Full Research Project – management of building collapse in Lagos State

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

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2.1   Introduction

This chapter presents the framework of the study in addition to a review of relevant literature on management of building collapse in Lagos State will cover Lagos Mainland Local Government Area.

2.2     Conceptual Framework

Buildings are structures, which serve as shelters for man, his properties and activities, When properly planned, designed and erected it gives desired satisfaction to the client or user. Some of the factors to be considered in measuring the standard of a building include durability, adequate stability to prevent its failure or discomfort to the users, resistance to weather, fire outbreak and other forms of accidents (Ikpo, 2006). The styles of building construction are constantly changing with introduction of new materials and techniques of construction.

 

Consequently, the work involved in the design and construction stages of buildings are largely that of selecting materials, components and structures that will meet the expected building standards and aesthetics on economy basis. Several codes of practice universally accepted are available for the design and construction of buildings.

 

In 2006 the Federal Republic of Nigeria published the National Building Code which is undergoing review and in the processes of being passed into law by the national assembly of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in response to the number of cases of collapsed buildings recorded in the country. This has not yielded the desired results as most States in the country have not passed the Urban and Regional Planning Law to make the National Building Codes operational in their respective States. Building Code is a set of legal requirement of which the purpose is to promote good practice in the design, construction and maintenance of buildings, in the interest of the health, safety and welfare of people who use buildings. The Code sets out the basic requirements for the design and construction of buildings which represents a code of good building practice (Obiegbu, 2006).

 

Despite the availability of building codes and professionals in the Nigerian construction industry, the reported cases of building collapse had become very alarming and worrisome (Dimuna, 2010). The incidence of building failures and collapses has become major issues of concern in the development of the Nigeria nation as the frequencies of their occurrence and the magnitude of the losses in terms of lives and properties are now becoming very alarming, to the extent that it has become familiar occurrence, even to layman on the street in Nigeria (Fagbenle and Oluwunmi 2010). Many lives and properties have been lost in the collapse of buildings mostly in Port Harcourt, Abuja and Lagos (Fasakin, 2002; Dimuna, 2010; Olagunju et al, 2013).

 

The contribution of buildings to Nigeria’s development has not yielded the desired potentials because of building failure/collapse and more recently their poor functional performance (Windapo and Rotimi, 2012). Therefore the study assessed the causes and effects of building failure with a view to bringing out the implications on national economy. The research examined the occurrence of building failures in Lagos state, Nigeria; identified and assessed the causes of building failure and also examined the effects of building failure in the study area with respect to cost.

 

Failure is an unacceptable difference between expected and observed performance. A failure can be considered as occurring in a component when that component can no longer perform its designed functions (Ayininuola, and Olalusi, 2004). Limited deflection in a floor which causes a certain amount of cracking/distortion in partitions could reasonably be considered as defect but not a failure, whereas excessive deflection resulting in serious damage to partitions, ceilings and floor finishes could be classed as a failure (Roddis, 1993).The total failure of the building elements and components can be referred to as building collapse (Ikpo, 2006). Collapse of a building may be either a partial, progressive and total or sudden collapse (Olusola et al, 2011). Folagbade(2001) and Chinwokwu (2000) enumerated forty-two (42) cases of building collapse as occurring between 1980and 1999 in Nigeria while Makinde ( 2007) listed fifty-four (54) cases occurring between January 2000 and June 2007 alone. Some cases of building failure/ collapse are shown in figures 1 to 8.

In Nigeria, the common causes of building collapse have been traced to bad design, faulty construction, use of low quality materials, hasty construction, foundation failure, lack of proper supervision, ineffective enforcement of building codes by the relevant Town Planning Authorities, lack of proper maintenance e.t.c. (Folagbade, 2001 and Badejo, 2009; Ogunsemi, 2002). Hall (1984) ascribed faulty design, faulty execution of work and use of faulty materials as major causes of structural failures. Federick and James (1989) suggested that the overturning of structures due to heavy wind loads, sliding of structures due to high wind, roof uplift or sliding, and building sway due to lateral loads are major types of building failures.

