These briefings are designed for all factories and suppliers listed by Pakistan Accord signatory brands. They include updates on key developments under the Pakistan Accord, along with information on upcoming events, guidance materials, and resources for suppliers.

We encourage all suppliers and factories covered by the Pakistan Accord to read these briefings and to share suggestions on what they would like to see in them by contacting us via pakistan.factories@internationalaccord.org.

Inspections and Remediation 

Over 245 factories across Karachi, Lahore, and Faisalabad have been inspected for fire, electrical, and structural safety. Training and capacity-building for the engineering team is ongoing, with the goal of improving turnaround times for producing inspection reports and Corrective Action Plans (CAPs), tailored to the size and complexity of the buildings. Additionally, efforts are focused on enhancing responsiveness to suppliers’ technical queries.

Update on Boiler Safety Inspections

To date, 51 boilers have been visually inspected under the Pakistan Accord’s Boiler Safety program. The Boiler Safety Team commenced inspections in February 2025.

The initial inspection will include both internal and external examinations of the boiler, followed by a hydrostatic test. This process requires the boiler to be shut down and cleaned by the factory beforehand. The boiler must remain shut down to allow the inspections and tests to be completed the following day. Afterward, the factory is responsible for addressing all findings identified during the inspection before the Pakistan Accord boiler engineers return approximately one month later to perform a full functional test.

Once the Boiler Safety Program is fully implemented and the inspection team reaches maximal capacity, the Pakistan Accord will expand the scope to include risk identification of hazardous materials in collaboration with the fire engineering team.

All inspections follow the Pakistan Accord Building Standard and help factories improve safety in Pakistan’s textile and garment industry.

Read the Pakistan Accord Building Standard.

Common Safety Findings and Remediation

The inspected factories are actively working on remediating the following safety hazards:

• Electrical Safety: Common issues include overloaded circuits, improper cable sizing, poor installation, and missing thermographic testing, often leading to undetected hot spots. Many factories also lack accurate Single Line Diagrams (SLDs). To address these, factories are training electrical staff, conducting regular thermographic scans, updating SLDs, and reducing combustible materials near panels to mitigate fire risks.
• Fire Safety: Frequent non-compliance includes locked exit doors or doors that open against escape routes, as well as missing handrails along exits, both of which hinder safe evacuation. Factories are ensuring exit doors open in the direction of escape without locks and are installing handrails to improve safety during emergencies.
• Structural Safety: Overloaded structures from water tanks or added floors, along with visible cracks, pose significant structural safety risks. Factories are reassessing structural loads, reducing stress on key columns, and repairing cracks to ensure long-term building stability.

Remediation Costing Tool for Factories

To strengthen the factories’ ability to plan and manage their remediation efforts effectively, the Pakistan Accord, together with a Lahore-based social compliance consultancy, has developed a Remediation Costing Tool.

This tool is designed to help factories covered under the Accord better estimate and plan for their remediation expenses. By supporting more accurate and realistic budgeting, the tool enables improved remediation planning, helping prevent delays in remediation and avoidable non-compliance issues. The tool draws on average market costs of key safety items identified in a factory’s Corrective Action Plan (CAP), such as fire doors, fire alarms, sprinklers and standpipe systems, and adjusts for cost variations based on factory size.

To ensure its effectiveness, the Remediation Costing Tool will initially be piloted with a small group of factories. Feedback and insights from this phase will inform ongoing refinements, incorporating real-world experience, evolving market data, and user input.Pakistan Accord staff will receive comprehensive training on the tool, with a broader rollout planned in the coming months to make it accessible to all covered factories.

Guidance for Factory Engineering Consultants

Upon the request of covered suppliers in Pakistan, the Accord has development guidance to support factories in identifying and engaging suitably qualified engineers to carry out detailed assessments and remediation efforts detailed in the factory’s Corrective Action Plan.

Through this guidance, the Pakistan Accord aims to facilitate access to reliable expertise, enabling factories to meet the safety requirements outlined in the Pakistan Accord Building Standard and to effectively address their CAP findings. The intent is to ensure that all engaged consultants possess the requisite qualifications, technical expertise, and professional integrity necessary to deliver safe, code-compliant, and high-quality engineering design and advisory services in alignment with the factory’s operational objectives and project-specific requirements.

This initiative is part of the Pakistan Accord’s broader commitment to promoting continuous improvement in workplace safety across Pakistan’s garment and textile sector. The guidance will be published as a resource for factories on the Accord website in the coming days.

Important: Please note that the Pakistan Accord does not accredit or endorse any external consultants. Factories should not hire any outside parties claiming to represent or provide services on behalf of the Pakistan Accord.

Workplace Programs

The Workplace Programs are set to expand further, with additional initial and All-Employee Meetings scheduled in the coming months. 

More about the rollout of the Workplace Program.

The Accord held its 2025 All Signatory Meeting in Amsterdam, for its brand, trade union, and witness signatories.

Shah highlighting the encouraging reception from factories for the worker safety training sessions and the government capacity-building program.

Read more about the Accord All Signatory Meeting 2025.  

The Pakistan Accord is in the process of building and training local teams in its Karachi and Lahore offices to ensure the effective implementation of its programs in coordination with covered suppliers and brands. The team is continuing to expand the Inspections and Remediation Department as well as the Workplace Programs Department to further implement the programs.

Further recruitment of fire, structural and boiler safety experts, training and complaints specialists, and additional support staff is currently in progress. The latest vacancies under the Pakistan Accord are available on the Accord website.