Structural engineers begin registration of practition

The body plans to collaborate with government at all levels to enhance the process of approval for all structural engineering documents and ensure that only drawings and documents dully signed and stamped by registered members are admissible for construction purposes  

TOWARDS contributing to the development of the nation and taking its rightful place in building and construction sector, the Nigerian Institution of Structural Engineers (NIStructE) has revealed plans to maintain a clean and healthy register of qualified structural engineers.

The register will ensure close monitoring of the practitioners, both in the public and private sectors of the economy.
The decision was unfolded at a day long retreat organised by the institution in Lagos last week by the NIStructE President, Ore Fadayomi, who spoke on the theme: “Structural Engineering and Structural Engineers in Nigeria- The way Forward”.

He said the institution from next year would conduct regular professional development programmes for all categories of its members and activate its docile membership cadre to encourage members to raise their standards.

While welcoming members to the retreat, Fadayomi, who took over the leadership of the institution in October, said the essence of the retreat was to look at where the body is coming from, where it is today and ways forward.

He explained that the new leadership plans to transform the group into a leading professional body for structural engineering, both in Nigeria and internationally.

The NIStructE boss who commended the founding fathers and past presidents of the institution for their contribution to the body, listed challenges facing the institution, to include policy makers and political considerations, local contents and issues affecting counterparts and colleagues in the public sector.
“Government has ignored private sector for too long, with inadequate support for it, proliferation of universities is also another area of concern. There is also glaring disconnect between practicing structural engineers and extinct technical support colleges”, he lamented.

Other areas of challenge, he listed is the advent of technology that needs to be properly utilized to meet the practicing of structural engineering, human resources capacity development that required attention, effects of globalisation on the practice of engineering, funding and the seeming discouraging attitude of members to the body, among others.

The way forward is for the institution to embark on aggressive public enlightenment to ensure the necessary appreciation of the importance of structural engineers. To achieve this, the body will collaborate closely with government at all levels to enhance the process of approval for all structural engineering documents and ensure that only drawings and documents dully signed and stamped by registered structural engineers are admissible for construction purposes”.

Besides, he said the institution would present a position paper to the incoming president of the Nigerian Society of Engineers on the need to give the body recognition as a specialised professional group.

Fadayomi said the body would work also closely with Council of Registered Engineers of Nigeria (COREN), and improve the current relationship where they can rely on the body to resolve naughty structural engineering issues.

He said, NIStructE seal would now accompany any document prepared by the structural engineer, which is not a replacement for the COREN stamp but a quality assurance identification.
“Equally, the NIStructE project identification number will be introduced for projects under construction for uniqueness and quality assurance, “ he said.

Past president of the body, Bosun Oke, urged members to embrace specialisation in their various fields. He urged members to form partnership with others firms in areas where they have comparative advantage.
He also urged the leadership to maintain the standard through which people are admitted into the profession.