Connect 2 ACES Newsletter Dec 2018

DECEMBER 2018

A QUARTERLY PUBLICATION BY THE ASSOCIATION OF CONSULTING ENGINEERS SINGAPORE

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ACES Golf 2018

07 14th ACEM-ACES DIALOGUE

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President’s Message

NUS Distinguished Engineering Alumni Award (DEAA)

“The practices of our profession are going through transformation due to advancement in digital technology. We are revamping ACES webpages to be in sync with current technology so that you could be better served and updated you with our events.“

CONNECT2ACES A QUARTERLY PUBLICATION

BY THE ASSOCIATION OF CONSULTING ENGINEERS SINGAPORE

In This Issue PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE:

WRAPPING UP 2018 WELCOMING 2019

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DECEMBER 2018 ISSUE

Editor:

Er. Adeline Koh

Editorial Team:

Er. Yow Cheong Hoe Ms. Lilian Lean

Contributors for this issue:

Er. Lee Tuck Cheong / Er. Kenneth Liu Er. Yeow Mei Leng Er. Yong Fen Leong Er. Alfred Neo / Er. Chuck Kho KTP Consultants Pte. Ltd. Workplace Safety and Health Council (WSHC)

ACES EVENTS:

ACES GOLF 2018 – 4 OCTOBER 2018

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ACES NETWORKING AND MEMBERSHIP DRIVE NIGHT – 19 OCTOBER 2018

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ACES EOGM – 31 OCTOBER 2018

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ACES MOVIE NIGHT – 28 NOVEMBER 2018

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14TH ACEM-ACES DIALOGUE – 9 & 10 NOVEMBER 2018

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FEATURED ARTICLES:

EXCELLENCE AWARD FOR CIVIL & STRUCTURAL (A2 CATEGORY), FOR THE PROJECT “SCOTTS TOWER”

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NUS DISTINGUISHED ENGINEERING ALUMNI AWARD – ER. LIM PENG HONG

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MND HUDDLE 2018 - MEDALLION AWARD TRIP TO TIANJIN ECO-CITY 2018 FACE MEETING IN BANGKOK 2018

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DESIGN FOR SAFETY LIBRARY

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SUB-COMMITTEE UPDATES:

Permit No. MCI (P) 055/07/2018 Please send queries and feedback to: E-mail: secretariat@aces.org.sg Tel: 6659 5023 Address: 18 Sin Ming Lane #06-01 Midview City, Singapore 573960 ‘Connect2ACES’ is published quarterly by the Association of Consulting Engineers Singapore. The publisher and the editor are unable to accept any liability for errors or omissions that may occur, although every effort has been taken to ensure that all information is correct at the time of going to press. This publication may not be reproduced in part or in whole, without the written permission of the publisher.

Creative Direction by: Artnexus Design Pte Ltd

M&E PRACTICE COMMITTEE UPDATES

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C&S PRACTICE COMMITTEE UPDATES

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BUSINESS & PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE COMMITTEE UPDATES

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ACES PAST SEMINARS AND EVENTS

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ACES UPCOMING SEMINARS AND EVENTS

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ACES-YPC PAST AND UPCOMING EVENTS

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PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

Wrapping up 2018 Welcoming 2019

by Er. Chua Tong Seng

T

ime flies and again we are at the end of another eventful year 2018.

This year we saw the fruit of Integrated Digital Delivery (IDD) technologies on display at the JTC Logistic Hub project. It allows engineers, builders and in future, facility managers to communicate with one another digitally and cut out paper works significantly.

It is exciting to see how ACES Movie Night 2018 all the works including construction components being tracked and data could be analyzed when needed.

We presented ACES Industry Transformation Maps (ITM) Action Plan to Future Economy Council (FEC) BE Cluster Sub-Committee on 1 November 2018 highlighting our plan to transform our practice, business and its sustainable. As part of our contribution to construction industry, ACES signed a MOU with BCA and IES on the registration of Façade, Lift and Escalator Inspectors on 16 October 2018. We also called an EOGM on 31 October 2018 to consult our members and to hear their view on the proposed iNPQS and to seek their support for financing the initiative. We delighted by the unanimous support from our members.

