Analysis an Industry Total Quality Management ISO

Introduction

Actually we have chosen this topic because this certification is so much important for garments. Now a day’s maximum buyer did not gave any kind of order without ISO certificate. That why, we have chose this topic.

Aim

To see how implement ISO principle in our garments industry.

Objective

To convince the garments owner the benefits of getting ISO certificate.

Methodology

We have adopted doing this assignment (primary data & secondary data) first one collected some information from R.R. Sweater  Ltd. on the other hand; we also helped internet & Books.

 Scope

By doing this assignment we have learnt the pre-condition of getting ISO certificate.

 Limitations

By doing this assignment we have to face some problems such as, first we have to fail to mange for visiting ISO certification garments. At last, we got the permission for visiting R.R Ltd. But that garment does not give permission to take any image.

R. R. GROUP

HEAD OFFICE: – 205, Senpara Parbota, Begum Rokeya Sarani, Mirpur, Dhaka, Bangladesh.Tel.: 88-02-9006226, 9014569 Fax:88-02-9010825, E-mail :rrsl@bangla.net,rrgroup97@gmail.com web: www.rrsweaters.net

Factory 1:- R. R. SWEATERS LTD. (100% Export Oriented Sweater Factory)

205, Senpara Parbota, Begum Rokeya Sarani, Mirpur, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Tel.: 88-02-9006226, 9014569 Fax: 88-02-9010825

E-mail: rrsl@bangla.net

Factory 2 :- R. R. ACRYLIC LTD. (100% Export Oriented Sweater Factory) Plot # A-35 & A-39, BSCIC Industrial Estate, Konabari, Joydebpur, Gazipur. Bangladesh.

Tel.:88-02-9297377, Fax: 88-02-9297373.

Company Profile

1. Projects:

R. R. Sweaters ltd. & R. R. Acrylic Ltd.

R. R. Sweaters Ltd. is one of the most important projects of. R.R Group. It was established in 1996 at its own building      all modern facility. The company’s mission is to manufacture And export different type of quality sweaters as Buyer’s requirements. R. R. Sweaters Ltd. has been set   up with professional Merchandiser and Quality Assurance Team we are committed to the buyers to maintain in time delivery with quality products. We are also committed to work with group of selected customers providing standard Services.

R. R. Acrylic Ltd. has established on 2002 at BSCIC Industrial Estate, Konabari, Gazipur at our own building with all modern facility and already exporting high quality sweater, pullover, cardigan to Europe, USA and Canada.

2. Location of the Project

R. R. Sweaters Ltd. is located approx. 20-30 minutes away from the Zia International Air port & max. 15 minutes from the Sonargaon Pan Pacific

Hotel and Dhaka Sheraton Hotel. R. R. Acrylic Ltd. Is located at Konabari, Gazipur which is approximate 45-60 minutes away from Zia International Air Port.

3. Total Space

The factory space of R. R. Sweaters Ltd. is 26,000 Sift and R. R. Acrylic Ltd. is 60,935

sift. The total working space of R. R. Group is 86,935 Sift.

4. Factory Address

R. R. Sweaters Ltd.: 205, Senpara Parbota, Begum Rokeya Sarani, Mirpur, Dhaka-1216,

Bangladesh. Tel.:+88-02-9006226, 9014569 Fax: 88-02-9010825, E-mail : rrsl@bangla.net, rrgroup97@gmail.com web : www.rrsweaters.net

R. R. Acrylic ltd.

Plot # A-35 & A-39, BSCIC Industrial Estate, Konabari, Joydebpur, Gazipur. Bangladesh. Tel.:88-02-9297377, Fax: 88-02-9297373.

 5. Bank Reference (Dealing Bank)

A) AGRANI BANK Ltd

Principal Branch, Motijheel C/A, Dhaka – 1000, Bangladesh.

TLX No.:- 642757 ABD-BJ, 632549 ABD-BJ.

SWIFT: AGBKBDDH001.

B) Pubali Bank Ltd.

Principal Branch, 26, Dilkusha C/A,

Dhaka, Bangladesh

SWIFT: PUBABDDHA201

6. Management

a) Md. Abdur Rahat – Chairman

b) Mohammad Masud Malik – Managing Director

c) Nasim Ahsan – Director (Operation)

d) Moinuddin Ahmed (Mamun) – Project Director

e) Ms. Rupa – Merchandising Manager

7. Quality Policy

The aim of R. R. Group is to become one of the leading companies in the Sweaters Industry of Bangladesh. Focuses on continuous improvement in all quality related activities and seek to prevent errors and eliminate the root causes of problems. Educate, train and qualify our employees so that they can perform their tasks in accordance with the established quality standards and contribute to improvement efforts. Select the suppliers on there performances. To implement the buyers requirement throughout the company.

