Investigation on Practice of Ethiopia Building Regulations and

Codes of Standard in Mekelle City Municipality - Tigray

A Project Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree

of
Master of Engineering in Construction Technology and Management

By

Mebrahatu Tadele

Advisor

Gebrehiwet Teklemariam (MSc.)

School of Civil Engineering

Ethiopian Institute of Technology

Mekelle University

October 2024
Assessment of Practice on Ethiopia Building Regulations and

Codes of Standard in Mekelle City Municipality - Tigray

A Project Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of

Master of Engineering Construction Technology and Management

By

Mebrahatu Tadele

Approved by Board of Examiners

Gebrihiwet T/Mariam

Advisor Signature Date

Examiner Signature Date

Examiner Signature Date

Chairman Signature Date

i
 Declaration

I, the undersigned declare that this Project work entitled Assessment of Practice on Ethiopia
Building Regulations and Codes of Standard in Mekelle Zone Municipality - Tigray is my
original work and has not been presented in any other university. And that all sources of
materials used have been are duly acknowledged.

Mebrahtu Tadele

ii
 Acknowledgements

I am thankful to God for giving me health, wisdom, knowledge and above all strength to pass it
all the difficult challenges and achieved this paper. I have also great thanks for Mekelle
University that sponsored me to learn masters’ degree. I wish to express my sincere gratitude to
my advisor Gebrehiwet Teklemariam for his continuous guidance, constructive criticisms,
suggestions and encouragement throughout the project work.

Besides, my special thanks should be equally given to my mother weyzero Silas Arefe and all
my family members for their encouragement, initiation and supports in all aspects.

I also have grateful thanks for all participants during data collection. Finally, I would like to
extend my grateful acknowledgment to all relevant construction companies and Mekelle city
municipality offices for their invaluable assistance and cooperation in conducting the data
collection works.

iii
 Executive Summery

Ethiopia has established three Building Codes of Standards since 1983. It has also established
national building regulations, building proclamation, building directives, construction policy,
training institution, product standardization agency, directives for licensing contractors and
consultants. But the proper enactment of these national laws, regulations and standards are in
question due to poor enforcement, follow up, monitoring and controlling by concerned bodies.
Even the compatibility of these adapted rules, regulations, policies, codes and standards to the
country’s economic development, existing technologies and available man power is
controversial. As a result, many lives, properties and economic losses are appearing now a day in
the country.

Therefore, the aim of the research project focuses on investigating the practice of Ethiopia
building regulations and codes of standard in Mekelle City Municipality – Tigray.

After similar literatures reviews helps for this study as a reference, data’s are collected using
questionnaire survey, interviews and records review, and then the data analysis carried by SPSS
v.20 software.

The study reveals that, there are 36 educational schools having 154 building blocks. The study
reveals 96 blocks or 62.33% are damaged. But from the damaged blocks 89 or 91.7% of them are
damaged partially. From the total 19 health building blocks 79% or 15 blocks are damaged
partially. The available one Police station is damaged 100% and from the 6 other buildings 3
blocks or 50% are damaged. None of educational buildings are maintained. But in case of health
buildings 20% are maintained. This indicated that buildings are damaged due to the horrific war
and still are not maintained and reconstructed.

The reason for un reconstructing of these damaged buildings are lack of budget , political
instabilities, un stable government, socio economic problem and post war psychological trauma
in the society, Lack of Aid from local and international organizations , price escalation, problem
related to IDP, lack of clear road map of reconstruction and lack of transparency and
accountability in government bureaucracy system.

Keywords: Building Regulation, Codes and Standard, Implementation, Enforcement

iv
Table of content

DECLARATION.........................................................................................................................................................II
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.......................................................................................................................................III
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS.....................................................................ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
EXECUTIVE SUMMERY........................................................................................................................................IV
LIST OF TABLE.....................................................................................................................................................VIII
CHAPTER -1: INTRODUCTION..............................................................................................................................1
1.1 BACK GROUND.....................................................................................................................................................4
1.2 PROBLEM OF STATEMENTS...................................................................................................................................4
1.3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS..........................................................................................................................................5
1.4 GENERAL OBJECTIVE............................................................................................................................................6
1.5 SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES............................................................................................................................................6
1.6. SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS.....................................................................................................................................6
1.7. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY..............................................................................................................................7
1.8. REPORT ORGANIZATION......................................................................................................................................7
CHAPTER -2: LITERATURE REVIEW..................................................................................................................8
2.1. INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................................................................................8
2.2. STARTING WITH THE INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENT.......................................................................................8
2.3. THE BRIEF HISTORY OF BUILDING CODES..........................................................................................................9
2.3.1. Uniform Building Code................................................................................................................................9
2.3.2. International Building Code......................................................................................................................10
2.3.3. Euro Codes................................................................................................................................................10
2.4 DEVELOPING AND USING CODE..........................................................................................................................11
2.4.1 How to create model codes.........................................................................................................................12
2.4.2 How laws are made based on building codes.............................................................................................12
2.4.3 The significance of code updates................................................................................................................12
THREE-YEAR CODE CYCLES IN MOST COUNTRIES FOSTER INNOVATION, PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT, AND ECONOMIC
GROWTH, WHILE ALSO RESULTING IN NEW PRODUCTS AND OPERATIONAL COST-SAVINGS FOR BUILDING OWNERS.
..................................................................................................................................................................................12
2.5 SELECTION AND ADOPTION OF CODES...............................................................................................................12
2.6 STANDARDS IN CODES........................................................................................................................................13
2.7 BUILDING CODE TYPES.......................................................................................................................................13
...........................................................................................................................ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
2.8 BUILDING CODES AND PROJECT STAGES............................................................................................................15
2.10 ADMINISTRATION AND ENFORCEMENT OF BUILDING CODES...........................................................................16
2.11. ISSUANCE OF THE OCCUPANCY PERMIT...........................................................................................................17
2.12 THE CONNECTION BETWEEN BUILDING ISSUES AND THE PROCESS OF ENFORCING BUILDING REGULATIONS17
2.14. BUILDING CODE IMPLEMENTATION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES...................................................................18
2.14.1 Building code implementation in Nepal...................................................................................................18
2.15 THE PROBLEMS WITH BUILDING CODE IMPLEMENTATION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES.................................19
Compliance costs for builders are often high due to construction permits, inspection procedures, legislation,
and governance design issues, with administrative processes being a major deterrent.....................................19
2.15.1 Increased bureaucratic burden does not correlate with more effective inspections................................19

v
 2.15.2 Failure to mobilize private sector resources for code implementation....................................................19
2.15.3 Absence of appeal process for dispute resolution....................................................................................19
2.16 THE CONSEQUENCE OF POOR APPLICATION OF BUILDING CODES OF STANDARDS IN DEVELOPING
COUNTRIES OF AFRICA.............................................................................................................................................20
2.16.1 Factors affecting applicability of National Building Code in Ghana......................................................20
2.16.2 A case study on failure collapse of structures in Nigeria.........................................................................21
2.16.2.1 Causes of building collapse...................................................................................................................21
2.16.3 A case study on collapsing structures in Kenya.......................................................................................22
2.16.4 Poor enforcement of building codes of standards as the main contributor to expanding disaster and
chronic risk in Ethiopia.......................................................................................................................................23
2.18 HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE ETHIOPIAN BUILDING CODES OF STANDARDS........................................26
2.18.1 Adoption of Ethiopian Standard Codes of Practices (ESCP -1983)........................................................27
2.18.2 Establishment of Building Codes of Standards (EBCS -1995).................................................................27
2.18.3 Newly revised Ethiopian Building Codes of Standards (EBCS-EN 2013)...............................................28
2.19 BUILDING REGULATIONS AND CODES IN ETHIOPIA..........................................................................................30
2.19.1 Historical background..............................................................................................................................30
2.20 APPLICATION OF APPROPRIATE BUILDING REGULATIONS AND STANDARDS...................................................31
2.20.1. Building regulations................................................................................................................................32
2.21 CONCLUSION OF THE REVIEW OF LITERATURE................................................................................................32
CHAPTER -3: METHODOLOGY...........................................................................................................................34
3.1 RESEARCH DESIGN..............................................................................................................................................34
3.2 RESEARCH APPROACH OR DESIGN................................................................ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
3.3 STUDY AREA.......................................................................................................................................................35
SAMPLE SIZE DETERMINATION..........................................................................ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
3.5 DATA COLLECTION INSTRUMENT................................................................ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
3.5.1 Questionnaire.............................................................................................................................................41
3.5.2 Interview.......................................................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
3.6 METHOD OF DATA ANALYSIS......................................................................ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
3.5. METHOD OF DATA COLLECTION..................................................................ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
CHAPTER - 4: RESULT AND DISCUSSION........................................................................................................43
4.1. RESULT ANALYSIS ON TABLE AND GRAPH FORM..............................................................................................43
4.2 QUESTIONNAIRE AND INTERVIEW RESPONSE PROFILE................................ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
4.2.1 Questionnaire Response Rate.......................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
4.2.2 Interview Response Profile.........................................................................................................................48
4.3 QUESTIONNAIRES OF GENERAL INFORMATION............................................ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
4.3.1 Questionnaire of Respondents Profile........................................................................................................49
4.3.2 Questionnaire of Company Profile.............................................................................................................51
4.3.3 Questionnaire of Company ICT General Usage...........................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
4.4 FACTORIAL ANALYSIS AND VALIDITY TEST...............................................ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
4.5 QUESTIONNAIRE OF ICT PLATFORMS AND THEIR EXTENT OF USAGE........ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
4.5 QUESTIONNAIRE OF FACTORS AFFECTING THE USE OF ICT.......................ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
4.5.1 Interpretation of results................................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
4.3. CHALLENGES OF RECONSTRUCTING THE DAMAGED PUBLIC BUILDINGS. .ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
4.4. RECONSTRUCTION OF DAMAGED PUBLIC BUILDINGS................................ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
CHAPTER -5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS............................................................................53
5.1. CONCLUSION......................................................................................................................................................53

vi
 5.2. RECOMMENDATIONS..........................................................................................................................................54
REFERENCE..............................................................................................................................................................55

List of Table

Table 4.1 : Response rate and expriances of proffesionals

Table 4.2: Total number of public buildings in each sector with clearly identified number and
percentage of damaged and UN damaged blocks

vii
Table 4.3 :Percentage of fully and partially damaged building blocks
Table 4.4: Educational building damaged on different parts at different degree of damage
Table 4.5: Health facility buildings damaged its part at different degree of damage
Table 4 6: Administrative building blocks damaged different components at different degree of
damage
Table 4.7: Police station damaged its components at different degree of damage
Table 4.8 :Other public buildings damaged teir components at different degree of damage
Table 4.9: Current reconstruction status of the damaged public buildings
Table 4.10 :current functionality issue of damaged public buildings
Table 4.11: Summery of cost maintenance for individual educational school buildings
Table 4.12: Summery of cost of maintenance for individual health buildings
Table 4.13: Summery of cost of maintenance for administrative buildings
Table 4.14: Summery of maintenance cost for police station building blocks
Table 4.15: summery of maintenance cost for damaged other buildings
Table 4.16. Summarization of challenges of reconstruction damaged public buildings
59

List of Figure

Figure 2.1: Damged building in yemen towns during the war

Figure 2.2:Number of infrastructure objects assessed

viii
Figure 2.3: Damaged Educational buildings
Figure 2.4: Damaged, reconstructed and non functional health buildings in respectively
Figure 2.5: The damaged, reconstructed and street markets image in yemen
Figure 2.6: Components of effective reconstruction in nepal
Figure 3.1: Summery of methodology in flow char 37
Figure 4.1: Total building blocks, damaged and UN damaged amounts
Figure 4.2: Fully and partially damaged building blocks
Figure 4.3: Educational building blocks damaged its part at different degree of damage
Figure4.4: Health buildings damaged its part at different degree of damage 46
Figure 4.5 :dameged adminstration building damaged its part at different degree of damage
Figure 4.6:Police station building damaged its components at different degree of damage
Figure 4.7 :Other public buildings damaged their compenents at different degree of damage
Figure 4.8 :Reconstruction status of damaged public buildings
Figure 4.9: Functionality issue of the damaged public buildings

ix
List of Abbreviations

AAiT Addis Ababa Institute of Technology

BC Building code
BCS Building Codes System
BOCA Building Officials and Code Administration
CEN Committee of European Nations
Cp1-78 Code of practice 1
EBCS Ethiopian Building Code Standards
ESCP Ethiopian Standard Code of Practice
ESEN Ethiopian standard European Norm
EU European Union
ICBO International Conference of Building Officials
ICC International Code Council
IBC International Building Code
JSCQB Joint Select Committee on the Quality of Buildings
MCiT Ministry of Communication and Information Technology
SPSS Statistical Product and Service Solution
MoWUD Ministry of Works and Urban Development
MoU Memorandum of Understanding
SBC Standard Building Code
SBCCI Southern Building Code Congress International
SEAOC Structural Engineers Association of California
UBC Uniform Building Code
UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
UDCB Urban Development and Construction Bureau

1
 DEFINITION OF TERMS
This section clarifies the main terminologies those are repeatedly used in this thesis work to
avoid the misunderstanding and misinterpretation of the following technical terms.
Standard is a document that lists the specifications for a process, product, or service,
including its dimensions, safety features, and needed performance. A standard is a written
document that has been authorized by an official authority and formed by consensus. It
specifies features, rules, and directions for actions or their outcomes, with the goal of
achieving the highest level of order possible in a particular setting. An international standard
is one that has been created, approved, and disseminated by an international standards body.
[1].
Building standards are created by professional associations like the American Society of
Testing Materials (ASTM), American Society of Civil Engineering (ASCE), and American
Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) through
research on how buildings react to local weather and geographic hazards. These groups
provide criteria for the materials that go into making a building's walls, ceiling, doors,
windows, roof, and foundation for both residential and commercial buildings [2].
Codes - Laws or regulations that specify minimum standards to protect public safety and
health such as codes for construction of buildings. In legal terms, a code is a collection of
rules, requirements or standards that have been made binding and mandatory by a local or
national government. “Code” is (with compelling power) [2].
Building codes are written and enforced by regional or local authorities; this is the code that
must be legally adhered to by anyone erecting a structure within these areas. Often times, the
standards developed by professional organizations are written into code and in turn must be
followed, if adopted by the local authority [2].
Codes of practice - are usually a set of best practices for a specific product or system so as to
ensure safe handling, maintenance and operation [2].
Specification: A set of conditions and requirements of precise and limited application that
provide a detailed description of a procedure, process, material, product, or service for use,
primarily in procurement and manufacturing. Standards may be referenced or included in the
specifications [2].

