The Lagos section of the Nigerian Institution of Surveyors (NIS) has recommended the use of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) technology to monitor high-rise constructions and prevent them from collapsing.
Mr Adesina Adeleke, the branch’s chairman, who made the appeal in Lagos, noted that installing the technology is vital because the state cannot avoid erecting high-rise projects because it assures land space management.
He believes the government should make deformation studies mandatory for all buildings with more than two stories in the state.
Adeleke stated that it is an embarrassment that the state has continued to record repeated occurrences of building collapse despite the availability of expansive professionals in the built environment.
He said: “The technological improvement in global navigation satellite system techniques has allowed significant advancement of various methodologies applied to control the dynamics of building structures in real-time, especially for calculating, controlling, and interpreting satellite survey measurements.
“The real-time monitoring system works by implementing a local geodetic network with GNSS technology on the structure to be monitored. The timely identification of deformation associated with geologic hazards or ground settlement can save lives, avert large financial liabilities, and avoid severe environmental damage. The advantage of using Global Positioning System (GPS) technology is that it can detect if the structure has drifted even for a few centimetres. Besides that, GPS provides cost-effective and 3D information that will be useful for structural engineers.”
According to Adeleke, high-precision 3-D Laser scanning imaging systems are also being used to monitor high-rise structures for any kind of deformation.