 8. Electricity Facility

Besides Govt. facilities of electricity the Company has own 150 KVA auto Generator at R. R. Sweaters Ltd. and 200 KVA auto Generator at

R. R. Acrylic Ltd. to keep full stream of production in all time.

 9. Doctor’s Facility and Food

One doctor is always available for medical treatment at both factories. In addition to the above we ensure the sufficient medicines for normal treatment in the factories. We provide Free afternoon food to all employees.

 10. No Child Labour

 All workers are working in the factory, above the age 18 (Eighteen) as per the agreement signed between our Association and the International Labour Organization (ILO). All workers give written declarations regarding their age. If any worker is in doubtful category, areverified by the Civil Surgeons office of Bangladesh. This is the procedure of Labour Law. So there is no Child Labour in our both factories.

 11. Health and Safety

Health and safety is a major concern of our Company. We do periodical checking of all electric lines and equipment to ensure safe working environment. Protective gloves and masks are given to workers who are working with risk with regard to washing chemicals and yarn fluff respectively. Our factory has fire evacuation plans in each floor and regular fire drills are carried out and timed. Required numbers of fire extinguishers are in place in the factories. Fire alarm bells are installed in different places of the building and the bells are regularly checked. It’s our policy to keep Fire Exits open even when there is one member of the staff in the factory building.

 12. Bathroom (Toilet) Facility

Sufficient numbers of healthy Toilet and in each floor of our both factories.

 13. Lead Time

The normal lead-time for production of sweaters by local yarn & accessories is 60-90 days (approx) and for imported yarn & accessories the lead time is from 90-120 days (approx).

 14. Lab Testing

All garments can be tested for colorfastness; pilling, fiber composition etc from ITS Bangladesh, SGS or nominated by Buyer if required.

15. Performance Assurance

To ensure quality of our finished goods as per Buyer’s requirements, 3rd party inspection by reputed inspection team i.e SGS, BUREAU VERITAS and Foreign representative selected by buyer are done and already passed by them.

 16. Quality Assurance Certificate

R.R. Sweaters Ltd. has been awarded the certificate of ISO 9001:2000 in recognition of the organizations ‘Quality System’ by United Register Systems Ltd, of U.K. Ref No-83840. R.R. Acrylic Ltd.: The Company is under process for ISO certification and already full fills the compliances of BGMEA and major foreign buyers.

 17. Machineries & Capacity

Monthly: 165,000 pcs of Sweaters

a) List of Knitting Machine: R. R. Sweaters Ltd.

Sl No Machine Brand Gauge Machine Qty Production

Capacity/Month

01 Flying Tiger & Leading Tiger 5 gg 100 No. 18,000 Pcs

02 Flying Tiger & Leading Tiger 7 gg 100 No. 18,000 Pcs

03 Leading Tiger 12 gg 50 No. 6,000 Pcs

Total = 250 No. 42,000 Pcs

b) List of Knitting Machine: R. R. Acrylic Ltd.

Sl No Machine Brand Gauge

Machine Qty Production Capacity/Month

01 Flying Tiger & Leading Tiger 3 gg 150 No. 35,000 Pcs

02 Flying Tiger & Leading Tiger 5 gg 150 No. 32,000 Pcs

03 Flying Tiger & Tung Fong 7 gg 200 No. 36,000 Pcs

04 Leading Tiger 12 gg 200 No. 20,000 Pcs

Total = 700 No. 1,23,000 Pcs

c) List of Other Machine:

Sl No Description of Machine Machine Quantity

01 Winding Machine “Tung Fong” Brand 15 No.

02 Linking M/C Henrey & Flying Tiger Brand 220 No.

03 Over lock Machine “Juki” Brand 07 No.

04 Sewing Machine “ Brother” Brand 10 No.

05 Button Hole Machine “ Brother” Brand 02 No.

06 Button Stitch Machine “ Brother” Brand 02 No.

07 Automatic strap Machine “ Leading Tiger” Brand 08 No.

08 Bar Tack Machine “ Juki” Brand 02 No.

09 Washing Machine “Henrey” Brand (130 lbs. each set) 02

No.