2
Technical Regulation: A mandatory government requirement that defines the characteristics
and/or the performance requirements of a product service or process [2].
Guideline: A guideline or a guide is a document generally written for a given organization,
whether for its own needs, or for its customers‟ needs. Guidelines provide guidance to
appropriate behavior so as to ensure safety of people (workers, users and general public). It
may also give information about codes, standards and regulations to comply with and about
the recommended way to meet those requirements.

3
 Chapter -1: Introduction

1.1 Back Ground

The need for housing services is rising as Ethiopia's extensive building gets more complex. It
can be confusing for all stakeholders engaged in the construction process to apply appropriate
building codes, standards, and quality against specifications when developing housing. This is
certainly an encouraging progress with requirement and mechanism for building
plan/design/checks/reviews by building officials, requirement for ensuring safety, other
construction and properties by designing according to acceptable building design codes.

Likewise, those responsible for enforcing the Building Regulations lack the appropriate
competency and even compromise with the design brought for assessment or approval due to
their selfish interest. Notwithstanding, these authorities due to their dubious means fail to
embrace the implementation of national building regulations or policy document. As result,
although development and planning authorities provide a framework for effective planning,
the complexities in most building regulations often create widespread opportunities for
discretion and corruption and ultimately lead to high numbers of unauthorized structures [27].

Notwithstanding, most stakeholders such as building owners, developers or building

contractors violate the regulations perhaps because they are not even aware of the various
regulatory processes and systems. Also, the inadequate formal engagements between the
Regulator and stakeholders are partly attributable to the ineffective internal regulatory systems
and processes. Likewise, the issue of corruption has also been a factor that has raised several
questions about the effectiveness of enforcing the National Building Regulations in Ethiopia.
Since authorities engage in corruption, developers or building contractors on the other hand
also fail compliance, and these actions by developers are some of the major causes of the
rapid growth of unauthorized structures in the urban communities.

This study assesses construction industry compliance with national building Regulations and
standards, and whether a responsible body is established to review plans and inspect new
constructions and alterations.

4
1.2 Problem of Statements

Developing countries often fail to meet acceptable standards. Simple adoption of documents
from mature regulatory systems without specific adaptation to local cultural, economic and
political factors affecting compliance has led to a critical implementation gap [16]. Ethiopia
has established three Building Codes of Standards since 1983. It has also established national
building regulations, building proclamation, building directives, construction policy, training
institution, product standardization agency, directives for licensing contractors and
consultants. But the proper enactment of these national laws, regulations and standards are in
question due to poor enforcement, follow up, monitoring and controlling by concerned bodies.
Even the compatibility of these adapted rules, regulations, policies, codes and standards to the
country’s economic development, existing technologies and available man power is
controversial. As a result, many lives, properties and economic losses are appearing now a day
in the country. However, several fundamental problems still exist in practicing Building
Codes of Standards in the country [29]. These are;

a) Ethiopia's building rules are deemed inadequate in mitigating risks related to earthquakes,
health and safety, scaffolding, form works, and demolitions.
b) A challenge exists with legislative attempts that fail to specifically address the risks
related to economy, quality, and safety in the building sector.
c) Municipal design inspections are insufficient due to lack of knowledge and exclusion of
large-scale infrastructure projects from legally mandated regulations and design review
systems.

This research therefore, assess the practice of Ethiopian Building regulation and Codes of
Standards among construction main stakeholders, current utilization of Ethiopian Building
regulation and Codes of Standards; how it is enforced in the construction sector of the
Mekelle city municipality, identify factors affecting applicability and enforcement of these
codes of standards.

5
1.3 Research Questions

1. Are the Ethiopian Building regulation and Codes of Standards practicing in the Mekelle
city municipality and company level?
2. What are the factors not practicing the Ethiopian Building regulation and Codes of
Standards?
3. Are the Ethiopian Building regulation and Codes of Standards visible to the construction
industry and the society at large?
4. What are the factors affecting the enforcement of Ethiopian Building regulation and Codes
Standards in the construction companies?

1.4 General Objective

The general objective of this study was to assess practice on Ethiopia Building regulations and
codes of standard in Mekelle city Municipality and give conclusion and recommendations in
accordance with the outcome of the result.

1.5 Specific Objectives

1. To investigate the current practice of Ethiopia building regulations and codes of standard
in Mekelle city municipality
2. To identify the main challenges faced in practicing the Ethiopian regulation and code of
standards public building.
3. Know the awareness, implementation and enforcement of the Ethiopian Building
regulation and Codes of Standards for civil works
4. To find out possible recommendations of the elements influencing the Ethiopian Building
regulation and Codes of Standards' applicability and enforcement to enhance the
application of Ethiopian Building regulation and Codes of Standards.

1.6. Scope and Limitations

The study is scoped on the content of assessing practice of Ethiopia Building regulations and
codes of standard in Mekelle city municipality and also in finding of recommended
mechanisms in short time. Due to time and financial limitation, the study only focuses on the

6
construction sites of the Mekelle city municipality. The other constraint of this research was
being first in the study area; it was very challenging to find compiled documents and all
necessary data as required. Since Tigray region is under post war the sponsored university is
also damaged as a result the institutions are unable to help me in paper, budget and any
necessary aids. Financial difficulty to access Internet, for transportation and to collect in
formations in the whole Tigray.

1.7. Significance of the Study

The research will give important information to construction professionals (contractors,

consultants, professional employees), government bodies (building officials, Bureau of Urban
Development and Construction) as well as house developers on safe building construction and
the benefit gained from properly applying Building regulation and Codes of Standards. The
major gains are:

i. The text provides details on the awareness, implementation, and enforcement of

Ethiopian Building regulations and Codes of Standards in the construction sector.
ii. Assist responsible bodies to know the extent of the visibility, applicability and
enforcement of Ethiopian Building regulation and Codes of Standards.
iii. The aim is to educate construction stakeholders on the factors influencing the
applicability and enforcement of Ethiopian Building regulations and Codes of
Standards.
iv. The study emphasizes the urgent need to utilize Ethiopian Building Regulation and
Codes of Standards in civil works design, construction, and supervision.

1.8. Report Organization

The study is prepared in five chapters. The first chapter deals the introduction part which
includes problem back ground, problem statement, questions and objective of the research
project, scope and limitation of the study. Clear, related and necessary literatures are reviewed
in the second chapter. The research methodology used for this research is described in chart
form in chapter three of the paper. The collected data are analyzed, interpreted and changed to
information result in table, bar and paragraph format in chapter four and finally the research is

7
concluded precisely and also necessary recommendations are recommended for all of the
concerned bodies in last chapter of the paper.

Chapter -2: Literature Review

2.1. Introduction

Building regulation and codes of standards have been in place throughout history to stop fires
and restrict their spread. These rules served as the foundation for the norms and standards that
committees dedicated to safety eventually developed. A specific code that addresses a risk of
the utmost importance will often end up as law. There are some aspects of the adoption of
standards by legislation that are universal, despite the fact that governing bodies and their
modes of governance vary widely around the world.

2.2. Starting with the international environment

The building construction sector is constantly growing at the international level, being
supported by technology, legal frameworks and operational systems are being prepared for it,
and it is at a high level. In the same way, the growth of the building industry in the world so
far indicates that it is a long-term practice for the governments of the countries to issue and
implement building laws, and studies indicate that building construction laws were being
prepared and implemented since 4000 years ago [25].

When we look at the situation in the distant past, it is recorded in history that in 2000 BC, the
king of Babylon (Hammurabi) issued a building construction law based on the principle of
eye for eye. In this law, a system was established and used to make the person who built the
building or the developer responsible for the accident caused by the collapse of the building
structure. In the same way, if the owner of the building dies in the accident, the developer who
built the building as a contractor will lose his life in the same way, if he loses his hand, the
developer will lose his hand, etc., according to the field researchers [25].

In the same way, evidence indicates that during the construction of buildings in ancient Greek
and Roman civilizations, they were supported by a system of operations and were monitored

8
and controlled. It is recorded in history that the buildings built by Socrates in Greece in 341
BC had their own standards.

From that distant era to the beginning of the 19th century, data shows that the construction of
buildings in America was governed by laws and attention was paid to the health and safety of
the user community. When we look at the current situation in the 21st over the past century,
the building code has been modernized to ensure safety, accessibility, fire prevention, and
environmental sustainability. Governments worldwide are leading the industry, with Ethiopia
aiming to manage the building sector lawfully. The country is working on issuing a nationally
applicable building decree. [25].

2.3. The Brief History of Building Codes

In the early 1700s AD, building codes were first observed in the United States. In order to
guarantee the health and safety of our population, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson
promoted the creation of building laws that set minimum requirements. Insurance firms
pushed for additional building code development in the early 1900s in an effort to lower loss
payouts that resulted from subpar building standards and badly constructed structures. With
the help of the building industry, local code enforcement officers created the majority of the
building codes during this time [5].

The Code Administration and Building Officials (BOCA) were founded in 1915. The
International Conference of Building Officials, or ICBO, was founded in 1927. The Uniform
Building Code (UBC) was created by this organization. SBCCI, or the Southern Building
Code Congress International, was established in 1940. This organization created the Standard
Building Code (SBC), which was mostly applied in the American South [5].

2.3.1. Uniform Building Code

The western United States was the main user of the Uniform Building Code (UBC). The
International Council of Building Officials, with its headquarters located in California,
released the UBC for the first time in 1927. It offered uniform standards for safe construction
that would not differ from city to city as had previously been the case, with the goal of
promoting public safety [34].

9
Up to 1997, when the code's last version was released, updated editions were released around
every three years. The International Code Council (ICC) released the new International
Building Code (IBC) in 2000, replacing the UBC.

2.3.2. International Building Code

The International Code Council (ICC) created the International Building Code (IBC), a model
building code. Up until it is incorporated into or modified by a government rule, a model
building code is not legally binding. Depending on the location, a number of distinct building
codes were in use prior to the development of the International Building Code. The IBC was
created to combine several building standards into a single, consistent code that could be
utilized to build structures both domestically and abroad [3].

In 1997, the first edition of the IBC was published. There were still many flaws and it was not
widely accepted. In 2000, the first comprehensive and coordinated set of the IBC was
published. The development of the IBC typically runs in eighteen-month (18) cycles. The first
step is accepting applications for code committees and code change proposals. The next step
is to publish the proposed changes. The third step is to hold public hearings on the proposed
changes. Next the minutes from the hearing are published. The following step is to collect
public comments. The fifth step is to publish the public comments. Next the final public
hearing is held. After the final public hearing the annual ICC meeting is held. Finally the
revised or new code is published. The amendments are issued to incorporate approved
changes, lessons learned and new technology [3].

2.3.3. Euro Codes

The structural design and construction regulations for civil engineering infrastructure works in
Europe are collectively known as the Euro codes. These regulations were developed to
harmonize standards across member states, facilitating a unified approach to building safety
and performance. Between 1992 and 1998, a series of experimental European Pre-standards
(ENVs), commonly referred to as Euro code standards, were introduced. The primary
objective of these ENVs was to allow practitioners in the field an opportunity to apply these
documents in practical scenarios while providing feedback and insights to the European
Standards Organization (CEN). This initiative was undertaken under a directive from the

10
European Commission, which tasked CEN with the responsibility of formulating these
guidelines.

By 2006, CEN had successfully transitioned these experimental standards into comprehensive
specifications that could be uniformly adopted across Europe. The complete set of Euro codes
is organized into ten distinct packages, encompassing a total of 58 components that address
various aspects of structural design and construction practices [20].

EN 1990 – Euro code: Basis of Structural Design

EN 1991 – Euro code 1: Actions on Structures

EN 1992 – Euro code 2: Design of Concrete Structures
EN 1993 – Euro code 3: Design of Steel Structures
EN 1994 – Euro code 4: Design of Composite Steel and Concrete Structures
EN 1995 – Euro code 5: Design of Timber Structures
EN 1996 – Euro code 6: Design of Masonry Structures
EN 1997 – Euro code 7: Geotechnical Design
EN 1998 – Euro code 8: Design of Structures for Earthquake Resistance
EN 1999 – Euro code 9: Design of Aluminum

The stated advantages of Euro codes

1. Euro codes standardize design practices, addressing fire safety, structural stability,
mechanical resistance, durability, and cost-effectiveness, while also considering factors
like durability.
2. Euro codes foster a shared understanding among building industry stakeholders, including
designers, contractors, owners, operators, and users, regarding structural design principles
and methodologies.
3. The Euro codes promote the use of standardized design tools like guidebooks, manuals,
and software applications to streamline the design process.
4. The adoption of these codes aims to improve construction safety consistency across
Europe, thereby enhancing public safety in built environments [20].

