for a re-audit to close these out. SGS is an accredited audit company for the BSCI program and has experience of conducting thousands of audits against this program with a dedicated Product Manager ensuring consistency across all countries. Our global network of auditors enables a quick and cost-effective response in most major manufacturing areas; while dedicated key account managers can support large programs where BSCI members are seeking to monitor supply chains against BSCI requirements

C-TPAT VALIDATION PROCESS GUIDELINES

Introduction The Customs Service has developed a validation process to ensure that C-TPAT participants have implemented the security measures outlined in their Security Profile and in any supplemental information provided to Customs. The validation process will be conducted jointly by U.S. Customs personnel and a representative of the industry participant. The validation will focus on the material in the participant’s C-TPAT security profile and any related materials provided by the participant and will be conducted under the guiding partnership principles of C-TPAT. II. Objective The purpose of the validation is to ensure that the supply chain security measures contained in the C-TPAT participant’s security profile have been implemented and are being followed. In the context of the company’s operations and the C-TPAT security recommendations, the validation team will evaluate the status and effectiveness of key security measures in the participant’s profile and make recommendations where appropriate. III. Validation Principles The guiding principle of the C-TPAT program is partnership. The C-TPAT program is voluntary and designed to share information that will protect the supply chain from being compromised by terrorists and terrorist organizations. The validation process will enable Customs and the C-TPAT participant to jointly review the participant’s C-TPAT security profile to ensure that security actions in the profile are being effectively executed. Throughout the process there will also be the opportunity to discuss security issues and to share “best practices” with the ultimate goal of securing the international supply chain. C-TPAT validations are not audits. In addition, they will be focused, concise, and will last not longer than ten work days. Based on the participant’s C-TPAT security profile and the recommendations of the validation team, Headquarters will also oversee the specific security elements to be validated. IV. Conducting a Validation A. Validation Selection Process To ensure their accuracy, the security profiles of C-TPAT participants will be validated. The order in which a C-TPAT participant’s profile will be selected for validation will be based on risk management principles. Validations may be initiated based on import volume, security related anomalies, strategic threat posed by geographic regions, or other risk related information. Alternatively, a validation may be performed as a matter of routine program oversight. Customs Headquarters will schedule a company’s first validation within approximately three years of the company becoming a C-TPAT certified participant. Customs field offices will not initiate validations and unannounced validations will not be conducted. C-TPAT participants will be given thirty days advance written notice along with a request for any supporting documentation that is needed.  B. Partnership Validation Teams A Partnership Validation Team (PVT), consisting of Customs Office of Field Operations personnel and a representative of the C-TPAT participant, will conduct the on-site C-TPAT validation. Customs representatives on a PVT will be officers knowledgeable in supply chain security matters. Customs PVT members will receive supply chain security training to assist them in working with industry representatives to promote effective corporate supply chain security programs. Customs Headquarters will determine the Customs representatives for each PVT. All Customs PVT representatives will be personnel from the Office of Field Operations. The Customs Partnership Validation Team Leader (assigned by Customs Headquarters) will be responsible for the team’s reviewing the company’s security profile, other security information provided by the company, and data and information retrievable from other sources to determine the focus of the validation. This will help ensure that the validation is effective and limited in duration. C. Validation Venue A validation is an on-site review of the participant’s C-TPAT supply chain security profile. The actual site of the validation may vary depending on the aspect(s) of the participant’s profile that the “C-TPAT Validation Team” will review. Under normal circumstances the validation will begin with a briefing of company officials at the domestic corporate office or facility of the C-TPAT participant. If additional data or information is required to validate a portion of a C-TPAT participant’s supply chain domestically or overseas, the PVT leader will request approval of travel through the Director, C-TPAT, at Customs Headquarters.  D. Validation Procedures Upon receiving direction from Headquarters, Customs PVT leader will provide the company with a written notification of the scheduled validation. The notice will be issued at least thirty days prior to the start of the validation and will include a request for supporting documentation or materials, if any. The PVT leader will also contact the C-TPAT participant to establish a single point of contact at the corporate level. Each validation will be customized for the participant involved and focused on the company’s C-TPAT security profile. Prior to the on-site validation, the Customs representatives on the PVT will review the participant’s C-TPAT security profile, any supplemental information received from the company, and any Customs Headquarters instructions, to determine the extent and focus of the validation. In preparation for the on-site validation, the validation team may also consider pertinent C-TPAT security recommendations. A complete set of recommendations is included as Attachment A below. These security recommendations are a reference tool for considering the sufficiency of specific aspects of a participant’s C-TPAT security profile. It is understood that the recommendations are not mandatory and are not all-inclusive with respect to effective security practices. As noted earlier, to begin the validation, the PVT will meet with company officials to discuss the process. Upon completion of the validation, the PVT will again convene with company officers to discuss validation findings. Although not a part of the PVT, the company’s Customs account manager will normally attend the company briefings that initiate and complete the validation process.  E. Validation Report Validation findings will be documented, included in the team’s final report, and forwarded to the Director of C-TPAT for final editing and sharing with the C-TPAT participant. Ideally the report will affirm or increase the level of benefits provided to the participant. However, depending on the findings, some or all of the participant’s C-TPAT benefits may be deferred until corrective action is taken to address identified vulnerabilities. With respect to actions resulting from a validation, Customs authority will rest with the Executive Director, Border Security and Facilitation.  Guidelines PREFACE The following outlines the C-TPAT Security Recommendations that may be used by the C-TPAT Validation Team in the planning phase of an on-site validation. The recommendations are not mandatory for C-TPAT participation, but they may be helpful in the pre-validation review of key aspects of a participant’s C-TPAT security profile. Therefore, prior to conducting an on-site validation, the validation team may review and discuss appropriate security recommendations contained in these attachments in the context of the participant’s C-TPAT security profile. This will assist the team in limiting the scope of the validation and in customizing the validation to the C-TPAT participant involved. IMPORTERS Develop and implement a sound plan to enhance security procedures throughout your supply chain. Where an importer does not control a facility, conveyance or process subject to these recommendations, the importer agrees to make every reasonable effort to secure compliance by the responsible party. The following are general recommendations that should be followed on a case-by-case basis depending on the company’s size and structure and may not be applicable to all. Procedural Security: Procedures should be in place to protect against unmanifested material being introduced into the supply chain. Security controls should include the supervised introduction/removal of cargo, the proper marking, weighing, counting and documenting of cargo/cargo equipment verified against manifest documents, the detecting/reporting of shortages/overages, and procedures for verifying seals on containers, trailers, and railcars. The movement of incoming/outgoing goods should be monitored. Random, unannounced security assessments of areas in your company’s control within the supply chain should be conducted. Procedures for notifying Customs and other law enforcement agencies in cases where anomalies or illegal activities are detected, or suspected, by the company should also be in place. Physical Security: All buildings and rail yards should be constructed of materials, which resist unlawful entry and protect against outside intrusion. Physical security should include perimeter fences, locking devices on external and internal doors, windows, gates and fences, adequate lighting inside and outside the facility, and the segregation and marking of international, domestic, high-value, and dangerous goods cargo within the warehouse by a safe, caged or otherwise fenced-in area. Access Controls: Unauthorized access to facilities and conveyances should be prohibited. Controls should include positive identification all employees, visitors, and vendors. Procedures should also include challenging unauthorized/unidentified persons. Personnel Security: Companies should conduct employment screening and interviewing of prospective employees to include periodic background checks and application verifications. Education and Training Awareness: A security awareness program should be provided to employees including the recognition of internal conspiracies, maintaining cargo integrity, and determining and addressing unauthorized access. These programs should offer incentives for active employee participation in security controls. Manifest Procedures: Companies should ensure that manifests are complete, legible, accurate, and submitted in a timely manner to Customs. Conveyance Security: Conveyance integrity should be maintained to protect against the introduction of unauthorized personnel and material. Security should include the physical search of all readily accessible areas, the securing of internal/external compartments and panels, and procedures for reporting cases in which unauthorized personnel, unmanifested materials, or signs of tampering, are discovered. BROKERS Develop and implement a sound plan to enhance security procedures. These are general recommendations that should be followed on a case-by-case basis depending on the company’s size and structure and may not be applicable to all. Procedural Security: Companies should notify Customs and other law enforcement agencies whenever anomalies or illegal activities related to security issues are detected or suspected. Documentation Processing: Brokers should make their best efforts to ensure that all information provided by the importer/exporter, freight forwarder, etc., and used in the clearing of merchandise/cargo, is legible and protected against the exchange, loss or introduction of erroneous information. Documentation controls should include, where applicable, procedures for:

  • Maintaining the accuracy of information received, including the shipper and consignee name and address, first and second notify parties, description, weight, quantity, and unit of measure (i.e. boxes, cartons, etc.) of the cargo being cleared.
  • Recording, reporting, and/or investigating shortages and overages of merchandise/cargo.
  • Safeguarding computer access and information.

Personnel Security: Consistent with federal, state, and local regulations and statutes, companies should establish an internal process to screen prospective employees, and verify employment applications. Such an internal process could include background checks and other tests depending on the particular employee function involved. Education and Training Awareness: A security awareness program should include notification being provided to Customs and other law enforcement agencies whenever anomalies or illegal activities related to security are detected or suspected. These programs should provide:

  • Recognition for active employee participation in security controls.
  • Training in documentation fraud and computer security controls.

MANUFACTURERS Develop and implement a sound plan to enhance security procedures. These are general recommendations that should be followed on a case by case basis depending on the company’s size and structure and may not be applicable to all. The company should have a written security procedure plan in place that addresses the following: Physical Security: All buildings should be constructed of materials, which resist unlawful entry and protect against outside intrusion. Physical security should include:

  • Adequate locking devices for external and internal doors, windows, gates, and fences.
  • Segregation and marking of international, domestic, high-value, and dangerous goods cargo within the warehouse by a safe, caged, or otherwise fenced-in area.
  • Adequate lighting provided inside and outside the facility to include parking areas.
  • Separate parking area for private vehicles separate from the shipping, loading dock, and cargo areas.
  • Having internal/external communications systems in place to contact internal security personnel or local law enforcement police.

Access Controls: Unauthorized access to the shipping, loading dock and cargo areas should be prohibited. Controls should include:

  • The positive identification of all employees, visitors and vendors.
  • Procedures for challenging unauthorized/unidentified persons.

Procedural Security: Measures for the handling of incoming and outgoing goods should include the protection against the introduction, exchange, or loss of any legal or illegal material. Security controls should include:

  • Having a designated security officer to supervise the introduction/removal of cargo.
  • Properly marked, weighed, counted, and documented products.
  • Procedures for verifying seals on containers, trailers, and railcars.
  • Procedures for detecting and reporting shortages and overages.
  • Procedures for tracking the timely movement of incoming and outgoing goods.
  • Proper storage of empty and full containers to prevent unauthorized access.
  • Procedures to notify Customs and other law enforcement agencies in cases where anomalies or illegal activities are detected or suspected by the company.

Personnel Security: Companies should conduct employment screening and interviewing of prospective employees to include periodic background checks and application verifications. Education and Training Awareness: A security awareness program should be provided to employees including recognizing internal conspiracies, maintaining product integrity, and determining and addressing unauthorized access. These programs should encourage active employee participation in security controls. WAREHOUSES Develop and implement a sound plan to enhance security procedures. These are general recommendations that should be followed on a case-by-case basis depending on the company’s size and structure and may not be applicable to all. Warehouses as defined in this guideline are facilities that are used to store and stage both Customs bonded and non-bonded cargo. The company should have a written security procedure plan in place addressing the following: Physical Security: All buildings should be constructed of materials, which resist unlawful entry and protect against outside intrusion. Physical security should include:

  • Adequate locking devices for external and internal doors, windows, gates and fences.
  • Adequate lighting provided inside and outside the facility to include parking areas.
  • Segregation and marking of international, domestic, high-value, and dangerous goods cargo within the warehouse by a safe, caged, or otherwise fenced-in area.
  • Separate parking area for private vehicles separate from the shipping, loading dock, and cargo areas.
  • Having internal/external communications systems in place to contact internal security personnel or local law enforcement police.

Access Controls: Unauthorized access to facilities should be prohibited. Controls should include:

  • The positive identification of all employees, visitors, and vendors.
  • Procedures for challenging unauthorized/unidentified persons.

Procedural Security: Procedures should be in place to protect against unmanifested material being introduced into the warehouse. Security controls should include:

  • Having a designated security officer to supervise the introduction/removal of cargo.
  • Properly marked, weighed, counted, and documented cargo/cargo equipment verified against manifest documents.
  • Procedures for verifying seal on containers, trailers, and railcars.
  • Procedures for detecting and reporting shortages and overages.
  • Procedures to notify Customs and other law enforcement agencies in cases where anomalies or illegal activities are detected or suspected by the company.
  • Proper storage of empty and full containers to prevent unauthorized access.

Personnel Security: Companies should conduct employment screening and interviewing of prospective employees to include periodic background checks and application verifications. Education and Training Awareness: A security awareness program should be provided to employees including recognizing internal conspiracies, maintaining cargo integrity, and determining and addressing unauthorized access. These programs should encourage active employee participation in security controls. AIR CARRIERS Develop and implement a sound plan to enhance security procedures. These are general recommendations that should be followed on a case-by-case basis depending on the company’s size and structure and may not be applicable to all. Conveyance Security: Aircraft integrity should be maintained to protect against the introduction of unauthorized personnel and material. Conveyance security procedures should include the physical search of all readily accessible areas, securing all internal/external compartments and panels, and reporting cases in which unmanifested materials, or signs of tampering, are discovered. Access Controls: Unauthorized access to the aircraft should be prohibited. Controls should include the positive identification of all employees, visitors and vendors as well as procedures for challenging unauthorized/unidentified persons. Procedural Security: Procedures should be in place to protect against unmanifested material being introduced aboard the aircraft. Security controls should include complete, accurate and advanced lists of international passengers, crews, and cargo, as well as a positive baggage match identification system providing for the constant security of all baggage. All cargo/cargo equipment should be properly marked, weighed, counted, and documented under the supervision of a designated security officer. There should be procedures for recording, reporting, and/or investigating shortages and overages, and procedures to notify Customs and other law enforcement agencies in cases where anomalies or illegal activities are detected or suspected by the carrier. Manifest Procedures: Companies should ensure that manifests are complete, legible, accurate, and submitted in a timely manner to Customs. Personnel Security: Employment screening, application verifications, the interviewing of prospective employees and periodic background checks should be conducted. Education and Training Awareness: A security awareness program should be provided to employees including recognizing internal conspiracies, maintaining cargo integrity, and determining and addressing unauthorized access. These programs should encourage active employee participation in security controls. Physical Security: Carrier’s buildings, warehouses, and on & off ramp facilities should be constructed of materials which resist unlawful entry and protect against outside intrusion. Physical security should include adequate locking devices for external and internal doors, windows, gates and fences. Perimeter fencing should also be provided, as well as adequate lighting inside and outside the facility; including parking areas. There should also be segregation and marking of international, domestic, high-value, and dangerous goods cargo within the warehouse by means of a safe, cage, or otherwise fenced-in area. SEA CARRIERS Develop and implement a sound plan to enhance security procedures. These are general recommendations that should be followed on a case-by-case basis depending on the company’s size and structure and may not be applicable to all. Conveyance Security: Vessel integrity should be maintained to protect against the introduction of unauthorized personnel and material. Conveyance security should include the physical search of all readily accessible areas, the securing all internal/external compartments and panels as appropriate, and procedures for reporting cases in which unmanifested materials, or signs of tampering, are discovered. Access Controls: Unauthorized access to the vessel should be prohibited. Controls should include the positive identification of all employees, visitors, and vendors. Procedures for challenging unauthorized/unidentified persons should be in place. Procedural Security: Procedures should be in place to protect against unmanifested material being introduced aboard the vessel. Security procedures should provide for complete, accurate and advanced lists of crews and passengers. Cargo should be loaded and discharged in a secure manner under supervision of a designated security representative and shortages/overages should be reported appropriately. There should also be procedures for notifying Customs and other law enforcement agencies in cases where anomalies or illegal activities are detected, or suspected, by the company. Manifest Procedures: Manifests should be complete, legible, accurate and submitted in a timely manner pursuant to Customs regulations. Personnel Security: Employment screening, application verifications, the interviewing of prospective employees and periodic background checks should be conducted. Education and Training Awareness: A security awareness program should be provided to employees including recognizing internal conspiracies, maintaining cargo integrity, and determining and addressing unauthorized access. These programs should encourage active employee participation in security controls. Physical Security: Carrier’s buildings should be constructed of materials, which resist unlawful entry and protect against outside intrusion. Physical security should include adequate perimeter fencing, lighting inside and outside the facility, and locking devices on external and internal doors, windows, gates, and fences. LAND CARRIERS Develop and implement a sound plan to enhance security procedures. These are general recommendations that should be followed on a case-by-case basis depending on the company’s size and structure and may not be applicable to all. Conveyance Security: Integrity should be maintained to protect against the introduction of unauthorized personnel and material. Conveyance security procedures should include the physical search of all readily accessible areas, securing all internal/external compartments and panels, and procedures for reporting cases in which unmanifested materials, or signs of tampering, are discovered. Physical Security: All carrier buildings and rail yards should be constructed of materials, which resist unlawful entry and protect against outside intrusion. Physical security should include adequate locking devices on external and internal doors, windows, gates and fences. Perimeter fencing should be addressed, as well as adequate lighting inside and outside the facility, to include the parking areas. There should be segregation and marking of international, domestic, high-value, and dangerous goods cargo within the warehouse by a safe, caged or otherwise fenced-in area. Access Controls: Unauthorized access to facilities and conveyances should be prohibited. Controls should include the positive identification of all employees, visitors, and vendors as well as procedures for challenging unauthorized/unidentified persons. Procedural Security: Procedures should be in place to protect against unmanifested material being introduced aboard the conveyance. Security controls should include the proper marking, weighing, counting, and documenting of cargo/cargo equipment under the supervision of a designated security representative. Procedures should be in place for verifying seals on containers, trailers, and railcars, and a system for detecting and reporting shortages and overages. The timely movement of incoming and outgoing goods should be tracked and there should be procedures for notifying Customs and other law enforcement agencies in cases where anomalies or illegal activities are detected or suspected by the company. Manifest Procedures: Companies should ensure that manifests are complete, legible, accurate, and submitted in a timely manner to Customs. Personnel Security: Companies should conduct employment screening and interviewing of prospective employees to include periodic background checks and application verifications. Education and Training Awareness: A security awareness program should be provided to employees including recognizing internal conspiracies, maintaining cargo integrity, and determining and addressing unauthorized access. These programs should encourage active employee participation in security controls. AIR FREIGHT CONSOLIDATORS/OCEAN TRANSPORTATION INTERMEDIARIES, AND NVOCCS Develop and implement a sound plan to enhance security procedures. These are general recommendations that should be followed on a case-by-case basis depending on the company’s size and structure and may not be applicable to all. Procedural Security: Companies should notify Customs and other law enforcement agencies whenever anomalies or illegal activities related to security issues are detected or suspected. Documentation Processing: Consolidators should make their best efforts to ensure that all information provided by the importer/exporter, freight forwarder, etc., and used in the clearing of merchandise/cargo, is legible and protected against the exchange, loss or introduction of erroneous information. Documentation controls should include, where applicable, procedures for: Maintaining the accuracy of information received, including the shipper and consignee name and address, first and second notify parties, description, weight, quantity, and unit of measure (i.e. boxes, cartons, etc.) of the cargo being cleared. Recording, reporting, and/or investigating shortages and overages of merchandise/cargo. Tracking the movement of incoming and outgoing cargo. Safeguarding computer access and information. Companies should participate in the Automated Manifested System (AMS) and all data submissions should be complete, legible, accurate and submitted in a timely manner pursuant to Customs regulations. Personnel Security: Consistent with federal, state, and local regulations and statutes, companies should establish an internal process to screen prospective employees, and verify applications. Such an internal process could include background checks and other tests depending on the particular employee function involved. Education and Training Awareness: A security awareness program should include notification being provided to Customs and other law enforcement agencies whenever anomalies or illegal activities related to security are detected or suspected. These programs should provide:

  • Recognition for active employee participation in security controls.
  • Training in documentation fraud and computer security controls.

Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C – TPAT) Document Checklist No Description                                                                                                          Concern Department 01 List of security guard force                                                                                                             Admin 02 Service contract with external security company                                                                           Admin 03 Job description of a Security Guard                                                                                               Admin 04 List of employees are allowed access to shipping document                                                Commercial 05 List of employees responsible for issuing and tracking seals                                                Commercial 06 Authorized trucker list                                                                                                             Commercial 07 Shipment Docs. (Export & Import) One copy of full sets of document                                  Commercial 08 Procedure for transit of finished goods to forwarder                                          Commercial/Compliance 09 Written Contact with the Transporter                                                                Commercial/Compliance 10 Written security standards & procedure for contractors                                    Commercial/Compliance 11 Registration/license of commencement                                                                                Compliance 12 Security procedure policies (FSP)                                                                                          Compliance 13 Register on security awareness programme/briefing to Employees                                     Compliance 14 List of subcontractors                                                                                                            Compliance 15 Record of on-site inspection of the subcontractors                                                              Compliance 16 Policy in controlling the security of cargo handling and storage areas                                 Compliance 17 List of restricted areas                                                                                                           Compliance 18 Written inspection procedure of empty ocean containers                                                    Compliance 19 Procedure for reporting of in transit violation to the Management                                       Compliance 20 Written Communication regarding the C-TPAT requirements to contractors                         Compliance 21 Background Check of Subcontractor                                                                                      Compliance 22 Security Guard force training records (as per FSP)                                                              Compliance 23 Written policy/procedure for Affixing, Replacing, Recording, and Tracking the Seals.                                                                                                                                          Compliance 24 Internal Audit Report Compliance 25 Crisis management plan                                                                                                       Compliance 26 List of personnel has the access to loading/packing areas                                                        Finishing 27 Packing Procedure of Finished Goods                                                                  Finishing/Compliance 28 Records of employees background checking                                                                                  HR 29 Training Material and Record of Employees orientation                                                                  HR 34 Factory ID return & missing record                                                                                                  HR 35 Employees job application form                                                                                                       HR 36 Hand Book stating companies rules & regulations                                                          HR/Compliance 37 Written personnel security guidelines for hiring                                                             HR/Compliance 38 Employees Termination Procedure & listing it on HRD & Security Guard Room                HR/Security 39 Register of individual accounts and passwords created for employees can access the computer system                                                                                                                   IT 40 Information access control procedure

WORLDWIDE RESPONSIBLE ACCREDITED PRODUCTION (WRAP)

The Background of WRAP Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production (WRAP) is an independent, non-profit corporation dedicated to the promotion and certification of lawful, humane, and ethical manufacturing throughout the world. The WRAP Principles have received the public endorsement of the American Apparel Manufacturers Association (AAMA) Board of Directors in 1998. More recently, the Principles have been endorsed by groups representing apparel manufacturers from 18 countries. The principles cover basic standards that address labor practices, factory conditions, and environmental and customs compliance. WRAP Principles Consist of Twelve Elements

  1. Compliance with Laws and Workplace Regulations
  2. Prohibition of Forced Labor
  3. Prohibition of Child Labor
  4. Prohibition of Harassment or Abuse
  5. Compensation and Benefits
  6. Hours of Work
  7. Freedom of Association and
  8. Collective Bargaining
  9. Health and Safety
  10. Prohibition of Discrimination
  11. Environment
  12. Customs Compliance
  13. Security

WRAP Certification Process Step 1: Application: Manufacturer first contacts WRAP for an audit request and sends back the completed application form and fee to initiate the certification process. Step 2 : Self-Assessment: The facility must adopt procedures described in the WRAP Handbook and provide evidence they have been implemented for at least 45 days (not less than 90 days for new applicants). Step 3 : Monitoring: The facility then chooses and contacts a WRAP certified auditing firm to get audited. The report and recommendations are sent to both the facility and WRAP. Step 4 : Evaluation: WRAP Staff may notify the facility that it needs to correct certain procedures and have the monitor make an additional inspection and report or may recommend to the Certification Board that the factory be certified. Step 5 : Certification: The Certification Board studies the recommendation of the staff, including the monitor’s report, and votes to award or withhold certification. Certification may be granted for six months or one to two years, depending on the final audit results and the length of time that the facility has held certification successfully. SGS SGS has WRAP approved auditors in most major sourcing countries and is able to provide consistent monitoring and reporting to support certification recommendations. With over 10 years’ experience of undertaking WRAP audits SGS is able to guide companies through the process while ensuring that professional audit standards are maintained. SGS Basic Code of Conduct program Consist of Nine Elements

  1. Child and Young Labor
  2. Forced Labor
  3. Health and Safety
  4. Freedom of Association
  5. Discrimination
  6. Disciplinary Practices
  7. Working Hours
  8. Compensation
  9. Environment

SGS Basic Quality System Audit Program Consist of Eight Elements

  1. Purchase Control
  2. Incoming Material Control
  3. Process Control
  4. Calibration of Measurement Equipment
  5. Inspection of Finished Product
  6. Random Product Inspection
  7. Continuous Improvement
  8. Quality Assurance Records

SGS Basic Security Audit Program Consist of Eight Elements

  1. Physical Security
  2. Warehouse/Conveyance Security
  3. Access Control
  4. Electronic and Security Staff Investments
  5. Procedural Security
  6. Personnel Security
  7. Education and Awareness Training
  8. Service Provider Security

