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Winning hearts and awards: How this firm goes beyond job scope to help residents
Welltech Construction helps homeowners replace spoilt and unsafe fixtures on top of upgrading works, while tapping technology and novel building methods to deliver new flats without delay
Besides doing the upgrading works in individual units in Hougang, workers from Welltech Construction also cleared up dust and debris daily to give residents a clean environment. PHOTOS: WELLTECH
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When Mr Tan Boon Khoon’s Housing Board (HDB) flat in Hougang was shortlisted for the Home Improvement Programme (HIP), he never expected to get more than a renovated home. His quality of life improved, too.
Welltech Construction, the firm in charge of the upgrading works at his block, replaced the floor tiles in his bathrooms with slip-resistant ones, and installed grab bars as well as higher-quality sanitary fittings.
“It’s much safer to use the bathroom now, even if the floor is wet,” says Mr Tan, who is in his 60s.
These are some of the new features that help enhance the safety and comfort of seniors living in HDB flats and are part of HDB’s Enhancement for Active Seniors (Ease) option under the HIP.
Welltech took charge of the upgrading project of four HIP precincts in Hougang, including Mr Tan’s block. It was responsible for a total of 4,163 units across 47 blocks.
Despite the heavy workload, the firm completed the upgrading project in just 10 days. Its job scope included repairing concrete with falling fragments and structural cracks, upgrading electrical loads and replacing pipe sockets with clothes drying racks across the four precincts.
Add to that the challenge of having to carry out the upgrading works amid the Covid-19 pandemic’s circuit breaker and heightened alert periods in 2020.
While Welltech was an experienced industry player, it was not spared pandemic-related woes faced by the construction industry. But it was nimble and had the foresight to stockpile sufficient building materials.
Despite the global shortage of materials, it worked with trusted suppliers and could even loan some to other HIP contractors who could not source them on time.
Welltech also had to safeguard its workers’ health by taking additional precautions like renting more accommodation and transport options to adhere to safe distancing measures. On the work sites, the company set up more toilets and rest areas for the workers as well.
To prevent unnecessary mingling, which could cause a spread of the virus, mobile apps recorded the movements of every worker who was granted access to work sites only after he was recognised by a contactless face detector and his temperature taken.
For its efforts in making life better for residents and its staff, Welltech earned a Construction Award in the upgrading category of the HDB Awards this year.
The annual awards given by HDB recognise business partners for their outstanding performance, contributions and commitment to excellence in design and construction.
Project manager Ken Voon says: “We understood the residents’ needs and were willing to assist the households that faced difficulties during upgrading. Our key focus was to provide a clean and safe environment for residents during upgrading works without inconveniencing them.”
Going above and beyond
Madam Tang Chong Pooh is an example of a Hougang resident who benefitted from the company’s efforts to go beyond its job scope.
The 77-year-old lives alone in a three-room flat which had paint peeling off from the ceiling, lights and switches that were no longer working, stained floors and broken kitchen cabinets.
But her home is now as good as new after the HIP. Besides doing the required repair works, the Welltech team even helped to paint the ceiling, repair the switches, lights and cabinets, and cleaned up her flat – all out of goodwill.
To allow residents to lead their everyday lives as seamlessly as possible even with the ongoing construction, the team set up temporary toilets near the void deck and deployed dust management machines to keep the air and environment clean. Workers helped to clean the premises more regularly to minimise dust and pollution.
Residents, largely made up of seniors who could not speak English, could look for Welltech staff conversant in various dialects.
It was not only residents Mr Tan and Madam Tang who were happy with the upgrading results. In a poll conducted after the upgrading, the vast majority of the households acknowledged that they were satisfied with the upgrading,
In fact, they were so happy with the work done that they threw an appreciation party for the team.
Using technology to enhance work safety and efficiency
Besides winning an award for the upgrading project in Hougang, Welltech also won in the housing category of the Construction Award for Clementi Peaks.
The Build-To-Order project located along Clementi Avenue 1 comprises four residential blocks with 1,104 units and a multi-storey carpark.
To increase productivity, the firm employed the truss table formwork system to build the carpark. With this, large pieces of concrete slab and beam formwork could be transported safely and quickly, saving of 30 per cent of manpower compared to conventional formwork system.
Of the four blocks, three were 40 storeys high. To construct them in a safe and productive manner, Welltech used twin passenger-and-material hoists and more tower cranes to optimise the transport of building materials.
In adopting digitalisation, Welltech also used Virtual Design and Construction integrated with Building Information Modelling and advanced management methods to improve site productivity and identify and resolve issues even before physical work started to minimise delays.
On top of ensuring the construction works stayed on schedule, the Welltech team also collaborated in a research project with HDB and the National University of Singapore on using computer vision and AI to improve construction safety.
Mr Fu Chuanxiu, the project manager for Clementi Peaks, explains: “Artificial intelligence technology and closed-circuit TVs were mounted on the tower cranes to analyse and monitor the construction progress.”
If the program spotted any hazard, an alert would be sent out via the Telegram messaging app to inform the project team leads.
One of the learnings from the collaboration was using the live footages from CCTVs to improve the safety awareness for the worksite. This shows the commitment that Welltech has in adopting modern technology to better the efficiency and safety of the construction process.
“As a company, we want to have continuous improvement and adopt innovation in the construction industry,” says Mr Fu.
With Welltech blending innovative construction processes with digitalisation, Clementi Peaks was successfully completed on time. The firm was also prompt in following up with residents’ feedback during the defects liability period and received numerous compliments from them.
Many even wrote to HDB on their own accord, praising the team for their professionalism and dedication. For Welltech, no request was deemed too trivial and issues were always looked into and taken care of in a timely fashion.
Mr Zhu Wen Bo, chief executive officer of Welltech, says: “The two awards are a great source of motivation for the team, which has been nothing but highly professional especially during the pandemic. We’ll work even harder to partner HDB on more projects so that we can use our expertise to build more homes for the residents of Singapore.”
Learn more about what Welltech Construction specialises in. Also, find out more on how HDB homes are being built to serve different needs and lifestyles here.
