SINGAPORE - Local builder Tiong Seng Contractors, the company behind projects such as Sentosa Integrated Resorts and St Regis Hotel, was one of the big winners at the Building Construction Authority (BCA) awards ceremony on Wednesday (May 29).
The home-grown company was the top winner of the Build Environment Leadership Award, receiving the pinnacle Platinum Star at the ceremony, which is held annually, for its "sustained leadership, excellence and innovation in Singapore's built environment industry".
Founded in 1959, Tiong Seng Contractors has leveraged new technologies to pilot many innovative construction methods and equipment in their projects, such as developing Singapore's first integrated precast automation hub and adopting advanced formwork and precast systems.
"It is a great honour for us to receive the Platinum Star award," said Mr Pek Lian Guan, managing director of the company.
"We will continue to forge strong partnerships to put in place the infrastructure and resources necessary to enhance capabilities, increase productivity and engage in innovation, so we can jointly develop our construction industry into an advanced and integrated sector," he added.
BCA gave out 536 awards in total this year, recognising the exemplary projects and best practices of various project teams, developers and practitioners in the sector.
Minister of State for Manpower and National Development Zaqy Mohamad, who was guest of honour at the ceremony, provided an update on the BuildSG movement, which was launched last year to foster tripartite collaboration in the transformation of the built environment sector.
He noted there was a more than 2 per cent improvement in site productivity in 2018.
He said that this was only possible because built environment projects had increasingly adopted Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (DfMA) technologies, a highly productive method of construction that moves traditional on-site work into an off-site factory environment.
Mr Zaqy on Wednesday announced two initiatives to help the industry to adopt Design for Maintainability (DfM), which ensures that buildings are designed to be efficient and safe to maintain.
The new Maintainable Design Appraisal System (MiDAS) is a practical tool which helps developers and designers optimise their design for more efficient operations and maintenance across a building's lifespan.
MiDAS will be piloted in about 10 private and public projects this year, said a BCA spokesman.
BCA has also developed a DfM Guide for Municipal Infrastructure, which compiles good design practices for public municipal facilities.
Mr Zaqy also announced the launch of the new iBuildSG Leadership Engagement and Development framework - a partnership between BCA and the Singapore Management University and the Singapore University of Technology and Design - to support talent development within the sector.