10 Hydro Extractor “Henrey” Brand (120lbs) 03 No.

11 Steam Dryer “ Cissell” Brand 05 No.

12 Steam Boiler “ Fulton” Brand (470 kgs each set) 02 No.

13 Steam Iron “ JYR” Brand 28 No

14 Auto Generator (150 KVA) 02 No

15 Flat Lock Machine “Juki” Brand 01 No

16 Yarn Twisted Machine 02 No

17 Carton Auto strap sealing Machine 01 No

18. Our Customers:

Sl No Name of the Buyers Country

01 Comi (Vetimarche & Intermarche) France

02 Auchan FranceFrance

03 Dr. Rehfield Germany

04 Ernesting’s Family GMBH Germany

05 Aldi Nord Germany

06 Modelo Continente / Sonae Portugal

07 Samar SPA Italy

08 No-Excess BV/ It’s Noize BV Netherlands

09 TFC Brazil

10 Multitrade,S. A Spain

11 OshkoshUK

12 Suzy Canada

13 La Maison Simons Inc. Canada

14 PF Concept Netherlands

We, R. R. Group promise to meet the entire Buyer’s requirement that is in terms of quality product, competitive price, quick sample delivery, minimum lead-time and all type of cooperation to meet the requirement of buyer for making satisfactory and enjoyable business experience.

Related Companies

Tex Clusive Int. ltd.Bangladesh

·        Knitted,

·        Woven,

·        Sweater

Mr. Apurba Ahmed (880-2-8835183) Bangladesh Babui Limited

·        Knit,

·        Woven,

·        Sweater,

·        Caps,

·        Handicrafts

·        Mr. Atique Monsur (880-01915223881)

NAHID APPARELS LTD .(Bangladesh)

• T- Shirt,Polo- Shirt,
• Jacket,
• Ladies Items,Sweater

Mr. Anwerul Nizam (880-02-8000205)

Xiamen Kimtana Imp. & Exp. Co., Ltd.(ChainaMainland)

• Jacket,
• Pant,
• T-Shirt,
• Sweater

Ms. Lisa Guo (0086-592-5720572)

Yingdi Toys Trading Co., Ltd. Chaina-mainland

• Plastic toys ,
• Boy toys,
• Grill toys,
• Sweater ,
• R/C toys ,
• B/O toys ,
• Summer toys ,
• Doll toys,
• Water guns ,
• Small toys ,
• Baby toys ,
•  Intellectual toys ,
• Promotion toys ,
• Arts & crafts , Sport toys ,
•  Kitchen toys,
• Festival toys,
• Car toys,
• Christmas toys , ,

Ms. rita hong (86-754-86984189)

Dalian Suntran Co., Ltd.Chaina mainland

Casual wear,  jackets , sportswear , Sweater .

Mr. Eric Zhu (86-411-82766238)

Total Quality Management of R.R. Sweater Ltd. Company

R.R. Sweater Limited & Promod Knitwear Limited are 100% export- oriented Sweater & Pullover, Cardigan etc manufacturing industries having modern compliance factory building designed for all kinds of 1.5gg/3gg, 5gg, 7gg, 10gg/12gg etc. The annual turnover of the Group during 2010-2011 was US$40.00 million, which is expected to increase 50.00 million by 2015.

 Intarsia Design and Programming

From yarn creation and knit fabric design to machine programming and even sales promotion, our All-in-One SDS®-ONE design workstation features everything needed to creater quality intarsia knitwear quickly and efficiently. Shima Seikis unparalleled experience and know-how in the industry make SDS®-ONE the most advanced knit design system available.

 New Intarsia Carriers

SIG® series machines feature capacity for up to 30 intarsia carriers. The new intarsia carriers are more compact, fitting more carriers and thus allowing more color changes within a given knitting width. The improved intarsia system is also much quieter, averaging two-thirds (2/3) less noise than our previous intarsia system.

New Arch-Shaped Carrier Rails

SIG® features light and rigid aluminum yarn carrier rails that form an arch-shape. This creates equal distance and angle to the needle bed for all yarn carriers, permitting a straight yarn carrier design which in turn contributes to smooth and stable operation.

 Organizational set-up & logistics

The organizational set-up of the company has been built-on following line & staff method with delegation of power as well as responsibility for ensuring efficient operation.  Necessary logistic support including standby Generator, continuous Gas supply and other utility services, dying & cutting. Time / Punch card for controlling attendance have been ensured for uninterrupted production Necessary software has been installed with recruitment of technical people for controlling merchandising,  store & inventory, , production, quality ,  payroll, accounts and banking, commercial and shipping.

 Labor policy

Keeping environmental and decent labor practice issues in mind, our factories have been designed in a manner that satisfies both local and international legal requirements, which are necessary for responsible manufacturing. With this end in view, we have set –up standard working hours, weekly holidays, maternity leave, worker training programs for skill development as per international standard in addition to  setting up necessary physical facilities like Canteen,  Medical center/ Doctor’s  chamber, Child/ Baby Care center, humidity control Fire  alarm; evacuation systems  for ensuring healthy working environment

Quality management:

As member of Mantrust Group, which is engaged in manufacturing and export of sweater, knit and woven garments for the last two decades, we assure Quality Management as a fundamental philosophy. Our goal is to keep continuous improvement with focusing on team work, increasing customer satisfaction and lowering costs.