On the social front, our Social Development Committee organized the ACES Golf 2018 on 4 October 2018. We are grateful to receive strong support from our sponsors and active participation from our members and associates. With the golf course fully filled under a pleasant and blissful weather, the event ‘swings’ into good bonding and ‘follow-through’ with many joyous moments.

We have the ACES Networking and Membership Drive Night on 19 October 2018 and are grateful to the sponsors. We will continue to reach out to fellow Consulting Engineers and welcome them to our Association. We are also happy to host a full house ACES Movie Night on 28 November 2018. The movie, Fantastic Beasts, Crime of Grindelwald was interesting and reflects the positive thought that anyone can be a hero if they have the courage to do so. We are delighted to see ACES family finding common time to come together with our industry partners, gather under one roof and relax crunching over some popcorns.

We had an annual dialogue with our counterpart from Malaysia - Association of Consulting Engineers Malaysia (ACEM) on 9 to 10 November 2018 at Forest City, Johor Bahru. We exchanged some engineering developments, shared some experience gained and enjoyed our camaraderie with a round of Golf at Forest City Golf Resort.

Mapping a route to success, ACES play our supportive role in the PEB Day of Dedication 2018 by endorsing a joint-congratulatory message to all the newly registered Professional Engineers and celebrating the occasion with our fellow Professional Engineers. We are proud to share that our Past President Er. Lim Peng Hong received the prestigious NUS Distinguished Engineering Alumni Award 2018 and Er. Ling Shiang Yun received his MND Medallion award for his contribution as member of Professional Engineers Board. He had worked very hard and sacrificed a lot of his time championing our engineering cause.

2019 is coming and we hope to offer you the first Good News soon.

The ACES 48th Anniversary Gala Dinner will be held on 21 March 2019. So, please be on the lookout for further announcement.

Singapore is set to see a new flagship event for the Built Environment sector next year. Building and Construction Authority (BCA) and Reed Exhibitions Singapore, with the support from ACES together with other 11 Trade Associations and Chambers, the inaugural International Built Environment Week (IBEW) will be held from 4 to 6 September 2019.

The theme is “Transforming the way we build”.

Finally, together with all our Council Members, I look forward to works with you for a pleasant year ahead for our members, profession and the community. Let’s maintain good collaboration among our members and other stakeholders to face our challenging but interesting year ahead.

I wish all of you and your family, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2019!

Er. Chua Tong Seng President

PEB Day of Dedication 2018 on 17 November 2018 In conjunction with the yearly Professional Engineers Board (PEB) Day of Dedication celebration on 17 November 2018, ACES and our members have placed a Special Supplement to commemorate the Day of Dedication, which was published in The Straits Times on 17 November 2018.

WE ARE PROUD TO CELEBRATE

PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS BOARD DAY OF DEDICATION 2018

Congratulations to the Professional Engineers Board and all Professional Engineers for their contributions to the built environment!

ACES Members:

DECEMBER 2018 • 3

ACES EVENTS

ACES Golf 2018 – 4 October 2018

by Er. Lee Tuck Cheong / Er. Kenneth Liu

A

CES held its third Golf event on 4 October 2018 at Orchid Country Club.

The turn-out of the event was good and this networking social golf event served well to enable our members, sponsors, government agencies, fellow institutional leaders (IES, SIA, SPM, SSSS, TUCSS, SPS, ASHRAE) to come together for networking and foster closer understanding and collaboration within our industry.

Dr. Lee Bee Wah (Board Member of PE Board; MP for Nee Soon GRC and Grassroots Adviser to Nee Soon GROs) also joined us in the event this year.

Thanks to the bright and sunny weather this year, all 128 golfers (32 flights) completed their 18-holes with satisfaction.

In one of the par three holes, players had to donate a minimum of $10 in order to win a collar pin should their ball land within the circle on the green. With this, ACES managed to raise $920 which will be donated to children charity.

There were plenty of opportunities during dinner for further networking, and guests were seen moving from table to table to socialize. Through the generosity of the sponsors and ACES, there were many lucky draw prizes given out, and almost two-in-three guests ended up going home with a lucky draw prize.

