Overseas factory audit

1、 Basic definition and background of factory inspection in Bangladesh

1.1 What is Bangladesh factory inspection

Bangladesh factory inspection is a comprehensive supply chain audit conducted by third-party organizations such as SGS, BV, Intertek, European and American clothing brands, and supermarket purchasers in accordance with the Bangladesh Labor Law 2006, Factory Safety Regulations, Fire and Building Safety Regulations, and ILO International Labor Conventions. Bangladesh is the world's largest producer of ready to wear clothing, with the RMG clothing industry accounting for over 90% of exports. Due to the collapse of Rana Plaza, the factory inspection rules have become the world's most stringent dual mandatory standards for building and fire safety. At the same time, the Better Work Bangladesh special audit led by the ILO has been implemented, which is a must-have for all clothing factories to enter the market.

Different from Southeast Asian countries, the core characteristics of Bangladesh are:

Exclusive strong regulation in the clothing industry, Better Work enforces threshold for European and American customers;

One vote veto on building structure safety, fire sprinkler, evacuation and escape;

Friday is a statutory Muslim rest day, with strict red lines for religious employment;

The power of trade unions is extremely strong, and the authenticity of employee interviews is extremely high. It is strictly prohibited to suppress trade unions;

There are very few foreign workers in the local area, mainly rural female workers from other places, and the response time to labor complaints and supervision is fast.

1.2 Two core audit criteria

Mandatory local regulations in Bangladesh (not exceeding the bottom line) include the Bangladesh Labor Law BLA2006, the Factory and Institution Supervision Law DIFE, the Building Structural Safety Code, the Fire and Civil Defense Regulations, and the Environmental Protection Law; Official documents, labor contracts, and SOPs require bilingual Bengali and English, and pure Chinese documents are invalid; Friday is a statutory day of rest, and Muslim religious holidays are protected by law.

International supply chain standard Better Work Bangladesh (mandatory for ready to wear clothing) BSCI、SLCP/Higg、WRAP、C-TPAT、 Exclusive factory audits for brands such as Nike/Adidas/Inditex; There is no mandatory national product certification, but the control of clothing chemicals is benchmarked against EU REACH and AZO bans.

2、 Bangladesh factory inspection complete set of six verification modules (locally unique hard red line)

Module 1: Verification of Legal Qualification Documents (First Check upon Entry)

Enterprise business registration, trade import and export license, long-term lease agreement for factory buildings;

The annual engineer inspection report for building safety (a unique core certificate in Bangladesh) is seriously inconsistent without a report;

Complete archive of annual inspection by the fire department, testing of sprinkler/smoke detection systems, and fire drills;

Environmental impact assessment approval, ETP operation permit for sewage treatment, monthly third-party testing report for wastewater;

Factory DIFE Labor Bureau filing, union registration documents, and female nursing room filing;

Complete set of records for attendance, salary, social security, work-related injuries, and labor management communication meetings in the past 12 months;

Previous Better Work rating reports and closed-loop data for all non conformities rectification.

Module 2: Labor and Human Rights Compliance Verification (in heavily penalized areas with strict union supervision)

2.1 Basic Employment Red Line

The legal minimum age for entry for child and underage workers is 14 years old; International clients are required to be over 15 years old and have zero tolerance for child labor; Underage workers aged 14-18 are prohibited from night shifts, high-risk positions in printing/dyeing chemicals, and cutting beds. Overtime is also prohibited, and the labor bureau will file a separate record. Physical examinations will be conducted every six months.

Within 30 days of employment, the labor contract management employee shall sign a bilingual contract in both Chinese and English, specifying salary, Friday rest days, overtime, and maternity leave terms; It is strictly prohibited to withhold identity cards, collect entry deposits, and pay for work uniforms; The probation period is up to 6 months, and there is a statutory high compensation standard for formal employees who resign or are dismissed.

Trade unions and freedom of association (Bangladesh's first red line) are legally enforced to protect employees' rights to form unions and engage in collective bargaining; Factories are not allowed to interfere with union elections, dismiss union representatives, or refuse monthly communication meetings between labor and management; The factory must set up an independent union office to suppress the union's direct judgment of audit failures.

Religion and Anti Discrimination Friday is a statutory day off, and Muslim employees must ensure their worship time is guaranteed; The factory cafeteria is all halal and prohibits pork and alcohol; Gender, religion, and regional discrimination are strictly prohibited. Female employees have a high proportion, and dedicated nursing rooms and channels for female complaints must be established.