 

On the other hand, Akinpelu (2002) categorized the following as major causes of structural failure: environmental changes; natural and man-made hazards; improper presentation and interpretation in the design. Richard (2002) opined that deterioration of reinforced concrete could occur as a result of corrosion of the reinforcement caused by carbonation and chloride ingress, cracking caused by overloading, subsidence or basic design faults, and construction defects.

 

Case studies by Ogunsemi (2002) and Folagbade (2002) show that poor structural design, use of substandard building materials, non-compliance with approved building design, poor workmanship, and lack of qualified and appropriate professionals to ensure quality construction, and cost control among others are major causes of building failures in the contemporary Nigeria. (Olusola et al, 2011) examined technological and non-technological factors that were responsible for the occurrence of collapse buildings in the South-Western Nigeria. They identified technological factors to include building design, design error, site production, and use of poor materials, faulty design of foundation among others. While non – technological factors were lack of site –trade training and corruption etc.

 

Ayininuola and Olalusi, (2004) noted that the reasons for structural failures were due to limited knowledge of building structural behaviour and unanticipated environmental phenomena Fagbenle and Oluwunmi, (2010) blamed the high rate of building collapse on the very low level of compliance with approval of building plans before construction commencement, ineffective monitoring mechanism put in place by the relevant government agencies and the low level of awareness of the existing Building/Planning Regulations by clients/contractors.

 

Several productive lives and properties have been lost in the various incidents of building collapses in Nigeria, and these losses, which would only truly be felt by future generations, have negatively impacted the socio-economic status of its citizenry (Olajumoke et al, 2009).

 

However any case of building failure would ultimately result in loss of productive time which does not augur well for sustainable development goals (Windapo and Rotimi; 2012).The incident of structural failures and building collapse in the past decades has resulted in the loss of many lives and properties worth several millions of Naira. From the foregoing in all the cases of building failure/collapse reviewed from open literature there is no empirical evidence to show the quantum of economic loss to the clients and the nation at large, this study will attempt to fill this gap.

 

2.3     Causes of Building Failure

Ayinnuola and Olalusi, (2004) cited in Babatunde and Opawole (2009) stated that in Nigeria, building failure is attributed to 50% design faults, 40% construction site fault and 10% product failure. Hall (1984) cited in Usman et al (2010) also attributed faulty design, faulty execution of work and use of faulty materials to be major causes of building failure. Yusuf (2006) as quoted by Ebehikhalu and Dawam (2014) classifies the causes as physical factors, ecological status of the site, composition of technical components, social factors, economic factors, engineering factors, human factors, government policies and political factors. Akinpelu (2002) said, the major causes of building collapse are environmental changes natural and manmade hazards, improper presentation and interpretation in the design. Emmanuel (2007) cited in Usman et al (2010) stated that due to geologic make up, some layers of soil are just not strong enough to carry the weight of a building. This is mainly applicable to the top layer of the soil which is not suitable for construction. If this factor is neglected and the building is constructed on the soil, differential settlement of the building starts and leads to cracking of the wall and continues to sink and this can be seen in many parts of Lagos.

 

Ayininula and Olalusi (2004) stated that the quality of blocks used in Nigerian building industry is a factor in building failure. For example, the nine inch 9” (230mm) hollow blocks used for the construction of external wall of a building are to support the weight of the decking and other floors above it in conjunction with column. The strength of the blocks depends on the ratio of cement to sand used for moulding them, the right proportion must be used to ensure that they are strong and durable. Due to its high demands in the building industry, the block industries in Nigeria have equally increased the quantity in the bid to get the most number of blocks per bag of cement; they use more sand than necessary which eventually results in moulding weak blocks. Apart from negligence, many of our buildings have failed as a result of changes in temperature due to climate change.

