– says GNBS in aftermath of tremor

CONTRACTORS and engineers must adhere to construction guidelines available nationally, Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) Public Relations Officer Lloyd David has said.
These requirements cover construction for foundations and excavations, construction of high-rise buildings, structural steel, hardwood lumber and concrete block masonry, among others.

This advice came in the aftermath of a tremor experienced in Guyana recently, as the result of an earthquake of 7.3 magnitude, which occurred off the coast of Venezuela on August 21, 2018.

David said the shaking of buildings is a reminder of Guyana’s need as a nation to construct structures, including buildings and bridges, according to the requirements of sections of the building code and standards, which are available at the GNBS.
“For too long, the GNBS has been employing many efforts to make stakeholders in the building and construction sector, including home owners, aware of these codes and standards and how they can positively impact the outcome of construction projects,” he said.

The PRO explained that the time has come when Guyanese can no longer afford to build without the requisite knowledge – “building by guess”, especially when constructing larger and taller buildings.

He noted that the layout and designs of any building foundation must be well prepared, using the right steel and concrete materials. Otherwise, at the end of construction or later during the occurrence of natural disasters, the entire structure could be compromised or damaged.

There are also standards related to the various products used in construction such as the standards for concrete blocks, steel nails and PVC Pipes.
“The current scenario is that the strength of most of the concrete hollow blocks produced locally is not determined. Some preliminary tests conducted by the GNBS revealed that the majority of blocks available on the market are below the compressive strengths stipulated by the recently approved national standards,” he noted.

David explained that block manufacturers therefore need to acquire copies of the standards and strive to make the kind and quality of blocks that can contribute to building resiliency in Guyana.

Like the certification of PVC pipes locally manufactured, which allows for the consistent production of quality pipes, GNBS intends to certify the quality of blocks locally produced to ensure they consistently meet the requisite compressive strengths.
As it relates to building and construction standards, ASTM International is a key partner of the GNBS.

ASTM International is a standards-development body recognised worldwide for the development of thousands of standards used in industry today, and it has developed some key standards to ensure structures constructed are resilient to adverse occurrences and changes in nature. These standards can be adopted and utilised locally by manufacturers, contractors and engineers.

According to Jack Maxwell, a writer for ASTM in his article on resilience, “Natural disasters like earthquakes, hurricanes, floods and wildfires test the mettle of every person who surveys scenes like this in their homes.”
Maxwell went on to look at resilience from a different viewpoint in the same context of natural disasters and explained how new and reliant buildings and structures can be constructed to withstand disasters.

He also tried to determine the relationship between resilience and sustainability, and he concluded that resilience is equal to durability, plus sustainability. Stakeholders in the construction sector must be mindful of this equation at all times.

Further, ASTM International has developed a standard (E2026) to guide seismic risk assessment of buildings. It is used to determine a property’s potential for earthquake-related losses caused by ground-shaking and site instability, as well as other offsite problems.

Though this standard may not be fully applicable to Guyana at this time despite the recent tremors, its usefulness in evaluating resiliency of structures in earthquake-prone territories cannot be underscored.