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100-635: After the 2013 Savar building collapse , Walmart became a founding member of the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety. Monsoon was a member of the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) from before the 2013 Savar building collapse due to structural integrity and failure . The building had housed a number of separate garment factories employing around 5,000 people, several shops, and a bank. The factories manufactured apparel for brands including Benetton , Monsoon Accessorize , Bonmarché ,

200-556: A structural failure . The rescue team's search ended on 13 May 2013, with a confirmed death toll of 1,134. Approximately 2,500 injured people were rescued from the building. It is considered as one of the deadliest structural failures in modern human history, as well as the deadliest garment-factory disaster in history, and the deadliest industrial accident in the history of Bangladesh. Amnesty International called it "the most shocking recent example of business-related human rights abuse." The building housed five garment factories,

300-482: A 12-story condominium building in Surfside, Florida partially collapsed, causing dozens of injuries and 98 deaths. The collapse was captured on video. One person was rescued from the rubble, and about 35 people were rescued on 24 June from the uncollapsed portion of the building. Long-term degradation of reinforced concrete-support structures in the underground parking garage, due to water penetration and corrosion of

400-431: A bank, and apartments. It was constructed in 2006 on the site of a former pond, and was built without proper permits. The fifth through eighth floors were added onto the building without supporting walls; the heavy equipment from the garment factories was more than the structure could support. On 23 April 2013, large cracks were discovered in the building. The shops and the bank on the lower floors immediately closed, but

500-610: A committee of independent fire and structural safety experts from Bangladesh, Europe and North America who are credentialed authorities in fire or building structural safety. The Committee of Experts (COE) is responsible for overseeing the implementation of the Alliance Standard, which includes approving qualified inspectors, conducting spot audits of remediation efforts and validating inspection reports. The Alliance has publicly announced that it aims to inspect all factories producing for its members by July 10, 2014. The Alliance

600-680: A crowd of protesters who were blocking streets in Dhaka demanding a minimum wage of $ 100 (৳8,114) a month. In November, a 10-storey garment factory in Gazipur, which supplied Western brands, was allegedly burned down by workers angered over rumours of a colleague's death in police firing. In March 2014 Rana Plaza owner Sohel Rana was granted six months' bail in the High Court . This prompted angry reactions from labour leaders. However, Rana would not be released from jail as another case filed by police

700-496: A group of 17 major North American retailers, including Walmart, Gap , Target and Macy's , announced a plan to improve factory safety in Bangladesh, drawing immediate criticism from labour groups who complained that it was less stringent than an accord reached among European companies. Unlike the accord joined mainly by European retailers, the plan lacks legally binding commitments to pay for those improvements. Dov Charney ,

800-448: A job because you are only looking at balance sheets, only looking at how to make a profit. That goes against God! Human Rights Watch stated their concern over the number of factory-building tragedies in Bangladesh; there have been numerous major accidents in the country in the past decade, including the 2012 Dhaka fire . IndustriALL Global Union , a global union federation representing textile and garment workers' trade unions around

900-462: A load without breaking. On the other hand, a highly elastic material will bend under a load even if its high toughness prevents fracture. Furthermore, each component's integrity must correspond to its individual application in any load-bearing structure. Bridge supports need a high yield strength , whereas the bolts that hold them need good shear and tensile strength . Springs need good elasticity, but lathe tooling needs high rigidity. In addition,

1000-474: A localized failure should not cause immediate or even progressive collapse of the entire structure. Structural integrity is the ability of a structure to withstand an intended load without failing due to fracture, deformation, or fatigue. It is a concept often used in engineering to produce items that will serve their designed purposes and remain functional for a desired service life . To construct an item with structural integrity, an engineer must first consider

1100-424: A material's mechanical properties, such as toughness , strength , weight, hardness , and elasticity, and then determine the size and shape necessary for the material to withstand the desired load for a long life. Since members can neither break nor bend excessively, they must be both stiff and tough. A very stiff material may resist bending, but unless it is sufficiently tough, it may have to be very large to support

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1200-426: A minute later. The building collapsed completely at about 08:57 am BST, leaving only the ground floor intact. The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association president confirmed that 3,122 workers were in the building at the time of the collapse. One local resident described the scene as if "an earthquake had struck." The United Nations ' urban search and rescue coordination group – known as

1300-410: A month's pay from workers who refused to come back to work. On the morning of 24 April, there was a power outage and diesel generators on the top floor were started. At 08:54 am BST, loud vibrations and rumbling noises erupted on the top floors and spread throughout Rana Plaza, causing many workers to jump from their positions and rush towards the exits, but the structural failure started less than

