SINGAPORE: Singapore should try to up its construction productivity, says National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan.
To that end, the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) is pushing for more buildable designs and construction.
Writing in his blog, Mr Khaw explained that through the new Constructability Scoring system, the BCA hopes to get contractors to move away from traditional labour-intensive construction to more off-site and more advanced methods.
Its' S$250 million Construction Productivity and Capability Fund offers incentives for contractors to adopt productive systems and machinery.
The skill level of construction workers must also be raised.
Mr Khaw stressed that the influx of less skilled foreign workers must be reduced and the industry must be steered towards labour-saving construction methods.
The BCA is facilitating the upgrading and retention of experienced workers. It will include grooming a group of productivity managers to lead productivity improvements at construction sites.
The BCA is also promoting Building Information Modelling to help the design and construction team to anticipate potential problems and resolve them before construction starts.
This will help speed up construction, minimise rework and wastage without compromising quality.
The early involvement of contractors can further smoothen the construction process later on.
The key success factor would be developers leading the productivity drive as they finance the project and drive the entire construction value chain from consultants to contractors and suppliers.
Citing the case of HDB, Mr Khaw noted that prefabrication and other efficient methods of construction are specified into the building contracts.
Essentially, the more that can be made off-site, the less time would be needed at the construction site itself. In the same vein, the earlier the design process is finalised and the contractor is involved, the faster the construction can proceed.
Mr Khaw also compared the construction speed in Singapore to that in Hong Kong and China.
In terms of the cycle time or the average time taken to complete one storey in a typical high-rise building, it takes eight to 12 days in Singapore, seven to eight days in China and four to six days in Hong Kong.
The reason why the construction pace is fastest in Hong Kong is due to high construction productivity.
Construction labour cost in Hong Kong is about five times that in Singapore.
Hong Kong does not allow any foreign construction workers and relies on its own pool of local skilled construction workers who command very high wages.
In order to save on labour cost, developers in Hong Kong must find ways to standardise the construction work as much as possible.
As for China, its productivity is actually not that high. But Mr Khaw noted that China has the advantage of ample resources that can be quickly mobilised to achieve fast construction, often 24 hours round the clock.
- CNA/fa
To that end, the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) is pushing for more buildable designs and construction.
Writing in his blog, Mr Khaw explained that through the new Constructability Scoring system, the BCA hopes to get contractors to move away from traditional labour-intensive construction to more off-site and more advanced methods.
Its' S$250 million Construction Productivity and Capability Fund offers incentives for contractors to adopt productive systems and machinery.
The skill level of construction workers must also be raised.
Mr Khaw stressed that the influx of less skilled foreign workers must be reduced and the industry must be steered towards labour-saving construction methods.
The BCA is facilitating the upgrading and retention of experienced workers. It will include grooming a group of productivity managers to lead productivity improvements at construction sites.
The BCA is also promoting Building Information Modelling to help the design and construction team to anticipate potential problems and resolve them before construction starts.
This will help speed up construction, minimise rework and wastage without compromising quality.
The early involvement of contractors can further smoothen the construction process later on.
The key success factor would be developers leading the productivity drive as they finance the project and drive the entire construction value chain from consultants to contractors and suppliers.
Citing the case of HDB, Mr Khaw noted that prefabrication and other efficient methods of construction are specified into the building contracts.
Essentially, the more that can be made off-site, the less time would be needed at the construction site itself. In the same vein, the earlier the design process is finalised and the contractor is involved, the faster the construction can proceed.
Mr Khaw also compared the construction speed in Singapore to that in Hong Kong and China.
In terms of the cycle time or the average time taken to complete one storey in a typical high-rise building, it takes eight to 12 days in Singapore, seven to eight days in China and four to six days in Hong Kong.
The reason why the construction pace is fastest in Hong Kong is due to high construction productivity.
Construction labour cost in Hong Kong is about five times that in Singapore.
Hong Kong does not allow any foreign construction workers and relies on its own pool of local skilled construction workers who command very high wages.
In order to save on labour cost, developers in Hong Kong must find ways to standardise the construction work as much as possible.
As for China, its productivity is actually not that high. But Mr Khaw noted that China has the advantage of ample resources that can be quickly mobilised to achieve fast construction, often 24 hours round the clock.
- CNA/fa
