Evolving Together as One

Together with our industry partners, we are driving transformative change throughout the Built Environment sector. Harnessing a multi-dimensional approach, our evolution journey champions the development of new practices, technological advancements and a skilled and inspired workforce to tackle industry challenges and enhance sustainability, as we scale new heights as one industry.

BCA took on the Secretariat role in supporting the Future Economy Council’s Urban Systems Cluster Sub-Committee (above) to engage more than 2,500 industry partners in co-developing the Built Environment Industry Transformation Map.

Transforming the Built Environment Sector

The Built Environment Industry Transformation Map (BEITM) was launched at the International Built Environment Week (IBEW) 2022. An amalgamation of the Construction ITM and Real Estate (Facilities Management) ITM, the BEITM aims to transform the Built Environment (BE) sector through the three key stages of a building’s life cycle − planning, design and construction, as well as operations and maintenance.

BCA engaged more than 2,500 partners from the industry to gather inputs and co-develop the proposed new strategies and initiatives to formulate the BEITM. These partners included firms, Trade Associations and Chambers (TACs), government agencies, unions, Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) and students. Find out more about the BEITM here.

The BEITM aims to transform the Built Environment sector through the three key stages of a building’s life cycle.

IMPROVING CONSTRUCTION PROCESSES AND PRACTICES

Aligning Interests among Project Parties with Collaborative Contracting

Collaborative contracting strives to clearly align interests among project parties to spur good project management. It sets common goals across the entire project team, allocates project risks appropriately to the parties that are best able to manage them, while cultivating regular open communication and cooperation to resolve issues in a timely manner.

We have been learning from international experiences and best practices such as the New Engineering Contract (NEC), which was successfully implemented in the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

Improving Construction Efficiency at Tender Stage

Building Information Modelling (BIM) models are often not issued as part of contract documents, and contractors have to create BIM models based on 2D tender drawings to facilitate construction works. To maximise the value of BIM, BCA partnered the industry to develop and launch the BIM Handover Technical Guide.

The guide identifies essential model content that forms part of the contract documents and provides a set of guidelines for BIM preparation and issuance at the construction tender stage. This helps project stakeholders to exercise collaborative project management by relying on federated BIM models as a single source of truth.

View the BIM Handover Technical Guide here.

Key officers, contractor and subcontractors of MOH Holdings’ Punggol Field Nursing Home project participated in partnering workshops to enable them to work in a collaborative environment.

BCA’s facilitation efforts led to nine Government Procuring Entities (GPEs) committing 11 projects to pilot the public sector collaborative contracting option module.

Private sector developers will come onboard in 2023.

In addition, three GPEs have identifed another three projects to pilot the New Engineering Contract.

Enhancing Efficiency with BIM

BCA is working with progressive developers and GPEs to pilot the handover of BIM models as part of contract documents.

The Public Utilities Board’s (PUB) Tuas Water Reclamation Plant project is a successful example for others to follow. The practice eliminated the need for consultants to produce thousands of 2D drawings for the builders’ reference. Additionally, through the use of digital platforms and value engineering, the traditional timelines for the multi-disciplinary design tendering process of major contracts were reduced by 50%.

With such benefits, BCA will continue to work with the rest of the industry to pilot and proliferate the practice of effective BIM handovers in their projects.

Reduced traditional timelines for the multi-disciplinary design tendering process by 50%

Transforming the Regulatory Approval Process through CORENET X

BCA and URA have been co-leading the CORENET X initiative to improve the efficiency of regulatory approvals across regulatory agencies through digitalisation.

To familiarise stakeholders with the new regulatory process and submission format, we embarked on change management initiatives in FY2022. With the support from Singapore Institute of Architects (SIA), Association of Consulting Engineers (ACES) and SkillsFuture, more than 350 industry professionals have undergone training on the new regulatory approval process and Industry Foundation Classes for Singapore regulatory requirements (IFC-SG) openBIM submission format.

BCA Academy played a leading role in preparing the industry and agencies for the implementation of CORENET X. BCA Academy launched the new regulatory approval process training programme for CORENET X for the industry, and trained more than 700 regulatory officers across eight agencies to review BIM models and collaborate on new approval workflows.

We also co-organised industry seminars, webinars and Community of Practices with fellow agencies, such as the inaugural CORENET X Leadership Forum, and released a draft Code of Practice and IFC-SG Resource Kit to guide industry practitioners in carrying out CORENET X submissions. Furthermore, we brought together BIM software developers and technology firms to co-create tools to facilitate the modelling and preparation process.

