‘Building’ as sustainable development – Challenges and prospects in Bangladesh.
Protyasha Ahmed Mim : In Bangladesh, the growth building construction sector of infra-structure industry is remarkable nowadays. This industry is considered as one of the fastest and largest sectors in Bangladesh. Though construction industry is growing all over Bangladesh, the growth is striking at the capital city Dhaka – populated with nearly 160 million people.
However injuries even death of the workers are caused for inadequate safety requirements in construction sites. Alongside, poor quality of construction, lack of proper supervision and lack of enforcement of building codes and regulations is causing natural hazards like earthquakes and seasonal devastated flood. Building construction technology has not developed to the extent as that observed in developed countries. The structural safety conditions and the injury records are in worst condition when compared with other industries in Bangladesh. This industry is the only one comparable sector with regard to garments industry. Accidental risk factors arises from different causes. It can be imputed to unsafe design of buildings, lack of detailed drawings not in accordance with the provisions of Bangladesh National Building Code, 1997 (BNBC) which is causing faulty construction practices.
In particular, Bangladesh is in reasonable apprehension of a moderate to severe earthquake in any of the major cities of Bangladesh which may result devastating loss of property and life. In Dhaka city some buildings have collapsed even under gravity loads in recent past due to poor construction practice and subsurface investigation. Those risk factors in the construction sectors are identified qualitatively while investigation which can be divided into structural risk and human risk. Structural risk means the structure is not safe for its designed loads and does not ensure a safe place for the users of the building. On the other hand human risk include lack of proper safety measures and facilities in the construction sites.
BNBC have provided complete safety rules but they are being ignored in most of the construction sites due to lack of enforcement. Besides, most of the building owners are unwilling to seek guidance from professional engineer. As consequence the specifications of BNBC are not being followed regarding requirements for safety of the workers as well as terms of detailed design and implementation during construction. With the advancement of building construction technology and growth of number of construction sites proper attention is required regarding safety aspects.
In this connection, appropriate national policy steps are needed to improve the safety conditions in building construction sector so that the loss of limbs and life sufferings resulting from faulty construction practices can be prevented. In other words, strict implementation of the safe detailed design according to the BNBC rules and improvement in safety measures in sites can provide a better environment for building construction and increase higher productivity.
Sustainability is way of interacting with our world which reconciles the ubiquitous human desire for a high quality of life with the realities of our global context. It calls for unique solutions for improving our welfare that do not come at the cost of degrading the environment or impinging on the wellbeing of other people
The term ‘development’ includes actions across different industry sectors. The impact of the construction industry on the environment rates as one of the highest among all the industries. Therefore a close scrutiny of the construction industry is necessary to minimize its impact on the environment, hence the emergence of the term ‘sustainable construction. ‘sustainable construction’ can be said as a subset of sustainable development and it will serve as a starting point for any such scrutiny. In the context of this discussion, the word ‘construction’ implies a process which starts well before the actual on-site building activity commences and extends to post site-building activities such as commissioning and asset management. In fact, it covers an entire project development life cycle.
In the construction sector of Bangladesh the common challenges are-
-Existing planning rules are not exercised properly
-Lack of regular supervision of concerned officials
-Insufficient number of building inspectors
-Absence of database management system and new technology in regular practice
Causes resulting structural and human risks are two fold;- Structural safety and Human safety.
Structural Safety concerns-
– Poor supervision of the construction process. In every phases of construction inspection is not maintained.
– Poor knowledge of the workers have very poor knowledge about concrete mixing procedure, the influence of water on strength and transportation and placing of fresh concrete.
– Use of low quality materials for maximizing profit by the developer; as consequence designed composition requirements are ignored.
– Law enforcing agencies are managed by bribe.
Human Safety concerns-
– Most of the developers have no interest regarding safety of workers.
– Supervisor, foreman and worker are not trained about safety.
– Workers show no consciousness about safety.
– Safety practices prescribed by BNBC are not maintained.
To minimize the above causes responsible for the risk factors, proper training for suitable construction procedures and safety measures the workers and supervisor is necessary. In this connection, the worker’s safety must be included in the construction practices by allocating a special budget for this purpose. Media sector can play a major role by highlighting the necessity of safety of workers and general public who eventually will be occupant of a building (as owner or individual or corporate level tenants). The law enforcing authority (RAJUK, PWD,EED, etc.) must strictly inspect structural and human safety conditions during construction processes. Compensation to the deceased and injured workers need to be implemented by the law enforcing agencies.