 Within this framing, our main concentration is:

1. Focus on quality measurement (using feedback at each stage of Production)
2. Reward for Quality performance
3. Focus on Quality Training at all levels
4. Stress problem identification and solution
5. Promote innovation and total participation

Social policy

We are very much conscious about our social obligations and thus we cater to the provisions of employee welfare in accordance to international standard meeting ISO 9001-2000, BSCI, WRAP, Oekotex certification.

We are committed to the best human workplace practices. Our goal is to continuously improve our Human Resource policies and procedures through education, training, communication, and employees’ involvement.

 In-house Facility & Other Members of Our Group:

• M/s Man trust Embroidery & Printing Limited (3D/Mould/High Density & Screen Print)
• M/s Man trust Designer Ltd.
• M/s Man trust Trading Ltd. & Trust Corporation (Accessories Company)
• M/s Herod Canada Inc.
• M/s MIC Technology Ltd.

 Lead Time

• For locally available yarn :   75- 90 days
• For sweaters to be made with imported fancy yarn:  120 days

 Gsp Form-Facilities

Under two stage derogation system, we can provide GSP Form- A to EEC buyers, as per existing policy.

 Products

All Kinds of Sweater, Pullover & Cardigan in

1. 100% Acrylic Solid, Mélange, Mixed & Twisted Form.
2. 100% Acrylic Cashmere like
3. 100% Acrylic Cotton like
4. 100% Acrylic Smiling, dull and shiny.
5. 70/30 Acrylic / Wool
6. 50/50 Acrylic / Wool (S/D and D/D)
7. 85/15 Acrylic / Wool
8. 100% Acrylic Chenille
9. Tamue Space Dyed / Solid
10. 100% Cotton
11. 50/50 Cotton / Acrylic(S/D and D/D )
12. 60/40 Cotton / Acrylic( S/D and D/D)
13. 80/20 Cotton / Nylon
14. 80/18/2 Cotton / Nylon / Spandex
15. Cotton Melange
16. 65/35 Viscose / Nylon
17. 70/30 Acrylic / Nylon
18. 80/20 Lambs wool / Nylon
19. Cotton pc dyed and enzyme wash

Machinery

 Future plan/Future Expansion

Our R & D Department is continuously making improvement to establish a long term confidence, based on partnership with the clients. As part of Total Quality Management (TQM) philosophy, we are continuously searching for options in lowering our cost to give the best price with best quality to our customer. In order to meet global fashion trend, we have further plan to establish a fashion designing house with recruitment of required professional and technical people, which will help us further diversification of products.

We know commitment is the driving force for any success. Therefore; we are committed to our buyers to ensure timely supply of quality products at competitive price meeting global standard. In the age of global market economy, where everyone is striving for excellence, we must make continuous efforts to improve our quality further. At the same time, we are committed to provide facilities to all our officers and staff in a corporate culture.

R.R. Sweater Ltd. Company ISO

Introduction

The International Organization for Standardization widely known as ISO is an international standard-setting body composed of representatives from various national standards proprietary, industrial, and commercial standards. It has its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.

Worldwide Responsible Apparel Production (WRAP) is an independent, global non-profit organization dedicated to the certification of facilities engaged in lawful, humane and ethical production. Headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, WRAP has offices in Hong Kong and Bangladesh with staff in the UK, Mexico and East Africa.organizations. Founded on February 23, 1947, the organization promulgates worldwide.

History of ISO

Standards are important in international trade because incongruent standards can be barriers to trade, giving some organizations advantages in certain areas of the world. Standards provide clear identifiable references that are recognized internationally and encourage fair competition in free-market economies. Standards facilitate trade through enhanced product quality and reliability, greater interoperability and compatibility, greater ease of maintenance and reduced costs. ISO covers a wide variety of standards with the exception of electrical and electronic engineering standards covered by the International Electro technical Commission (IEC), telecommunication standards covered by the International Telegraph Union (ITU) and information technology covered by JTC 1 (a joint committee between ISO and IEC).

The organization which today is known as ISO began in 1926 as the International Federation of the National Standardizing Associations (ISA). This organization focused heavily on mechanical engineering. It was disbanded in 1942 during the second World War but was re-organized under the current name, ISO, in 1946.

Even the name of the organization is standardized. The name, “ISO” is not an acronym but was derived from the Greek word “isos” meaning “equal”. (The relation to standards is that if two objects meet the same standard, they should be equal.) This name eliminates any confusion that could result from the translation of “International Organization For Standardization” into different languages which would lead to different acronyms.

