Informa Markets, the Organiser of Futurebuild SEA and Heavy Mach under the umbrella of ASEAN Super 8 remains committed to offering a wide range of exhibition opportunities for both local and international clients to connect and to do business together.
Futurebuild SEA and Heavy Mach has decided to announce its new dates from 15 – 17 June 2021. The events will be held stimultaneously at Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre (MITEC).
In the meantime, Futurebuild SEA will be launching its first and unique digital platform – Futurebuild SEA Traders Connect. Via the Futurebuild SEA Traders Connect, the companies can have their very-own listing and showcase their latest product offerings to a global audience. This means that the companies could stay open for business 24/7 and connect with prospective clients, even before the event starts.
Due to the ongoing global public health concerns related to COVID-19, MBAM OneBuild 2020 that is original scheduled 21 – 23 October 2020 will now be postponed to 20 – 22 October 2021. The venue will remain unchanged at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The decision was made with regret after careful consideration and extensive consultations with the key stakeholders and industry partners considering the uncertainties arising from the COVID-19 situation. The Organiser put the health and safety of the exhibitors, speakers, delegates, and visitors of paramount importance. They believe the postponement will allow more time for normality to return to the marketplace and provide all-ground better conditions for exhibitors and visitors to engage.
Surbana Jurong, a global multidisciplinary urban, infrastructure and managed services consultancy has acquired Prostruct Consulting, a leading urban and infrastructure protection firm specialising in security, blast consultancy and testing. This move augments Surbana Jurong’s portfolio of built environment services, which includes solutions to protect buildings and infrastructure against blast and other effects of explosions and weapons.
Iconic buildings and infrastructure that attract high crowd density or provide essential services are common targets for terrorist attacks. This underscores the need to incorporate protective security features into the design and development of the built environment. With Prostruct’s specialisation in designing blast resistant structural systems, Surbana Jurong Group can couple it with its existing architectural and civil and structural engineering expertise, and deliver building designs with integrated security measures. The process, dubbed Security by Design, ensures that security measures are effectively incorporated into the building without compromising the design of the building or requiring expensive retrofitting during the later stages of the development life cycle.
The newly acquired specialist capability is timely for the Group as the Singapore government has enacted an Infrastructure Protection Act that requires designated buildings to integrate security measures, such as strengthening against blast effects, into their designs before they are built or renovated. These designs must be assessed by certified security and blast consultants.
Prostruct Consulting has provided blast consultancy for a wide range of projects including industrial, commercial, healthcare, recreation, transportation and defence facilities in the public and private sectors. It is a Singapore Accreditation Council accredited commercial blast testing service provider, and has conducted blast tests to assess the blast resistance of building structures such as door systems and protective structures.
Mr Wong Heang Fine, Group Chief Executive Officer of Surbana Jurong said, “Prostruct’s expertise in blast consultancy complements the group’s civil and structural engineering capability and security services, allowing us to safeguard urban and infrastructure projects globally. The combined strengths reinforce Surbana Jurong’s commitment to build safe, secure and sustainable spaces for communities to live, work and play in.”
Dr Ang Choon Keat, Founder and Managing Director of Prostruct Consulting said, “Joining Surbana Jurong enables Prostruct to leverage the group’s global presence and multidisciplinary services across the urban and infrastructure development value chain, and extend our reach beyond the Singapore market. Since the acquisition, Prostruct has secured new projects jointly with other disciplines and member companies within the Surbana Jurong Group.”
Johnson Controls, a global leader in building technologies and solutions, with the support of the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), will set up a S$50 million innovation lab to pioneer a new branch of digital technology that blends building, spatial and behavioral data with analytics and machine learning. Scheduled to open by the end of September, the lab is expected to have more than 100 employees within four years. The investment is part of Johnson Controls’ commitment to spearhead the creation and adoption of disruptive solutions for the built environment industry as well as to accelerate digital transformation.