11
2.4 Developing and Using Code

According to [19], the standards and guidelines specific to code development and
implementation are outlined in the section that follows.

2.4.1 How to create model codes

Standards production in many regions is top-down and government-driven, despite countries

like the US and Europe establishing fair, open, and transparent standards. Model code
development aims to achieve consensus on commercial gain and public health and safety,
involving scientific and engineering principles, technical expertise, and customer preferences.

2.4.2 How laws are made based on building codes

Model codes adopted by local legislatures become local building regulations, serving as the
construction industry's guidebooks and modernizing buildings. Local codes are less
advantageous than state-wide building codes, as they provide consistent requirements across
the state. Insurance industry supports statewide regulations, as they reduce vulnerability to
weather disasters.

2.4.3 The significance of code updates

Three-year code cycles in most countries foster innovation, product development, and
economic growth, while also resulting in new products and operational cost-savings for
building owners.

2.5 Selection and Adoption of Codes

Some researchers set a number of principles that should frame the formulation of building
codes and regulations. These principles are [7]:

i. Be simple to implement.
ii. Be suitable for various kinds of structures and systems.
iii. Possess the necessary flexibility and adaptability to embrace new design concepts and
technology.

12
 iv. Be dependable and simple to implement.
v. Generate dependable results.
vi. Be consistent in application and
vii. Apply consistently and without causing negative side effects (e.g., safety or health
consequences).

2.6 Standards in Codes

A standard is a published technical document that outlines the accepted practices in the
industry for designing, manufacturing, testing, and installing a material or assembly to achieve
a particular level of performance.

Codes and standards are not the same thing. Laws do not enforce standards as codes do. Once
a jurisdiction adopts a code, codes typically become the major authorities of reference,
whereas standards are the references of secondary authorities [5].

2.7 Building Code Types

There are three kinds of building codes each with a different objective. These are prescriptive
or descriptive building codes, performance based building codes, and a third type which is a
combination of the previous two. The two major types are prescriptive and performance
building codes [3].
Building Codes
Regulate

Materials Methods of Installation of Promote

Construction Fixtures, Alternative or
Selection Equipment’s, and New materials
Accessories
Figure 2.1: Building Codes Purposes [3]

13
Fig. 2.2 shows the relation between building codes and design

Design Stage

Consultant Engineers
Produce

Specifications Plans Based on

Based on

Design & Material Specification,

Method of Construction &
Installation,

Which Code Regulates

Figure 2.2: The Relation between Building Codes and Design [3]

Construction stage

Contractor Supervisor Inspectors

Skilled labour Sub-contractors

Methods of Construction, Installation of

fixtures, Equipment’s & Accessories

14
Figure 2.3: Relation between building Codes and Construction [3]

2.8 Building Codes and Project Stages

Building Code Enforcement is the administrative process utilized by the Department of

Building Officials. The National Building Code has conveniently divided the enforcement
process into four stages. These are [3]:

 Pre design stage.

 Design stage.
 Construction, and
 Post construction.

Building inspections are conducted before and during construction, with architects and
engineers verifying plans against current norms and standards. Municipal authorities review
the drawings, and design teams update designs based on feedback.

Once the permission is acquired, work can begin. Local authorities should periodically audit
and enforce codes during construction. During this phase, items overlooked throughout the
approval process are discovered. Architects and consulting engineers inspect the building
once more after construction is almost finished, at which point they apply for an occupancy
permit. Next, the building should be inspected by the local authorities for the final permit, and
the building can be placed in use and occupied as shown in the figure below [3].

Building regulation and codes

Design stage Planning and building permit approval

Construction stage Inspection

End of construction stage Occupancy certificate

15
Figure 2.4: Codes and Building Project Stages [3]

2.9 Aspects of Building Codes

Four components are covered by building codes: legislative, social, administrative, and
technical. The legal standing of building rules and regulations is the focus of the legislative
component. Human relationships, the physical environment, and the impact of structures are
all part of the social component.

The text discusses the challenges of transgression, confusion in regulations, and legal delays,
while also highlighting social norms like work ethics and honesty. It also covers
administrative and technical aspects of building code bodies [3].

2.10 Administration and Enforcement of Building Codes

There are two departments that oversee building codes. Building codes vary depending on the
region, but generally speaking, they are divided into two sections, as shown in Fig. 2.5.
Administrative and enforcement matters, including licenses, permits, inspections, certificates
of occupancy, safety, modifications, upkeep, approval of drawings, and halt work orders, are
often included in the first section. The second section imposes design and construction criteria
for things like electrical distribution, stairs, hallways, doors, windows, elevators, escalators,
lighting, plumbing, and fixtures [5].
System of Building Codes
&Enforcement

The Organization of Building Code

Enforcement

First part: Second part:

Administration Code Developers

Building Plan Reviewers

Inspectors 16
Figure 2.5: Building Codes and the Organization of Building Code Enforcement [10]

2.11. Issuance of the occupancy permit

After a final inspection that is successful, several jurisdictions require the issue of occupancy
permits. The occupancy permit attests to builder liability, insurance and finance requirements,
and code compliance. A certificate of occupancy is typically issued by local building
authorities after consulting with other governmental organizations [22].

2.12 The Connection between Building Issues and the Process of Enforcing
Building Regulations

Building regulations are not strictly enforced, which results in numerous violations and poor
building construction. UNESCO-sponsored research on typical building failures found that
owners, designers, and contractors held building officials accountable for construction failures
by failing to adhere to predetermined standards both prior to and post building permit
approval. The study discovered that one of the main reasons for building failures is the
absence or lax implementation of laws pertaining to construction health and safety as well as
building rules [2].

A Report on the Quality of Buildings was released in Australia by the Joint Select Committee
on the Quality of Buildings (JSCQB). The Committee discovered that the primary reason for
low-quality structures was violations of building codes, which occurred when chief certifiers
failed to carry out their duties in a proper manner, and homes that complied with building
codes but did not follow approved designs due to; poor enforcement of building code causes
extra losses during hurricanes, factors affecting building code enforcement in low and middle
income countries, weaknesses in building code administration and institutional capacity,
insufficient legislative foundation, ineffective building control regimes, regulatory capture
and corruption, insufficient recognition of prevalent building practices, inadequate building
codes, inappropriate transfer of codes from high-income countries, non-participation in
balancing acceptable risk and affordability, failure of codes to address locally prevalent non-

17
engineered construction, lack of quality control for building materials and equipment, limited
access to code documents or training for code compliance, shortage of technically qualified
personnel and funding at local and municipal level.

2.14. Building Code Implementation in Developing Countries

Different countries follow different system of building code implementation. Among the
many countries reviewed, the Nepal building code implementation is discussed as follows.

Building code implementation in Nepal

According to [28], Although Nepal's building code was drafted in 1994, it wasn't until 2001
that it was successfully implemented in one municipality, indicating a bottom-up strategy for
improving code compliance rates. The first municipality's experience has expanded the scope
of code implementation.

Thus, the most effective way to execute building codes is through a bottom-up strategy that
involves educating the general public, increasing motivation, and providing appropriate
approaches and recommendations to local stakeholders. The national building code of Nepal
addresses four distinct degrees of design and construction sophistication, which are as
follows:

A. Global state-of-the-art
B. Structures with expert engineering
C. Structures with limited dimensions that adhere to basic or required laws of thumb
D. Remote rural structures those are difficult to manage The Nepal National Building Code
2.15 The Problems with Building Code Implementation in Developing Countries

Compliance costs for builders are often high due to construction permits, inspection
procedures, legislation, and governance design issues, with administrative processes being a
major deterrent.

Increased bureaucratic burden does not correlate with more effective inspections

Without a discernible gain in safety, the needless bureaucratic processes involved in obtaining
building permits raise the cost of construction. The administrative processes required to get a

18
formal building or occupancy permit are so onerous, expensive, and time-consuming in many
nations that they prevent code compliance. Code compliance can result in higher building
expenses, which may discourage builders from adhering to the standards of the regulations.
This is due to the issue of administrative barriers posed by building codes. Insufficient skills,
disagreements in the workplace, long wait times, exorbitant costs, and other difficulties are
these [23].

Failure to mobilize private sector resources for code implementation

The enforcement systems of the least effective building control systems in these nations
mostly depend on public authorities and local building code officers to oversee construction
and ensure adherence to other relevant regulations. The approval, inspection, and permission
processes for building and planning have significant backlogs that are only getting worse for
these systems. Additionally, they are having more and more difficulty finding and keeping
skilled engineers and technical employees in light of the competitive private sector, which
frequently provides higher compensation and more alluring career opportunities [6].

Absence of appeal process for dispute resolution

The absence of professional appeal processes for building code administrative judgments may
discourage builders from adopting solutions that align with legal and technical specifications.
Uncertainty and costly delays can result from discrepancies in interpretation between
inspectors and design practitioners. ICT online construction permission system solutions have
only slightly realized their potential due to lack of competence in building code administration
systems [6].

2.16 The Consequence of Poor Application of Building Codes of Standards

In developing nations, a variety of factors can lead to building failure. The following is the
case study for buildings in Ghana.

Factors affecting applicability of National Building Code in Ghana

In Ghana, the National Building Code was passed in 1996 to control the construction of new
buildings, the modification of existing structures, and the installation of fixtures or other work
related to any building. Despite the fact that this regulation has been passed, its application is

19
dubious. The study's conclusions showed that the primary elements influencing how local
governments in Ghana apply the Building Code Regulation are dictated in Table 2.2 [30].

Table 2.1: Factors Affecting Applicability of the Ghana National Building Codes [30]

Factors Affecting Application of National Building Codes in Ghana Rank

Corruption 1

Bureaucratic Procedures 2

Unavailability Of highly experienced Personnel 3

Lack of public education about the national building regulations 4

Inadequate resources for implementer 5

Political interference 6

Inadequate Personnel 7

Lack of qualified personnel 8

Inadequate knowledge of the regulations by implementers 9

Lack of commitment by central government 10

Lack of commitment by Local 11

Ambiguities of some part of the national building regulations 12

A case study on failure collapse of structures in Nigeria

Here, two essential ideas emerge: building collapse and failure. Although professionals in the
built environment hold differing views on each idea, they all agree that the former strongly
influences the latter. Failure is defined as a performance gap between predicted and observed
that is intolerable. When a building component can no longer be counted on to perform its
primary function, a failure has occurred [26].

Causes of building collapse

20
As can be shown in Figure 2.6 below, approximately 53% of the causes are related to design
flaws, 27% to construction site faults, 11% to product failures, 4% to overloading potential
building causes, and 5% to unidentified causes [26].

One additional aspect contributing to building failure is corruption. Corrupt practices in the
built environment include the use of inferior materials by the client, inefficient and dishonest
labor input, and construction without an authorized building drawing, among other
irregularities. In an effort to spend the least amount of money possible on construction, some
clients have a tendency to take short cuts by not hiring experienced staff to prepare the
contract agreements and oversee the building's development. inferior materials, particularly
the reinforcement rods and cement can contribute greatly to failure of building. Recent studies
have validated this assertion, low quality materials is one of the causes of structural failure.
When a building fails, it brings the integrity of the person or contracting firm that handles it to
question [26].

Causes of Building Failure in Nigeria

4% 5% design
11% construction
Material
53% over load
unkown
27%

Figure 2.1: Causes of Building Failure in Nigeria [26]

A case study on collapsing structures in Kenya

The several reasons why buildings in Africa, especially Kenya, fail are explained in detail in
this article. A issue that should be taken into consideration, in addition to the many reasons of
building collapses, is a lack of code of practice. Although they employ indigenous resources
for construction, the majority of codes of practice used in African nations are foreign codes,

21
either from Britain, Europe, or India. In Kenya, the number of building failures and the
ensuing collapse of structures has increased alarmingly in recent years.

In January 2013, a five-story building that was still under construction collapsed in Nairobi's
core business center, leaving at least eleven people dead and numerous others injured. When
the incomplete structure in central Nairobi came, there were more than 280 construction
workers inside down. Over 200 people were trapped under the debris of the collapsed
structure. At least 90 people were pulled out of the rubble alive, but six of those later died
[34].

Reasons suggested to have caused the failures

The collapse of the buildings was attributed to a variety of factors, such as improper concrete
mix ratio, excessive column spacing, inadequate reinforcement, excessive slenderness ratio,
noncompliance with standards or specifications by developers and contractors, inadequate
inspection and monitoring, structural flaws, defective design/structure, illegal conversion and
alteration, contractors cutting costs by altering the recommended concrete mix or lowering the
recommended amount of reinforcement, and a host of other factors [34].

In general as research done by [16], demonstrates that Kenya's current structural concrete
quality control methods are not as effective as they should be. Buildings are frequently
certified safe for habitation by architects and engineers, in part because of erroneous or
fraudulent laboratory tests. Thousands of dangerously flimsy buildings have been and will be
constructed as a result, and millions of people will probably be exposed to needlessly
increased hazards for years to come unless better control measures are put in place [16].

Recommendation and suggestions

The National Society of Engineers and other government organizations should endeavor to
obtain a code of practice that will align with the local materials used in a specific region in
order to lower the incidences of building collapse in any nation. Additionally, they must
guarantee that the client has hired a licensed engineer to oversee the project. In order to
guarantee that all projects fulfill the necessary requirements prior to being installed on site, the
government should also play a significant role. It is advised that there be more building

22
professionals who feel obligated to guarantee the structural integrity of the structures they
construct, and that the regulatory agencies that uphold and promote best practices operate
more effectively [16].

