Themed “Effective Project Management: Panacea for Sustainable Project Delivery,” the 2016 capacity building workshop and general meeting of the FCT chapter of the Nigerian Institute of Building (NIOB) was a platform that raked in strategies and new ideas for the much needed change in project delivery. FRANCIS ADINOYI KADIRI reports.
The Chairman, Council of Registered Builders of Nigeria (CORBON), Prof. Kabir Bala has identified the inability of man to effectively manage advancement in technology as one of the deficits responsible for failures across sectors, stating that the deficit has been linked with building collapse in Nigeria and diasporas.
The Professor, who made the disclosure at a lecture on effective project management as part of the 2016 AGM of the FCT chapter of the Nigerian Institute of Building said the “Project Management Institute (PMI) defines project management as the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project activities in order to meet the project requirements.”
While calling for strict adherence to professional rules and guidelines for project execution, he said: If we strictly apply knowledge, skills and tools to project management, we will go a long way in sustainable project delivery,” adding that the PMI also says that project management is accomplished through the appropriate application and integration of the forty-two logically grouped project management processes comprising the five process groups namely, initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and control, then closing the project.
According to professor Bala, managing a project involves identifying project requirements, addressing the various needs, concerns and expectations of the stakeholders as the project is planned and executed, balancing the competing project constrains inclusion the scope, quality, schedule, budget resources and risk of the project.
He lamented that built environment professionals seldom conduct risk assessment of projects, and explained that it has a ripple effect on other parameters of the project. “When one of the factors is affected, it has an implication of change on other factors. For example if you change the scope of a project, it will affect the budget, schedule and also quality of the project,” he explained adding that very often, the scope of projects are changed, but those in charge do not usually take into cognizance the implication the changes have on other factors of the project.
“The failure to take into congnisanse change I scope of projects has sometimes resulted into building collapse. A certain project could be awarded for 200 million naira and that means whatever you do at the end, you will be paid 200 million naira.”
“Although professional builders have commonly taken pride in the fact that they have not been involved in projects that have collapsed, but the former registrar of CORBON yesterday drew my attention to the fact that builders have been involved, although indirectly, in one or two instances of building collapse.”
“When we say directly, it means that till date no registered builder has been involved. But the point I am making is that in delivering projects sustainably, each and every stakeholder has a crucial role to play. If you a builder of the project and the client initiates a scope change, there is a process and the budget must not only change, but the change in budget must be provided in order to safely accommodate the new scope.”
“What I mean is that an initial ten-office block can be suddenly changed to twelve-off because the beneficiary feels that there is enough space to accommodate the twelve, but he forgets that he didn’t plan for the resources needed for the new scope. So the humble builder may be forced to keep on spreading and thinning the resources. Unless there is a corresponding increase of the budget of the project, the thinning and spreading of resources will definitely lead to reduction in the quality of the project,” prof Bala added.
A former Registrar of CORBON, Bldr Aliyu A.
Ova tasked the Council and the Nigerian Institute of Building (CORBON) on the need to urgently set in motion modalities for revitalizing the procedures for the preparation and revalidation of the builders’ documents at the level of CORBON. Ova, who is a Fellow of the Institute said in the interest of effective regulation of activities in the building sector, the president of NIOB and some other officials have been made members of the CORBON Council, adding that CORBON and NIOB are development partners in the sector.
According to him, “the builders’ documents should be part of the approval documents in the revised National Building Code,” adding that “as builders, we don’t have to wait for it to be part of the approval documents in the National Building Code before we start using it,” he said, adding that all stakeholder-institutions must commence work to ensure that even if there are delays in the inclusion process; builders must start including the documents in their professional business profiles.
“The CORBON council and NIOB have said that the Consulting Builders Association of Nigeria (CBAN) should be registered with CORBON. All firms must also register with CORBON.
The incumbent Registrar of CORBON, Bldr. Dr. Peter Kuroshi who described year 2015 as “a particularly challenging year for MDAs and government departments” congratulated the FCT chapter of the Institute for successfully hosting the 2016 AGM , adding that CORBON looks forward to another effective collaboration with the FCT-NIOB in lieu of the upcoming 2016 Builders Congress.
Builder A. A. Alao who represented the National President of the NIOB, Bldr Tijjani Shauibu charged the FCT NIOB on more effective collaborations with stakeholders and institutions in the building construction industry in order to advance the sector, adding that the national NIOB is already mapping out areas in which they will collaborate with the FCT Chapter. According to Shauibu, the FCT chapter will share the responsibilities of the national level since it is the host of the umbrella body.
Builders must be aware of the peculiarity of their role in the built environment, Shauibu said, stating that it will go a long way to guarantee peace and safety in the built environment. While commending the builders in the chapter for their astute professional prowess for which no builder has been involved in building collapse, Shuibu who is a fellow advised the chapter to sustain the development, stating that they must study to keep themselves abreast of development in order to ensure effective service delivery.
Shuaibu, who is a fellow if the institute stressed the importance of the role of artisans and craftsmen in the sector, while calling on the chapter to collaborate with the national level for the training of artisans and craftsmen. We will collaborate with the FCTA Administration to train 30 artisans ie, five artisans from each of the four area council of the FCT. The FCT has a crucial role to play. U can train as an assessor or verifier for economic reasons.