Integrated Approach Code of Conduct Audit Solutions are often combined with other programs such as Quality, Environment or Security, as well as audits against Counterfeit Products, to provide a cost and time-effective mechanism thus ensuring conformance to local law and regulatory, and other industry requirements such as ISO 9001, ISO 14001, or SA 8000 requirements. SGS can offer a “one stop” and complete vendor evaluation program to include “capability and capacity” audits and Corporate Social Responsibility monitoring requirements, including Human Rights and the Environment. This offers increased efficiency and business opportunities to meet the multiple criteria demanded by diverse buyers and a source of competitive advantage where larger buyers seek to rationalize their supply chains. ETI (Ethical trade Initiative) ETI is a UK-based alliance of companies, trade unions and NGOs dedicated to improving the lives of workers and their families in global supply chains. It focuses on companies producing, supplying and selling goods for consumer markets. The organisation identifies and promotes responsible corporate practices that observe national and international labour laws. Recognised by almost all UK retailers, ETI has established an international reputation for combining a practical focus with a critical but balanced view of labour rights issues. ETI members must adhere to a code of labour practices based on key conventions of the International Labour Organisation and accompanied by a set of general principles. Code of Conduct audits In addition to operating within the highest standards of business ethics in accordance with applicable local laws, many businesses choose to go a step further. They expect their vendors to maintain these same high standards Technical Audit and Factory Evaluation To ensure your vendors and suppliers are able to undertake a specific order as per your requirements, we carry out technical audits at their business premise. This process establishes a manufacturer’s ability to design and produce according to your legal or normative requirements. Audits are conducted to any checklist specified. Alternatively, our experienced auditors can compile a checklist to match your requirements. Code of Conduct Compliance with Laws Suppliers and their designated manufacturing facilities (“Suppliers”) must fully comply with all applicable national and/or local laws and regulations, including but not limited to those related to labor, immigration, health and safety, and the environment.  Voluntary Labor All labor must be voluntary. Child, forced, bonded, prison, or indentured labor will not be tolerated. Workers must be allowed to maintain control over their identity documents. Suppliers must provide workers with rest days and must ensure the working hours are consistent with local regulations and not excessive.  Hiring and Employment Practices Suppliers must implement hiring practices that accurately verify workers’ legal right to work in the country and age prior to employment. All terms and conditions of employment including, but not limited to, hiring, pay, promotion, termination, and retirement must be based on an individual’s ability and willingness to do the job. Compensation Suppliers must compensate all workers with wages, overtime premiums, and benefits that meet or exceed local legal standards, local industry standards, or collective agreements, whichever are higher. Suppliers are encouraged to provide wages and benefits that are sufficient to meet workers’ basic needs and provide some discretionary income for workers and their families. Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining Suppliers must respect the right of workers to choose whether to lawfully and peacefully form or join trade unions of their choosing and to bargain collectively. Health and Safety Suppliers must provide workers with a safe and healthy work environment and, where applicable, safe and healthy residential facilities. Suppliers must take proactive measures to prevent workplace hazards  Environment Suppliers must ensure every manufacturing facility complies with national and local environmental laws, including all laws related to air emissions, water discharges, toxic substances and hazardous waste disposal. Suppliers must validate that all input materials and components were obtained from permissible harvests consistent with international treaties and protocols in addition to local laws and regulations. Gifts and Entertainment Suppliers must not offer gifts or entertainment to Comapys associates. Conflicts of Interest Suppliers must not enter into transactions with company’s  associates that create a conflict of interest. Anti-Corruption Suppliers must not tolerate, permit, or engage in bribery, corruption, or unethical practices whether in dealings with public officials or individuals in the private sector. Financial Integrity Suppliers must keep accurate records of all matters related to their business w in accordance with standard accounting practices . Disciplinary Practices Vendors shall not use corporal punishment or any other form of physical or psychological coercion or intimidation against workers.  Wages and Benefits Vendors shall provide wages and benefits that comply with all applicable laws and regulations or match the prevailing local manufacturing or industry rates, whichever is higher. Overtime pay shall be calculated at the legally required rate, regardless of whether workers are compensated hourly or by piece rate. Working Hours Vendors shall not require workers to work, including overtime, more than 60 hours per week or more than any maximum number of hours per week established by applicable laws and regulations, whichever is less. Vendors shall guarantee that workers receive at least one day off during each seven-day period. Contractors and Suppliers Vendors shall ensure that their contractors and suppliers adhere to this Code of Conduct. Monitoring of Compliance Vendors principals to conduct scheduled and unscheduled inspections of Vendors’ facilities for the purpose of ensuring compliance with this Code of Conduct. During these inspections, its principals shall have the right to review all employee-related books and records maintained by Vendors and to interview workers. Familiarization and Display of This Code of Conduct Vendors shall familiarize workers with this Code of Conduct and display this Code of Conduct, translated in the local language, at each of their facilities in a place readily visible and accessible to worker.

Social Codes of Conduct in the RMG Industry

What are Social Codes of Conduct? Voluntary Codes of Conduct

  • Social codes of conduct are rules and guidelines imposed by buyers upon themselves and along their supply chains, both in response to consumer pressure and as part of comprehensive marketing strategies aimed at     improving their image.
  • Social and environmental standards as outlined in the Bangladesh Labor Law and Environmental Act set out minimum standards to which manufacturers in Bangladesh must adhere. In contrast, compliance with general codes of conducts, which usually contain standards slightly higher than those defined by the Bangladesh laws, is voluntary.
  • The social compliance status of the Bangladesh RMG industry refers to the extent to which the industry meets the requirements of the labor law and/or any other buyer-specific code of conductor voluntary certification scheme.
  • The current social compliance status of the industry is not satisfactory; there is an urgent need to improve the situation.
  • The voluntary codes of conduct most widely used by the RMG sector include those of:
    • Social Accountability International (SAI) – SA8000
    • Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI)
    • Fair Labor Association (FLA)
    • Fair Wear Foundation (FWF)
    • Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI)
    • Worldwide Responsible Apparel Production
    • (WRAP).

Only WRAP and SAI have certifications for factories, whereas FLA certifies brands, not factories. The other above-mentioned codes of conduct do not have any certification options. Generally, adherence by a particular manufacturer to a given standard or code of conduct is verified through periodic audits/ inspections. These inspections are carried out by buyers and/or thirdparty auditors nominated by the buyers. Bangladesh Labor Law 2006 (BLL 2006) Implementation of the BLL 2006 is monitored primarily by Ministry of Labor and Employment (MoLE) factory inspectors and BGMEA and BKMEA social compliance monitors. Besides inspecting and monitoring the status of the factories, BGMEA and BKMEA monitors provide advisory support to factory personnel so that they are able to implement the required, correct measures as stated in BLL 2006. General codes of conduct (CoCs) are usually voluntary and developed using a multi stakeholder approach. SA8000, ETI, WRAP, BSCI, FWF and FLA are some of the prevailing general CoCs. Areas of Code of conduct:

  1. ILO Core Labor Standard:
  2. Child Labor
  3. Forced Labor
  4. Freedom of Association
  5. Discrimination
    1. Employment Conditions :
    2. Harassment and Abuse
    3. Wages
    4. Working Hours
    5. Leave and Holidays
      1. Occupational Heath &safety :
      2. Health
      3. Workplace Conditions
      4. Welfare
      5. Safety
      6. OHS Management System & Training
        1. Others aspects ;
        2. Environment
        3. Women’s right
        4. Management
        5. Employment Relations
        6. Others.

Corrective Action 

When violations are found, Company and the Vendor will determine a corrective action plan to eliminate the problem in a timely manner. If it is identified that the Vendor is knowingly and/or repeatedly in violation of this Code of Conduct, Company and its principals shall take necessary action which may include cancellation of orders and/or termination of business with the Vendor in question.

Standard   Code of Conduct

1. Compliance with Laws

Suppliers and their designated manufacturing facilities (“Suppliers”) must fully comply with all applicable national and/or local laws and regulations, including but not limited to those related to labor, immigration, health and safety, and the environment. Standard  requires, at a minimum, that its suppliers are in compliance with all laws and regulations in the communities and countries where the suppliers and their designated factories operate. This standard is also applicable to all sub-contractors producing merchandise for sale by Walmart. In addition to laws and regulations pertaining to labor, immigration, health and safety, and the environment, compliance with laws and regulations extends to other matters such as intellectual property rights, labeling, documentation and certifications. 2. Voluntary Labor All labor must be voluntary. Child, underage, forced, bonded, prison, or indentured labor will not be tolerated. Workers must be allowed to maintain control over their identity documents. Suppliers must provide workers with rest days and must ensure that the working hours are consistent with the regulation and not excessive. Employment must be on a voluntary basis and thus workers must be able to terminate the employment relationship at any time with reasonable notice. Workers must be able to freely leave the locale (municipality, country, etc.) and therefore it is essential the workers maintain control over their identity documents. Forced, prison, and child labor are prohibited and those factories that are found to have violated this provision will cease to produce merchandise for standard and all merchandise produced will be subject to destruction. Suppliers and factories found to have used child labor will be asked to remediate the situation by implementing a satisfactory solution that places the best interest of the child first. Suppliers and factory management must ensure working hours are not only consistent with local laws and regulations but also are not excessive. In the absence of regulations regarding working hours and rest days, employers must provide workers with rest days. Specifically: Child Labor, Underage workers and juvenile (minor) workers o Child Labor: Factories are prohibited from employing any workers under the age of 14 regardless of local and national regulations. o Under age workers: Factories are prohibited from employing workers below the minimum working age as defined by local and national regulations. All workers must be at or above the legal minimum age at time of employment. o Juvenile (minor) workers: Where a national law specifies juvenile (minor) employment restrictions or requirements, the factory must demonstrate their compliance with the local legal requirements. o Factories must have age-verification procedures that are effectively implemented. The personnel (personal) file of each worker must contain copies of identification documents (such as birth certificates, national ID cards or school certificates) submitted by the worker as proof of age and education (where applicable). Forced Labor o All forms of prison or forced labor are prohibited as well as any subcontracting arrangement with prisons is prohibited. o Any restrictions for workers to voluntarily end their employment, such as, excessive notice periods or substantial fines for terminating their employment contracts, are prohibited. o Factories must grant employees permission to leave the factory under reasonable circumstances, such as personal or family emergencies, without disciplinary penalty. Factories must never physically prevent or delay workers from leaving the facility or its grounds. o Factories must not require or allow employment agents to require any monetary deposits or keep any original identification documents. The practice of deposits (money/original identification) may prevent workers from freely ending their employment (within the legal context). Working Hours o Overtime must be strictly voluntary. Any form of pressure to perform overtime is prohibited. o Factories must comply with local and national regulations regarding limitations on overtime hours. If local and/nor national regulations regarding the number of maximum overtime hours that may be worked by individual workers do not exist, then the working hours should not exceed 60 hours per week consisting of a maximum of 48 hours of regular hours and 12 hours of overtime. o Factories must meet the requirements for working hours as stipulated by the local and national regulations. o Schedules implemented by factories must be in compliance with national and local regulations where the regular workday, workweek, rest days and/or holidays are defined. o Where regulations do not specify rest days, workers should have a minimum of one day off in seven; workers may work on their rest day but no more than once in every two weeks. Factories should ensure that workers do not consistently work on their rest day by monitoring and limiting the practice of working on a rest day. Workers ability to work on a rest day should be limited to twice per month and only two months consecutively in one calendar year. For example, a worker may only be allowed in a one year period to have two consecutive months where 2 days of rest were taken. Generally, workers must have 4 days of rest in every month. o Time records for all workers must be available for review. Employees must maintain their own time records, i.e. punch in and out themselves. o Factories must record all employee working hours completely and accurately. o Factories should have a working time clock that employees use to record their hours, both regular and overtime. 3. Hiring and Employment Practices Suppliers must implement hiring practices that accurately verify workers’ legal right to work in the country and age prior to employment. All terms and conditions of employment including, but not limited to, hiring, pay, training, promotion, termination, and retirement must be based on an individual’s ability and willingness to do the job. Suppliers as well as factory management must implement internal controls to validate the legal right of foreign workers to work in the country, that is, each worker has a valid work permit and are in the country lawfully. Additionally, suppliers and factory management must validate the age of their workers prior to employment. Work permits as well as copies of government issued identification documents must be maintained in the personnel files of all workers. Employment practices of suppliers and factory management must be based on equal opportunity for all workers. Employment practices include, but are not limited to, recruiting, hiring, training, job assignments, pay, benefits, promotions, discipline, termination or retirement. Suppliers and factory management must not engage in any discrimination based on gender, age, religion, marital status, race, social background, diseases, disability, pregnancy, ethnic and national origin, nationality, membership in worker organizations or any other personal characteristic. Specifically: The process used by factories for hiring, compensation, promotion, termination and retirement practices and access to training should be based on a person’s ability to perform the job effectively, and not on a person’s individual characteristics. Practices that use religion, sex, ethnicity or nation origin, disability, political affiliation, social status, sexual orientation, actual or perceived HIV status or legal migrant worker status as a basis for the above is prohibited. Discrimination in any form is prohibited. Factories must not require female applicants, contract workers or employees to be tested for pregnancy unless the factory is required by law to conduct such tests. Pregnancy testing should be voluntary not mandatory. Mandatory pregnancy testing (if not a legal requirement) is prohibited. It is prohibited for factories to ask female applicants about their pregnancy status and must not discriminate in their hiring, salary, benefits, advancement, discipline, termination or retirement practices. Restricting or limiting reproductive rights is prohibited. Factories must meet any legal conditions on working environment for women and pregnant, post-partum and lactating women. Women returning from maternity leave must be given an equivalent position and equal pay as required by local laws and regulations Factories must make reasonable accommodations in job conditions for pregnant women (such as job reassignments to non-hazardous or lighter work, provision of seating, extended breaks, etc.). 4. Compensation Suppliers must compensate all workers with wages, overtime premiums, and benefits that meet or exceed legal standards, local industry standards, or collective agreements, whichever are higher. Suppliers are encouraged to provide wages and benefits that are sufficient to meet workers’ basic needs and provide some discretionary income for workers and their families. Suppliers and factory management must compensate all workers in accordance with local regulations and where applicable with contractual agreements. Workers must be provided with written and understandable details regarding their employment and compensation. Deductions from wages must not be made without the express permission of workers and must not be made as a disciplinary measure. Specifically: Factories must be in compliance with respect to all workers, including employees on piece rate. Where the industry wage is greater than the minimum wage, the industry wage should be paid. Factories must provide all benefits and bonuses in accordance with the law. Workers should be aware of their benefits and understand how their wages are calculated. Workers should be provided with pay slips in a language the workers understand and that show regular and overtime hours worked, regular and overtime rates and wages, bonuses and deductions. Factories must only deduct from wages what is legally permitted; factories must not deduct for tardiness exceeding the actual hour(s) lost and recruitment agency fees. 5. Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining Suppliers must respect the right of workers to choose whether to lawfully and peacefully form or join trade unions of their choosing and to bargain collectively. Workers must be able to join or form trade unions consistent with laws and regulations. Suppliers and factory management must not prevent workers from exercising their rights and must not discriminate against worker representatives and union members due to their membership or affiliation with a trade union. In accordance with local regulations, suppliers and factory management must give worker representatives access to the workplace in order to carry out their representative functions. Specifically: Freedom of Association o Factories must respect employee rights to freedom of association; they must not impose any punitive actions against workers in supporting a union such as threatening, fining, suspending or firing workers exercising those rights. Any action that suppresses freedom of association is prohibited, and may be an act deemed illegal in some countries’ labor codes. o Where the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining is restricted under law, the supplier should not hinder the development of lawful parallel means for independent free association and bargaining. o Managers and supervisors should be trained in freedom of association compliance when possible, and workers should receive instruction on their rights under national law and company standards. Collective Bargaining o Factories must honor the right of workers to bargain collectively. o Employees should be able to raise issues regarding any collective bargaining agreement compliance by the employer/factory without retaliation. o In situations where a Trade Union is not recognized as the bargaining agent of some or all of the workers in a factory, the Trade Union should have the means for defending the occupational interests of its members. 6. Health and Safety Suppliers must provide workers with a safe and healthy work environment and where applicable, safe and healthy residential facilities. Suppliers must take proactive measures to prevent workplace hazards. The work environment and, where applicable, residential facilities must be safe and clean to ensure the health and safety of all workers. Supplier and factory management must implement procedures and safeguards with the spirit of preventing accidents and injuries to workers; procedures and safeguards include, but are not limited to, inspection of buildings (residential and factories), machinery, and fire extinguishers. Workers must be provided with periodic health and safety training related to the handling and disposal of hazardous materials. Additionally, personal protective equipment and clothing must be provided to all workers handling hazardous materials. Specifically: Fire Safety – Suppliers must ensure: o Aisles and exits are kept clear and unblocked at all times o Exits are unlocked at all times during working hours and are clearly marked o Factories conduct regular fire drills per local laws, but not less than once yearly o Factories have functional and sufficient fire fighting equipment Electrical Safety – Suppliers must ensure: o Factories maintain appropriate electrical wiring and circuit box conditions PPE/Chemical Safety – Suppliers must ensure: o Factories establish appropriate spill response programs o MSDS sheet information is available for utilized chemicals in local language o Factories provide appropriate PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) and training for workers o Factory workers properly utilize PPE o Factories appropriately store chemicals (proximity of incompatible chemicals, away from ignition sources, etc) o Eye wash stations are appropriately located and maintained Sanitation – Suppliers must ensure: o Accessibility of drinking water for their workers Restrooms, canteens, food preparation areas, dormitories, etc. are maintained in a safe and clean condition o Factories possess appropriate hygiene certificates for their canteen and its workers per local laws Accident/First Aid – Suppliers must ensure: o Factories maintain detailed accident/incident logs o Factories maintain an appropriate First Aid program with locally mandated and trained responders/clinics/hospitals per local requirements/laws o Factories maintain sufficient First Aid boxes (1 per 100 employees) which are consistently monitored/refilled 7. Environment Suppliers must ensure every manufacturing facility complies with national and local environmental laws, including all laws related to waste disposal, air emissions, discharges, toxic substances and hazardous waste disposal. Suppliers must validate that all input materials and components were obtained from permissible harvests consistent with international treaties and protocols in addition to local laws and regulations. In addition to meeting specific laws and regulations such as acquiring the necessary permits and approvals relating to waste disposal, air emissions, wastewater discharge, water use, energy conservation, Greenhouse Gases, hazardous substances, environmental impact assessment, land use, and noise pollution, Walmart expects its suppliers to implement measures for reducing air and water pollutants, energy and water usage, and waste. Specifically: Waste Management – Suppliers must ensure factories: o Obtain appropriate permits for on site waste disposal as required by local and national regulations o Deliver hazardous waste for offsite treatment and disposal only to contractors licensed by appropriate competent authority (if any) o Handle and store hazardous waste in a safe and environmentally sound manner to control any risks of environmental contamination o Maintain waste containers and labels in an appropriate condition Maintain waste inventory and tracking records Wastewater & Effluents Management – Suppliers must ensure factories: o Obtain appropriate permits for wastewater/effluents treatment and discharge as required by local and national regulations o Conduct regular wastewater monitoring (sampling & testing) as required by local and national regulations o Strictly comply with wastewater/effluents discharge limits as required by local and national regulations o Take immediate corrective actions in the event discharge limits are exceeded o Have a drainage system in place to convey wastewater to treatment plant and/or final discharge points. Drainage layout must be made available upon request. Drains must be regularly cleaned and maintained o Maintain wastewater treatment plant in safe operating conditions to avoid any risks to environment and/or human health Air Emissions Management – Suppliers must ensure factories: o Obtain appropriate permits for air emissions as required by local and national regulations o Conduct regular air emissions monitoring (sampling & testing) as required by local and national regulations o Strictly comply with air emissions limits as required by local and national regulations o Take immediate corrective actions in the event emission limits are exceeded o Maintain on a regular basis air emission control equipment o Establish an inventory of sources related to air emission points o Expand the inventory of ODS (ozone depleting substances) containment equipment Inspect and maintain ODS (ozone depleting substances) containment equipment to prevent the accidental release of substances Water Management – Suppliers must ensure factories: o Obtain appropriate permits for water use / extraction as required by local and national regulations o Maintain data regarding water use consumption (e.g. water consumption data from water bills and meter readings) Energy use and GHG (greenhouse gases) management – Suppliers must ensure factories: o Meet applicable legal requirements in terms of energy use and GHGs emissions o Set up energy use inventory (e.g. energy consumption data from energy bills and meter readings, fuel bills, gas bills) o Maintain Greenhouse Gas Emissions (direct and indirect) inventory Land Use and Biodiversity– Suppliers must ensure factories: o Conduct Environmental Impact Assessment and submit the results to competent authority for review and approval as required by local and national regulations o Obtain appropriate permits for land use and facilities construction as required by local and national regulations o Meet applicable local and national regulations regarding protected land Environmental Management System – Suppliers must ensure factories: o Adopt environmental policy o Have a mechanism in place to monitor environmental laws and regulations changes to achieve compliance Appoint a member of management team for the coordination of environmental management activities and ensure he/she is properly trained o Develop an emergency protocol to deal with environmental incidents. The emergency protocol should include emergency plan, trained emergency team and regular drills o Provide regular environmental training to impacted employees Hazardous Substances Management / Soil & Ground water Pollution Prevention – Suppliers must ensure factories: o Do not utilize banned chemicals as required by local and national regulations o Obtain appropriate permits for hazardous substances handling & storage as required by local and national regulations o Take appropriate measures to prevent & control any risks of environmental pollution from hazardous substances release o Verify the existence of sensitive receptors (e.g. rivers, underground water, etc.) close to production facilities and implement special measures to prevent contamination where needed Noise Pollution – Suppliers must ensure factories: o Obtain appropriate permit for noise pollution as required by local and national regulations o Perform noise pollution assessments as required by local and national regulations o Conduct regular noise pollution monitoring as required by local and national regulations o Strictly comply with noise pollution limits as required by local and national regulations o Take immediate corrective actions in the event the noise pollution limits are exceeded Permissible harvests and origin of raw (input) materials: Suppliers and factories should maintain inventory records and production records to demonstrate origin of incoming materials and place of production o Factories must demonstrate through Chain of Custody documents (certifications) that raw materials (cotton, wood, etc.) were obtained from legal harvests consistent with international treaties and protocols in addition to local laws and regulations even if national regulations do not regulate harvests. 8. Gifts and Entertainment Company’s  policy of not permitting any gifts and entertainment stems from our goal to maintain Every Day Low Costs. Suppliers offering gifts, favors or entertainment to associates put our associates into difficult positions, where they must decline and report the incident. Specifically: Suppliers must ensure factories do not offer gifts or entertainment to company’s  associates .Gifts include but are not limited to: o Meals o Travel expenses o Money or the equivalent o Free goods o Tickets or access to events o Personal favors 9. Conflicts of Interest Suppliers must not enter into transactions with Companies that create a conflict of interest. A conflict of interest may exist when personal interests interfere or appear to interfere with business interests. 10. Anti-Corruption Suppliers must not tolerate, permit, or engage in bribery, corruption, or unethical practices whether in dealings with public officials or individuals in the private sector. Suppliers and factories may not promise, offer, or pay anything of value to a government official or political party to obtain or retain business or secure an improper advantage on behalf of vendor. Suppliers and factories may not promise, offer, or pay anything of value to any business or any individual in the private sector to obtain or retain business or secure an improper advantage on behalf of vendor. 11. Financial Integrity Suppliers must keep accurate records of all matters related to their business with vendor. in accordance with standard accounting practices such as Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) or International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). Suppliers and factories must keep only one set of financial records, and should accurately record all legitimate financial transactions within those records using standard accounting practices. Financial records must be made available for both pre-arranged and unannounced audits by vendor or third party representatives.