Poor enforcement of building codes of standards as the main contributor to expanding disaster and
chronic risk in Ethiopia

The ineffective enforcement of construction codes and standards has a detrimental effect on
the prevention of occasional disasters. The following discusses some of the risks that Ethiopia
experienced as a result of the incorrect application of ESEN.

Earthquake risks in Addis Ababa and other major Ethiopian cities

According to a report published in 1999, a 6.5 magnitude earthquake, which seismologist say
could happen in areas of close proximity to Addis Ababa, the country's major city, could
cause as many as 4000-5000 deaths, 8000-10,000 injuries and a displacement of as many as
500,000 people and a total damage in excess of 12 Billion Birr. With regard to the effect of
the 1961 Kara Kore-Majete earthquake on Addis Ababa, some 200 km south of Kara Kore,
the first earth tremors were felt at breakfast time on 19 May, 1961. Some masonry structures
cracked partition walls in reinforced concrete frame buildings were dislocated by shearing
motion, etc., especially along the Filwuha fault zone in the southern sector of the city [16].

Further, most stone and brick masonry buildings have extremely poor connections between
the different components and under a significant earthquake load will simply crack and even
fall apart. The majority of these masonry buildings do not have steel reinforcement and when
they do, the reinforcements were not detailed in accordance with earthquake-resistant design
requirements.

Concrete buildings, on the other hand, will experience, in addition to cracks and foundation
failures, beam- column joints failures due to poor reinforcement detailing that could keep
them as one unit. In general, the types of buildings that will be most affected are what
engineers call "stiff" buildings such as stone and brick masonry buildings of all heights and
reinforced concrete buildings with stiff infill and partition walls. These "stiff" buildings do not
have the required "ductility" and resilience to absorb and dissipate the massive amount of
energy impacted on them by the earthquake loads [21].

23
What will make matters worse is the fact that most hospital buildings in this city, like the
Black Lion Hospital, Menelik Hospital, St. Paul Hospital, Balcha Hospital, Ras Desta
Damtew Hospital etc., will most probably experience serious structural damage and perhaps
total failure themselves due to their non- ductile (non-elastic or stiff) behavior and lack of
earthquake- resistant design.

Menelik, Ras Desta Damtew and Balcha Hospitals for example are built of a heavy stone
masonry with inadequate restraints that will likely collapse or sustain major structural damage
under a 6.5 magnitude earthquakes. School buildings in these cities, such as those of Black
Lion, Medhane Alem, Addis Ketema, etc are also traditionally made of concrete and stone
masonry which will experience severe damage and potential collapse under such a magnitude
of earthquake [18].

Even worse, some parts of Addis Ababa—like Fil Whoa, Mesqel Square, Bole, Beqlo Bet,
Nifas Silk, Lideta, Mekanisa, etc.—have soil conditions that could exacerbate the effects of
earthquakes. These regions are made up of layers of soft soil deposits that, in the case of the
Fil Woha area, reach depths of up to 15 meters, which intensify the ground motion caused by
earthquakes. Foundation and structural breakdowns are inevitable as a result of these
amplified seismic forces. Because there is a thicker layer of basalt rock closer to the surface in
these regions than in others like Entoto, Kolfe, and Shola, buildings and constructions there
are consequently far more vulnerable to destruction.

In addition, the runways of Bole International Airport, the nation's main gateway to the
outside world, may sustain damage that makes them unusable, particularly for larger aircraft.
Because the old and new terminals are constructed on deeply buried soil that may intensify
ground motion and are not made to withstand an earthquake of this size, structural damage to
both might be substantial [18].

Table 2.2: Some of the Recent Significant Earthquakes that have rocked the Rift Valley, the
Afar Plains and the Western Edge of the Rift Valley [16], [18]

Location Year Magnitud Distance of Damage

e Epicenter

24
 from Addis
(kms)

Langano 1906 6.8 110 Felt as far as Addis

Kara kore 1961 6.7 150 Town of Majete destroyed. Kara

kore seriously damaged

Central Afar Area 1969 Town of serdo destroyed

Wendo Genet 1983 300

Langano 1985 6.2 100

Rift Valley Area 1987 6.2 200 Widely felt and widely-spread
damage

Dobi [Central 1989 6.3 200 Several bridges damaged

Afar]

Nazret 1993 6 <100 Injuries and damage in nazret

Also felt in debre Zeit and Addis

Despite the nation's 1983 adoption of its first earthquake design code of standards,
construction officials in the nation have never prioritized or considered the application of
seismic-resistant codes to be necessary. One could argue that the current state of the economy
will make implementation too expensive. This is a naive argument, though, as given the
limited resources of the nation, fixing future earthquake damage may potentially be far more
expensive. The good news is that there appears to be an increasing concern and knowledge
about the danger of seismic hazards as more studies estimate the magnitude of future
earthquakes and their potentially disastrous impact on the nation's major urban centers.

The official approval of a comprehensive set of construction requirements for earthquake

resistant design in 1995 is by itself an encouraging development. However, there is a problem
on regular updating of the codes [16].

25
2.18 Historical Development of the Ethiopian Building Codes of Standards

The Ministry of Works and Urban Development is authorized by the Proclamation to define
the powers and duties of the Central and Regional Executive Organs of the Transitional
Government of Ethiopia No. 41/1993 to draft the nation's building code, establish standards
for design and construction projects, and monitor and oversee their implementation. These
standards are intended to function as nationally recognized guidelines, the adoption of which
is thought to guarantee that buildings adhere to the National Building Code's minimal
specifications for design, construction, and material quality. Applying these standards will
primarily help professional practice harmonization as well as guaranteeing acceptable levels
of economy, safety, and health while taking the demands and objective conditions of the
nation into mind. Since these standards are technical in nature and must thus be updated on a
regular basis, the Ministry will periodically release amended editions when necessary [12].

Adoption of Ethiopian Standard Codes of Practices (ESCP -1983)

Prior to the 1980s, Ethiopia lacked its own set of standards. It was utilizing standards codes
from other nations. Before the 1980s, foreign consultants and contractors handled the majority
of building design and construction. 1978 saw the introduction of the first building code
(CP1), which addresses the nation's seismic concerns. The Ethiopian Standard Code of
Practice (ESCP1) was created in 1983 after the subsequent version was approved. That takes
care of loading. The so-called UBC (Uniform Building Code) and SEAOC (Structural
Engineers Association of California) had an impact on both codes [29].

The CP1-78 code mainly addressed seismic zoning and the calculation of equivalent static
loads on structures; it did not address the actual seismic design of structural members, such as
beams, columns, and shear walls. Instead, the decision-making for seismic design was left to
the engineers who are knowledgeable about the established international building codes,
mainly the UBC. The Ethiopian Standard Code of Practice 2, or ESCP 2:1983, addresses the
structural application of concrete and provides guidelines for concrete design. ESCP 3:1983,
which addresses a structure's foundation. Ethiopia has generally embraced three Standard
Codes of Practice: ESCP 1 (loading), ESCP 2 (using concrete structurally), and ESCP 3
(foundation) [29].

26
2.18.2 Establishment of Building Codes of Standards (EBCS -1995)

As was previously said, the Ethiopian government is directly utilizing Euro Codes without the
consent or agreement of European nations, giving rise to an intellectual property rights issue
with the Ethiopian Standard Codes of Practices of 1983. The other reason for EBCS 1995's
adoption is that, in 1983, there were only three Standard Codes of Practices. As a result, it
became necessary to adopt additional codes to guarantee that buildings complied with the
National Building Code's minimal standards for material quality, construction, and design. So,
a significant modification that was implemented in 1995 comes after these. The Ministry of
Works and Urban Development adopted the EBCS-1995, which was divided into 11
volumetric portions as follows [29].

a. EBCS-1 (BASIS OF DESIGN AND ACTIONS ON STRUCTURES)

b. EBCS-2 (SRTUCTURAL USE OF CONCERTE)
c. EBCS-3 (DESIGN OF STEEL STRUCTURES)
d. EBCS-4 (DESIGN OF COMPOSITE STEEL AND CONCERETE STRUCTURES)
e. EBCS-5 (UTILIZATION OF TIMBER)
f. EBCS-6 (DESIGN OF MASONARY STRUCTURES)
g. EBCS-7 (FOUNDATIONS)
h. EBCS-8 (DESIGN OF STRUCTURES FOR EARTH QUACKE RESISTANCE)
i. EBCS-9 (PLUMBING SERVICE OF BUILDINGS)
j. EBCS-10 (ELECTRICAL INSTALLATION OF BUILDINGS)
k. EBCS-11 (MECHANICAL VENTILATION AND AIR CONDITIONING
BUILDINGS).

On the other hand, the eleven volume Ethiopian Building Code Standards (EBCS) were
largely based on the European pre-standard (experimental) code (ENV 1998), which was
created by the Committee of European Nations (CEN). the draft Euro Code marked a
significant shift from previous codes, primarily using UBC as a model, seemingly without any
technical reason.

27
 Furthermore, there are a lot of important contradictions and disputes as a result of the
adoption of this "draft" code before the European Union themselves reviewed it and approved
a revised version as standing code. [16, 9].

Newly revised Ethiopian Building Codes of Standards (EBCS-EN 2013)

According to [30], Ethiopia's Ministry of Works and Urban Development is likely to establish
a new building code that will replace the country's eighteen-year-old one (MoWUD). The new
code will be based on European building codes that are currently in place. In January 2012,
the Addis Ababa Institute of Technology (AAiT) was given a duty by the Ministry to create a
draft for architects and contractors throughout the nation. Started in March 2012, the draft
consists of 58 sections divided into 14 standard code headers. On April 9, 2013, the Institute
gave the ministry eight of the 58 pieces.

The Ethiopian Ministry of Works and Urban Development has formally implemented
construction Codes having 11 summarized Codes in 1995 and now three summarized codes
have been reestablished to boost the sector to offer a better standard. The Ministry signed
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the European Union (EU) and European
standardization committee in 2011. The Ministry was provided with the EU‟s Building Code,
which was last updated in 2010.

The Ministry of Construction in Ethiopia is not allowed to alter the Euro code or its name,
despite the need for unique Ethiopian data. The new code considers wind and earthquake
effects, necessitating larger structural frame works and new design requirements.

The development of the code took twenty years in European countries. A proposal to create a
construction council in Ethiopia that will oversee the codes' implementation is also being
worked on. The construction industry will be regulated by the council, which will also enforce
the consistent standards set forth by Euro Code. The Ethiopian Standardization Agency will
receive the final document before the Ministry of Communication and Information
Technology (MCiT) sends it for correction. [37].

The following list includes the 14 EBCS that the Ethiopian Ministry of Urban Development
and Construction established in 2013 [12].

28
a. EBCS-1 EN1991 (ACTIONS ON STRUCTURE)
b. EBCS-2 EN 1992 (DESIGN OF CONCERETE STRUCTURE)
c. EBCS-3EN 1993 (DESIGN OF STEEL STRUCTURES)
d. EBCS-4 EN 1994 (DESIGN OF COMPOSITE STEEL AND CONCERETE
STRUCTURES)
e. EBCS-5 EN 1995 (DESIGN OF TIMBER)
f. EBCS-6 EN 1996 (DESIGN OF MASONARY STRUCTURES)
g. EBCS-7 EN 1997 (FOUNDATIONS)
h. EBCS-8 1998 (DESIGN OF STRUCTURES FOR EARTH QUACKE RESISTANCE)
i. EBCS-9 (PLUMBING SERVICE OF BUILDINGS)
j. EBCS-10 (ELECTRICAL INSTALLATION OF BUILDINGS)
k. ES -EBCS11 (MECHANICAL VENTILATION AND AIR CONDITIONING IN
BUILDINGS)
l. EBCS-G (EBCS 12) (BUILDING SPATIAL DESIGN)
m. EBCS13 (FIRE PRECAUTIONS DURING BUILDING CONSTRUCTION DESIGN,
WORKS AND USE)
n. EBCS 14 (HEALTH AND SAFETY IN BUILDING CONSTRUCTION

2.19 Building Regulations and Codes in Ethiopia

Ethiopia, like many other nations, has several Building Codes System (BCS) components and
buildings. The components, structure, and many characteristics of EBCS are thoroughly
explained in the sections that follow.

Historical background

Building Directive No. 5/2003 was established by the Ministry of Construction and Urban
Development in 2003. It outlines the steps that must be taken, from design approval to
building occupancy, to guarantee the public's safety and health. Enforcing these directions to
the ongoing building construction around the nation is mandatory. Furthermore, on May 6,
2009, Ethiopia issued Building Proclamations Nos. 691, 2005, and 624, 2009, which address
the duty of stakeholders to uphold and implement the laws and regulations outlined in
building proclamations. In accordance with Article 5 of the Federal Democratic Republic of

29
Ethiopia Proclamation, which defines the powers and responsibilities of the executive organs,
the Council of Ministers is making this proclamation. Furthermore, in accordance with Article
5 of the Definitions of Powers and Duties of the Executive Organs of the Federal Democratic
Republic of Ethiopia, the Council of Ministers issued Building Regulation No. 624/2009. The
building regulation addresses the rules, legislation, and guidelines that are relevant to the
construction industry [14].

2.20 Application of Appropriate Building Regulations and Standards

Since 1963, the Ethiopian Standards agency has been in operation. The agency's lack of
adequate financial and human resources as well as the industry's lack of direct participation in
standardization efforts are the key reasons for the slow pace of standardization. The primary
source of funding for the establishment of standards has been inadequate government
subvention. Owing to the identified shortcomings, the sector mostly still uses foreign
standards without conducting a thorough assessment of their suitability [25].

