Don unveils steps to mitigate public infrastructure decay, abandonment

To mitigate waste and revenue loss from infrastructure decays, a retiring Chief Lecturer at the Department of Building Technology, Yaba College of Technology, Dr Olufemi Akinsola, has proposed strategies to improve the nation’s public infrastructure maintenance and ensure sustainable development.

He said measures to transform public infrastructure from decays should come under short, medium and long-term, as well as utilise a Computerised Maintenance Management System (CMMS).

Akinsola said there are software and drones now developed to implement regular maintenance schedules, which is crucial for ensuring public buildings remain safe and functional. Some of these are creating schedules for daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly tasks, allocating necessary resources, and defining maintenance protocols for various systems.

He also advanced effective scheduling to prevent equipment failure, reduce downtime, and extend the lifespan of building components, regular training of maintenance staff on routine repairs and upkeep

He made these recommendations at the 16th inaugural lecture series 2024 titled: “Facilities Maintenance of Public Infrastructure: A Cinderella without a suitor-Absit Culture of Waste”, which he presented at the Yaba College of Technology, (YABATECH) Lagos.

Akinsola said many buildings are springing up without due recourse to how such facilities will be maintained. He lamented that priority on maintenance of buildings is at its lowest ebb if not completely relegated to the background. This, he believed, has resulted in buildings being defaced, dilapidated and abandoned.

He raised concerns about the high volume of abandoned buildings in Nigeria, noting that in 2021 there were 56,000 abandoned projects in Nigeria. Specifically, he said in August 2021, the Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors, disclosed the existence of this large quantum of uncompleted projects, with an estimated cost of N12 trillion.

The Rector of the YABATECH, Dr Ibraheem Abdul, stated that facilities maintenance management is important because it allows everyone to have a stock of functional facilities that do not only contribute to efficiency but also, comfort and convenience of the working environment.

Abdul highlighted that the government’s negative disposition to adequately fund facility maintenance could be attributed to politics, inadequate funds and the analogue management processes.

He lamented that due to the absence of maintenance tools and appropriate equipment, operators adopt rules of thumb in the discharge of their responsibility towards the efficiency of facilities management.

Abdul said: “It is evident that the nation is more prone to breakdown and emergency maintenance rather than prioritising, preventive maintenance. Governments at all tiers should encourage the use of preventive maintenance more than breakdown and emergency maintenance as currently used in the Country.”