Displaying items by tag: Standards Organisation of Nigeria
Nigeria approves new cement standard
14 May 2014Nigeria: Final approval for a new national cement standard has been given by Olusegun Aganga at the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment. Following a short grace period all cement manufactured locally or imported must meet the approved standards and will be tagged 'NlS 444-1'. The implementation of a new standard for cement follows a battle between cement industry stakeholders regarding whether poor quality cement had been to blame for building collapses.
The highest grade - CEM I 52.5R, 52.5N, or 52.5 - will now be used for the construction of bridges. The second highest grade - CEM II 42.5R, 42.5N or 42.5 grade – will be used for the casting of columns, beams, slabs and for block moulding. The lowest cement grade - CEM I & II 32.5R, 32.5N or 32.5 cement grade – will be used only for the plastering of buildings.
According to the ministry, the new guidelines would, "Enable the end users make the right choice; help to avoid unethical application of the different types of cement; enhance proper identification of the different cement classes and enhance traceability as well as guide users." The ministry added that the standards were reviewed because they had attained the five-year mandatory period for review, as well as concerns over the quality of cement in the Nigerian markets.
Nigeria: The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has led a group of cement industry stakeholders is stating that poor construction practices and not the quality of cement is to blame for the growing incidence of building collapse in the country. The position was taken at a recent meeting in Lagos by the technical committee of stakeholders and put together by SON to review the cement standardisation in the country.
Speaking at a press briefing Lanre Opakunle, general manager of Industrial Performance at Lafarge WAPCO, said that the committee unanimously agreed that cement is not responsible for building collapse. According to the committee, factors like poor or low quality application at building construction sites, poor construction practices, poor supervision as well as corruption are mainly responsible for building collapses.
The meeting stressed the need for cement manufacturers to review their standards to align with the European standards. Cement producers were advised to indicate the usage and application of the cement types on their bags in a legible and clear manner.
Setting the cement standard in Nigeria
12 March 2014Dangote Cement let everybody know this week that it is now producing 52.5MPa grade cement in Nigeria. The move was a response to building pressure from professional and civil groups in the country which have reacted in recent months to the high incidence of building collapses in the country. With the 42.5MPa grade looking likely to become the new legal standard, Dangote's adoption of an even higher standard looks like canny marketing.
The background to this tussle lies in the spate of building collapses that have plagued Nigeria in recent years. A widely cited paper in the Global Journal of Researches in Engineering from 2010 reported at least 26 incidents in Nigeria between 1975 to 1995 with 226 fatalities. Later figures from 2004 to 2006 reported at least 10 incidents with 243 fatalities, a significantly higher prevalence than in the earlier period. The paper recommended adopting standards for building materials such as cement among other measures. Since the publication of this paper news reports have been hard to collate. Commentators placed the toll at 15 collapses with 30 fatalities for the first eight months of 2013 alone.
The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) reacted to the latest outcry over building collapses by saying that they were caused by poor application, such as a using the wrong quality of cement for a particular task, not poor standards. According to the SON, 32.5MPa grade cement is recommended for activities such as plastering, flooring, block moulding, culvert making and building simple domestic houses. 42.5MPa grade is designed for the construction of tall buildings, bridges and load bearing columns.
Adopting a national standard of 42.5MPa grade is intended to stop misuse of lower grade cement being used for the wrong applications. One example commentators have mentioned is how to help illiterate builders select the right kind of cement for a given task. Choosing an overall higher standard is one solution to this problem. Education is another.
One fact that has emerged from the debate is that, according to Dangote Chief Executive Officer DVG Edwin, the SON imposed 42.5MPa grade as the minimum for imports before most imports were stopped in late 2012. Edwin used this as an argument for the SON enforcing the same standard for domestic cement production. Anything that can cut the number of building collapses can only be a good thing.
Nigerian cement producers seek code of standards review
17 April 2013Nigeria: The Cement Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (CMAN) has called for a review of the industry's code of standards. CMAN chairman, Joseph Makoju, made the call at a forum in Abuja on concrete specifications, applications and cement standards.
"We need to have our own relevant code of practices and standards revised taking local conditions into consideration. It is also very important that our codes are robust and standards are robust, practical and uniformly and consistently applied in practice," said CMAN vice chairman Jean-Christopher Barbant. He added the current codes, when reviewed, would ensure uniformity in applications.
Joseph Odumodu, the director general of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria, said that the issue of quality had been a major challenge facing the regulatory agencies. He cited an example of 32 cement trucks from Benin that had been blocked from entering Nigeria as an example that the federal government should emulate.