Common data environment for all Lum Chang projects

AS RURAL populations throughout the world continue to migrate to urban environments, cities will undoubtedly face numerous challenges to meet the needs of their growing urban populations in terms of housing, infrastructure, transportation and utilities demand, says Tan Wey Pin, Managing Director, Lum Chang Building Contractors Pte Ltd (LCBC), which is the construction arm of the Lum Chang Group.

"New technologies, processes, and engineering solutions are constantly being created to address these challenges. In Singapore, we are faced with limited land resources so I see the need to maximise the use of our land by creating smart working and living spaces.

"The buildings that we build have to not only improve our urban environment, they must incorporate provisions for fast changing facilities. To this end, I am glad that our government has been rolling out plans to enable Singapore to become a SMART Nation," says Mr Tan.

The built environment defines the spaces in which people live, work or play and has significant impact on their health and well-being. It doesn't just refer to built physical structures.

"A well designed city provides comfortable living conditions with good utilities and sanitation systems, easy access to connected transportation networks and to community spaces for bonding and engagement. As a builder, we play an important role in this ecosystem by constructing buildings not only faster and better, but also safely. Faster, to meet the demand and better, by improving the quality of workmanship."

The world is undergoing a digital revolution, so it has come to a point, even for the built environment industry, that it needs to transform to keep the business going. The process is definitely a challenging one.

"At Lum Chang, we saw the need to digitise three years ago, so we took a bold step to implement a document and drawing management platform, which has now evolved to become the common data environment (CDE). It took some time for the team to fully embrace the idea, but now all our projects are on a CDE and we cannot do without it," says Mr Tan.

Overall, although technology adoption in the built environment industry is speeding up, it is still not fast and widespread enough, he says.

"I feel this is partly due to the fact that we often are too focused on meeting the immediate demands of the large population shift. I therefore, think that a mindset shift is the key to successful transformation within the built environment industry.

"Secondly, the lack of young talents in the built environment industry remains a stumbling block for creative new ideas. We are hoping the transformation will make the built environment industry more attractive to the younger generation."

There is also the cost barrier that impedes adoption. As many downstream players are small companies, they do not have the monetary nor manpower resources to implement, much less innovate new technologies.

Mr Tan feels that the built environment industry transformation is required through its whole value chain. Creating a sustainable well designed city cannot be done in isolation by any one organisation. It requires coordinated and comprehensive efforts by multiple organisations, working in tandem with the government.

"Likewise, the successful completion of a project is not possible without team effort, from developers to design consultants through to facilities management. As builders, we're right in the middle of the value chain, and it is not possible to execute any proposal without the upstream support from developers and consultants or downstream sub-contractors and suppliers.

"For example, when we did the digital fabrication for the entrance canopy at Northpoint City, we needed the design model from the consultant to develop the construction model before we could send it to the fabricator in China for computer numerical control fabrication."

He says Singapore's built environment industry is very fortunate to have a very supportive government. In November last year, BCA together with the Infocomm Media Development Authority launched a S$4 million call to develop digital platforms for the building sector to enable cross communication over the different stages of the construction project cycle.

"Other public agencies such as the LTA and Jurong Town Corporation have also led the way by implementing various digital technologies to streamline tasks and achieve greater coordination and efficiency throughout the building value chain. For example, as the main contractor for JTC's Woodlands North Coast Project, we have adopted initiatives such as BIM (Building Information Modelling) for progress claim and precast tracking with QR code link to our 4D model.

"With assistance and support from the government, I do not see why Singapore's built environment industry cannot benefit from the transformation and break new ground."

Mr Tan says that one of the key thrusts of the Construction Industry Transformation Map is integrated digital delivery (IDD), which is an innovative initiative to align the built environment value chain.

"Another notable initiative is BCA's bold push for Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (DfMA) for prefabricated mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) systems.

"Identified as a game changing technology under the DfMA continuum, BCA has rolled out programmes such as Specialist Diploma in MEP Modularisation and a guidebook to provide guidance on the know-how and best practices.

"In response, we have sent several engineers to the course and received positive feedback. We have also adopted Prefabricated Horizontal and Vertical Riser in our current projects including PSA's corporate headquarters and Woodlands North Coast, and successfully completed the installations at Tekka Place."

Mr Tan says that everyone within the built environment value chain is important for the successful transformation of the construction sector in Singapore.

"As a leading local contractor, I believe that on top of taking first steps in digitalisation, we should also enable our joint venture partners and sub-contractors to move in tandem.

"As most of our sub-contractors are SMEs, they may not have the resources or the manpower to take in the rapid transformation as speedily as we do. To assist them, we conduct training and provide a support team to aid them in adapting to our digital process. This ensures that benefits are filtered down the value chain for the greater good of the industry."