By Elizabeth Larkwor Baah
Tema, Aug. 18, GNA – Mr Charles Kisseih, a Private Civil Engineer, has stressed the need for Ghanaians not to neglect the services of civil engineers while constructing their buildings.
He said civil engineers were a critical part of construction work at all levels, and neglecting their services could have a huge impact on the structure being put in place.
Mr. Kiesseih, who is also the Managing Director of Charleskay Enterprise, told the Ghana News Agency in an interview in Tema that the work of a civil engineer was particularly important at the foundation level for a solid structure to last for a longer period of time.
He said the role of a civil engineer during construction was to look at the structure of the building to give advice, do a bill of quantities for the structure intended to be built, be on sight for supervision, ensure that the right materials and quantity were bought for the work, and a lot more.
He went on to say that the neglect of civil engineers was mostly due to the money involved, making them rather engage the services of unqualified persons to take over the overall charge of the building.
Mr. Kiesseih stressed that constructing a building entailed a lot, which required every party to play its role effectively and efficiently for the building to stand the test of time; hence, getting all parties involved is crucial.
“Those overseas who tell people to build for them usually come back disappointed and usually demand changing some things in the building, rendering their work useless. Why won’t you then consult a civil engineer to do the work once and for all?” he stated.
He said most people who did not engage the services of civil engineers end up buying unqualified materials and unmatchable quantities for use in the quest to save cost, which, at the end of the day, rather invited more cost to the owner of the building.
“The earth breathes, so sometimes it expands and contracts, so when expanding, these are natural things that nobody can do anything about; it could make the building shake, causing cracks in the building, so if you don’t use the right materials for building, the natural causes will expose you,” he stated.
He cautioned Ghanaians to avoid shoddy work and get qualified people to get the work done for the construction industry to thrive.
GNA