1400-623: A significant step toward building a safe and sustainable garment sector in the country. Walmart , along with 14 other North American companies, refused to sign the Accord as the deadline passed. As of 23 May 2013, thirty-eight companies had signed the accord. Walmart, J.C. Penney and labour activists have been considering an agreement to improve factory safety in Bangladesh for at least two years. In 2011, Walmart rejected reforms that would have had retailers pay more for apparel to help Bangladesh factories improve safety standards. On 10 July 2013,

1500-399: A tea dance. The collapse was due to a late change in design, altering the method in which the rods supporting the walkways were connected to them, and inadvertently doubling the forces on the connection. The failure highlighted the need for good communication between design engineers and contractors, and rigorous checks on designs and especially on contractor-proposed design changes. The failure

1600-400: A worker training curriculum, establishing a worker empowerment helpline, and building local capacity for completing factory improvements. As of February 2014, the Dhaka office serves as the primary hub for staff and organizational activities. All staff members in the Dhaka office are Bangladeshi nationals who bring decades of combined experience in Bangladesh's garment industry. As of March 2014,

1700-468: Is pending. A December 2015 report, written by the NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights , found that only eight of 3,425 factories inspected had "remedied violations enough to pass a final inspection" despite the international community's $ 280 million commitment to clean up Bangladesh's RMG industry. On 14 June 2016 Sohel Rana and 17 others were indicted for violating building code in

1800-523: Is the ability of an item—either a structural component or a structure consisting of many components—to hold together under a load, including its own weight, without breaking or deforming excessively. It assures that the construction will perform its designed function during reasonable use, for as long as its intended life span. Items are constructed with structural integrity to prevent catastrophic failure , which can result in injuries, severe damage, death, and/or monetary losses. Structural failure refers to

1900-695: Is to ensure the health and safety of workers in Bangladesh’s Ready-Made Garment (RMG) industry. Rana Plaza was built in 2006 and owned by Sohel Rana —allegedly a member of the local unit of Jubo League (the youth wing of Bangladesh Awami League , the political party in power). It housed a number of separate garment factories, employing around 5,000 people, plus ground-level shops and a bank. The factories manufactured apparel for international brands including Benetton , Zara , The Children's Place , El Corte Inglés , Joe Fresh , Mango , Matalan , Primark , and Walmart . The head of

2000-553: Is used to evaluate all Alliance factories. The Board of Directors issues semi-annual public reports detailing its work and progress toward meeting in-country fire and building safety objectives, as well as training and worker empowerment goals. In early September, 2015 the Alliance has recognized six RMG factories of Bangladesh to international standard as they finished all reformation works. These factories are; Green Textile, Kwun Tong Apparel, Laundry Industries, Lenny Apparel, Optimum Fashions, and Univogue. In November and December 2013,

2100-501: Is working with the Fair Factories Clearinghouse, a non-profit organization that provides software to facilitate information-sharing. Alliance Members use this public platform to provide and exchange information about factories they use, fire and building safety training programs and curricula, and submit monthly reports on safety inspections and progress update on remediation plans being undertaken. The Standard

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2200-700: The Bangladesh Anti Corruption Commission filed a case against 14 people for building Rana Plaza with faulty design. On 1 June 2015, murder charges were filed by the Bangladesh Police against 42 people, including the owners of the building, over the collapse. The accused were indicted on 28 July 2016. The case was delayed after the Bangladesh High Court stopped trial proceedings against 5 accused including Savar Mayor Refayat Ullah. On 29 August 2017,

2300-503: The Bangladesh Fire Service & Civil Defence , Ali Ahmed Khan, said that the upper four floors had been built without a permit. Rana Plaza's architect, Massood Reza, said the building was "planned for shops and offices, but not factories". Other architects stressed the risks involved in placing factories inside a building designed only for shops and offices, noting the structure was potentially not strong enough to bear

2400-595: The International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG) – offered assistance from its members, but the government of Bangladesh rejected this offer. The government made a statement, suggesting that the area's local rescue emergency services were sufficiently well-equipped. Before offering assistance to Bangladesh, the United Nations held consultations and reviews to assess the government's ability to mount an effective rescue operation, reaching

2500-715: The NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights , found that only eight of 3,425 factories inspected had "remedied violations enough to pass a final inspection" despite the international community's $ 280 million commitment to clean up Bangladesh's RMG industry. Dozens of consumers in the United States and Australia spoke out against unsafe working conditions found in the factory building. People also expressed their anger at retailers that did not have any connections to that specific building, but are known to source from factories located in Bangladesh. The Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh , commonly referred to as

