HIGHLIGHTS

April 2016

THE PROJECT MANAGERNewsletter of the Society of Project Managers, Singapore www.sprojm.org.sg MCI (P) 153/08/2014

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SPM - UniSim Professional Talk - Design for Safety

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The SPM-Uni SIM Professional Talk, jointly organised by SPM and UniSIM, was held on 22 October 2015 evening at 7.00pm at UniSIM Campus. The talk titled Design for Safety, attracted a good crowd size involving professional across construction industry and students from UniSIM. As the WSH (Desgin for Safety) Regulation will be coming into force by August 2016, the objective of this talk is to promote the practice and better knowledge for Design for Safety.

The speaker, Ng Lee Chian of PH Consulting Pte Ltd who is also a Design for Safety Professional shared her experience in implementing Design for Safety and how DfS process could be adopted effectively.

The Guidelines on Design for Safety (DfS) was jointly published by Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and Workplace Safety and Health Council (WSHC) in 2008. However, the Guidelines were only adopted on a voluntary basis by a few major developers for the last six years. With the Workplace Safety and Health (Design for Safety) Regulations gazetted and to be enforced in August 2016, there were different sentiments and concerns among the stakeholders in the building and construction industry. Developers who have the legal obligations on the implementation of DfS in their

projects may be concerned on how DfS will affect their project schedule and cost. Designers who are expected to eliminate or reduce the design risks may be worried about the increased efforts and time required for the DfS review process. Contractors who have been submitting risk assessment for their construction activities may be apprehensive on another set of risk assessment that may impede their work progress.

In this DfS talk, the speaker, Ms Ng Lee Chian had shared insights on the DfS review process and deliverables based on her experiences and how DfS review process could be infused into the whole project development process easily with effective project management.

SPM – UniSIM Professional Talk: Design For Safety

Early Contractors' Involvement (ECI) Procurement ApproachOn 25 February 2016, the first talk of the SPM Professional Technical Talk Series in 2016 was held. The talk titled Early Contractor’s Involvement (ECI) Procurement Approach was attended by some 80 active participants (including guests and members) from both public agencies and private sector companies.

The speaker, Mr Teoh Wooi Sin of Arcadis Project Management Pte Ltd and a council member of Society of Project Managers, shared his experiences in implementing ECI for projects in both private and public sectors.

Mr Teoh introduced the ECI as a project procurement approach whereby contractors are engaged early to effectively tap on their expertise especially in the aspects of buildability, constructability, construction schedule and planning, and alternative design proposals. The presentation also covered the scope and evolution of ECI, the benefits and process of ECI, the ECI Models for public sector projects, as well as lessons learned from past ECI cases.Mr Teoh illustrated the process of the ECI for both private and public sector projects via case studies, which made the presentation more lively and interesting.

Mr Teoh Wooi Sin presenting the ECI procurement approach to attentive participants.

Early Contractor Involvement Progressional Talk

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Design Thinking - ByBassam Jabry

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Token of Appreciation to Er. Ng Lee Chian receiving from the President,Dr Ting Seng Kiong

President’s MessageWe had a SPM council planning retreat on 23 January 2016 to plan the accreditation of project managers by SPM. Every one of us in the council are very excited about this. If you feel as strongly as us, please holler and join us in this venture. We value your participation.As this is the first message of the year, I wish to highlight what we have gone through in 2015.In 2014, we amended the constitution as a part of our plan to

