Cracks in building codes

Trinidad and Tobago is known to be vulnerable to natural disasters namely hurricanes and earthquakes. An earthquake of magnitude greater than 8.0 inflicted considerable damage to Trinidad in 1766 and powerful hurricanes are affecting areas closer to the equator as occurred recently with Hurricane Ivan in 2004.

It is possible through sound engineering and construction practices to ensure life safety and minimise economic losses during these catastrophic events than can occur in Trinidad and Tobago. However at present, many of the buildings recently built and under construction do not have the necessary robustness and ductility to ensure life safety and to minimise losses.

A number of factors are responsible for this:

•Lack of a cohesive approach to building codes.

•Severe shortage of engineers in governmental approving agencies.

•Lack of continuing professional development opportunities in Hurricane and earthquake engineering.

•Inadequate building inspection and quality assurance during construction not adequate.

•Need for legislation to deal with codes and enforcement as well as registration of engineers.

Since the early eighties the region has attempted to put into effect one building code for the Caribbean called CUBIC. For various reasons this code did not receive wide acceptance and has not been updated since first published, and while it is still useful, it urgently needs to be updated. It is also imperative that we have one comprehensive building code for Trinidad and Tobago for the following major reasons —

•In order that we as a nation can determine the minimum standards expected for building safety in our country. As in many developing countries, an established code should be followed so that updates become automatic.

•It is far easier for building officials responsible for the approval process to learn and implement one building code.

•As a result of overheating of the construction industry the Government is encouraging foreign engineers and technicians to come to Trinidad and Tobago to work. We need to have national (regional) standards to govern their work.

Building approvals are given by the local government authority for each regional corporation, borough or city. Apart from PoS and San Fernando, none of the regional corporations or boroughs have professional civil or structural engineers on staff. The city engineers have such diverse responsibilities that it is not possible for them to specialise and update their training in structural engineering sufficiently for approving modern buildings with modern building codes. The same applies to the design branch of the Ministry of Works who are the engineering consultants to the regional corporation for building approvals. The design branch is understaffed and inadequately funded, so that they are unable to provide the tools (even books and codes) and training necessary to have the elite group of structural engineers needed for the approval process.

Finding providers for CPD courses for professional engineers is extremely difficult. UWI and APETT are in discussion at present to provide such courses. The sparse availability of relevant CPD courses for structural engineers means that engineers do not stay abreast of the changes in the profession and codes requirements or they have to travel abroad at great cost. So usually many of our engineers are unable to benefit from this necessary component of professional development.

APETT and the Universities recognise this and have already started to address this issue. Last year an excellent seminar was hosted on this subject at the Faculty of Engineers and another is planned for this year. In addition individual Masters Degree course segments are being configured as evening classes by the UWI for graduate engineers. One of the most important considerations in ensuring that our building stock is robust and resistant to natural disasters is quality assurance inspections during construction. In developed countries, expert government building inspectors visit construction sites regularly to ensure that approved plans are being followed.

The Local Authority has taken some initiatives to address this by requiring engineers to sign off as having adequately inspected the work. This measure has only partially worked and vigilance is needed to ensure this measure is fully complied with. Historically, clients in Trinidad have been unwilling to pay for the level of quality assurance needed to ensure compliance.

In order to ensure that as a country the requirements needed to build safe buildings for our people are enforced, the laws are required to be updated. Once these laws are in place then non – compliance become an act of lawbreaking.

Of particular concern to APETT is compulsory registration of all engineers local and foreign, practising in Trinidad and Tobago. The amendments proposed to the Engineering Act to have compulsory registration included has been before various ministers of government for many years and urgently needs to be concluded.

APETT will continue its lobby to have these amendments addressed at the various ministries and is available to assist the relevant ministries to address these pressing issues related to our building stock. If a natural disaster were to occur now the country may be seriously set back. At present, construction activity is high and we need to ensure that our buildings being created now are safe under the worse conditions.

If what was reported about a proposed hospital in Trinidad and Tobago is true, it should cause our Government to seriously address the issues raised. It is reported that one of the reasons that work on the hospital was stopped is that it was not designed to resist the level of hurricanes and earthquakes required in Trinidad and Tobago. This hospital was designed by foreign consultants and if the report is accurate, the need for legislature changes becomes more apparent.