2600-516: The $ 200 compensation from Primark were only those able to provide DNA evidence of their relative's death in the collapse, which proved extremely difficult. The US government provided DNA kits to the families of victims. Of the 29 brands identified as having sourced products from the Rana Plaza factories, only 9 attended meetings held in November 2013 to agree on a proposal on compensation to

2700-450: The 19th century. The science of fracture mechanics , as it exists today, was not developed until the 1920s, when Alan Arnold Griffith studied the brittle fracture of glass. Starting in the 1940s, the infamous failures of several new technologies made a more scientific method for analyzing structural failures necessary. During World War II, over 200 welded-steel ships broke in half due to brittle fracture, caused by stresses created from

2800-496: The Alliance conducted a Worker Baseline Survey among more than 3,200 workers in 28 garment factories in Bangladesh. 10 focus groups were conducted off-site with 101 participants in three Bangladeshi regions to obtain more information on fire and other health and safety issues. The purpose of the survey and the off-site interviews was to better understand the current level of awareness of health and safety risks and what workers believe needs to be done to improve safety and reduce risk in

2900-467: The Alliance is ELEVATE under CEO Ian Spaulding. http://www.elevatelimited.com The Alliance helped develop a common Fire Safety and Structural Integrity Standard – founded on the requirements of the 2006 Bangladesh National Building Code (BNBC), though the Standard exceeds those requirements in some cases. The Standard was developed and is being implemented to ensure that all Member factories are held to

3000-536: The Bangladesh Accord, was established in response to the Rana Plaza disaster. Signed on May 15, 2013, the Bangladesh Accord is a five-year, independent, legally binding agreement between global brands, retailers, and trade unions. Its primary goal is to ensure the health and safety of workers in Bangladesh’s Ready-Made Garment (RMG) industry. This landmark agreement expanded on an earlier memorandum of understanding signed by global brands PVH and Tchibo, marking

3100-487: The Children's Place , El Corte Inglés , Joe Fresh , Mango , Matalan , Primark , and Walmart . The Alliance was organized through the U.S. Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) with discussions convened and chaired by former U.S. Senate Majority Leader George J. Mitchell (D-ME) and former U.S. Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME). The collaborative formation process involved apparel industry companies and stakeholders, including

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3200-625: The Dee bridge, the Tay collapsed when a train passed over it, killing 75 people. The bridge failed because it was constructed from poorly made cast iron, and because designer Thomas Bouch failed to consider wind loading on it. Its collapse resulted in cast iron being replaced by steel construction, and a complete redesign in 1890 of the Forth Railway Bridge , which became the first bridge in the world entirely made of steel. The 1940 collapse of

3300-627: The International Labor Rights Forum, full compensation for the families and victims was achieved in 2015. In mid 2014, Human Rights Watch reported that initial payments of $ 650 each had been documented. The initial response to calls for compensation was slow. In mid September 2013, compensations to families of disaster victims were under discussion only, with many families struggling to survive after having lost their lone wage earner who used to provide them food, shelter, education and health care. Families who had received

3400-528: The Savar building collapse. Despite social compliance audits conducted according to BSCI procedure at two of the factories at Rana Plaza, auditors failed to detect the structural concerns. In a press release following the collapse, BSCI explained that their system did not cover building safety. This has been contested, as the BSCI audit questionnaire required auditors to check building permits, and discrepancies between

3500-603: The Thane District. On 24 April 2013, Rana Plaza , an eight-storey commercial building, collapsed in Savar , a sub-district in the Greater Dhaka Area , the capital of Bangladesh . The search for the dead ended on 13 May with the death toll of 1,134. Approximately 2,515 injured people were rescued from the building alive. It is considered to be the deadliest garment-factory accident in history, as well as

3600-605: The U.S. and Bangladeshi governments, policymakers, international NGOs, and members of civil society and organized labor in Bangladesh. On July 10, 2013, the group announced the Bangladesh Worker Safety Initiative. The Initiative is a binding, five-year plan focused on fire and building safety inspections, worker training, and worker empowerment. The Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety has elected former US Representative Ellen Tauscher as independent chairperson. The company responsible for managing

3700-694: The UK to audit their supply chain. The framework requests that those companies make vigorous checks to ensure slave labour is not used in third world countries and the UK to produce their goods. Karel De Gucht , the European Commissioner for Trade , warned that retailers and the Bangladesh government could face action from the EU if nothing is done to improve the conditions of workers – adding that shoppers should also consider where they are spending their money. On 1 May, Pope Francis spoke out against

