NAFM blames unqualified personnel for building collapse

The Nigerian Academy of Facilities Managers (NAFM) has blamed unqualified and non-registered builders for building collapse incidents in the country.

NAFM Chairman, Dr. Olufemi Akinsola, listed causes of building collapse to include faulty design, negligence, incompetence, faulty construction, foundation failures, extraordinary loads, corruption in the building approval processes, forces of nature, use of defective or substandard technical knowledge, use of substandard materials in rececting foundation, columns and beams, as well as slabs.

Speaking at the second anniversary of Akmodel Homes and Properties and Award presentation tagged: ‘The revolution in the real estate industry: Identifying causes and Proffering Steps to Forestall Building Collapse, the NAFM boss said poor supervision is majorly responsible for collapses.

Akinsola, who doubles as President, Federal Government Consultant on Facilities Management, noted that the volume of construction works being undertaken by property developers require the services of consultants as obtained in few real estate agencies.

“The real estate developers should go beyond hiring marketing consultants, they should engage registered structural engineers and consultants registered with them, building production process consultants, architects and quantity surveyors to avail their clients with relevant services in the built environment. This will forestall use of quacks in the building process,” Akinsola said.

He urged the real estate developers to set in motion a process of registering the eight building environment consultants other than the marketing consultants on standby for ensuring sustainable development, which are: architect, structural engineers, builders, quantity surveyors, surveying and geo-informatics professional, urban and regional development consultant, estate management and valuation experts, facilities managers and health, safety and quality managers.

With these professionals, Akinsola said a robust, stable and sustainable development would be delivered.

He also called on government to be more interested in the real estate sector, other than seeing it as a cash-cow that bring in revenue, but a veritable source of bridging the gap in housing deficit, especially in Lagos, where housing needs increase geometrically.

The Managing Director/CEO, Akmodel, Dr. Abdulhakeem Odegade, noted that the real estate is lacking financial strength, urging government to support the real estate industry to make housing development easier.

Speaking on the cause of building collapse, Odegade said it is lack of competency, trying to avoid the professionalism, in the midst of cutting cost by the client by engaging quacks to handle a particular project.

“When a professional handles a project, he knows the steps to take to prevent any future occurrence in building collapse,” he said.