A review on error-induced-building collapse at the construction stage in Lagos, Nigeria

Abstract

The ever-increasing occurrence of building collapse with attendant loss of lives in recent years has called for serious concern in Nigeria. Hence, it has become necessary to strategically look into the issue with a spirited effort to provide measures to stem the tide of the occurrence. Moreover, errors in building construction sites during construction activities often bring about defects in the building, which usually result in failure and eventual collapse of the building if not discovered and addressed. Evidence has shown that most building collapses in Nigeria as well as around the globe resulted from occurrences of error during the construction stage; past researchers have primarily focused their searchlight on the occurrences of error at the pre-construction stage of building projects, neglecting the occurrence of errors at the construction stage and the danger it portrayed. Hence, the primary purpose of this paper is to review relevant literature and evaluate the occurrences of building errors at the construction stage of building projects as one of the major causes of repeated building collapse in Lagos, Nigeria. The data for the review were gathered through the records of past building collapses in Nigeria from 2009 to 2019. Tables and bar graphs were used for data presentations and analysis. The paper review shows that Lagos has the highest percentage of building collapse cases in Nigeria; it also reveals that the collapse was due to common errors occurring at the construction stage of building activities onsite. And it finally identifies those common errors inducing building collapses. Stakeholders in the building industry are to focus more attention on the construction stage of the building process. The review will serve as a conceptual development guideline to minimize construction errors during construction activities, thereby reducing incessant building collapse.