LAGOS ENGAGES STAKEHOLDERS TO ENSURE SAFETY ON HIGH-RISE BUILDINGS

 

L-R: Technical Adviser, Lagos State Safety Commission, Mr. Seun Awojobi; President, Association of Facility Management Professionals of Nigeria, Dr Olumide Aina; President, Institute of Safety Professionals of Nigeria, Dr Stephen Udenzi Awore, Director-General/Chief Executive Officer, Lagos State Safety Commission, Mr Lanre Mojola; Head Risk Management and Regulatory Affairs, Engr. (Mrs) Kunbi Obamonire, and Vice President International Facility Management Association, Mr Hakeem Olaonipekun, during a one-day Safety Workshop, themed, "Safe Buildings, Protected Workforce" in Lagos, on Tuesday. 

Lagos State Government through the Safety Commission has convened a stakeholder forum to foster a culture of safety amongst the facility managers and safety professionals in the state.

The move according to the agency is to entrench collaboration and sustain standards amongst safety stakeholders towards preventing avoidable fatalities in the built environment, particularly on high-rise buildings.

Speaking at the forum with the theme; 'Safe Building, Protected Workforce', the Director General, Lagos Safety Commission, Mr Lanre Mojola said that it has become expedient to give consideration to facility management and safety during building designs.

"This theme; Safe Building, Protected Workforce', is very personal to me, having spent over a decade on the front lines of facility management in Nigeria, before having the privilege of leading the safety commission. I have seen firsthand how buildings live, how buildings age, how buildings operate, how buildings are managed and maintained. I have seen the whole life cycle costing of buildings that are brand new, and how within a very short period of time they start to fall apart, particularly in this country." he said.

Mojola stressed that building is a dynamic living ecosystem which must be tested on a daily basis, through operational discipline, routine maintenance, electrical and mechanical checks, vertical transportation checks, fire system checks and readiness.

According to him "Every failure, fire outbreak, or avoidable workplace incident we witness across our mega cities, is a stark reminder that safety cannot be treated as an afterthought or a quick tick box exercise. It is the core operational framework that protects lives, preserves asset value, and maintains public trust.

He emphasised on a global best practice where every facility manager must acquire basic safety training and certification which therefore build a direct connection between safety, security and facility management.

"So when we speak of a protected workforce, we are looking at how to ensure that the crews on the roof, the painters on the scaffold, the cleaners, the third-party contractors executing high-risk tasks are safe. We are also ensuring that we're protecting them and we're guarding them from injuries, from accidents, perhaps some that can lead to fatalities. he stressed.

In his keynote address, the Technical Adviser Lagos Safety Commission, Mr Seun Awojobi said that the engagement provides a veritable opportunity to collaborate and develop practical implementable solutions that will strengthen construction safety facility management and occupational health across the state.

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He said "The theme of this year's engagement speaks directly to our direct collective responsibility we reflect our shared duty to ensure that every structure is built to the highest safety standard and that every worker who reports for duty each morning returns home unharmed and to their family at the close of work every day , for the safety commission this is not a slogan it's a convenience that we have with the good people of Lagos and we take this with the utmost seriousness."

Awojobi maintained that as Lagos continues to expand as Africa ‘s leading economic and commercial hub with rising skylines, industries high-rise building and growing workforce, it is important to leverage the economic opportunity that comes with it while upholding the highest standards of safety quality and regulatory compliance.

He reiterated the Commissions resolve to promoting a proactive safety culture

through inspection, collaboration, stakeholder engagement, capacity building, public enlightenment, and the consistent enforcement of safety regulation.

In his presentation, one of the guest speakers, Mr Lekan Akinwumi, emphasised on the power of collaboration between facility managers and safety professionals.

He said that the workplace was meant to be a place of comfort where there is a chain of collaboration that brings about safety while taking into cognizance facility management and occupational safety.

The President Institute of Safety Professional of Nigeria (ISPON), Dr. Stephen Udenzi, President of Association of Facility Management practitioners of Nigeria( AFMPN) , Dr. Olumide Aina and President international Facility Management Association, represented by the Vice President, Mr. Hakeem Olaonipekun in their goodwill messages all lend a voice that collaboration is the key to sustainable development in the built industry, organization in the sector must collaborate and adopt highest ethical standards devoid of compromise and urge the Commission and other regulatory bodies to ensure safety compliance.

Other guest speakers harped on managing safety in high-rise buildings and strategies on how to prepare the ground for any form of emergency and prevent disaster.