Ogunsemi (2002) remarked that a good building is not that which merely fulfills the purpose for which it is designed and erected but a building comely and able to withstand the onslaught of weather conditions. Adedoyin, (1983) and Olagunju (2002) as reported by Olagunju et al (2013) stated that most of the available building materials in the developing countries are not only flammable but also encouraging the spread of fire. This situation often make a little fire ignition to spread very fast into a large scale fire development in buildings. Fire when fully blown out, both the structure’s reinforcements and concrete will be weakened. It is even worse, when the steel reinforcement are exposed to the naked fire, they may fail in the process to provide the necessary support for both the live and dead load. This event may lead to partial or total collapse of the building.

 

Most contractors like to cut corners by not using the specified materials adequately. The use of inferior materials and untested local building construction methods often leads to structural failure and eventual building collapse if not adequately checked. Olagunju, (2011) stated that buildings start to deteriorate from the time they are completed and from that time begin to need maintenance in order to keep them in good condition. Thus, the rate of building deteriorating depends largely on nature and manner of maintenance. Poor building maintenance can cause weakening of the building structure; most especially when unplanned maintenance type is the building maintenance culture of the building owner/user.

 

Uzokwe (2006) cited in Adeniran (2013) submitted that the cause of a building failure is almost always unique to the particular building in question. However, he advanced some general reasons why buildings may be susceptible to collapse which includes the quality of the blocks used, the quality of the concrete used, poor compaction and consolidation of foundation soil and weak soil. Obiechina (2005) pointed out that the various stakeholders in the building industry are responsible for building collapse. He categorized the stakeholders into government, developers, professionals, regulatory bodies and civil society and non-governmental organizations.

 

Adebajo (2005) summarized the causes of structural collapses and failures in Nigeria from a series of building collapse investigations by the Nigerian institute of structural Engineers as non adherence to the approval regulation, absence of the involvement of a professional structural engineer in one or more of the stages of the project execution, incompetent and low quality workmanship, lack of soil investigation and improper interpretation of site conditions, lack of professional site supervision, lack of knowledge of the guiding principles concerning construction of the proposed development, greed and the desires to maximize profit, excessively rushed construction, poor or inadequate form and false work, corner cutting by the client or the contractor, construction by all comers due to the perception of engineering projects as an easy access window to make quick money, unethical dealings between project promoters and the relevant planning authorities.

 

2.4     Building Collapse in Nigeria

In recent times, building collapse in Nigeria has been a source of concern to so many people particularly those associated with the building industry. This is so because there are so many cases of building collapse all over the world and particularly Nigeria. Most of these cases had resulted into colossal economic losses in terms of lives and property. Building collapse is some of the cardinal issues which have created serious concern to all the professionals like Architects, Structural Engineers, and the Builders. The government also is worried about the frequency of collapse of buildings in Nigeria. However, Aderibigbe (2001) as quoted in Fakere et al (2012) admitted that the recurring event of collapse of building has forced some state governments to enforce and enact some laws recommending forfeiture of such buildings and prosecution of their owners. Table 1 shows some occurrences of building collapse in Nigeria from 2000’s till date.

 

2.5     The Issue of Building Collapses in Nigeria

The term building collapse signifies the process of structure falling into decay, falling utterly or in ruin destruction, caving in or topples (Iroegbu, 2006). According to Amobi (2006), collapse means to fall down or in, breaks into pieces suddenly, loose physical strength among others. Thus, collapse connotes the extreme, where no remedial measures would be necessary. Generally, buildings are constructed to serve the purpose for which they were built. A building is said to have failed when it ceases to attain the standard of performance envisaged during its conception and design. The word failure, according to Amobi (2006), means non-performance, running short, breaking down. Elsewhere failure means rupture, breaking or fail. It therefore, implies that, failure in building refers to break down or non-performance of building or its components. Failure may be partial or total (collapse) and may occur during construction or during use.