3800-555: The United States sharing the same design and raised questions as to why such a flaw would not have been discovered in over 40 years of inspections. On 4 April 2013, a building collapsed on tribal land in Mumbra , a suburb of Thane in Maharashtra , India. It has been called the worst building collapse in the area : 74 people died, including 18 children, 23 women, and 33 men, while more than 100 people survived. The building

3900-588: The West End of London. Speaking outside the store, Murray Worthy, from campaign group War on Want , said: We're here to send a clear message to Primark that the 300 deaths in the Bangladesh building collapse were not an accident – they were entirely preventable deaths. If Primark had taken its responsibility to those workers seriously, no one need have died this week. There have been monthly protests at Benetton 's flagship store at Oxford Circus in London since

4000-555: The aftermath of the disaster, the Bangladesh government passed a new law that requires all garment factories to be inspected by a government-approved agency. The Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, commonly referred to as the Bangladesh Accord , was established in response to the Rana Plaza disaster. Signed on May 15, 2013, the Bangladesh Accord is a five-year, independent, legally binding agreement between global brands, retailers, and trade unions. Its primary goal

4100-487: The air conditioning unit crashing through into the already-overloaded fifth floor. On 16 May 1968, the 22-story residential tower Ronan Point in the London Borough of Newham collapsed when a relatively small gas explosion on the 18th floor caused a structural wall panel to be blown away from the building. The tower was constructed of precast concrete, and the failure of the single panel caused one entire corner of

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4200-526: The air in an attempt to disperse hundreds of former workers and relatives of the victims of the collapse who were protesting to demand back pay and compensation promised by the government and the Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association. On 10 June, seven inspectors were suspended and accused of negligence for renewing the licenses of garment factories in the building that collapsed. On 30 August, 100 days after

4300-634: The arrest and trial of suspects and an independent commission to identify vulnerable factories. Four days after the building collapsed, the owner of the Rana Plaza, Sohel Rana , was arrested at Benapole , Jessore District , on the Indo-Bangladeshi border , by security forces. On the same day a fire broke out at the disaster site and authorities were forced to temporarily suspend the search for survivors. On 1 May, during International Workers' Day , thousands of protesting workers paraded through central Dhaka to demand safer working conditions and

4400-448: The authority to investigate possible non-compliance, and take appropriate action against delinquent companies, by a two-thirds majority vote, including termination of membership in the Alliance. 2013 Savar building collapse The Rana Plaza collapse (also referred to as the Savar building collapse or the collapse of Rana Plaza ) occurred on 24 April 2013, when the eight-storey "Rana Plaza" commercial building collapsed due to

4500-523: The border to India . A total of 41 defendants faced charges over the collapse of the complex. Of the 41 people charged, 35 (including Rana) appeared before the court and pleaded not guilty. Rana was not granted bail. He was charged with corruption again in 2017; the trials continue to this day. The collapse of Rana Plaza was a major turning point in the Bangladesh garment industry . It led to widespread protests and calls for better safety standards. In

4600-496: The building code trial are still pending. Only Sohel Rana is in custody , the others accused were on bail , on the run or already dead. Structural integrity and failure Structural integrity and failure is an aspect of engineering that deals with the ability of a structure to support a designed structural load (weight, force, etc.) without breaking and includes the study of past structural failures in order to prevent failures in future designs. Structural integrity

4700-431: The building safe. Sohel Rana said to the media that the building was safe and workers should return to work the next day. One manager of the factories in the Rana Plaza reported that Sohel Rana told them that the building was safe. Managers then requested the workers to go back to work. Managers at Ether Tex threatened to withhold a month's pay from workers who refused to come to work. As a result, workers also returned to

4800-406: The building to collapse. The panel was able to be blown out because there was insufficient reinforcement steel passing between the panels. This also meant that the loads carried by the panel could not be redistributed to other adjacent panels, because there was no route for the forces to follow. As a result of the collapse, building regulations were overhauled to prevent disproportionate collapse and

4900-476: The building. Bangladeshi Home Minister Muhiuddin Khan Alamgir confirmed that fire service personnel, police and military personnel were assisting with the rescue effort. Volunteer rescue workers used bolts of fabric to assist survivors to escape from the building. A national day of mourning was held on 25 April. On 8 May, army spokesman Mir Rabbi said the army's attempt to recover more bodies from

5000-481: The collapse of Rana Plaza, injured workers and family members of those who died there along with workers rights activists inaugurated a memorial for the tragedy, a crude statue of two fists thrusting towards the sky grasping a hammer and sickle . The police attempted to stop the erection of the memorial several times. It remains the only memorial monument for the tragedy. On 22 September, at least 50 people were injured when police fired rubber bullets and tear gas into