ACES would like to thank everyone who had participated in this event in making it a huge success.

4 • CONNECT2ACES

Networking and Membership Drive Night – 19 October 2018

ACES EVENTS

by Er. Lee Tuck Cheong / Er. Kenneth Liu

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he ACES Networking and Membership Drive Night held on 19 October 2018, 7.00pm at Sheraton Tower Singapore, saw a large turnout of about 80 participants.

ACES Membership Drive ACES President, Er. Chua Tong Seng in his welcome address announced that ACES had further extended the 100% discount offer on ACES membership subscription fee for new members joining between July 2018 and June 2019.

This 100% discount is given in the form of vouchers which can be used by the new member to offset against the course fee for courses organised by ACES. These vouchers are valid till 30 June 2018 and are not transferable.

On top of networking, the programme for the night was outlined with two technical sharing sessions:

2. Presentation by Kohler Singapore Pte Ltd: Advantages of modular backup power systems

1. Presentation by CAE Engineering Pte Ltd: Introduction to CAE Modular Fire Pump System: Prefabricated and Tested modules

Mr. Keith Khoo shared the advantages of having flexible and modular backup power equipment that could allow the use of the same equipment for different application needs and how a modular backup power equipment could configure and optimize the performance of the total backup power systems.

Mr. Ivan Tan shared on the prefabricated fire pump module that allowed for connection between pipes, fittings and equipment supported by a common frame to be carried out in the factory.

This results in time and manpower savings, and also contributes to better quality.

ACES expressed their appreciation to CAE Engineering Pte. Ltd. and Kohler Singapore Pte. Ltd. for their technical sharing and generous sponsorship.

The event was very well received and all participants had enjoyed the night.

DECEMBER 2018 • 5

ACES EVENTS

ACES EOGM – 31 October 2018

by Er. Adeline Koh

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n Extraordinary General Meeting (EOGM) was called on 31 October 2018, 6.30pm at ACES Office (18 Sin Ming Lane #06-01 Midview City, Singapore 573960) with the purpose to update members on the Intelligent National Productivity and Quality Specification (iNPQS) Project.

The iNPQS Project will be managed under a company called “iNPQS Pte Ltd” jointly owned by ACES, IES and SIA of equal shares.

The key agenda of EOGM was to receive and approve the proposed iNPQS Project with the knowledge that ACES will fund upfront SGD200K seed money.

The EOGM was attended by 31 members and all voted yes for the iNPQS Project (31/31 votes).

ACES Movie Night – 28 November 2018

by Er. Adeline Koh

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n conjunction with the year-end festive seasons’ celebration, ACES organised its fourth Movie Night on 28 November 2018.

The film selected for this year’s event was “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald” a fantasy film directed by David Yates, with screenplay by J. K. Rowling. It is the second instalment in the Fantastic Beasts film series, and the tenth overall in the Wizarding World franchise, which began with the Harry Potter film series.

ACES booked the 500-seater Shaw Theatres Lido 1 cinema for this social event.

Movie tickets were available to members at $4.00 each, which is more than 50 percent cost subsided by ACES from the usual price of $8.50 each. The event had created a great opportunity for a networking session amongst the member firms’ staff as well as their families.

We had also extended our invitation to Construction Industry Joint Committee (CIJC) member institutions’ presidents and polytechnic students to join the movie on complimentary basis.

ACES is thankful to Mitsubishi Electric Asia Pte. Ltd. as our exclusive sponsor for ACES Movie Night event for the fourth time.

6 • CONNECT2ACES

14th ACEM-ACES DIALOGUE

ACES EVENTS

– 9 & 10 November 2018

by Er. Adeline Koh

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he 14th annual dialogue between ACEM-ACES was held on 10 November 2018 in Johor Forest City. This year is ACEM’s turn to host the event.

The event started on 9 November with an afternoon friendly golf between the ACEM-ACES members at Forest City Golf Resort.

ACES shared with ACEM on the following two topics: 1. “Ground Freezing for the design and construction of SCL tunnel underneath Marina Bay Station, Singapore” by Er. Chua Tong Seng 2. Integrated Digital Delivery (IDD) by Er. Mak Swee Chiang

ACEM-ACES Friendly Golf on Friday, 9 November 2018

Both ends had a very fruitful sharing session and discussion.

