Building Collapse: A Challenge For The Real Estate Industry And Construction Companies In Nigeria

Building Collapse: A Challenge For The Real Estate Industry And Construction Companies In Nigeria
Abstract
Since independence, the Nigeria government has desperately continued to make concerted effort in the area of quantitative (but not qualitative) supply of mass housing through huge budgetary and policy provisions but, surprisingly, the rate at which existing ones are collapsing calls for an urgent attention.
The main objective of this work is to evaluate building collapse: a challenge for the real estate industry and construction companies in Nigeria; specifically, the study aims to To identify the likely causes of building collapse in Nigeria. The study is delimited to determining the factors causing building failure; foundation failure, wall failure, floor failure, failure in columns and beams and failure of roof in buildings as a challenge for the real estate industry and construction companies in Nigeria lack of professional training and incompetence around Lagos State. From the findings of the study, it was discovered that almost all the structural factors presented can cause foundation failure, wall failure, floor failure, column and beams failure and roof failures in a buildings in Lagos State.
Table of Content
Chapter One:
Introduction
- 1.1 Background of the study
- 1.2 Statement of the problem
- 1.3 Objective of the study
- 1.4 Research questions
- 1.5 Hypothesis
- 1.6 Significance of the study
- 1.7 Scope of the study
- 1.8 Limitation of the study
- 1.9 Organizations of the study
Chapter Two:
Review of Literature
- 2.1 Conceptual framework
- 2.2 Theoretical Framework
- 2.3 Empirical review
Chapter Three:
Research Methodology
- 3.1 Research Design
- 3.2 Area of Study
- 3.2 Population of the study
- 3.3 Sample size determination
- 3.4 Sample size selection technique and procedure
- 3.5 Research Instrument and Administration
- 3.6 Method of data collection
- 3.7 Method of data analysis
- 3.8 Validity of the study
- 3.9 Reliability of the study
- 3.10 Ethical consideration
Chapter Four:
Data Presentation and Analysis
- 4.1 Data Presentation
- 4.2 Answering Research Questions
- 4.3 Test of hypothesis
- 4.4 Discussion of finding
Chapter Five:
Summary, Conclusion and Recommendation
- 5.1 Summary
- 5.2 Conclusion
- 5.3 Recommendation
- References
- APPENDIX
- QUESTIONNAIRE
Chapter One
Introduction
1.1 Background of the Study
Building collapse, though a common phenomenon all over the world is more rampant and devastating in the developing countries. The incidence of building failures and collapses has become major issues of concern in the development of this nation as the frequencies of their occurrence and the magnitude of the losses in terms of lives and properties are now becoming very alarming. In fact, building collapse has now become a familiar occurrence, even to layman on the street in Nigeria.
Failure in building can be described as the inability of the building components not being adequate to perform what are normally expected or required of those components. On the other hand, when part or whole structure has failed and suddenly gave way in a way that as a result of this failure, the building could not meet the purpose for which it was intended, the building has collapsed. Failures in building can occur during different stages of construction process itself, as well as after. In Nigeria, the common causes of building collapse have been traced to bad design, faulty construction, use of low quality materials, hasty construction, foundation failure, lack of proper supervision, ineffective enforcement of building codes by the relevant Town Planning Authorities, lack of proper maintenance etc. (Folagbade, 2001 and Badejo, 2009)
Cases of building collapse are not restricted by climatology or level of urbanization as they cut across cultural and ethnical barriers. Many cases of building collapse have been reported in Nigeria. For instance, Folagbade (2001) and Chinwokwo (2000) enumerated forty- two (42) cases of building collapse as occurring between 1980 and 1999 in Nigeria while Makinde ( 2007) listed fifty-four (54) cases occurring between January 2000 and June 2007 alone. Building collapse has also been observed to cut across the different categories of building – private, corporate or public. Folagbade (2001) showed that of the twenty-five (25) reported cases of building collapse between 1980 and 1999 in Lagos State, private (76%), corporate (12%) and government or public buildings (12%) accounted for these proportions. Also, building collapse is no respecter of size of the structure. Amusan (1991) reported that Barnawa flat disaster in 1977 was a three-storey building, a public building (Secondary School) which collapsed in March 1988 at Ibadan was two-storey building, the collapsed show-room for cars in Lagos in 1987 was just a storey building while that of the Primary School in IIoabuchi, River State in July 1991 was a bungalow building. Folagbade (2001) also reports that the Abuja building which collapsed in March, 1993 and the one at Ojuelegba in 1999 were both multi-storey buildings. The memory of the incidents of two separate building collapses that occurred at Ebute-Meta area of Lagos State and Kano State which killed several people in 2007 still lingers on. Also reported was the fence of a Nursery and Primary School that collapsed at Olomi area, Ibadan, in March, 2008, thereby killing thirteen (13) pupils of the School. The death of over 50 students of Saque Comprehensive College, Port Harcourt in1990 was as a result of the owner attempting to construct additional floors on structurally unsafe walling. Similar trends of conversion were observed in a collapsed Mosque building in Mushin area, Lagos in 2001 and multi-storey commercial/residential building in Ebute-Meta also in Lagos state in which several people were killed. Some of the cases of building collapse are also as a result of ignorance on the part of developers and unauthorized conversion of buildings. Amusan (1991) asserts that the 1988 building collapse at Mushin, Lagos occurred when an attempt was made to raise the existing building by another floor. Also, operational conversion caused the collapsed school building at Port Harcourt.
As posited by Adebayo (2000), the skill, experience and personal ability of the workmen involved in the building construction is of utmost importance in creating value. However, this assertion can only be relied upon in a situation where the developers/contractors are capable and willing to appreciate quality and be ready to pay a commensurable reward in this regard. Ward (1979) classifies the contracting firms into three categories namely large sized, medium sized and small sized firms. He opined further that while small sized firms deal mainly with minor works, repair and maintenance of buildings in a particular locality, the large sized firms on the other hand, deal with a wide range and size of activities on a national or even global basis. Ademoroti (1991) identifies three types of Acts in the country as: Public Health Act; The Town and Country Planning Acts; and the Building Regulation Act. According to the author, the public Health Act deals with all aspects of health sanitation and environment as relating to the inhabitants of buildings. The Town and Country Planning Act deals with the general location and planning in the town and country aspect such as spatial distribution of buildings, highways/roads, schools, hospitals, sewage and drainage systems as well as other physical infrastructures. The Building Regulation Act represents laws that relate specifically to the control of the construction of buildings. It was further stressed that an existing regulation is meaningless without carrying with it a mechanism to ensure compliance because the average citizen does not obey a law that is not enforced. To this end, five types of building regulatory enforcement inspectors are identified. They are: Safety or Building Inspectors who are employees of local government; specification inspectors who are construction professionals engaged by the owner of a building under construction to ensure compliance with his qualitative desires and the Federal Government inspectors who enforce federal regulation on federal issues such as health, energy, environmental protection etc. on federal government funded projects. Others include Public works inspectors who are concerned with conformity with contracts and specification documents as well as specialist inspectors who are to inspect and certify certain types of critical installations such as high-strength concrete, structural welding; highly stressed masonry etc. Table1 illustrates some of the reported cases of building collapse in Nigeria from1974 to 2010.
1.2 Statement of Problem
Building collapse is a defect or imperfection, deficiency or fault in a building element or component. It may also be as a result of omission of performance. The degree of building collapse can therefore be related to the extent or degree of deviation of a building from the “as – built” state which is in most cases represent the acceptable standard within the neighborhood, locality, state or country. (Ikpo, 1998). However, building collapse can simply be defined as a total or partial/progressive failure of one or more components of a building leading to the inability of the building to perform its principal function of comfort, satisfaction, safety and stability. The incessant buildings collapse in Nigeria has become a great concern to all the stakeholders – the professionals in building industry, government, private developers, clients and users, as well as the neighborhood residents. Fall out of the researcher’s concern about the increasing incidents of collapse building nation-wide form the basis for this study to find out the major causes, effects and probable remedial measures to collapse of buildings in Nigeria.
1.3 Research Objectives
The main objective of this work is to evaluate building collapse: a challenge for the real estate industry and construction companies in Nigeria.
The specific objectives are;
- To identify the likely causes of building collapse in Nigeria
- To investigate the reactions of real estate industry and construction companies to this incidence
- To proffer solutions to the issue of building collapse and failures in Nigeria as influenced by the real estate industry and construction companies
1.4 Research Questions
The following research questions were formulated from the objectives of the study;
- What are the likely causes of building collapse in Nigeria?
- What is the contributory role of the real estate industry and construction companies to this incidence?
- What are the possible solutions to the issue of building collapse and failures in Nigeria as influenced by the real estate industry and construction companies?
1.5 Hypothesis
Ho1: There is no significant difference in the mean responses of the Architects, Structural Engineers and Building Technicians on the structural factors that cause building failure
Ho2: There is no significant difference in the mean responses of the Architects, Structural Engineers and Building Technicians on the contributory role of the real estate industry and construction companies to this incidence
1.6 Significance of Study
The findings of this study will be of immense benefit to the public, building clients, the construction industries, industrial technical educators, and the Local, State and the Federal governments. The entire residents of Lagos State will benefit from the findings of this study because, after some of these structural factors as well as the review of the informal sector influence as a factor have been identified and the recommendation proffer is strictly adhered to without favouritism, this will reduce building failure.
The public will benefit from the findings of the study, because the building owners and the occupants are assured and guaranteed of safety of lives and properties in their respective buildings if the buildings are built to normal specifications. There will also be good condition of shelter with reduced risk of hazards, adequate security, and comfort of a well designed and constructed building in the situation where the floor and wall of building has high resistance to fire and moisture. The draftsmen will be able to appreciate the advantage of training and retraining in order to meet up with the dynamic change in the world technology. The technicians will stand to benefit new skills from new discovery and emerging technologies.
The findings of this study will be of benefit to the architects, engineers and builders in the area of load bearing, it will enable them to be aware of the varied forces being imposed on building, and of consciously working with trained and certified experts not just people from the informal sector. The study will enable the stakeholders to consider the load-bearing capacity of each of the structural component, during construction, and make them to know that loads play a role in how a building is designed, where it is located, what materials and methods are used in its construction, and how it is maintained and used. The engineers will be able to acquit themselves with the modern techniques calculating the load bearing capacity of any building.
The findings of this study will equip the Lagos State Government Physical Planning Authority and the Nigerian Institute of Building to know which of the factors mostly the failure due to the use of sub-standard buildings materials and the level of influence of the informal sector on this menace. The findings of the study will help in promoting standards and quality of the building construction industry and reduce the risk of building collapse in Lagos State and its environs. This development will help towards the effective construction of building with less risk of failure.
1.7 Scope of the Study
This study is delimited to investigate building failure and collapse in Nigeria, A challenge for the real estate industry and construction companies in Nigeria. The study covered Lagos State of Nigeria.
The study is delimited to determining the factors causing building failure; foundation failure, wall failure, floor failure, failure in columns and beams and failure of roof in buildings as a challenge for the real estate industry and construction companies in Nigeria lack of professional training and incompetence around Lagos State.
1.8 Limitation Of Study
Financial constraint
Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).
Time constraint
The researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. This consequently will cut down on the time devoted for the research work.
1.9 Organizations of the study
The chapter one consist of the introductory part of the study which includes the study background, the statement of the research problem, the study objective and scope of the study.
The second chapter is a critical review of other literatures relevant to the study and its objectives including the theoretical framework for the study. While the third chapter is methods of data collection, sampling and data analysis used in conducting the study. The fourth chapter centres around the research findings including an analysis of how it relates to previous findings. The fifth chapter consists of the summary of findings, conclusion and recommendations base on the study objectives.
Chapter Five
Conclusion and Recommendations
5.1 Conclusion
From the findings of the study, it was discovered that almost all the structural factors presented can cause foundation failure, wall failure, floor failure, column and beams failure and roof failures in a buildings in Lagos State. Error in design of a foundation leads to structural defects and also decayed tree root under the foundation cause building. Improper alignment of cavity wall cause wall failure and deformation of the mortar joints cause wall failure. Shrinkage of floor screed due to thermal radiation cause floor failure, excessive loads imposed on the floor cause floor failure. The corrosion of the reinforcement bar in columns and beams cause building failure. The roof truss design fault can cause failure of roof. And haphazard unprofessional work (informal sector) also contributes to building failures.
5.2 Recommendations
Based on the findings of the study, the following recommendations were made:
- Building sites should be investigated properly by the relevant bodies such as NIOB and NSE before erecting storey buildings.
- Only qualified and registered Builders, Structural Engineers and Architects should be allowed to practice Building Construction in Nigeria.
- A year of mandated intensive practical training should be organized for graduates of Building Technology, Architecture and Structural Engineering in addition to industrial attachment programme before entering to building construction to practice.
- Building construction inspection and supervision units should be established by the Federal and State governments for proper supervision of building activities in Nigeria.
- Constant workshops, seminars and conferences should be organized for personnel in the building construction industry on the new methods, modern equipment and tools in building construction.


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