Alvin Ng, vice president, Digital Solutions, Asia Pacific, Johnson Controls, said, “Urban living needs a reboot in the wake of a global pandemic. We see a renewed urgency to strengthen the resilience of our community and an opportunity to enhance sustainability. This innovation lab has a unique focus on the intersection of technology, people and space, creating new value for organizations and end users.”
The lab will take on a multi-pronged strategy that covers research, collaboration, commercialization and implementation. The resulting slew of customizable, autonomous or voice-activated solutions will meet the expectant growth for contactless applications, following societal adoption of safety and social-distancing measures as the post-pandemic norm. Property owners, facilities managers, business users and building occupants are among the target groups expected to benefit.
The four-pronged approach includes:
Forming partnerships with key local research organizations to leverage Johnson Controls’ deep domain expertise in building technologies (such as heating ventilation, air-condition, lights, and security) to accelerate innovation in software engineering and product development. Key areas include edge devices, Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Working with property developers and building owners to create “cognitive buildings” or thinking buildings that can understand, or even predict, occupants’ preferred ambient settings and recognize space usage patterns. Such innovation will improve energy usage, increase the commercial attractiveness of the property, and enhance its environmental, social and governance (ESG) metrics. This is done through collaboratively developing solutions that apply advanced algorithms to a mash of data sets collected from Johnson Controls’ open platform of building solutions, consumer wearables, networked devices, location data and Johnson Controls Digital Twin[1].
Building an ecosystem comprising lifestyle, fitness and smart furniture datapoints. The data can be used for designing business and personal spaces. For example, a workplace with flexible furniture can be configured into “pods” for private videoconferencing or extended to become “conversation lounges” for small group collaboration. Building occupants can also benefit from timed artificial lighting that mimics the changing natural lights throughout the day.
Engaging with professional bodies to deliver the new applications that impact the sustainability and resilience of local properties, as well as setting the standards for delivery of professional services in this field.
Tan Kong Hwee, executive vice president, EDB, said, “Johnson Controls’ decision to set up its innovation lab in Singapore underscores Singapore’s attractiveness as a location for companies to develop and commercialize new digital solutions for the global market. We welcome Johnson Controls’ approach of partnering with the vibrant ecosystem in Singapore even as it plans to build a substantial development team in Singapore. We look forward to the impactful solutions that Johnson Controls will create, and the exciting job opportunities for Singaporeans in areas such as software engineering, data science and cybersecurity.”
“We are excited to partner with EDB and plug into the vibrant ecosystem in Singapore. As a pure-play intelligent buildings solutions provider, our depth of assets, resources, domain knowledge give us insights on the way forward for the built environment. This new innovation facility in Singapore will play a pre-eminent role in reshaping how we approach intelligent built environment technologies, and to attract like-minded talents who are eager to make a difference in Singapore and beyond,” said Visal Leng, vice president and president, Building Solutions, Asia Pacific, Johnson Controls.
KONE, a global leader in the elevator and escalator industry, has introduced a range of people flow solutions in Singapore to help make buildings safer and healthier places to live, work and commute. The solutions are built on KONE’s deep expertise and knowledge of people flow, which is vital when addressing the challenges of adapting to a new way of life in the face of the current pandemic.
With the end of the circuit breaker on 1 June, we are gradually transitioning to the new normal via the three-pronged phases announced by the Singapore Government, where people’s health and well-being will continue to be a major area of focus, considering physical distancing measures while people move around in shared spaces. The KONE People Flow Planning and Consulting service has been tailored to better support planning a safe return to offices and other buildings, in light of these kinds of measures. By using data, simulation tools, and expertise from KONE’s interior architects and data scientists, customers can quickly see how to reduce crowding and bottlenecks and enable people to move around safely. In addition, other new solutions will improve air quality in elevators and help disinfect escalator handrails.