5100-485: The conclusion that they lacked that capability. Bangladeshi officials, desiring to take "face-saving" actions and protect national sensibilities, still refused to accept the assistance offered to them by the UN. A large portion of the rescue operation consisted of inadequately-equipped volunteers, many of whom wore no protective clothing or gear, with mere sandals on their feet. Some buried survivors drank their own urine to survive

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5200-778: The construction of Rana Plaza. In August 2016 the trial was postponed after defendants filed appeals with the High Court of Bangladesh. Nick Clegg , the Deputy Prime Minister of the UK and leader of the Liberal Democrats said: "... consumers have more power than they think when it comes to making choices about where they shop." Michael Connarty , UK's Falkirk East MP, called on the UK Government to push through new legislation to end modern day slavery by forcing major High Street companies in

5300-402: The deadliest accidental structural failure in modern human history. The building contained clothing factories, a bank, apartments, and several other shops. The shops and the bank on the lower floors immediately closed after cracks were discovered in the building. Warnings to avoid using the building after cracks appeared the day before had been ignored. Garment workers were ordered to return

5400-515: The death penalty for the owner of Rana Plaza. A week later hundreds of survivors of the disaster blocked a main highway to demand wages as the death toll from the collapse passed 700. Local government officials said they had been in talks with the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association to pay the workers their outstanding April salaries plus a further three months – £97. After officials promised

5500-551: The entire structure must be able to support its load without its weakest links failing, as this can put more stress on other structural elements and lead to cascading failures . The need to build structures with integrity goes back as far as recorded history. Houses needed to be able to support their own weight, plus the weight of the inhabitants. Castles needed to be fortified to withstand assaults from invaders. Tools needed to be strong and tough enough to do their jobs. In ancient times there were no mathematical formulas to predict

5600-558: The evacuation of the building until an inspection had been conducted. It was also reported that Abdur Razak Khan, an engineer, declared the building unsafe and requested public authorities to conduct a more thorough inspection; he was arrested for helping the owner illegally add three floors. It is also reported that Kabir Hossain Sardar, the Upazila Nirbahi Officer who visited the site, met with Sohel Rana and declared

5700-455: The extra load, eventually leading to the complete collapse of the central portion of the building. The bombing was one of the first to highlight the extreme forces that blast loading from terrorism can exert on buildings, and led to increased consideration of terrorism in structural design of buildings. The Versailles wedding hall ( Hebrew : אולמי ורסאי ), located in Talpiot , Jerusalem , is

5800-508: The factories the next day. The decision by managers to send workers back into the factories was partially due to the pressure to complete orders on time, putting partial responsibility for the disaster on the short production deadlines preferred by buyers due to the fast fashion industry. Media including The Guardian have argued the demand for fast fashion and low-cost clothing motivated minimal oversight by clothing brands and that collectively organised trade unions could have responded to

5900-700: The factories. It is also a tool that will inform the necessary detail of our training programs. The Alliance's worker helpline and education program will be implemented by three worker empowerment-focused, organizations, working in partnership. Clear Voice, the organization that provides tools for communication with workers, was founded by an early worker rights and human rights pioneer, Doug Cahn. Clear Voice will partner with Phulki, one of Bangladesh's leading worker rights non-governmental organizations (NGO), and Good World Solutions, whose focus will be on applying its Labor Link technology to train workers on their rights and survey them on their wellbeing. Beginning March 2014,

6000-414: The factory owner, Sohel Rana, was sentenced to a maximum three year imprisonment by a court for failing to declare his personal wealth to the country's anti-graft commission. Rana and 37 others, including government officials, have also been charged with murder and could receive the death penalty if they are found responsible for the complex's collapse. As of 2021, both the murder trial and the violation of

6100-453: The fields of material sciences and fracture mechanics. Structural failure can occur from many types of problems, most of which are unique to different industries and structural types. However, most can be traced to one of five main causes. The Dee Bridge was designed by Robert Stephenson , using cast iron girders reinforced with wrought iron struts. On 24 May 1847, it collapsed as a train passed over it, killing five people. Its collapse

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6200-531: The fires also weakened the perimeter columns and floors, causing the floors to sag and exerting an inward force on exterior walls of the building. WTC Building 7 also collapsed later that day; the 47-story skyscraper collapsed within seconds due to a combination of a large fire inside the building and heavy structural damage from the collapse of the North Tower. On 24 June 2021, Champlain Towers South,

6300-486: The following day and the building collapsed during the morning rush-hour. On 29 June 1995, the five-story Sampoong Department Store in the Seocho District of Seoul , South Korea collapsed resulting in the deaths of 502 people, with another 1,445 being trapped. In April 1995, cracks began to appear in the ceiling of the fifth floor of the store's south wing due to the presence of an air-conditioning unit on