ISO is a voluntary organization whose members are recognized standard authorities, each one representing one country. The bulk of the work of ISO is done by the 2700 technical committees, subcommittees and working groups. Each committee and subcommittee is headed by a Secretariat from one of the member organizations. The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is the United States representative to ISO. The ANSI ASC Z-1/ASQ Standards Group coordinates the United States representation in the ISO Technical Committees 176 and 207 which are concerned with the ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 standards respectively.

Principle of ISO:

Principle 1: Customer focus

Organizations depend on their customers and therefore should understand current and future customer needs, should meet customer requirements and strive to exceed customer expectations.

Principle 2: Leadership:

Leaders establish unity of purpose and direction of the organization. They should create and maintain the internal environment in which people can become fully involved in achieving the organization’s objectives.

Principle 3: Involvement of people

People at all levels are the essence of an organization and their full involvement enables their abilities to be used for the organization’s benefit.

Principle 4: Process approach

A desired result is achieved more efficiently when activities and related resources are managed as a process.

Principle 5: System approach to management

Identifying, understanding and managing interrelated processes as a system contributes to the organization’s effectiveness and efficiency in achieving its objectives.

Principle 6: Continual improvement

Continual improvement of the organization’s overall performance should be a permanent objective of the organization.

Principle 7: Factual approach to decision making

Effective decisions are based on the analysis of data and information.

Principle 8: Mutually beneficial supplier relationships

An organization and its suppliers are interdependent and a mutually beneficial relationship enhances the ability of both to create value

 Classification of ISO (9000)

• ISO 9001: this standard is applicable for companies, which are involved from designing to manufacturing of goods. This is the most comprehensive standard.
• ISO 9002: this standard is applicable for companies, which manufacturing goods with buyers or others specifications .this is applicable for export oriented apparel industries.
• ISO 9003: this standard is applicable for Final inspection.

Advantages of ISO

ISO standards have been steadily gaining popularity since their introduction in 1947 by the International Organization for Standardization. Companies around the world utilize ISO certification to achieve a competitive advantage in efficiency, marketing, profitability and international business relations. Keeping your company up to date on international standards can give your business the edge it needs to succeed in global markets.

• Well defined and documented procedures improve the consistency of output.
• Quality is constantly measured
• Procedures ensure corrective action is taken whenever defects occur.
• Defect rates decrease
• Defects are caught earlier and are corrected at a lower cost.
• Defining procedures identifies current practices that are obsolete or inefficient.
• Documented procedures are easier for new employees to follow.
• · Organizations retain or increase market share, increasing sales or revenues

The Disadvantages of ISO

ISO 9000 is a set of international standards and guidelines for quality management systems. ISO 9000 was designed to allow companies around the world to rank and otherwise compare themselves and their suppliers in order to guarantee the quality of the raw materials and finished goods that are being used in the manufacturing process. Although ISO quality standards have advantages.

 R.R. Sweaters & Acrylic Ltd. ISO9000/;2001

 R.R. Group started manufacturing and exporting Sweaters from 1997, Factory is ISO 9001:2000 certified. 2 Sweater Foctories are running under this group. R.R. Sweaters Ltd and R.R.  Acrylic Ltd. All kind of Sweaters manufactured by these factories. Yearly Sales are more than US$5.00 millions. Manufacturer and Exporter of Sweaters for Europe/Canada/Australia etc. Company have 3gg, 5gg, 7gg, and 12gg Flat Knit machine.Monthly capacity is 120, 000 PCS of Sweaters. Company is ISO 9001:2000 certified and exporting 80% to Europe.Rest to Canada/Mexico/USA

Compliance Guides & Tools for ISO 9001

Implementation Guides

Internal Audit Program

Gap Analysis

ISO 9001:2008 Standard

Interpretation of the ISO 9001 Standard

Social Compliance

R.R. Sweater Ltd. Company

Social Compliance

Social compliance is a legal requirement that takes into account minimum labor standards, occupational safety measures and environmental concern. To run a factory in Bangladesh, the entrepreneur is obliged to comply with the ‘National Labor Law’ and if any additional requirement from buyer. R.R. Ltd. from its own commitment towards the sector, has taken rigorous programs for ensuring a fully complaint knitwear industry.

