COREN to certify engineers as forensic investigators

The Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) has said engineers who undergo its forensic investigation training will be certified and added to a national register of specialists to investigate building collapses and other engineering failures across the country. The Registrar and Chief Executive Officer of COREN, Engr. Prof. O.A.U. Uche, disclosed this […]

The Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) has said engineers who undergo its forensic investigation training will be certified and added to a national register of specialists to investigate building collapses and other engineering failures across the country.
The Registrar and Chief Executive Officer of COREN, Engr. Prof. O.A.U. Uche, disclosed this on Monday in Abuja at the opening of a three day workshop on Engineering Failure and Forensic Investigation.
He said the initiative was aimed at identifying the root causes of engineering failures, preventing future occurrences and safeguarding lives and property.
“The pool of trainees from this workshop will be added to our new register of trained and certified forensic engineering failure and forensic investigators who will be empowered by COREN to carry out this novel regulatory function in their different engineering disciplines and locations on behalf of COREN,” he said.
Uche said the training was beyond a routine workshop, noting that participants would be equipped with the skills and tools required to carry out forensic investigations whenever failures occur.
“This training is not just mere training. We want to go into forensic investigation so we know the root cause of failures, and that is the essence,” he said.
He noted that engineering failures often come with devastating consequences beyond damaged infrastructure.
“When you come to failure and collapse, it’s not only the infrastructure. At times, human lives, which are not quantifiable, are also being involved,” he said.
The COREN registrar expressed concern over the increasing tendency of some developers to sideline qualified professionals in construction projects.
“Time has come when you see developers, they don’t take care of who are actual practitioners, experts in those areas that are supposed to be in charge of this construction,” he said.
He added that while engineering structures could fail, such incidents could be drastically reduced through proper design, professional engagement and thorough investigations.
“We don’t say that engineering structures cannot fail. We ensure that failure is reduced to the minimum, but we need trained experts that will be involved not only in developing the structures but also in investigating failures where they occur in order to prevent future occurrences,” he said.

According to him, the workshop, organised by COREN in collaboration with the Nigerian Building and Road Research Institute (NBRRI) and the Chartered Institute of Forensic and Certified Fraud Investigators of Nigeria (CIFCIN), is the second in the series after an earlier edition held in Lagos.

He said the council planned to expand the initiative to other parts of the country to build a wider pool of experts capable of investigating failures in different engineering sectors.

Uche also said COREN was pursuing full signatory status to the Washington Accord to secure wider international recognition for Nigerian-trained engineers.

“This will ensure that our trained engineers can practise engineering in the US, UK, Canada and other countries that are members of the International Engineering Alliance,” he added.

Speaking on behalf of the COREN President, Engr. Prof. S.Z. Abubakar, a Council member, Engr. Felix Ebuzoeme, urged participants to embrace continuous learning, uphold integrity and mentor younger professionals.

“Let us also mentor the people below us. Let us not be afraid to update ourselves and we will become better professionals,” he said.