PROPERTY TRANSACTION GUIDE

Lagos NIQS charts new course for effective service delivery
By TUNDE ALAO

Guardian, Monday 28th June 2010

TO enable them meet the technological challenges in the construction industry, professionals have been devising ways by which to compete with their foreign counterparts across the globe.

The Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (NIQS), at a three-day refresher course for both old and new members in Lagos last week, deliberated on the theme: "Construction, Measurement and Estimating of Electrical Installation and Air conditioning Works of a five-Star Hotel," given the use of electrical devices and lighting, in hotels, large estates and high-rise buildings.

Project Manager and development consultant, Olayemi Shonubi, managing partner, DWAB Costprudence Company and an official of the NIQS, said the quantity surveyors’ responsibility in providing quotations for clients made it imperative for practitioners to familiarise themselves with the challenges involved.

According to him, in the modern hotel industry, lighting and electrical devices are playing crucial roles both in the aesthetic, comfort, safety and general atmosphere in the buildings.

"Because of the enormity of lights and power that may be required, a quantity surveyor must identify the demands so as to determine the quantity and quality of materials required, the type of transformer that may be needed as a back up for power supply and other sundry information," he said, adding that both old and the new members must be attuned with updates in the industry.

A resource person at the event, Mr. Brenden Ugwu, an engineer, emphasised the need for interior decorators to work hand-in-hand with lighting and air conditioning consultants.

According to Ugwu, indigenous professionals now need to add to their academic training by investing in such workshops from time to time.

"Indigenous engineers and professionals would find it easier to wrest projects from their foreign competitors if they avail themselves with modern technology and knowledge, the only way by which they can meet the demands in the building industry. "Essentially, the challenges inherent in the construction of five-star hotels and other high-rise buildings have made it compulsory for quantity surveyors to work in tandem with lighting designers, electrical engineers and interior decorators in the preparation of contract documents" to facilitate quality quotation and efficient service delivery.

Chairman of the NIQS Lagos Chapter, Mr. jide Oke said, "this workshop and other activities are meant to update our members in the emerging trends in the construction world, essentially in the hotels and tourism industries where new technological developments are coming up on regular basis."