Key initiatives of the association are as follows

Pre-requisite to obtain membership in R.R ltd: Before giving the membership to any applied factory, investigation is done to check the mentioned requirements and no membership is issued until the factory fulfills these basic prerequisites:

• No chaild Labour.
• Factories must have alternate stairs, basic fire equipment.
• Approved layout plan from concerned authority for ensuring safe bulding construction.
• Mandatory group insurance
• For all workers and employees in each factory.
• Hygienic sanitation facility and first aid appliance.
• Declaration of ensuring minimum wages

Arbitration Committee: There is a conciliation cum arbitration bi-lateral committee in BKMEA to deal with individual grievances. The committee tries to solve the disputes that arise between the owner and the employees of the factory before referring the matter to court which is time consuming and costly. No financial expenses from the owners or from the workers are involved

Social Compliance Monitoring Program

To enhance the compliance status of the whole industry R.R Ltd. with the support of GTZ, is implementing a “Social Compliance Monitoring Program” since 2007. Twenty members competent monitoring cell of R.R. Ltd. are working at factory level to check the labor welfare and safety issues regularly.  The  project  has  included the following  activities:  formation of a skilled monitoring  team, development of a detail check  list  including 89  compliance  related  questions   and   grading  system (A, B, C, D)  based on  National  Labor  Law,  unannounced visits to factories, provide Corrective Action Plan (CAP) and follow up   visits to check the progress, comprehensive software  for   storing  field    data   and   systematic evaluation  of  factories. R.R Ltd. takes crash programs for degraded factories for providing special guidance and in extreme case imposing penalty measures. Besides, the compliance cell is organizing trainings for mid level management and factory based training for workers to enhance their skill, knowledge and awareness.

Compliance Monitoring Check List: 4 Stages

Fire Safety’ and ‘Labor Cell’ are the two specialized wings of R.R. Ltd which are working intently for conducting regular fire drill at factory floors and handle individual grievances of workers respectively.

The project runs with the following objectives:

1. To increase awareness of compliance issues among all member factories
2. To monitor the basic rights of workers and guide the factories to overcome their loopholes.
3. To make the factories capable of maintaining social compliance standards by their own efforts by improving their skills through rigorous training/workshops.
4. To implement activities for corporate social responsibility.

Mid Level Management Training:

Dearth of skilled management is one of the major barriers of developing compliant RMG industry in Bangladesh. To develop true professionalism in factory management, R.R Ltd. is arranging series of training programs for mid level management of factories. The training has started from 10 November 2007. Three training manuals for mid level officers have been published already which are being distributed to the factory people as a ready reference for their day to day work under this to provide a complete reference to the factory management which is being distributed at free of cost during the training sessions. The core contents of Mid Level Management Training -1,2 and 3 are: child labor, appointment letter, ID card, wages, overtime & maternity benefit calculation, salary sheet, using of PPES, fire safety, leave, personal file, disciplinary procedure, service book, health and safety, register maintenance , roles and responsibilities of welfare officer, condition of appointment, workers’ classification, grievance handling procedure, health and safety issues, welfare facilities, industrial relations, ILO codes, offence & its penalty etc. By May 2010, BKMEA has trained about 2000 mid level officers of member factories under this program. The objective of the initiative is to develop at least one competent compliance officer in each factory which will support the factory for maintaining compliance necessities by own effort.

Service Book Implementation: Service book is long driven demand of Bangladesh RMG sector and R.R Ltd. assures full support towards this. Proper implementation of service book will help for reducing of workers’ migration, availability of workers job related record and ensure workers’ right etc. As per Bangladesh Labor Law 2006, implementation of service book is mandatory for all factories. BKMEA has started distribution of service books to all members since September 2008. Prior to that, the association has arranged series of orientation programs for Narayanganj, Dhaka and Chittagong factories to disseminate information on using and urgency of service book.

Mandatory Group Insurance: BKMEA has made Group Insurance Mandatory for all of its member units. An agreement has been signed with a govt. life insurance company in this regard. New membership and renewal of old membership are not issued until the applicant complies with the rule. Under the agreement, each member unit has to pay premium of Tk 8,000.00 per annum eligible to have insurance claim of maximum 20 persons. Member factories are getting the insurance claim for its workers/employees for accidental or normal death and permanent disability. R.R Ltd. is very careful to pay the insurance claim to the representatives of worker regularly.

Capacity Enhancement Training for Compliance Cell: Compliance is an issue of regular up gradation as per global requirement. R.R Ltd. ongoing initiatives are not limited with implementation of labour law but also strengthening the capacity of the association and the industry. So R.R. Ltd. is arranging regular trainings for its social compliance officers to enhance their skill and updating their knowledge with the global demand.  Some of the recent trainings arranged for the cell are: WRAP, SA 8000, To T on C-TPAT, advanced OHS, Trade Union and Participation Committee. The cell disseminates this knowledge within industry people through regular workshops and trainings which supports a balanced development of the entire industry.

Awareness Raising programs

Publication Materials

To disseminate information on core compliance issues, R.R. Ltd has published a complete guidebook on social and environmental compliance along with structural safety, a handbook on labor law, three training manuals for mid level management, one training manual for workers, a number of posters and stickers. All these materials are in local language and have been distributed already to the member factories at free of cost. Processing for further publication is going on.