Furthermore, the enforcement of building regulations is not very strong. Building codes are
created by the Ministry in charge of lands and human settlements, although local governments
are also partially in charge of enforcing them. One of the things that lead to low-quality goods
and services is the absence of proper building codes and standards [25].

Almost all residential construction projects have to go by extensive building rules or

regulations that are regulated by municipal and state legislation. State and local governments
usually adopt nationally known model codes, often modifying them to fit local construction
methods, climate, and geography, due to the expense and difficulty of drafting and
maintaining such standards. For this reason, the majority of nations and groups embrace
globally recognized codes [37].

To address a number of specific code-related concerns, such as cost effectiveness,

affordability, hazard mitigation, and performance-based design, voluntary energy and green
programs, accessibility, stair geometry, and other crucial factors, policies and codes of
conduct that are critically designed and drawn from the practice of various countries are used.
This kind of development is crucial and significant, particularly for buildings where the rules

30
can significantly affect occupant comfort and safety as well as building and operating costs
[25].

Generally speaking, building codes are meant to be followed by regulators, architects,

engineers, and contractors. However, they are also utilized for a variety of purposes by
environmental scientists, real estate developers, subcontractors, insurance companies, facility
managers, renters, safety inspectors, and makers of building materials and products [37].

Issues raised by ministries, stakeholders, contractors, universities, and regional representatives

must be taken into account in the sector's future attempts. There are discussions on how urgent
it is to form the national construction council for the industry. Collaborations, the need to
develop a shared knowledge of the codes and standards, construction quality, safety concerns,
code revision, and other challenges that are bottlenecks to the sector are some of the primary
issues that are emerging [37].

Building regulations

It is a legally binding document that gives all local authorities the authority to supervise the
upkeep of the building code and bylaws in the regions under their purview. But because
Ethiopia's housing policy was lax in the past, there are a number of haphazard urban designs,
plans, and building techniques that are apparent. Research is still being done to find solutions
to these issues, including upgrading low-income homes, coming up with new affordable
housing projects, introducing new sanitation practices, employing local building materials,
and transferring construction technologies [31].

2.21 Conclusion of the Review of Literature

Building codes aim to protect public health, safety, and welfare, but their visibility,
applicability, and enforcement vary globally. Low- and middle-income nations face
occasional calamities due to limited awareness, knowledge, and economic standing,
highlighting the need for improved standards.

The majority of middle-income nations lack their own building rules or standards that are
appropriate for using locally accessible building materials in construction methods. Their

31
building rules of standards do not take into account variations in construction sophistication
appropriate for that specific nation. These nations borrow their building codes from highly
regulated nations. As a result, in own-built and non-engineered construction projects, building
codes are disregarded. It permits the construction to be dependent on imported building
materials, even for designed structures, while neglecting the low-cost domestic building
materials that are readily available.

The methods used by various nations to enforce building codes vary. The two approaches to
code enforcement used in America are enforced code compliance and voluntary code
compliance. The country's voluntary code compliance rate is higher, according to the report.
Maintaining a positive working connection between designers and contractors is how this is
accomplished. This philosophy's basic tenet is to save punishment for bad behavior and praise
good behavior. European building codes show increasing privatization of control tasks,
influenced by deregulation and administrative procedures. This global trend encourages
government authority over construction projects, supported by quality assurance techniques
like certification and accreditation.

Literature has shown that certain emerging nations have effective systems in place for
implementing building codes. Nepal was used as an example from these. The most effective
way to implement building codes is in Nepal, where the general public is engaged in capacity-
building initiatives, awareness-raising, and the distribution of appropriate procedures and
guidelines to ground-level stakeholders. Four distinct degrees of design and construction
sophistication are found in its BC, and these are being addressed in Nepal. These include:
globally cutting-edge, expertly built buildings; buildings with size restrictions created
according to basic guidelines; and isolated, rural buildings where supervision is impracticable.

Ethiopian building codes are directly derived from the Euro Code. The principles of Ethiopian
Building Codes of Standards are not well understood by Ethiopian building industry
professionals. The majority of impoverished societies employed locally available building
materials and local techniques, which are not governed by additional elements of the building
rules. Both competent workers and appropriate management practices are in short supply in
construction companies and regulatory bodies. In light of the aforementioned, it is critical to

32
evaluate the Ethiopian Building Codes of Standards' degree of visibility, applicability, and
enforcement in the Mekelle city municipality by determining the variables influencing their
implementation in order to find a solution.

2.22 Definition of Terms

This section clarifies the main terminologies those are repeatedly used in this thesis work to
avoid the misunderstanding and misinterpretation of the following technical terms.
Standard is a document that lists the specifications for a process, product, or service,
including its dimensions, safety features, and needed performance. A standard is a written
document that has been authorized by an official authority and formed by consensus. It
specifies features, rules, and directions for actions or their outcomes, with the goal of
achieving the highest level of order possible in a particular setting. An international standard
is one that has been created, approved, and disseminated by an international standards body.
[1].
Building standards are created by professional associations like the American Society of
Testing Materials (ASTM), American Society of Civil Engineering (ASCE), and American
Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) through
research on how buildings react to local weather and geographic hazards. These groups
provide criteria for the materials that go into making a building's walls, ceiling, doors,
windows, roof, and foundation for both residential and commercial buildings [2].
Codes - Laws or regulations that specify minimum standards to protect public safety and
health such as codes for construction of buildings. In legal terms, a code is a collection of
rules, requirements or standards that have been made binding and mandatory by a local or
national government. “Code” is (with compelling power) [2].
Building codes are written and enforced by regional or local authorities; this is the code that
must be legally adhered to by anyone erecting a structure within these areas. Often times, the
standards developed by professional organizations are written into code and in turn must be
followed, if adopted by the local authority [2].
Codes of practice - are usually a set of best practices for a specific product or system so as to
ensure safe handling, maintenance and operation [2].

33
Specification: A set of conditions and requirements of precise and limited application that
provide a detailed description of a procedure, process, material, product, or service for use,
primarily in procurement and manufacturing. Standards may be referenced or included in the
specifications [2].

Technical Regulation: A mandatory government requirement that defines the characteristics

and/or the performance requirements of a product service or process [2].
Guideline: A guideline or a guide is a document generally written for a given organization,
whether for its own needs, or for its customers‟ needs. Guidelines provide guidance to
appropriate behavior so as to ensure safety of people (workers, users and general public). It
may also give information about codes, standards and regulations to comply with and about
the recommended way to meet those requirements.

Chapter -3: Methodology

The following methodology was employed to meet the requirements of the objectives.

3.1 Research Design

Data are collected using questionnaires, interviews, and case studies.

Research
Objectives

Literature Practice Review

Review

34
 Questionnaire Interview and Site Observations and
Discussion Document Review

Data Analysis Using SPSS

Data Reliability Test

Results and
Discussion

Discussion and
Conclusion

Figure 3.1 Methodology

Figure 3. 1: Research methodology

3.2 Study area

This study is conducted in Mekelle city municipality of Tigray, Ethiopia. Tigray is found on
the northern part of Ethiopia. As Mekelle is the capital city of Tigray region, many public
construction projects and offices was there and therefore, it become a good source of data for
the study. Mekelle city is established in 1880s and during the kingdom of Emperor Yohannes-
IV, it become the capital city of Tigray. It is located at 39.4670E, 13.4830N and it is found at
780-kilometer distance from Addis Ababa city.

35
 Figure 3.1 study area

3.1 Research Design and Methodology

The study aims to assess the practice on Ethiopia Building regulations and codes of standard
in Mekelle city Municipality and give conclusion and recommendations in accordance with
the outcome of the result. For this study, data was collected using both primary and secondary
sources. The primary data was obtained through questionnaire, interview and observation
directed to contractors, consultants, owners and other professionals that are involved in
Ethiopian building construction projects. The secondary data was obtained from previously
done different researches, internet, journals, seminar papers, books and different articles in
published documents.

This research involves a cross-sectional survey approach from which statistical data were
collected to answer questions in respect of the main subject of study. The population for the
study comprises professionals in consulting, contracting and construction development firms
who have been involved in the management and execution of building construction projects.
The data were processed and analyzed using SPSS statistical analysis software.

Questionnaire Survey

36
The questionnaires were distributed to different organizations via the researcher. Respondents
of the questionnaire consist of Grade one to four contractors; Grade one to three consultants
and other construction sectors of governmental bodies. These questions were made simple and
straight forward in order to ensure maximum responses from the respondents.

3.1.1 Questionnaire design

Hence, a total of 75 questionnaires were distributed for building construction projects

undertaking by grade one to four of all contractors, Consultants and other Construction related
organizations. A total of 66 are successfully collected and 61 accepted for analysis.

3.1.2 Relative importance index

The Relative Importance Index (RII) is a statistical method which is used to determine the
ranking of different project success factors. As this survey was designed to investigate the
relative importance of various major success factors, the method was adopted in this study
within various groups. The RII of Likert five or six -point scale, for example ranging from 1
(strongly dis agree) to 4 (strongly agree) was adopted and transformed the relative importance
indices’ for each success factors as follows;

∑ W i = ( 1∗n 1) + ( 2∗n2 ) + ( 3∗n3 ) + ( 4∗n4 )+ ( 5∗n5 ) ,…………..……. (1)

RII = i=1 A∗N
A∗N

Where W is weighting given to each factor by respondents ranging from 1 to 5. (n1 = number
of respondents for strongly dis agree, n2 = number of respondents for disagree, n3 = number of
respondents for agree, n4 = number of respondents for strongly agree). “A”’ is the highest
weight (that is 5 in this case), and N is the total number of respondents. The RII value had a
range between 0 ≤ RII ≤ 1. The highest value of RII, the more important success factor and it
is the major success factors. The RII was used to rank different success factors. Ethiopia.

3.1.3 Factor Analysis

In order to identify critical factors, factor analysis is employed in this study. The study
assumed factor loading of 0.6 as acceptable. Conventionally, variables that have a factor
loading of 0.4 or greater within a particular factor are considered to be major components, and
factors are usually given names relating to their major components.

37
The KMO statistics vary between 0 and 1 (Argyrols, 2005). A value of zero indicates that the
sum of partial correlation is large relative to the sum of correlations indicating diffusions in
the patterns of correlations, and hence, factor analysis is likely to be inappropriate (Costello &
Osborne, 2005). A value close to 1 indicates that the patterns of correlations are relatively
compact and so factor analysis should yield distinct and reliable factors (Cooper & Schindler,
2011).

According to Kaiser (1974), factor loading values that are greater than 0.4 should be accepted
and values below 0.4 should lead to correction of more data to help researcher to determine
the values to include. Values between 0.5 and 0.7 are mediocre, values between 0.7 and 0.8
are good, values between 0.8 and 0.9 are great, and values above 0.9 are superb.

3.1.4 Reliability Analysis

Reliability of internal consistency was used to test the reliability of the questionnaire. The
reliability coefficient of the scale was established by Cronback’s Alfa using SPSS Version 20
(Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) software. All data and information from the
questionnaire were entered into SPSS Version 20 program for statistical analysis in order to
obtain Relative Important Index (RII) and Rank of variables.

Reliability analysis is carried out to measure the consistency of ranking scale data or ordinal
data in survey questionnaire. Reliability analysis used the Cronbach’s alpha to measure data in
SPSS. Below shows the Cronbach's Alpha Value Coefficient Range.

Table 3.1: Cronbach's Alpha Value Coefficient Range

Cronbach's Alpha Range Internal consistency

α <0.6 Poor reliability
0.6¿ α <¿ 0.7 Acceptable reliability
0.7¿ α <¿ 0.8 Good reliability
0.8¿ α <¿ 0.9 Very good reliability
α >0.9 Excellent reliability

38
 3.2 Sampling Technique Methods and Sample Size

Based on the data from the Bureau of Urban Development and Construction of the Tigray
National Regional State, during the start of this research (June, 2024) there were about
35 newly registered and renewed grade I up to grade IV contractors and about 20 registered
grade I up to grade III consultants. In addition, from the Mekelle city municipality building
officials, 10 were selected and 10 professionals from Bureau of Urban Development and
Construction (design team, contract administration team and regulatory team) were selected.
Therefore, the study has conducted to all population and no need of sample size calculation
for the case of to increase reliability of the data.

3.6 Data Collection Instrument

A combination of both quantitative and qualitative data was considered in this study.
Quantitative research is based on the measurement of quantity or amount. The questions of
Likert scale type is categorized under quantitative data since it has intensity of responses. The
data obtained through interviews in this project, the yes or no questions and questions of
testing the awareness level of Ethiopian building regulation and codes of standards among
stakeholders, level of applicability and enforcement of ESEN are a qualitative type.

Similar literatures reviews helps for this study as a reference to know the factors affecting the
implementation of Ethiopian building regulation and codes of standards. The research has
conducted through questionnaires, interviews and case studies.

3.5.1 Questionnaire

The questionnaire survey targeted the professionals who were directly engaged in the
construction projects. Structured questionnaire with closed-ended questions was prepared to
ensure consistency of respondent’s feedback. Likert scale is basically a type of scale used to
measure the respondent’s opinions towards a specific subject. To interpret a 4/5 point scale,
assign each response a point value from 1 to 4/5 based on the number of responses. The
following rating scale has been used for the survey on the occurrence of cause factor affecting
enforcement of Ethiopian building regulation and codes of standards, using a 1-5 scale.

