By Lilian Okoro
Lagos – The Lagos State Commissioner for Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Relationship, Mr Seye Oladejo, says incessant building collapsed was due to negligence and reckless omissions by professionals and artisans.
Oladejo made the remarks on Friday at a workshop organised by the Building Collapsed Prevention Guild (BCPG), in collaboration with the Lagos State Safety Commission (LSSC), on ”Construction Safety Measures” in Lagos.
The workshop was themed: “Artisans and Site Personnel on Building Safety: Measures and Applications on Building Construction Site.”
Oladejo, represented by Mr Tunde Oluwabiyi, a Secretary in the ministry, said that incapability of operators in the building industry, particularly the artisans should be addressed to end the issue of building collapse.
He reiterated the commitment of the state government to attend a zero per cent tolerance of building collapsed in Lagos, stressing that all stakeholders in the industry had a role to play.
“In adherence to construction codes and conducts, attention should be given to construction safety measures at sites,” Oladejo said.
Contributing, Mr Ajani Olalekan, the acting General Manager, Lagos State Materials Testing Laboratory, said that the quality of materials and workmanship need to be given adequate attention to avert collapse.
Speaking on “Imperative Material Testing in the Prevention of Building Collapse”, Olalekan said that there were tests to be performed before, during and after building construction.
According to him, the soil test is very important and needs to be conducted first before starting building construction, adding that concrete mix, water, sand and other required materials should also be tested.
“The 90 per cent cause of building collapse are traced by human errors.
“No building will collapse if all necessary tests are conducted and all stakeholders in the industry adhere strictly to construction codes and specifications,” he said.
Earlier, Mr Yinka Ogunseye, BCPG Chairman, Lagos Branch, enjoined the building artisans to be more conscious of construction site safety measures.
According to him, many artisans had lost their lives as a result of carelessness and negligence of construction site safety measures.
“Rarely do professionals like architects, surveyors or engineers die on site, but artisans are most vulnerable to site accidents.
“Many of them pay deaf-ears to safety tips like wearing helmets, boots and safety jackets in the course of delivering their services,” he said.
Also, Mr Hakeem Dickson, the Director-General of LSSC, assured the artisans of the commission’s commitment to continue training on the construction safety tips and applications.
Dickson said that the training would come in phases, adding that the different stages would be unfolding as time progresses.
(NAN)