Over the years many have overlooked/ neglected facts about involvement of relatives in project implementation. Relations and contractors or engineers have faced numerous life treats, assault and danger while handling such projects especially if the project is going on in the client's village. Lack of proper project management, understanding, interest and trust has led a lot of project to delapidated condition and many of such are now abandoned project.

As a matter of concern, It has affected the development of many communities because investors who based abroad are not interested in investing through their relatives any more as a result of these problem.

Furthermore, many engineers have lost their lives as a result of interest relatives have in such project; while some of the engineers who compromised with the client relatives have lost their face as a result of sub-standard construction(structural defect).

Please how can this muddle or challenge be addressed? Opinions, helpful stories and life experiences are welcomed.

How you handled such issue can be helpful to many now, even in future.

Most importantly, the project owners will also learn how best their project can be managed without suffering loss or delay of any kind.

This is interesting

If we begin to tell the stories of encounters, 2 books will be filled and still the stories will not be finished. I think it's a product of the "sense of entitlement" which families place on their members.

Another point there is that I think people that are not in construction sector often see building projects as a means of making cheap and easy money, and not a contract where the best of methods are applied to get the best results.

spyder880:
This is interesting

If we begin to tell the stories of encounters, 2 books will be filled and still the stories will not be finished. I think it's a product of the "sense of entitlement" which families place on their members.

Another point there is that I think people that are not in construction sector often see building projects as a means of making cheap and easy money, and not a contract where the best of methods are applied to get the best results.

1. Lack of trust
2. Lack of technology or new innovation
3. mostly is emotional blackmail from families and relatives (you are building houses and you don't want your brothers to benefit from it )etc..

A friend of mine once handled a project for a client who based abroad the site was calm, work was steady as he sends pictures and videos. down the line the client send one of of his relatives to the engineer and told him before the boys arrival that he wants to help the boy with work since he is doing nothing at the moment so the engineer welcomed the boy and work continued they are already at 2floor block work.

Howbeit, the boy came for a different assignment, ...to know how things are moving on in the site and feed his uncle back.
My Engr. Friend was giving the boy a preferential treat as (oga boy) not knowing what is trendy.

Not Long the Client and the Engineer began to have misunderstanding over so many things unlike before. Shortly the engr gave up the job after the Lintel, while he was still preparing a balance sheet the (oga boy) took over the site as Engr, material purchase manager, supervisor, deploying work force and pays wages at the end of work.

The project was suppose to be a 2 storey building ( ground, first & second floors) that is to say, the Engineer has completed the carcass almost before boys arrival. So the Oga boy could not handle the project because he is a novice so he went and hired masons and other Labourers to contribute ideas (conflict of ideas)

Not long the uncle (project owner) noticed the worst ( diversion of materials) because the first assignment he gave the boy when he came was to get the list of name and phone numbers of the Engineer's workers so he have most of the workers number so the new boy could not sack all the Engineers workers but reduced them probably and hired more fresh workers.

So when the uncle noticed that his materials are being diverted he arranged an arrest but before he could say Jack" the boy took to his heels.

/
Give the construction to an engineer.

But if you must, make a relative a supervisor.

Then find an enemy of your relative and make him the supervisor of your relative.

Those two will be busy bickering while work goes on unhindered.

/

From my own experience as an engineer, it is important to place your trust in the construction engineer.
Most of the time, a lot of us care about our reputation, professionalism, our certificates and the quality of job done.
As an engineer who understand the ethics of the job, it is wrong to have too much familiarity with relative of the owner as most don't actually want the success of the project.
It is high time we appreciate professionalism in this country.
What owners fail to understand is that a masonry doesn't take into cognisance all the details while determining or making critical decisions on structures.
I had an experience with a very big woman in Lagos, she has a 3-storey building built very close to computer village... My site was along ogba axis then, someone came in and seek if I could follow him to see the woman. When I got there she told me a building that houses about 65 shops doesn't have a detail architectural and structural drawing.. She was being disturbed by Lagos State Building inspection team, she needed an Engineer that could stand in for her. When I visited the site, I noticed a lot of defects, sub standard materials and unbelievable reinforcement used. I spoke with the masonry she employed and I walked away from that trap.
Let us learn to trust professionals

But honestly the relationship can not be cordial since the clients relatives are already seeing the Engineer as treat to what suppose to be their right.

Relatives can be this bad most times. The enemies of a man mainly are members of his family or town.

Really this is a pain in the a**


In a situation where a client that based abroad contacted you as a contractor or engineer and gave you a building project to handle for him. You already have his money deployed men at the site, excavation is on going, but his relatives could not allow you to do the work as a result of one silly reason or the other. what will you do??