Job Description of Compliance Professional:

Implementing law-2006, & various compliance related issues, COC of different reputed buyers and implementation of those in the factory. Handle workers compensation, disability claims, evaluate employees. Conduct vendor compliance audits in factories and follow up compliance issues. Improve factories’ social compliance and quality performances by following up on Corrective Action Plans with frequent factory visits, training and support appropriate measures. Good knowledge in social compliance programs (e.g. BSCI, SA8000) and quality a (e.g. ISO9000, ISO14000) Do all paper work related to keeping office and factory ready to face audits Help prepare reports and mails for correspondence with buyers and various compliance monitoring agencies as needed. Interact with factory floor personnel to prepare them for compliance audits and make them aware on maintaining better compliance standards Prepare regular compliance reports Support HR and Welfare and other departments as the case may be, in successfully implementing compliance related initiatives Looks after various Compliance Issues in the Factory. Complying the Buyer’s COC and applicable Labor Law- 2006 in every area. Looks after and ensure Health and Safety issue under the individual Buyer’s requirement. Maintain good relation with workers and management. Should be responsible to maintain all issues related to compliance and provide the summaries feedback. Procure regulatory documents relating to labor ordinance, health & safety and others. Train concerned/staffs on compliance standards and requirements. To follow up the progress of internal factory audit. Ensure facility’s Compliance requirements as per local-international legal standards, Find out any non-conformity in relation to Compliance and make sure that those findings are resolved in a systematic and planned manner. Collect and maintain regulatory documents relating to labour ordinance, occupational health & safety and social responsibility etc. Stand for vendor compliance requirements and follow up compliance issues. Interface with internal and external customers on compliance-related requests, inquiries and matters. Sufficient knowledge on compliance issues of a sweater factory is essential. Individuals must have the capability to handle all compliance issues of a sweater factory independently. Assist & coordinate in HR Recruitment and selection process. Assist the Management in conducting Skill/Competency Assessment of staff. Ensure occupational Health, Hygiene and safety management of the company. Handle employee grievance, counseling and ensure employee disciplinary functions. Employment:- Selection, interviewing, Testing, Recruitment & Placement. Employee benefits: Salary, Wages, pay scale, increment, incentives, allowances etc. Job Change: Transfer, Promotion, & demotion Handling Employee grievance for- employees’ compliance. Employees’ Performance Evaluation. Industrial Relation: Relation between Employee and Management. Employee Services: Employee Wale fare. Occupational Health, Safety & Hygiene. Employee counseling. Developing Personnel Policy- HR Handbook Needs for training assessment. Disciplinary Action Attendance, Leave & Holiday Management. Time Management Productivity enhancement. To Up-date Company policies, prepare work place, code of conduct, formulate workers handbook, training policy, training development. To organize separate training program for the factory management, middle management and staff / workers regarding HR and Compliance Issues. To develop the physical and Mental Capacity of workers, so that they can fulfill the highest standard of production. To ensure the health, safety and better working condition in all work place. To arrange orientation and professional training program for each category of staff and workers. To ensure leave and rest facilities, salary, OT allowances and compensation to all the workers and staff within the stipulated time. To maintain and monitor proper disciplinary procedure among the workers and staff. To implement the buyers COC/ institution, factory acts and compliance in all the factories as per buyer desire. To pre-evaluate the factories before buyers evaluation and make ready the factories as per buyer desire. To conduct constant and regular visit to all the factories in search of new points of compliance and put suggestions to the factory management to remedy as soon as possible time. To make good and peaceful relationship between the employees and employer. To maintain the chemical compliance per buyer’s desire. To maintain and monitor the compliance. To keep the security system update under the security policy . Maintain relation and discipline in the factory for all staffs and workers Deal Recruitment Process Leave Management, Attendance monitoring, Salary Administration, Performance Appraisal. Handling Disciplinary & Grievance issues. Look after employees Health, Safety & Welfare. Look after social security of employees. Organizational Development. Maintain Buyers CoC. Look after the Compliance & HR issues of the factory Complying the EU/USA buyers requirement Maintaining the standard in social and technical compliance issues Updating the essential legal matter i,e Fire certificate, environmental certificate and all statutory permissions Providing reports to the queries of buyer and meet their requirement in connection with compliance issue Supervise the health and safety issues and ensure the readiness for Emergency Conducting Training Program in different level Efficient at all HR Issues (Increment, Disciplinary action, File management, Payroll, training & development etc)Looks after all Compliance Issues in the Factory. Complying the deference Buyer’s COC and applicable Labour Law- 2006. Maintain Register Separately for Leave Employee Insurance. Maternity Cases and Disciplinary procedure and prepare update leave statement, Yearly Increment, Salary Adjustment and individual Salary Statement. Looks after and ensure that Health and Safety issue under the individual Buyer’s requirement. Maintains the good relationship with workers and management. Responsible to deal with labor Law and Law related occupational Safety. Should be responsible to manage all issues related to compliance and provide the summaries feed back.  Look after social security of employees. Organizational Development. Maintain requirement of SA 8000, ISO, WRAP, SEDEX, BSCI, FLO-Fare trade, GOTS etc.

Important Component of Social Compliance

Labor Welfare Labour welfare activities in an industrialized society has far reaching impact not only on the work force but also all the facets of human resources. Labour welfare includes all such activities, which not only secures existential necessities but also ensures improvement in spiritual and emotional quotient. It comprises of short term and long terms goal toward building a humane society. PRINCIPLES FOR SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION OF WELFARE ACTIVITIES The success of welfare activities depends on the approach which has been taken into account in providing such activities to the employees. Welfare policy should be guided by idealistic morale and human value. Every effort should be made to give workers/ employees some voice in the choice of welfare activities so long as it does not amount to dictation from workers. There are employers who consider all labour welfare activities as distasteful legal liability. There are workers who look upon welfare activities in terms of their inherent right. Both parties have to accept welfare as activities of mutual concern. Constructive and lasting Progress in the matter of social justice can be achieved only if welfare activities are accepted as essential factors in the progress of the business organization Labour welfare is dependent on certain basic principles. The following are the principles on which successful implementation of welfare programmes depends :

  1. Adequacy of Wages: Labour welfare measures cannot be a substitute for wages. Workers have a right to adequate wages. But high wage rates alone cannot create healthy atmosphere, nor bring about a sense of commitment on the part of workers. A combination of social welfare, emotional welfare and economic welfare together would achieve good results.
  2. Social Liability of Industry: Industry, according to this principle, has an obligation or duty towards its employees to look after their welfare. The constitution of India also emphasizes this aspect of labour welfare.
  3. Impact on Efficiency: This plays an important role in welfare services, and is based on the relationship between welfare and efficiency, though it is difficult to measure this relationship. Programmes for housing, education and training, the provision of balanced diet and family planning measures are some of the important programmes of labour welfare which increases the efficiency of the workers, especially in underdeveloped or developing countries.
  4. Increase in Personality: The development of the human personality is given here as the goal of industrial welfare which, according to this principle, should counteract the baneful effects of the industrial system. Therefore, it is necessary to implement labour welfare services. Both inside and outside the factory, that is, provide intra-mural and extra-mural labour welfare services.
  5. Totality of Welfare: This emphasizes that the concept of labour welfare must spread throughout the hierarchy of an organization. Employees at all levels must accept this total concept of labour welfare programme will never really get off the ground.
  6. Co-ordination or Integration: This plays an important role in the success of welfare services. From this angle, a co-ordinated approach will promote a healthy development of the worker in his work, home and community. This is essential for the sake of harmony and continuity in labour welfare services.
  7. Democratic Values: The co-operation of the worker is the basis of this principle. Consultation with, and the agreement of workers in, the formulation and implementation of labour welfare services are very necessary for their success. This principle is based on the assumption that the worker is “a mature and rational individual.” Industrial democracy is the driving force here. Workers also develop a sense of pride when they are made to feel that labour welfare programmes are created by them and for them.
  8. Responsibility: This recognizes the fact that both employers and workers are responsible for labour welfare. Trade unions, too, are involved in these programmes in healthy manner, for basically labour welfare belongs to the domain of trade union activity. Further, when responsibility is shared by different groups, labour welfare work becomes simpler and easier.
  9. Accountability: This may also be called the Principle of Evaluation. Here, one responsible person gives an assessment or evaluation of existing welfare services on a periodical basis to a higher authority. This is very necessary, for then one can judge and analyze the success of labour welfare programmes.
  10. Timely: The timeliness of any service helps in its success. To identify the labour problem and to discover what kind of help is necessary to solve it and when to provide this help are all very necessary in planning labour welfare programmes. Timely action in the proper direction is essential in any kind of social work.

Last, but not the least is the fact that labour welfare must aim at helping workers to help themselves in the long run. This helps them to become more responsible and more efficient. STATUTORY WELFARE SCHEMES The statutory welfare schemes include the following provisions:

  1. Drinking Water: At all the working places safe hygienic drinking water should be provided.
  2. Facilities for sitting: In every organization, especially factories, suitable seating arrangements are to be provided.
  3. First aid appliances: First aid appliances are to be provided and should be readily assessable so that in case of any minor accident initial medication can be provided to the needed employee.
  4. Latrines and Urinals: A sufficient number of latrines and urinals are to be provided in the office and factory premises and are also to be maintained in a neat and clean condition.
  5. Canteen facilities: Cafeteria or canteens are to be provided by the employer so as to provide hygienic and nutritious food to the employees.
  6. Spittoons: In every work place, such as ware houses, store places, in the dock area and office premises spittoons are to be provided in convenient places and same are to be maintained in a hygienic condition.
  7. Lighting: Proper and sufficient lights are to be provided for employees so that they can work safely during the night shifts.
  8. Washing places: Adequate washing places such as bathrooms, wash basins with tap and tap on the stand pipe are provided in the port area in the vicinity of the work places.
  9. Changing rooms: Adequate changing rooms are to be provided for workers to change their cloth in the factory area and office premises. Adequate lockers are also provided to the workers to keep their clothes and belongings.
  10. Rest rooms: Adequate numbers of restrooms are provided to the workers with provisions of water supply, wash basins, toilets, bathrooms, etc.

NON STATUTORY SCHEMES Many non statutory welfare schemes may include the following schemes:

  1. Personal Health Care (Regular medical check-ups): Some of the companies provide the facility for extensive health check-up
  2. Flexi-time: The main objective of the flextime policy is to provide opportunity to employees to work with flexible working schedules. Flexible work schedules are initiated by employees and approved by management to meet business commitments while supporting employee personal life needs
  3. Employee Assistance Programs: Various assistant programs are arranged like external counseling service so that employees or members of their immediate family can get counseling on various matters.
  4. Harassment Policy: To protect an employee from harassments of any kind, guidelines are provided for proper action and also for protecting the aggrieved employee.
  5. Maternity & Adoption Leave – Employees can avail maternity or adoption leaves. Paternity leave policies have also been introduced by various companies.
  6. Medi-claim Insurance Scheme: This insurance scheme provides adequate insurance coverage of employees for expenses related to hospitalization due to illness, disease or injury or pregnancy.
  7. Employee Referral Scheme: In several companies employee referral scheme is implemented to encourage employees to refer friends and relatives for employment in the organization.

Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) in the RMG Sector Occupational health and safety (OHS) in the garment sector relates to: temperature, noise, light, ventilation, machine, chemical, electrical, and fire safety; and ergonomics. OHS requirements and measurement parameters (if applicable) can be found in:

  • The Bangladesh Labor Law 2006 (sections 51-94)
  • The NationalBuilding Code 2006
  • The ILO Core Labor Conventions (C155, C161)
  • Standards as given by the Occupational Safety and Health Authority (OSHA) of the US Labor Department
  • International standards (SA8000, BSCI, ETI, WRAP, etc.) and buyers’ codes of conduct

Both employers and workers have a responsibility to contribute to a working environment free of health and safety hazards. OHS training to both mid-level management and workers raises awareness and reduces workplace-related accidents, injuries and diseases. OHS factory improvement activities are implemented in four steps. Step : 01 Orient factory management and the social compliance office Baseline floor visit Develop corrective action plan (CAP). Step : 02 Monitor implementation of CAP Recommend ways to overcome shortcomings Train mid-level management.  Step : 03 Monitor implementation of recommendations Guide workers’ OHS training activities Assess impacts of mid-level management training. Step : 04 Evaluate OHS improvement measures Discuss progress achieved with management Recommend further improvement measures. Occupational Safety and Health Machine Guards Accidents in the workplace Many serious accidents at work involve machinery and occur for several reasons, including:

  • Lack of machine guards
  • Poorly designed machine guards (e.g., those that can be removed)
  • Poor maintenance of machines and guards
  • Lack of supervisory system to ensure that guards are used
  • Payment/bonus systems that encourage “shortcuts” (e.g., guards can be removed if they restrict production)
  • Lack of adequate training for workers on the safe use of machines

Machine guards are essential for protecting workers from needless and preventable injuries (see the picture below). Any machine part, function, or process which may cause injury must be guarded. All too often workers can get caught in unguarded machinery. A combination of unguarded machines and loose clothing, long hair, dangling chains, gloves, rings, etc., can be fatal. How workers get injured at machines A worker may be injured at machinery as a result of:

  • Coming in contact with moving parts of a machine – being hit or getting caught
  • Getting trapped between moving parts of a machine or material and any fixed      structure
  • Being hit by material or parts which have been thrown out of the machine

Machine guards: requirements and types There are a number of general requirements for all machine guards if they are to protect workers against mechanical hazards. Guards must:

  • Prevent contact – The guard must prevent hands, arms, or any other part of a worker’s body from coming in contact with dangerous moving parts. A good guard eliminates the possibility of the operator placing their hands near dangerous moving parts.
  • Be secure – The guards should be firmly fixed to the machine (or preferably an integral part of the machine) and not easily removed. Remember that if a guard can be removed easily, it is no safeguard at all! Guards should be made of durable materials that can withstand workplace conditions over the lifetime of the machine.
  • Protect from falling objects – The guard should ensure that no objects (such as a tool) can fall into moving parts.
  • Create no new hazards – A guard defeats its own purpose if it creates another hazard such as its own shear point or a jagged or sharp edge, which can cause cuts.
  • Create no interference with work – Any guard which impedes a worker from performing his/her job efficiently and in comfort is likely to be removed or overridden. It should be pointed out that proper guards on machines can actually improve productivity, as workers then have confidence that they will not be injured.
  • Allow safe lubrication – If possible, the operator or maintenance worker should be able to lubricate the machine safely without removing the guard or having to reach inside the machine and into any hazardous area.

There are various types of guards that can be used to prevent injury in the workplace, including:

  • Fixed guards – These are the most common type of guard found in garment factories and basically prevent any contact between hands, arms, or other body parts and any moving machine parts. They should not easily be removed. In the best cases they provide the maximum amount of protection and require the minimum amount of maintenance. In some cases these guards can interfere with visibility.
  • Interlocking guards – When this type of guard is opened or removed, the tripping mechanism and/or power automatically shuts off or disengages. The machine cannot start until the guard is back in place.
  • Adjustable guards – These guards are useful because, as the name implies, they allow flexibility in accommodating various sizes (thickness, width, height, etc.) of stock. The best examples in a garment factory are the band knives in the cutting section where the guards are adjustable and can deal with varying thickness of material blocks.
  • Self-adjusting guards – The openings of these barriers are determined by the movement of the stock. As the operator moves the stock into the danger area, the guard is pushed away, providing an opening which is only large enough to admit the stock. After the stock is removed, the guard returns to the rest position. In some cases, these guards can interfere with visibility.

There are also a number of other techniques that can be used, including restraints, two-hand controls, safety trips, pullback mechanisms, and automatic feeds. Their name describes the mode of action but all work on a principle of disabling the machine as soon as a part of the body gets near a dangerous, moving component. Guard-related problems in garment factories The most common accidents in the garment industry tend to be:

  • Cut fingers, for machine operators in the cutting section
  • A needle in the finger, for sewers
  • Burns from irons, in the ironing section

(Note: A close analysis of the factory’s accident record book can help to identify priority areas that need to be addressed as a matter of urgency.) As with all machinery, the machines in the garment industry are potentially dangerous. The most obvious are probably the band knives in the cutting section. In a walk-through survey of a garment factory, one of the most common observations is the number of machines that have missing or inadequate guards. As has been discussed, it is important to purchase so-called safe machines with fixed guards as an integral part – guards that cannot be removed, that allow for safe maintenance, and that provide clear visibility. Accidents and unguarded machines Tragically, accidents occur in all workplaces and the garment industry is no different. Accidents are costly to the employer in terms of loss of productivity; to the worker in terms of injury, loss of wages, etc.; and to society as a whole. The three factors that contribute to accidents are:

  • faulty technical equipment
  • the working environment
  • the worker

In the analysis of workplace accidents, it is clear that they are always the result of either unguarded machines, unsafe conditions in the workplace, and/or unsafe acts. In companies with poor industrial relations, there tends to be a “culture of blame”. In apportioning blame:

  • Many employers tend to blame the worker for unsafe acts
  • Many workers tend to blame the employer for faulty equipment and unsafe environments

Personal Protective Equipment  Personal protective equipment (PPE) is special gear used to protect the wearer from specific hazards of a hazardous substance. It is a last resort protection system, to be used when substitution or engineering controls are not feasible. PPE does not reduce or eliminate the hazard, protects only the wearer, and does not protect anyone else. PPE includes gloves, respiratory protection, eye protection, and protective clothing. The need for PPE is dependent upon the type of operations and the nature and quantity of the materials in use, and must be assessed on a case by case basis. Workers who rely on PPE must understand the functioning, proper use, and limitations of the PPE used. Occupational Health & Safety

  • Has a task analysis been completed for jobs requiring use of hand tools on a regular basis? Are suitable ergonomically designed tools selected where possible?
  • Did the employees have a say in your tool use options and selection?
  • Have the employees been educated on proper ergonomic tool use?
  • Does your ergonomic tool selection take into account various hand sizes and grips of employees? Are various sizes made available to the employees?
  • Do employees understand that ergonomic tools are to be used within design limitations and only for intended tasks/purposes?
  • Are tasks designed where possible to reduce force and strain on the employees?
  • Do you ensure tools do not require excessive force or grip to use?
  • Are hand tools selected with soft grips, non-slip surfaces, comfortably curved shapes, and appropriate lengths for employees’ use during shifts?
  • Is overtime reduction considered as a method to reduce excess strain?
  • Are ergonomic tools inspected before use and as needed to keep them in good repair? By policy, does dullness, damage, bending, stress-related cracking, or other wear require that items be removed from service or replaced?
  • Are awkward task positions reduced /avoided where possible?
  • Is power tool assistance utilized where possible to reduce hand/arm strain?
  • Are employees aware of potential injury associated with “non” neutral positions, excessive grip, or excessive force with various tasks and that they can ask for assistance to correct without fear of reprisal?
  • For those tasks requiring additional PPE (such as gloves), are additional selection criteria such as fit, decreased grip ability, and size taken into consideration?
  • Are work positions adjusted where possible to avoid excessive reaching, bending, or hyperextensions?
  • Is excessive vibration controlled /reduced where possible?
  • Do employees understand that using hand tools should not cause pain, stiffness, or swelling to hands, wrists, arms, or shoulders? Do they know to report these problems for assistance before an injury occurs?

First Aid Management

Definition of first aid

First aid is defined as emergency treatment and life support provided to employees, and visitors who suffer injury or illness while at workplace.

 Purpose of first aid

• To encourage preventative measures which include the development of procedures to minimize emergency situations and to promote safety awareness. • To provide all employees with an awareness of safety issues and first aid skills within the context of a comprehensive health education. • To ensure that workplaces are supplied with the resources and training necessary to provide effective initial treatment in the event of sudden illness or injury to employees.

 Principles of first aid

• The Safety Committees’ approach towards health and safety is primarily one of prevention. • Effective first aid should be available to all employees who need it. • First aid is to be a part of a comprehensive health education program for employees as outlined in the personality development framework. • Adequate training and resources are to be provided to effectively deliver first aid in the event of sudden illness or injury to employees.

 First Aid Room

First aid room it should be • Located to provide easy access to injured persons. It should be well illuminated, ventilated and clearly identified. • Easy access for a stretcher or wheelchair • Access to a sink or washbasin • Electric power points • Couch or bed with blankets and pillows • Arm chair • Stretcher • Telephone access • Red light above the outside door • An emergency bell • Workplaces with more than 100 employees will have a first aid room. • Workplaces without a first aid room should provide a first aid area (‘sick bay’) for ill or injured people to rest. These areas should meet as many as possible of the minimum requirements for first aid rooms. • All employees should be advised of the location of the first aid room/area.

 First Aid Kits

• Minimum requirements for First Aid Kits are: One major First Aid Kit at the sick bay. • The location, content and number of other first aid kits shall be determined having regard to: number of departments / sections; the number of employees using the area; the nature of hazards; the frequency and types of accidents; authorized after hours programs or shift work.

FIRST AID INSTRUCTIONS

When below situation happen, all manager/supervisor, employee must follow instructions as follows: 1. Abdominal wounds • No time must be lost in sending the patient to the hospital. • Keep the patient flat. • Give nothing by mouth • Maintain warmth. • If intestines protrude from the wound, do not attempt to touch or replace them. • Apply sterile dressing and binder as for wounds. • Provide careful, immediate transportation to the hospital. 2. Eye-wounds • Removal may be attempted, if foreign body is not embedded. • Do not apply oil or ointment. • If there is foreign body embedded in the eye ball, send the worker immediately to the doctor after applying pad and loose bandage. 3. Chemical Burns of the Eyes • Immediate washing of the eye at least for fifteen minutes if of great importance. • Apply sterile bandage and send the worker immediately to the doctor. • Neutralizing agents or ointments should be used. 4. Shock • Lay the patient on his back. • Stop bleeding if any. • Relieve pain by supporting injured part. • Keep the patient comfortable, but not hot. Do not cause Sweating. • Fluids may be given in small amounts unless the patient is nauseated, unconscious, likely to be operated on, or has an abdominal wound. • Reassure and cheer up the patient. 5. Wounds • Stop the bleeding, by any of the following methods: Direct pressure; Direct finger pressure into the wound in cases of large bleeding wounds; Tourniquet (seldom needed) use only as a last resort. • Avoid touching the wound with hands or unsterile material. • Clear the wound with running water and surrounding area with soap or spirit with clean gauze washing away from the wound. Apply ready made adhesive gauze bandage or sterile gauze and roller bandage as needed. • Keep the patient quiet : raising the extremely if it is the bleeding par, give no stimulants. • Never apply anti-septic ointment, lotion or iodine or germicide tot eh wound. 6. Suffocation • Remove the patient from the source of danger. • Make a rapid examination to ensure that the air passages are free and clean them, if necessary. • Restore natural breathing by artificial respiration, if breathing has ceased. 7. Electric Shock • Remove the patient from the source of danger. • Make a rapid examination to ensure that the air passages are free and clean them, if necessary. • Restore natural breathing by artificial respiration, if breathing has ceased. 8. Bruises • Cold applications at first 24 – 48 hours. • Later heat – after 24 – 48 hours. 9. Burns • Act quickly. • Put the affected part in cold water. • Pour water over burns that cannot be immersed (cold water relieves pain, reduces fluid loss). • Cover affected area with a sterilized dressing. 10. Snake bite • Clam and reassure the patient, immobilize the bitten limb by splinting it. • Wash and cool the wound with soap water. • Do not cut, rub, or suck the bite. • Take a doctor. • Press hard over wound for 15 minutes. • Do not remove cloth if it has been placed. 11. Insensibility • Send for doctor if possible. • Pending his arrival. • Where the patient’s face is pale, lay him flat and face downwards with his head turned to one side. If his face blushed or blue, raise and support the head and shoulders. • Control any serious bleeding. • Loosen any tight clothing and let him have plenty of air. • Do not give anything by mouth. • If doctor is not available send the casualty to hospital. 12. Backbone (Spinal) Fracture • Transport on a rigid frame. This frame may be improvised by using available board or a door. • The rigid frame may be placed on a stretcher for transportation. • If a frame cannot be improvised, transport patient on abdomen on stretcher made of canvas or blanket. • In neck fracture cases it is much better to get a doctor to the scene for danger to life is great. First aid boxes First aid boxes can include components as follows: 1. Note-Book for monthly Replenishment indent, Qty = 2pcs 2. Sterilized Wound dressings small size, Qty = 5pcs 3. Sterilized Wound dressings medium size, Qty = 5pcs 4. Sterilized Wound dressings large size, Qty = 5pcs 5. Sterilized eye pad, Qty = 5pcs 6. Sterilised packet of Cotton wool, Qty = 2pcs 7. Roller Bandages ( 2 inches), Qty = 2pcs 8. Roller Bandages ( 4 inches), Qty = 2pcs 9. Bottle of Betadine antiseptic solution, Qty = 1pcs 10. Iodex Ointment or similar, Qty = 1pcs 11. Antiseptic Cream tube, Qty = 1pcs 12. Ointments for burns, Qty = 1pcs 13. Triangular Bandage, Qty = 1pcs 14. Adhesive Plaster Roll, Qty = 1pcs 15. Eye Drops, Qty = 1pcs 16. Pair of scissors, Qty = 1pcs 17. Tablet Crocin, Qty = 15pcs 18. Band-aid strips, Qty = 10pcs Note :  First aid boxes by weekly. Fire Safety Management Fire Science Basics: A basic understanding of the characteristics and behavior of fire is important to anyone aspiring to be a firefighter. This section reviews key concepts relating to fire. Understanding fire behavior requires a good working knowledge of both chemistry and physics. This information is designed to give the potential firefighter candidate a good idea of what the firefighter profession is all about—the confinement, control, and extinguishment of fire. Fire is a rapid, self-sustaining oxidation process generating heat and light. The components of a fire and the types of fire are discussed below. Oxidation: a chemical reaction between an oxidizer and fuel. Oxidizer: generally, a substance containing oxygen that will chemically react with fuel to start and/or feed a fire. Examples include oxygen in the air, fluorine gas, chlorine gas, bromine, and iodine. Fuel: materials that burn. Most common fuels contain carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. Examples include wood, paper, propane gas, methane gas, and plastics. Combustion: a rapid oxidation reaction that can produce fire. The oxygen in the air (21 percent) is generally the oxidizer, chemically reacting with the fuel. All combustion reactions give off heat and are therefore exothermic reactions. Combustion is commonly called fire. If combustion is confined and a rapid pressure rise occurs, it is called an explosion. Explosion: a rapid expansion of gases (fuel and oxygen) that have mixed prior to ignition. Common explosions encountered by firefighters are chemical and mechanical explosions. Chemical explosion: a rapid combustion reaction classified as a detonation or deflagration, depending on the rate of propagation. Detonation: a reaction that propagates at the speed of sound (1,088 feet per second in air) producing a shock wave. Examples include high explosives (dynamite, blasting agents). Deflagration: a reaction that propagates at less than the speed of sound. Examples include low explosives (gunpowder) and combustible gases and dusts. Back draft: an explosion caused by the sudden influx of air into an oxygen-starved area filled with a mixture of combustible gases (primarily carbon monoxide) that are heated above their ignition temperature. Mechanical explosion: a physical explosion. Examples include a boiler explosion and a boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion (BLEVE). BLEVE: a container failure in the form of an explosion caused by the weakening of the container shell from the heat from a fire, corrosion, or mechanical damage. If the contents inside the container are flammable, a dramatic fireball results. Pyrolysis: a decomposition reaction in a solid material, not fast enough to be self-sustaining, usually brought on by the introduction of heat. It is the precursor to combustion. Characteristics of pyrolysis include the discoloration or browning of the surface of the material and the emission of smoke vapors. Exothermic reaction: a chemical reaction that generates heat. New substances formed have less heat energy than was in the reacting materials. An example is combustion. Endothermic reaction: a chemical reaction causing the absorption of heat. New substances formed by the chemical reactions contain more heat energy than prior to the reaction. An example is spontaneous combustion. Spontaneous combustion: an endothermic chemical reaction causing self-ignition. Examples include a pile of rags dipped in linseed oil, alkyd enamel resins, or drying oils not properly stored or discarded and wet hay inside a barn loft. Fire triangle: a model used to help in the understanding of the three major elements necessary for ignition: heat (thermal energy), fuel, and oxidizer (oxygen). It visually depicts the ignition sequence. Fire tetrahedron: a model that expands on the one-dimensional fire triangle. The fire tetrahedron visually shows the interrelationship among the three components of the fire triangle and further clarifies the definition of combustion by adding a fourth component (chemical chain reaction), depicting the concept of the rapid, self-sustaining oxidation reaction. The fire tetrahedron depicts the growth of ignition into a fire. Fire Triangle: This is Fire Triangle . Actually it’s a Tetrahedron  , because there are Four elements that must be present for a fire to exists. There must be oxygen to sustain combustion. Heat to raise the material to its ignition temperature, Fuel to support the combustion and a chemical reaction between the other elemnts. Types of Fire:- Class A : Class A Fires are fires in ordinary combustibles sush as wood, paper, cloth, trashes & Plastics. Class B : Flammable liquid such as gasoline, petroleum oil & Paint. Also include flammable gasses such as propane & Butane. Do not include Cooking oils & grease. Class C: Energized electrical equipment such as motor, transformers & appliance. Remove the power & class C fires becomes one of the other classes of fire. Class D: Combustibles metal such as Potassium, Sodium & aluminum & magnesium. Class K: Cooking oils & Grease such as animal fats & vegetavle fats Water & Foam:  Water & Foam Fire Extinguishers extinguish the fire by taking away the heat element of the fire triangle. Foam agents also separate the oxygen from the other elements. Water extinguishers are for Class A Fire only-they should not be used for on class B or C fires. The discharge stream could spread the flammable liquid in class B fire or could create a shock hazard on a class C fire. Foam extinguisher can be used on class A & B fires only. They are not for use on class C fires due to the shock hazard. Carbon Dioxide: Carbon Dioxide fire extinguishers extinguish the fire by taking away the oxygen element of the fire triangle and also by removing the heat with a very cold discharge. Carbon dioxide can be used on class B & C fires. They are usually ineffective on Class A fires.  Dry Chemical: Dry chemical Fire Extinguishers extinguish the fire primarily by interrupting the Chemical Reaction of the fire triangle. Today’s most widely used type of fire extinguisher is the multi purpose dry chemical that is effective on Class A, B & C fires. This agent also worked by creating a barrier between the oxygen element & the fuel element on class A fire. Ordinary dry chemical is for Class B & C fires only. It is important to use the correct extinguisher for the type of fuel. Using the incorrect agent can allow the fire to re ignite after apparently being extinguished successfully. Wet chemical: Wet chemical is a new agent that extinguisher by removing the heat of the fire triangle & prevent reignition by creating a barrier between the oxygen & fuel elements. wet chemical or class K extinguishers were developed for modern, high efficiency deep fat fryers in commercial cooking operations. Some may also used on class A fires in commercial kitchens. Clean Agents: Halogenated or clean agent extinguisher includes the halo agents as well as the newer or less ozone depleting halo carbon agents. They extinguish  fire by interrupting  the chemical reaction  of the fire triangle. Clean agents extinguishers are primarily for class B & C fires. Some larger clean agent extinguisher can be used on Class A, Class B & Class C fires. Dry Powder: Dry powder extinguishers are similar to dry chemical except that they extinguish the fire by separating the fuel from the oxygen element or by removing the heat element of the fire triangle. However, dry extinguishers are for class D or combustible metal fires, only. They are ineffective on all other class of fires.  Water mist : Water mist extinguisher are recent development that extinguish the fire by taking away the heat element of the fire triangle . They are an  alternative to the clean agent extinguishers whre  contamination is concern. Water mix extinguishers are primarily for Class A fires, although they are safe for use on class C as well.  Cartridge Operated Dry Chemical: Cartridge operated dry chemical of fire extinguishers extinguish the fire primarily by interrupting the chemical reaction of the fire triangle. Like the stored pressured dry chemical extinguishers, the multi purposes the dry chemical is effected on class A, B & C fires. This agent alson worked by creating a barrier between the oxygen element, the fuel element on class A fire. Ordinary dry chemical extinguisher for class B & C only. It is important to use the correct extinguisher for the type of fuel. Using the incorrect agent can allow the fire to re ignite after apparently being extinguished successfully. The Rules For Fire Fighting: Just remember three A’s: Activate : Alarm System activate someone. Assist : Assis person after  making safe himself. Attempt : After Obtaining Activate & Assistane, then attempt tfire extinguish. Only Fight a Fire : If the fire is small & contaminated: The time to use fire extinguish at early stages or incipient stages of fires. Once the fires start to grow or spread, it is best to evacuate the building, closing door or windows behind you. If you are safe from toxic smoke : If the fire producing large amount of thick, black smoke or chemical smoke , it may be best not try to use fire extinguisher. Neither should you attempt to extinguish the fire in a confined space. Outdoors  approach the fire with the wind at your back. Remember that all fire produced  carbon monoxide and many fires will produce toxic gasses can be fatal, even in small amount. If you have means of escape: You should always fight a fire with an exit or other means of escape at your back. If the fire is not quickly extinguished , you need to be able to get out quickly and avoid becoming trapped. If your instincts tell you Its OK : If you do not feel comfortable attempt to extinguish the fire do not try….get out & let the fire department do their job. The following is a list of the “Ten Standard Firefighting Orders.”  Take the time to study and memorize them.