The experience of using residential buildings and public premises such as MRT stations, shopping malls or offices is changing. For KONE customers, a key benefit of the health and well-being focused solutions is that improvements can be introduced easily, in an era when hygiene and physical distancing are vitally important.
“The forced lockdowns in several economies, as a result of the pandemic, has drastically changed the way people move and interact in cities and buildings. New challenges have cropped up in terms of understanding and mapping people flow. As a pioneer in people flow, our focus is on improving the well-being of our customers with a comprehensive approach to well-being and safety,” says Axel Berkling, EVP, Asia Pacific, KONE.
“Elevators and escalators play a key role in keeping society running and in enabling the economy to carry out essential activities. KONE 24/7 Connected Services, our intelligent maintenance solution, keeps one informed of the performance of their people flow assets round-the-clock. In these unprecedented times, this predictive intelligence helps with business continuity, so that proactive maintenance action can be performed and premises can be made safer for people to move around,” added Berkling.
Several existing KONE products and services are more relevant than ever today.
KONE 24/7 Connected Services brings increased safety, transparency, and intelligence to elevator and escalator maintenance, at a time when usage is critical, even when physical distancing measures are in place. The service enables faults to be predicted before they happen, and equipment status can be monitored around the clock.
The new KONE health and well-being solutions being introduced are:
KONE Elevator AirPurifier to improve air quality in the elevator car by destroying most potential pollutants, like bacteria, viruses, dust and odors. It uses Photocatalytic Oxidation (PCO) technology developed by NASA for removing contaminants from spacecraft cabins.
KONE Handrail Sanitizer uses ultraviolet light to gradually disinfect escalator handrails. Continuous chemical-free cleaning happens inside the escalator, with no risk for passengers. Exposure to ultra-violet radiation helps remove and inhibit the reproduction of micro-organisms such as bacteria or viruses.
JLL Singapore has been recognised with four International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) certifications by SOCOTEC Certification Singapore for its integrated facilities management services.
A new standard developed specifically for the management of facilities, the firm received ISO 41001, making it the second real estate company in Singapore to be certified. JLL was also recognised with ISO 9001 (Quality), ISO 45001 (Occupational Health & Safety) and ISO 14001 (Environment).
Marina Krishnan, Division President, Corporate Solutions, JLL Asia Pacific, says: “We’re incredibly proud and honoured with the results, particularly in this current climate where health and safety play a large role in every organisation. Employee wellness and sustainability are at the forefront of our clients’ minds and this success reflects our hard work and dedication to enhance our innovation and service offerings in this area.”
According to JLL, the global facilities management market of in-house and outsourced services is projected to be worth around USD $1 trillion by 2025, of which, an estimated 36% lies in Asia Pacific.
“With increasing emphasis on efficient and productive integrated facilities management, JLL has invested considerably in deploying technology and expertise to reduce operating costs and deliver long-term sustainable experiences for our clients,” adds Segar G, Executive Director, Corporate Solutions, JLL Singapore.
The International Organization for Standardisation (ISO) certifications represent the assurance that an organisation meets the international market-relevant standards in various areas including quality, environment, facilities management and occupational health and safety.
JLL Singapore has been recognised with the following:
ISO 9001 (Quality)
ISO 9001 refers to the scope of provision of Integrated Facilities Management services. This standard is based on a number of quality management principles including a strong customer focus, the motivation and implication of top management, the process approach and continual improvement.
ISO 14001 (Environment)
ISO 14001 is an internationally agreed standard that sets out the requirements for an environmental management system. It helps organisations improve their environmental performance through more efficient use of resources and reduction of waste, gaining a competitive advantage and the trust of stakeholders.
ISO 41001 (Facilities Management)
ISO 41001, the international facilities management system standard helps to increase awareness and support the development, implementation and maintenance of effective facilities management regimes in all sectors of industry and commerce worldwide.
