International Conference on Electrical, Computer and Communication Engineering (ECCE), February 16-18, 2017, Coxs Bazar, Bangladesh

Prediction of Burn Incidents Due to Faulty

Installations in RMG Factories in Bangladesh
Farhina Haque, Hla-U-May Marma, A. H. Chowdhury
Dept. of EEE, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology
Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh
farhina_meghna@yahoo.com

Abstract The readymade garment factories in Bangladesh and detecting overheated electrical joints. These include infrared
experience large number of fire incidents every year. Most of the imaging scan and temperature sensors, like thermocouple,
sources of the fire ignition are the electrical power distribution infrared-, acoustic wave- and optical temperature sensor etc. [10].
system. Faulty installations play a major role in electrical fire. For predicting fire risk and prioritizing fire inspection Firebird
This paper presents a prediction model of electrical fire due to
faulty installations, particularly non-standard cable termination
framework has been developed using machine learning,
in the readymade garment factories in Bangladesh. The geocoding and information visualization which can compute fire
prediction model is based on the analysis of photographs of the risk scores over 50000 building in Atlanta city [11]. Linear
factory electrical distribution boards, statistical data and simple Regression Analysis on electricity consumption data revealed that
laboratory experiments. Using the model total number of burn electricity per capita is increasing than the population, affecting
incidents per year in the power distribution boards of the RMG the electrical distribution systems adversely [12].
factories has been calculated. It shows that large number of such Fire hazard in the ready-made garment (RMG) factories is
incidents happen every year some of which may result in the major cause of industrial accidents in Bangladesh that has
devastating factory fire. resulted in deaths of thousands of workers. The factor that
contributed most in RMG fire ignition is the electrical fire.
Keywordsfactory fire; faulty installation; poor connection; This paper presents a prediction model of electrical fire due to
fire prediction
faulty installations, particularly non-standard cable
termination i.e. poor connection at the termination, in the
I. INTRODUCTION RMG factories in Bangladesh. The prediction model is based
on analysis of photographs of RMG factory electrical
Electrical failure or malfunction is a leading cause of home distribution boards (DBs) and data from various sources.
and industrial fires. A statistics of the National Fire Protection Laboratory experiment has been carried out to determine the
Association (NFPA) attributes the 41,200 home structure fires temperature profile at the termination of electrical distribution
per year in the USA to electrical distribution [1]. The physical cable under different connection conditions.
mechanisms leading to ignition of an electrical fire are
II. FIRE HAZARDS IN RMG FACTORIES IN BANGLADESH
uniquely specialized. These includes: (1) poor connection, (2)
overload, (3) arcing across a carbonized path, (4) arcing in the Fire accidents in the ready-made garment industries, the
air (5) excessive thermal insulation (6) ejection of hot particles most important exporting sector in Bangladesh, continue to
(7) dielectric breakdown of solid or liquid insulation [2,3]. kill workers, most of whom are women and children. Fig. 1
The single most important mechanism for electrical fire is presents the scenario of the fire hazards in RMG factories in
the poor connection or loose connection at the cable [2]. Loose Bangladesh between 1990 and 2012, as per the records of fire
connection at the termination of cables may cause very high service and civil defense department [13].
temperature which in turn may cause insulation breakdown
and eventually fire [4]. As a sub category of poor connection,
researchers documented the Cu.2O breeding process,
whereby intermittent copper-copper connection may lead to
bright red sparks [5,6]. Overheated electrical joints due to
loose connection are often precursors of electric fires, arc
faults, and arc flash in electrical systems [7]. From studies of
arc spectra when arcing takes place in the contact, presence of
copper has been observed. This copper reacts with the oxygen
in the air to form copper oxide. When oxide layer has grown
on a certain thickness, a permanent contact is established and a
continuous currents starts to flow [8]. Undersized cable
connection, which leads to overload, is another important
mechanism of electrical fire. This is the condition in which
more current flowing through the cable and cable insulation
starts to breakdown at first and melts after certain period of
time due to high temperatures. Short term experiments show
that it takes 300-700% overload to cause ignition [9].
Because of the extent and the seriousness of the electrical
fire problem, various technologies and products have been
developed and employed in industrial countries for monitoring Fig.1. Loss of lives due to fire in RMG factories in Bangladesh [13]

