HDC reviews quality control process in earthquake aftermath

Two weeks after the August 21 earthquake damaged houses at Mora Heights and El Guanapo housing developments, Rita Mohammed is still traumatised.

Mohammed has been living at Mora Boulevard for the past three years with her family of five. Her home was among the 25 houses which recorded cracks and other defects. Mohammed’s steps to her three-bedroom home, posts and walls were all damaged.

With more than 30 aftershocks since the ‘quake, including one over the weekend, Mohammed said, “I am still frightened. The house is shaky, but my family and I have nowhere else to go. I am also staying around because I want to ensure that the repair work being done is up to the required standard,” she said.

A few of the residents have temporarily moved out to stay with relatives while the HDC employed contractors to carry out repairs. Agriculture Minister Clarence Rambharat and MP for the area Rushton Parry continue to monitor the progress of the repairs.

Mohammed said Rambharat was in the area on Saturday and that she was “reasonably satisfied” with the response of the Housing Development Corporation (HDC’s) in the aftermath.

Corporate communications manager Dike Noel said the day after the 6.9 earthquake a cross functional team from the HDC visited over 30 of its housing developments across Trinidad and Mora Heights at Rio Claro was deemed as having the most impact with some staircases being affected.

He said this was not an indication of flawed construction but contended that the concrete elements may have suffered from loss of strength due to environmental factors.

The development, which consists of 131 single family unit development comprising three-bedroom, two-bathroom units is relatively new with work having began in 2006. Work was suspended in 2012, resumed in 2013 and completed in 2014 with a number of contractors being used during the duration of the project.

Noel said the design and construction model which the HDC uses is a standard international model which they will continue to use. He said the HDC will continue to review quality control processes to improve the final product.

He noted that in 2016 the HDC implemented a 22-point certification quality management programme to ensure improved quality on its construction projects.

He said this programme ensures that at every stage of the construction process, there is a sign-off and approval of the work that was done in that particular stage before the contractor moves to the next stage.