ISO 45001 (Occupational Health & Safety)
ISO 45001, Occupational health and safety management systems, is the world’s first International Standard for occupational health and safety. It provides a framework to increase safety, reduce workplace risks and enhance health and well-being at work, enabling an organisation to proactively improve its health and safety performance.
ONG&ONG Group, the longstanding multi-disciplinary consultancy in Singapore, Southeast Asia and beyond, is one of the first in the region to cop the ISO 19650 for its cutting-edge business processes in digitisation of information about buildings and civil engineering works, including building information modelling (BIM).
ISO 19650 is applicable to built assets and construction projects of all sizes and complexities, an international standard for Digital Project Delivery.
While there are various routes to meeting delivery requirements of a built project, adopting a collaborative mindset between participants is pivotal in achieving higher levels of quality and precision. BIM is now the industry standard for integration across the built environment throughout the asset cycle, as encouraged by Singapore’s Building and Construction Authority or BCA.
Fotis Kampouris, Business Director of Lloyd’s Register, says “We are honoured that ONG&ONG Group Pte Ltd, as one of the key players in architecture, BIM, engineering and management services consultancy, has recognised the importance of BIM ISO 19650, and has become one ofthe pioneers in Singapore to attain ISO 19650 Certification in line with BIM Stage 2 capabilities.”
BIM is an intelligent 3D model-based process that provides the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) Industry the insight and tools to efficiently plan, design, construct and management buildings and infrastructure. With Chairman Ong Tze Boon leading the ONG&ONG Group as disruptive innovators with the annual BeyondX tech event and a collaborative environment in the office, the consultancy continues to reinvent the 360 solution for Design, Engineering and Management.
As Singapore enters Phase Two of its reopening, concrete innovations and digitalisation can play a leading role in enhancing safe distancing at worksites. Pan-United Corporation Ltd (“Pan-United” or “泛联集团”) has introduced initiatives that will minimise physical interactions and improve productivity at construction worksites.
These concrete innovations include: 1. PanU New Generation Self-Compacting Concrete (“PanU NewGen SCC”) Pan-United has enhanced its product mix design of a specialised rheologic concrete that flows easily to reach hard-to-fill corners. Unlike regular concrete, which requires several concreting workers to manually vibrate and compact the material into place, the PanU NewGen SCC requires just a single worker to guide the concrete pumping pipe. It allows workers to better keep a safe distance from each other during concreting work.
Besides reducing the manual labour required, the PanU NewGen SCC can also improve productivity by 75% and reduce casting time by 40%, resulting in faster construction completion. Previous generations of SCC have been used to build skyscrapers in densely populated areas (e.g. Tanjong Pagar Centre, Singapore’s tallest building, and HDB projects).
With PanU NewGen SCC, only one worker is required to guide the concrete pumping pipe around the slab area. Regular concrete will require several workers to work closely together to manually vibrate and compact the material into place.
2. AiM (Artificial Intelligence Mixing) in-transit concrete management system The company has also equipped its concrete mixer trucks with an in-transit concrete management system called AiM, which calibrates each truck’s concrete consistency during the journey from the batching plant to the project site. If changes in concrete consistency are detected, the system will remotely adjust the concrete mix, maintaining the specified concrete properties by the time the mixer truck reaches its destination.
This system eradicates the need for quality assessors and product technicians to be physically present at the worksite to test and approve the concrete quality from each mixer truck. Apart from minimising the number of workers and employees on-site, the system also increases product quality consistency and minimises the risks of project delays.
3. AiR (Artificial Intelligence for Ready-Mix Concrete) operations optimisation platform
Digitalisation of concrete operations across the entire supply chain, through the development of an optimisation platform called AiR, has enabled the automation of back-end processes such as delivery orders and invoices. Pan-United issues electronic delivery orders (“eDOs”) and electronic customer invoices (e-invoices) that make it far easier for the customers’ employees to work from home, and save them time and costs from not having to logistically collate and despatch physical documents around everyday. This minimises physical contact among employees at its premises, and between employees and customers or workers at construction sites.
