Case Study of Rana Plaza Collapse-----An Example of Engineering Failure and its

Devastating Effects

On 24 April 2013, Rana Plaza, an eight-story 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 1,129. Approximately 2,515 injured people were rescued from
the building alive. On Wednesday 24 April morning there was a power cut and diesel generators
on the top floor were started. The building collapsed at about 08:57am, 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.

It considered to be the deadliest garment-factory accident in history, as well as 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 the following day and the building collapsed during the morning rush-hour.\

Figure: Aerial View of Rana Plaza Following the Disaster

Following the tragedy, an investigation conducted by the Home Ministry found several
Problem with the construction and usage of the building which led to the engineering failure:
It was partially constructed on a water body.
The Bangladesh National Building Code was not followed.
Inferior quality construction materials were used.
Though the building was designed for six storeys, Savar City Corporation gave the
owner permission to add four additional floors. (A tenth floor was under construction
at the time of the collapse.)
Despite being designed for commercial use, the third to eighth floors housed garment
factories, each of which used heavy machinery not considered in the structural design.
The building also had large generators on the top floors, the weight and vibration of
which had contributed to the collapse.

Regarding the engineering failure of this infrastructure (The Rana Plaza), one can recommend
the following migratory measures for other similar infrastructures order to prevent future
disasters
I. Proper Sub - soil Investigation: Bearing capacity, soil density, liquid & plastic limit
of soil with corresponding static & dynamic condition of soil should be tested before
an infrastructure is built on it.
II. Proper Structural Design: Appropriate ratio of rod, concrete, cement and water is
essential to building strong infrastructures. The strength of the steel bars should be
tested as well.
III. Construction: Using appropriate mortar (sand, cement & water mixture),
reinforced material and proper caring and monitoring.
IV. Monitoring, Supervision & Maintenance: Proper monitoring and supervision of all
materials should be maintained at the time of construction and the gas electricity
and water supply of the building and any other utilities should be regularly checked
after construction.
V. Limited Building Use: The building must be used for the specific purpose for which
it was designed and built (it may be commercial, residential or industrial) and must
be restricted for use of any other purpose.
VI. Compliance of Utilities: Providing the building with sufficient gas, water and
electricity supply