CORENET X was developed through a service journey design thinking approach involving industry stakeholders and regulating agencies.

The inaugural CORENET X Leadership Forum was organised jointly with Singapore Polytechnic, with support from the Singapore Institute of Architects, Association of Consulting Engineers, Board of Architects, and Professional Engineers Board. The forum aims to prepare industry leaders and their teams to be ready for the launch of CORENET X.

350 industry professionals have undergone training to familiarise stakeholders with the new regulatory process and submission format.

BCA Academy trained more than 700 regulatory officers to be ready for CORENET X.

FORTIFYING MANPOWER CAPABILITIES

Evaluating the Impact of Mega Trends on the BE workforce

A future-ready and resilient workforce is one of the key enablers under the BEITM. Aimed at identifying the changes needed within the BE workforce to drive industry transformation, BCA, together with Ernst & Young Advisory Pte Ltd, conducted a study to evaluate the impact of mega trends on the BE workforce.

The study supports BE firms and individuals in planning their career development journey and seizing opportunities that emerge as the sector evolves. It also contains self-help dashboards that identify the new skillsets required for career progression or transition between different job roles within the sector.

View the Study on the Built Environment workforce in Singapore here.

Improving HR Practices for Talent Attraction and Retention

To enhance HR practices across the BE sector, BCA partnered the Institute for Human Resource Professionals (IHRP) in 2022 to conduct a baseline study on BE firms’ HR capabilities. The study provided insights on common areas for improvement, such as Employee Value Proposition and Compensation & Benefits, and recommendations to address the identified gaps. The insights were shared with TACs and industry firms on various platforms to encourage them to work on areas of improvement.

Separately, we have been working with TACs to encourage more BE firms to tap IHRP’s Human Capital Diagnostics Tool (HCDT) to understand their current HR management capabilities and gaps, and strengthen their HR practices to better support talent attraction, talent retention and workforce transformation.

Scaling New Heights in HR Capabilities

Having undergone the HCDT in October 2022, Teambuild took up the recommendations to further enhance their Employee Value Proposition and review their manpower planning tools. The company is currently upskilling their HR team using the HR Professional Certification framework developed by IHRP and redesigning selected work processes and job roles (e.g. Assistant Project Managers/Project Engineers, Quantity Surveyors) to imbue their people with emerging skills for digital transformation.

Teambuild was recognised in The Straits Times as one of Singapore’s Best Employers in both 2021 and 2022.

Built Environment firms were among the list of The Straits Times’ Singapore’s Best Employers in 2022.

Attracting the Next Generation of BE Professionals

BCA seeks to develop and support the next generation of BE professionals and has several initiatives to draw more talent to the industry.

iBuildSG Club − BCA leverages the iBuildSG Club to engage students on topics such as BE careers and industry’s transformation efforts. By end 2022, the Club had more than 7,000 student members from secondary and tertiary education levels. In 2022, we organised a photography challenge which received more than 600 entries, nine workshops that drew close to 2,000 students, and six digital learning journeys which attracted more than 110,000 views collectively on the iBuildSG Club Instagram page. The Club also engages students through other social media platforms such as Telegram and Facebook.

ACTIVITIES ORGANISED BY IBUILDSG CLUB IN 2022

Photography challenge with more than 600 entries.

Nine workshops that drew close to 2,000 students.

Six digital learning journeys attracted more than 110,000 views.

iBuildSG workshop with Bukit View Secondary School.

Collaboration between Singapore International Facility Management Association (SIFMA), Polytechnics and ITE – SIFMA, five Polytechnics and ITE signed a Memorandum of Understanding to collaboratively attract, retain and develop talents in the BE sector.

The partnership involved:

provision of career development platforms such as mentorships and learning journeys;

co-development of facilities management (FM) training content;

provision of financial support, including scholarships and book prizes; and

co-branding and supporting FM events and initiatives.

Signing of MoU between SIFMA, Polytechnics and ITE to collaborate in attracting, engaging and nurturing students in Facilities Management-related work.

Hello Engineer series − We worked with ACES on “Hello Engineer” – a series of short form videos that showcase BE engineers and the work they do. BCA plans to ramp up marketing of BE careers and co-lead the effort to re-brand our sector with other BE sector evangelists and firms.

One of the “Hello Engineer” series videos featured Johnson Li, Senior Mechanical Engineer of Aurecon Group.

ACTIVITIES ORGANISED BY IBUILDSG CLUB IN 2022

Photography challenge with more than 600 entries.

