INVESTIGATION OF STRUCTURAL PROBLEMS OF

TRANSCOM BEVERAGES LIMITED, 12-13

KALURGHAT CHITTAGONG, BANGLADESH.

Ground Floor, House No 193/A, Road No 1, New DOHS, Mohakhali, Dhaka-1206

Phone: 02-8831756, 02-8831751

Email: dzignscape@dzignscape.net, info@dzignscape.net

At the request of Engineer Shoriful of Transcom Beverages Limited, Chittagong
d.zignscape Consultants Ltd. has engaged Engineer Sal Saad AL Deen Taher to
visit the plant and report immediately about the structural defects and problems
in various structures situated in the premises. Factory manager Engineer Mr.
Siddiqur Rahman has greeted him warmly. He had engaged Assistant Engineer
Mr. Junaed Rahman to show the structural problems to Mr. Saad. With the help
of Mr. Junaed, Mr. Saad has identified some problems.
The major problems identified in the premises summarized as below-
1. Visible Cracks in the Ground Floor Slab & Walls in Old Plant Building & in
The Extensions.
2. Visible Cracks in Walls in Boiler Room
3. Visible Cracks in Beams & Walls in Civil Section Office Room.
4. Other buildings such as Building Occupied by Prothom Alo, Bore Well etc.
has some issues.
5. Water Flooding Problem through Water Seepage in the whole premises.
The problems are elaborated in details with pictures as follow-
1. Visible Cracks in the Ground Floor Slab & Walls in Old Plant Building & in
The Extensions.
The old plant building has been there since 1982. Previously the plant was built
generally for refilling the empty bottles. The Main Production line has a clear
height of 6m but the adjacent mezzanine floor height is 4m. As time passed due
to the immense pressure of production the Old Building has been expanded in
one side of the mezzanine during 2012-2013 and a steel shed also been erected
for the use of warehouse. There is a big crack visible in the floor slab in the
expanded section of the plant and a crack also visible under the Blow Moulding
Machine which was installed in 2014. The machine weighs about 16 Ton and
during operation it vibrates a lot. The uneven ground settlement or differential
settlement of foundation may be the primary reason for this kind of cracks. We
need to check further if these cracks are produced due to other reasons. A
detailed Geotechnical investigation report is required for further check. Please
check Figure 1-3 for details.

Figure 2: Blow Moulding Machine

Figure 1: Floor Crack in The

Expanded Section Extruding to
The Base of The Column Figure 3: Cracks Produced beneath the Blow Moulding
Machine
2. Visible Cracks in Walls in Boiler Room
There are some cracks visible in the Boiler Room walls. The cracks are primarily
formed in the wall column junction. An engineer informed that some cracks are
repaired at a regular interval but they keep coming producing. Moreover, there
is a patch work in the ceiling due to spalling of concrete. A water clogging
problem in the roof has also been identified. Please check Figure 4-7 for details.

Figure 5: Repairing Works at Wall- Column Junction

Figure 4: Wall Crack in The Wall

Column Junction
Figure 6: Repairing Works at Ceiling

Figure 7: Roof of Boiler-Civil Section Room

3. Visible Cracks in Beams & Walls in Civil Section Office Room.
Cracks are visible in the beams in a similar pattern along several spans in both
directions in the Civil Section Office room. These are assumed to be produced
due to the uneven ground settlement or differential settlement of foundation.
Please check Figure 8-10 for details

Figure 8: Crack in Beam (Red Marked)

Figure 9: Similar Pattern of Cracks

along Multiple Beams (Red Marked) Figure 10: Crack in Beam (Red Marked)
4. Other buildings such as Building Occupied by Prothom Alo, Bore Well etc.
has some issues.
Building occupied by Prothom Alo has a crack in the Sun-Shed Slab and
expansion joint gap is visible. There is a crack in the wall of the Bore Well & in
the exterior wall of the Civil Section Building. Dampness has been identified in
the Filler Room where Carbon Di Oxide emission rate is very high. Please check
Figure 11-14 for details-

Figure 11- Crack in Sun Shed Figure 12: Wall Crack in Bore Well Room

Figure 14- Dampness in The Ceiling

Figure 13- Exterior Wall Crack

5. Water Flooding Problem through Water Seepage in the whole premises.
A canal (Khal) has been located around the borders of the whole plant. During
monsoon and tides the canal is filled with water. Water comes through
boundary walls and beneath the ground through seepage. The factory authority
has asked for a viable solution to this problem as water logging can hamper
production and loss of raw materials and other things are very common during
flooding. Another consultant has outdrawn a solution verbally to provide
retaining walls along the border but it didnt provide any kind of drawings or
written plans.
Required Documents:
These documents are required for further decisions-
Construction History & Construction Period
Purpose of Using the Buildings
No of Occupants per Building
Location Map or Master Plan of the Plant
Geotechnical Investigation Report of the Premises
Detailed Architectural, Structural and Machine Layout Drawings for the
Plant
Water Table Data
Recommendations:
i. To assess and mitigate the cracks visible in the Ground Floor Slab beneath
the blow moulding machine, a detailed geotechnical investigation report
of present condition must be available. If there are no such document
available, then bore holes must be dug in precise locations and various
geotechnical tests must be conducted to find the condition of the soil
beneath the machine and the slab. If it is required to improve the soil or
ground, then it must be carried out accordingly. The Geotechnical
Investigation report, soil improvement recommendations and soil
improvement plans must be outlined and supervised by experienced and
professional Geotechnical Engineer.

ii. Detailed Engineering Assessment (DEA) should be done for all other
cracks in walls, beams, floors etc. prior to the availability of required
documents. If such documents are not available, then it should be
prepared and tests such as Ferro-scan (To Identify the Reinforcement
Used in Columns, Beams and Slab), Core Test (To Determine the concrete
strength) etc. should be done. After that, Detailed Analysis should be
performed and further recommendations will be made.

iii. The water logging/flooding problem is a part of the Detail Engineering

Assessment (DEA). A location map (Survey Plan), Water Table Data,
Relative Level of the Strata and Water Body etc. must be required to
assess the problem and the remedial plan should be prepared
accordingly.

Report Prepared By: Report Approved By:

Sal Saad Al Deen Taher Sayeedur Rahman

Structural Engineer (Civil,CUET)
d.zignscape Consultants Ltd
MIEB No: M/36897
CDA Enlistment No: 377
Mobile No: +8801678117989
Email: info@dzignscape.net
Managing Director & Lead Consultant
d.zignscape Consultants Ltd
MIEB No: M/19024
RAJUK Enlistment No: DMINB/CE-0009
Mobile No: +8801713386667
Email: sayeedur@dzignscape.net