After the dialogue, a lunch reception was held at C&M Restaurant.

From Left: Ir. Patrick C. Augustin; Datuk Ir. Mustaza Salim; Er. Chua Tong Seng; Er. Choong Choon Guan; Er. Adeline Koh; Er. Yeow Mei Leng; Ir. Anuar Mohd Aris; Ir. Romesh Srinivasan

Later in the evening, ACEM hosted a dinner at Forest City Phoenix Hotel.

The dialogue was attended by 9 council members from ACES and 11 council members from ACEM. This annual dialogue allowed both ACEM-ACES to share recent happenings in the professional practices, the experiences, exchanged views and learning from each other.

After lunch, the programme resumed with site visit to: 1. Forest City Sales Gallery – briefing by Mr. Ahmad Faizul, Senior Strategic Executive 2. IBS Industrial Park, Forest City – briefing by Mr. Ruzaini & Mr. Faidhil, Senior Engineers

The dialogue session started with an “Introduction of Forest City Development” by Mr. K. Shanmugapathy, Deputy Director of Planning & Development Department of Forest City Country Garden.

Thereafter, ACEM shared with ACES on “A recap of FIDIC Berlin 2018” presented by Ir. Prem Kumar.

The programme ended around 4.30 pm. Next year will be ACES’ turn to host the dialogue session.

DECEMBER 2018 • 7

ACES FEATURED ARTICLE

ACES Design Excellence Awards 2018 Winner Project -

The Scotts Tower K

TP Consultants Pte Ltd is Civil & Structural Engineer for The Scotts Tower (TST), a 31-storey single tower residential building with two levels of basements (GFA of 17,860 sqm) and located at the intersection of Scotts Road and Cairnhill Road. Adjacent to TST are sensitive neighbours of Scotts 28, Trendale Tower and the MRT first reserve.

TST is a reinforced concrete high-rise structures with multiple transferstoreys at levels 3, 19, 25 and 26. The transfer at level 3 is critical as the vertical loads of the entire tower are finally are transferred onto the building central core walls and four mega columns located at four corners of the building to create the column free sky lobby with periphery span of 33m on Level 2. The typical residential floors are constructed via a buildable flat plate with perimeter beams system to enhance the perimeter stiffness in catering for the curtain wall performance specifications.

The key challenges encountered in this project includes: • The construction of the two levels of basement within the 10m depth of soft marine clay geology situated on the LTA MRT protection zone.

• The iconic high-rise tower has a challenging geometry demanding a column free volume spanning a maximum of 33m at Level 2 sky lobby periphery which truncates the vertical supports from all the thirty (30) floors of superstructure floors above it.

• The tower carries highly concentrated loads from inclined mega columns and central spine corewalls that are to be supported by a second-generation foundation within a limited footprint shared with the abandoned foundation from the former Cairnhill Towers

The Design solutions and features that were implemented includes: • Dual-Ring earth retaining wall consisting of the Contiguous Bored Pile (CBP) Wall on the outer ring and the Grout Mixed Piles (GMP) with Soldier Piles in the internal ring.

• A robust concrete outrigger transfer system mobilising the high stiffness central core walls spine with a pair of splayed balanced cantilever fin beams with secondary tie beams on four (4) inclined mega columns for optimised structural efficiency with high redundancy in load paths. The outrigger concrete frame consisting of two (2) sets of balanced splayed cantilever transfer beams (width of 3250mm and tapering depth of 2500mm to 4500mm) sparring out from the central core-wall spine supporting the secondary ring of transfer beams which doubles up as ties for all the four inclined mega columns below.

• High capacity large diameter bored piles with base grouting enhanced the end bearing performance while optimising the tower foundation footprint intake.

The TST project had demonstrated a high level of rigorous and thoughtful design to achieve an innovative, safe and buildable design in realizing this architectural icon. Despite the various challenges in the adverse site conditions and challenging building geometry, the Engineers have implemented key strategies that had resulted in optimal productivity and safety in delivering this project safely in forty-nine (49) months. The utilisation of non-linear construction sequential analysis enables the RC outrigger mega transfer frame to not only resists both the vertical and lateral loading in a highly efficient manner, but also uses to optimize the overall structural efficiency and long-term robustness of the entire high-rise structures.