39
 Response Response (Points)

Strongly Disagree (SD) 1

Disagree (D) 2
Neutral (N) 3
Agree (A) 4
Strongly Agree (SA) 5

The levels of responses were; Strongly Disagree (SD) [100%, Disagree (D) [75%, Neutral (N)
[50%], Agree (A) [25%] and Strongly Agree (SA) [0%].

3.5.2 Interview

In-depth interview provides greatest opportunity to find out what someone thinks or feels, and
how they react to various issues. The form of interview used was semi-structured which uses a
combination of ‘open’ and ‘close-ended’ questions. This technique was used in order to give
flexibility to the researcher and the interviewee during the interview session. According
to(48), Interview is an instrument of data collection when compared to other data collection
techniques like questionnaire is more powerful in producing narrative data that allow
researchers to investigate people's views in greater depth and it helps to facilitate in obtaining
direct explanation for human actions through a comprehensive speech interaction and also it is
a powerful way of getting insights into interviewee's perceptions.

The interview protocol refinement framework comprised of a four-phase process for

systematically developing and refining an interview protocol. The four-phase process
includes: ensuring interview questions align with research questions, constructing an inquiry-
based conversation, receiving feedback on interview protocols, and piloting the interview
protocol. This method of interview protocol refinement can support efforts to strengthen the
reliability of interview protocols used for qualitative research and thereby contribute to
improving the quality of data obtained from research interviews.

3.6 Respondents Composition

The professionals which were targeted to participate in the study as respondents were; project
managers of construction professional background, resident engineers, office

40
engineers/quantity surveyors, contractors, consultants, building officials, Bureau of Urban
Development and Construction. All the respondents have a direct involvement in applying and
enforcing national building regulation and codes of standards in the construction sites.

3.5 Method of Data Analysis

The quantitative data from the questionnaires were entered into the Statistical Package for
Social Sciences (SPSS 20) software, which was deemed user-friendly, following the reliability
and consistency tests. The reasons for violations and inadequacies in building regulations,
standards, and reduction strategies found in literature were thought to contribute to varying
degrees. This study examined the relative levels of important contribution of causes and
actions to reduce their effects on the goals of Building regulation and Codes of Standards as
perceived by construction practitioners using the weighted average model below.
Data analysis is the process of cleaning, changing, and processing raw data and extracting
actionable, relevant information that helps businesses make informed decisions and the
procedure helps to reduce the risks essential in decision making by providing useful insights
and statistics (51). Method of data analysis is the last step and it needs high attention in order
to remove false recording of data as they generate false result.

Chapter - 4: Data Analysis, Result and Discussion

4.1. Result Analysis on table and graph form

In this chapter, the survey results are reported and discussed. Statistical analyses of the replies
were conducted utilizing the different techniques outlined in the research methodology
following the completion of the questionnaire survey and data encoding.

Data from surveys were examined using SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) and
Excel. Information regarding the respondents' backgrounds, sample size, response rate, and

41
general use of Building Codes and Standards in the Mekelle city municipality construction
sector are all included in the results.

4.1 Profile of Respondents and Questionnaire Responses

Questionnaire Response Rate

Totally, 75 questionnaires were distributed throughout the city to the available main
respondent parties or professionals representing them who are directly participating in
building construction projects. The distribution of questionnaire was done with clear
clarification to avoid biasing and blind guess filling. Hereafter, 61 questionnaires were
collected and properly filled and by dividing collected questionnaire to questionnaire
distributed, response rate also summarized in Table 4.1.

Table 4. 1: Questionnaire Response Rate

No Respondents Questionnaire Questionnaire Response

Distributed Collected Rate

1 Contractors 35 27 77.14%

2 Consultants 20 14 70%

3 Mekelle 10 10 100%
Municipality

4 UDCB 10 10 100%

Total 49 75 61

Table above shows the respondent’s area of expertise in number and percentage. The analyzed
data were responded by 27 professionals from contractors, 14 consultants, and 10
professionals from building offices (Mekelle city municipality, 10 professionals from Bureau
of Urban Development and Construction. Figure 4.1 below shows the category of respondents
by grade of their company. The grade of contractors and consultants participated in this thesis
work are presented as below.

42
 Group of particpants in Number

27
30
25
20 14
10 10
15
10
5
0
Con con buil UD
trac sult di mg CB
tor ant offi (P roff
cial esio
s (M. nals
M) )

Figure 4.1: Categories (Grades) of the Respondents

Group of participants in %

77.14%
100% contractor
consultant
building offical (M.M)
70%
UDCB(Proffosinals
100%

Figure 4.2: Respondents Group or Party in %

4.2.3 Respondents by category of their company

Figure 4.4 below shows the category of respondents by grade of their company. The grade of
contractors and consultants participated in this thesis work are presented as below.

43
 15
16
13
14
12
10
8 Contractor
5 5 Consultant
6
4 2
1
2
0
Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3 Grade 4

Figure 4.4 Categories (Grades) of the Respondents

4.2.4 Respondents level of education

Figure 4.5 shows the respondent’s level of education. As it is observed from this figure, all
groups of respondents are masters and bachelor degree level of education except contractors.
27 respondents from contractors have bachelor degree level of education, 3 of them have
masters and 1 respondent has diploma. From consultants, 14 respondents have bachelor
degree, 6 of them have masters, of education.

25

20 23

15

10
8 9 Master of science
5 6 5 5 Bachlor Degree
0 3
1 1 Diploma
0
)
cto
r nt als als
a lta ffic n
n tr n su o sio
co co in
g ff e
li d ro
u (P
B
CB
D
U

Figure 4.5. Level of Education of the Respondents

44
4.2.5 Respondents years of experience

As it can be seen from Figure 4.6, most of the respondents have >10 years of experience.
Among 61 respondents analyzed, there were 27 contractors who replied the questionnaires.
From these, 22 professionals from contractors have experience of greater than 10 years. Again
three (3) professionals have experience of 0-5years and 2 professionals have experience of 5-
10 years.

The consultants considered were 14 in number. From these, three professionals of consultant
side have 0-5 years of experience and four professionals 5-10 years of experience. seven has
greater than 10 years of experience.

Ten construction professionals from the Regional Bureau of Urban Development and
Construction were considered in the analysis. Four of them have from 5-10 years of
experience; six of them have greater than 10 years of experience.

When we come to building officials (Mekelle city municipality) among 10 respondents, one
of them has 0-5years of experience and 2 of them has 5-10 years of experience while seven
respondents have greater than 10 years of experience. Figure 4.6 illustrates how the years of
experience are segmented: 11.47% of respondents have between zero and five and 19.67 %
between five and ten years of experience, whereas 68. 85 % have more than ten years.

25 22

20

15 contractor
consultant
10 7 7
building official
6 UDCB (profestionals )
4 4
5 3 3
2 2
1
0
0
0-5 years 5-10 years > 10 years
Figure 4.6: Years of Experience of Respondents

45
4.2.2 Respondents job title

Figure 4.3 below shows the respondent’s percentage from each category of professional title.
From total respondents, site engineers constituted 4.91%, office engineers were 13.11%,
general managers from contractor and consultant side were 34.42%, project managers from
contractor and consultant side were 11.47%, and building officials (Mekelle city municipality)
were 16.39%; whereas, Bureau of Urban Development and Construction constitute 16.39%
from the total.

Job title

16.39%

General manager
34.42% project manager
site Engineer
office Engineer
16.39%
Arechtect
building offical
UDCB (Proffestionals)
3.27%
11.47%

13.27%
4.91%

Figure 4.3: Job Title of Respondents

3.5 Data Analysis and Findings

This part of the study covers all the results collected by different methods and their detail
analysis and discussion in Tigray in case of Mekelle city Municipality. This section covers
three sections. investigate the current practice of Ethiopia building regulations and codes of
standard in Mekelle city municipality; identify the main challenges faced in practicing the
Ethiopian regulation and code of standards public building and the awareness, implementation
and enforcement of the Ethiopian Building regulation and Codes of Standards for civil works.

46
3.6 Factorial Analysis and Validity Test
In this section, the study made an evaluation of responses to checkup for validity and
reliability in order to avoid biases and inconsistent responses. Validity test were analyzed
using the average value of Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) and Bartlett’s Sphericity whereas
reliability test were analyzed using Cronbach’s alpha. The accepted value for Kaiser-Meyer-
Olkin (KMO), Bartlett’s Sphericity and Cronbach’s alpha was >0.6, <0.05, and >0.7
respectively. Based on those accepted amounts, the validity test and reliability test (internal
consistency) was done for Factor (Reason) type for implementing the Ethiopian building
regulations and standards, level of awareness on implementation Ethiopian Building code (ES
EN), main factors affecting the enforcement of Ethiopian Building Codes Standards ESEN in
civil works and remedial measures should be taken to utilize building regulation and ES EN
well in the Ethiopian construction industry as listed in the tables below.

For Factor (Reason) type for implementing the Ethiopian building regulations and standards,
the value of KMO and Bartlett’s test of Sphericity was .645 and .000 consecutively as stated
in Table 4.6, so those values satisfied the required criteria which shows how the investigators
data’s was suitable for factor analysis or good sampling adequacy.

Table 4. 2: KMO and Bartlett’s test value for ICT platforms

KMO and Bartlett's Test

Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling .645
Adequacy.
Bartlett's Test of Approx. Chi-Square 116.171
Sphericity df 28
Sig. .000

Based on Table 4.7, the value of KMO was .702 which is >.6 and the value of Bartlett’s test of
Sphericity was .000 which is<0.05. Therefore, both values was accepted as it shows the level
of awareness on implementation Ethiopian Building code (ES EN) was valid.
Table 4. 3: KMO and Bartlett’s test value for Frequency of ICT Applications

KMO and Bartlett's Test

Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling .702
Adequacy.
Bartlett's Test of Approx. Chi-Square 210.100

47
 Sphericity df 105

Sig. .000

Similarly, the value KMO was .701 which is >.6 and the value of Bartlett’s test of Sphericity
was .000 which is<0.05, both values was accepted as they show the variables of the main
factors affecting the enforcement of Ethiopian Building Codes Standards ESEN in civil works
valid as stated in Table 4.8.
Table 4. 4: KMO and Bartlett’s Test Value for Factors Affecting the Use of ICT

KMO and Bartlett's Test

Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling .701
Adequacy.
Bartlett's Test of Approx. Chi-Square 534.464
Sphericity df 210
Sig. .000

A construct is reliable if the Cronbach’s alpha () value is greater than 0.70. Construct
reliability was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha. The results discovered that the factors reason
type with seven items (=.712), the frequency of level of awareness on implementation
Ethiopian Building code (ES EN) with twenty items (=.81) and the factors affecting the
enforcement of Ethiopian Building Codes Standards ESEN in civil works with twenty items
(=.743), shows all constructs was reliable. as summarized in Table 4.8.

Table 1: Reliability Statistics and Cronbach’s Alpha for each dimension in the questionnaire

Dimensions/ variables Cronbach's Alpha Internal consistency Number of

value items
Reasons Type
0.712 Good reliability 7

Level of awareness 0.810 Very good reliability 10

Enforcement factor 0.743 Good reliability 15

remedial measures 0.883 Very good reliability 20

48
49
For respondents not practicing QMS in their company
B1: Table 2: Descriptive summary of respondents’ opinion for not practicing QMS
Level of Agreement in frequency/ percent

Applicable
Disagree

Disagree
Loading

Strongly

Strongly

Missing
Agree

Agree
Factors or reason Type Rank

Not
RII Factor
No.

1 We are satisfied with our present 0(0)

6(7.1) 15(17.9) 44(52.4) 9(10.7) 10(11.9) 0.607
traditional practice
2 ES is not efficient and effective in 0(0)
7(8.3) 34(40.5) 29(34.5) 8(9.5) 6 (7.1) 0.577
monitoring and control
3 Principles and Concepts stated under 0(0)
4(4.8) 28(33.3) 28(33.3) 11(13.1) 13(15.5) 0.560
ES EN
4 ESEN is not a Legal/Ministry 0(0)
17(20.2) 23(27.4) 23(27.4) 13(15.5) 8(9.5) 0.548
Requirement
5 Ethiopian Standards is very costly for 0(0)
18(21.4) 18(21.4) 26(31.0) 11(4.6) 11(13.1) 0.524
implementation
6 ESEN is difficult to understand, 0(0)
17(20.2) 34(40.5) 25(29.8) 1(1.2) 7(8.3) 0.488
document, and practice
7 Our company staff is unwilling for 0(0)
13(5.4) 45(53.6) 13(15.5) 2(2.4) 11(13.1) 0.446
ESEN implementation
Total number of respondents N, is ----.

1
Table 1.2: Descriptive summary the respondents’ opinion on Query types

No. Query Type Yes No NA

1 Do you agree that the concepts and ideas
presented in provisions of Ethiopian building
regulations and codes of Standards currently 62(73.8%) 11(13.1%) 11(13.1%)
used in the Construction industry are very
clear and understandable for users?
2 Do you have a specific unit/cell for building
26(31%) 33(39.3%) 25(29.8%)
regulations and codes of Standards?
3 Do you have written Inspection and Testing
27(32.1%) 45(53.6%) 12(14.3%)
Procedures?
4 Does material supply is inspected to assure
57(67.9%) 25(29.8%) 2(2.4%)
technical conformance?
5 Do you agree that construction stake holders
in your project are well aware of the 69(82.1%) 11(13.1%) 4(4.8%)
principles and Concepts stated under ES EN?
Total number of respondents N, is …..

1
 Table 1.4: Descriptive summary of level of awareness on implementation Ethiopian Building code (ES EN)
Level of importance in frequency/percent
Level of awareness on implementation

Applicable

Loading
Missing

factor
Ethiopian Building code

Not
N

A
R

S
S. No.

