Alliance/SMO QAF Test Preparation

Alliance Fire Safety and Structural Integrity Standard

• SMO: Safety Monitoring Organization

• QAF: Qualified Assessor Firm
• Core purpose: improving the safety of workers in Bangladesh’s RMG sector.
• NTPA: National Tripartite Plan of Action.
• BNBC: Bangladesh national Building Code. The 2006 BNBC was enacted into Bangladesh Law on November
16, 2006.
• High‐rise building. Structures or buildings where the highest occupiable floor is located more than 20 m (65
ft) above the grade level around the building.
• Occupiable roof: A roof‐level shall be considered occupiable where access to the roof is provided and is not
limited to mechanical equipment.
• MCAC: Masonry‐chip aggregate concrete.
• If columns or other structural elements using masonry‐chip aggregate concrete are exposed to weather,
they must be protected from exposure to water and dampness.
• Reinforced concrete (stone chip)– 16.5 MPa (2370 psi).
• Reinforced concrete (masonry chip)– 14.5 MPa (2045 psi)
• Reinforcing steel installed prior to 2004: – 275 MPa (40 ksi)
• Reinforcing steel installed from 2004 to present: – 415 MPa (60 ksi)
• A36 Structural steel – 248 MPa (36 ksi) yield strength
• Minimum assumed density of reinforced concrete – 23.6 kN/m3 (150 pcf)
• Serviceability Checks: Deflections (sagging), rotations (twisting), perceivable vibrations.
• In assessing the load capacity adequacy of a pile foundation system under an existing factory that has
performed for at least five years without indications of excessive settling, the factory of safety shall be at
least 1.5.
• Unless confirmed otherwise by scanning or other investigations, columns may be assumed to be reinforced
with a maximum of 1% steel times the gross plan area of the column.
• Non‐destructive Tests: Schmidt Hammer, UPV, ferro‐scanning.
• Destructive Tests: localized coring or selective removal of materials.
• qualified Structural Engineering Consultant (QSEC)

• Load Combinations:
• Minimum floor design live loads for the review of factory sewing floors shall be 2.0 kN/m2 (42 psf).
• As‐built documents shall include, at a minimum, the following:
o Scaled site plan showing
▪ general layout of all buildings in the complex with labels
▪ location and names of adjacent streets
▪ location and size of utilities, if known
o Scaled architectural floor plan for each level of each building showing:
▪ location and size of stairs
▪ location and size of elevators
▪ location of fixed walls
 ▪ location of corridors
▪ labeled usage areas on each floor, e.g. sewing, storage, dining, rooftop, office, etc.
▪ location of major machinery and equipment
▪ general layout of factory activities
o 8.20.5.1.3 Scaled elevations of each façade of the building showing:
▪ general configuration of the building
▪ location and type of façade materials
▪ accurate number of levels and any intended future vertical or horizontal expansion areas.
• Factory Layout and Load Documents for every floor showing:
o scaled layout of work stations
o operating equipment
o dedicated aisle locations
o type and extent of storage areas
o type and weights of stored work materials and/or stored work products at maximum density
o Factory layout and loading documents may use the structural plan documents as background.
o Factory Layout and Load Plans shall be coordinated with the structural plans.
• Roofs shall be sloped to drain with minimum drainage of 1%.
• All firms used for installation of structural retrofitting elements shall be specialty construction firms with a
minimum of five (5) years of experience in this area.
• Qualification of QSEC: The minimum qualification and experience of qualified structural engineering
consultant to be engaged by the factory owner to undertake further detail assessment or design of
remediation work shall be as follows:
o Shall be graduate in Civil Engineering from a recognized university.
o Shall have minimum 10 years of structural design experience.
o Shall have professional license to undertake structural design of building structure in Bangladesh i. e.
a membership of the IEB is required
• Paul Rigby, Deputy Country Director & Chief Safety Officer

BNBC 2006

• Soft Story: Story in which the lateral stiffness is less than 70 per cent of the stiffness of the story above.
• WEAK STOREY: Story in which the lateral strength is less than 80 per cent of that of the story above.
• Basic Structural Systems
o Bearing Wall System
o Building Frame System
o Moment Resisting Frame System
▪ Special Moment Resisting Frames (SMRF)
▪ Intermediate Moment Resisting Frames (IMRF)
▪ Ordinary Moment Resisting Frames (OMRF).
o Dual System
o Special Structural System
o Non-building Structural System

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• For seismic loads, the separation between buildings shall be at least 0.375 R times the maximum drift due to
design seismic forces.
• Concrete unit weight with brick chips: 135 pcf & for stone chips: 150 pcf
• Brick unit weight: 120 pcf
• Water unit weight: 62.4 pcf

• in kN/m2, (1 kN/m2= 20.88 psf)

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• BASIC WIND SPEED, Vb: Fastest-mile wind speed in km/h corresponding to the level of 10 metres above the
ground of terrain Exposure-S defined in Sec 2.4.4 and associated with an annual probability of occurrence of
0.02.
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• OMRF Building

• IMRF Building

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ALLIANCE STAFF CODE OF ETHICS

1. Bribe requests: never under any circumstances give in to demands or requests for benefits or payments
from Alliance employee or representative. If Alliance employee or representative requests or solicits for any
direct or indirect benefit or payment we expect you to contact us immediately.
2. Bribe offers: never, under any circumstances offer a payment, bribe, gift or benefit to any Alliance employee
or representative. Any benefit given or offered to Alliance employee will be considered as a corrupt practice
and will be reported to our client within 24 hours.
3. Undue pressure: do not put any pressure on our employees to execute their work in a subjective way or to
amend their findings. Furthermore, do not directly seek out our employees outside of the visit time period,
for example, at their homes, hotel, etc. for any reason.
4. Work environment: please create an environment where Alliance team can work freely & constructively in a
way that is allows them to do their job properly, timely, and in such a way that the expectations can be met.
5. Lunch: Alliance employees or representatives may not take lunch at an outdoor restaurant with factory
management.
6. Rides: Alliance employees may not accept rides to the factory location. Employees may only accept rides
under unique circumstances where alternative transportation is not available.