  1. Fight fire aggressively but provide for safety first
  2.  Initiate all action based on current and expected fire behavior
  3. Recognize current weather conditions and obtain forecasts
  4. Ensure instructions are given and understood
  5. Obtain current information on fire status
  6. Remain in communication with crew members, your supervisor and adjoining forces
  7. Determine safety zones and escape routes
  8. Establish lookouts in potentially hazardous situations
  9. Retain control at all times
  10. Stay alert, keep calm, think clearly, act decisively

Rules of Firefighting FIREFIGHTER’S RULE OF GRAVITY: Any tool, when dropped, will always come to rest in the least accessible place possible. THE FIRST RULE OF EQUIPMENT: Any piece of firefighting equipment will never malfuntion or fail until (a) you need it to fight a fire or (b) the salesman leaves. SECOND RULE OF EQUIPMENT: Interchangeable parts don’t, leakproof seals aren’t and self starters won’t. FIREFIGHTER’S RULES OF THE BATHROOM: (a) If you have just gone to the bathroom, no call will be received. (b) If you have no just gone to the bathroom, you will soon regret it. (c) The probability of receiving a call increases proportionally to the time elapsed since last going to the bathroom. RULES OF WARNING DEVICES: (a) The use of a siren on a firefighting vehicle while responding to a call will cause acute and total (but temporary) deafness to the drivers of vehicles in its path. (b) The use of warning lights on a firefighting vehicle while responding to a call will cause acute and total (but temporary) blindness to the drivers of vehicles in its path. FIREFIGHTER’S RULE OF LIGHT: As the seriousness of any given situation increases, the availability of light to illuminate the situation decreases. FIREFIGHTER’S THEORY OF WEIGHT: The weight of the equipment that you are about to carry increases by the square of the sum of the distance to reach the situation. FIREFIGHTER’S RULE OF RULES: As soon as the firefighting rules are accepted as absolutes, an exception to that rule will immediately occur. Fire extinguisher A fire extinguisher, flame extinguisher, or simply an extinguisher, is an active fire protection device used to extinguish or control small fires, often in emergency situations. It is not intended for use on an out-of-control fire, such as one which has reached the ceiling, endangers the user (i.e., no escape route, smoke, explosion hazard, etc.), or otherwise requires the expertise of a fire department. Typically, a fire extinguisher consists of a hand-held cylindrical pressure vessel containing an agent which can be discharged to extinguish a fire. In the United States, fire extinguishers, in all buildings other than houses, are generally required to be serviced and inspected by a Fire Protection service company at least annually. Some jurisdictions require more frequent service for fire extinguishers. The servicer places a tag on the extinguisher to indicate the type of service performed (annual inspection, recharge, new fire extinguisher) and when. There are two main types of fire extinguishers: stored pressure and cartridge-operated. In stored pressure units, the expellant is stored in the same chamber as the firefighting agent itself. Depending on the agent used, different propellants are used. With dry chemical extinguishers, nitrogen is typically used; water and foam extinguishers typically use air. Stored pressure fire extinguishers are the most common type. Cartridge-operated extinguishers contain the expellant gas in a separate cartridge that is punctured prior to discharge, exposing the propellant to the extinguishing agent. This type is not as common, used primarily in areas such as industrial facilities, where they receive higher-than-average use. They have the advantage of simple and prompt recharge, allowing an operator to discharge the extinguisher, recharge it, and return to the fire in a reasonable amount of time. Unlike stored pressure types, these extinguishers use compressed carbon dioxide instead of nitrogen, although nitrogen cartridges are used on low temperature (-60 rated) models. Cartridge operated extinguishers are available in dry chemical and dry powder types in the US and in water, wetting agent, foam, dry chemical (classes ABC and BC), and dry powder (class D) types in the rest of the world. Fire extinguishers are further divided into handheld and cart-mounted, also called wheeled extinguishers. Handheld extinguishers weigh from 0.5 to 14 kilograms (1 to 30 pounds), and are hence, easily portable by hand. Cart-mounted units typically weigh 23+ kilograms (50+ pounds). These wheeled models are most commonly found at construction sites, airport runways, heliports, as well as docks and marinas. Fire extinguishers are divided into four categories, based on different types of fires. Each fire extinguisher also has a numerical rating that serves as a guide for the amount of fire the extinguisher can handle. The higher the number, the more fire-fighting power. The following is a quick guide to help choose the right type of extinguisher.

  •  Class A extinguishers are for ordinary combustible materials such as paper, wood, cardboard, and most plastics. The numerical rating on these types of extinguishers indicates the amount of water it holds and the amount of fire it can extinguish. Geometric symbol (green triangle)
  • Class B fires involve flammable or combustible liquids such as gasoline, kerosene, grease and oil. The numerical rating for class B extinguishers indicates the approximate number of square feet of fire it can extinguish. Geometric symbol (red square)
  • Class C fires involve electrical equipment, such as appliances, wiring, circuit breakers and outlets. Never use water to extinguish class C fires – the risk of electrical shock is far too great! Class C extinguishers do not have a numerical rating. The C classification means the extinguishing agent is non-conductive. Geometric symbol (blue circle)
  • Class D fire extinguishers are commonly found in a chemical laboratory. They are for fires that involve combustible metals, such as magnesium, titanium, potassium and sodium. These types of extinguishers also have no numerical rating, nor are they given a multi-purpose rating – they are designed for class D fires only. Geometric symbol (Yellow Decagon)

Class K fire extinguishers are for fires that involve cooking oils, trans-fats, or fats in cooking appliances and are typically found in restaurant and cafeteria kitchens. Geometric symbol (black hexagon) Some fires may involve a combination of these classifications. Your fire extinguishers should have ABC ratings on them. Here are the most common types of fire extinguishers:

  • Water extinguishers or APW extinguishers (air-pressurized water) are suitable for class A fires only. Never use a water extinguisher on grease fires, electrical fires or class D fires – the flames will spread and make the fire bigger! Water extinguishers are filled with water and are typically pressurized with air. Again – water extinguishers can be very dangerous in the wrong type of situation. Only fight the fire if you’re certain it contains ordinary combustible materials only.
  • Dry chemical extinguishers come in a variety of types and are suitable for a combination of class A, B and C fires. These are filled with foam or powder and pressurized with nitrogen.
    • BC – This is the regular type of dry chemical extinguisher. It is filled with sodium bicarbonate or potassium bicarbonate. The BC variety leaves a mildly corrosive residue which must be cleaned immediately to prevent any damage to materials.

ABC – This is the multipurpose dry chemical extinguisher. The ABC type is filled with monoammonium phosphate, a yellow powder that leaves a sticky residue that may be damaging to electrical appliances such as a computer Dry chemical extinguishers have an advantage over CO2 extinguishers since they leave a non-flammable substance on the extinguished material, reducing the likelihood of re-ignition.

  • Carbon Dioxide (CO2) extinguishers are used for class B and C fires. CO2 extinguishers contain carbon dioxide, a non-flammable gas, and are highly pressurized. The pressure is so great that it is not uncommon for bits of dry ice to shoot out the nozzle. They don’t work very well on class A fires because they may not be able to displace enough oxygen to put the fire out, causing it to re-ignite.

CO2 extinguishers have an advantage over dry chemical extinguishers since they don’t leave a harmful residue – a good choice for an electrical fire on a computer or other favorite electronic device such as a stereo or TV. Maintenance An empty fire extinguisher which was not replaced for years. Most countries in the world require regular fire extinguisher maintenance by a competent person to operate safely and effectively, as part of fire safety legislation. Lack of maintenance can lead to an extinguisher not discharging when required, or rupturing when pressurized. Deaths have occurred, even in recent times, from corroded extinguishers exploding. There is no all-encompassing fire code in the United States. Generally, most municipalities (by adoption of the International Fire Code) require inspections every 30 days to ensure the unit is pressurized and unobstructed (done by an employee of the facility) and an annual inspection by a qualified technician. Hydrostatic pressure testing for all types of extinguishers is also required, generally every five years for water and CO2 models up to every 12 years for dry chemical models. Recently the National Fire Protection Association and ICC voted to allow for the elimination of the 30 day inspection requirement so long as the fire extinguisher is monitored electronically. According to NFPA, the system must provide record keeping in the form of an electronic event log at the control panel. The system must also constantly monitor an extinguisher’s physical presence, internal pressure and whether an obstruction exists that could prevent ready access. In the event that any of the above conditions are found, the system must send an alert to officials so they can immediately rectify the situation. Electronic monitoring can be wired or wireless. In the UK, three types of maintenance are required:

  • Basic Service: All types of extinguisher require a basic inspection annually to check weight, correct pressure (using a special tool, not just looking at the gauge) and for signs of damage or corrosion, cartridge extinguishers are opened up for internal inspection & check weighing of the cartridge, labels are checked for legibility, where possible dip tubes, hoses and mechanisms checked for clear free operation.
  • Extended Service: Water, Wet Chemical, Foam & Powder extinguishers require every five years a more detailed examination including a test discharge of the extinguisher and recharging; on stored pressure extinguishers this is the only opportunity to internally inspect for damage/corrosion. By recharging fresh agent is used as they all have a shelf life, even water goes foul inside an extinguisher; Note: extinguishers should be percentage tested according to total number of units in any given area. Some extinguishers contain pressure in excess of 1.38 MPa (200 psi) and this internal pressure over periods of time affects each brand & make differently depending on their placement & location.
  • Overhaul: CO2 extinguishers, due to their high operating pressure, are subject to pressure vessel safety legislation and must be hydraulic pressure tested, inspected internally & externally and date stamped every 10 years. As it cannot be pressure tested a new valve is also fitted. If replacing any part of the extinguisher (valve, horn, etc.) with a part from another manufacturer then the extinguisher will lose its fire rating. This may invalidate insurance, as would incorrect or inadequate servicing if it were to be found.

In the United States there are 3 types of service as well:

  • Maintenance Inspection: All types of extinguishers should be inspected at least once a year. The extinguisher is checked to make sure it has proper pressure (gauge in green or proper cartridge weight), has the correct volume of extinguishing agent (tech weighs it), is within the required hydrotest and internal maintenance intervals, is in good condition and all external parts are serviceable. Often, dry chemical and dry powder types are hit on the bottom with a rubber mallet to make sure the powder is free-flowing, which is called “fluffing” the powder. The tech will then attach a new tamper seal around the pin and a yearly service tag.
  • Internal Maintenance:
    • Water – every 5 years
    • Foam – every 5 years
    • Wet chemical & CO2 – every 5 years
    • Dry chemical – every 6 years
    • Halon and clean agents – every 5 years.

The extinguisher is emptied of its chemical and pressure to check for proper operation. All components are disassembled, inspected, cleaned, lubricated, or replaced if defective. Liquid agents are replaced at this time, dry agents may be re-used if in good condition, halon is recovered and re-used, but CO2 is discharged into the atmosphere. The extinguisher is then re-filled and recharged, after a “verification of service” collar is placed around the cylinder neck. It is impossible to properly install or remove a collar without depressurizing the extinguisher. Note: Cartridge-operated extinguishers should be visually examined, but do not require a verification of service collar.

  • Hydrostatic testing: Water, Foam, Wet chemical, and CO2, every 5 years. Dry chemical, dry powder, halon, and clean agents, every 12 years.

Note: these are the required intervals for normal service conditions, if the extinguisher has been exposed to excessive heat, vibration, or mechanical damage it may need to be tested sooner. FIRE BEHAVIOR AND CHEMISTRY FIRE BEHAVIOR   Effective fire control and extinguishment requires a basic understanding of the chemical and physical nature of fire.  This includes information describing sources of heat energy, composition and characteristics of fuels, and environmental conditions necessary to sustain the combustion process. ANATOMY OF FIRE Combustion is the self-sustaining process of rapid oxidation of a fuel being reduced by an oxidizing agent along with the evolution of heat and light. Fires are defined by their physical characteristics.  They may vary from very slow oxidation, as in rusting, to very fast oxidation, such as detonations and explosions.  Somewhere between these extremes are the two most common reactions concerning firefighters: smoldering fires and flaming or free-burning fires. For many years, the “fire triangle” (oxygen, fuel, and heat) was used to teach the components of fire. While this simple example is useful, it is not technically correct. For combustion to occur, four components are necessary:         Oxygen (oxidizing agent)         Fuel         Heat         Self sustained chemical reaction (also referred to as the chain reaction) These components can be graphically described as the “fire tetrahedron”. Each component of the tetrahedron must be in place for combustion to occur. This concept is extremely important to fire suppression personnel. Remove any one of the four components and combustion will not occur. If ignition has already occurred, the fire is extinguished when one of the components is removed from the reaction. Oxidizing agents  Oxidizing agents are those materials that yield oxygen or other oxidizing gases during the course of a chemical reaction. Oxidizers are not themselves combustibles, but they support combustion when combined with a fuel. While oxygen is the most common oxidizer, other substances fall into this category. Common oxidizers include: Bromates          Bromine           Chlorates          Chlorine Flourine            Iodine               Nitrates            Nitric Acid Nitrites Perchlorates     Peroxides         Permanganates Most fires involve a fuel that is chemically combined with the oxygen normally found in atmospheric air.  Atmospheric air contains 21 percent oxygen, 79 percent nitrogen and 1 percent of other gases. FUEL Fuel is the material or substance being oxidized or burned in the combustion process. In  scientific terms, the fuel in a combustion reaction is known as the “reducing agent”. Most common fuels contain carbon along with combinations of hydrogen and oxygen. These fuels can be further broken down into hydrocarbon-based fuels (such as gasoline, fuel oil, and plastics) and cellulose-based materials (such as wood and paper). Fuel may be found in any of three (3) states of matter:         Solid         Liquid         Gas The initiation of combustion requires the conversion of fuel into the gaseous state by heating. Fuel gases are evolved from solid fuels by pyrolysis.  This is defined as the chemical decomposition of a substance through the action of heat. Fuel gases are evolved from liquids by vaporization.  This process is the same as boiling water or evaporation of a pan of water in sunlight.  In both cases, heat caused the liquid to vaporize. No heat input is required with gaseous fuels and this places considerable restraints on the control and extinguishment of gas fuel fires.  Solid Fuels Solid fuels have definite shape and size.  One primary consideration with solid fuels is the surface area of the material in relation to its mass.  The larger the surface area for a given mass, the more rapid the heating of the material and increase in the speed of pyrolysis.  The physical position of a solid fuel is also of great concern to firefighting personnel.  If the solid fuel is in a vertical position, fire spread will be more rapid than if it is in a horizontal position.  This is due to increased heat transfer through convection and direct flame contact in addition to conduction and radiation.  PYROLYSIS Temperature               Reaction 3920F                           Production of water vapor, carbon dioxide, formic and acetic   (2000C)       acids 3920-5360F                  Less water vapor – some carbon monoxide – still primarily an (2000-2800C)               endothermic reaction (absorbing heat) 5360-9320F                  Exothermic reaction (giving off heat) with flammable vapors (2800-5000C)               and particulates; some secondary reaction from charcoal formed Over 9320F                  Residue primarily charcoal with notable catalytic action (5000C)  Liquid Fuels  Liquid fuels have physical properties that increase the difficulty of extinguishment and hazard to personnel. Liquids will assume the shape of their container.  When a spill occurs, the liquid will assume the shape of the ground (flat) and will flow and accumulate in low areas. The density of liquids in relation to water is known as specific gravity.  Water is given a value of one.  Liquids with a specific gravity less than one are lighter than water, while those with a specific gravity greater than one are heavier than water.  It is interesting to note that most flammable liquids have a specific gravity of less than one, therefore they would float on top of water. The solubility of a liquid fuel in water is an important factor.  Hydrocarbon liquids as a rule will not mix with water.  Alcohol and polar solvents mix with water and if large volumes of water are used, they may be diluted to the point where they will not burn.  Consideration must be given to which extinguishing agents are effective on hydrocarbons (insoluble) and which affect porous solvents and alcohol (soluble). The volatility or ease with which the liquid gives off vapor influences fire control objectives. The density of gas or vapor in relation to air is of concern to volatile liquids and with gas fuels.   Gas Fuels  Gases tend to assume the shape of their container but have no specific volume.  If the vapor density of a gas is such that it is less dense than air (air is given a value of one), it will rise and tend to dissipate.  If a gas or vapor is heavier than air, it will tend to hug the ground and travel as directed by terrain and wind. An easy way to remember those gases that are lighter than air is the acronym “HA HA MICEN”, where: H = Hydrogen A = Anhydrous Ammonia H = Helium A = Acetylene M = Methane I = Illuminating Gas C = Carbon Monoxide E = Ethylene N = Nitrogen This is a significant property for evaluating exposures and where hazmat gas and vapor will travel. The mixture of the fuel vapor and air must be within the flammable range.  The upper and lower limits of concentration of vapor in air will allow flame propagation when contacted by a source of ignition. The flammable range varies with the fuel and with the ambient temperature.  Usually the flammable range is given for temperatures of 700F (210C).                                                                                   EXAMPLES OF FLAMMABLERANGES Fuel                                                    Lower Limit               Upper Limit Gasoline Vapor                                            1.4                               7.6 Methane (natural gas)                                   5.0                              17.0 Propane                                                       2.2                               9.5 Hydrogen                                                     4.0                              75.0 Acetylene                                                     2.5                            100.0 When the proper fuel vapor/air mixture has been achieved, it must be raised to its ignition temperature. HEAT  Heat is a form of energy that may be described as a condition of matter in motion caused by the movement of molecules.  All matter contains some heat regardless of how low the temperature is because molecules are constantly moving all the time.  When a body of matter is heated, the speed of the molecules increases, thus the temperature increases.  Anything that sets the molecules of a material in motion produces heat in that material.  There are four (4) general categories of heat energy and they include:         Chemical Heat Energy         Electrical Heat Energy         Mechanical Heat Energy         Nuclear Heat Energy         Chemical Heat Energy Heat of Combustion – The amount of heat generated by the combustion (oxidation) process. Spontaneous Heating – The heating of an organic substance without the addition of external heat.  Spontaneous heating occurs most frequently where sufficient air is not present to dissipate the heat produced.  The speed of a heating reaction doubles with each 180 F (80 C) temperature increase. Heat of Decomposition – The release of heat from decomposing compounds.  These compounds may be unstable and release their heat very quickly or they may detonate. Heat of Solution – The heat released by the mixture of matter in a liquid.  Some acids, when dissolved, give off sufficient heat to pose exposure problems to nearby combustibles.         Electrical Heat Energy  Resistance Heating – The heat generated by passing an electrical force through a conductor such as a wire or an appliance. Dielectric Heating – The heating that results from the action of either pulsating direct current, or alternating current at high frequency on a non-conductive material. Induction Heating – The heating of materials resulting from an alternating current flow causing a magnetic field influence. Leakage Current Heating – The heat resulting from imperfect or improperly insulated electrical materials.  This is particularly evident where the insulation is required to handle high voltage or loads near maximum capacity. Heat from Arcing – Heat released either as a high-temperature arc or as molten material from the conductor. Static Electricity Heating – Heat released as an arc between oppositely charged surfaces.  Static electricity can be generated by the contact and separation of charged surfaces or by fluids flowing through pipes. Heat Generated by Lightning – The heat generated by the discharged of thousands of volts from either earth to cloud, cloud to cloud or from cloud to ground.         Mechanical Heat Energy Frictional Heat – The heat generated by the movement between two objects in contact with each other. Friction Sparks – The heat generated in the form of sparks from solid objects striking each other.  Most often at least one of the objects is metal. Heat of Compression – The heat generated by the forced reduction of a gaseous volume.  Diesel engines ignite fuel vapor without a spark plug by the use of this principle.         Nuclear Heat Energy Nuclear Fission and Fusion – The heat generated by either the splitting or combining of atoms.

