SON Advocates Stricter Regulatory Regime to Curb Building Collapse

James Emejo in Abuja

Director General/Chief Executive, Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Dr. Ifeanyi Okeke, has called for comprehensive approach to building collapses in the country to prevent repeated occurrence in the future.
He said such measure would also ensure the safety and integrity of structures across the country.

The SON DG spoke against the backdrop of frequent building collapses, leading to wanton destruction of lives and properties.

Okeke said compliance to specifications and codes of practice in the standards by regulators and service providers remained critical for reinstating the eroding confidence of Nigerians in the building industry.

He said following investigations carried out by the SON, the cause of incessant building collapse was attributed to poor structural designs, quackery and unprofessionalism and inadequate or lack of soil testing.

Other causes include poor construction practices and procedures, unapproved construction, wrong demolition process, lack of maintenance, negligence, use of substandard materials (steel reinforcement bars) as well as poor drainage around the collapsed buildings.

Okeke stated that the organisation on its part had produced 168 Standards and Codes of Practice for the building and construction industry since 2004 for contractors to implement during construction.

These, according to him included the Nigerian Industrial Standard (NIS) 117: 2004 Specification for Steel Bars for the Reinforcement of Concrete, Nigerian Industrial Standard (NIS) 499: 2004 Standard for Iron and Steel, Nigerian Industrial Standard (NIS) 588: 2007 Testing Hardened Concrete Part 1: and Method for Determination of the Compressive Strength of Concrete Cores.

Others are the Nigerian Industrial Standard (NIS) 585: 2007 Standard for Concrete Admixtures – Part 1 – Specification for Accelerating Admixtures, Retarding Admixtures and Water Reducing Admixtures, Nigerian Industrial Standard (NIS) 156:1982 Standard Method for Testing Fresh Concrete and Nigerian Industrial Standard (NIS) ISO 41001:2020 Facility Management System Standard amongst others.

He said the organisation had established regulatory powers established in the SON Act to regulate locally manufactured products through its Mandatory Conformity Assessment Programe (MANCAP) and its pre-shipment verification of conformity to standards for imported goods through the Standards Organisation of Nigeria Conformity Assessment Programme (SONCAP).

Other unitiatives includes the Product Authentication Mark (PAM) which gives the Consumer the powers to verify the authenticity of a product before purchase, among others.

In a statement issued by SON’s Director, Public Relations, Mrs. Foluso Bolaji, Okeke further assured the public that the responsibility of attaining a safe environment through standardisation and quality assurance are unending.

He said SON was determined to sustain collaboration with other sector regulators, including the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), Nigeria Building and Road Research Institute (NBRRI), Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (NIQS), Raw Materials, Research and Development Council (RMRDC), the Ministry of Works and other developments agencies at both the state and federal levels.