UltraTech conducts building clinics with Engineers Institute
4 March 2015 04:02 am
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UltraTech Cement Lanka (Pvt.) Ltd is conducting building clinics in partnership with the Institute of Engineers to help individual home builders get professional advice to cut down on costs and own a long-lasting house.
“We will help people make the best use out of the best materials available today. A house is not a commodity which you keep buying. It’s one for a lifetime. So you can’t depend on unqualified people,” UltraTech Cement Lanka CEO Kiran Redkar said.
Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka’s Civil Engineering Sectional Committee Chairperson Prabodha Jinasena said that in addition to inherently weaker structures, untrained masons may also recommend using material above that which is required. He said that this may sound extra secure for individuals but on the contrary, may place undue stress on the structure and increase costs unnecessarily.
He also said that people are led to believe that houses can only be constructed on flat land which could also waste resources.“I’ve seen buildings which waste as much as 20 percent of their resources. On average it’s about 12 percent,” Jinasena said.
He said that the building clinic would advise people on effectively and efficiently utilizing the latest building material and to follow the low-cost construction principles set up by renowned civil engineer Dr. N.S. KulasingheUltraTech Cement Lanka General Manager Sandeep Holey said that engineers are only involved in planning stages of houses and that a majority of home builders deal with contractors and masons.
“South Asian countries have a dream home culture. Your house is your legacy... So we are bridging the gap between the individual home builders and the engineers for a better service,” he said. The first building clinic was held in Maharagama earlier this year and the next one would be held in Galle on March 8.
Redkar said that clinics would be held for the next two years with a frequency of one clinic every two to three months. He said they would be held in Colombo, Kandy, Kurunegala, Galle and other urban areas.
“We did it in India and had a lot of success there. So we thought we would replicate this here to give something of value to the society,” Redkar said. UltraTech Cement Lanka (Pvt.) Ltd is a subsidiary of world market leader UltraTech Cement, which is a part of the diversified Fortune 500 Company Aditya Birla Group.