Phases of Fir

The burning process occurs in clearly defined stages. By recognizing the different phases (or stages), a fire fighter can better understand the process of burning and fighting the fire at different levels and with different tactics and tools. Each phase (or stage) is characterized by differences in room temperature and atmospheric composition. A firefighter may be confronted by one or all of the following three phases (or stages) of fire at any time:         Incipient Phase (Growth Stage) In the first phase, the oxygen content in the air has not been significantly reduced and the fire is producing water vapor, carbon dioxide, perhaps a small quantity of sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide and other gases.  Some heat is being generated, and the amount will increase with the progress of the fire.  The fire may be producing a flame temperature well above 1,0000F (5370C), yet the temperature in the room at this stage may be only slightly increased.         Free-Burning Phase (Fully Developed Stage) The second phase of burning encompasses all of the free-burning activities of the fire.  During this phase, oxygen-rich air is drawn into the flame as convection (the rise of heated gases) carries the heat to the upper most regions of the confined area.  The heated gases spread out laterally from the top downward, forcing the cooler air to seek lower levels, and eventually igniting all the combustible material in the upper levels of the room.  This heated air is one of the reasons that firefighters are taught to keep low and use protective breathing equipment.  One breath of this super-heated air can sear the lungs.  At this point, the temperature in the upper regions can exceed 1,3000F (7000C).  As the fire progresses through the latter stages of this phase, it continues to consume the free oxygen until it reaches the point where there is insufficient oxygen to react with the fuel.  The fire is then reduced to the smoldering phase and needs only a supply of oxygen to burn rapidly or explode.         Smoldering Phase (Decay Stage) In the third phase, flame may cease to exist if the area of confinement is sufficiently airtight.  In this instance, burning is reduced to glowing embers.  The room becomes completely filled with dense smoke and gases to the extent that it is forced from all cracks under pressure.  The fire will continue to smolder, and the room will completely fill with dense smoke and gases of combustion at a temperature of well over 1,0000F (5370C).  The intense heat will have vaporized the lighter fuel fractions such as hydrogen and methane from the combustible material in the room.  These fuel gases will be added to those produced by the fire and will further increase the hazard to the firefighter and create the possibility of a backdraft. TIME TEMPERATURE CURVE The demarcations between the three phases can be identified by a “time temperature curve”. During the incipient (or growth) phase of a fire, shown below as the upward curve, the time can vary depending on the type of fuel, the size of the room, and the amount of oxygen supplying the fire. Flashover occurs at the end of the incipient (or growth) phase and start of the free burning (or fully developed) stage. Backdraft can occur in the smoldering (or decay) phase. Flashover  Flashover occurs when a room or other area becomes heated to the point where flames flash over the entire surface or area.  Originally, it was believed that flashover was caused by combustible gases released during the early stages of fire.  It was thought that these gases collected at the ceiling level and mixed with air until they reached their flammable range, then suddenly ignited causing flashover. It is now believed that while this may occur, it precedes flashover.  The cause of flashover is not attributed to the excessive build-up of heat from the fire itself.  As the fire continues to burn, all the contents of the fire area are gradually heated to their ignition temperatures, through “thermal radiation feedback”.  When they reach this point, simultaneous ignition occurs and the area becomes fully involved in fire.

Backdraft 

Firefighters responding to a confined fire that is late in the free-burning phase or in the smoldering phase risk causing a backdraft or smoke explosion if the science of fire is not considered in opening the structure. In the smoldering phase of a fire, burning is incomplete because not enough oxygen is available to sustain the fire.  However, the heat from the free-burning phase remains, and the unburned carbon particles and other flammable products of combustion are just waiting to burst into rapid, almost instantaneous combustion when more oxygen is supplied.  Proper ventilation releases smoke and the hot unburned gases from the upper areas of the room or structure.  Improper ventilation at this time supplies the dangerous missing link — oxygen.  As soon as the needed oxygen rises in, the stalled combustion resumes, and it can be devastating in its speed, truly qualifying as an explosion. Combustion is related to oxidation, and oxidation is a chemical reaction in which oxygen combines with other elements.  Carbon is a naturally abundant element present in wood, among other things.  When wood burns, carbon combines with oxygen to form carbon dioxide, or carbon monoxide, depending on the availability of oxygen.  When oxygen is no longer available, free carbon is released in the smoke.  A warning sign of possible backdraft is dense, black (carbon-filled) smoke. The following characteristics may indicate a backdraft or smoke explosion condition: 1.         Smoke under pressure 2.         Black smoke becoming dense gray yellow 3.         Confinement and excessive heat 4.         Little or no visible flame 5.         Smoke leaves the building in puffs or at intervals 6.         Smoke-stained windows 7.         Muffled sounds 8.         Sudden rapid movement of air inward when opening is made This type of condition can be made less dangerous by proper ventilation.  If the building is opened at the highest point involved, the heated gases and smoke will be released, reducing the possibility of an explosion. HEAT TRANSFER Heat can travel throughout a burning building by one or more of three methods, commonly referred to as conduction, convection and radiation.  Since the existence of heat within a substance is caused by molecular action, the greater the molecular activity, the more intense the heat.  A number of natural laws of physics are involved in the transmission of heat.  One is called the Law of Heat Flow.  It specifies that heat tends to flow from a hot substance to a cold substance.  The colder of two bodies in contact will absorb heat until both objects are the same temperature.         Conduction Heat may be conducted from one body to another by direct contact of the two bodies or by an intervening heat-conducting medium.  The amount of heat that will be transferred and its rate of travel depends upon the conductivity of the material through which the heat is passing.  Not all materials have the same heat conductivity.  Aluminum, copper and iron are good conductors.  Fibrous materials, such as felt, cloth and paper are poor conductors. Liquids and gases are poor conductors of heat because of the movement of their molecules.  Air is a relatively poor conductor.  Certain solid materials when shredded into fibers and packed into batts, make good insulation because the material itself is a poor conductor and there are air pockets within the batting.  Double building walls that contain an air space provide additional insulation.         Convection Convection is the transfer of heat by the movement of air or liquid.  When water is heated in a glass container, the movement within the vessel can be observed through the glass.  If some sawdust is added to the water, the movement is more apparent.  As the water is heated, it expands and grows lighter, hence, the upward movement.  In the same manner, air becomes heated near a steam radiator by conduction.  It expands, becomes lighter and moves upward.  As the heated air moves upward, cooler air takes its place at the lower levels.  When liquids and gases are heated, they begin to move within themselves.  This movement is different from the molecular motion discussed in conduction of heat and is knows as heat transfer by convection. Heated air in a building will expand and rise.  For this reason, fire spread by convection is mostly in an upward direction, although air currents can carry heat in any direction.  Convected currents are generally the cause of heat movement from floor to floor, from room to room and from area to area.  The spread of fire through corridors, up stairwells and elevator shafts, between walls and through attics is mostly caused by the convection of heat currents and has more influence upon the positions for fire attack and ventilation than either radiation or conduction. Another form of heat transfer by convection is direct flame contact.  When a substance is heated to the point where flammable vapors are given off, these vapors may be ignited, creating a flame.  As other flammable materials come in contact with the burning vapors, or flame, they may be heated to a temperature where they too, will ignite and burn.         Radiation The warmth of the sun is felt soon after it rises.  When the sun sets, the earth begins to cool with similar rapidity.  We carry an umbrella to shade our bodies from the heat of the sun.  A spray of water between a firefighter and a fire will lessen the heat reaching the firefighter.  Although air is a poor conductor, it is obvious that heat can travel where matter does not exist.  This method of heat transmission is known as radiation of heat waves.  Heat and light waves are similar in nature, but they differ in length per cycle.  Heat waves are longer than light waves and they are sometimes called infrared rays.  Radiated heat will travel through space until it reaches an opaque object.  As the object is exposed to heat radiation, it will in return radiate heat from its surface.  Radiated heat is one of the major sources of fire spread, and its importance demands immediate attention at points where radiation exposure is severe. PRODUCTS OF COMBUSTION When a material (fuel) burns, it undergoes a chemical change.  None of the elements making up the material are destroyed in the process, but all of the matter is transformed into another form or state.  Although dispersed, the products of combustion equal in weight and volume that of the fuel before it was burned.  When a fuel burns there are four products of combustion:         Fire gases         Flame         Heat         Smoke The smoke encountered at most fires consists of a mixture of oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide gases, finely divided carbon particles (soot), and a miscellaneous assortment of products that have been released from the material involved. Heat is a form of energy that is measured in degrees of temperature to signify its intensity.  In this sense, heat is the product of combustion that is responsible for the spread of fire.  In a physiological sense, it is the direct cause of burns and other forms of personal injury.  Injuries caused by heat include dehydration, heat exhaustion and injury to the respiratory tract, in addition to burns. Flame is the visible, luminous body of a burning gas.  When a burning gas is mixed with the proper amounts of oxygen, the flame becomes hotter and less luminous.  This loss of luminosity is because of a more complete combustion of the carbon.  For these reasons, flame is considered to be a product of combustion.  Heat, smoke and gas, however, can develop in certain types of smoldering fires without evidence of flame. Some materials give off more smoke than others.  Liquid fuels generally give off dense black smoke.  Oils, tar, paint, varnish, molasses, sugar, rubber, sulfur and many plastics, also generally give off a dense smoke in large quantities.

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EMERGENCY ACTION PLAN ANY ONE NOTICING EMERGENCY SITUATION LIKE FIRE, EXPLOSION, TOXIC GAS LEAKAGE ETC. MUST DO’s

  • Attract the nearby person/employee by shouting “FIRE – FIRE – FIRE. “
  • Seek help from the persons working nearby.
  • Try to control the incident at its initial stage with available means/sources quickly.
  • Inform Shift In-charge / Duty Officer (In Night Shift ) about the Incident.

DON’Ts

  • Do not be panicky.
  • Do not run – Walk fast.

INCIDENT CONTROLLER MUST DO’s

  1. IF FIRE / OTHER INCIDENTS ARE CONTROLLABLE
  • Approach the emergency site immediately taking note of wind direction.
  • Assess the situation.
  • Inform Security Officer, Tell – NAME, TYPE OF INCIDENT, ACTION TAKEN, HELP NEEDED and Order Security Officer/Guard to inform all KEY persons.
  • Take lead in controlling emergency until such time concerned Section Manager takes over the charge.
  • Do not be panicky.
  • Do not lose temperament.

DON’TS B. IF FIRE/OTHR INCIDENTS ARE NOT CONTROLLABLE      In Addition to Above (A)

  • Order to blow emergency `ALERT’ Siren (30 second continuous).
  • Organize Fire fighting / rescue team members to control the Incident.
  • Take stock of situation if required shut down the plant / process in affected area.
  • Call Fire Brigade if situation demands.
  • Evacuate affected area.
  • Organize head count of the plant.
  • Act as INCIDENT CONTROLLER till such time senior person takes charges as indicated in Emergency organisation

NOTE: 1) Messenger will wait until such time Security Officer arrives. 2) Also inform Telephone Operator.

SECURITY OFFICER / GUARD

DO’s

  • Do not allow any vehicle to come inside the factory.
  • Do not entertain any outside call except for emergency purpose.
  • Do not allow visitors to move around.
  • Inform all key persons about location and type of emergency.
  • Follow this sequence – Inform concerned HOD/Section Head, Main Site Controller, Main Incident Controller & Safety Officer and other KEY persons.
  • Inform Main Site Controller about Government visitors, if any.

DON’Ts

  • Do not entertain any outside call except for emergency purpose.
  • Do not allow visitor to move around, from reception.

SECURITY GUARD DO’s

  • Immediately report at Security Gate in shortest possible time.
  • Follow instructions of Officer In-charge.
  • Assist in controlling emergency.
  • Assist in controlling contractors, vehicle movement and mob.
  • Assist in cordoning off the area.
  • Take note of wind direction while approaching emergency site.
  • Render all possible help for controlling overall situation.

DON’Ts

  • Do not leave the site unless asked to do so.

EMERGENCY VEHICLE DRIVER DO’s

  • Immediately start vehicle and reach rescue squad assembly point (near security gate).
  • Rescue squad members to emergency site.
  • Take vehicle near to emergency site as directed.
  • Take note of wind direction.
  • Reverse the emergency vehicle for quick transports of injured, if any.
  • Keep vehicle engine running.
  • Always be on Driver’s seat of the vehicle.
  • Take the injured to the hospital as directed.

DON’Ts

  • Do not leave the vehicle.
  • Do not take the vehicle very near to the site.

INCIDENT CONTROLLER DO’s 

  • Approach emergency site as early as possible taking note of wind direction.
  • Take stock of situation.
  • Interact with all concerned departments as the situation demands.
  • Keep Main Site Controller informed about the latest emergency situation on continuous basis.

SITE CONTROLLER

DO’s 

  • Will approach emergency site immediately / Assess the situation.
  • Consult Incident Controller.
  • Consult advising Committee Members.
  • Instruct Main Incident Controller.
  • Communicate to higher ups and Govt. authorities, if required.
  • Decide upon need for evacuation and blow `Disaster Siren’.
  • After getting satisfied with the situation, give instruction to blow ALL CLEAR Siren.

 DON’Ts 

  • Do not instruct to blow ALL CLEAR siren unless the situation is fully under control.
  • Don’t evacuate the entire plant unless the situation demands.

FIRE FIGHTING SQUAD ON HEARING SIREN DO’s

  • Inform fellow employees/Officers.
  • Report to Fire Squad Assembly point.
  • Find out emergency location.
  • Approach emergency site immediately.
  • Take quick action as per the instructions from Incident controller.
  • Bring emergency under control as early as possible.

DON’Ts 

  • Do not leave process/equipment in UNSAFE CONDITION.
  • Do not leave emergency site unless ALL CLEAR siren blown.
  • Do not use improper fire extinguisher.
  • Do not be panicky.

RESCUE SQUAD DO’s

  • Report to assembly point near Gate.
  • Get in touch with security about location and type of emergency.
  • Approach emergency site quickly with Breathing Apparatus set and First Aid box.
  • Get in touch with incident controller.
  • Follow instructions of Incident controller.
  • Render first aid to the injured, hospitalize, if required.
  • Accompany him to hospital and assist Doctor / Nurse.
  • Search for missing person in that area, if required.
  • Help in head count.

ALL GENERAL EMPLOYEES EXCEPT THOSE WHO ARE IN EMERGENCY ORGANIZATION ON HEARING SIREN

DO’s

  • Be alert and be available if required.
  • Wait for further instructions.
  • Bring down the process/plant/equipment in SAFE CONDITION in case of DISASTER siren as per instructions from Incident Controller.
  • Approach respective safe assembling points route as taking note of wind direction.
  • Help in taking roll call.
  • After hearing ALL CLEAR, go back to the departments.
  • Start the work again after setting instruction from Incident controller.

DON’Ts 

  • Do not be panicky. Do not run.
  • Do not approach emergency site unless asked for.
  • Do not engage telephone except for emergency purpose.  Keep lines free.

TECHNICAL TEAM: ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT / ENVIRONMNET, SAFETY AND HEALTH DEPARTMENT ON HEARING SIREN DO’s

  • Be available in Engineering Department at respective location for any help.
  • Approach emergency site with required with tools and equipments and should work on instructions of Incident controlle.
  • Help Incident Controller to provide technical assistance.
  • Isolate lines, process equipments, if required by Incident Controller.
  • Provide emergency equipments like Fire Extinguisher, Hoses, etc., if asked by Incident Controller.
  • Provide stop gap arrangements as per the requirement of Incident Controller.
  • Carry out electrical isolation of area as per instructions from Incident Controller.

ADVISORY COMMITTEE (ALL DEPARTMENT HEADS)  DO’s

  • Approach emergency site as early as possible.
  • Render advise to Main Incident Controller and Main Site Controller to control emergency.

 COMMUNICATION COMMITTEE : DO’s

  • Consult Main Site Controller
  • Give necessary instructions to security / Telephone Operator.
  • Give instruction to Security to control traffic / crowd.
  • Look after injured, communicate with the family members, if situation demands.
  • Arrange transportation, if required.

DON’Ts 

  • Do not communicate to any one or brief press without permission of Main Site Controller.

GENERAL INTRUCTIONS DO’S

  • Stop work at height. / Stop all hot works.
  • Stop all vessel entry.
  • Take note of wind direction.
  • On hearing Disaster Siren evacuates as per evacuation route without running and panicky and assembles at respective safe Assembly Points.

DON’Ts 

  • Do not use telephone except for emergency purpose.
  • Do not start work at height, vessel entry, hot work unless permit conditions are verified.
  • Do not allow unauthorized person to approach emergency site.

Safety Policy To provide adequate control of the health and safety risks arising from our work activities.

  • To consult with our employees on matters of health and safety.
  • To provide and maintain safe plant, equipment and buildings.
  • To ensure safe handling and use of substances.
  • To provide instruction and supervision for employees.
  • To ensure all employees are competent by selection and training.
  • To prevent accident and cases of work related ill health.
  • To maintain safe healthy working conditions.
  • To review and revise this policy as often as necessary at regular intervals continuous improvement is maintained.

FIRE SAFETY EQUIPMENT:  Emergency Exits   Dry powder/CO2   Fire Bucket Stations   Smoke Detector   Fire Hose Reels   Fire Alarms   First Aid   Emergency Water Tank   Water Dram   Water Bucket   Gong Bell Megaphone Gas Musk Re-Filler Fire Beater Fire Hook Gas Musk Hand Gloves Lock Cutter Belcha 1 ¼ Dia Manila Coil Safety Helmet Stretcher Emergency Light PA System Fire Blanket   Fire Training CHEMICAL SAFETY POLICY Company Shall declares to require compliance with Chemical Restrictions Policy, from all international suppliers. To ensure a full compliance throughout the production chain, company  requires all its suppliers to follow all local and required international limitations on the use of chemicals in their production. Our suppliers are obliged to sign this Chemical Restrictions Policy as to guarantee that they to follow all local restrictions on technical use of chemicals as well as those international restrictions governing the use of chemicals in products intended for our customer markets (compliance with any and all EU restrictions). The supplier also specifically declares that no such chemicals are used in its production process that can, as a residue in the end product, be a health risk to the user. The supplier also declares to follow ILO convention No. 170 to ensure proper measures are taken in every step of production to ensure workers’ chemical safety.

Worker’s Welfare of CAMIO USA KNITWEAR LTD.

MONTHLY EMPLOYEE BENEFITS

  • Attendance Allowance
  • Bonus : Basic Two per Year

LABOR PRACTICE OF CAMIO USA KNITWEAR LTD.

  • Working Hours : 8 Hours./Day (48 Hours/Week)
  • Lunch Hour : One Hour For Lunch
  • Average Age : 18-40 years
  • Workers’ Men/Women Ratio : Men 40%, Women 60%
  • % Of Leaving Per Year : 3% Of Leaving Per Year.
  • Overtime (Maximum) : 12 hours/week
  • Overtime wages : (Basic Salary/208) × 2 time × hours
  • Workers are paid : Monthly
  • Workers are paid by : Cash
  • Paid Holidays per year:Labor Union Situation : Normal as per existing countries labor law
    • Casual Leave 10 Days
    • Sick Leave 14 Days
    • Earn Leave AVE 17 DAYS(1 day for each 18 working days)
    • Festival Leave 12 Days
    • Maternity Leave 116 Days

E. H & S ACTIVITIES

  • Toilet : 40
  • Tills & Mosaic Proper Exhaust
  • Urinal : 07
  • Canteen Facility : Seating Capacity 300
  • First Aid : 20 (1 per 150 workers)
  • Personal Protective Equipment : As Required
  • FACTORY CLEANING (PROCEDURE AVAILABLE)E. H & S POLICY FORMULATED MEDICAL CENTER
    • Toilet : Continuous (Minimum once every 1 hour)
    • Production Floors : Continuous (Minimum once every 1 hour)
    • Factory Cleaning Program : 1 (One) per month.

OTHERS BENEFITS

  • Pure Dirking Water
  • Basic Medical Facility
  • Complains Rolls And Regulation
  • Day care Center

SOME COMMENDATIONS OF GOOD PRACTISE

IN GARMENTS INDUSTRY

  1. Displaying Line Sample and Pattern
  2. 2.    Educational Posters
  3. Emergency Plans
  4. Entrance Gate
  5. Establishing a Library
  6. Establishing a Proper Canteen
  7. Fabric Laying Technique
  8. Fabric Storage
  9. Fire Fighting

10. Fire Safety 11. Glare from Light Producing Machines 12. Good Lighting 13. Induction Training Kit 14. Ironing Workstation Design 15. Machine Maintenance 16. Machine Safety 17. Materials Handling in the Production Line 18. Organization of Notice boards 19. Personal Protective Equipment 20. Personal Protective Equipment for Dyeing 21. Proper Sanitation Facilities 22. Proper Storage of Tools, Parts and Equipment 23. Providing Support to Working Mothers 24. Provision of Pure Drinking Water 25. Quality Control Workstation Design 26. Rubbish/Waste Collection 27. Spot Cleaning Area 28. Spot Cleaning Operation 29. Stairway Safety 30. Stock Control of the Garment Trims Store 31. Store Organization 32. Store Room Safe

01. Displaying Line Sample and Pattern

Finished products should always meet the buyer’s quality and design specifications. One way to achieve this is to display a sample of the finished product on the production line. This helps workers to see what the finished product should look like and to understand what the design, dimensions and quality of the finished product need to be.

Good practices for displaying line sample and pattern in sewing line

  • Display both a line sample and the buyer’s sample for reference.
  • This helps workers (and buyers) to see what the end product will be.
  • Display the pattern in the production line.
  • The pattern should include all product dimensions.
  • Put two or three samples at each station on the production line and denote what part of the pattern each employee is working on.

Benefits

  • Reduces the risk of mistakes.
  • Workers can see exactly what the finished product should look like.
  • This helps ensure consistent quality and production.
  • Easy for workers and supervisors to check measurements.
  • Helps when supervisors introduce new product lines.
  • Workers better understand how their job relates to the finished product and are thus better motivated.

 How

  • Use a plain white board and draw the garment pattern on it.
  • Display a line sample and the buyer’s sample in the production line.
  • Ensure that workers understand what the pattern depicts.

 02. Educational Posters

Displaying educational posters is a powerful way to educate workers. It is very effective because they are easy to make, deliver a consistent message, and use pictures which are a strong form of communication targeting specific behavior. Examples which have been useful for other garment factories include posters on lifting postures, proper mask wearing and reproductive health.

 Good practices for store organization

  • Use posters to address specific problems or concerns. For example, posters can remind workers to dispose of fabric in rubbish bins or how o use proper lifting postures.
  • Use posters to change (or reinforce) desired behaviors using local examples.
  • Display posters where they will be useful and are easy to see.
  • Posters relating to specific jobs should be near relevant workstations.
  • Posters relating to general factory behaviors should be located in more centralized areas.
  • Posters work best when they are part of a more comprehensive training program that includes training, information sessions, exercises, etc.

Benefits

  • Posters that promote safety and reinforce important skills will present a positive image of the workplace.
  • Demonstrates to workers and buyers that the company cares about the welfare of its staff.
  • Easily, cheaply and consistently communicates simple messages about jobs.

How

  • Create your own posters. Draw pictures or have workers’ photographs taken and add text.
  • Use posters to communicate simple points in order to make the message clear and direct.
  • Download free posters or images from the internet and add in text.
  • Make posters for specific work procedures, such as the information offered on the Good Practice Sheets.

 03. Emergency Plans and Equipment

Emergency tools are required and important for all factories. Garment factories that care about the health and safety of their workers invest money on emergency equipment to ensure the safety of workers. Crucial emergency elements are alarms,

evacuation plans, emergency lights and gathering areas.

 Good practices for equipping emergency fire prevention equipment

  • Have people practice emergency evacuation procedures regularly.
  • Post evacuation plans so workers understand where to exit in case of emergencies.
  • Install an alarm system, including bells, smoke detectors and fire extinguishers.
  • Ensure there are sufficient numbers, and check them regularly to ensure that they work properly.
  • Install back up battery powered emergency lights in case of power outages.
  • Make sure that every floor or large room has at least two exists, ensure that these remain unlocked at all times, and make sure they are labeled.
  • Make sure that there is sufficient lighting and signage so workers are able to reach exits quickly.
  • Designate safe gathering areas outside the factory to check and verify that all workers have been safely evacuated from factory buildings in an emergency situation.

 Benefits

  • Reduces workers’ fear of workplace accidents.
  • Promotes the image of a safe garment factory to buyers and other stakeholders.
  • Can increase workers’ productivity.

How

  • Identify appropriate places to install sufficient numbers of smoke detectors and fire alarms.
  • Fire extinguishers should be located near potential sources of fire.
  • Inspect emergency equipment regularly to make sure they are working properly.
  • Repair or replace old equipment regularly

 04. Entrance Gate

Visitors and workers see the factory entrance first, which is an opportunity to send a strong positive signal about the quality and work of the factory. A neat and tidy entrance creates a positive first impression, while an entrance which is dirty or disorganized reflects poorly on it. A factory which has a clean, tidy and secure entrance demonstrates a commitment to quality, productivity, and sound working conditions.

Good practices for the factory’s main entrance

  • Clearly display the factory name and logo.
  • Make sure that the entrance to the factory is clean and tidy.
  • Repaint old or flaking paintwork.
  • Make sure that security guards are trained in the correct procedures for allowing workers and visitors to enter the factory.
  • Use clear signage to help visitors and workers navigate around the factory.
  • This also indicates that the factory is well organized .
  • Inform workers of the factory’s expectations regarding behavior around the factory entrance.

 Benefits

 

  • Sends a positive signal to visitors, buyers, and workers.
  • Indicates an attitude of responsibility and attention to detail.
  • Indicates that the company values productivity and good working conditions.

 How

  • Review the quality of the entrance to the factory by asking visitors to the factory if it was easy to find and what they thought about the entrance.
  • Install appropriate signage or replace old or out of date signs.
  • Put someone in charge of maintaining the front area.

05. Establishing a Library

Factories with motivated and productive workers often outperform competitors. Establishing a library for the benefit of workers is an excellent way for a factory to demonstrate that it cares about its staff and to build goodwill in the community.

Good practices for store organisation

• Provide chairs and tables for workers to sit and read in the library .

• Establish a borrowing system by recording the names of workers

who borrow books to read at home .

• Encourage workers to donate their own books or magazines.

• Make sure workers can read and write. If they cannot, provide information

about a local instruction program.

• Ensure that all workers have equal access to use the library.

 Benefits

✓ Presents a positive image of the factory to buyers and the community.

✓ May increase sales to buyers who value social responsibility.

✓ Builds goodwill between the factory and workers.

✓ Better educated workforce.

✓ Library can be used to host a literacy program.