(ES EN) RII Rank

1 Ineffective implementation of law to
prepare and enforce building codes to safe
guard minimum requirement of public 0(0) 1(0.9) 51(44.7 59(42.5) 3(2.6) 0(0) 0.857
health safety and general welfare
2 Inexistence of testing and certification
system for building engineer’s, consultants, 0(0) 11(9.6) 42(36.8) 58(50.9) 3(2.6) 0(0) 0.833
contractors and skilled labors
3 Weakness in building code administration
and institutional capacity insufficient 3(2.6) 13(11.4) 34(29.8) 61(53.5) 2(1.8) 1(0.9) 0.830
legislative foundation
4 Absence of community awareness in
building regulations and nature of building 3(2.6) 8(7) 48(42.1) 53(46.5) 2(1.8) 0(0) 0.822
regulation task of municipality
5 Ineffective engineering supervision and
inspection tasks to prevent violations or 3(2.6) 14(12.3) 35(30.7) 58(50.9) 4(3.5) 0(0) 0.807
cheating
6 Administration procedures at municipality
are the main obstacles to implement and 5(4.4) 16(14) 39(34.2) 51(44.7) 3(2.6) 0(0) 0.785
enforce regulations and codes
7 Improper municipality procedures to 7(6.1) 10(8.8) 44(38.6) 47(41.2) 6(5.3) 0(0) 0.761
8 organize the works
municipality are notofclear
consultant
and notoffices
with 3(2.6) 13(11.4) 50(43.9) 42(36.8) 6(5.3) 0(0) 0.761
9 satisfying
Failure of performance
building law and codes to address 7(6.1) 16(14) 33(28.9) 52(45.6) 6(5.3) 0(0) 0.759
10 locally
Lack of effectiveconstruction
available participationmaterials and
of concerned 1(0.9) 21(18.4) 40(35.1) 44(38.6) 8(7) 0(0) 0.743
stake holders in code development and

1
11 Corruption and regulatory capture 6(5.3) 23(20.2) 38(33.3) 43(37.7) 4(3.5) 0(0) 0.741
12 Improper municipality technical and 9(7.9) 17(14.9) 21(18.4) 57(50) 10(8.8) 0(0) 0.732
13 managerial capabilities
Many construction to followare
problems up and
due to
unclear professional practice and 5(4.4) 19(16.7) 66(57.9) 21(18.4) 3(2.6) 0(0) 0.713
14 workmanship Standards
Weak technical and financial capabilities at 11(9.6) 24(21.1) 51(44.7) 28(24.6) 0(0) 0(0) 0.711
15 municipality
Municipality branches
don’t perform its 7(4.6) 32(20.9) 62(40.5) 44(28.8) 8(5.2) 0(0) 0.708
responsibilities
Building officerseffectively to license,
at municipality don'tfollow
care
16
to use comprehensive
Neglecting of buildingchecklists
materials to
andreview
17
concrete by certified
unclear and testing
inadequate centersofduring
procedures
18
review
absenceofofbuilding plans at municipality
safety department at
19
municipality
Ineffective implementation of law to
20
prepare and enforce building codes to safe
Total number of respondents N, is …….

2
 Table 1.5: Descriptive summary of main factors affecting the enforcement of Ethiopian Building Codes Standards ESEN in civil
works

Level of importance in frequency/percent

S. No.

Loading
Factors

factor
NA
SD

SA
D

Rank
RII
1 Ineffective implementation of law to prepare and 0(0) 0(0) 1(2.4) 16(38.1) 25(59.5) 0.910
enforce building codes to safe guard minimum
2 Inexistence of testing and certification system for 0(0) 0(0) 4(9.5) 15(35.7) 23(54.8) 0.863
building
Weakness engineer’s,
in buildingconsultants, contractors
code administration andand skilled
3 1(2.4) 0(0) 1(2.4) 18(42.9) 22(52.4) 0.857
institutional capacity insufficient
Absence of community awarenesslegislative foundation
in building
4 2(4.8) 0(0) 5(11.9) 11(26.2) 24(57.1) 0.827
regulations and nature of
Ineffective engineering building regulation
supervision task of
and inspection tasks
5 0(0) 1(2.4) 5(11.9) 18(42.9) 18(42.9) 0.815
to prevent violations
Administration or cheating
procedures at municipality are the main
6 2(4.8) 1(2.4) 3(7.1) 17(40.5) 19(45.2) 0.798
obstacles
Improper to implementprocedures
municipality and enforce
toregulations
organize theand
works
7 2(4.8) 3(7.1) 2(4.8) 16(38.1) 19(45.2) 0.786
of consultant offices from preparing plans and
8 municipality are not clear and not with satisfying 3(7.1) 0(0) 6(14.3) 16(38.1) 17(40.5) 0.762
performance
Failure of building law and codes to address locally
9 1(2.4) 0(0) 10(23.8) 18(42.9) 13(31) 0.750
available construction
Lack of effective materials
participation of and Techniques
concerned stake
10 2(4.8) 1(2.4) 9(21.4) 18(42.9) 12(28.6) 0.720
holders in code
Corruption development
and regulatory and Maintenance
capture
11
12 Improper municipality technical and managerial
capabilities to follow
Many construction up and control
problems are duebuilding and
to unclear
13
professional practice
Weak technical and workmanship
and financial capabilitiesStandards
at municipality
14
branches
Municipality don’t perform its responsibilities effectively
15
to license,
Building followatupmunicipality
officers and monitordon't
localcare
construction
to use
16
comprehensive checklists
Neglecting of building to review
materials andplans, andby
concrete monitor
17
certified testing centers during projects are not

3
18 unclear and inadequate procedures of review of building
plans at municipality
absence of safety department at municipality
19
20 Ineffective implementation of law to prepare and
enforce building codes to safe guard minimum
Total number of respondents N, is …..

4
CHAPTER FIVE -CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 Conclusion (for your reference)

In light of the foregoing analysis and discussions the following conclusions are drawn:
1. The Ethiopian Building Codes of Standards (ESEN) are not visible to the anticipated level
among the construction sector stakeholders in the Amhara National Regional State. Since the
revised version of 2013 ESEN is not delivered and practiced in the construction sector by the
time this thesis work was undertaken. The thesis work only focused on 11 ESEN of the 1995
version. As discussed and analyzed in the preceding sections, almost the whole construction
sector in the Amhara National Regional State does not have a clear awareness of ESEN. Most
of the practitioners only know the existence of 8 ESEN S not 11. They do not know the rest
three ESEN s. These are ESEN 9 (plumbing service), ESEN 10 (electrical installation of
building), ESEN 11 (mechanical ventilation and air conditioning in building). Even though
they know as there are eight EBCS of the 1995 version, most of the respondents don’t know
well EBCS3 (design of steel structures), ESEN 4 (design of composite structures), ESEN 5
(utilization of timber). Though the visibility/awareness level of EBCS in the construction
sector of the Amhara National Regional State is not satisfactory as a whole, ESEN 2 and
ESEN 7 are top ranked by the respondents as their companions in the industry.

2. As the results of this thesis indicate, the applicability of ESEN in civil works in the Amhara
National Regional State is below the expected level due to different factors. The top three
factors that could be ascribed to the low applicability of the codes are: lack of regular
trainings, workshops and capacity building program for regulatory body and the construction
practitioners, the cost of the currently used ESEN in the construction sector is not affordable
with local capabilities as a result of poverty, ESEN does not cover the relevant and locally
available construction materials, construction types and practices, corruption, inadequate
knowledge of codes among stakeholders were among the top ranked factors.

3. The ESEN is not well enforced to the anticipated level in the constructions taking place in
the Amhara National Regional State. Factors affecting enforcement are classified into three
components (legal, administrative and social). As observed from the analysis, the

1
administrative part is highly ranked followed by legal and social components; respectively.
Among the factors affecting enforcement, ineffective involvement of insurance companies to
promote quality of building constructions, municipality offices do not expedite their
responsibilities effectively in licensing, follow up and monitoring local construction works, a
limited access to training for code compliance were the top three ranked cause factors.
4. Lastly, as it can be deduced from the obtained results, even though visibility, applicability
and enforcement of EBCS are far below the anticipated level, it is possible to make changes in
the construction industry to elevate the utilization of ESEN. But this needs high commitment
and unreserved dedication from the entire construction sector, regulatory bodies and the
society as a whole.
5.2 Recommendations
The following recommendations are forwarded to improve the level of visibility, applicability
and enforcement of ESEN in the construction sector of the Amhara National Regional State.
These recommendations are to governmental bodies, owners, designers, contractors and
pertinent professionals who are the main actors and the major construction practitioners of the
construction industry at large.
5.2.1 Governmental bodies
Introduce specific legislation governing application and enforcement system of EBCS
at all stage of the design and construction projects.
Provide funding and support to building department at local level with technically
qualified and adequate building officials to enforce the code effectively.
Provide technical assistance to designer, contractors, local enforcement personnel to
properly utilize and enforce the provision of EBCS.
Certifying local enforcement personnel to ensure they understand the provision of
building codes. Continues training for construction practitioners should be given to
enhance the visibility/awareness level on EBCS.
Create and maintain public awareness of basic safe construction principles for the
community, building owners and the informal sector builders.
Improve the capability and accountability of regulatory agency through quality control
measures to effectively enforce EBCS in the construction sector.

2
 Develop a comprehensive building code that covers the full range of relevant
construction materials, types and practices.
Updating codes within specific intervals to incorporate new emerging construction
materials and techniques.
Strictly follow the availability of key professionals at all times on duty, to properly
follow the effective application of EBCS in the construction sector.
Regular training and workshops regarding the applicability and enforcement of EBCS
need to be provided for the parties involved in the construction.
Develop a coordinated effort toward disaster risk reduction by addressing the need for
adequate funding, staffing and execution necessary to implement building codes at the
local level. This requires specific support to train building officials as well as funding
to ensure the existence of adequate human resource. It also demands parallel efforts in
the development of building and planning education, financial and insurance
mechanisms for the management of risk, and public understanding of the importance
of safe construction

Contractors
Contractors play a key role to apply the ESEN in the construction they undertake. The
Contractors' responsibilities are:

To give appropriate training to site staff aimed at raising their awareness level
frequently on the importance of ESEN and the consequence that would result of
negligence.
According to the result in the study, insufficient training of the workforce is a problem
in the construction sector of the Amhara National Regional State, so it is
recommended that workers should highly trained on the proper implementation of
EBCS and the benefit that would be gained on proper enforcement.
To execute the works as per the design and technical specification as well as proper
workmanship set on the ESEN. As the deduced from the result of this thesis work, to
reduce work quickly, many contractors do not stick to the design and proper
workmanship required. So the main aim of the contractors should not be making

3
 money within a short period of time and in an illegal manner; like by cheating from
construction materials used. Safety, health and welfare of a society should be in the
soul and mind of our contractors. Being part of a happy, wealthy and prosperous
society for a better tomorrow is invaluable by any standard.
5.2.3 Consultants
Consultants are the upfront prime actors in incorporating and using EBCS in their
design and supervision. They should think for risk of property, human life and wealth
of the nation than anything else. They should be responsible and keep the ethics of the
profession during and at all times of their engagement.
The consultants should hire enough qualified professionals capable of executing the
design as per the building codes of standards. There should be enough qualification for
professionals assigned to design offices to ensure the capability of understanding each
and every provision of EBCS parts to be incorporated in design works.
Consultants should facilitate regular training, workshops and different capacity
building programs for workers engaged in the design works and supervisions to have a
clear concept on visibility, applicabity and enforcement of EBCS effectively.
5.2.4 Owners
The owners should have a belief that a contribution of professional engineers for the
quality of a product they are in need of is high. For this to happen they should hire
professional engineers to keep the construction works in good hands.
They should not only worry for minimal initial costs of construction. They should
keep in mind that, they are pumping money into an asset for tomorrow; reduce life
time maintenance cost, health and safety of their estate's occupant and of course of
them-selves.
At the end of the day, they can be culprits of any disaster or questionable under the
rule of law.
5.3 Recommendations for Future Studies
In addition to the above recommendations, areas for future research aspirations are:
What are the technical insufficiencies and infringements of each currently used EBCS
in the construction sector?

4
Impact of insufficiency and infringements of administrative and social aspect of
building codes of standards on building codes objectives; safety, health and welfare of
a society.
Review of how building codes/regulations are enforced and any penalties for
noncompliance in the Ethiopian construction industry.