978-1-5090-5627-9/17/$31.00 2017 IEEE

733
 From December 2012 to November 2015, 84 fire incidents
in the garments industries have been recorded in which 31
workers died and 908 injured [14]. Studies of the reports on
fire hazards evaluate electrical mechanisms as one the main
reasons of fire in RMG factories in Bangladesh. The major
electrical problems observed in most of the RMG factories in
Bangladesh are categorized in Table I [15].
TABLE I
ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS OBSERVED IN RMG FACTORIES
Category Problems
Boiler (electric) 1. Electrical terminals are left open.
2. Electric boiler has inadequate/no earthing
connection.
Cable & cable 1. Power cables entering to or exiting from
supports distribution board/panel are not properly fixed.
2. Excess cables coiled and kept at the back of
panel.
3. Wooden cable channel/ducts used for power
distribution.
4. Cables are hanging without support. Cable
terminals may be in tension.
5. Power cable is buried in the concrete floor.
6. Cables in service are joined (splicing) between
terminations.
7. Inflammable materials stacked adjacent to
electrical panel/distribution board/
installations.
Distribution 1. Cables terminated at electrical bus bar/MCCB
board & panel without cable lugs.
2. Panel doors are not connected to earth.
3. Phase barrier/separator has not been installed.
4. Power bus bar are installed congested; power
cables touch opposite phased bus bar
5. Multiple cables terminated at MCCB terminals
or at a single point in bus bar.
6. Flexible PVC pipe has been used inside the
panel to cover cables.
7. Phases are imbalanced.
8. Burning sign seen at the terminal.
9. Cables are terminated improperly.
10. Earth connections are not segregated.
Transformer neutral and system earthing are
connected in same bus.
11. Multiple cables are connected in the bus bar
through single lugs.
12. Circuit is drawn from bus bar without circuit
breaker or any protective means.
Earthing 1. Earth cables are terminated at earth bus bar
system loosely/without lugs.
2. Current is leaking through earthing cable
(earth lead cable)
Generator room 1. Generator output cables (laid on floor) are not
protected and supported.
2. Generator body has no earth connection.
Transformer 1. Oil leakage from transformer.
room 2. Oil level in transformer oil tank is below
minimum level.
The problems observed, particularly problems with the
distribution board, may cause electrical fire. Most of the
cables are not connected maintaining the standards; cables are
terminated without any lug, or in the case when lug is used it
is improperly connected, i.e., the condition when more than
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one cables are terminated with a single lug or live parts of the
cable are not insulated. According to the Bangladesh National
Building Code (BNBC) termination of all the power
/earth/neutral cable should be done with proper sized cable lug
and each cable must be connected in the bus bar through
single lugs [16].
III. METHODOLOGY
When cables are terminated without lug it can be said that
they cause loose connections. When a connection is not
mechanically tight and of high resistance, it can start a
progressive failure. The process has the quality of an unstable,
positive-feedback loop. High resistance creates localized
heating which increases oxidation and creep, the connection
become less tight and further heating occurs, until high
temperatures are attained. At a certain stage a poor connection
may become a glowing connection and nearby combustibles
may be subject to ignition [1]. When lugs are improperly
connected at the cable termination i.e. multiple cables are
terminated with a single lug at the cable termination, it may
cause very high temperature and become glowing connection.
In this paper data extraction and analysis of photographs have
been done to observe connections on the distribution boards
(DBs) of the RMG factories. Also, laboratory experiments
have been carried out to determine the temperature profile
with the change in torque at the cable termination.
A. Data Extraction and analysis of photographs
The power distribution board photographs of 39 RMG
factories in Bangladesh have been analyzed. A total of 109
photographs have been used to determine the non-standard
connection conditions that may lead to fire. These photographs
have been taken by a team of experts of the Department of
Electrical and Electronic Engineering of the Bangladesh
University of Engineering and Technology (BUET). BUET
has been engaged by the International Labour Organization
(ILO) to assess the electrical and fire safety conditions of the
RMG factories in Bangladesh. The photographs have been
taken at random without any bias as to the condition of the
DBs. Fig. 2 and Fig. 3 show some of the distribution board
photographs used for the analysis.
Connection
without lug
(a)
Improperly
connected lug
(b)
Fig. 2. Distribution boards with (a) connections without lug; (b) improperly
connected lug

