Optimization of egress controls of fire emergency management plans using agent based simulation: A case study of ready-made garment industry

Ensuring a profound occupational health and safety in Readymade garment industries is a challenge for the developing countries despite having significant painstaking efforts. Recent statistics show that, the workers of this sector are in vulnerable conditions due to their exposure to fire risk at the factories and this risk gets worse during an emergency due to bottlenecks of egress components and clogging. Therefore, the emergency management plans of the RMG sectors needs to be optimized for safety of workers. The research work of this paper analyzes and explores the way of addressing underperforming emergency plans by optimizing evacuation strategies. For this purpose, an RMG factory in Bangladesh is selected as a case study. Based on the data provided by the factory management and survey regarding occupant’s perception, a simulation model in an evacuation simulation is built. Fire risks at the factory are analyzed through risk analysis tools for worst case scenario to assess the existing risks. The results reveal that the application of risk analysis tools along with an agent-based evacuation can benefit the entire RMG industry by reducing the risks of bottlenecks and clogging of egress controls that endangers lives of workers, thereby in optimizing the efficacy of fire emergency management plans.