2.2 Statutory Standards for Working Hours (Bangladesh Special Friday Rest Rules)

Standard working hours: 48 hours per week, 8 hours per day, 6 hours of continuous work, mandatory 30 minute break;

The maximum daily overtime limit is 2 hours, the maximum weekly overtime is 12 hours, and the total weekly working hours are ≤ 60 hours;

On Fridays, one must rest completely for 24 hours and overtime cannot be arranged; Overtime during religious holidays requires written voluntary participation from all employees and double salary;

The cumulative overtime hours per month shall not exceed 36 hours, and the average weekly working hours throughout the year shall not exceed 56 hours;

All overtime must be signed by employees voluntarily, and management personnel are prohibited from pressuring or forcing overtime.

2.3 Compliance requirements for salary and benefits

The minimum wage for the clothing RMG industry is 12500 taka per month (2025 standard), which is raised annually by the government and strictly verified through auditing;

Unified standard for overtime pay: twice the salary for working days, twice the salary for weekends off, and three times the salary for statutory religious holidays;

Salary will be paid by bank transfer on a fixed date every month, with a bilingual paper payslip provided and bank statements kept for 12 consecutive months; Prohibit the unrecorded distribution of large amounts of cash, arbitrary fines and salary deductions;

Mandatory payment of local labor social security for all employees; Female workers are entitled to 90 days of paid maternity leave, with 1 hour of breastfeeding time per day; Full payment of annual leave, sick leave, and paid religious leave;

The per capita area of employee dormitories is ≥ 2 square meters, and the doors cannot be locked outside. Free drinking water and complete ventilation and cooling equipment are provided.

Module 3: Architecture, Fire Protection, and Occupational Health and Safety (the strictest in the world, with one vote veto)

3.1 Safety of Factory Building Structures (the highest priority unique to Bangladesh)

Every year, certified structural engineers conduct on-site load-bearing inspections and issue official reports; Prohibit unauthorized layering, unauthorized modifications, and overloading of fabrics;

Multi story factory buildings have clear load-bearing zones, and storage areas cannot be mixed with production workshops for overloaded stacking of materials;

Old factory buildings and simple iron sheet houses without structural reports are directly prohibited from accepting orders and suspending production for rectification.

3.2 Mandatory Requirements for Fire Protection Special Projects

Each floor has two-way evacuation exits that open outward and remain unlocked throughout working hours, with at least one safety exit for every 50 workers; The channel is not blocked by any fabric or cardboard boxes;

The entire factory area is covered with smoke detectors and automatic sprinkler systems, and monthly functional testing is archived; Sufficient ABC carbon dioxide fire extinguishers on each floor, monthly inspection and annual calibration;

Every three months, conduct a factory wide fire evacuation drill and keep attendance records, videos, and review reports; Full staff fire certification training;

Independent fire stairs, fire compartments, physical isolation of workshops, warehouses, and dormitories, and strict prohibition of three in one factory buildings.

3.3 Workshop Occupational Health and Hazardous Chemical Control

The cutting bed, locking edge, and printing equipment are fully covered with safety protection barriers and emergency stop buttons;

Dust, dye, and high-temperature positions are equipped with gas masks, goggles, and earplugs, and the labor protection application ledger is complete; Multiple first aid stations and certified first aid personnel are set up in the factory area; Report work-related injuries to DIFE Labor Bureau within 24 hours;

Dyes, additives, and cleaning agents are equipped with bilingual MSDS in both Chinese and English; Independent ventilated warehouse for hazardous chemicals, leak proof trays, double person double lock;

Waste dyes and hazardous chemical waste shall be handed over to environmental certification agencies for recycling, and complete five copy recycling documents shall be archived.

Module 4: Environmental compliance verification (core deduction points for washing/printing factories)

Mandatory operation of sewage treatment ETP system: complete sewage treatment stations are equipped in the washing and dyeing workshops, daily operation parameter records are kept, monthly third-party water quality testing is conducted, and direct discharge of wastewater into rivers is strictly prohibited; There is no significant non conformity with ETP directly;

Waste gas: Collection and purification of waste gas from printing, drying, and shaping, with no pungent or unorganized scattering;

Solid waste: fabric scraps, household waste, and hazardous chemical waste are isolated in three zones, and the inventory records can be traced throughout the entire process;

Chemical ban: Prohibition of the use of AZO azo PFC、 Establish a chemical inventory list for the entire factory area to meet EU export standards for heavy metal exceeding dyes;

Energy consumption ledger: Cooperate with Higg and brand ESG low-carbon verification to collect data on water, electricity, and steam consumption.

