We must adopt maintenance culture in schools, government offices -Engineers

By Mashe Umaru Mashe 

Engineers have advised  co-engineers,governments and individuals to adopted maintenance culture in our government offices, houses ,schools , hospitals and monuments. 

The experts said there is a need to change our mindset towards how we handle many infrastructural amenities in Nigeria, because they are in bad shape due to negligence. 

Managing Director, Jecmeralds Engineering Limited, Chidiebele Uzoagba, who spoke on “Poor Maintenance Culture in Nigeria, Role of Facility Management” at a meeting of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), Victoria Island Branch, recently in Lagos.

Uzoagba, bemoaned the fact that Nigerians lack a strong maintenance program, which he claims has resulted in varied degrees of construction and infrastructure failures across the country.

He said  lack of money ,indiscipline illiteracy, terrible economics and corruption, the absence of the owner, and the building’s distance are all reasons for poor maintenance culture. 

He also mentioned improper design and construction, poor workmanship, and the use of inferior materials as reasons of maintenance issues.

“It’s unfortunately true that people’s commitment to maintenance in Nigeria today is inadequate,” he added, emphasizing the need of facility maintenance as a catalyst for fostering a good maintenance culture in the country.

According to him, there are construction facilities across the country that are badly maintained due to a lack of culture or terrible attitudes.

He emphasized that the formal education strategy should include facility maintenance as part of the nation’s university curriculum. He pointed out that no university in Nigeria now provides facility management as a first degree, only as a master’s degree.

Meanwhile,the Chairman of the NSE Victoria Island Branch, Emeka Ibeh, stated that the true life cycle of all infrastructure can only be achieved if maintenance is prioritized.

All components of infrastructure projects, he said, should include facility management and value engineering.