Stakeholders in the built environment have said despite the availability of advanced technologies, their deployment for preventing building collapses was still inadequate
the Technical Secretary of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, Victoria Island branch, Babatunji Adegoke, said adequate and advanced technologies were yet to be deployed to prevent building collapse.
He said, “I am not aware of any technology that has been put in place to report building collapse other than emergency numbers of the government emergency response agencies and email addresses and phone numbers for correspondence with other government agencies.
“Government agencies are encouraged to adopt relevant technologies for detecting, preventing, and reporting defective structures. This will in no small measure stem the menace of building collapse. With these technologies, defects in structures can be detected and possibly rectified on time before they lead to a collapse. This technology has been used in other parts of the world.
“For example, there are technologies such as drones with sensors that can be used to scan structures within a short time to detect and report defects such as cracks. Artificial intelligence can also be used to gather specific information about the defects in a structure to determine the stability of such structures,” Adegoke stated.
Similarly, the Chief Executive Officer of Jofame Integrated Limited, Gideon Mfonabasi, said technology is imperative in every area of human endeavours.
He said, “When it comes to distressed buildings, we should leverage technology. These things can be predefined in such a way that we can take advantage of technology to prevent and avoid the collapse of buildings. There are predetermined parameters; there are things we look out for, and there are things that must be in place.
“We don’t always need to depend on a manual system to do things because it is prone to error. But a technology-based system can have all the parameters well keyed in and you can be sure that every time you call on it, it will deliver without any human interference.
“So, this is to be encouraged as much as we can, we should be able to deploy technology to report all of these things.”
Meanwhile, the Chief Executive Officer of Fame Oyster & Co., Olufemi Oyedele, noted that building collapses are economic wastes.
He asserted, “Is the technology to be installed in all buildings? If not, it will not work. Even if it is installed in all buildings in Lagos State, I’m afraid the people in charge may compromise quality for money.”
According to the Public Relations Officer of the Lagos State Building Control Agency, Segun Olaoye, what is in place is a routine monitoring check by officials of the agency.
He said, “What we have is a routine monitoring mechanism by officials of the agency. However, buildings suspected to be distressed are requested to do a non-destructive test, which involves the use of mechanical equipment placed on the building to know the stability of the building.