 

This is not surprising when one considers the wide range of materials and techniques of construction, differences in the condition on building sites and the varied occupational uses of the complete buildings. Prompt actions can be taken according to Amobi (2006), to remedy failures by rectifying the faults or carrying out corrective maintenance. This may range from simple operations like the replacement of a broken louver glass to complex ones such as under pinning operations. However, a collapsed building loaves nothing to remedy only debris. Collapsed buildings have always claimed human casualties. Lives have been recorded and millions of Naira wasted, Amobi maintained.

 

 

2.6     The Possible Causes of Building Collapses in Nigeria

It is no longer news, according to Obiegbu (2004), that, buildings collapse all over Nigeria. Therefore, to answer the question – What are the possible-causes of building collapses in Nigeria? Akindoyeni and Bamisile (2003), cited in Obiegbu (2004), states that:

1. a) Design work by non-professionals and untrained persons are being accepted by some planning authorities for development.
2. b) Immeasurable specifications are being proposed for materials and workmanship for building projects.
3. c) Building materials of dubious chemical, mechanical and/or engineering properties are freely marketed, purchased and used for our buildings.
4. d) Unprofessional and unqualified personnel manage building production to the detriment of sound practical and documentation of the process. As a result of any combination of (a) to (d) above, buildings continue to collapse, resulting in loss of lives, limbs, time and funds, to the detriment of the economy and resulting in the lack of confidence in the industry.

 

In a related development, Iroegbu (2006), maintains that, the use of low and inferior quality materials contribute to building failures e.g. use of mangled tiny rods, use of concrete mixtures that were more of sand than cement. A literature review and oral interview with professionals on the causes of building collapse according to Adindu (2005) show that, the following factors contribute essentially to collapse of buildings in Nigeria:

• Use of substandard building products and materials.
• Failure of contractors, builders and owners to comply with building laws and regulations.
• Fire disaster.
• Bomb explosion/blast.
• Land slides and erosion.

Fragile conditions of the building.

• Non-approval for renovation of old buildings.

Conversion of bungalows to storey buildings.

• Use of defective and insufficient materials in building construction.
• Violation of states building plans and codes.
• Government inability to implement and enforce planning laws.
• Rickety and ramshackle buildings.
• Structural defects in buildings.
• Neglect of approved specifications for buildings.
• Inadequate foundation and other structural elements under reinforcement.
• Poor quality workmanship.
• Hurried construction of buildings without architectural and engineering standards.
• Large population overstretching of the faculties.
• Abandoned projects.
• Poor building maintenance.
• Professional incompetence and fraud, leading to inability of the professionals to Detect substandard materials.
• Inability of government to promulgate national building codes to prevent collapse of buildings in

Nigeria.

• Lack of effective expansion by physical planning unit.
• Inadequate frames-layout to support structures.
• Use of slender reinforces concrete columns for storey buildings.
• Reinforced concrete columns not well tied horizontally with beams as at floor levels.
• Approval given to building not qualified by law.
• Residential building converted to commercial and business premises.

Empirical Review

Oloyede, et al (2010) attributed causes of building collapse as due to man’s negligence in some vital areas in construction such as soil investigation, incorporating design for extra loads, stress from winds, earthquakes, uneven terrain, use of substandard building materials, poor monitoring and overall poor workmanship.

 

Madu, 2005, identified causes of building failure as due to natural occurrences such as earthquakes, tornadoes, flood, etc. Other causes according to him include factors such as omission, carelessness, leading to use of deficient structural drawings, absence of proper supervision of projects, alteration of approved drawings, use of substandard materials, corruption in the Nigerian system, building without approved drawings and translocation of building plans to different sites.

 

Adebayo, (2000), opined that efficiency in skill and experience is important in creating valuable workmanship in building construction.

 

Ayinuola et al, (2004), pointed accusing finger to all parties in the building industry, clients, architects, engineers, town planners in the local authorities and contractors stating that they have contributed to building failures in various dimensions.

