Meeting requirements in building sector

In the light of the importance of the three basic necessities of life - food, shelter and clothing 

it is necessary to examine each of these necessities and ensure that products relating to each of them are of acceptable quality and also safe for use.

One of such necessities of life is shelter.

In modern times, the building and construction sector caters for the needs of mankind in this respect.

Buildings of all kinds are put up to cater for the needs and tastes of people and organisations, but some of these buildings are not up to expectation, in the sense that they do not meet the requirements of standards provided for them.

This explains why a body of standards relating to the building and construction industry has been put together and developed as national standard to serve as a guide to everyone in the building sector.

Code

It is this body of standards developed by the Standards Authority that is known today as the Ghana Building Code (GhBC 1207).

The development of the code started in November 2017 to update the draft developed in 2012 to bring it in line with the International Building Code 2018 (IBC-2018) and the International Green Construction Code 2015 (IGCC-2015) in view of some unpleasant developments in the building and general construction, including lessons learnt in the aftermath of natural calamities like devastating tremor and collapse of buildings. 

In a nutshell, therefore, the Ghana Building Code is a comprehensive code and national instrument that specifies minimum standards for the construction of buildings and its auxiliaries to protect public health, safety and general welfare as they relate to the construction and occupancy of buildings and structures in Ghana.

The code is meant to serve as a model for adoption by all agencies, bodies or departments involved in building construction works whether in the public or private sectors.

All building and construction works, whether undertaken by public works departments, other government construction departments, local bodies or private construction agencies or bodies are required to comply with the requirements of the code.

Threats
Within the building and construction industry, there are many sources of threats to public health and safety.

Some of them are the poor lighting systems that are used which also come from substandard electrical products.

Other sources of threats to public safety are the poor building materials used, unsatisfactory plumbing works as well as improper building designs sometimes brought out by unqualified people.

To address all these problems, the code mainly contains administrative regulations; development control rules and general building requirements; fire safety requirements; stipulations regarding building materials; structural design and construction, including safety, and also building and plumbing services.

All these are meant to ensure that the general good of the public are adequately guaranteed.

Sanitised sector

At the end of it all, what we need is a sanitised sector where indiscipline and bad attitude are pushed to the background. There should be uniformity of safety as well as equal protection for every life in the country.

The construction sector in one region, for example, should not be safe while activities in other regions constitute a threat to lives and properties.

There should be uniformity of safety as well as equal protection for every life in the country.

What we need in the country is safety first in the construction sector so as to give hope and high expectations to all operators and users.

The code is to ensure uniformity of standards for regulation and compliance of stakeholders in the building and construction sector in terms of public health, general safety, fire protection, structural efficiency and integrity as well as environmental integrity and sustainability.

Public health, safety and the general good of every person must be considered a priority by all inspection agencies such as metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies to ensure that anyone who does not comply with the building code is not allowed to operate in the construction sector.

This is achievable so let all institutions concerned do their best to protect lives and property in this country.

The code is good and is meant to serve a good purpose, meaning that it has come to stay so all of us must make it a point to work with it in the most assiduous way for the good of the country as a whole.

The writer is the Director of Corporate Communications,
Ghana Standards Authority (GSA).