Module 5: Validation of Production Quality System

Having ISO9001 quality manual and bilingual SOP operation instructions for the entire process in both Chinese and English;

IQC fabric and accessory inspection, IPQC production line inspection every 2 hours, and complete OQC finished product inspection records;

Color fastness, size, and tensile testing instruments are calibrated by a third-party every year, and certificates are retained;

Complete supply chain traceability: binding fabric batches, cutting teams, and order shipments one by one to meet brand product recalls;

Subcontracting control: Outsourced printing and washing subcontractors must simultaneously pass the same factory inspection standards, and unqualified underground workshops are prohibited from subcontracting.

Module 6: Counter terrorism Security&Business Ethics Verification

6.1 C-TPAT Supply Chain Counter Terrorism

The factory area is fully enclosed with walls, without any blind spots for monitoring, and the video recording is saved for at least 90 days;

Physical separation access control for employees, visitors, and freight vehicles, unpacking inspection and real name registration for trucks;

The entire process of container loading is monitored by dedicated personnel, with unified high security anti-counterfeiting seals and permanently retained in the numbered ledger.

6.2 Business Ethics and Data Authenticity

Attendance, salary, building fire safety, and ETP ledger fraud are directly included in the global clothing supply chain blacklist, and cooperation is permanently terminated;

Establish an anti bribery system and strictly prohibit giving gifts or hosting banquets to auditors, brand procurement, DIFE/fire officials;

All upstream and downstream subcontractors and suppliers shall sign integrity cooperation agreements and file them in full for future reference.

3、 Complete audit process for factory inspection in Bangladesh (2 days for clothing factories and 1 day for small factories)

First meeting: The auditor will focus on informing about the veto of building fire safety, union rights, Friday rest days, and Better Work rating rules;

Comprehensive document review takes 6-10 hours: verifying the complete set of personnel salary, union meetings, building inspections, ETP sewage, and fire safety documents for the past 12 months;

Conduct in-depth on-site inspections of the entire factory: prioritize checking building load-bearing capacity, sprinkler evacuation, sewage treatment, hazardous chemical warehouses, women's nursing rooms, and union offices;

One on one anonymous interview with employees (high-risk): Select 20% of frontline female workers and union representatives for individual interviews, and isolate management personnel throughout the process; Employees are generally familiar with labor laws, and oral content takes priority over paper materials;

Final meeting: All non conformities were publicly announced, and the on-site determination of building/fire/union red line issues failed; Provide a temporary rating for Better Work and synchronize with overseas procurement brand headquarters.

4、 Grading criteria for audit results (including Better Work exclusive rating)

Satisfactory approval (no/minor discrepancies): No need for re examination, BW 3-star or above can connect with all European and American customers, and the report is valid for 12 months;

Conditional approval (mainly non compliant): Submit complete rectification evidence within 45 days, closed-loop document review, no need for on-site review;

Serious rejection (veto red line with one vote): no building safety report, sprinkler failure, locked fire exits, suppression of labor unions, forced overtime on Fridays, direct sewage discharge, and data falsification; Suspend all orders and reapply after 6 months;

Better Work star rating: 1 star (unqualified), 2 stars (restricted orders), 3 stars (basic admission), 4 stars (high-quality supplier), 5 stars (preferred by global top brands), re evaluated annually.

5、 Deduction points for high-frequency factory failure in Bangladesh

There is no annual structural safety inspection report for the factory building, and unauthorized addition and renovation of floors (the most frequent serious item);

Fire sprinkler malfunction, blocked and locked safety exits, and insufficient frequency of fire drills;

Intervention in union elections and failure to conduct monthly labor management communication meetings;

Arrange employees to work overtime on Friday, but do not guarantee Muslim worship and rest days;

The ETP sewage treatment equipment in the washing plant is idle and there is no monthly water quality testing report;

Overtime exceeding 12 hours per week and exceeding the upper limit of 36 hours per month;

Female workers do not have nursing rooms, there is gender discrimination, and management verbally punishes employees;

The attendance and salary ledger is falsified, and the salary and working hours during employee interviews are inconsistent with the records.

VI. Summary

Bangladesh factory inspection is the first tier of compliance difficulties in the clothing supply chain, with two core red lines that cannot be crossed: building structure safety and complete hardware for fire protection, union freedom, and Friday religious holidays. At the same time, Better Work's continuous annual rating determines whether it can undertake long-term large orders from Europe and America. The factory preparation for the Bangladesh factory inspection cannot simply copy the plans of other Southeast Asian countries. Priority should be given to completing the annual construction engineer inspection, maintaining the sprinkler fire protection system throughout the factory area, ensuring the normal operation of the labor union, strictly adhering to the Friday rest day system, stabilizing the operation of the sewage treatment ETP equipment, maintaining 100% authenticity of the attendance salary information, significantly reducing serious non conformities, and stably connecting with global clothing brand orders.