Safety Standards: Who has the Responsibility of Enforcing Strict Building Codes?

Safety standards are crucial to minimizing the risk of construction failures. People staying in a particular building need to feel safe, comfortable, and free from the risks associated with construction failures. Therefore, the State should establish codes with the aim of ensuring that buildings conform to the safety guidelines. Typically, governments across the globe have instituted such regulations (van der Heijden, 2009). However, the individuals or groups responsible for enforcing the guidelines differ among the various countries. Some nations put the responsibility primarily upon either the people or the government while other States place the burden on both the people and the government.

Nevertheless, I support the proportional responsibility distribution to both the people and the government for enforcing rigorous building codes. I endorse this perspective because the safety of all buildings should be the concern of every citizen. Thus, the people should take the obligation of ensuring the safety of their buildings. Additionally, the government should assume the duty to maintain the building standards because it is the State’s burden to ensure the security of its people. Furthermore, the government has access to resources such as the law enforcement officials, which can ensure that its regulations and rules are observed strictly. The people should also take the responsibility for the buildings’ safety because they bear the immediate consequences, such as deaths, which result from construction failures (Al-Mahmood & Banjo, 2013). Furthermore, the people have the moral duty to help the State in the implementation of the law. In the absence of the people’s assistance and support, the government’s efforts to guard its citizens from the various construction failures may be unsuccessful. Therefore, the people and the government should unite in the process of enforcing the buildings’ standards and regulations.