 How

  • Identify a suitable location for a library. The space should be on the factory premises and in a quiet location.
  • Contact NGOs for books and possible funding.
  • Budget for book renewal.
  • Interested workers can use their free time to take responsibility for the library.
  • A team can be created to develop the library.
  • Ask workers what kind of books they want supplied

 06. Establishing and Running a Proper Canteen

Because a balanced diet plays an important role in improving employees’ health, and boosting productivity, maintaining a good canteen can contribute to a productive work environment. Factories are increasingly investing in this area to ensure that productivity levels remain high throughout the work day. An ILO study on workers in developing countries found that food of poor quality (e.g. iron deficient) causes a productivity loss of $ 5 billion per annum in South East Asia, while providing a good meal can lead to productivity enhancements of 20%.

 Good practices for the importance of establishing and running a proper canteen

• Include an area where workers can prepare drinks or heat up food from home.

• Food provided by the canteen should be nutritious and satisfying.

This way, energy that has been spent during productive work can be replenished.

• Ensure that the canteen, dishes, and silverware are all cleaned hygienically. For example, use hot water and dish soap to clean dishes and silverware after use .

• Provide healthy and nutritious food such a fruits, vegetables, proteins, and grains.

• Provide a comfortable and well-ventilated canteen that provides workers a place to relax after they have finished eating.

 Benefits

✓ Appropriate employee nourishment improves employee morale,

increases productivity, and prevents diseases.

✓ Centralized provision of food in a canteen during overtime work

saves time and enhances productivity.

✓ A well functioning canteen facilitates workers to enjoy a leisurely meal in their work place and increases morale.

 How

 • Select an appropriate location within or nearby the factory premises. Such a location must be away from workstations, to avoid contact with dirt, dust, or hazardous substances.

• Invest in proper furniture and facilities such as chairs, tables, fans

and a refrigerator.

• Ensure that the canteen allows employees to take a break from their work in a comfortable environment.

• Arrange for workers to eat at different times, thus reducing the space needed for sufficient seating.

 07. Machine Maintenance

Good machine maintenance is an investment in productivity. Well maintained

machines are more reliable, safer and last longer. Basic maintenance is not

expensive and can often be done by workers. Workers should be taught simple machine maintenance skills such as machine cleaning, adjusting thread

tension, changing broken needles, bobbin changes and emptying the dust filter.

 Good practices for machine maintenance

• Clean machines as often as possible to reduce the risk of dust

damaging machinery. Using a vacuum is recommended so that dirt

can be removed .

• Regularly clean or replace the sewing machine’s vacuum filter.

• Cover machines during lunch breaks and when they are not in use.

• Post maintenance information and maintenance schedules directly

onto machines.

Benefits

✓ Reduces maintenance costs.

✓ Reduces risk of machine breakdown.

✓ Improved productivity.

✓ Safer working environment.

✓ Making machine covers reduces maintenance costs of machines.

How

• Purchase an industrial vacuum cleaner. The investment now will save

future machine maintenance costs.

• Use scraps to make covers for machines when not in use.

• Schedule a maintenance routine for all machines.

• Develop on-the-job training sessions where senior operators instruct

newer employees how to properly clean machines.

• Ask manufacturers for advice regarding machine maintenance.

 08. Fabric Laying Technique

High quality and efficient garment manufacturing starts with a good fabric laying technique. Simple steps can lead to significant cost savings for the factory and improve the quality of the finished product. Poor or incorrect fabric laying technique lead to higher costs, slower production and inferior products quality.

 Good practices for the fabric cutting area

• When laying fabric, make sure that the distance from the edge of the fabric to the marker is 2 cm in order to minimize waste.

• Each fabric has its own maximum lay depth. Design and display a fabric depth chart to inform workers about lay depth . Small samples of the fabric can be stapled to the chart in addition to the description so workers can clearly identify the fabric.

• When laying check patterned fabrics, using pin strips ensures straight checked lines.

• Use adjustable clamps to keep fabric from moving during the fabric cutting process .

Benefits

✓ Improves quality of work.

✓ Improves productivity.

✓ Increases cutting accuracy.

✓ Reduces errors and waste.

How

• Fabric depth chart can be prepared by factory staff.

• Clamps are available at commercial markets.

• Provide regular training to teach workers the skills for good fabric laying

 09. Fabric Storage

The quality of a finished garment dependent on the quality of the fabric used. Fabric should be kept in good condition and be consistent in appearance. A good storage system keeps the fabric in an ideal environment and tracks details of the fabric used in production. Please also refer to the Good Practice Guides for Store Organization and Stock Control of Garment Trims.

 Good practices for fabric store

• Always store fabric on a rack or shelf and never on the floor.

• Identify and store the fabric by roll, width, batch, style, lot and color.

• Use a bin card system to update the stock balance.

• Store the fabric lying down, not standing up.

• Keep a record of which fabric rolls were used in the production

of garments so that quality problems can be identified easily.

• Have rolling carts available for moving fabric between storage

and production .

 Benefits

✓ Costs are reduced because fabric is less likely to be damaged.

✓ Prevent possible loss of costly material.

✓ Garments are produced from the same fabric batch, which ensures

consistency of colour and fabric quality.

✓ Increases productivity by reducing the amount of time needed

to look for fabric.

✓ Makes it easier to do a stock-take.

✓ Factory floor is kept clear, reducing risk of accidents

and increasing work space.

 How

• Ensure that there are sufficient racks to store all fabric lying down,

off the floor.

• Use multilevel shelving to increase storage capacity.

• Implement better record-keeping procedures to keep track of fabric.

• Make sure that the factory store manager and staff take responsibility for storing, distributing and tracking fabric usage

 10. Fire Fighters

It is a good idea to establish fire fighting teams. A quick response to fires can save money by reducing the chance of serious harm to people or property. Provide identification for fire fighters, so that in case of an emergency other workers know who

to ask for help. See also Good Practice Guides on Fire Safety and Fire Extinguishers.

 Good practices for fire fighters

• Form fire fighting teams. There should be at least one fire fighter

for each section of the factory.

• Fire fighters must receive regular training, and the number

of fire fighters should be proportional to the total workforce.

• Provide identification to fire fighters. A good form of identification is a brightly coloured armband or a badge on their shirt.

• Pictures of fire fighters should be prominently displayed for all workers to see.

• Drill fire fighters and workers at least once every six months.

• Fire fighters must be part of a larger safety team that includes first aid coordinators, evaluation coordinators, etc.

 Benefit

✓ In case of a fire, the fire fighters can be easily identified and can respond fast and efficiently.

✓ A quick response to fires can save money and lives.

✓ Promotes a good image of a responsible workplace.

 How

• Form fire fighting teams in each floor.

• Provide training to fire fighters.

• Provide identification to fire fighters by using garment scraps to make:

– uniforms; and/or

– badges; and/or

– arm bands;

• Post pictures of fire fighters so workers know who they are.

 11. Fire Safety

Fire safety is important; it can save money and lives. The best fire safety practices prevent fires by reducing the risk of fire. Training workers is a very cost effective way to improve fire safety, because it teaches workers how to prevent fires from starting and what to do in case of an emergency. Make sure that there is enough fire safety equipment and that it is checked regularly. See also Good Practice

Guides on Fire Fighters.

 Good practices for fire safety in the factory

• Suitable types of fire extinguishers and fire hoses must be available. Some fires (e.g. electrical fires) require special types of extinguishers. Common types of extinguishers are dry chemical, halon, and CO2.

• Place extinguishers and hoses where the risk of fire is greatest.

• Denote the location of fire extinguishers and fire hoses by marking the floor below and painting the nearest wall or pillar red and/or placing signs above head height. These signs also mean that nothing is allowed to obstruct access .

• Install back-up lighting and water supplies in case the electricity or water mains are affected by fire.

• Install fire alarms in the factory .

• Ensure that electrical circuits are enclosed, insulated, earthed, properly fused, and not overloaded.

• Keep combustible material away from hot surfaces and open flames.

 Benefits

✓ Fire prevention saves money by protecting property and lives.

✓ Minimizes fire hazards and risks.

✓ Safer workplace environment.

✓ Helps to show that the company cares about the welfare of its workers.

✓ May reduce insurance costs.

How

• Check fire safety systems to make sure that there are enough suitable extinguishers, hoses and exit signs.

• Make sure all fire safety equipment is tested at least once per year

and is in good condition.

• Make sure fire equipment is easy to get to in case of an emergency

and that signage is clearly visible.

• Form fire fighting teams .

• Implement an emergency plan which includes evacuation procedures.

• Run a factory inspection to determine where hazards are.

12. Glare from Light Producing Machines

Some light-producing machines used in garment factories can be hazardous to workers. Glare from the light can cause dizziness, headaches and fatigue, which can lead to mistakes and reduce productivity. Long-term exposure can damage the workers’ vision. Workers should wear suitable goggles, or guards should be fitted to the machines to deflect light away from the eyes.

Good practices for shading workers from glare

• Cover windows with blinds, curtains, louvers, shades or plants .

• Use translucent windows, instead of transparent ones.

• Ensure that workers are not facing directly toward the windows

by changing the orientation of their workstations .

• Use shades to deflect glare from light sources.

• Reflective surfaces can distract workers as well – ensure that light

from these sources does not shine in workers’ eyes.

• Make sure that there is enough light for workers to be able to see their work without straining their eyes.

• Change florescent light bulbs as soon as they stop working

to ensure good lighting.

Benefits

✓ Reduces glare-related illness and injury.

✓ Reduces mistakes made by tired workers.

✓ Workers are more efficient.

How

• A plank of wood or metal sheeting can be used as a light shield.

• Reflective surfaces can be painted or covered with non-glossy material (such as whitewash).

• Bothersome light sources can be moved or lowered in brightness.

• Ensure that spare bulbs are available.

• Ask workers where they need more light.

13. Good Lighting

Proper lighting conditions are critical for good productivity. Many employers have found that lighting improvements have improved productivity by 10 percent, and reduced errors by 30 percent. Conversely, poor lighting can cause eye strain, fatigue and headache.

Good practices for good lighting

• Make full use of natural lighting through windows or skylights.

This reduces electricity bills and improves the work environment.

• Workstations that need more light should be moved closer to windows.

• Use a combination of natural and artificial light and adjust lighting

to the task-related types of work .

• Interior color affects how much illumination is needed. Ensure that ceilings are as close to white as possible. Use pale colors on walls.

• Use local lighting (needle lights) when necessary for some types of fabric, thread or seams at the needle point.

• Re-orient the workstations to maximize use of available light.

Benefits

✓ Improved quality and higher productivity.

✓ Decreased fatigue and work-related illnesses like eye strain and headaches.

✓ Improved health condition of the workers leads to a decrease in absenteeism.

How

• Provide more windows and skylights throughout the entire factory.

These should be cleaned regularly.

• Install more light where necessary.

• Regularly maintain lights by dusting off light sources, replacing lights at regular intervals, and cleaning dirt on walls, ceilings, windows, and skylights.

• Observe workers and ask them about their vision problems.

• Contrasting colour paint for a tabletop or a partition between workstations is suitable for a visual background

14. Induction Training Kit

It is crucial that all new employees are properly oriented to their new working environment and understand their rights and responsibilities. This can ultimately help to reduce potential industrial disputes, improve understanding and communication between management and workers and promote higher productivity for the enterprise.

Good practices for induction training kit

• Management can use the Better Work training materials to support their own induction process to educate new workers on their rights and responsibilities when they are newly employed in the factory.

• HR managers should hold induction sessions regularly to ensure that new workers are properly inducted and aware of their workplace rights and responsibilities (See figure).

• Enterprise HR managers/trainers with induction responsibilities should participate in Better Work training sessions so that they clearly understand how to use the materials.

Benefits

✓ Workers better understand their rights and responsibilities.

✓ Helps to build mutual understanding between management and workers.

✓ Helps to build trust and good workplace cooperation.

✓ Helps to reduce industrial dispute, leading to higher productivity.

How

• Get the induction materials from Better Work.

• Hold regular induction training programs and ensure that all new workers are properly inducted.

• Designate proper facilities (training rooms) to run the induction training and other training activities.

 15. Ironing Workstation Design

A well-designed workstation is crucial to productive and efficient work. Even minor changes in workstation design can make a big difference t productivity, health and safety.

 Good practices for ironing workstations

• Attach an elastic spring to the iron to reduce worker fatigue

and improve productivity .

• Provide an ‘ironing pad’ which the iron can rest on when it is not in use. This protects the surface and will keep the iron clean .

• Provide a ‘fatigue mat’ to workers who iron in the standing position.

This will help to reduce fatigue and improve productivity.

• Provide a foot platform so that shorter workers may iron at a comfortable height.

Benefits

✓ Increases productivity.

✓ Improves garment quality.

✓ Reduce absenteeism due to sickness.

✓ Demonstrates that the factory cares about the

health and welfare of its employees.

How

• Install springs, fatigue mats, and ironing pads at each ironing workstation.

16. Machine Safety: Safety Guards

Machines in garment factories need to have safety guards in order to prevent serious injuries to workers. In particular, make sure that sewing machines have needle and belt guards installed.

Good practices for machine guarding

• Make sure that all machines have appropriate safety guards installed .

• Make improvised guards for any machines which do not come with guards .

• Needle guards must be well maintained and replaced regularly to deter workers from removing them.

• Regularly provide workers with training on machine handling and good safety practices.

 Benefits

✓ Reduces accidents and associated costs.

✓ Increases productivity because fewer accidents means increased production time.

✓ Enhances awareness of workplace safety.

✓ May improve work satisfaction and workplace performance.

✓ Workers understand that the employer cares about their safety,

and are then more motivated.

How

• Workshop staff can use metal sheets (or clear hard plastic sheets) to build safety guards.

• Implement an on-going safety training program for all workers.

• Ensure that workers are aware of how dangerous unguarded machines can be, and tell them not to remove guards.

 17. Materials Handling in the Production Line

A more efficient workplace is more profitable. Introducing tools or systems which make the production line more efficient is often very cost effective. Simple measures which improve the efficiency of the production line include using wheel carts and hanging-rails on wheels.

Good practices for materials handling in production lines

• Use line pick-up trays to feed garment bundles into the production line.

• Use movable wheel carts to transport materials to the workstation .

• Use hanging-rails on wheels to prevent crumpling of ready-to-deliver products and make transportation of finished items safer .

 Benefits

✓ Reduces the amount of time spent on materials handling.

✓ Improves product quality.

✓ Reduces the amount of storage space needed

for finished goods and materials.

How

• Trays and hangers can be found locally in commercial markets

18.Organisation of Notice boards

A noticeboard is an important source of information for workers. It should be updated regularly and organised in an orderly manner so that workers can find the information they need easily.

Good practices for organisation of noticeboards

• Keep the noticeboard as neat and tidy as possible.

• Remove outdated pieces of information as frequently as possible.

• Label the noticeboard by topic and in multiple languages.

Workers can find the information they need quickly and easily .

• Place the noticeboard in a position where workers can easily see it.

• Consider making individuals (or teams) responsible for keeping

the noticeboard clean, tidy and up-to-date.

• Designate a section to be open for worker and union announcements.

Benefits

✓ Keeps workers informed.

✓ Good image of workplace.

✓ Workers receive up-to-date information.

✓ Improves workplace cooperation between management and workers.

✓ Allowing workers to post announcements on a public forum increases trust.

How

• Appropriately label each type of information displayed.

• Remove outdated information and replace it with the up-to-date information

19. Personal Protective Equipment

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) needs to be provided to workers by the

factory. The type of PPE needed varies depending on the hazards of the work being performed. PPE should be used only as a last resort, after all other measures to improve safety have been taken. See also “PPE in dyeing section.”

Good practices for the provision and use of PPE

• Provide chainmail (metal mesh) gloves to workers using cutting equipment to protect them from finger injuries , and make sure that gloves are available for left-handed workers.

• Provide adequate dust masks to workers (e.g. cutters) to protect them from breathing in chemical .

• Old or worn out PPE does not protect workers: Make sure that PPE is in good condition and always replace it when needed or after manufacturer’s recommended period of use expires.

Benefits

✓ Reduces risk of accident and illness.

✓ Minimises future medical costs.

✓ Safer working environment.

How

• Purchase the best available PPE, not the cheapest.

Good quality PPE lasts longer and protects better.

• Provide training to demonstrate how to use PPE properly.

• Provide on-going training to educate workers on their specifi workplace risks and the benefits of using PPE in workplaces.

• Ensure workers wear appropriate PPE whenever necessary.

• Put up appropriate signs near relevant workstation.

20. Personal Protective Equipment for Dyeing

Many dyeing chemicals present serious health and safety risks to workers.

Some chemicals can cause burns to the skin and may be harmful if inhaled.

Measures should be taken to avoid exposing workers to dangerous substances. Personal protective equipment (PPE) should be provided.

 Good practices for PPE

• After taking measures to avoid exposing workers to dangerous substances, provide PPE to workers to prevent exposure to harmful substances.

This may include safety masks, boots, gloves, aprons and goggles .

If gloves are necessary, make sure gloves are provided for left-handed workers.

• Purchase chain mesh gloves for workers who use cutting tools and

dust masks for workers who risk breathing in chemical dust .

• Educate workers on:

– the hazards that exist in their work area;

– how to maximize the utility of existing safety devices;

– how to wear the PPE correctly for maximum protection; and

– how to safely use and dispose of chemical substances.

• Old or worn out PPE does not protect workers. Make sure that PPE is in good condition and always replace it when needed or after manufacturer’s recommended period of use expires.

 Benefits

✓ Protects safety and health of workers.

✓ Offers worker security.

✓ Workers are more productive because they to do not spend time

or energy worrying about hazards.

 How

• Purchase appropriate PPE, especially for workers in the dyeing section.

• Translate Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDSs) into local languages

for workers to read.

• Place Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDSs) on the walls in the

dyeing area so that workers can get information on the products

they are using.

• Implement a continuous safety training program for all workers.

These should involve workshops that explain how to use PPE.

• Use safety posters that give workers additional information on chemical products

and when and how to use PPE. See sheet about Posters for more information

 21. Proper Sanitation Facilities

People need clean, sanitary toilet facilities. Proper facilities let workers and buyers know that the employer is concerned about employee safety and well-being. Conversely, poorly maintained toilets and sinks are a primary cause for poor health among workers. As a result, non-appropriate sanitation facilities may be a serious impediment to labour productivity. To ensure that a sufficient level of hygiene is established throughout the factory, toilet facilities must be of reasonable quality, well stocked, cleaned and maintained regularly.

 Good practices for establishing proper sanitation facilities

• Toilets should be available on each floor and building on the factory premises.

• Generally, provide two toilets for every 40 men and for every 30 women. Provide a sink for every fifteen workers.

• Male and female workers should have separate toilets .

• Toilets should be equipped with ample amounts of soap, water, and toilet paper to ensure good hygiene practices.

• The floor must be clean and free from slippery areas.

• Washrooms should contain mirrors, rubbish bins, and ample water .

 Benefits

✓ Contributes to a lower incidence of employee illness, and less employee absenteeism.

✓ Improves morale among factory workers, which contributes to higher productivity.

✓ Promotes a positive impression of the factory to buyers.

✓ Hand-washing facilities prevent the spread of disease and illness,

and allows workers who work with chemicals to minimize chemical

absorption through their hands.

 How

• Workers must have access to toilets without unreasonable restrictions.

• Toilets must be regularly cleaned (at least once a day).

• Toilets should have lockable doors, proper lightning, waterproof floors and walls and a proper drainage system.

• Make sure surfaces are smooth and easy to clean – tiles are a good

surface material.

• Ensure that the room has proper drainage to minimize maintenance cost.

 22. Proper Storage of Tools, Parts and Equipment

To ensure that tools and equipment remain in good condition and last for a long time, store them properly. Properly stored tools and equipment will be easy to find when needed and are less likely to be lost.

 Good practices for mechanical room

• Parts should be properly stored and labeled.

• Tools should be properly labeled and placed on the board .

Consider drawing the shapes of the tools on the board so that they

always get put back in the same position.

• Use bins for storing small parts .

• Avoid storing things on the floor to increase space.

• Consider making an individual (or individuals) responsible

for the good maintenance of tools and parts.

• Make sure that mechanics have the tools they need to accomplish

their work, and make sure they understand the organization system.

 Benefits

✓ Tools and parts are kept in good condition and are easy to find.

✓ Costs are reduced.

✓ Productivity is increased because time is not lost looking for tools,

parts and equipment.

✓ Workshop staff develop a sense of responsibility and pride in their work.

 How

• Workshop staff identify tools, parts and equipment.

• Workshop staff develop a system for labeling and storing tools,parts and equipment.

• Maintain order in the mechanical room by establishing a criteria for performance review.

 23. Providing Support to Working Mothers

Most countries have laws that specifically address working mothers. Following these laws ensures high morale among workers and a good reputation among buyers. The provision of a nursing room and a day care center provides a positive environment for mothers returning to the workforce.

 Good practices for establishing breastfeeding and childcare facilities

• Provide the legally mandated maternity leave or 14 weeks, the

international good practice benchmark ( ILO Convention 183).

• Allow employees returning from maternity leave to do

only light work during the first 2 months back at work.

• Ensure that all pregnant workers have full job security.

• Provide paid breastfeeding breaks each day and offer Flexible working hours to breastfeeding women during the first year of their child’s life.

• Establish and operate breastfeeding facilities and a child-care room at the workplace .

• Encourage co-workers and management to have an accepting and supportive attitude towards breastfeeding.

 Benefits

✓ Mothers who exclusively breast feed for the first 6 months of baby’s life have healthier and happier babies.

✓ Mothers of healthy babies worry less, which allows them to be more productive.

✓ Breastfeeding women are less likely to be absent from work.

✓ Well supported working mothers are more likely to return to work after maternity leave. This enables employers to keep trained, experienced and motivated workers with strong loyalty to the employer.

 How

• Provide space for mothers to breastfeed their children on-site:

use a vacant room which is silent and private.

• Keep the environment of the nursing room clean and safe.

• Agree with the employee on a clear schedule of breaks in advance.

• Never allow children on the factory floor. Factory conditions pose a major safety concern for young children.

 24. Provision of Pure Drinking Water

Drinking water is very important for all workers especially those in hot and humid climates. Heat causes dehydration which leads to fatigue, loss of concentration and loss of productivity.

 Good practices for provision of pure drinking water

• Workers must be provided with sufficient hygienic drinking water.

It must be put in a covered container with a spout at the bottom and

not exposed to the sunlight.

• Drinking water containers should be located close to the workstations, but not near sanitation facilities, dangerous machines, or areas where chemicals are used frequently. This is so that the water doesn’t get contaminated.

• If containers are not self-cooling, try to locate water in a relatively cool spot in the factory.

• If there is any doubt about water contamination, the water must be boiled or filtered before consumption.

• Only use piped water if it is guaranteed to be sanitary. Use signs to

designate which water is safe to drink and which is not safe to drink.

• Workers should be provided with a proper place to store her/his drinking cup/bottle. This ensures that drinking water doesn’t spill

on the work station.

• Use disposable cups or materials to minimize the spread of infection.

• Anticipate water consumption increase according to number of worked hours, number of employees, and outside temperature.

 Benefits

✓ Helps workers to recover energy during long hour working days

and increases productivity.

✓ Decrease in fatigue and work-related illnesses.

✓ Improved health conditions of workers leads to a decrease in absenteeism.

 How

• Sign service contract with reputable drinking water companies.

• Organize drinking water stations away from dust, sunshine, rubbish, and toilets.

• Ensure that workers have equal access to drinking water usage with no undue restrictions.

• Regularly clean water containers, replace old cup/bottles, and change water filters.

• Drinking fountains are a hygienic solution for providing water nearby workstations.

 25. Quality Control Workstation Design

Because quality control is very important in garment manufacturing, the quality control workstation must be well designed. A poorly designed workstation may lead to poor quality work and the reputation of the factory can suffer. When designing the workstation, provide good lighting, clear work instructions, and all necessary tools.

 Good practices for the quality control checking table

• Ensure that there is good clear lighting, but that it does not shine

directly into the worker’s eyes.

• Provide clear work instructions in the worker’s language and illustrated with pictures as necessary.

• A measuring tape can be fixed to the table to help when checking garment sizes. This measure can be permanently marked to indicate garment sizes .

• Materials and tools that are used more often should be located closer to the employee.

• Ensure that the worker is comfortable and has correct posture.

An adjustable chair with a backrest can greatly improve

the posture of seated workers .

 Benefits

✓ Increases quality and productivity.

✓ Reduces worker tiredness and mistakes.

✓ Makes quality control easier when new products are introduced.

✓ Ensures that workers are given clear instructions and

understand what is expected.

 How

• Have factory staff build quality control workstations using plain white board.

• Install adequate lighting.

• Provide clear written and illustrated instructions to ensure quality work.

• Ensure that table is stable.

• Provide leg space for easy leg movement.

• Provide a footrest, especially for seated workers

 26. Rubbish/Waste Collection

A clean workplace can help to achieve better productivity and protects worker’s health and safety. Factories should establish systems to make sure that waste is continuously cleared up and that the workplace is kept safe, healthy and hygienic at all times.

 Good practices for rubbish collection

• Use rubbish bins to collect waste in the factory.

• Sewing machine scraps can be collected directly into a bin

below the sewing table.

• Make a hole in the sewing table and connect it to a bin below

with an adjustable slide .

• Designate specific rubbish bins to individual machines .

• Post signs to show where rubbish bins are located.

 Benefits

✓ Improves productivity.

✓ Promotes good health and safety practices amongst workers.

✓ Develops good housekeeping habits.

✓ Helps to eliminate waste and workers take pride in cleanliness of factory.

 How

• Use baskets/bins where appropriate in all working areas.

• Encourage workers to develop good habits even during busy periods.

• Encourage workers to always keep the workplace clean.