promote better understanding of project management issues among those new to the profession. As such we started the SPM-UniSIM Professional Talk Series to be held at the UniSIM campus. This has turned out to be very popular. The following were the topics of the professional talk series held in the evenings at UniSIM:“Understanding the Change and Impact of the Eurocodes on the Construction Industry in Singapore” by Professor Tan Teng Hooi.“Precast Management in Projects” by Mr Ng Chin Sin of Tiong Seng Contractors.“Construction 2020 – Changing the Way We Build” by Dr John Keung, CEO of BCA.“Large Construction Projects in Singapore – Some Fundamental Aspects for Success” by Ms Audrey Perez of Dragages Singapore.“WSH (Design for Safety) Regulations – An Overview” by Ms Charlene Liew of MOM.“Design for Safety – from a practicing DfSP viewpoint” by Er Ng Lee Chian of PH Consulting.Consequently, we only had one lunch time talk on “Tools to Harness Project Success” by Mr Phil Palmer of PCSS Consultancy.We launched the book “Singapore Public Sector Construction Contract” by our founding president Mr Chow Kok Fong on 31 July

2015. Together with this book launch, we also had three wonderful presentations. Mr Seah Choo Meng talked about “Contractor Selection Strategy for Public Sector Projects”. Following on, Mr Christopher Chuah spoke on “Contractual Terms Relating to Project delivery”. Finally Mr Eugene Tan rounded up the presentations by focusing on “When the Contractor Fails: When is it time to terminate?” This was topped off by a lively panel discussion before dinner. The presentations and the book launch were truly very well received.We conducted the SPM-BCAA course on project management for professionals in the building and construction industry from April to May 2015. This was our 10th batch.We continued to play a key role in the Construction Industry Joint Committee (CIJC).Our annual dinner on 25 September 2015 was as usual well received and for many a memorable time. We continued our support of the Singapore Children’s Society.On the international front, of the two GAPPS working sessions, WS33 in Sydney and WS34 in Manchester, 1VP Mr Yip Kim Seng represented SPM in Manchester.Three of us from SPM attended the CPMC 14th China International Construction Project Management Summit in Shijiazhuang in October.For all our members who may be in Hong Kong for business or pleasure, in April 2015, SPM has signed an MOU with the HKIPM that allows our members reciprocal benefits to attend their events and functions at similar costs as their own members. Please avail yourselves of this privilege.As we look with great expectations to this new year, we want to wish all a wonderful year ahead and of course a prosperous LunarNew Year.

Dr Ting Seng KiongPresident

The lively discussion during the Q&A session

Mr Teoh ended his presentation with the following recommendation for ECI procurement approach:

• ECIshouldonlybeconsideredforbiggersizeprojectse.g.S$200millionandabove,orverycomplicated projects.

• ThenumberoftenderersshortlistedfortheECIshouldbebetweenthreetofivecontractors.

• EvaluationcriteriamustbeasobjectiveaspossibleinparticularinDesignandBuildECI.

• Confidentialityoftenderders'designoralternativeproposalsmustbemaintainedandprotected.

• Honorariumshouldbeconsideredforunsuccessfultenderersinviewoftheeffortsputinby them.

The talk was not only well received and attended by many participants, the ensuing Q&A session at the end of the presentation also attracted lively discussion and many questions from the audience.

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Welcome! New SPM MembersWe extend a warm welcome to the following new members into SPM:

S/NO NAME MEMBERSHIP PLACE OF PRACTICE

1 Han Su Yin Adelene Ordinary RLB Consultancy2 Lee Tim Chee Terence Ordinary MTR Corporation Ltd3 Liew You Ming Ordinary Hazama Ando Singapore Private Limited4 Lim Siew Han Ordinary Faithful + Gould Pte Limited5 Maria Marselina Sutedjo Ordinary Davis Langdon KPK6 Philip Tan Tai Chew Ordinary JDC Corporation7 Toh Teh Kim Jonathan Ordinary Arcadis PM Pte Ltd8 Darren Peter Benger Associate ATA Architects Pte Ltd9 Lim Yan Wen Associate RLB Consultancy10 Ming Wing Kit Associate PM Link Pte Ltd

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Can design support Singapore's transitionfrom a consumer society towards a more

creative community?

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The mobile phone revolution is said to have brought design into the mainstream. The perception of design as an expensive ‘extra’ changed radically at the turn of the millennium. This was largely thanks to Nokia presenting the mobile phone as a fashion accessory for everyone. The market for exchangeable covers mushroomed and suddenly design was an essential ingredient helping create differentiation for the multibillion dollar mobile industry.