TV Advertisement

R.R Ltd. has developed a series of TV commercials on the following key compliance issues: minimum wage and on time payment, owner-worker relationship, personal protective equipment (PPEs). These are being aired in the prominent TV channels of Bangladesh to raise mass awareness on workers’ rights.

Documentary

A fastidious documentary has been made by the association including all the ongoing compliance activities for dissemination within national and international stakeholders. It has included the regular monitoring, skill development program, workers’ festival, charity program and other significant activities. The documentary has been distributed to all key stakeholders.

Experience Sharing Session with Factory Owners

 Development of a Compliant Factory is largely dependent on the intention and capability of an owner. To motivate owners and provide them updated information on world compliance scenario, R.R. Ltd. is regularly arranging experience sharing sessions with factory owners dividing total industrial areas into particular zones Pioneer owners in RMG business are being invited in these sessions to encourage other entrepreneurs from his/ her practical experience.

Female Trainee at Sweater Linking Section in   R.R. Sweater Ltd. Training Institute

Workers’ Training Institute at Rangpur: R.R. /ltd. is running a training institute at Rangpur, the northern remote part of the country where destitute male and female obtains free of cost training facilities with food, accommodation and post-training employment opportunities in R.R. Ltd. member factories. By May 2010, already 21 batches have completed their training successfully and are currently employed in the R.R. Ltd. member factories. In each batch, around 100 trainees have completed month long training where 70% are female. Besides this technical training, each trainee gets basic training on labor law, social compliance issues, production system and behavior pattern. R.R. Ltd. is   trying to expand the capacity of this training institute and establish some new training institutes in the northern districts of Bangladesh and around Dhaka city which is very urgent to cover up the 25% shortage of skilled labor force in the industry.

Observance of historical May Day

R.R, Ltd. the one and only trade body with its tradition has observed historic May Day on 2nd May, 2010 like last years The occasion was accompanied with various ingenious programs like: discussion session on worker-owner relationship, awarding of 10 best labor friendly knitwear factories of 2010, unwrapping of anniversary issue of ‘workers news letter-the Shromobarta”, handing over of group insurance cheque to demised workers’ family members and a gala cultural program by first-rated performance solely by the workers. R.R Ltd. will arrange the program in next years also as the association believes that, May Day is not only for workers, but also for owners to bridge “the owner-worker relation” in a new dimension.

One garment worker, Ms. Shefali is expressing her feeling in the May Day 2009

A part of delighted workers in R.R. Ltd. May Day event, 2010

Workers’ Festival

With the hope to swell cordial relationship between industry owners and workers R.R. Ltd. arranged the largest ‘Worker’s Festival’ on 18 December 2009 as a part of its pro-worker activity. Wearing colorful dresses and holding banners and festoons, about hundred thousand workers from different garment factories flocked to the festival premises and enjoyed different events like puppet show, bioscope, merry-go-round, dress as you like competition, musical events, awareness raising trainings etc. Due to overwhelming response from workers, R.R Ltd. has decided to arrange the festival on an annual basis. The 1st Workers Festival was held on 18 December 2009 at the same venue, Narayanganj Stadium which is near the biggest RMG cluster of Bangladesh.

Workers performing ‘Dress as U like Competition’ in Workers’ Festival’09

Female workers at stadium gallery in festive mood with their best attires

SHROMOBARTA-Special Newsletter for Workers

The ‘Shromobartra’, is another pioneering endeavor of R.R Ltd. to bring out the cultural intelligence of working class. For the first time in Bangladesh, R.R Ltd. has published this quarterly magazine solely for the RMG workers of the country. The newsletter contains writings from the workers of R.R. Ltd. member factories. This quarterly newsletter is a symbol of strong voice of our disciplined and dedicated work force.

Community Health Care Centre for the Workers: R.R. Ltd. is running a hospital for workers at BSCIC, Narayanganj where about 200 factories are clustered in a single periphery. The hospital is being run from the own resource of R.R. Ltd. where workers can get free outdoor treatment and medicine under intensive care of female doctors.

Centralized Day Care Centre

R.R Ltd. is working with Metro Group, one of the largest apparel buyers of Germany for establishing a ‘Central Day Care Centre’ in BSCIC, Narayanganj which is the largest RMG cluster of Bangladesh. The agreement signing between R.R. Ltd.and Metro Group was held on 26 April, 2010. Mr. Muhammad Faruk Khan, honorable minister for commerce; H.E. Holger Michael, Ambassador, Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany; Mr. Fazlul Hoque, President, BKMEA; Mr. Anton Knijf, Vice President, Metro Group, other leaders and entrepreneurs from BKMEA; media and Govt. guests were present in the agreement signing ceremony. Primarily, 60 children will be accommodated in the day care centre with nutritious food and all standard facilities for rearing children with proper physical and mental care. Workers will get this facility at free of cost. Gradually, depending on its success, number of children will be increased in the day care centre and some more centers will be established in other clusters of RMG.