Burn signs
Fig. 3. Burn signs in the distribution board.
The total number of connections, number of connection
without lug, number of improperly connected lug, and total
number of burn sighs on 109 distribution boards has been
counted. Table II presents the data that has been extracted
from these photographs. Analysis based on the extracted data
in terms of indicators of poor cable termination in distribution
boards is presented in Table III. It can be seen that a total of
1955 connections are provided from the 109 DBs. Out of these
759 connections or 38.82% do not use any lug. This means
that most of the connections, 61.17% to be precise, use lugs.
However, of the 1196 connections that use lugs 961 i.e.
80.35% have been connected improperly. Counting these
together with the no-lug connections, it is seen that almost
88% connections either do not use any lug or the lugs are
connected improperly, and as such raising the risk of electrical
fire enormously. This is reflected in more than 6 burn
incidents (sign) per 100 connections, which indicate that
regular overheating, melting of insulation and burning occurs
in the DBs. Burning on the distribution board can be caused
by connection without lug, improperly connected lug or
connection point overheating due to the use of lower capacity
cables and lugs.
TABLE II
DATA EXTRACTED FROM PHOTOGRAPHS
Sl. no. Description Number
1 Distribution board 109
2 Total connection 1955
3 Connection without lug 759
4 Connection with lug 1196
5 Improperly connected lug 961
6 Burn signs 124
TABLE III
INDICATORS OF POOR CABLE TERMINATION IN THE DISTRIBUTION BOARDS
Sl.
Description
no.
1 Number of connection per DB
2 Connection without lug per 100 connections
Improperly connected lug per 100 lugged
3 80.35
connections
Connection without lug or improperly connected
4 87.97
lug per 100 connections
5 Burn incidents (sign) per 100 DB
6 Burn incidents per 100 connections
7 Ratio of burn incidents to connection without lug
8 Ratio of burn incidents to improperly connected lug
B. Laboratory Experiment
Using proper sized lug by itself is not enough. It should be
tightened with enough torque so that the contact resistance is a
minimum. Laboratory experiments have been carried out to
determine the maximum temperature rise with change in
torque at the cable termination. The experiment is done with a
test cable with size 70/0.0076 mm, with a cross section area of
1.94 mm2 and rated current of 18 A at 350C ambient
temperature in air. Fig. 4 shows a block diagram of the
experimental setup.
Fig. 4. Block diagram of the experimental setup used to determine effect of
applied torque on temperature at the cable termination.
Torque on the bolt was set and measured by a torque
meter. The minimum value of the applied torque was 3 N-cm
and the maximum value was 68 N-cm. The injected current for
this experiment was kept at 20 A using a current injector. For
a given torque condition the rise in temperature at the lug was
measured until it stabilizes. After each test the setup was
cooled down to the ambient temperature before the next test
began. Temperature at the lug was measured by a digital
thermocouple. The temperature profile at the cable termination
with the change in torque for three different torque conditions
is shown in Fig. 5. A significant difference in temperature rise
is observed between loose and tight connection.
Fig. 5. Temperature profile of the cable termination with the changes in
applied torque.
Table IV presents the maximum temperature reached under
the test conditions for various levels of torque. For 3 N-cm
torque maximum temperature after 12 minutes is 56 oC
Value
whereas for 68 N-cm torque maximum temperature is 44.1 oC,
18
a drop of 11.9 oC. It is clear that for low torque level heating
38.82
will occur at the cable terminations that may eventually lead to
ignition and fire. In the RMG factories most of the
connections in the distribution board are without lug, this
causes loose connection. Therefore, there is a huge probability
113.76 of fire ignition due to this faulty connection.
6.34
16.34% TABLE IV
12.9% MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE FOR DIFFERENT APPLIED TORQUE
Applied torque (N-cm) 3 14 31 38 44 55 68
Max. temperature (oC) 56 48 47.6 47.8 47.4 45.7 44.1
IV. FIRE PREDICTION MODEL FOR RMG FACTORIES
The prediction of fire ignition has been done based on the
statistical data, data from the photograph analysis and some
assumptions. It is assumed that any loose or non-standard
cable termination will lead to a burn incident within a period
of two years. This is a reasonable assumption considering the
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fact that for only 20 A of current flow the temperature rises to non-standard cable terminations, the situation can be greatly
56 0C within 12 minutes. There are 3507 registered garments improved with little expenses.
factories in Bangladesh, of which about 20% of the factories
are not in operation [17]. The average number of sewing TABLE V
machines per factory is about 400. It is assumed that 50% of PREDICTED NUMBER OF BURN INCIDENTS IN DBS IN BANGLADESH RMG
the total connections in a DB are for sewing machines and the FACTORIES
rest are for other electrical equipments. Particlurs Variables Value
Fig. 6 shows how the sewing machines are connected with Total number of sewing machine Sw 1122400
a DB. Assuming a single connection supplies power to ten Number of connections for machine C 112240
sewing machines, which is the general practice in RMG Total number of connection Ct 224480
factories in Bangladesh. Using these assumptions and the Approximate number of DBs in
NDB 12471
operational garment factories
statistical data gathered from the photographs the prediction of
Total burn signs in n years Bt 14187
fire incidents in a factory each year has been made.
Total number of burn incidents per year B 7094

The developed model can give an approximate number

of burn incidents analysing the conditions of
distribution boards of RMG Factories rather than
correlating electricity demand and electrical fire
incidents by statistical analysis [13].
The predicted burn incidents per year can be an index
of worst situation and help the concerned authority to
avoid any electrical fire.

Fig. 6. Connection of sewing machines with distribution board. V. CONCLUTION

A. Notations This paper presents a prediction model of electrical fire
due to faulty installations, particularly non-standard cable
F - Number of factories
termination in the RMG factories in Bangladesh. The
OF -Number of operating factories
prediction model is based on the analysis of photographs of
m - Average number of sewing machine per factory
the factory electrical distribution boards, statistical data and
Sw - Total number of sewing machine
simple laboratory experiments. It is predicted that every year
x - Number of machines served by 1 connection
almost 7100 burn incidents occur in the RMG factories due to
(assumed 10)
faulty cable terminations in the DBs only. It is an indicator of
C - Number of connections for machine
the precarious situation in the electrical power distribution
Ct - Total number of connection
system of these factories. Detailed field studies needs to be
Cd - Number of connection per DB
carried out to get the complete picture of the situation. Proper
NDB - Approximate number of DBs in operational
initiatives can aid the severe situation and reduce the fire
garment factories
hazard occurrence every year in RMG factories.
Bn - Number of burns per distribution board
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