Fast forward another decade, design today has evolved from this narrow domain of applied aesthetics into a strategic business tool that is helping to solve large and complex challenges, not only for manufacturing, but within the services sector too.

The reason behind this is largely rooted in the fundamentals of what design is all about. Primarily it starts with a keen level of empathy. Finding out what people think, how they feel and what they lack. Second it is the ability to think freely, translating those people insights into new ideas. This process requires the team involved to transgress rational boundaries where typically people with past experience in the field will tell you ‘it’s not possible’! After all, memory is just a collection of old ideas!

Finally, the process of ‘prototyping’ embryonic ideas, giving them room to grow, and sometimes fail, allows them to evolve into a robust solution that

can be implemented.

It’s a considered and methodical process. There are no single eureka moments or quick fixes, but a long stringof sensible solutions that work well together.

Whether it’s designing the next smartphone or attempting to solve world changing issues such as delivering clean water to sub-saharan Africa, these three principles will always apply.

So why has this fundamental and ‘human centred’ approach only now come of age? Most likely the industrial revolution played a role here. It created a world that became all too dominated by a rational, numbers driven attitude. Factories were all about streamlining processes, efficiency and together with it our holy grail - productivity. This juggernaut of a steam train continued to roll its way into the post-industrial revolution, as the service industry grew together with the financial sector, number crunching was king. The advent of the IT revolution further fuelled our love for right brain analytical and process focused thinking.

One of the corner stones of the IT revolution is probably email. On March 5th, Ray Tomlinson, largely hailed as the inventor of email back in the early 70’s, passed away. 46 years on and we have yet to find a better alternative. In that time, email went from an experiment to send a message across two adjoining computers to how it now dominates almost every corner of our working lives.

Whenemailcameinasareplacementto‘snail'mail, itwas a revolution. So we did more of it. A lot more of it in fact! How many of us are enslaved to the daily ritual

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of'clearingouremails'.Busyexecsdragtheirlaptopsintomeetings, pretending to be listening but actually hacking through the piles of messages in their inbox. Diligent parents start catching up on emails from 11pm, after the kids have been safely tucked into bed…

We have taken the obvious path that more of a good thing must lead to even better things. That generally holds true, until you hit limits that is. Limits in available resources, physical space and even time. There will come a time whenwe just can't copewith another 50 emails in ourmailbox every day.

Sowhat'snext?Thisiswhereweneedtostopandrethinkhow communication is fundamentally managed within organisations. To take a holistic step back and ask ourselves what we are trying to achieve here, and then work with all the parties involved to find a new way forward. Bringing the service providers, the IT specialists, the busy execs, the bosses, the spammer and of course the designers around the table.

This is just one example and there are so many, large and small.

Singapore is a small place that has done extremely well to grow at a phenomenal rate while still managing to keep things together. But as we hit limits of population growth, consumption, high-rises, underground tunnels and the rest of it, what will be the next step?

The next phase is all about behaviour change. How can we make riding a bicycle feel as gratifying as owning a 6 Series BMW. Because beyond the emotional response we getfromdrivingaluxurycar,the'product' itself ishighlyincongruentwithourneedsandenvironment.Here'sacar(and this applies to nearly all cars), that in fact only uses 1% of the energy consumed to move the human sitting inside from A to B. The other 99% is wasted on moving the vehicle itself! Most cars in Singapore can easily break thespeedlimit,andifyoudoitjustmeansyou'llgettothenext traffic light just that bit faster. Added to that, its range can help you circle the island about 7 times on one tank of fuel. From a designer’s point of view, this product is really notfitforpurpose!Isn'tthereanopportunitytocomeupwith something that just makes a lot more sense?

