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The ready-made garment (RMG) industry is one of the largest industrial sectors in Bangladesh in terms of economy and employment. As the world economy moves forward, this highly people-dense industry needs to be digitalized. However, the importance of digital technology, particularly the Internet of Things (IoT), has just lately been recognized by most industries, which is also an important part of Industry 4.0. The IoT has seven important elements. Though IoT has the potential to grow businesses, it is difficult to implement all the elements of IoT simultaneously. Thus, the study aims to build a hierarchy model of IoT elements to be implemented in the RMG industry of Bangladesh. Through an extensive literature review, fourteen significant elements of IoT were identified. Then the study employs an integrated multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) framework to rank the elements of IoT based on their potential for application in the Bangladeshi RMG industry. The weights of the evaluation criteria were determined using a fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (FAHP), and the elements of IoT were ranked using a preference ranking organization method for enrichment evaluations (PROMETHEE II) based on the criteria weights obtained from FAHP. The study findings suggest that the Sensors are the most significant component of IoT, while Network Interconnection is the least significant component for IoT implementation. This study is expected to assist the stakeholders in the RMG and other related industrial sectors in formulating appropriate strategies and policies for the proper deployment of IoT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electrical accidents wound and kill a lot of people in the ready-made garment (RMG) industries of Bangladesh every year. Regular electrical safety inspections and prioritization of the identified significant risk factors can effectively minimize the occurrence of these electrical accidents. This study proposes a Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) based framework to prioritize the frequently observed significant electrical risk factors in the RMG industries of Bangladesh to aid the decision-makers to ensure a safe and sustainable workplace. In this study, 26 most significant electrical risk factors have been identified from the opinions of 12 experts who have analyzed the electrical safety inspection reports accumulated from 100 different RMG industries. After that, the Best Worst Method (BWM) has been applied to find the weights of the three evaluation criteria-Consequence, Likelihood, and Manageability, based on the expert feedback. Then, a Weighted Aggregated Sum Product Assessment (WASPAS) method has been utilized to get the final ranking of the risk factors. The existence of hot spots detected by thermal imaging, improper support and protection for hanging cables, and heat source adjacent to electrical installations have been determined as the most prioritized electrical risk factors for the RMG industries. The findings of this research are expected to help the managers and other decision-makers of RMG industries to devise effective mitigation strategies to minimize the electrical safety risks efficiently and hierarchically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Particleboard (PB) is an essential engineered product, which is often used as a replacement for wood, thus playing a significant role to reduce deforestation and improving environmental sustainability. Proper selection of PB is important to make sure that the chosen product has the required durability and sustainability and thus can maintain the quality of the construction work. This study proposes a Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) approach, to evaluate the selection criteria of PB to aid the decision-makers of the civil construction projects. In this approach, the existing evaluation criteria have been categorized into four criteria-Physical Properties, Mechanical Properties, Chemical Properties, Health, and Environmental Impact. Then a Best Worst Method (BWM) has been used to determine the criteria and sub-criteria weights to evaluate the PBs. After that, a Weighted Product Model (WPM) has been applied to generate the final ranking of the products to aid the decision-makers to select the right product. The study finds Emission Level, Moisture Content, and Toxicity as the most weighted evaluation criteria to select a PB. For this study, the required expert feedback has been collected from the supervisors and managers of different construction firms in Bangladesh. The obtained results are expected to benefit the managers, supervisors, and other decision-makers of the construction projects to select the right product for their construction projects to maintain their quality and reputation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]