6400-446: The founder and CEO of American Apparel , was interviewed on Vice.tv and spoke out against the poor treatment of workers in developing countries and referred to it as "slave labor". Charney proposed a "Global Garment Workers Minimum Wage" and discussed in detail many of the inner workings of the modern fast fashion industry commerce practices that led to dangerous factory conditions like at Savar. In October 2013, Canadian Brad Loewen

6500-401: The garment factory owners on the upper floors ignored the warnings and the workers returned to work the following day. On 24 April, the building collapsed at 9:00 am local time, trapping thousands of people inside. The court in Bangladesh formally charged 38 people with murder, along with the building owner Sohel Rana . Rana was arrested after a four-day manhunt, as he attempted to flee across

6600-678: The guy-wires on the highest stock. The mast first bent and then snapped at roughly half its height. It destroyed at its collapse a small mobile crane of Mostostal Zabrze. As all workers had left the mast before the exchange procedures, there were no fatalities, in contrast to the similar collapse of the WLBT Tower in 1997. On 17 July 1981, two suspended walkways through the lobby of the Hyatt Regency in Kansas City, Missouri , collapsed, killing 114 and injuring more than 200 people at

6700-423: The helpline program will be piloted in 50 factories Dhaka and Chittagong, with in-factory orientations to accompany the launch at each location. Helplines will roll out to 100 factories by March 2015, with the goal of becoming functional in all Alliance factories by 2017. On December 9, 2013, the Alliance opened an office in Dhaka, Bangladesh, where the Alliance is focused on inspection implementation, development of

6800-516: The high temperatures while waiting to be saved. Not only was the Bangladeshi government accused of favouring national pride over those buried alive, but many relatives of those trapped in the debris criticized the government for trying to end the rescue mission prematurely. One of the garment manufacturers' websites indicates that more than half of the victims were women, along with a number of their children who were in nursery facilities within

6900-574: The integrity of a structure. Builders, blacksmiths, carpenters, and masons relied on a system of trial and error (learning from past failures), experience, and apprenticeship to make safe and sturdy structures. Historically, safety and longevity were ensured by overcompensating, for example, using 20 tons of concrete when 10 tons would do. Galileo was one of the first to take the strength of materials into account in 1638, in his treatise Dialogues of Two New Sciences . However, mathematical ways to calculate such material properties did not begin to develop until

7000-413: The loads that these columns had carried. This redistribution of loads was greatly influenced by the hat trusses at the top of each building. The impacts dislodged some of the fireproofing from the steel, increasing its exposure to the heat of the fires. Temperatures became high enough to weaken the core columns to the point of creep and plastic deformation under the weight of higher floors. The heat of

7100-404: The loss of structural integrity, or the loss of load -carrying structural capacity in either a structural component or the structure itself. Structural failure is initiated when a material is stressed beyond its strength limit, causing fracture or excessive deformations ; one limit state that must be accounted for in structural design is ultimate failure strength. In a well designed system,

7200-606: The number of illegal buildings in the area: a 2005 Maharashtra state order to use remote sensing and a 2010 Bombay High Court order. Complaints were also made to state and municipal officials. On 9 April, the Thane Municipal Corporation began a campaign to demolish illegal buildings in the area, focusing on "dangerous" buildings, and set up a call center to accept and track the resolutions of complaints about illegal buildings. The forest department, meanwhile, promised to address encroachment of forest land in

7300-773: The one year anniversary of the collapse. Benetton initially denied reports linking production of their clothing at the factory, but clothes and documents linked to Benetton were discovered at the disaster site. The protesters are demanding that Benetton contribute to the compensation fund, which they have not yet done. The Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights established a workers' relief fund, which raised $ 26,000 for injured workers and surviving family members by September 2013. A team of researchers from NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights began their investigation which resulted in an April 2014 report entitled "Business as Usual Is Not an Option: Supply Chains and Sourcing after Rana Plaza." A December 2015 report, written by

7400-422: The original Tacoma Narrows Bridge is sometimes characterized in physics textbooks as a classic example of resonance, although this description is misleading. The catastrophic vibrations that destroyed the bridge were not due to simple mechanical resonance, but to a more complicated oscillation between the bridge and winds passing through it, known as aeroelastic flutter . Robert H. Scanlan , a leading contributor to

7500-543: The owners of the building and the five garment factories operating inside it. On the same day, dozens of survivors were discovered in the remains of the building. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had said in Parliament that the name "Sohel Rana" was not in the Jubo League office bearers list; she then ordered the arrest of Sohel Rana and four of the owners of the garment factories operating in the building. Sohel Rana

