In Nigeria today, cases of building collapse are so rampant that it has become a source of serious concern to all.
Today we will be starting a series on the reasons why buildings collapse with a view to helping you make an informed decision when it has to do with project designs and construction.
Some of the reasons for building collapse may include one or more of the following:

• Poor Supervision
• Contractor’s Integrity
• Client’s Indiscretion
• Soil Bearing Capacity
• Use of Quacks
• Poor Design
• Corruption
• Bad Workmanship

Whenever there’s a building collapse, the losses are usually unquantifiable and the lamentations are usually endless.
Apart from the monumental monetary and material loss, lives could be lost as well; so it is imperative that necessary steps are taken to prevent it.
See pictures below to have an idea of just how devastating a building collapse can be:


We will eventually X-ray all the above listed reasons for building collapse in the coming weeks but for today our focus will be on POOR SUPERVISION.

In construction, supervision is key to the success of any project; ANY PROJECT THAT IS NOT PROPERLY SUPERVISED IS PROGRAMMED TO FAIL.
To “Supervise” according to the Oxford dictionary means to be in charge of somebody or something and to make sure that everything is done correctly and safely.

The importance of a very good site architect or engineer (Clerk of works) cannot be overemphasized because if you get it wrong, you are sure to have major problems on the project.
The primary responsibilities of the site architect or engineer among others include the inspection of all materials to be used on site and ensuring that the drawings and specifications are strictly adhered to.
He also ensures that time and materials are prudently managed for optimum results.

In our years of practice, we have come across people that believe (for reasons best known to them) that it is better to work with artisans as against working with professionals.
From experience, we have discovered that even the best of artisans CANNOT produce excellent workmanship without supervision.
The supervising architect or engineer is responsible for managing the artisans and making sure they work at their optimum level.
This he does in several ways which I would not want to go into on this platform.

Years ago, we did a design for a client; it was a grandiose 5 bedroom bungalow that was to be built somewhere in Lagos.
We pleaded with the client to let us handle the project or at least supervise it but he refused saying that he had a mason that had over 17 years experience and that he would prefer for the mason to handle the project.
The client did not call us until they did the casting of the ground floor slab; when we got to the site, we discovered that the floor slab was slanted to about 7 degrees.

The client said he felt there was something wrong with the work that was why he called us.
Of course there was something wrong with it!!!
When we confronted the mason, he gave us the funniest possible excuse for his error; “the slab is slanted because the Land is also slanted”. Can you imagine?
We took the liberty of sending him out of the site and we were consequently commissioned to handle the project which we have since completed.
Note that we had to completely re-cast the floor slab and you can guess the implications of that with regards to materials, labour, time and ultimately the project cost.
Imagine what the consequence of such a mistake would have been if it was a high rise building; collapse would have been inevitable.
In our next post, we will be talking about the second item on our list of reasons for building collapse; so please keep a date.






My name is Benjamin uriesi
Company name – sharp edge design ltd (Design + Build)
Email address – sharpedgedesignltd@yahoo.com
Weblog – www.sharpedgedesignltd..com
Phone nos. – 0802 835 3440, 0706 346 4582

NOTABLE PROJECTS HANDLED
Supervision of the construction of FIRST BANK OF NIGERIA PLC, Akpakpava, Benin city for Ahimie & Associates.
Construction of two (2) units of four (4) bedroom semi detached Duplex, Treasure Gardens, Lekki, Lagos for Juan-Maze Ventures Ltd.
Block of four (4) flats at Ikota Villa Estate, Lekki, Lagos for Design Triangle Ltd.
Consultancy services at NOTORE CHEMICAL IND., ONNE, Rivers State for Design Union LLC.
Re – designing and renovation of SS James and Paul Catholic Church, Ajah for Ahimie & Associates.
Construction supervision for RAINOIL CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS, Lekki scheme 1, Lagos for AD Consulting Ltd.
Construction supervision of CORPORATE OFFICE at Lekki Scheme 1, Lagos for AD Consulting Ltd
Re-modeling and construction supervision of Citiserve Microfinance Bank,
Ikotun Branch, Lagos.
Re-modeling of Citi Assets and Citi Investments, Ikoyi, Lagos