 

Tyagler et al, (2007) traced the causes of building failures to defects or deficiencies at design and construction stages.

 

Ukpata, (2006), opined that the spate of building collapse in the country can always be traced to unsafe actions of parties involved in building process starting from clients to building consultants, contractors and users.

Adebayo, (2006), opined that building collapse incidences can be controlled or minimized if the client is ready to pay for high quality materials and for expert professional services. Collapse of building either total or partial collapse of some of its components leads to the failure of building to perform its intended function of protection, safety or stability (Olagunyi, et al, 2013)

According to Ikpo, (1998), the degree of building failure can be related to the degree of deviation of the building from its “as built” state which in most cases represents the acceptable standard within the neighborhood, locality, state or country.

Failure is an unacceptable difference between expected and observed performance. A failure can be considered as occurring in a component when that component can no longer perform its designed functions (Ayininuola, and Olalusi, 2004). Limited deflection in a floor which causes a certain amount of cracking/distortion in partitions could reasonably be considered as defect but not a failure, whereas excessive deflection resulting in serious damage to partitions, ceilings and floor finishes could be classed as a failure (Roddis, 1993).The total failure of the building elements and components can be referred to as building collapse (Ikpo, 2006). Collapse of a building may be either a partial, progressive and total or sudden collapse (Olusola et al, 2011).

 

Folagbade (2001) and Chinwokwu (2000) enumerated forty-two (42) cases of building collapse as occurring between 1980and 1999 in Nigeria while Makinde ( 2007) listed fifty-four (54) cases occurring between January 2000 and June2007 alone. Some cases of building failure/ collapse are shown in figures 1 to 8. In Nigeria, the common causes of building collapse have been traced to bad design, faulty construction, use of low quality materials, hasty construction, foundation failure, lack of proper supervision, ineffective enforcement of building codes by the relevant Town Planning Authorities, lack of proper maintenance e.t.c. (Folagbade, 2001 and Badejo, 2009; Ogunsemi, 2002) .

 

Hall (1984) ascribed faulty design, faulty execution of work and use of faulty materials as major causes of structural failures. Federick and James (1989) suggested that the overturning of structures due to heavy wind loads, sliding of structures due to high wind, roof uplift or sliding, and building sway due to lateral loads are major types of building failures. On the other hand, Akinpelu (2002) categorized the following as major causes of structural failure: environmental changes; natural and man-made hazards; improper presentation and interpretation in the design. Richard (2002) opined that deterioration of reinforced concrete could occur as a result of corrosion of the reinforcement caused by carbonation and chloride ingress, cracking caused by overloading, subsidence or basic design faults, and construction defects.

 

Case studies by Ogunsemi (2002) and Folagbade (2002) show that poor structural design, use of substandard building materials, non-compliance with approved building design, poor workmanship, and lack of qualified and appropriate professionals to ensure quality construction, and cost control among others are major causes of building failures in the contemporary Nigeria. (Olusola et al, 2011) examined technological and non-technological factors that were responsible for the occurrence of collapse buildings in the South-Western Nigeria. They identified technological factors to include building design, design error, site production, and use of poor materials, faulty design of foundation among others. While non – technological factors were lack of site –trade training and corruption etc. Ayininuola and Olalusi, (2004) noted that the reasons for structural failures were due to limited knowledge of building structural behaviour and unanticipated environmental phenomena.

 

Fagbenle and Oluwunmi, (2010) blamed the high rate of building collapse on the very low level of compliance with approval of building plans before construction commencement, ineffective monitoring mechanism put in place by the relevant government agencies and the low level of awareness of the existing Building/Planning Regulations by clients/contractors.