One of the year’s most eagerly awaited attractions in China, the 250-metre-high Exploration Deck Viewing Gallery (Exploration Deck), a star feature of The Crystal sky bridge at Raffles City Chongqing, opened to the public last weekend. In addition to a 270-degree panorama of Chongqing’s skyline, visitors to the glass-bottom deck – the highest of its kind in Western China – are treated to the thrills of walking in “mid-air” while admiring magnificent views of Yangtze River’s brown merging with Jialing River’s blue below their feet.
As part of crowd management, only 3,000 tickets are available daily currently. Almost all the available tickets in the opening weekend were snapped up. The enthusiastic response to the Exploration Deck echoed the successful opening of Raffles City Chongqing’s shopping mall component, which welcomed over 900,000 shoppers during its opening weekend in September 2019.
Mr Lucas Loh, President, China, CapitaLand Group, said: “A vertically-built riverfront urban district, Raffles City Chongqing is a megastructure that took seven years to complete and The Crystal sky bridge is its key attraction. We are therefore heartened that the Exploration Deck, which is the first component of The Crystal sky bridge to be unveiled to the public, has been well-received. The Exploration Deck is the first major attraction to launch in Chongqing since the lifting of the country’s nationwide lockdown and the public’s enthusiastic response is yet another encouraging sign of recovery in consumer sentiment. As a long-term real estate player in China, CapitaLand will continue to focus on delighting consumers with attractive and quality products and services, while working with our ecosystem partners to contribute towards the country’s economic recovery.”
Visitors to the Exploration Deck begin their journey at Level 1 with an exploration-themed exhibition, in collaboration with National Geographic. The first part of the exhibition introduces the history and development of Chongqing before leading visitors to the express elevator which takes about 52 seconds to reach the top. When the lift opens at Level 47, visitors are transported to a futuristic world that imagines life on planet Mars. At the end of the exhibition, visitors enter a tranquil pocket park before stepping onto an open-air sky deck with see- through glass floor and exhilarating views.
The Exploration Deck is part of The Crystal, an enclosed sky bridge that is connected to six of Raffles City Chongqing’s eight skyscrapers – four 250-metre-tall skyscrapers at its base and two adjacent skyscrapers by cantilever bridges. This earned The Crystal the distinction as the world’s highest sky bridge linking the most number of skyscrapers.
Measuring 300 metres in length, 32.5 metres in width and 26.5 metres in height with a total gross floor area of 10,000 square metres (sq m), The Crystal is also known as Raffles City Chongqing’s “horizontal skyscraper”. Apart from the Exploration Deck, The Crystal houses The Private Club, a members-only clubhouse with two swimming pools, and a wide range of restaurants and bars at the Sky Garden. The Sky Garden is targeted to begin operations in 3Q 2020.
Erecting The Crystal was a feat of engineering that took about a year, starting from end 2017. The Crystal is made up of a continuous steel structure weighing 12,000 tons and enclosed with a ring comprising about 3,000 pieces of glass panels and close to 5,000 aluminium panels. To erect efficiently, the steel structure is first divided into nine segments – four segments that are built in-situ above the four towers; three middle segments suspended between the four towers that are prefabricated on ground and hoisted into place by hydraulic strand jacks; and two cantilever segments that are assembled in short sections from the two ends of the rightmost and leftmost towers. Hoisting the three middle steel segments of The Crystal – each weighing up to 1,100 tons – to the designated height of 250 metres marked a world first.
Raffles City Chongqing is strategically located on Chaotianmen, a historic site overlooking the confluence of Yangtze and Jialing rivers in Yuzhong District. It is Singapore’s and CapitaLand’s single largest development in China at RMB24 billion (S$4.8 billion). The integrated development spans 1.12 million sq m and comprises a 235,000-sq m shopping mall, 150,000-sq m of Grade A office space, about 1,400 residential apartments, Ascott Raffles City Chongqing serviced residence and InterContinental Raffles City Chongqing hotel. The integrated development is connected to a major transport hub comprising ferry, subway and bus stations.