Food Rationing for Workers

The price of rice is a key issue in impoverished Bangladesh, where households are estimated to spend nearly 70 percent of their income on food (AFP, 2008). In Bangladesh, two-thirds of food item of general people contains rice, so inflation in rice price creates acute problem specially for the working class. Conceiving this idea, R.R Ltd. has started to distribute rice at a subsidized price from 2007 which is first from the history of trade body in Bangladesh. In first quarter of 2008, when rice price had gone up to sixty cents a kilogram in retail markets and other food prices became more than doubled, BKMEA distributed rice and other daily essentials at a very subsidized rate to the workers to face this ‘hidden hunger’ phase, Again, during the holy Ramadan of 2007, 2008 and 2009, BKMEA supported the workers by subsidized food items. Presently BKMEA is continuing this rice distribution program almost in yearly arrangement through the member factories with Govt. support.

R.R Ltd. support during Natural Disasters

During the devastating flood of 2007 and 2008, BKMEA arranged extensive relief works for the effected workers and in flood vulnerable districts. Again, after the destructing cyclone (SIDR) of 2007, R.R Ltd. rushed towards the effected areas with emergency supports and food materials. Besides, in each catastrophe R.R Ltd  donates bulk amount in Govt. fund for supporting the restoration works.

Government Bodies

R.R. Ltd. is actively participating the meetings and following activities with National Social Compliance Forum under Commerce Ministry (MoC) and Taskforce on labor Welfare and Crisis Management in RMG sector under labor Ministry (MoL) of Bangladesh Government.

IAF

BKMEA is working with International Apparel Federation (IAF), the largest apparel trade body in the world international for sharing and networking of knowledge on workers’ welfare and other sector related issues. Mr. Fazlul Hoque, President, BKMEA is the board member of IAF. R.R Ltd. delegation lead by the President Mr. Fazlul Hoque participated in the half yearly meeting of IAF Global Responsibility Committee (GR) on 21st April 2009 in Cologne, Germany where he presented the latest development of Bangladesh apparel sector on compliance aspect with the international stakeholders.

ILO

R.R Ltd. participated in the ‘Multi Forum 07’ of ILO held in Geneva, Switzerland conference on 15-16 November 2007. The conference was on “Better Business: Managing Labor Relations for Productivity and Growth” where BKMEA President, Mr. Fazlul Hoque was the only participant from Bangladesh RMG sector. Participants from different countries, United Nations, Universities and Labor Ministries of Different countries joined the conference. R.R. Ltd. has also close relationship with the local office of ILO in Bangladesh.

MFB

The  International  Multi  Fiber   Agreement  (MFA)  has facilitated  the establishment  of  a  Bangladesh  Working Group  (MFB)  to  work  with  all  the  stakeholders,   i.e. Government,  Association,  Buyers,  Labour Unions  and Civil  Society.  MFB is  identifying the  core  areas   and develop  the  scope  for  a three year  project  to increase  the social  compliance   and   competitiveness  of   the  RMG sector of  Bangladesh. R.R. Ltd. is working closely with MFB for strengthening the capacity of Bangladesh apparel sector.

R.R. Ltd. -Save the Children CSR initiative has work R.R, Ltd. ked with the ‘Save the Children (Sweden-Denmark)’ on a joint initiative titled “Corporate Social Responsibility & Child Labour”. To make acquainted all the stakeholders with this approach, a conference was held in Copenhagen, Denmark on 12 December, 2006. The conference was on “Responsible Approaches to Child Labor in Textile and Garments Production Walking Together for a Win-Win Situation’. Mr. Md. Fazlul Hoque, President, R.R. Ltd. pated the conference and presented a paper on “Corporate Social Responsibility to Workers in the Knitwear Manufacturers & Exporters Units in Bangladesh”. Renowned buyers like H&M, MFA Forum, Amnesty International and different international organizations participated in the conference. The Copenhagen conference was a follow-up of the awareness raising seminar on “Corporate Social Responsibility & Child Labour” organized in Dhaka on September 16, 2006. It was jointly by Save the Children (Sweden-Denmark), R.R. Ltd. and Danish Federation of Small and Medium Sized Enterprise. The awareness raising seminar was participated by H.E. Mr. Einar Hebogard Jenson, Ambassador, Royal Danish Embassy and H. E. Ms. Britt Falkman Hagstrom, Ambassador, Swedish Embassy in Bangladesh, Mr. Ol of Risberg, media, Govt. represent.