Looks
like those fly-by-night block makers are sitting on a House of Cards.
The
BSJ (Bureau of Standards Jamaica) is now taking action against makers of faulty
hollow concrete blocks as reported in “BSJ
Steps Up Activities against Faulty Block Makers”, published December 17,
2015 By Latonya Linton, The Jamaica Information
Service.
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The
BSJ had conducted islandwide inspections in September 2015 of some 209 block
makers islandwide. During these inspections they sampled and tested 234 block
samples with 10 blocks per block size in each sample specifically:
1.
8 inch hollow concrete blocks
2.
6 inch hollow concrete blocks
3.
4 inch hollow concrete blocks
To
their surprise, the non-compliance rate was alarmingly high. The BSJ discovered
83% non-compliance i.e. block maker's hollow concrete blocks below the required
standard. That translates to 8 of every 10 block maker's hollow concrete blocks
being below the required standard. By November 2015, however, it had improved
to 60.53% non-compliance.
These
blocks are used for making houses, which can collapse and kill Jamaicans during
an earthquake as pointed out by BSJ Director of the regulatory division, Orine
Henry: “If and when there is an earthquake, and these blocks are used, the
structural integrity of the buildings will be at great risk. Even without an
earthquake, the daily live and dead load that is applied to the structure will
cause the structure to fail”.
The
penalties for inferior quality are quire severe. Under the Standards Act, the
Block maker guild of making and selling faulty hollow concrete blocks can face
$3 million and 12 months imprisonment.
So
what caused the sudden increase in non-compliance?
BSJ and Block makers -
Why building made with failed hollow concrete blocks can collapse spontaneously
The
BSJ problem with block maker is more than just simply poor hollow concrete
blocks. The Stats as it relates to qualified block makers is also equally
alarming:
1.
300 block makers in the BSJ Database
2.
65 are registered by the Bureau
The
209 block makers tested islandwide in September 2015 represent 70% of these
block makers on the BSJ database, meaning that a lot of them were selling and still are selling these sub-standard
hollow concrete blocks. Worse, there is no publicly available listing of these
block makers, as the block maker can take the BSJ to court for defamation of
character.
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However,
more troubling is the fact that the six-inch block are failing
compressive-strength test to quote BSJ Director of the regulatory division,
Orine Henry: “The blocks are failing the compressive-strength test. The minimum
for strength test is 7 Mega Pascal (mpa) (1000psi), and the blocks that failed
were below the 7mpa. The average compressive-strength tests for the blocks that
failed is 3.4mpa”.
Translation:
blocks that crumble like sand the higher you build your building. So the
slightest shaking from an earthquake or even a strong gust of wind would cause
such a building to literally crumble like powder, smothering the occupants to
death.
So
what's causing the hollow concrete block failures? According to the BSJ
Scientists, these are the reasons:
1.
Insufficient cement to aggregate ratio
2.
Improper curing methods (blocks not kept
shaded after and kept moist after the first 24 hours)
3.
High percentage of water added to the
cement and aggregate mixture
4.
Malfunctioning of machine used for the
melding of the block (machine not compacting properly)
5.
Poor-quality aggregates used in the
concrete mixture
So
albeit the cement was of high quality, the aggregate wasn't good and too much
water was added. in addition after being formed by the block making machine, a
dice that can be easily procured, the blocks were left in the sun, when
exposure to sunlight made then dry too quickly, developing internal fractures
that weakened their structure severely.
This
means that building made with cheaper six-inch hollow concrete blocks that came
from block makers that failed the BSJ’s tests can collapse spontaneously, no
earthquake required!
Ok,
so what can you do against these Block makers?
BSJ cannot take action
- Homeowner's house has to collapse before Block Makers prosecuted
Apparently
not much.
The
FTC, with the help of the BSJ, can only take action after discovering the
problems with the blocks as noted by Executive director of the (FTC), David
Miller: “On the face of it, it seems to us that there is sufficient information
out there to bring a matter successfully in the court against the block maker”.
