Prevention better than cure, IESL advises house builders
Today many house builders look for cheap labour and materials to build a house or an apartment without consulting certified engineers in the construction industry. The consequences they face within a couple of years after building are immense as against spending more money and doing a proper and safe job.
Institution of Engineers Sri Lanka (IESL) Chairperson, Prabodha Jinasena made this statement at a media briefing held at Taj Samudra Hotel in Colombo last week.
Mr. Jinasena said, “A lot of house builders today follow wrong techniques in building houses spending a lot of money. They don’t think of spending more money and building their houses by consulting engineers. The money they spend on repairs and damages is very much higher and even double the initial cost”. There is lack of knowledge among non-certified engineers and masons, he noted.
During the Question and Answer session, it was mentioned that since the population of the country is increasing, there will be a drastic increase in the number of houses getting built which typically drives forward the construction industry in spite of future elections, budgets and interim budgets. There is tremendous scope for the construction industry in Sri Lanka. “(However) we are not sure whether the growth will remain the same,” said Mr. Jinasena.
People will go for multi storied buildings than even shifting to urban areas. They have to go for best practices in house building which will help them in the long term. The IESL together with Ultra Cement Lanka (Pvt) Ltd will provide free-of-charge advice for house builders around the country. During the past years there has been development in the real estate sector. After the budget the price of cement and construction costs will increase. Many hope that the government will come out with good policies towards the construction industry and cement price increment, said Mr. Jinasena.
Untra Tech Cement Lanka (Pvt) Ltd General Manager Technical and QA, Sandeep Holey said, “Building a house with a single source throughout the whole construction is always better. Quality alone is not sufficient”. There is a shortage of technical engineers to guide builders. Masons and contractors are good but they are not qualified people, he noted.
It is important to raise the professionalism of the construction industry further in relation to individual home building and enhance and promote the skills level and knowledge of the technical personnel involved. It is crucial that industry best practices and construction techniques trickle down from large scale infrastructure building into home building.
Consumer empowerment is also fundamental. Professionals in the field and companies involved in the construction industry have a responsibility to enrich the industry and facilitate knowledge sharing among the general public especially to those who may not be able to readily afford technical expertise. Consumers need to empower themselves and be armed with accurate information and this is one area where industry partners could step in and help in economical and durable house building, he said.