PROPERTY ARTICLES

Builders and structural engineers on Saturday in Lagos said cordial relationship between the two professionals on project sites was necessary to deliver quality building projects.

Speaking at an interactive forum organised by the Nigerian Institute of Building, Lagos Chapter, the President, Nigerian Institution of Structural Engineers, Mr. Victor Oyenuga, said builders and engineers must relate well on site in order to deliver the best in whatever project they were involved in.

Oyenuga, who is also a professional builder, delivered a lecture titled, "Evaluating the Working Relationship between Structural Engineer and Professional Builder on Building Projects."

He noted that builders were overseers of the building process, adding that this position had made them receive a broader training.

He said, "The very broad training gives the builder the singular opportunity of being able to act on behalf of any of the other professionals involved in the building project, up to a reasonable level. A builder must be able to identify when a structure is wrongly detailed."

"The builder and the engineer should not prove to know better than the other, because this will hurt the ego of the other man. They must learn to listen to each other. Experience sometimes can become a major determinant even in the face of professionalism. So, they should also learn to share their wealth of experience."

Oyenuga, however, did not fail to define the boundary between the two professionals.

"It is the sole responsibility of the structural engineer to check reinforcements of a building structure and approve such concreting in writing. The prerogative of approval of all concrete elements rest only on the shoulders of the structural engineer," he said.

In his submission, the Chairman of NIOB, Lagos Chapter, Mr. Moroof Abass said despite the position of the builder in a project, the structural engineer was indispensable.

He said, "As a builder, you cannot do anything without a structural engineer. Builders are mainly managers in building projects. Before the building is put together, the structural engineer will first put up the structure. A builder cannot put up the structure.

"This is why we have invited a structural engineer into our midst today to put our heads together and see how we can further improve on our relationship."

He also said the builders institute was witnessing a boost as the Council of Builders of Nigeria would be doing investiture for about 200 new professional builders in Nigeria on Friday in Abuja.