To
this end, they've begun another round of inspections islandwide to quote
Director of the Regulatory Division at the BSJ, Orine Henry: “We have been
going to construction sites, hardware stores, everywhere we can find block
makers, we have been targeting them. If persons are operating in their
backyard, our team might not necessarily know of those persons, but then again,
we ask persons to provide us with information”.
They
also started their intention to get a mobile Block testing unit, which albeit
clever, indicates how difficult it is to identify faulty non-compliant block
makers and take action, especially in Montego Bay to quote Acting Executive
Director of the BSJ, Maurice Lewin: “We are also having discussions surrounding
a mobile unit so that we can be more responsive. Part of the challenge you will
see is that the block makers don’t necessarily have the wherewithal to test
their blocks and they have to rely on us. If we can have a mobile testing
facility, then we can provide support for them to make a sample and we test it
…and so one will meet the standards before they go and make an entire batch of
block”.
Even
then, any legal action is based on a complaint to the FTC (Fair Trading Commission)
as noted in the article “BSJ
Targets Block Makers With Inferior Products”, published Thursday December
17, 2015 by Edmond Campbell, The Jamaica
Gleaner.
FTC needs you to
complain about faulty Blocks – Procedure error place FTC in trouble
The
FTC cannot take unilateral action.
Even
then, they’d have to prove the block maker is at fault along with the
contractor, to quote Executive director of the (FTC), David Miller: “Therefore,
that's a matter that we would proceed to the courts with to obtain some kind of
redress, not only for the consumer, but [for] some kind of sanction against the
block maker”.
Put
another way, a house would have to collapse spontaneously in order to take
action.
Assuming
you survived the collapse of your house, this could serve as the evidence to
build a case. Even then, under the Standards Act, the BSJ would have to have
given the block makers ninety (90) days notice to comply before taking action
to become compliant.
Given
that 70% of Kingston would be flattened by an earthquake as noted in the
article “Earthquake
fright”, published Tuesday, March 02, 2010 by Patrick Foster, The Jamaica Observer it may well be
that most of them were built using below standard techniques and building
materials i.e. faulty blocks from faulty block makers.
Also,
the householder would had to prove that the reason why the house experiencing
structural problems is because of the blocks and not any faulty construction
practice, such as improper use of cement mixture or other violation of the JS 217: Jamaica
National Building Code.
Good
to note here that the New
National Building Code of Jamaica is still being drafted by the BSJ as
noted in the article “BSJ
Drafts New Codes To Police Building Maintenance” published Friday September
18, 2015, by Tameka Gordon, The Jamaica Gleaner.
But
you can still take legal action using the JS 217: Jamaica
National Building Code, which does cover such cases of building
malpractice, so to speak, on the part of the contractor, who can also become
liable for the collapse of your house.
No spontaneous building
collapses – Insurance doesn’t cover such Structural failures of buildings
So
far this hasn't happened yet, which is why Executive director of the (FTC),
David Miller said quote: “The Fair Trading Commission has not received any
complaints but we are aware of the situation and we are gathering the necessary
information on a broad scale. If specific complaints come in, we can gather
that specific information from that consumer and from the block maker, who the
complaint is brought against”.
Otherwise
if the BSJ takes unilateral action, they may find themselves, making a
Procedural error in the same situation as the BCJ (Broadcasting Commission of
Jamaica) did against the illegal cable operators as explained in my blog article
entitled “Jamaican
Cable Providers get 3 month Extension – How to win General Election 2017 and
Why OPM can overrule @BCJamaica for Procedural Error”.
The
BCJ in that situation was forced to give the illegal Cable operators a three
(3) month extension or ninety (90) days after it became apparent that they
failed to follow the procedures it relate to giving them ninety (90) days prior
notice.
So
that’s the situation that the FTC would be facing with the Block makers. Worse,
most insurance policies does not cover the sudden collapse of a building; it
has to have collapsed during a natural disaster such an earthquake or hurricane.
Thus,
to avoid such a scenario the BSJ will have to await the first collapse of a
building and a complaint from the home owner. Once called in, they would do a
forensic assay on the block to identify the block maker from their database. Then
in concert with the lawyers from the FTC, they could then take legal action on
the behalf of the owner of the house but not before.
Here's
the Link:
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