SON harps on quality building materials

The Director General of Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Mr Osita Aboloma, has called for collective efforts towards finding lasting solutions to the incessant building collapse in various parts of the country.

He made this call in his address on “the importance of quality flat sheets & steel reinforcement materials in the construction industry” at Building Collapse Prevention Guild (BCPG) Ikorodu Cell Seminar held Wednesday in Lagos.

He said the theme of the seminar is not only apt but has come at a time when incidences of building collapse have been of serious concern to many stakeholders and has led to avoidable loss of lives and properties.

He challenged the seminar participants to come up with practicable solutions that will address the building collapse menace and minimize wastages and losses.

He said, “Causes of building collapse have been attributed to many factors, mainly human errors such as faulty designs, faulty construction, foundation failures, use of substandard materials, negligence, omission, ignorance, quackery, sabotage, inadequate supervision, noncompliance to specifications/ standards. Natural occurrences such as floods, earthquakes, heavy winds among others could lead to building collapse. Faulty designs and construction arise from defective architectural and engineering drawings owing to lack of feasibility studies, soil and site investigations, poor design details, errors, omissions and inaccurate data coupled with contractors failing to carry out construction in accordance with specifications/standards.”

He noted that all the known causes of building collapse underscore lack of compliance to codes/standards requirements associated with the built sector.