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ACES FEATURED ARTICLE

NUS Distinguished Engineering Alumni Award (DEAA) Er. Lim Peng Hong

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r. Lim Peng Hong is the Managing Director of PH Consulting Pte Ltd. Er. Lim graduated from NUS in 1983 with a Bachelor of Engineering in Civil with First Class Honours and with a Master of Science in Civil Engineering in 1986.

As an active Council member of the Association of Consulting Engineers Singapore (ACES), Er. Lim was involved in many of ACES’ activities, including initiatives like setting up the Joint Accreditation Committee, ACES Past Presidents Panel, and a successful 5th Structural Engineers World Congress (SEWC) Conference in 2015.

He was President of ACES from 2008 to 2011.

Er. Lim was conferred with ACES Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017 based on his contribution to ACES; contribution to Consulting Engineering Industry; contribution to Engineering Excellence and success in growing the Business.

Er. Lim is also a board member of the Professional Engineers Board (PEB) from 2009 to 2017. He was nominated in his first term in view of his standing as the President of ACES, and he stood for two subsequent terms as an elected representative. As a PEB board member, he is able to participate actively to ensure that engineering continues to excel in the national arena, and that the interest of consulting engineers are championed within the Professional Engineers Board.

ACES would like to take this opportunity to Congratulate Er. Lim again, for his tremendous achievement!

“I am deeply honored to be conferred this award by my alma mater. It is of great significance to me, as it is an acknowledgement of the engineering journey that I started in 1979 when I enrolled into NUS. Along the journey, with the support of my family, friends and colleagues, I have learnt from many masters, and have enjoyed many engineering moments when projects are completed. I can look back with no regrets.”

DECEMBER 2018 • 9

FEATURED ARTICLES

MND Huddle 2018

– 18 September 2018

“Congratulations to Er. Ling Shiang Yun”

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he Ministry of National Development’s Distinguished Service Award, which acknowledges individuals who have served within the MND cluster for their dedicated service and outstanding contributions to the MND. The award was presented by Minister for National Development and Second Minister for Finance, Mr Lawrence Wong, at the MND Huddle 2018 held on 18 September 2018, at the Flower Field Hall, Gardens by the Bay. ACES are privileged to inform you that MND had conferred the “Distinguished Service Award” to our Immediate Past President (IPP) Er. Ling Shiang Yun.

Er. Ling received the award from Minister Lawrence Wong.

Business Mission Trip to Tianjin, China – (27 – 30 September 2018)

T

he Business Mission to Tianjin (27 – 30 September 2018), is in conjunction with the China-Singapore International Green Building Conference (CSIGBC), and the Eco City Green site visits was jointly organized by BCA and ACES. Tianjin Eco city, as one of the key programs, collaborated between the governments of China and Singapore to jointly address problems of global climate change, resource conservation, and environment protection has accomplished a plenty of groundbreaking explorations in the field of green building regionalization.

Today’s green building development is becoming more complex and challenging, the design scope encompasses energy efficiency, life-cycle, and effective maintenance of the building. In a word, the fast advancement of ecological civilization construction relies on the development of green building development in the new era.

This trip has given us an insight on the challenges and opportunities in promoting green building technology exchange, strengthen international cooperation in green building and share experiences in eco-city and green building development.

Federation of ASEAN Consulting Engineers (FACE) FACE Governing Board Meeting in Bangkok, 19 October 2018 The meeting was hosted and chaired by Thailand, and attended by representatives from ASEAN countries namely: Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore.

Consulting Engineering Association of Thailand (CEAT) members’ showcase session in the afternoon included business matching seminar. Many other Thailand’s large, medium and small consulting firms have participated in this session.

Issues discussed include: • FACE updated their website • To have closer liaison with ASEAN Secretariat and FACE member.

• To organise inaugural FACE Conference.

