Building Disaster and Failures in Nigeria Construction Industry: A Case Study of Some Cities in Osun State

Abstract

Despite the efforts to improve the quality of construction works through use of advanced technology, increased labor force for professionals in the construction industry, increased availability of construction equipment, there is still low quality work. Building failures result into economic and temporal deviations in construction industry.  The purpose of this research is to develop strategies to mitigate building failures in the construction industry in Nigeria. Descriptive survey research design was adopted for this research in some selected urban cities in Osun State. The study population comprised of 210 respondents: Supervising engineers, Site engineers, Site foremen, Clerk of works and Clients. Causes of building failures were categorized as: consultant related; contractor related, construction related, client related and external related factors. The data collected were analyzed using correlation and regression analysis with SPSS.. Findings were presented using descriptive charts and tables. The findings indicated that Inadequate supervision of works (RII= 0.79); Shortage of equipment and materials (RII=0.76); Cash flow problems (RII=0.67) and Inflation in prices (RII=0.70) were the leading causes of building failure in their respective categories. Based on study findings, it was concluded that there is a great influence of consultant related factors on the causes of building failures more particularly related with inadequate supervision of projects. Defects result from non-conformance to requirements and always result in rework. The overall causes of defects can be attributed to design, construction, material and subsurface conditions. Finally, the causes of defects lie in inadequate management or inadequate technical skills. The descriptive analysis clearly indicates that construction-related causes dominates.

Keywords: Building failure, Mitigation, Construction industry, Quality and Descriptive Charts.

DOI: 10.7176/IEL/12-1-01

Publication date: January 31^st 2022