27.Spot Cleaning Area

Spot cleaning is necessary in garment manufacturing, but some of the chemicals used can be dangerous. It is necessary to protect people who work in or near the spot cleaning area from chemicals, including chemical fumes. In particular, Trichloroethylene, a toxic chemical commonly used in spot cleaning, needs special care. It can cause harm if it is breathed in or if it touches the skin.

 Good practices for store organisation

• Use a special room in a separate location for the spot cleaning area.

• Use water and detergent for spot cleaning instead of chemicals whenever possible.

• Make sure that workers read and understand Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) so that they learn about the dangers of the chemicals being used. If workers cannot read, ensure that workers understand the dangers of chemicals.

• Ensure that the spot cleaning room has clean air at all times by fitting fans and installing fume captors where the fumes are located. Ensure sufficient fume caption per minute.

• Install exhaust ventilation fans in the spot cleaning area to make sure that clean air flows towards the workers and chemical fumes flow away from the workers.

 Caution: the air must not flow towards the worker’s face or they will breathe in the chemical .

• After taking all possible measures to improve the working environment, provide workers with proper personal protective equipment such as masks, overalls, gloves and safety goggles.

Caution: Dust masks are not suitable as they trap

the chemical over the worker’s face .

Benefits

✓ Protects workers from direct and indirect exposure to spot cleaning chemicals.

✓ Protects workers from getting sick – including short and long-term diseases.

✓ Saves cost of medical treatment.

✓ Minimizes absenteeism from sickness.

✓ Safer working environment.

How

• Display this Guide and MSDS on the walls of the spot cleaning room.

• Purchase personal protective equipment such as gloves and overalls in local markets.

• Purchase safety goggles and filter respirator masks (for gases and solvents) in commercial markets.

• Find out if any of the chemical products used can be replaced by water and detergent.

• Train workers on proper safety procedures and make sure they know about

the hazards associated with the materials they are working using

28. Spot Cleaning Operations

Because spot-cleaning chemicals can be dangerous, spot cleaning operations should be kept separate from the main production area. Workers who use spot cleaning chemicals should be given safety equipment and clothing. Factories which have good spot cleaning operations can save money by reducing absenteeism and improving the health and morale of workers. A safe factory can also help to increase sales because working conditions are important to many garment buyers.

 Good practices for spot cleaning operations

• Use water and detergent for spot cleaning instead of chemicals whenever possible.

• After taking all possible measures to improve the working environment, provide spot cleaning workers with appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) such as gloves, safety goggles, masks and overalls.

• Many factories use spot cleaning chemicals, which contain trichloroethylene. Trichloroethylene is toxic and can cause serious harm. It is especially important that workers wear correct PPE to prevent them from touching or breathing in this chemical .

• Ensure that workers are educated on how to properly handle chemicals.

Material Safety Data Sheets must be provided in language the workers understand.

• Make sure workers and medical staff know what to do in case dangerous

chemicals get spilt or a worker gets injured. Workers must wash themselves after the use of chemicals.

• Make sure workers know how to properly dispose of chemicals.

• DO NOT expose pregnant women or women who breast-feed their childrento dangerous chemicals such as trichloroethylene.

 Benefits

✓ Safer and healthier working environment.

✓ Protection of workers’ health.

✓ Workers are happier when they no longer have to tolerate unpleasant smells,

headaches or irritation to eyes and skin.

✓ Minimises health risks of long term exposure to chemicals.

✓ Reduces absenteeism due to medical conditions.

✓ Improves productivity.

 How

• Purchase necessary personal protective equipment (PPE).

• Train workers on safety procedures and emergency response in case

of accidental chemical absorption.

• Find out if any of the chemical products used can be replaced by water and detergent

 29. Stairway Safety

Stairways can be dangerous but a few simple precautions can make them much safer. Make sure that stairways are large enough and are not blocked or slippery. Stairways need to be large enough for large groups of people to use in case of an emergency evacuation such as a fire.

Good practices for stairway safety

• Stairs should have non-stick ‘treading’ to prevent people from slipping .

• Stairs should have handrails for support.

• Stairs should be large enough for easy access and wide enough to allow two-way access.

• Make sure that there are enough stairways in case of an emergency such as a fire.

• Stairways need good lighting; otherwise workers maytrip and injure themselves.

• Schedule regular fire drills so employees get accustomedto using stairs in an emergency situation in an orderly fashion.

• Use ramps instead of stairways where applicable.Ensure that the ramp incline is less than 15 degrees.

 Benefits

✓ Safe stairways allow easy access in cases of emergency.

✓ Reduces accidents resulting from slipping and falling.

✓ Easier and more efficient movement of materials from one floor to another.

 How

• Renovate existing stairs to implement these good practice guidelines if needed.

• Bring these issues to the building contractor when building new factories and expanding or renovating old ones.

• When building stairs, each stair should be the same height and depth.

• Schedule regular fire drills so employees get accustomed to using stairs in an emergency situation in an orderly fashion

 30. Stock Control of the Garment Trims Store

Garment factories invest a huge amount of money in fabric. A well organised

warehouse and an inventory system which labels and tracks all stock helps to manage this inventory investment, improves productivity and reduces costs. Please also refer to the Good Practice Guides for Fabric Storage and Store Organisation.

Good practices for the garment trims store

• Classify and label all old and current stock .

• If stock is not used, get rid of it.

• Label the trims and classify them by item type .

• Use and display bin cards for all fabrics. Bin cards also make it easier when ordering and conducting stock-take .

• Keep track of which stock was used in which production run

and the date it was used.

 Benefits

✓ Increases productivity by reducing the amount of time needed to search for fabric and conduct stock-take.

✓ Reduces costs by preventing unnecessary ordering.

✓ Reduces costs by decreasing the risk of stock being damaged by being stored poorly or stolen.

✓ Makes inventory ordering quicker and easier.

✓ Makes it possible to produce garments from the same fabric batch which ensures consistency of colour and fabric quality.

How

• Train staff to understand the labeling process.

• Ensure that labeling is consistent.

31. Store Organization

Because garment factories make a large investment in materials it is necessary to store and organize this inventory in an efficient, safe and secure way. A well organized store helps to make a more productive factory, protects stock from being damaged, and saves money and time when ordering and conducting stock-take.

 Good practices for store organisation

• Build a racking system and put boards at both ends of each rack for identification.

• Use a logical identification system for organizing the racks. For example, put numbers, letters (or a combination) on each row .

• Put frequently used stock in easily accessible locations.

• Attach a ‘bin card’ to each fabric roll. A bin card is used to record the balance of the fabric .

• Invest in high quality ladders. They will save time and protect the welfare of your staff.

• Teach workers how the storage system works, and train them on the usage of ladders, forklifts and machine safety.

 Benefits

✓ Improves productivity.

✓ Reduces risk of materials being damaged, lost or stolen.

✓ Presents a positive image of the factory.

✓ Reduces the risk of over-ordering materials.

✓ Stock-take is quicker and more efficient.

✓ Ensures a safer workplace.

 How

• Store staff can design or build.

• High quality racking systems can be purchased and fitted to your store

32. Store Room Safety: Stack Height

To make the factory safer and more productive, storage areas need to be efficiently and safely organised. Make sure that all boxes and materials are properly stacked and that the height of stacks is restricted and monitored.

 Good practices for safe stacking in the store room

• Mark the maximum stack height using wooden guide poles .

• Or, paint red lines on the wall to indicate safe stacking height .

• Regularly check that boxes are stacked tidily and boxes or materials

are not stacked above the marked height.

• Never stack in front of emergency exits or in front of windows or electrical panels.

 Benefits

✓ Improves the image of workplace.

✓ Creates a safer workplace.

✓ Reduces workplace accidents.

✓ Enhances awareness of safe practices.

✓ Improves the efficiency of the storeroom.

 How

• Use pieces of wood as markers; or

• Paint a line to show the maximum stack height.

• Stack materials and boxes in areas that do not obstruct airflow

or movement within the factory.

How to prepare a Company for Social Compliance Audit

Checklist

SubjectCondition found during check

(If Ok / not Please Tick/Cross) CommentsDocumentationp Trade License Fire License & Insurance Certificate of Incorporation Boiler Operation  License Boiler Operator License/waiver from Boiler Authority Waiver certificate /permission for the Generator (s) from Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission. Certificate from Ministry of power, Electricity & Mineral Resource for the Electric Sub-station. Provident Fund Record(Original audit report of last balance sheet) Leave encashment payment Documents. Leave encashment payment for the resigned worker Recruitment Policy. Grivence Policy & Procedures Electrician Certificate Environmental Certificate Nurse Qualification Certificate Drinking Water Test DOT / Building Approval Plan Construction / Extension building floor plan from govt. authority Floor Diagram Group Insurance Calibration Certificate IRC/ ERC / EPB / Export TIN Certificate Register from BOY Official approvals to run operations, machinery etc. Company’s Policies Personal file in which exit :- Family Name and first name of employee, Date of Birth, Address of employee, Company name & address, Joining Date, Clause governing termination of employee. Indication of probation period, amount of gross pay, bonus & special payment, Responsibilities, Date & signature of employee & employer,. Time Record System: – beginning & end of a working day, number of OT hour, Days free from wok, Days of absence. Pay slip . On payment to social insurance fund exist. Wage List existence. Maternity levee for pregnant woman. Work Rules. Health & Safety Training including fire safety. Certificate to First Aider Inspection documents for lift and machineries. Bond License Previous Social Compliance audit report & their CAP. Performance Appraisal Machine Maintenance Record Self Audit Report WRAP COC WRAP Manual Generator License / Permission VAT Certificate Lease / Rent Agreement Factory License Desha Approval Hospital Agreement Sludge Test Report Waster Test Report Generator Permission for using generator BSCI COC Waste water test report Freight Lift Operation License Acid Use License BGMEA / BKMEA Certificate Bond License Calibration Certificate to all Weighting Machine Calibration Certificate to all Scale. Calibration Certificate to Metal Detector Accident & Injury Record. Job Description of Security Guard. Fire License, Group Insurance, Boiler License Photograph of Fire Drill or any other Register Appointment Letter should provide to employee Age verification certificate should be certify by doctor Service Book to all employees. Certificate for First Aid & Fire Fighter. Documentation Health & Safety Training. Facility should have employees trained in first aid procedures from a nationally recognized program. Drinking Water Test Report. Accident Record. Pay Slip for employee. ID Card having employees sign Electrician having experience Certificate. Noise / air quality certificate Medical Exam  for employee : Boiler Operator, Generator Operator, Chemical Operator etc. Documents Req During Auditp Today’s attendance (Male & Female) List of new recruited worker Machinery Certificate , Inspection & Maintenance Record MSDS for all chemical used & relative training record Emergency Medical Procedures Waste Disposal Policy & Procedures (air, liquid & Solid waste and medical waste) Factory Profile Boiler Instruction Chemical Use & God owning Procedures Waste Jute Sales Agreement Tag gun Policy Job Discharge Policy Hazardous & Non Hazardous Wastage Handling Procedures Production Plan Electric Hazard analysis & instruction Factory Key Policy Daily Production Report Wastage Recycling Policy No smoking Policy Workers Hand Book Floor wise & section wise space Floor wise toilet sheet Individual production ticket/sheet Copies of official documents on legal status, company name(s), year of foundation Production Unit Record sheet, QC inspection report & Goods in out records from store Duty Roaster for security guard (Last 03months) Workers awareness program key issues of Labour Laws 2006 Danger goods movement records Dormitory’s rules & regulation (If applicable) Valid business licences and all necessary official approvals to run operations, machines etc. Company’s fiscal figures List of company’s figures on employment structure List of valid certificates on Management Systems and of social/code of conduct audits, which have been conducted in the company on behalf of other organisations, copies of the audit reports Documentation of responsibilities in the company on senior management and operational level for implementation of and checking compliance with the BSCI Code of Conduct Calculation of the necessary financial and personnel resources to comply with the Minimum Social Requirements Cost calculation in written form Anti-corruption/bribery policy. Capacity planning in written form Documentation of trainings conducted for employees on BSCI Code of Conduct. Record of inspection results for possible hazard sources and corrective actions taken (Safety Assessment) Personnel Data Files for all employees List of subcontractors including names and addresses of production units Written declaration of commitment of subcontractors’ compliance with the BSCI Code of Conduct Proofs of continuous improvement of social performance in the facilities of subcontractors Corporate social policy in written form Working time recording system Working Rules in written form Documents to prove that the water is drinkable. Documentation on all benefits to employees with remarks if they are mandatory or voluntary Documentation of working hours prevailing in the industry and the source of this information Documentation of the defined regular working hours, shifts, multi-shift working, breaks and holidays for the company Documentation of the legal/industrial minimum wages and the source of this information Payslips for employees and evidence of payment of wages Payment documents proving the transfer of contributions to social insurance funds Wage lists and wage calculation incl. record of output of piece rate workers incl. all elements of wages and deductions Records on the granting of benefits for pregnant women and mothers Calculation documents for fixing piece rate For piece rate workers: records of the quantity produced by each individual employee Documentation of any infringements of the working rules and any disciplinary measures taken Contract of employment/contracts for service with security personnel (if security personnel is used) List of production processes outsourced to prisons, and name and place of premises (if relevant) Minutes of meetings and records of written agreements with employees’ representatives Records of complaints by employees and of any measures taken or manner of dealing with complaints Inspection documents for room temperature, noise level and lighting Certificates on Qualification of Medical Personnel Record of the number of accidents including the source of the accidents, the type of accidents, the dates, the damages and indication of harmed persons Documentation of conducted health and safety trainings (evacuation drills and fire fighting drills) including names of participants and dates of training Records of receipt, consumption, withdrawal and disposal of chemicals and crop protection products (including presentation of Material Safety Data Sheets – MSDS) Proof that employees working with electrical installation are qualified Inspection reports and maintenance records for lifts, dangerous machines, electrical equipment Inspection reports and maintenance records for fire fighting equipment (e.g. inspection tags on fire extinguishers) Operating and Safety Instructions for machines, workplaces and high-pressure equipment (if used) Safety documents for employee dormitories (fire protection, hygiene, etc.) Updated Policy on WRAP & communicated with all WRAP COC Bengali & English Procedures on WRAP 12 principal Written Policy on Prohibition of harassment, abuse and corporal punishment. Post legal minimum wages rate, benefit polices, & additional payment information in native language. All employees signed in a statement regarding affirming their receipt and understanding of the facility’s anti discrimation practise. Environmental Management System. Appointed a person responsible for Principle 11 (Customs Compliance) Background checks & application verification on security, shipping, loadding dock personnel before thier job permanent. Visitor parking areas shall be segrated. Latest Drinking water Yest M/C :List Name & Address of Sub Contractor   Labour Union Agreement / WPC Company Datap  company organisation and structure

  •   number of employees per department
  •   total number of employees
  •   number of female employees
  •   if relevant, number of employees considered as children
  •   number of employees considered as young workers
  •   number of pregnant employees
  •   number of unskilled workers
  •   number of migrant workersp  number of employees in maternity leave
  •   number of apprentices
  •   number of disabled persons
  •   number of employees on probation
  •   number of homeworkers

 structure of wages:   number of employees:

  •   on a monthly rate
  •   on a daily rate
  •  on a hourly rate piece rates
  •   Listp  Master List of worker
  •   List of Festival Holidays
  •   List of Fire Fighter
  •   List of Fist Aider
  •   List of toilet

  Number of Fire Fighting equipmentsp Number of Forst Aid Box Chemical List Machinery List New Employee List  Production Site Inspectionp  Fire Extinguisher and theier mounting Emergency Exits, escape routes & their marking Occupational Health & safety Machines, electrical equipments and power generator Steam generators and steam pipes Lighting conditions, room temperature & ventilation General Cleanliness & hygiene Sanitary facilities (toilet, washroom, changing room if relevant, portable water system) Prescribed Social amenities, eg, place for eating,kitchen areass for cofee, tea making facilities, child care, sick room, first aid, Environmental requirement.  Dormitory Inspection (living conditions, health & safety)    Statutory Register Updatedp WPC Committee Fire Training Register Fire Drill General Awareness First Aid Training PPE Use Register Environmental, Health & Safety Training No. of Person trained in Fire Fighting & Certificate Last Date of Fire Drill Evacuation & Records Documents Training Documents Orientation Program OT Register & Check Material Safety Datasheet (MSDS) No Holiday Records Permission of Second Shift (If second Shift Available) How many worker crossed their OT limit. Muster Roll-Job Card-Salary Statement  Does the facility has documentation of boiler & pressure vessels inspection on files & posted? Personal file : Application Form, Appointment Letter, Age Estimation & Fitness Certificate,  Nominee Declaration, Emergency Contact person name & No, Increment Details,p Mid Management Awareness Training Register

  •   Accident Register
  •  National & Festival Holiday
  •  Organization Chart
  •  Minimum Wages Notification
  •  Major & Minor Accident Report
  •    Verbal Abuse & Harassment
  •  No. of Person trained in First Aid & Certificate
  •   Machine Maintenance Register
  •   Boiler Fitness Certificate & Operators Certificate
  •   Authorization-Permission  for OT Approval / Friday Working
  •   Compensatory Holiday
  •   Exceeding Manpower strength as per fixed strength.
  •   Leave with Wages
  •   Labor Welfare Fund (WPF)
  •   Unpaid Accumulation

  Does the facility has a Welfare Officer?

  •   Medical Fitness Certificate for Canteen Worker & Security Guard. Displaysp Factories Policies
  •  Factories Policies on Harassment, H & S, Discrimination & OT.
  •   Minimum Wages Abstract
  •   The payment of wages abstract
  •   The payment of gratuity abstract
  •   The payment of Maternity benefit  abstract
  •   The payment of Bonus abstract
  •   Weekly Holiday Notice
  •   Notice of nearest Hospital, Fire Station, Police Station etc

  National & Festival Holidays.

  •   Standing Order
  •   Needle Control Policy
  •   Voluntary Work Policy
  •   Health & Safety Policy
  •   Child Labor Abolition
  •   Anti Discrimination Policy
  •   Urgent Need Business Policy
  •   Zero Abusement Policy
  •   Working Hour Policy
  •  Broken needle Policy
  •   Hiring / Recruitment Policy.
  •   Environment Policy
  •   Security Policy
  •  Buyers Code of Conduct
  •   Health & Safety committee members photo with name.
  •   Canteen  members photo with name.
  •   Transport  committee members photo with name.
  •   Harassment & Discrimination committee members photo with name.

  Worker committee members photo with name. Emergency Exitp Is their sufficient directional & exit signs to ensure that all routes are clearly indicated in bilingual languages?  Do all work areas have at least two exits?  Emergency exit door to be opened outside?   Evacuation Plan in all Floor /Areas?   Emergency Exit with Outside open Facilities?   Emergence Exit Board Light witg UPS connection?p  Emergency Exit light to all staircase?   Emergency Light daily on/off Log sheet?   Emergency light Location List?

  •   Emergency Light kept on 6 feet height.
  •   Emergency Electricity Switched off system (Floor wise)

Signage Emergency Electricity Switch off No Hindrance Emergency Switch off Access areas? Aisle Markingp Are aisle clearly marked with directional sign Red arrow? Aisle without block. Indication Arrows in the passage.p  Are aisle larger than 3 feet wide?    Emergency Lighting  Do all emergency lighting units work properly? Do all emergency lighting units work properly?  No smoking sign displayed Fire Preventionp  Fire Hose Rule usages instruction All walkway / Fire Exits free from obstacle Operating Instruction of Fire Extinguisher Proper Record of Fire Extinguisher Checklist No Smoking Signage are displayed Fire Alarm Should be availablep  Fire extinguisher are easy to marked & easy to reach. Fire Alarm Should be available evacuation routes Group Insurance List of Fire Trained person should be displayed. Visual Fire alarm in generator room    Fire Alarmp  Functional Every Time Maintenance Card maintainedp Signage Displayed Smoke Detectorp Functional Every Time (Indication Light glow up.)  Fire Extinguisher  / Hose Reel / Hydrantp  Are their adequate number of Fire Extinguisher Available?

  •   Functional every time
  •   Signage displayed

Are locations of Fire Extinguishers clearly marked? Are Extinguisher Visually checked monthly (with control Tag?) Are fire extinguishers inspected annually by outside professional agency, documentation is on file?   Fire Extinguisher Service Checklist   Operational Instruction (Bangle & English)p  Fire Buckets to Diesel Storage Area with Water & Sand

  •   Zebra marking
  •   Fire Buckets to Boiler Room with Water & Sand
  •   Fire Buckets to Genset Room Area with Water & Sand
  •   Fire Buckets to E.B. Panel board with Water & Sand
  •   Fire Buckets to Motor Room with Water & Sand
  •   Fire Tray with sand

  Diesel Storage areas floor filled by sand. Fire Safety trained employees name & Photo Emergency Preparednessp  Does a facility has a documented emergency preparedness program? Records of Evacuation Drill Record of test of Alarm & Emergency lighting system/ Does the facility has the documented fire & emergency evacuation Plan? The plan has floor maps prominently displayed in the factory (including office)

  •   Actual Location (You Are Here)
  •   First Aid kit all locationp  Extinguisher Location.
  •   Identification of Major Fire Risk.
  •   Phone number of local Fire Department.
  •   Phone number of ambulance / hospital.
  •   evacuation routes.
  •   Assembly areas

  Machine Safetyp  Electricity supply should be tested regularly to prevent shocks & burns

  •   All cable have plugs and loose wire .
  •   Fire Aid must have burn cream.p  Machine maintenance to be done regularly & keep records.
  •   Machine Operating Instruction & monthly check
  •   No. of sewing machine Electrical Panelsp  Loose wire/  without insulated wire not found.
  •   Signage displayed (Danger, Do not touch)p  Rubber mat available
  •   Zebra marking
  •   Electrical Fittingsp  All connection made properly
  •   Loose wire /without insulated wire not accepted over factory.p  Power point, plug in good condition and marking switch board.
  •   All light, ceiling fan, Exhaust fan should be functional. Utility Areap  Loose wire  / without insulated wire not found.
  •   Rubber mat availability.
  •   Signage (Authorized Person only, No Smoking, and Danger etc.)
  •   Operational Instruction (Bangle & English)p  PPEs (Air Muff, Ear Plug)
  •   Flickering Light instead of Fire Alarm
  •   Emergency Light

  First Aidp  Is the clinic suitably equipped in compliance with the guideline (beds, first aid materials, medicines?

  •   Are screens / Curtains provide to allow privacy?
  •   Is there system in place to check expiration dates of medicine?
  •   Are Fist aid Kits adequately stocked and appropriate for work areas?p  Item List Displayed
  •   All items available as per list check expiry date)
  •   First aider name, picture displayed.
  •   Are sufficient number of employees trained in First aid by a recognized organization?
  •   Are First Aid Kits available to all work areas?
  •  Healthp  Appoibted MBBS doctor & Nurse
  •   Accident Register,
  •   Medical Stock Register
  •   Sick analysis
  •   Temperature Meter to all section
  •   Drinking Water
  •   Drinking water Test Report.
  •   Drinking water not in plastic pot.& make sure all pot are clen.
  •  Please confirm no one collecting the drinking water from toilet.
  •   Area should be cleaned
  •   Signage displayed
  •   Drinking water cup ability.
  •   Drinking WaterCenter (one place to every 150 employees up to 500
  •   Water Reservoir or Tank Cleaned at least once in a week.p  Drinking water Signage in English & Bangla.
  •   Located from 20 feet away from Toilet.
  •   Locate maximum 50 meters distance from work spot.
  •   Water supply should be regular.
  •   Drinking water vassal cleaned at least once in a week.
  •   Water cooler / Heater available at every canteen, dinning hall, rest room etc.
  •   Water vassal Cleaning log sheet.
  •   WaterCenter in charge person with cleanliness. Toiletp  Toilet use rules.
  •   Suggestion Box
  •   Sufficient Toilet
  •   Toilet should be cleaned
  •   Soap
  •   All toilet seat with proper privacy & Locked,
  •   Urinal accommodation min 61 cm for ever 100 employees for above 500
  •   Effective Sewage system, Soap, Towel, Bathroom lock, Water tap, Dust bin, Bucket with mug at toilet
  •   Toilet whit washed once in every four month.
  •   Tiles /Mosaic floors washed with detergent or disinfectant once in four month.
  •   Exhaust Fan
  •   Toilet has water flushing system?p  Bucket with cover
  •   Signage as per gender.
  •   Daily Cleaning Log Sheet Provided.
  •   No smoking sign in Gents Toilet
  •   Cleaning record behind door of toilet
  •   Awareness Quotes in Toilet
  •   Ladies / Gents Toilet name sign in Dual language & Picture.
  •   The bathroom facility is clean and generally free from odor.

Are the bathrooms facilities are well ventilated and have running water? Health & Social Facilitiesp  Cantine facility (at least 30% seating capacity of worker)   Clean MedicalCenter.

  •   Clean Portable drinking water.
  •   Employee  have access to an appropriate, clean area for eating.
  •   Washing facilities and separated it in accordance with gender.
  •   Quick medication assured in emergency cases.
  •   First aid facilities
  •   Selected First aider.
  •   Drinking water facility.
  •   Mark portable worker.