Nine workshops that drew close to 2,000 students.

Six digital learning journeys attracted more than 110,000 views.

Shaping a Digitally-Ready BE Workforce

In our ongoing quest to drive digital competency across the BE workforce, BCA introduced the Digital Delivery Management (DDM) accreditation scheme under the BE Skills Framework in partnership with the industry and IHLs. The DDM accreditation provides a structured pathway to build competency through four accreditation tiers and aims to amass a strong pool of qualified personnel to execute Integrated Digital Delivery (IDD) projects.

To promote the use of digital technology throughout the entire value chain, BCA worked with the Specialists Trade Alliance of Singapore (STAS) in engaging specialist trade contractors, to understand the challenges they face. Solutions provider, Novade, was then roped in to develop relevant digital solutions. One outcome was the Digital Quality Assurance / Quality Control platform which facilitates collaboration between Prefabricated Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing firms and main contractors by enabling better coordination and smoother workflows throughout the prefabrication and installation process.

Boosting Career Prospects in the Lift and Escalator (L&E) Maintenance Sector

In December 2022, BCA mandated the progressive wage model (PWM) for L&E maintenance workers who are Singapore citizens or permanent residents to attract and retain locals in the L&E Maintenance sector. The PWM features a six-year schedule of sustained wage increases beginning from 2023 and outlines a skills ladder and the corresponding recommended training requirements for workers.

More than 1,100 locals — about 50% of the L&E maintenance workforce — will benefit from the PWM requirement.

HARNESSING TECHNOLOGY TO EMPOWER TRANSFORMATION

Driving Adoption of Robotics & Automation (R&A)

Adopting ready-to-deploy R&A solutions can improve the productivity of on-site construction, off-site prefabrication and FM. BCA has been actively engaging the industry to raise awareness about these solutions.

In March 2023, BCA partnered the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) to organise the first BE Innovation Exchange (BEIX) forum. The event featured a diverse range of SUTD’s reconfigurable robots currently employed in other sectors, which could be adapted in construction. Beyond raising awareness, BCA also provides funding to facilitate the adoption of this emerging technology through the Productivity Innovation Project incentive scheme.

To drive adoption of R&A in public projects, BCA and JTC Corporation (JTC) co-led the Robotics and Automation Implementation Committee (RAIC). Initiatives include the use of drones for façade inspection and cleaning robots, as well as in supporting on-site pilots of robotic solutions for painting, drilling and façade cleaning.

The Built Environment Innovation Exchange session at SUTD featured reconfigurable robots employed in other sectors that could be adapted in construction.

Promoting Collaboration in Innovation and Technology (I&T)

BCA continually fosters collaboration across the I&T ecosystem — progressive industry firms, innovators, investors, IHLs and research institutes — through targeted programmes and platforms to accelerate the development and trialling of novel solutions. These range from open innovation and research funding to build long-term local capabilities, to initiatives to build up specific technologies, as well as centres of innovation that uplift Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

Trialling of Innovative Solutions

By actively collaborating and engaging with the industry, we pave the way for industry firms to partner solution providers in developing and trialling novel, innovative solutions that address their pain points and advance the sector.

Under the Built Environment Accelerate-to-Market Programme (BEAMP), innovators submit proposals to address challenge statements put out by industry firms. Selected innovators receive funding to develop prototypes and the opportunity to testbed these solutions together with the industry. Companies are also able to leverage BEAMP to explore new solutions.

Reaping the Benefits of BEAMP

Benefitting from BEAMP, Operva AI’s new solution Airpland, a cloud-based platform for autonomous drone-flying, has been adopted by three local contractors for on-site beta testing – demonstrating the industry’s willingness to embrace new technologies. The insights generated from the trial helped Operva AI refine its product and drive market development strategies.

Bolstering Collaborations between Industry and IHLs

During the year, BCA supported collaborations between industry firms and IHLs and their investments in research and innovation (R&I) to build long-term local capabilities and deliver outcomes for commercialisation and export.

Construction Technology Innovation Laboratory Research Project Agreement Signing Ceremony.

A long-term collaborative model for R&I, the Construction Technology Innovation Laboratory (CTIL) − involving Woh Hup, the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) and various industry firms − exemplifies how progressive firms making investments can build long-term capabilities and competitive advantage. In July 2022, Woh Hup and SIT formalised their partnerships with value-chain players SEN SG, TTJ Design & Engineering and NatSteel Holdings. The CTIL received funding from BCA’s Built Environment Technology Alliance Catalyst Funding for its integrated project, “Innovative Construction Technologies for Deep Foundation and Excavation”. This initiative sought to develop an ensemble of underground construction technologies to improve productivity for deep foundation and excavation works.