7600-483: The permit and the number of floors in practice were evident. Some have argued that the BSCI has weak incentives to report such violations. More conclusions about causes will be available when the investigation is over and the courts give their decisions. The day after the Rana Plaza building collapsed, the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Capital Development Authority) filed a case against

7700-508: The pressure of management. Others have argued that trade unions would increase workforce costs and thus endanger the Bangladesh garment industry. Since the Spectrum factory collapse in 2005, prominent manufacturers organized projects like the Ethical Trading Initiative and Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI) to prevent such disasters in the Bangladesh textile industry and elsewhere. These programs ultimately failed to prevent

7800-482: The reinforcing steel, has been considered as a factor in—or the cause of—the collapse. The issues had been reported in 2018 and noted as "much worse" in April 2021. A $ 15 million program of remedial works had been approved at the time of the collapse. On 24 January, 2024, the spire of this Gothic-revival stone church collapsed, bringing down the roof and irretrievably damaging the structure. Repeat structural failures on

7900-540: The river and riverbanks beneath. Thirteen people were killed and 145 were injured. Following the collapse, the Federal Highway Administration advised states to inspect the 700 U.S. bridges of similar construction after a possible design flaw in the bridge was discovered, related to large steel sheets called gusset plates which were used to connect girders together in the truss structure. Officials expressed concern about many other bridges in

8000-425: The rubble would continue for at least another week. On 10 May, 17 days after the collapse, a woman named Reshma was found and rescued alive, and almost unhurt, under the rubble. The direct reasons for the building problems were: The collapse of the building was preceded by a number of administrative failures, leading to early warning signs being ignored. It was reported that the industrial police first requested

8100-658: The same safety requirements. The Standard was developed by technical experts from both the Alliance and the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh , and finalized in December 2013. The Standard has been harmonized with the guidelines developed by the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) for the National Tripartite Plan of Action (NTPA). The Alliance has retained

8200-427: The same type of aircraft occurred in 1954, when two de Havilland Comet C1 jet airliners crashed due to decompression caused by metal fatigue , and in 1963–64, when the vertical stabilizer on four Boeing B-52 bombers broke off in mid-air. On 8 August 1991 at 16:00 UTC Warsaw radio mast, the tallest man-made object ever built before the erection of Burj Khalifa , collapsed as a consequence of an error in exchanging

8300-897: The site of the worst civil disaster in Israel 's history. At 22:43 on Thursday night, 24 May 2001 during the wedding of Keren and Asaf Dror, a large portion of the third floor of the four-story building collapsed, killing 23 people. The bride and the groom survived. In the September 11 attacks , two commercial airliners were deliberately crashed into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. The impact, explosion and resulting fires caused both towers to collapse within less than two hours. The impacts severed exterior columns and damaged core columns, redistributing

8400-413: The structure. The bomb blew all the glass off the front of the building and completely shattered a ground floor reinforced concrete column (see brisance ). At second story level a wider column spacing existed, and loads from upper story columns were transferred into fewer columns below by girders at second floor level. The removal of one of the lower story columns caused neighbouring columns to fail due to

8500-545: The surviving workers that they would be soon paid, they ended their protest. The government and garment association were compiling a list of surviving employees to establish who must be paid and compensated. The next day, 18 garment plants, including 16 in Dhaka and two in Chittagong, were closed down. Textile minister Abdul Latif Siddique told reporters that more plants would be shut as part of strict new measures to ensure safety. On 5 June, police in Bangladesh fired into

8600-491: The team includes a managing director, managers for fire and structural safety, assessments, training, worker outreach and empowerment, factory liaison and remediation, as well as other support staff. The board of directors is entrusted with oversight responsibility for Alliance Members' compliance with Initiative requirements, such as meeting financial obligations and self-imposed deadlines for achieving inspections, information-sharing and worker training agreements. The Board has

8700-405: The understanding of bridge aerodynamics, wrote an article about this misunderstanding. This collapse, and the research that followed, led to an increased understanding of wind/structure interactions. Several bridges were altered following the collapse to prevent a similar event occurring again. The only fatality was a dog. The I-35W Mississippi River bridge (officially known simply as Bridge 9340)

8800-475: The understanding of precast concrete detailing was greatly advanced. Many similar buildings were altered or demolished as a result of the collapse. On 19 April 1995, the nine-story concrete framed Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma was struck by a truck bomb causing partial collapse, resulting in the deaths of 168 people. The bomb, though large, caused a significantly disproportionate collapse of