  Sanitary Facilities: Sufficient Toilet, Clean toilet & washroom regularly, seprate by gender & indication, Cleaning log sheet, Responsible person for cleaning, Provide soap or other care products and towel. Full Time Medical Officer Ambulance Room Washing facilities in medical center. Drinking Water Test Report. Retirement Benefit Unemployment Insurance Accident Insurance Physician in charge Visual Fire Alarm should at generator room Sufficient Trained Fire Fighter Soap, Towel, Slipper should provide at Toilet. Ails mark not properly installed and some where partially blocked. Workers found workng by sitting on floor. Does not have evacuation plan. Child Care room (equiped with cradle, toy, bed, breast feeding areas, & attached Toilet) Workers found blocked by by table and garments in most of the place of the factory. Boiler Operator should use ear muff. Dinining & Canteen Missing ebonite plate in the electrical panel board. Rubbar mat is not avilable under the board. Inadequate content of medicine found in first aid box. Safety (Checkpoint) First Aid box is available with all required contents. Expiry Date is mentioned. All Emergency exits are clearly marked and kept unblocked for movement . Appropriate Fire Extinguisher at all designated places in healthy condition. Refilling Due Date is marked on it. Electrical Cables are well-dressed and in good condition. No Road / Pathway in the section is blocked for movement of material and transport. Effective Use of Personal Protective Equipments in the area. Defined Emergency lights are available and are in working condition. Records are available for testing. Any accident happened in the section / department. Reporting is done. Corrective and Preventive action taken within one month of occurrence of Accidents and Incidents Safety Booklet & Unique Identification Number are available with all employees in the section / dept. including contract workers No Safety violation /Unsafe condition / Unsafe Act  is reported during Safety Audit SOP / Work Instruction should be displayed on required equipments. All electrical fittings are earthed , records of earth Pit resistance available with Maintenance Dept. and no visibility of loose connection in any equipment /Panels. All Welding Machines / Girding Machines / Gas Cutting Sets are ok. Ext. No. is in working condition and emergency phone no. is displayed on it. Fans are cleaned and in good working condition in the section. All Safety Committee Points in respective section are completed. All Floors / Walkways are safe for working in the section. Eg. No oil leakage. Permit-To-Work System is followed strictly and records are available in the section All Safety Interlocks are identified in each area and non of them found by passed. Records with the section. Effective use of Safety Helmet & Shoes in the section. All pathways are marked for Man and Material movement and is followed . Service Floor is illuminated properly with no obstruction for movement All moving parts are guarded with mesh / properly grouted Fencing to avoid any incident/accident. All fork lifts have required facility e.g proper lighting, horn, PUC and other necessary things. Floor wise Fire Alarm & Centralized Control Training on First Aider Fire Evacuation Drill & Record Marking on Assembly Area Place of Fire Extinguisher Marking Danger on Electrical Panels Factory / Working Conditionsp  ID card of all employee. No trainee worker is allowed. Central Fire Alarm & PA system Work Instruction Walkway/aisle/worker should not be blocked. No worker will work by seating on floor. No worker will gossip or cry or sleep inside the toilet or under the table anywhere of the factory. Please  confirm that any types of PIN not attached with the Elastic rolls kept in the warehouse Compliance Sign in related areas. Risk Assesment Painting work in dirty area. Proper Lighting in each area. Workers Toilet Doors in Toilet Exhaust Fan in Toilet Marking on Toilet Workshop layout and the factory building acceptable? Room Temperature acceptable. Production area clean. Company must comply with national law regarding the working conditions such as Room Temperature, Ventilation, Noise Level, Lighting Condition, Hygienic aspects in toilet, production place, kitchen, dormitories, machinery, chemical;, electricity, working from ladder, slippery floor, noise, leaking substance, dust etc Thread Sucker Machine Risk assessment: Worker, young employee, pregnant woman, cleaners, visitors, contractors, maintenance employee. Facility  include workplace, rest rooms, first aid room, canteen properly maintain. Waste disposal policy. Define time frame for cleaning and waste disposal (such as every day at 10 am) Keep documents along with responsible personnel. PA Syetem Blade / Sharp Tool policy and it should be posted in production floor & Store. Scissor , cuttar all sharp tools should be tied in each work station. No one is allowed to use old cutting knife. All machine should be have PPE (Needle Guard, Finger guard, eye safety guard, pulley cover, belt cover etc.) Machine maintenace card for all type of machine. Idle machine without needle Garments / fabrics even finished goods cartoon should not be floor contact. Should keep on rack / pallet (buyerwise/stylewise/colorwise) Fabrics with poly cover & bin card. no mixed colour is allowed. Goods in excess height are not allowed. Use ladder if there is anyrack. Fabrics inspection Report  Point. (4 point system.) Defect Swatch in fabrics inspection report. Accessories Inspection Report (AQL Based) Rejected areas should be seperated & marked. Approval sample with trim card in each line /each areas.  Hours & Wages, Working policyp  Salary Sheet / Pay Roll  Record (For last 12 months) OT Sheet for last  moths, Piece Rate Record All labour Contract Legal minimum Wages Personal file are maintained & age verification certificate including National ID Card, birth registration certificate Day Care centre facilities Working Hours allowed (including OT Hour) Any deduction made out salary? Is OT compulsory? Leave Record. OT Record? Time record of all employee One weekly off Service Book Hand Book Approval Duty Roaster from Labour Factory Regulation Factories Policy, Rules & Regulation Salary Payment Voucher Final Settlement Maternity Benifit Appointment Letter to all worker & maintain registerp  Attendance Register Wages Record? Display of all policies. Proof of minimum wages legal? Proof of minimum wages given? Payment of OT as per law? Pay slip should be given Duty Roaster Break per shift. OT Should not be compulsory. Piece Rate Record (For Last 12 months) Job Card Personal File Security Guard personal file Worker ID Card All labour Contact Notice File Previous Audit Report Maternity Benefit WPF Fund  Securityp  Record af all movement of raw materials/ finished goods ? Daily Record of Security guard checking windows, gate, fence etc Visitor Registerp  Visitor Register Written security policies, practice & training record to security. Main Gatep  Locking Arrangement Signage -Company name, No Child Labor, Document Required on Recruitment.p  List Of Authorized Person Loading & Unloading Areap  Marked & Separated Signage  By Department wiseFabrics Storep  Stacking of all fabrics properly and making on stacking.   a. Buyer Name       b.Style No.   c. Lot no. & qty. Fabrics should be covered. No fabrics on ground. Signage Displayed as per stacking (Like awaiting for inspection, Inspected fabrics, Rejected etc.) Fabrics Inspection Tablep  Lux level of light should be 1000 lux maintained. Four Point Penalty  system.p  Calibration done properly. All record should be maintained: a. Accessories receiving record. b. Inspection. c. Issuing Record. Calibration done properly. Accessories Storep  Accessories Store should be stacking in the rack: a. Buyer, Style wise b. Bin Card should be displayed.p  Lux level of light should be as per requirement. Sewingp  Machine to machine distance should be proper. Gap of sewing:-  Machine to machine min : 24″,    Line  to Line  min : 36″ PPE’s :       Needle Guard, Pulley & Motor Guard,  Mask for O/L & other sewing Op Control over metal part like stapler etc. All Sharp Items should be tied with (Rope/chain) cutter, scissor etc. machine light should be functional. Machine oil should be clean & Required level maintained.p  Needle Record (as per needle policy)    a. All broken parts available on records. b. Received / issued record tally with broken needle record, c. Needle Detection Machine.

All workers must know: 

a. Operating of Fire Extinguisher.

b. Last Fire Drill date All furniture are cleaned. Machine not in use covered, Needle Removed. No blockage of aisle. Broken needle carrier box (at least 2pcs starting & ending at thread stand, in each line. Needle swatch card should be posted in front of the needle issue girl/boy. Needle register of store should be cross checked with the broken/damaged needle register. Record should be same. Seating arrangement of needle issue girl/boy should be separated from the production floor. Finishing Departmentp  Required signage should be displayed on working table. All scissor cutter should be tied up with rope and issue / receipt record maintained. All Aisle clear, No blockage.p  All furniture are cleaned, no stickers on side of table. No printed tape on table. Tag gun to bear the name of user. Spotting Roomp  Spotting room signage. PPE should be available such as goggles, hand gloves, eye wash safety glass, repertory musk Required lux level of light should be maintained. Write chemical name on small pots used for chemical. No loose electrical connection. MSDS displayed & all spotters aware of its usage Exhaust Fan Eye wash basin.  Pressing Departmentp  All table should be functional , required lux level maintained. Table cloth in good conditions. Rubber mat should be available. All electrical connection should be proper. No leakage in steam line. Teflon boot for all press to be available.p  Press Handle in good condition. Exhaust fan available & functional. Table should not shake & no wires on ground. No leakage from steam pipe. Area around the steam pipe to be clean, Not spit mark, No dirt. Packing Departmentp  Metal free zone without metal. Hourly Calibration Report (9 point system) of metal detector by 1.2mm ferrous card. HourlyPass report throuh metal detector. Register for metal contaminated garments. Authorized person for packing. A list with workers should be displayed. All signage should be displayed. Entry restricted in this department. A visitor log book  should be maintained. Packed cartoon should be accountable & storage in fence area. While packing going on loose cartoon not to be left unattended. No loose blade anywhere.p  All light & fans should be functional & no loose wire lying ground. Separation areas for loose cartoon & packed cartoon. Needle detection machine properly functional . No metal parts like nails, staplers pin etc close by. All scissors , cutters tied at work place. Stacking cartoon as per buyer. Cutting Departmentp  Cutting gloves should be available & not damaged. Cutting table tube light functional. Overhead cutting machine wire& plug should be good conditions. All cutting machine should be functional Fusing machine operational -a. Operation instruction displayed. b. Maint. & Temp. record should be maintained. c. Machine proper covered while not in use.p  Dust bin should be available for wastage. No wastage on ground. All fans/light should be functional. No loose wire lying on ground and electrical connection should be proper. All cutting table should be cleaned every time . No fabrics lying on ground and under the table improper way. All cutting machine stored in proper place. All scissors tied with rope. Boiler Roomp  Operating instruction displayed Rubber mat should be available. No leakage in steam line. PPE should be available such as Rubber boot, Ear muff, Rubber gloves. Flickering light should be available instead of fire alarm. Buttonsp  Machine connection should be proper. PPE’s should be available. Pulley guards should be available on machine. Eye guard availability. Issue / Receivingp  All incoming / outgoing movement of paces through chalan only. No blockage of aisle.p  All light & fans should be functional. No pcs on ground. Surrounding areas of the building Wall & fence should be proper, No damage. All security cheking system functional.p  Surrounding areas cleaned regularly. Signage of assembly point. Miscellaneousp  All signage of each floor should be displayed. Water supply should be regularly in all toilet and drinking water point. Lunch room layout & cleaning should be maintained properly. Lunch room timing, menu, rate list displayed in lunch room Dust bin availability near lunch room Cabteencooking place should be cleaned & fire safety measure covered every time. Medical check up Chemical/S\pot : Lunch test, Boiler/Generator/knitting : hearing test Report available. 

Management Practice: 

Appointed Senior Management Representative BSCI awareness to all Executive, Officer & Staff, all worker as well. Conduct meeting regular basis on social requirement between staff & management. System in place for anti-corruption / anti bribery activities. Periodically risk assessment & Take preventive action of work accident. Cost accounting method in use. Establish & maintain appropriate procedures to recruit sub contractors & monitor sub contractors social requirement. And keep evidence.  

Working Time :

Regular daily working hours start & End. Daily Break start & end. Regular number of working days per working week. Overtime hours did the worker with the highest amount of OT hors last week? Average weekly amount of OT hours during peak season. Is it of their own free will? OT shall not exceed legal hours (2 hrs every day) record, time card, salary sheet, for this reason wages could not be verified. 01 day off after latest 6 consecutive days of work. Inconsistency noted between production Overtime payment not provide to store keeper, time keeper, knitting operator, loader, cuttar, sample man, electrician, boiler operator etc. Employees of the facility worked on weekly holiday, but the facility management did not provide substitute holiday against those holidays work.  

Compensation Minimum wages. Lowest basic monthly wage for regular working time paid. Average wage last month excluding OT for all employees on work floor. Total sum of wages (incl. OT differential) which was paid for all employees last moth. OT hours paid individual hour rate. All employee receive paid leave according to law. Employees receive paid statuary and or religious holiday. Evidence of maternity benefitp  Maternity leave. Does company provide statutory benefit/ Is their any illegal deduction? From production records it was observed most of the weekend factory remains open and the workers of the factory did not get compensatory holiday. The facility does not provide benefit to resigned employees according to the law. Form of workers participation committee & welfare fund.

 Working Timep  Start & end working time per day. Start & end of brakes per day. Regular working day, Festival Leave. Rest day. Leave register Maternity Leave. Knitting sections time keeping system (Shifting) shall made [roperly. Period of absence without indicated reason. Responsible Personnel for keeping records of hours worked by each employee. Related Data : Pay day, amount of payment, Contributions of social insurance fund, Period of worked, regular hours & OT,  modality of payment such as cash, bank transfer, cheque etc. Payment during statutory work free periods: Festival leave, Sick leave, maternity leave, short time working, low capacity production period. Contributions to social insurance Fund : Provident Fund, Health insurance, social security, education find for employee. Additional Benefit: Transportation Cost, Own transportation system, Accommodation. Allowance on food, medical treatment, education etc. Deduction from wages: Do not make deduction from wages without employees prior approval. Keep record. Contractual Security : The minimum information on payment :- Amount incl. Benefits & deduction. Frequency, Terms, pay day. Employee must have the opportunity to refuse or negotiate conditions before payment. Define wage, benefits, deduction and conditions before hiring employee. Joining Letter . It is a confirmation workers are agree on terms and conditions. Provide Appointment Letter in which incl. Compensation (Wages, benefits, deduction, piece rate etc.) work rules, job description, working hour, type of job & function, Terms of payment, Period of payment, Name of employee.  

Child Labor /Young Employeep

All employees at last 18 years old. In case under age found, the child must removed from production immediately, with continued payment of wages in accordance with laws. Employ only persons who are at least 18 years above. During employment must collect & check birth certificate, passport/ID card, Health Certificate, Driving License, academic qualification, UP Cert. Nationality Cert.  Forced Labor Disciplinary Measure / Prisoner Labor:-

Employee can leave the factory compound after work at any time. Original Document must not keep permanently such as ID card, Passport, and Birth certificate. Keep photocopy for personal file.  

Freedom of Association and collective Bargaining

  Worker have right to join workers organization without taking approval from authority.p  Is factory faces a strike, walkout, unrest the past 02 years.

 Discrimination Harassment & Abusep

Is there any pregnancy test / virginity test before hiring. Is there any evidence that woman are mistreated or fired as a result of being pregnant. All employees have equal opportunity to work overtime?p  Is their any sexual harassment, physical coercion or verbal abuse? Is any evidence that employees are disciplined or otherwise discriminated against because they complain against infringements of their right?  

 Occupational Health and Safety Is the employees’ health seriously and avoidably endangered by work processes? General safety conditions Chemicals Fire protection

Escape routes Emergency Exits Machine safety  

Steam boiler (…) Accident prevention Protective measures Chemicals Risk minimisation others

Protective Measures:- ear plugs gloves safety shoes dust masks hair cover goggles and others

Safety of Machines, Storage and other facilities Machinery, warehouse and other storage facilities must be sufficiently secure and storage rooms must be safe and equipped with appropriate protective

Handling & Storage of Chemicals:- Chemicals such as oils, greases, solvents, gas, dyestuffs, printing inks etc. have to be handeled properly with care.

Handling & Storage of Chemicals:-

Define a function/person responsible for distributing harmful substances.  Define who is authorized to access chemicals. Document the responsible function/person for distribution of harmful substances. Document the responsible function/person having access to chemicals.

Handling of Electric Power:-

Display high voltage warning signs wherever relevant. Please refer to Appendix B.11-Warning Signs Fig.II.5 as examples. Ensure that power sockets, switches and such as fuse boxes, cables, lamp sockets, power sockets and others must be installed in a safe way. Electrical contacts must be covered with appropriate non- conductive materials. Electrical installations must be fixed and installed in a way that they are secure against falling down or employees getting tangled. lamp mounts are in good condition and functioning properly. Cover switches and sockets. Block the access to electrical installations of machinery. Allow only qualified employees or external people to maintain and conduct repair work at electric facilities. Lock electrical junction boxes, electric switchgear/electric control rooms and fuse boxes. Install these areas in a way that cabinets are made of flameproof material. Define authorised persons who have access to these places and ensure that only these persons have access. Handling of Electric Power:- Conduct regularly inspections on safety of electric facilities. Define a function/person who is responsible for these inspections, maintenance and arrangement of repairs. Fire Protection & Fighting Escape routes &  emergency exits Install accessible and functional fire extinguishers or fire hoses on each floor. Functionality must be proved with valid inspection dates. Arrange fire extinguishers in a way that they do not block escape routes. assess all risks to new expectant mothers & ensure that reasonable steps are taken to remove or reduce risks to their health & safety. Fire Alarm , Smoke Detector should installed. Emergency light with individual batery back up are not installed in every floor. Rubber mat of IronMan. Ear muffler for generator Operator & Thread sucking operator. Protect fire extinguishers from all parameters having an influence on their– weather (if placed outside) temperature (direct sun shine, freeze etc.) caustic gases  liquids etc Define a function/person who is responsible to check all protective measures and fire fighting equipment regularly on their functionality. Define a function/person who is responsible for maintenance and arrangement repairs and replacements. Perform regular fire drills at least once per year including at least explanations on following issues: fire fighting strategies handling of fire fighting equipment fire characteristics of substances in use and the required fire fighting method Examine regular evacuation drills with all employees, at least once per year. Instruct new employees before they start.

Operation of  Steam Boilers:

Install steam boilers operated with gas, oil, coal or other combustible materials in areas not close to dormitories, emergency exits, escape routes or staircases. Install stationary steam boilers in separate rooms or buildings which are lockable. Allow only authorised persons access to these places. Ensure that high pressure steam generators are properly working without having leaks or improvised repairs. Ensure that the high-pressure steam pipes are working properly without having leaks or improvised repairs. Check the pipes on their functionality and maintain them in regular intervals. Allow only qualified employees to operate, maintain or repair steam boilers. Define a function/person responsible for checking, maintenance, repairs of steam boilers. Health & Safety Training & PPEs training. Company does not Electrical distribution boxes do not have danger sign posted on the led. Chemicals are not properly keeping with ID and caution. Missing machine guard such as needle guard, eye guard, safety guard etc in the production floor. Electricity: Electrical Installation checked periodically Properly fixed High voltage sign installed ie main power point, main fuse box Steam Boiler are steam boiler ru by gas, oil, coal or other inflammable fuel installed close to dormitories, emergency exit, escape route, staircase? Written safety regulation and operating procedures exists? Steam running machinery good conditions? Does any employee work close to blow-off valves, leaks, poorly isulated tube or any other soursc of danger caused by stam installation and machinery? Fire Hose pipe should water connection Evacuation Plan should be bilingual language Steam iron pipe insulated covering  Dormitoriep  Does the Company provide dormitories or any kind of overnight accommodation for the employees? Is the dormitory separated from production area and warehouses? Are the sleeping quarters segregated by gender? Are employees allowed to enter and leave the dormitory at any time? Is the dormitory clean, safe and adequately lit? Secondary exit Is the room temperature acceptable? Is the space per person acceptable (…)? Is there clean potable water? Are there enough unblocked, marked emergency exits? Does adequate fire protection equipment exist? Does adequate fire protection equipment exist? Determine if all necessary approvals from official authorities are available. If not, get these approvals. Determine whether you fulfil the legal or industrial minimum standards. Observe at least the required minimum standards on:

  • construction materials to be used
  • minimum size
  • layout
  • ventilation
  • floor and air space
  • cooking area/equipment
  • washing area/equipment
  • water supply
  • sanitary facilities and others

Environment

  p  Is the waste management arranged in a way that does not lead to pollution of the environment?   p  Are chemicals properly and separately disposed off? p  Is it ensured that chemicals do not leak into the ground? p  Is effluent treated to prevent environmental pollution? p  Are emissions in legal conformity? p  Chemical Drums should provide secondary container to ensure that chemical do not leak in to the ground with no MSDS.  

Documents Ready For Inspected:

  •   Production Unit Record Sheet
  •   Documentation of Management System and Responsibilities
  •   List of Valid Certificates (Environment, Quality, etc.)
  •   General Company Figures (Finance, Employment)
  •   Personnel Data Files (Contract)
  •   Documentation on Corporate Social Policy (incl. Subcontractors)
  •   Documentation on Legal Framework of Working Hours and Remuneration
  •   Master List for worker
  •   List of festival holiday
  •   List of fire fighter
  •   List of Toilet
  •   Number of Fire Fighting Equipment
  •   Number of First Aid Box
  •   Chemical List p  Juvenile workers health examination & registration record (If applicable)
  •   Competency Certificate of Boiler Operator
  •   Competency Certificate of Electrician
  •   Working Time Recording System
  •   Payslips and Evidence of Payment
  •   Wage Lists and Calculation (incl. Benefits) p  Documentation on Health and Safety (incl. Inspection and Training)
  •   Certificates on Qualification of First Aid Assistance p  Licenses for Machinery and Vehicles
  •   Documentation on Environmental Requirements and Chemicals
  •   Machinery List
  •   Factory Profile
  •   Todays Attendance
  •   New Employee List
  •   Left Worker letter issue register
  •   Welfare Committee
  •   Health & Safety Committee
  •   Grievance Procedure p  Disciplinary Action Log
  •  Training Record p  Employee First Aid Training/Fire Fighting Training Certificate
  •   Doctors Appointment Letter & Registration Certificate
  •   Nurse Qualification Certificate
  •   Contract with security, nearby medical and cantin supplier & wastage disposal

 Production Site Inspection:

  •   Recording of the employees actually present
  •   Fire extinguishers and their mounting
  •   Emergency exits, escape routes and their marking
  •   Occupational health & safety p  Machines, electrical equipment and power generators
  •   Steam generators and steam pipes
  •   Lighting conditions, room temperature and ventilation hygienep  General cleanliness and
  •   Sanitary facilities (toilets, washrooms, changing rooms if relevant, potable water systems)
  •   Prescribed social amenities, e.g. place for eating, kitchen area for coffee/tea making etc., childcare facility, sick room, first-aid kits etc.

  Environmental Requirements

  Dormitory Inspection (living conditions, health and safety, etc.) 

Training & Awareness

  •   BSCI / WRAP COC
  •   Welfare Officer /Committee
  •            Registerp  Attendance Register
  •   OT Register
  •   Leave Register
  •   Earn Leave Payment Register
  •   Maternity Leave Register
  •   Child Care Register
  •   Fire Drill Register
  •   Emergency Preparedness
  •   Accident & Injury Register with doctors signature.
  •   Broken Beedle Policy with register(For sewing needle, tag gun needle, hand needle, knitting needle & Linking needle). Policy should be post in the production floor.
  •   Broken Needle Register (Tag Gun, Sewing, Hand, Knitting, Linking) p  Grievance Register /File p  Welfare meeting register
  •   Fine / Deduction Register
  •   List of Chemical
  •   Daily Production Record
  •   Management Policy
  •   MSDS
  •   Recruitment Guidance , Appeal Procedure Record for award & Punishment.
  •   Electrical Maintenance Register
  •   File of few disciplinary cases.
  •   Baby Food Register p  Switch off register
  •   Sharp Tool attaching register /keeping box with lock & key.
  •  Security System (CT-PAT

  Access Control:

  •   Visitor Log Book
  •   incoming /Outgoing vehicle registration log book or record
  •   Security Guard Petrol log

  Procedural Security

  •   Security Policy
  •   Securities Guard Duties & Responsibilities
  •   Packing Procedures
  •   Loading & Unloading security Proceduresa
  •   Container inspection & loading procedures
  •   Security seal handling & storage procedures
  •   Policy for detecting & reporting shortage/coverage (discrepancies) on shipment
  •   Procedures for transit of finished goods to forwards
  •   Shipping Documents
  •   Bill of loading (Copy)
  •   Commercial Invoice(Copy)
  •   Packing List (Copy)
  •   Otter related shipping manifest if any
  •   Any other documentation related to shipment

  Human Resource

  •   Employee Record (sample)
  •   Employee Background check record
  •   Employee Termination Checklist
  •   Employee Security Traning Manual
  •   Security incident Reprt
  •   Other Security Record
  •   Security meeting record with attendance list

  Security Training Program (Incl .:

  • Security Guard, Mail receiving, Packing, Cargo Loading, Logistics)
  •   Internal Audit Record
  •   Keys, Log and seals control log
  •   Inspection or maintenance record of alarm & surveillance cameras
  •   Crisis management plan
  •   Others p  Physical Security

  Boundary Wall

  Separated & Restricted loading & unloading areas.

  Separated & Restricted packing areas.

  Separated & Restricted loading & unloading areas. p  Separated & Restricted finished goods areas.

 Thank You Page

When I started the thesis many clouds are gathered on the sky of mind. After completing the research the clouds ran away from my mind and I am feeling very well. This work is done by me the grace of Allah. I am very grateful to the almighty creator in this regards.

Special Thanks to Mr. Sharfuddin Ahmed Lisan, my favorite teacher, who give me direction in every time to complete the thesis. Without his kind help it could not be success. I also grateful to honourable sir for reading the thesis by expending his valuable times. May Allah give hime better award in here and here after.

Everything starting from planning, it seeing to be the most important step to start this industry report. In this industry report I have learned a lot of things, for instance communication, how to solve the problem, what are the recommendation, and what are the suggestion that given.

In this training establishment I have gained a lot of knowledge, the main thing that I can give is communication. Communication is the most important in hospitality studies. The communication between me, staffs and guests was the important part. In this case I have improved my language and communication skills as far as good. A part from that, the duties that given to me in eight hours, I know how to finish as fast as I can.

I would like to conclude that completion of the assignment has been both benefit and important to us. The industry report is really helpful for us towards the understanding of training establishment. We have learned a lot from the industry report and it is something that we will remember forever. We think we have learned to be better person now after do this industry report as it has helped us to improve knowledge in Performance appraisal. It is a great experience and we think that tasks are effective was to improve us members in any way and to be more productive.

Bibliography

Admin, HR & Compliance Department of CAMIO USA KNITWEAR LTD.

http://www.bsci-intl.org

www.businessdictionary.com

www.sa-intl.org

Classnote’s of BIHRM

website of BSCI, WRAP & Others

Social Compliance