Expert Tasks SON On Materials’ Testing Labs

A building expert, Dele Ogundaya has charged the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) to collaborate with Building Material Market Unions to set up materials testing laboratories in all building material markets across the country.
Ogundaya, a civil engineer, gave this charge in a chat with The Tide, in Port Harcourt, Sunday.
He stated that the laboratory would test materials coming into the markets for quality and quantity specification and ensure that set standards are maintained.
The civil engineer noted that, also the testing of materials would also curtail the activities of fraudulent traders who tamper with quality and quantity specifications of building materials.
He reasoned that if materials used for building were veted for quality and quantity specification, building collapse would be a thing of the past.
Ogundaya further stated that many developers did not bother to carry out soil tests before putting up building, adding that, “in some cases they build storey buildings where the soil can only carry a bungalow. All these contribute to building collapse”.
He stressed that for building to stand the test of time, the material used must be up to the required specifications.
According to him, “buildings which are built with substandard materials begin to crack even before the building is completed or soon after it is competed”.
He enjoined SON to be proactive in the discharge of its duties and ensure that Nigerian products can compete favourably with global equivalents.

Tonye Nria-Dappa