5
6
 Reference

1. Alemayehu Geda & Atnafu G. Meskel, 2010. Impact of China-Africa Investment

Relations: Case Study of Ethiopia, Nairobi: African Economic Research Consortium.
2. Ayininuola, C., Olalusi, O. (2004), „’Assessment of Building Failures in Nigeria: Lagos
and Ibadan Case Study, ‟ African Journal of Science and Technology. Science and
Engineering Series, 5 (1), pp.73 78.
3. Benjamin Trombly, (2006), “the International Building Code (IBC).
4. Blondet, M. and G. Villa Garcia M (2011), “Adobe construction online at:
http://www.world-housing.net/ wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Adobe Blondet.pdf.
5. BOCA (1999), “Basic Code Enforcement.” 1st Ed, BOCA, Inc. Bc.
6. Building Regulation for Resilience Report (2010), “Managing Risks for Safer Cities”
World Bank group.
7. Building Research Establishment (2008), ‟Can building codes deliver energy efficiency‟.
8. Burby, R., Peter J. (1999), “Making building codes an effective tool for earthquake hazard
Mitigation”. Global Environmental Change Part B: Environmental Hazards, Volume 1,
Issue 1, June 1999, Pages 27-37.
9. CG Hayhurst and JR Maguire (1998), Draft Euro Code, Vol.16.
10. Clemmensen, B. (2003), ―Building Codes – A Good Tool in the Right Context, Global
Summit on Performance-Based Building Codes.
11. Disaster Risk Reduction in Turkey (2010): Revisions for Land use Planning, Development
and Building Code Enforcement" since 1999, Gülkan.
12. EBCS (1995), Ethiopian building code standard, ministry of works and urban
development, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
13. EBCS EN (2013), Ethiopian building code standard”, ministry of works and urban
development, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
14. Ethiopian government (FDRE), “Ethiopian building proclamation, 2009.
15. Fekadu Kebede, (1996), Seismic Hazard Assessment for the Horn of Africa, Zede, Journal
of Ethiopian Engineers and Architects, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
16. Figueroa Fernandez, Raul H, (2014), "Strategies to Reduce the Risk of Building Collapse
in Developing Countries" Dissertations. Paper 493.

7
17. Girmay Kahsay, 2003. Claims in International Projects in Ethiopia-MSc. Thesis. Addis
Ababa: Addis Ababa University-Faculty of Technology.
18. Gouin, Pierre, Earthquake History of Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa, International
Development Research Center, Ottawa, Canada, IDRC- 118e, 259p, 1979.23
19. https://www.eesi.org>files>value and impact of building codes.
20. https://www.environ.ie/en/DevelopmentandHousing/BuildingStandards/Eurocodes
21. http://www.mediaethiopia.com/Engineering/Earthq6.jpg (pic)
22. Jasem yousef Jasem Al-fahad (2012), “Reform of Building Codes, Regulation
Administration and Enforcement in Kuwait with in Legal Administrative, Technical and
Social frame work, in Kuwait.
23. Johnson, C. 2011. “Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction. Creating an
enabling environment for reducing disaster risk: Recent experience of regulatory
frameworks for land, planning and building in low and middle-income countries,
International Strategy for Disaster Reduction.
24. JSCQB (2002), „‟Report on Inquiry into the Quality of Buildings’’, New South Wales
Parliament Legislative Assembly, Sydney.
25. Ministry of Urban Development and Construction (2012), construction industry policy
(first draft).
26. OSEGHALE, G.E (2015), “Cause and Effect of Building collapse in Lagos State”,
Nigeria, civil and environmental research, vol. 7, No.4, 2015.
27. Oyewande, B. (1992), the Search for Quality in the Construction Industry‖. Builders
Magazine, Lagos, Jan- Feb.
28. Ram Chandra Kandel (2008), “Bottom- up Approach for Building Code Implementation
in Nepal” the 14th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering, October 12-17, Beijing,
China.
29. Samuel Kinde, Samson Engida, Asnake Kebede, Eyob Tessema “Notes and proposed
guide lines on updated seismic codes in Ethiopia, implications for large scale
infrastructures, san Diego state university, San Diego,CA,USA,2011.
30. Simon Ofori Ametepey and Samuel Kwame Ansah (2012), ’Significant Factors Affecting
the Implementation of National Building Regulations (l.i.1630)’’ by local authorities in
Ghana.

8
31. Tadesse Ayalew, Zakaria Dakhli, Zoubeir Lafhaj (2016), “Assessment on Performance
and Challenges of Ethiopian Construction Industry Ethiopian Institute of Architecture,
Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia.
32. The World Bank Group. (January 2013). Investment Climate: Good Practices for
Construction Regulation and Enforcement Reform. Guidelines for Reformers
33. Udoeyo, F.; Ugbem, P. (1995), ‟Dimensional variations in reinforced-concrete members’.
Journal of Structural Engineering, 121 (12), Dec. pp. 1865-1867, Kenya
34. Uniform building code, (2011), http://enwikipedia.org/wiki/uniform building code.
35. Worldometers, 2020. www.worldometers.info/world-population/population-by-country.
[Online] [Accessed February 5 February 2020].
36. Wubeshet Jekalle, 2004. Performances for Public Construction Projects in Developing
Countries, Ph.D. Dissertation. Trondheim: Norwegian University of Technology.
37. Yared Gebremedehin (2016), “building construction, codes and standards, Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia (May, 3, 2016).
38. Zegeye chernet (2012), sustainability and innovation in architecture and design, Ethiopian
Institute of Architecture, Building Construction and City Development, EIABCS,vol.1,
2012 Addis Ababa)
39. Zinabu Tebeje & Getachew Teka, 2015. Causes of Contractor Cost Overrun in
Construction Projects. International Journal of Business and Economics Research, 4(4),
pp. 180-191.

9
 Appendix

Appendix-I: Questionnaire

Assessment the Practice of Ethiopian Building Regulations

and Codes of Standards in Meklle Mancipality

A research project work at School of Civil Engineering, Ethiopian Institute of Technology,

Mekelle University, Mekelle

Prepared By

Mebrhatu Tadele

Mobile No. +251914001869 Email address: [email protected]

Office Room 181; Urban Development and Construction Bureau - Hawelti, Mekelle

Questionnaire

Request

The objectives of this questionnaire is to Assess the practice of Ethiopian Building

Regulations and Codes of Standards in Mekelle Municipality; under the Mekelle building
construction companies.

10
Data and information collected through this questionnaire shall be confidential, and will be
analyzed only for this research project without reporting the person or company biodata.

The research
Contractin GC BC findings
will g be
Consultant Architect Designer Grade Grade Grade Grade
useful for the
1 2 3 4 various

Other
construction stakeholders and will be disseminated to you.

This research work is possible only through your kind support and cooperation, we request
you to respond to our representative approaching you for questionnaire.

Thanking you in anticipation.

QUESTIONNAIRE

A1 Organization Name (Optional)

________________________________________________

A2 Telephone No (Email Address)

______________________________________________

A3 Year of Establishment EC_____________________GC_______________________

A4 Respondent Name (Optional) _________________Position___________________

A5 Respondent
Education_____________________________Experience_________________

B1 Are you practicing Ethiopian building regulations and code of standards in your
company? Please Tick  your response from the following option (a), (b), or (c)

Option (a ¿ Yes practicing ______________then please give the following details

Office Name________________________________________________________

Option (b ¿ Not practicing ____________ but we are planning / under the process
for implementing the Ethiopian building regulations and standards

Option (c ¿ Not practicing ____________then please rank your reasons (using the
following tabulated factors and Likert scale) for not practicing

11
 S. Likert Point
Agreement Strongly Strongly Not
Factor (Reason) Type
Disagree Agree
Level Disagree Agree 1 2 3 4
Applicable 0

1 WeLikert
are satisfied
Point with our present
1 traditional
2 practice 3 4 0

2 ES is not efficient and effective in monitoring and control

3 Principles and Concepts stated under ES EN

4 ESEN is not a Legal/Ministry Requirement

5 Ethiopian Standards is very costly for implementation

6 ESEN is difficult to understand, document, and practice

7 Our company staff is unwilling for ESEN implementation

B2 Please write 1, -1 or 0 corresponding to your choice for Yes, No, or NA (Not Applicable)
for the following queries

S. Query Type 1 -1 0
No.
Do you agree that the concepts and ideas presented in provisions of Ethiopian
1 building regulations and codes of Standards currently used in the Construction
industry are very clear and understandable for users?

2 Do you have a specific unit/cell for building regulations and codes of Standards?
3 Do you have written Inspection and Testing Procedures?

4 Does material supply is inspected to assure technical conformance?

Do you agree that construction stake holders in your project are well aware of the
5
principles and Concepts stated under ES EN?

B 3 Rank the level of awareness on implementation Ethiopian Building code (ES EN) to the
following Likert scale

12
 Implementation Level Never Rarely Sometime Alway Not Applicable
Likert Point 1 2 3 4 0
Level of awareness on implementation Ethiopian Building code Likert Point
No.
(ES EN) 1 2 3 4 0

1 ES 3962 Mechanical Ventilation and Air Conditioning in Building

2 ES EN 1991:2015 Actions on Structures – Part 1-7 General Action

-Accidental Actions

3 ES EN 1991:2015 Actions on Structures – Part 3 General Action -

Crane Loads

4 ES EN 1991:2015 Actions on structures – Part 1-2 General action -

Actions on Structures Exposed to Fire

5 ES EN 1991:2015 Actions on Structures –Part 1-4 General Action -

Wind Actions

6 ES 3960 Plumbing Services of Building

7 ES EN 1995:2015 Design of Timbers Structures Part 1-1 General-

Common Rules and Rules for Building

8 ES EN 1997 Geotechnical Design Part -1 General rules

9 ES EN 1997:2015 Geotechnical Design Part 2 Ground Investigation

and Testing

10 ES EN 1994 Design of Composite Steel and concrete Structures

Part 1-1 General Rules and Rules for Building

11 ES EN 1996 :2015 Design of Masonry Structures Part 1-2 General

Rules- Structural Fire Design

12 ES 3965 Occupational Health and Safety

13 ES EN 1990:2015 Basis Structural Design

13
 14 ES EN 1998 :2015 Design of Structures for Earthquake Resistance
Part 1 General Rules - Seismic Action and Rules for Building

16 ES EN 2015 Electrical Work

17 ES 1993 Design of Steel Structures part 1-1 General Rules and

Rules for Building

18 ES-EN 1992 Design of concrete Structures part 1-1 General Rules

and Rules for Building

19 ES EN 2015 Actions on Structures Part 1-1 General Action

Densities self –Weight Imposed Loads for Building

20 ES EN 1997 Geotechnical Design Part -1 General rules

B4 Rank the main factors affecting the enforcement of Ethiopian Building Codes
Standards ESEN in civil works to the following Likert scale

Agreement Strongly Agre Strongly Not

Level Disagre Disagree e Agree Applicable
e
Likert Point 1 2 3 4 0

Likert Point
No. Factor Type
1 2 3 4 0

1 Ineffective implementation of law to prepare and enforce building

codes to safe guard minimum requirement of public health safety
and general welfare

2 Inexistence of testing and certification system for building

engineer’s, consultants, contractors and skilled labors

3 Weakness in building code administration and institutional

capacity insufficient legislative foundation

4 Absence of community awareness in building regulations and

nature of building regulation task of municipality

14
5 Ineffective engineering supervision and inspection tasks to prevent
violations or cheating

6 Administration procedures at municipality are the main obstacles

to implement and enforce regulations and codes

7 Improper municipality procedures to organize the works of

consultant offices from preparing plans and engineering
supervision on projects

9 municipality are not clear and not with satisfying performance

10 Failure of building law and codes to address locally available

construction materials and Techniques

11 Lack of effective participation of concerned stake holders in code

development and Maintenance

12 Corruption and regulatory capture

13 Improper municipality technical and managerial capabilities to

follow up and control building and construction works

14 Many construction problems are due to unclear professional

practice and workmanship Standards

15 Weak technical and financial capabilities at municipality branches

16 Municipality don’t perform its responsibilities effectively to

license, follow up and monitor local construction works

17 Building officers at municipality don't care to use comprehensive

checklists to review plans, and monitor projects to faithfully fulfill
their work requirements

18 Neglecting of building materials and concrete by certified testing

centers during projects are not executed as per professional
standards and proper workmanship

19 unclear and inadequate procedures of review of building plans at

municipality

15
 20 absence of safety department at municipality

B5 Rank the remedial measures should be taken to utilize building regulation and ES EN
well in the Ethiopian construction industry (Please Tick  the Likert Point to the following

Importance No Minor Important Highly Not

Likert Point 1 2 3 4 0
scale).

No. Measure Type Likert Point

1 2 3 4 0
I Regarding National Level Legislation and Institution

Adopt a legal framework to support the effective enforcement of

1
building code regulations at the local level.

Improve the capability and accountability of regulatory agency through

2
quality control measure.

3 Regular training and workshops regarding the enforcement of ES EN

need to be provided for parties involved in construction.
Ensure effective co-ordination and collaboration of institutions
4 responsible for formulation, updating and enforcement of regulations
and standards.
5 Provide funding of materials testing facilities and equipment, training
of staff, research into safer construction local construction method.
6 Provide adequate legal support.
7 Certifying local enforcement personnel to ensure they understand the
provision of building codes.
II Regarding Building Code Development and Maintenance
1 Develop a comprehensive building code that covers the full range of
relevant construction materials, types and practices.
2 Establish an open, participatory, consensus based process for building
code development.

16
3 Building Codes Standards should be accessible, clear, and
understandable for building practitioners.
4 The code should allow alternative compliance solution to support
innovation or traditional practices that meet safety requirement.
5 Sharing pain and gain among project stake holders.
Contractors and consultants should be recruited and evaluated by their
6 technique and methods of enforcing the EBCS in construction works.

The risk reduction measures should be affordable and consistent with

7
local capabilities.

They encompass non engineered construction to support gradual

8
improvements in quality and safety.

Common understanding on importance of national building codes and

9
standards should be created.

Common understanding on achieving quality of built structures

10
importance of national building codes and standards should be created.

III Regarding Local Implementation

Strengthen implementation of building regulation and code through

1 plan review, site inspection and permitting at local at local level.

Introducing private sector for building regulation and code

2
implementation.

Create and maintain public awareness of basic safe construction

3 principles for the community, building owners, and informal sector
builders.

Provide funding and support to building department at local level with

4 technically qualified and adequate building officials.

Engineers (professional experts) should be well utilized in proper

5 guiding of construction works.
C1 Please write your suggestions and comments

17
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
(Thank you)

18