Di Council for the Regulation of Engineering for Nigeria (COREN) don announce say engineers wey go through dia forensic investigation training go get certification and dem go add dia name to national register of specialists wey go dey investigate building collapse and oda engineering failures across di kontri.
Di Registrar and Chief Executive Officer of COREN, Engr. Prof. U. Uche, make this known on Monday for Abuja at di opening of a three-day workshop on Engineering Failure and Forensic Investigation. According to am, di initiative na to identify di root causes of engineering failures, prevent future occurrences and safeguard lives and property.
“Di pool of trainees from dis workshop go be added to our new register of trained and certified forensic engineering failure and forensic investigators wey go be empowered by COREN to carry out dis novel regulatory function for dia different engineering disciplines and locations on behalf of COREN,” e yarn.
Uche tok say di training no be just routine workshop, as participants go get di skills and tools wey dem need to carry out forensic investigations whenever failures occur. “Dis training no be just mere training. We wan go into forensic investigation so we know di root cause of failures, and dat na di essence,” e explain.
E note say engineering failures often come with devastating consequences wey pass damaged infrastructure. “When you come to failure and collapse, e no be only di infrastructure. At times, human lives, wey no be quantifiable, dey also involved,” e add.
Di COREN registrar express concern about di increasing tendency of some developers to sideline qualified professionals for construction projects. “Time don come when you see developers, dem no take care of who be actual practitioners, experts for those areas wey supposed to dey in charge of dis construction,” e complain.
E add say while engineering structures fit fail, such incidents fit be drastically reduced through proper design, professional engagement and thorough investigations. “We no dey say engineering structures cannot fail. We dey ensure say failure dey reduced to di minimum, but we need trained experts wey go dey involved not only for developing di structures but also for investigating failures where dem occur so we fit prevent future occurrences,” e yarn.
According to am, di workshop wey COREN organise in collaboration with di Nigerian Building and Road Research Institute (NBRRI) and di Chartered Institute of Forensic and Certified Fraud Investigators of Nigeria (CIFCIN), na di second for di series after an earlier edition wey dem hold for Lagos.
E say di council plan to expand di initiative to oda parts of di kontri to build a wider pool of experts wey fit investigate failures for different engineering sectors. Uche also tok say COREN dey pursue full signatory status to di Washington Accord to secure wider international recognition for Nigerian-trained engineers.
“Dis go ensure say our trained engineers fit practise engineering for US, UK, Canada and oda countries wey be members of di International Engineering Alliance,” e add.
Speaking on behalf of di COREN President, Engr. Prof. Z. Abubakar, a Council member, Engr. Felix Ebuzoeme, urge participants to embrace continuous learning, uphold integrity and mentor younger professionals. “Make we also mentor di people below us. Make we no dey fear to update ourselves and we go become better professionals,” e yarn.