Summary

Collapsed of building is as a result of using sub-standard materials, adding load that differ from the original design and non-compliance on the professional ethics these and many more lead to destruction of lives in several forms and degrees of injuries, and also properties. This study has been able to review several causes of building failure in Nigeria. It has highlighted several case studies of building failure in Nigeria including casualties of those incidents. In Nigeria, all the policy statements are good and well stated, but the implementation is poor. There is need for urgent review of these policies by government so that Nigeria can be a safe place to live in. This paper recommends that the policies should be reviewed and implemented but if otherwise not adhere to, should face the law.

 

Building collapse, though a common phenomenon all over the world is more rampant and devastating in the developing countries. The incidence of building failures and collapses has become major issues of concern in the development of this nation as the frequencies of their occurrence and the magnitude of the losses in terms of lives and properties are now becoming very alarming. In fact, building collapse has now become a familiar occurrence, even to layman on the street in Nigeria.

 

Failure in building can be described as the inability of the building components not being adequate to perform what are normally expected or required of those components. On the other hand, when part or whole structure has failed and suddenly gave way in a way that as a result of this failure, the building could not meet the purpose for which it was intended, the building has collapsed. Failures in building can occur during different stages of construction process itself, as well as after. In Nigeria, the common causes of building collapse have been traced to bad design, faulty construction, use of low quality materials, hasty construction, foundation failure, lack of proper supervision, ineffective enforcement of building codes by the relevant Town Planning Authorities, lack of proper maintenance (Folagbade, 2001 and Badejo, 2009).

 

As posited by Adebayo (2000), the skill, experience and personal ability of the workmen involved in the building construction is of utmost importance in creating value. However, this assertion can only be relied upon in a situation where the developers/contractors are capable and willing to appreciate quality and be ready to pay a commensurable reward in this regard.

 

Ward (1979) classifies the contracting firms into three categories namely large sized, medium sized and small sized firms. He opined further that while small sized firms deal mainly with minor works, repair and maintenance of buildings in a particular locality, the large sized firms on the other hand, deal with a wide range and size of activities on a national or even global basis. Ademoroti (1991) identifies three types of Acts in the country as: Public Health Act; The Town and Country Planning Acts; and the Building Regulation Act.

 

According to the author, the public Health Act deals with all aspects of health sanitation and environment as relating to the inhabitants of buildings. The Town and Country Planning Act deals with the general location and planning in the town and country aspect such as spatial distribution of buildings, highways/roads, schools, hospitals, sewage and drainage systems as well as other physical infrastructures.

 

The Building Regulation Act represents laws that relate specifically to the control of the construction of buildings. It was further stressed that an existing regulation is meaningless without carrying with it a mechanism to ensure compliance because the average citizen does not obey a law that is not enforced. To this end, five types of building regulatory enforcement inspectors are identified. They are: Safety or Building Inspectors who are employees of local government; specification inspectors who are construction professionals engaged by the owner of a building under construction to ensure compliance with his qualitative desires and the Federal Government inspectors who enforce federal regulation on federal issues such as health, energy, environmental protection e.t.c on federal government funded projects. Others include Public works inspectors who are concerned with conformity with contracts and specification documents as well as specialist inspectors who are to inspect and certify certain types of critical installations such as high-strength concrete, structural welding; highly stressed masonry e.t.c. Table1 illustrates some of the reported cases of building collapse in Nigeria from1974 to 2010.

 

The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary defined informal sector as a relaxed and friendly sector, not following strict rules of how to behave or do. In the same vein, Uwakweh (2000) describes the informal sector as “that segment of firms or individuals that engage in construction or other activities without obtaining the necessary designs, planning and construction documents”. In other words, they always evade the formal process of obtaining permits and approvals for their construction and related activities.

 

According to Uwakwah (2000), there are more informal construction programmes in the rural areas than in the cities but informal construction also flourish in the urban areas because of the illegal structures that exist on the outskirts of the urban areas. The informal sector rarely attracts high caliber workers who prefer to work for the larger contractors and the foreign firms. While it is certain that buildings are prone to deterioration and may not be possible to generally avert failure, it is also expedient that the rate of collapse and the associated loss should be greatly reduced.

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