Lagos govt advocates increased collaboration among built professionals
By Lydia Ngwakwe
The Lagos State Materials Testing Laboratory Agency (LSMTL) has emphasised the importance of professionals in the built sector to work together and share knowledge and expertise, to ensure a safer Lagos.
The General Manager, Mrs Olayinka Abdul, said this in a statement signed by the Head, Public Affairs Unit, Mrs Salehu-Badejo Abimbola, on Wednesday in Lagos.
According to her, the root cause of many building collapses lies in the foundation design and construction process, where mistakes in calculations, interpretations, or implementations of engineering principles can lead to structural instability and ultimately, collapse.
Abdul made the assertion when she led a seven- man delegation of the agency to a collaborative meeting with the executives of the Nigerian Institution of Geotechnical Engineers (NIGE).
She said: “every collapse is an evidence of defaultive foundation that shows badly coordinated parameters being interpreted and implemented wrongly from mismatched exponential transformations.
“That is why government has prepared levels of checks to make all specifications align, using LSMTL to analyse samples on proponent structures to conform with what the designer (architect) has done for re- evaluation and re-alignment.”
Abdul added that many building collapses were caused by professionals in the construction industry who prioritised profit over safety.
According to her, they often cut corners or use substandard materials to reduce costs, even though this can endanger people’s lives.
This, she said, was a serious problem that needed to be addressed to make buildings safer.
The general manager also emphasised that buildings should only be used for the specific purpose they were designed for, either commercial or residential.
According to her, this is important because each type of building is designed to withstand a certain amount of weight or load.
She said if a building is used for a purpose that is different from its original design, it could put excessive strain on the structure and increase the risk of collapse.
Abdul, therefore, suggested more thorough inspections and assessments of buildings are needed because many construction materials were being produced to a low standard.
The statement also quoted Mr Ebenezer Ologuntoye, Chairman, Lagos State Chapter of NIGE, advocating increased collaboration between professionals in the construction industry, particularly with Geotechnical Engineers.
He believed that by working together and sharing knowledge through workshops and training programmes, geotechnical engineers could provide better supervision of structures and help to prevent building collapses.
He said “there should be Geotechnically Generated Reports from construction sites to ensure quality assurance to existing and newer structures.
“This will enhance coordinated positions of land mass in identifying defective foundations that aggravate buildings’ collapse.
“This collaboration will include running Forensic Research on collapsed buildings in averting other future disasters, as most structures are in variance to each land mass especially considering Lagos Gorge.” (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Chinyere Joel-Nwokeoma
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