I definitely think so, but it means that we can no longer work in isolation. The energy companies, the LTA and several other government agencies need to work alongside the car companies, materials specialists as well as designers, psychologists and even 'trend setters' to come togetherand reframe what it means to own a car.

Rationality, numbers, policies and legacy systems have to be temporarily parked in the cupboard and the locked away for a while, to allow a new kind

of thinking to emerge.

Our world and with it our application of design and creative thinking has come a long way. As we now hit these hard limitations on resources, we have an opportunity to apply this more empathic and ‘fuzzy’ approach to solving the next generation of challenges the world faces. This is where the

process of ‘Design Thinking’ or ‘Human Centred Design’ can help to find new breakthroughs by applying the 3 principles I mentioned earlier.

Even back to our seemingly analytical quest for better productively, we need to apply this approach to find new pathways that don’t subjugate people into machines. This is particularly true in the service industry. Whether in domains like healthcare or hospitality,

we need to be careful that our drive for productivity through technology doesn’t lead us to designing systems

and processes that make both the staff and the customers they are serving feel

like cogs in a machine -

beautifully portrayed in Charlie Chaplin’s movie Modern Times way back in the 1930’s.

I strongly believe that Singapore, based on it's size,organisation and efficiency is a perfect hotbed for prototyping some of these ideas. These are the new solutions that the rest of the world will want to adopt and scale up, until we hit new limits, and then we start over again!

Bassam is Chemistry’s Managing Director, consulting on Product & Service design innovation.

After a 5 year stint with Philips Design, he joined Chemistry in 2002. His workshops and creative sessions have impacted a wide range of industry sectors including Tourism, Retail, Manufacturing and Healthcare.

Bassam was born in the UK and holds a 1st Class BSc (Hons) in Product Design from Brunel University, UK. He is one of a select group of consultants appointed by Singapore’s government productivity agency, Spring Singapore, to deliver their programme on Design Thinking for business innovation.

Previously he held the role as an external examiner for Singapore Polytechnic’s Experiene Design course, as well as a member on the Design Manpower Skills and Training council.

Bassam JabryManaging DirectorCHEMISTRY(Singapore)

from the Editorial Team...The Editorial TeamTeoh Wooi Sin (Chairman)Yip Kim Seng (Advisor)Tan Kok Siong (Advisor)Carlson NgDavid CheongLee Kok BoonManish BangaShaun Yeo

Let’s Pledge for a Better Built Environment Workplace!

What is the ‘Pledge for a Better Built Environment Workplace and its objectives?

This is a voluntary pledge designed for built environment firms of all sizes (including developers, consultants and contractors) to commit to the adoption of good human resource practices. Through the Pledge, we aim to transform the Built Environment sector into a workplace of choice to attract and retain employees.

What are the benefits of signing the Pledge?

Upon signing, firms will enjoy the following benefits:

What does signing the Pledge mean?

Through the Pledge signing, the senior management of the firm will commit to the adoption of good human resource practices, riding on the 5 principles below:

How do I sign up for the Pledge?

Please visit our website at www.buildingcareers.gov.sg/pledge.

Application for the Pledge is free!

Branding • Positive image to better attract and retain talents• UseofPledgelogoinfirmcollaterals

Publicity for firms

• Featured in Pledge registry on BCA’s Building Careers Portal • SelectedfirmsmaybeprofiledinBCA’spublicity

materials & events

Learning opportunities

• Access to HR-related resources• InvitationstoattendHR-relatedworkshops/

seminars

Calling for feature Articles and Sponsorship!Dear Readers,

We invite you to contribute articles of Project Management interest so that this could be shared with and learnt by the project management fraternity.

We also invite you and your esteemed company to place an advertorial under our sponsorship scheme.Thecostofsponsorshipis$3,000foronefullpageor$2,000forahalfpage.Youradvertorial can be in the form of a feature article such as a write-up on a project or projects undertaken by the sponsor or on any subject of project management interest and practice.