Demonstrating R&I Capabilities

BCA supports R&I through the Built Environment Robotics R&D Programme which focuses on research, development and deployment of innovative robotics for advancing automation in manufacturing, improving on-site productivity, as well as enabling smart and sustainable facilities management.

To date, the $15 million Built Environment Robotics R&D Programme has been fully committed and up to seven projects have been awarded.

In October 2022, BCA, together with Enterprise Singapore, launched the Centre of Innovation for Built Environment – Advanced Materials (COIBE-AM) – a joint effort between Singapore Polytechnic, Republic Polytechnic and Temasek Polytechnic to uplift local SMEs’ capabilities in advanced construction materials. The programme arms SMEs with access to an array of resources, from laboratory facilities to training and consultancy services, to embark on their own R&I journeys.

Tripartite signing of partnership by Singapore Polytechnic, Republic Polytechnic and Temasek Polytechnic at IBEW 2022 for the launch of the Centre of Innovation for Built Environment – Advanced Materials.

To date, the Centre of Innovation has engaged 58 SMEs as well as conceptualised and worked on 11 innovation projects with them.

Two R&I projects supported under the BCA Built Environment Robotics programme were showcased at an event in February 2023.

By Panasonic R&D Centre Singapore (PRDCSG):
Robotic system to automatically detect and generate reports of building defects concerning finishings, alignment and evenness, such as cracks and damages, in line with Construction Quality Assessment System (CONQUAS) requirements.
- The solution, tested at one of Kimly’s construction sites, proved its potential to improve productivity by up to 200%.

Smart inspection robot being trialled at a construction site.

By Agency for Science Technology and Research-Advanced Remanufacturing and Technology Centre (A*STAR-ARTC):
System for remotely operated earthworks.
- System fitted on an excavator to improve safety (through preventive measures) and productivity (by incorporating surveying data).
- The solution will be trialled at BCA Braddell Campus in FY2023.

Both technologies are key enablers of future autonomous fleet operations.

Sparking Innovation and Connections Through Networking Events

Through BCA-organised networking sessions, industry firms uncovered new technologies, fostered engaging exchanges and accelerated transformation enabled by I&T.

Showcasing and celebrating I&T in the sector, BE Demo Day 2022 was held during the International Built Environment Week. Nine promising innovators pitched their emerging technologies to a panel of judges to contend for the following awards — Rising Star Award, Impact Award and Innovation Award.

In a more intimate setting, BCA organised Built Environment Innovation Hub Technology Exchange and Networking sessions. The session themes ranged from pushing the boundaries of pre-fabricated Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing (MEP) systems, to net-zero and low carbon technologies, and robotics and automation.

BE Demo Day 2022 winners Fabrica AI (Rising Star Award), Gush (Impact Award) and Concrete AI (Innovation Award) with the judges.

BCA-organised networking sessions fostered engaging Innovation and Technology exchanges between local and overseas innovators, industry stakeholders and prospective investors.

ADVANCING TRANSFORMATION IN FACILITIES MANAGEMENT

Spurring Transformation of the FM Sector

Under the Built Environment Industry Transformation Map, BCA has identified three key transformation areas to accelerate the evolution of the Facilities Management (FM) sector:

Improving upstream design to consider downstream maintenance concerns through Design for Maintainability (DfM);

Increasing adoption of highly integrated Smart FM platforms; and

Delivering multiple FM services across a portfolio of buildings in a single contract through Integrated FM (IFM) and Aggregated FM (AFM) to reap efficiencies and economies of scale.

Adopting Best Practices in Smart FM and DfM

To encourage the adoption of best practices in smart FM and DfM, BCA further engaged industry stakeholders and improved the existing FM guides to cover emerging challenges.

In September 2022, more use cases in Smart FM and best practices in data management were included in The Guide to Smart FM. In addition, BCA also worked with the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) to improve the Internet of Things (IoT) Cyber Security Guide by incorporating case studies on Smart Buildings.

The existing DfM guides were revised in December 2022 to cover Smart FM and robotics and automation considerations as well as other related FM services, including security, environmental services and landscaping.

View the DfM guides here.