FACE governing Board meeting in Bangkok 2018

10 • CONNECT2ACES

FEATURED ARTICLES

Design for Safety Library

Scan the QR code to download a copy! (www.wshc.sg > topics > DfS > resources)

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ood design and planning for safety could help to mitigate or eliminate risks at work. To better aid companies in implementing Design for Safety (DfS), the WSH Council and The Institute of Engineers Singapore (IES) have developed a resource library with DfS designs and compiled case studies with examples on how DfS could be considered. The library which hosts contributions from various organisations includes architectural, mechanical and electrical designs that would help companies to identify the common potential hazards downstream and provide recommendations in eliminating these risks at source as far as reasonably practicable. Companies are encouraged to take reference and incorporate DfS in planning of works at all times.

DECEMBER 2018 • 11

SUB-COMMITTEE UPDATES

M&E Practice Committee Updates 1. Meeting with NEA on 31 Jul 2018 - the following topics were discussed: Noise Assessment

by Er. Yeow Mei Leng

5. Meeting with PUB on 30 Oct 2018 on wet over dry issues

• Accreditation framework for acoustic consultants by Q1, 2019.

• ACES member feedback – implement new requirements without informing the practitioners, and many are caught during TOP stage.

• ACES recommend that applicant to have technical competence in acoustics.

• PUB issued new requirements, to be implemented on submissions after 1 July 2019.

Compliance to latest Code of Practice on Environmental Health (COPEH) • The latest COPEH issued in Aug 2017 • QPs not providing sufficient toilet facilities • NEA lodgement for minor works 2. Sanitary pipes above retail / shopping space not permitted ACES Feedback to PUB the requirement is not practical as retail space is typically built over one another. Floor trap is provision commonly demand by tenant.

• Highlight following points to PUB: »» Unlike strata building (i.e. residential), retail mall is typically own by single owner with maintenance team »» Should not impose on current on-going project as it is not explicitly mention in the code • PUB will review the requirement 3. Fire Safety and Shelter Department (FSSD) Standing Committee meeting on 1 August 2018 • 150mm air gap imposed by PUB for incoming water to fire tank, SCDF has no strong objection as long as the in flowrate is not affected.

• Payment for submissions involving wet riser system only or staircase pressurisation system based on per stack basis or per floor. SCDF will study further.

• Provision of heat/smoke detectors at residential development lobbies to initiate the staircase pressurisation system and prevents lift door from opening at the floor on fire.

• New Fire Code 2018 mandatory requirement for Video Image Fire Detection System (VIFDS) for »» all Purpose Group Building of III to VIII which are unmanned and »» has open indoor spaces in excess of 2,000m2 or more than 12m height »» has an automatic fire alarm system • New web-based Fire Code 2018 which will provide interactive features and provide “single source of truth” for all to refer. https://bit.ly/2SEhDoE • Amendment to Fire Safety Act • Prerogative to impose mandatory upgrading of existing building fire safety works for old building comply with fire code 2002 or before • Prerogative to go after anyone involved in the “complete supply chain” of fire safety works including contractors, suppliers, etc. in the event of fraudulent or shoddy fire safety works, over and above the Qualified Persons (QPs) involved.

• Act to prohibit non-RI to practice Registered Inspectors (RI) commercially.

• empower SCDF to dismantle/removal of no compliance products installed in the buildings 4. Meeting with IACC on 29 Oct 2018 BCA findings on their study to identify issues that lead to prolong regulatory approvals & identify mitigation measures • 15% cited lengthy engagement to co-ordinate with LTA & NParks • 90% LTA do not want to take over completed road works until construction of adjacent developments were fully completed, deviations between DC and as-built road levels, no coordination between architect & Engineer on street lighting • 35% QPs not familiar with Noise Assessment & Noise Impact Assessment • 45% Re-inspection of non-compliances for critical safety requirements during BCA TOP inspection

12 • CONNECT2ACES

• ACES is calling on members to give feedback 6. Meeting with Singapore Plumbing Society (SPS) on 26 Oct 2018 • Demerit points system for License Plumber (LP) – cumulative points for both Sanitary & Water, resulting in many LPs suspension • Most of the offences are relating to cleaning of water tanks • Most LPs can overcome the initial problems with low pressure air test on their sanitary systems.

