COVER FEATURE
INGENIEUR
COVER FEATURE
INGENIEUR
Revisit to Guidelines on Periodical Inspection of Buildings
By Ir . Fong Tian Yong
The question of what is the expected life span of a building has attracted different views from different experts . For Reinforced Concrete buildings , it generally depends on the quality of materials used and the standard of maintenance . The New Zealand Building Code requires the structural elements of a building , with only normal maintenance , to satisfy the performance requirement of the Code : ‘ for the lesser of the specified intended life span of a building to be not less than 50 years ’.
It is common for owners , especially new owners , to undertake renovation and make alterations incorporating additional loads , without taking into consideration the structural integrity of the building . The findings in the cases of the collapse of Hotel New World , Singapore in 1986 and Sampoong Department Store , Korea in 1995 , pointed to major changes in the usage of the buildings with additional loads added . These are just examples of the misuse of buildings that have resulted in weakened structures .
Subsequent to the Highland Tower collapse in Malaysia in 1993 , the Street , Drainage and Building Act ( Act 133 ) was amended in 1994 to introduce a provision for the periodical inspection of buildings of more than five storeys every ten years .
The Ministry of Housing and Local Government in December 1996 produced detailed ‘ Guidelines on the Periodical Inspection of Buildings ’ to streamline the manner in which such inspections should be carried out and included a standard set of forms for submission purposes .
However , there are still owners of high rise buildings who are not aware of their obligations to perform the periodical inspection of their building or appreciate the importance of such directives .
The question of failure to perform the periodical inspection of a Penang office building on Jalan Macalister by the owner was raised during the Penang State Government Commission of Enquiry when the 200 ton fin wall fell from the top of the 21-storey building , hitting a passing car on June 13 , 2013 .
With the increasing stock of high rise buildings accumulated over the last 30 years , it may be worthwhile to revisit the guidelines to remind the owners of buildings of their legal and social obligations to comply with the Street , Drainage and Building Act to perform the periodical inspections of buildings of more than five stories every ten years .
GENERAL GUIDELINES ON PERIODICAL INSPECTION OF BUILDINGS
The requirements for mandatory periodical inspection of buildings are stipulated under Section 85A of the Street , Drainage and Building Act ( Amendment ) 1994 , Act A903 .
The parties involved in the inspection process are :
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The local authority whose responsibility it is to ensure that the inspections are carried out according to the requirements of the Act ;
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The building owner who is responsible for the appointment of an engineer to carry out the inspections ; and
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The engineer who is appointed to inspect the building .
BUILDING TO BE INSPECTED
The requirement for inspection as provided under the Act shall apply to all buildings exceeding five storeys . Any storey of a building which is at a level lower than the ground storey shall be deemed to be a storey .
22 VOL 71 JULY - SEPTEMBER 2017