The event tagged: “Stakeholders Technical Committee on the Review of Standard for Cement NIS4441-2014”, with the theme; “Repositioning the Cement Sub-Sector”, held at Joel Ogunaike Street, GRA, Ikeja, had in attendance, officials from the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON), representatives of professional bodies in the construction/building industry, members of the academic community, representatives of Block Moulding Association of Nigeria, among others.
In his address, Director-General, Standard Organisation of Nigerian, Mr. Osita Aboloma, represented by the Director of Standard, Mrs. Chinyere Ifeoma, while emphasising the importance of cement as a binder in the construction industry, which he said, constituted almost 80 percent of materials used in project execution, said such component deserve proper monitoring.
According to Aboloma, review of standard of cement usually comes up every five years, owing to many factors, such as changes in technology, government policies, manufacturers influence, concern from primary users, consumers protection controls and other factors.
“Standard is a consensus document; a statutory responsibility by which SON provide the secretariat, whereby deliberations and recommendations would be agreed upon by all and sundry. It’s a transparent process that cannot be compromised”, said Aboloma.
The event also witnessed an election that produced Professor Joseph Odigure as Chairman and Professor Mohamed Magaji as Vice Chairman of the new Technical Committee, saddled with the responsibility of overseeing the conduct of current activities.
Charging the new officials on the discharge of their responsibilities, Director of Standard, Mrs Chinyere Ifeoma, said what is at stake is to ensure that cement production is in consonance with the International Standard Organisation’s (ISO) requirements.
According to Ifeoma, in the development national standard, certain principles and guidelines must be followed, especially, the ISO’s standard is the international body which Nigeria belongs, stating that SON is trying as much as possible to abide by its rules and guidelines.
“We believed in the principle of transparency, where things will be done with openness; Lack of discrimination; Impartiality, coherence, consensus and relevance.
“Besides, we should realise that the demand for the high standard of Cement is very high, therefore, every stakeholder in the industry must be involved, be it the manufacturers, the traders, bricklayers, block moulders, and the rest. We must all get involved in the standardisation process”, she advised.
In his remarks, 1st Vice President, Nigerian Institution of Builders, (NIOB), Mr Kunle Awobodu, while emphasising the need for the quality product, also stressed on the need for a price reduction of cement.
“As builders, we are to ensure that quality cement is churning out from factories into the market and also to ensure that an adequate number of bags are being used in project execution.
“Besides, cost of cement must be factored into the system. When they are talking about the standard, we must also talk about the price. So, we are calling on manufacturers to look at the cost of this all-important product, while also calling on the government to provide for them an enabling environment.
“Cost of energy is enormous, while road infrastructure also required attention because the bad condition of road networks across the country is affecting the cost of transporting the materials from one place to another”, Awobodu noted.
National President, Block Moulders Association of Nigeria (BMAN), Alhaji Rasheed Adebowale, while attributed causes of building collapse to the use of sub-standard materials on one hand, also identified the impacts of quacks who have infiltrated block moulding business to the menace of building collapse.
According to Alhaji Adebowale, the high cost of cement is influencing roadside block moulders to engage in sharp practices.
“For example, we have two type of cement grades: 320d and 4205. While the latter is quick in riping, 3205 may take two or three days, which may slow down business. Although, both of them are of good quality at the end of the day.
“But most worrisome is the mixture. While the standard practice is to mould 30 pieces of 9×9 block from one bag and 40 pieces of 6×6 from one bag, some are producing 46 pieces of 9×9 from a bag and sometimes, 60 pieces of 6×6 from one bag.
“This is one of the reasons while there are substandard blocks dotting many roadsides, and many of them are not our members. So, we want the government to help us find a solution to their menace”, he urged.
and then