• SPS conduct practical training for their LPs, ACES RTOs are welcomed to attend • ACES to continue to require LPs to be registered with SPS as they can get to attend training 7. CP 48 has been revised, but industry not informed • ACES mentioned this to PUB, and Head of BPU said that they will inform industry, and to allow a lead time for implementation 8. Revised CP 10 has been released for public comments • ACES had sent out to its members, calling for their feedback • ACES compiled and submitted our feedback to Enterprise Singapore on 3 Dec 2018 9. Dialogue Session With SIA, IES, ACES, SCAL, PUB and NEA on 7 November 2018 Items Discussed: a) PUB has presented high and low air pressure test procedure during technical seminar on 5 Oct 2018. PUB also presented Prefab Bath Unit (PBU) air test done in factory. b) Review of Code of Practice on Sewerage and Sanitary Works (COPSSW) PUB circulated proposed change to the industry for comments. Plan to publish new COPSSW in January 2019. Apply to new development submitted from 1 July 2019 onwards. c) BIM Checker Portal Progress Update • Started since June 2018 • Prototype checker for 50 rules developed for testing • Develop based on Revit and Archicad • Report highlighting non-compliance send via email d) PUB Introduce New Corenet Forms for Deviation, Temporary Occupation Permit (TOP) and Certificate of Statutory Completion (CSC) Clearance – to be introduced on 16 Nov 2018 e) Projects Does Not Involve Sanitary/Sewerage and Drainage • Criterion for Projects to be deemed no impact on Sanitary and Sewerage • No construction, alteration, discontinuing, or closing up of any sewerage system (i.e. sewer pipes, pumping mains and manholes) • No sanitary works • No works in the public sewer corridor and QP assess that the works will not affect any sewer. Works as defined in Sewerage and Drainage Act (SDA) x14(5)

SUB-COMMITTEE UPDATES

C&S Practice Committee Updates

by Er. Yong Fen Leong

T

he second half of 2018 has seen new guidelines, streamlining of existing processes and new initiatives from various authorities and statutory bodies. Some of these highlights include the Streamlining As-Built Piling Submission by BCA on 1 Nov 2018, introduction of the new Protection of Water and Sewer Pipe (POWS) by PUB and revised guidelines for new landed housing developments affected by minimum platform levels requirements in low lying areas by PUB. In support of Integrated Digital Delivery (IDD), ACES-BCA had successfully held a Digital Delivery sharing session on 13 July 2018 which saw many interesting digital delivery efforts including more in depth use of parametric modelling in streamlining and bringing forth more effective and efficient design methods and the many innovative developments of tools and evolution of digital delivery to make design efforts more systematic and efficient.

ACES is a regular participant of the Inter-Agency Coordinating Committee (IACC) with BCA, NEA, PUB, EMA, PEB, CIJC on construction industry matters relating to the drive for higher “Productivity”, better “Inter-Agency” coordination to ease potential conflicts in authority requirement in QP submission.

In the latest efforts, BCA, URA and all the statutory bodies and technical authorities are gearing for the next phase of integrated submission portal. Members who faced particular problems with respect to conflicting requirements are strongly encouraged to raise them up to ACES for potential resolutions in the IACC. ACES C&S also participated in the IES-ACES-BCA Dialogue organized every quarterly by BCA to brief and seek feedback on implementation of new requirements and discussions case studies of submissions or design matters. ACES provides practitioners opinion on these matters and suggestions to harmonize both agency requirements and practical approaches.

In the recent meetings, efforts have been directed to refine an improve the supervision regime for C&S works on site including works in progress for testing checklists and potential development of apps to digitize site inspections works.

Business & Professional Practice Committee Updates

by Er. Alfred Neo and Er. Chuck Kho

W

e continue with our business actively seeking public sector Clients’ consideration to stipulate fair commercial conditions in contracts which reflect correct accountability of consultancy role.

ACES is concerned with the low fee situation in the Industry that has great impact to the long-term sustainability of the Consultancy Industry. We strive to understand the consideration and limitation of GPEs (government procurement entities) in evaluating and awarding tenders to Consulting Engineers so that we can formulate an appropriate action plan to address the low fee situation.