You can convey your interest tosocietyofprojectmanagers@gmail.com

We sincerely looking forward to your contributions and support.

Editorial Team

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SPM-UniSIM Professional Talk: Design for Safety - From a Practising DfSP ViewpointThe Workplace Safety and Health (Design for Safety) Regulations has been gazetted and will come into operation on 1 August 2016 for any construction work with a contract sum of 10 million or more and involves development under section 3(1) of the Planning Act.

Design for Safety (DfS) is the earliest opportunity to incorporate safety in our design through collective and conscious decisions made by the key stakeholders in the project team. The concept behind DfS is to manage the upstream risks by getting the designers to review their design and address the risks that their design has created. These foreseeable risks at construction, operation and maintenance will be eliminated or reduced to as low as practicable. Residual risks will be mitigated by a hierarchy of control measures such elimination, substitution, engineering control, administrative control and personal protective equipment. DfS is not an additional task imposed on the designers but part of the design process that may have been overlooked in the midst of our very compressed design and construction programme. DfS can be easily infused into the project development process by effective project management and an experienced DfS Professional (DfSP) guiding the review process. “Guidelines on Design for Safety in Buildings and Structures” published by WHSC/MOM is the current reference material for the design review process and transfer of vital safety and health information.

In the DfS Guidelines, all key stakeholders in the project has an important role to play in the design review process. The review process recommended is called GUIDE. The GUIDE is a systematic process which design risks are highlighted, reviewed and recorded. The GUIDE should be carried out in three phases of the project so as to concentrate on a smaller scope during each process and thereby reducing the possibility of missing out any significant items. For a typical building contract, the review meetings during design stage will be attended by developer/client representative, designers and DfSP. GUIDE 1 will be conducted near the end of the conceptual design and covers site location, impacts to the surrounding during construction and general constraints of the project. GUIDE 2 will be conducted near the end of the detailed design stage. It focuses on the detailed design, maintenance and repair of the building and also assess the risks of the construction methods, access and egress. After the building contract has been awarded for construction, the DfSP and client representative will meet up with different groups of consultants and contractor’s specialists or sub-consultants for several GUIDE 3 sessions. The issues that will be reviewed in GUIDE 3 include critical temporary works design, construction & installation methods and design by specialist contractor not covered during GUIDE 2.

ConceptualDesign

DetalledDesign

Tender Construction Operation &Maintenance

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About SpeakerNg Lee Chian is a Professional Civil Engineer and an Associate Director inPH Consulting Pte Ltd.She has successfully managed projects from diversified domain, and led design and construction teams to timely completion of such projects within budget. These include the Changi Water Reclamation Plant and Sungei Sembawang Abstraction Ponds; and infrastructure rail and expressway projects like the Kallang/Paya Lebar Expressway Contract and CTE/Braddell Road Interchange in Singapore. She has also designed many structures such as the MFA building at Sherwood Road and supervised the construction of ICA Building at Kallang Road. In her 25 years career, she has accumulated wide knowledge on different areas of engineering skills. She is a certified Design for Safety Coordinator and currently practices as a Design-for-Safety Professional. She has facilitated numerous challenging projects such as hospital, medical centres and multi-storey integrated complex.

The main component in each GUIDE process is the risk assessment which is repeated for all potential hazards until the review team is satisfied that the design at that juncture can no longer be changed to totally eliminate all risks. The safety and health issues raised during GUIDE sessions will be recorded in a Risk Assessment Matrix (RAM). The RAM together with other documents such as Advisory Notes from designers or contractor and Safe Operating Procedures will form the Safety and Health Risk Register (SHRR). The SHRR will be handed over to the developer at the end of the project for future reference and has to be updated whenever there are addition or alteration works to the building or new equipment are purchased.

Design processes are complex as well as intertwine and team approach to identify and address the design hazards is crucial in the success of reducing risks at source. DfS should be taken as an integral part of any projects and it can flow seamlessly along with the whole project development process when managed effectively.

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