WHO IS A BUILDER? AND HOW CAN YOU BE A MEMBER?

WHO IS A BUILDER?

A Builder is an academically trained specialist and statutorily registered professional responsible for Building Production Management, Construction and Maintenance of Building for the use and protection of mankind. A builder must be a member of Nigeria institute of building (NIOB) and Council of Registered Builders of Nigeria (CORBON).

BUILDER’S VISION

To provide Nigeria with the profession that will be responsible for the complete construction of new building, maintenance of existing building and building and appropriate construction techniques.
Field of activities for builders: builders are identified as operating in the under listed field of activities

Consulting in the under listed field of activities

Contracting

Property development

Building education and research
EMPLOYMENT OF BUILDERS

Builders are employed in the following broad sectors of the Nigerian economy.

Construction companies

Private consultancy firm

Public sector i.e federal and state ministries and parastatals

Local governments

Urban and regional planning board and local planning Authorities in all the state of the federation

Nigeria armed forces, army, naval and air

Nigeria police force

Nigeria immigration services

Paramilitary organization i.e Road Safety corp. Nigeria immigration services, Nigeria custom service, Nigeria security and civil defense corp. e.t.c

Academic sector as lecturers, staff of work and service department

Private sector – houses/insurance, mining/petrol chemical industries, oil and gas companies, multinational co-operations, building and engineering manufacturing industries, property development companies, private individuals’e.t.c.

Standard organization of Nigeria (SON)

Industrial training fund (ITF)
APPOINTMENT OF A BUILDER

Building project involves the following broad stages

Planning

Design

Production

Maintenance

It is therefore mandatory that all clients, be it individuals, government or private sector organization engage the services of builder at all stages in all building projects. This could be achieved either by direct employment of a builder or by appointment a Consultant Builder.
CONSULTANCY SERVICES RENDERED BY BUILDERS

The major consultancy services rendered by builders are listed below:

• Building production management

• Building maintenance management

• Project management

• Building surveying

• Feasibility and viability studies

• Facilities monitoring and evaluation

• Arbitration, meditation and expert witness.
FUNCTION OF PROFESSIONALS IN THE NATIONAL BUILDING CODE BEFORE PLAN APPROVAL

The builder is to prepare a document see No 3 below before approval is given by the planning authority.

According to the National Building Code, contract documents shall mean and include the following:

1. Contract drawings and specifications prepared by registered architects and registered engineers;

2. Priced bills of Quantities prepared by a registered quantity surveyors;

3. Construction programme, project quality management plan, project health and safety plan and Buildability and maintainability analysis prepared by a Registered Builder.

4. Conditions of contract

5. All-risk insurance for the building works, personnel and equipment.
Some functions of a Builder’ in the Site during Construction includes;

a. Give professional attestation that work at every given stage is in accordance with the design.

b. Ensuring that the contractor(s) have competent and adequate number of technical personnel on the project.

c. Use check lists for inspecting site operations continuously.

d. Monitoring the effectiveness of site management

e. Examine work in the contractor’s and/or sub-contractors and supplier’s yards as necessary.

f. Checking that work proceeds regularly and diligently according to programme.

g. Keeping a diary of events, file of instructions received, with relevant observations

h. Checking production information for errors, discrepancies and divergences and notifying the client and other consultants.

i. Monitoring the correct application of specified techniques

j. Attending site meetings.
BUILDERS AND OTHER PROFESSIONALS IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

The relevance of construction professionals in due process procurement expertise can no longer be overemphasized.

In the human built environment field, we have seven(7) professional skills operating in the constructions these include: Builders, Architects, Engineers, Estate surveyors and Valuers, Quantity surveyors, land surveyors and town planners. Their roles in the development of the human environment are incontrovertible. For a well coordinated, safe, comfortable and affordable environment, the need for the services of every one of them is not negotiable. For clarity their relevance can be defined as follows:

S/N Services Professional

1 Identification and description of land for development Land surveyors

2 Design of integrated human settlement and layout Town planners

3 The conceptual arrangement of spaces and form and specification of materials and components Architects

4 Design of road network and communication terminals Highway engineers

5 Design of electrical members Electrical engineers

6 The design of foundation sub structure and super structure Structure engineers

7 The provision of hydraulic services Service engineer

8 The computation of materials, labour input and cost Quantity surveyors

9 The methodology of assembly of material and labour Builders

10 The management of assembly process Builders

11 The health and safety management planning Builders

12 The quality management planning Builders

13 The management of the maintenance of the finish product when in use Builders

14 The demolition of obsolete product (Deconstruction) Builders

15 Buildability and maintainability analysis Builders

16 Valuation, management sales/retails of finish development Estate surveyor

RELEVANCE OF BUILDERS

Seven of the expertise/services identified above are performed by Builders it should be noted that builders also work hand in hand with building material manufacturers as well as material research and development scientists. In addition the Craftsmen, Technicians and Artisans work directly with and are supervised by Builders on the management of building production.

In the sphere of consultancy services and site management by contractors, senior level managers are usually the preserves of the Builders.

Taking the above issue together it is obvious that Builders are already groomed mandatorily to take their place in the procurement of goods, services an capital project contracts in the construction industry.

BUILDERS MEMBERSHIIP

Builders whom are fully registered with Council of Registered Builders of Nigeria have a title before their names i,e Bldr. (BLDR) which put them at par with other construction professionals like Architects (ARCH), Engineers (ENGR), and Surveyor (SURV) e.t.c.

Furthermore the designation MNIOB Members Nigeria Institute of Building is an accolade which tells the world that the bearers are professionals in the field of production management, construction, maintenance of building and project management.

CONTRIBUTION OF BUILDERS IN POLICY FORMULATION IN NIGERIA

Builders have made unquantifiable input into the various facets of national development and economic growth of Nigeria. In this respect, builders have served in the following Councils, Boards, Panels and committees at various levels of governance over the years.

1. Federal Housing Authorities (FHA) – Member of the Board of Directors.
2. Standard Organizations of Nigeria (SON) – Facilitators and Resources Persons and member of Technical Committees.
3. National Housing Policy – Facilitators and Resources Persons.
4. Nationals Construction Policy – Facilitators and Resources and Persons.
5. Centre for management Development – Facilitators and Resources Persons.
6. Industrial Training Fund (ITF) – Directors, Facilitators and Resource Persons.
7. West African Examination Board – Examiners, Facilitators and ResourcePersons.
8. Urban Development Forum – Facilitators and Resource Persons.
9. National Universities Commission – Member of Board, Chairmen Accreditation Panels, Facilitators and Resource Persons.

10. National Board for Technical Education – Member of Board, Chairmen of Accreditation Panels, Facilitators and Resource Persons
11. Association of Professional Bodies of Nigeria – President, Vice – President, Secretary, Facilitators and Resource Persons.
12. Committee on Standard Form of Building – Chairman, Member, Chairman Contract in Nigeria Committees, Facilitators and Resource Persons
13. Ministerial Standard Committees on – Member of the committee Professional Scale of Fees in the Construction Industry.
14. National Council on Housing – Member of the Council, Chairmen of Committees, Facilitators and Resource Persons

15. National Council on Works – Members, Facilitators and Resource Persons
16. National Council on Establishment – Facilitators and Resource Persons
17. Nigeria Building and Road Research Institute – Member of the Board, Chairmen of (NBRRI) technical Advisory Committees, Facilitators and Resource Persons
18. Directorate of Food, Road and Rural Development – Facilitators and Resource Person
19. Nigeria Raw Materials Research Council – Facilitators and Resource Person
20. Housing Policy Council – Vice Chairman, Facilitators and Resource Persons.
21. National Building Code – Facilitators and Resource Persons.
22. Professional Accreditation of Building – Facilitators and Resource Persons.

Programmes in Tertiary Institutions
23. National Committee of ILO/CMD – Members, Facilitators and Resource Persons
24. Federal Ministry of Education Panel on – Facilitators and Resource Person

Professional and Technical Manpower

25. National Election Moonitoring Group (NEMG 1993) – Member, Facilitators and Resource Persons

26. Governing Councils of Universities, – Chairman, Council and

Polytechnics and colleges of Technology Board Members.

FURTHER INFORMATION CAN BE OBTAINED FROM:

CHAIRMAN
NIGERIA INSTITUTE OF BUILDING

EDO STATE.

08035625566.