Recently we have written to seek clarification from a GPE on the consideration in awarding the Façade Inspection Work. The awarded tenderer’s bid is substantially lower than the cohort of tender submission and even the next lowest tender bid. ACES is concerned that the huge variant in tender bid could possibly mean that either the awarded tenderer failed to appreciate the expectation needed for the work or that the remaining tenderers misunderstood the extent of work needed and hence substantially overpriced themselves. Whichever the scenario is not desirous for the Industry, and we seek the calling entities to help align the Industry on the work expectation so that the tender can be priced appropriately to deliver the desired services.

In addition, we have also written to BCA to seek GPEs to consider ACES’s award amongst all other awards as part of the evaluation criteria for their Quality Fee Method (QFM) consideration in evaluating Consulting Engineers for quality score. We will continue to seek GPEs consideration on this.

We will continue to work with all stakeholders to work towards a sustainable business environment for the Industry.

ACES is moving ahead with SIA & IES in the national call to develop the “Intelligent National Productivity and Quality Specification (iNPQS)” and initiative to revise, upgrade and harmonize the existing NPQS intended to further enhance higher “’productivity” for the consultancy industry of the future. This initiative is supported by statutory bodies including BCA, LTA, HDB, JTC and PUB among others.

Apart from the above, the ACES C&S Practice Committee also participates in various Technical Workgroups in developing or revising existing standards as well as those under the wings of the Singapore Accreditation Council. ACES will continue to uphold and support the C&S practices and we encourage our members to reciprocate by giving us your feedback, idea, good suggestions and contribution so that our consultancy service can benefit and continue to sustain and progress.

DECEMBER 2018 • 13

SUB-COMMITTEE UPDATES

ACES Past Seminars and Events

ACES-Victaulic Seminar – 10 October 2018 Mechanical Grooved Piping System and Fire Protection Sprinkler Piping Systems A seminar sponsored by Victaulic Company was held on 10 October 2018 at Hotel Jen Tanglin had attracted 40 participants.

Victaulic’s speaker, Mr. Kevin Li, an application engineer group leader for Victaulic Asia Pacific Research and Development Center (ARDC) shared the following vital topics: Part 1: Mechanical Grooved Piping System The speaker shared a comprehensive knowledge of mechanical grooved piping systems included: the history and the design benefits of the mechanical grooved piping system; comprehend the advantages and sustainability of the implementing grooved piping in the system design, and understand how mechanical grooved piping facilitates simpler adaptation on modularization and prefabrication concepts for chilled and condenser water piping; advantages of mechanical grooved piping on construction project executions by providing a simple installation procedure, from install to commissioning, a joining method that lasts the lifespan of the piping system.

14 • CONNECT2ACES

Part 2: Fire Protection Sprinkler Piping Systems Contents covered the revolution of Victaulic innovative solutions for fire protection pipe joining and fittings concepts; modularization of fire protection devices and valves with the Victaulic FireLock NXT (tm) Vic-Quick Riser (VQR) solution; understand the design, product selection and approval compliance in relation to flexible sprinkler drops and visual verification.

This seminar was aimed to benefit plant designers and operators to achieve optimum pumping solutions in water and wastewater applications.

ACES-YPC COMMITTEE UPDATES

ACES Upcoming Seminars and Events ACES Design for Safety for Professionals Course 2019 Schedule P13: 20 & 21 Feb 2019 (Wed/Thu) P14: 22 & 23 May 2019 (Wed/Thu) P15: 28 & 29 Aug 2019 (Wed/Thu)

ACES-Bio-Pointe Seminar – 25 Jan 2019 ACES Eurocode Course: Supervision Duties and Liabilities of Building and Civil Engineering Works (with Eurocodes) – 2 Mar 2019

ACES YPC Committee Updates

3rd ACES-YPC Networking Event - 12 October 2018

T

he ACES-YPC 3rd Networking event was held on 12th October 2018 at The Alcove (SMU). This event successfully brought together the engineering community and facilitated exchanges of good practices within the industry. YPC members (engineers under 40 years of age) participated in this casually joyous event!

DECEMBER 2018 • 15