Finalcad, a leading software provider to the construction sector, released the results of a survey of 400 construction leaders in France, Spain, Singapore and Japan, exploring digital transformation in the industry. The research finds the typical profit margin on a construction project averages only 2 percent across the four regions. It also reveals that a lack of digital transformation has left many companies reliant on manual and paper-based workflows; this comes at a time when the slowdown from the impact of the Covid-19 global pandemic is showing how important it is to digitalise operations and support remote working. Further, not digitalising is significantly damaging companies’ ability to collaborate and having a direct impact on the bottom line, with 62 percent of respondents saying that a lack of collaboration is the single biggest cause of construction project delays.
The survey also investigates how universal tasks such as defect management and health and safety inspections are carried out. The findings show companies have several different methods and channels in place; more than half (51 percent) are using a combination of in-person, telephone, email, and/or paper to inform the person responsible for repairs during the quality process of the next action. Worryingly, 53 percent are using unreliable text/SMS or instant messaging (e.g. WhatsApp) to document a safety incident or hazard. The lack of consistency in how this important information is recorded and shared leaves a considerable margin for errors and miscommunication – which can lead to broader safety risks, delays and cost overruns.
“The construction industry’s continued reliance on outdated processes – both on- and off-site – is causing significant inefficiencies. This is not sustainable in a sector where slender margins are a persistent issue,” commented Frank Le Tendre, CEO, Finalcad. “Construction has fallen behind other global industries like finance and retail when it comes to digitalisation, yet this research shows us many of the daily processes that take place on all projects are prime targets for transformation. From snagging to safety, there is no area that cannot be improved by optimising operations. In addition, as regions emerge from the downturn caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, those that have digitised will be able to act quickly to get back to business as usual.”
Another consequence stemming from the failure to digitalise is the difficulty in documenting and capturing data, resulting in invoices being unpaid when a contractor cannot prove work has been done; a majority (90 percent) of respondents across all regions said this ‘free work’ was a common problem. Moreover, construction companies are guilty of ‘reinventing the wheel’ on new projects; 59 percent say they create new templates for existing workflows some, most, or all of the time – a clear waste of time and resources. Both results should be a major driver of digital transformation for construction managers, CEOs and developers – a centralised digital process enables continuous improvement and makes it far easier to proactively record extra work, as well as creating repeatable models.
“As with all other industries, construction is set to face a challenging time in the short term with the impact of Covid-19 hitting global economies,” continued Franck Le Tendre. “However, in the long term, construction has huge potential for growth. The United Nations predicts two-thirds of the world’s inhabitants will be living in cities by 2050, and we are seeing the smart city trend accelerate fast.[1] If they are to capitalise on these opportunities, construction companies need to digitalise now. Digital transformation removes existing silos and simplifies the challenge that construction companies face of juggling people, plans, skills and materials against a shifting schedule – improving profitability, while increasing the satisfaction of final customers.”
*The research was undertaken in February and March 2020; commissioned by Finalcad and conducted by independent market research company, Coleman Parks. The total sample size of 400 consists of 200 site managers/directors managing an average of 10 sites, and 200 HQ managers/directors. On site, respondents are the project lead with overall responsibility for a site. In the HQ operation, respondents are business unit directors with responsibility for construction. See ‘Demographics’ section for more detail. Respondents are from commercial and residential construction companies with revenues greater than $51M per year, in France, Spain, Singapore and Japan.
The Finalcad 2020 Leaders Survey: Exploring Digital Transformation in Global Construction is the first of a two-part series exploring digitalisation in construction; the second report will be published in Autumn 2020. To view the full results and download the report, please fill up the form: