ASSESSMENT OF PROFESSIONALS’ INVOLVEMENT IN THE MITIGATION OF INCESSANT BUILDING COLLAPSE IN LAGOS STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

The incessant buildings collapse in Nigeria especially in Lagos state has become a great concern to the professionals and other stakeholders in the building industry, thereby calling for urgent attention of all the stakeholders in the building industry. Therefore, aimed at assessing the level of involvement of building industry professionals in the causes building collapse in Lagos State, with a view to avoid future occurrence of such in the study area. The study involved survey design. A sample size of 145 respondents comprising the proportions of Engineers, Town Planners, Quantity Surveyors, Architects, Builders and Project Manager involved in various building projects in the study area were selected using a combination of Stratified random sampling and Snow ball techniques. Data obtained were subjected to descriptive and inferential statistical analysis. The study reveals that among others, engagement of unqualified builders and the use of sub-standard building materials contributed majorly to the causes of incessant building collapse based on the mean value of (4.58) and (4.05) respectively. The findings of the study also showed that when professionals are involved in building construction, failure of the Architect to inspect or supervise architectural work to meet quality control, failure to carry out proper soil test prior to construction operation by the Engineer and failure to assess the workmanship of craftsmen by the Builder are important factors that could lead to building failure based on their mean values (3.93), (3.89) and (3.82) respectively. The study concluded that stakeholders in the building industry should continually educate the public to involve qualified professionals in their building construction projects and professionals should ensure thorough design and efficient supervision of building projects. Therefore, the study recommends among others that the government regulatory agencies should take the task of monitoring and control very serious without compromise. Also, stakeholders should be awaked to their responsibilities of delivering the best value for investments in building while also protecting the lives of users.