8900-695: The victims. Several companies refused to sign including Walmart, Carrefour , Auchan and KiK . The agreement was signed by Primark, Loblaw , Bonmarche and El Corte Ingles. By March 2014, seven of the 28 international brands sourcing products from Rana Plaza had contributed to the Rana Plaza Donor's Trust Fund compensation fund, which is backed by the International Labour Organization . More than 2 dozen victims' families have not been compensated as they could not back up their claims with documentation. On 15 June 2014,

9000-410: The weakened roof of the poorly built structure. On the morning of 29 June, as the number of cracks in the ceiling increased dramatically, store managers closed the top floor and shut off the air conditioning, but failed to shut the building down or issue formal evacuation orders as the executives themselves left the premises as a precaution. Five hours before the collapse, the first of several loud bangs

9100-476: The weight and vibration of heavy machinery. On 23 April 2013 (one day before the collapse), a TV channel reported on and showed footage of cracks in the Rana Plaza building. Upon this broadcast, the building was evacuated, and the shops and the bank on the lower floors were closed. Later in the day, Sohel Rana told the media that the building was "safe", and that workers "should return" the following day. Reportedly, management at Ether Tex threatened to withhold

9200-640: The welding process, temperature changes, and by the stress concentrations at the square corners of the bulkheads. In the 1950s, several De Havilland Comets exploded in mid-flight due to stress concentrations at the corners of their squared windows, which caused cracks to form and the pressurized cabins to explode. Boiler explosions , caused by failures in pressurized boiler tanks, were another common problem during this era, and caused severe damage. The growing sizes of bridges and buildings led to even greater catastrophes and loss of life. This need to build constructions with structural integrity led to great advances in

9300-478: The working conditions in the factory: A headline that really struck me on the day of the tragedy in Bangladesh was 'Living on 38 euros a month'. That is what the people who died were being paid. This is called slave labour. Today in the world this slavery is being committed against something beautiful that God has given us – the capacity to create, to work, to have dignity. How many brothers and sisters find themselves in this situation! Not paying fairly, not giving

9400-464: The world, launched an online campaign in support of the Bangladeshi unions' demand for labour law reform in the wake of the disaster. The campaign, hosted on LabourStart , calls for changes in the law to make it easier for unions to organise workers, as well as demanding improved health and safety conditions. On 27 April, protesters surrounded Primark store on Oxford Street in the City of Westminster in

9500-640: Was an eight-lane steel truss arch bridge that carried Interstate 35W across the Mississippi River in Minneapolis , Minnesota, United States. The bridge was completed in 1967, and its maintenance was performed by the Minnesota Department of Transportation . The bridge was Minnesota's fifth–busiest, carrying 140,000 vehicles daily. The bridge catastrophically failed during the evening rush hour on 1 August 2007, collapsing to

9600-500: Was given the responsibility of implementing the Accord requirement to upgrade the safety features of 1600 Bangladeshi garment factories. He and his wife, filmmaker Shelagh Carter , moved to Dhaka in December 2013 for an expected five-year term. By 2023, substantial progress had been made on fire and building safety in the Bangladesh garment industry, but survivors of the collapse still faced uncompensated economic hardships created by physical and psychological injuries. According to

9700-411: Was heard emanating from the top floors, as the vibration of the air conditioning caused the cracks in the slabs to widen further. Amid customer reports of vibration in the building, the air conditioning was turned off but, the cracks in the floors had already grown to 10 cm wide. At about 5:00 p.m. local time, the fifth-floor ceiling began to sink, and at 5:57 p.m., the roof gave way, sending

9800-546: Was reported to have gone into hiding; however, authorities reported that four other individuals had already been arrested in connection with the collapse. Two days after the building collapsed, garment workers across the industrial areas of Dhaka, Chittagong and Gazipur rioted, targeting vehicles, commercial buildings and garment factories. The next day, leftist political parties and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party -led 18 Party Alliance demanded

9900-439: Was the subject of one of the first formal inquiries into a structural failure. This inquiry concluded that the design of the structure was fundamentally flawed, as the wrought iron did not reinforce the cast iron, and that the casting had failed due to repeated flexing. The Dee bridge disaster was followed by a number of cast iron bridge collapses, including the collapse of the first Tay Rail Bridge on 28 December 1879. Like

10000-578: Was under construction and did not have an occupancy certificate for its 100 to 150 low- to middle-income residents ; its only occupants were the site construction workers and their families. The building was reported to have been illegally constructed because standard practices were not followed for safe, lawful construction, land acquisition and resident occupancy. By 11 April, a total of 15 suspects were arrested including builders , engineers, municipal officials, and other responsible parties. Governmental records indicate that there were two orders to manage

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