Experts in the building industry have advised the Nigerian government to ensure that facilities managers are involved in the conceptualization of any public building. This, according to them would go a long way in curbing incidences of building collapses in the country.
A lecturer in the Department of Estate Management, University of Lagos, Dr Hikmot Adunola Koleoso, gave the advise while delivering a lecture titled: “A Contextual Multi-item Scale for Measuring Performance of Facilities Management Service in Lagos, Nigeria” during the first Africa Facilities Management Conference with the theme:
“Working Together to Accelerate Facilities Management Adoption Across Africa…A Year On” held in Abuja.
Speaking against the backdrop of the recent collapsed of 21 storey
building in Lagos, Dr Koleoso said making facilities manager member of
the integrated design team when public buildings are been conceptualized would go a long way in arresting incessant building collapses.
The University don noted that a research had revealed that 90% of the problems with the management of properties can actually be resolved at the first 10% of the design stage.
According to her, this would also assist to ensure proper life cycle costing of the development, maintainability, reliability, functionability of the building as well as satisfaction of end users’ need.
She said that is why facilities manager are often referred to as ‘the champion of end users need’.
Similarly, speaking on “The Role of the Facility Manager at the Design Stage of Public Building (Facility) Construction”, Sampson Opare-Agyemang from Ghana, identified lack of proper specification of building materials as the major cause of incessant building collapse.
He suggested inclusion of maintenance operation manuals before approval of any public building plan in Africa noting that if this is made mandatory, it would assist facilities managers in detecting any defect at the early stages which would avoid rampant collapse of buildings.
He also advocated for education of facility management in Africa in countries where such is not in existence.
A certified Facility Manager and the former Chairman of the Global Board of Directors for the International Facilities Management Association, Thomas Mitchell, Jr. spoke on Evolution and Transformations: The Facility Management Value Proposition for the
Global Community.
He said the role of facility managers include ensuring that we have facilities that are not only productive but save and reliable, which means facility managers must be involved early in the construction of buildings.
In her own contributions, Yasmin Mansour, a lecturer from a University in Cairo, Egypt, delivered a paper on “Tracking AUC’s Climate Impact”. She emphasized the importance of climate change and global warming and its effects on the building industry.
Earlier, the Chairman of Facilities Management Association, who is also chairman of the Conference, Engr Sherif Maged Khaled, said the newly established Facilities Management Association, (AFM) is set to ensure Facilities Management (FM) professionals in Africa benefit from the establishment of structures to support member organizations, companies
and individuals practising FM in Africa. He stated that AFM relies on a network of renowned and experienced professionals that have the passion to grow and develop FM in Africa and beyond.
He said Association of Facilities Management Practitioners – Nigeria, (AFMPN), has been at the forefront in developing and standardizing FM in Nigeria through the Nigeria FM initiative to provide a national platform for the continuous development of the FM profession while driving the contribution of FM at the national level.
According to him, “the joint vision of being the driver and connecting the industry to the economies of the continent and delivering value to FM practitioners and stakeholders of both AFM and AFMPN cannot be underscored”. He added that “this has led to the first conference that will set the pace for the rest of the continent in promoting and establishing standards, research, collaboration, and partnerships for FMs across Africa”.
Engr Khaled added that the leadership of AFM and AFMPN is committed to creating a safe and comfortable place for our community during the pandemic to come together and benefit from the most useful information and insights that renowned FM professionals would share during the conference.
