By Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja
The Nigerian Building and Road Research Institute (NBRRI), has stated the need for Nigeria to be up-to-date with the latest in construction technology in order to make informed decisions about how to work smarter, cut costs, improve productivity and deliver superior final products.
Its Director General, Prof. Danladi Matawal disclosed this while presenting a paper titled; ‘Visible Global Technological Innovation Trends in Building and Road Infrastructure’, at the 2017 NBRRI international conference, with the theme, ‘Emerging Materials and Technologies for Sustainable Building and Road Infrastructure.’
According to him, “Given the rapid development of emerging construction opportunities, owners should demand faster projects, lower costs and better roads and building. One aspect that affects humans directly is that as technology moves workers further away from the most dangerous tasks, construction should get safer.”
The Director General emphasised that each year, workers die or sustain injuries from preventable jobsite accidents, which was one of the biggest problems in construction, adding, “the industry has well known safety practices that need more emphasis in Nigeria and combined with technology, should make jobs less dangerous while new innovative materials and equipment should lower costs, make construction faster, safer and economical.”
Continuing, Matawal said: “If we should become industry leaders, it is important to keep an eye on these construction technology trends and learn more about how they have an impact on the industry. By staying up-to-date with the latest in construction technology, we can make more informed decisions about how to work smarter, cut costs, improve productivity and deliver superior final products. “
The DG also revealed that modular construction of roadways, bridges and peripherals with advanced materials would be expanded in the next century to reduce cost and minimise traffic disruption through the rapid assembly of lighter, more durable Nano technological and similar components.
He explained that the most significant benefit of modular construction is shorter users to the safety hazards of construction times, which reduce traffic disruption and exposure of workers and highway users to the safety hazards of construction zones.
