Track: Decision Sciences

Abstract

The ready-made garment (RMG) sector of Bangladesh is one of the largest garment manufacturing sectors in the world. Fire incidents in RMG factories are always a highly discussed issue among the local and international policymakers and stakeholders. An efficient prioritization of the remedial actions for fire risks can aid the decision-makers to mitigate the fire hazards and associated damages. This study, thereby, proposes a hybrid Multi-criteria Decision-making (MCDM) framework, combining Stepwise Weight Assessment Ratio Analysis (SWARA) and Weighted Aggregated Sum Product Assessment (WASPAS) method, to prioritize the remedial actions for fire risks in RMG factories. At first, 16 most important remedial actions have been identified by a panel of experts. For the evaluation of the identified actions, four evaluation criteria- initial cost, maintenance cost, feasibility, and risk reductant- have been selected from both literature review and expert feedback. By using SWARA method, the study finds ‘initial cost’ and ‘risk reductant’ to be the two criteria with the highest weights. Later, using the obtained criteria weight as inputs, WASPAS method finds that ‘proper electrical wiring and connections’, ‘separating the gas cylinders from the main production building’, and ‘keeping egress paths and stairs clear of obstruction’ are the top three prioritized remedial actions that can be taken to mitigate fire risks in the RMG industries. This obtained result is expected to help the managers of RMG industries to devise an effective fire risk remedial action plan, within their technical constraints and limited resources, to ensure a safe workplace for their workers.

Keywords
Ready-made Garment, Fire Risk Remediation, Stepwise Weight Assessment Ratio Analysis, Weighted Aggregates Sum Product Assessment.