NIOB advocates professionals’ engagement in building construction
The Nigerian Institute of Building (NIOB) has unveiled its plans to create awareness on the engagement of professionals in building construction at its annual programme.
The institute said in a statement issued that the 2021 Builders’ Day had the theme, ‘Professional builders’ engagement in building production management’.
The read that the programme was expected to commence with the induction of graduate students of building and inauguration of the Association of Building Artisans and Craftsmen of Nigeria.
It stated that there would be visitation to secondary schools for career talk under the programme’s ‘Catch them young’ initiative, while on Wednesday and Thursday, there would be building condition survey and press day/ lectures respectively.
The National President, NIOB, Kunle Awobodu, said professionalism in building construction remained the first step to reducing chances of substandard building construction practices across the country.
Awobodu highlighted that the objective of the Builders’ Day was to create awareness on the need for stakeholders on building projects to adhere strictly to standards, codes of practice and building regulations.
In his words: “Builders as the professionals saddled with the responsibility of managing building production on sites must be technically sound to ensure that the architectural, structural, mechanical and electrical designs are wholesomely integrated to form a massive product composed of various elements and parts that will work in unison and sustainable.”
According to him, March 13 was chosen in commemoration of the collapse of a five-storied residential building at 63, Massey Street, Ita-Faaji, Lagos Island in 2019, leading to premature death of over 20 pupils.
He lamented that it was an avoidable calamity that elicited world-wide condemnation, noting that the outcome of investigation into the Ita-Faaji building collapse and supported by several similar past cases in Lagos made the state government to do the needful by stipulating in its Building Regulations of 2019 that building construction sites across Lagos State should be managed by registered/ professional builders.