Builders’ Council Seeks Partnership with SON to Stem Building Collapse

 Prof. Kabir Bala, Chairman, Council of Registered Builders of Nigeria (CORBON) said the council was seeking a partnership with the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) to stem building collapse in the country.
Bala made this known on Tuesday in Abuja when he led some officials of CORBON on a courtesy visit to the Director-General of SON, Mr Osita Aboloma.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the visit focused on prospects of partnership between SON and CORBON to institutionalise standards in the construction sector.
Bala called for high quality values at all levels by developing and implementing more technical standards for production processes.
The expert further called for monitoring and control for enforcement of quality of materials through establishment of material testing laboratories across the country.
“CORBON is desirous of partnering with SON in establishment and management Database of Physical Building Resources that will provide information on location and availability of standard materials to assist builders in accessing the right materials,” he said.
He urged SON to develop a system of issuance or withholding of certificates of quality for completed buildings as evidence of assurance that such buildings were built by competent professionals.
Bala, who is also a Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Administration, Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, further urged SON to promote the forthcoming 2018 Builders’ Congress that would focus on standardisation.
According to him, the council has developed a set of standards to enable a professional builder to effectively administer the construction processes within budget limits, time, and specified quality.
“The set of standards termed Building Production Management Standards to ensure the success of building production process are segmented as construction, project quality management, health and safety programmes and construction methodology,” the chairman said.
He, however, said checking the infringement of standards will harness standards in building processes in Nigeria.
Responding, Aboloma expressed SON’s readiness to cooperate with CORBON, saying that environmental issues and resource management needed to be brought to the forefront.
Represented by a director, Mr Richard Agu, Aboloma noted that the cooperation of the two organisations many years ago had helped in tackling incidents of building collapse.
“In the upcoming financial year, we are having focus on building collapse, we are happy to reconnect with CORBON after organising an event on building collapse in 2004.
“We are ready to facilitate the forthcoming 2018 Builders Congress to tackle substandard issues in the sector,” said Aboloma.
According to him, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is necessary with CORBON, noting that the new SON Act (2005) has given the organisation a lot of powers to achieve its mandate.
Contributing, Director of Operations, SON, Mr Felix Nyado, noted that all SON offices nationwide have laboratories for testing blocks to ensure standards.
He also advised CORBON to also key into membership and knowledge sharing with the International Standard Organisation to foster environmental sustainability through international best practice.
CORBON was established in 1989 by a decree to regulate the building technology profession in all its ramifications in Nigeria. (NAN)