Supporting the Transformation Journey through Grants

Aimed at supporting progressive service buyers and FM companies in embarking on their transformation journey, BCA launched the $30 million IFM and AFM grant in September 2022. To qualify, projects will need to demonstrate at least 20% productivity savings by delivering at least three FM services in an integrated manner, aggregating operations across a minimum of three buildings and investing in highly integrated Smart FM technology platforms.

Shaping Sustainable Buildings

Increasingly, private developers have been taking charge of their decarbonisation journey, which includes improving FM.

Intelligence and Maintainability were introduced in Green Mark 2021 (GM: 2021) as optional badges to raise building operations and maintenance standards. Building owners have been striving to attain these optional badges in addition to improving energy performance.

For the redevelopment of Shaw Tower, Shaw Towers Realty Private Limited worked with its project team to attain Green Mark Platinum Super Low Energy (SLE) certification in 2022, alongside sustainability badges including Intelligence, Health and Wellbeing, and Maintainability.

With good façade maintenance access and smart systems managed through the Integrated Services Platform, the building exemplifies how developers can adopt various design strategies for smarter operations and better maintainability.

Shaw Tower is expected to achieve ambitious sustainability targets. Its projected net energy savings, including solar energy generation, exceeds the 2005 baseline by 60%, while carbon abatement stands at 2,660 tonnes of CO₂ emissions, equivalent to removing over 570 non-electric cars from our roads.

Professionalising the FM Sector

The Singapore International Facility Management Association (SIFMA) has been BCA’s strategic partner in FM transformation, with their Certified FM Company (CFMC) and Certified FM Expert (CFME) accreditation schemes helping to develop capabilities across the sector.

At present, 34 companies have been accredited under the Certified FM Company accreditation scheme, 26 of which are large FM companies registered under the FM workhead of BCA’s Contractor Registry Scheme (FM01).

Meanwhile, a total of 146 individual FM practitioners have been accredited under the Certified FM Expert accreditation scheme, keeping pace with the industry’s target to have 1,000 accredited FM practitioners by 2025.

FOSTERING EXEMPLARY TRANSFORMATION OUTCOMES

Enhancing Productivity and Digitalisation Initiatives to Boost Construction Efficiency

To accelerate the pace of industry transformation set out under the refreshed BEITM, we enhanced the requirements of the Government Land Sales (GLS) programme and introduced the BE Transformation Bonus Gross Floor Area (GFA) Scheme.

Since June 2022, sites sold under the GLS programme will need to meet higher requirements in the areas of Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (DfMA) adoption, digitalisation and sustainability to bring about:

increased adoption of DfMA, such as implementation of Prefab MEP;
maximised benefits with complementary use of digital platform/s and IDD use cases to enhance collaboration across project stakeholders; and
Super Low Energy buildings that are also designed for maintainability.

25 Government Land Sales and 12 Industrial GLS sites have been launched to date, under the enhanced requirements

9 applications approved under the BE Transformation Bonus GFA Scheme

Positive correlation between DfMA adoption and quality performance – DfMA private residential projects (i.e. Band 1 under new CONQUAS banding system) fare better than non-DfMA private residential projects (i.e. Band 2 under new CONQUAS banding system) in FY2022 CONQUAS performance

Completed in 2022, the 716-unit Whistler Grand condominium adopted the use of Prefabricated Prefinished Volumetric Construction (PPVC) in its construction.

Incentivising Developers via the BE Transformation Bonus GFA Scheme

Private developments capable of committing to stretched ITM outcomes beyond the mandatory requirements of the GLS programme can enjoy up to 3% bonus GFA under the BE Transformation Bonus GFA Scheme. One of them is the Executive Condominium (EC) development along Tengah Garden Walk.

up to 3% bonus GFA under the BE Transformation Bonus GFA Scheme

At the EC development along Tengah Garden Walk, Taurus Properties SG (a joint venture between City Developments Limited and MCL Land) collaborated with Woh Hup (Private) Limited to adopt DfMA and digital technologies extensively, including Prefab MEP and IDD solutions.

Prefab MEP: Aside from maximising the coverage, the project team developed a first‑of‑its‑kind precast concrete riser that seamlessly integrates features like refuse chutes, beams and columns, as well as services such as gas and water piping. Such adoption of prefab MEP is expected to achieve approximately 38% manpower savings, compared to conventional MEP works.
IDD solutions: To further raise productivity, the project applied IDD solutions to manage the installation of prefab MEP modules, including quality inspections and defects rectification, which would yield 30% time savings in construction management.

The introduction of such outcome-based approaches is a key enhancement to the Buildability 2022 framework.

Fitting out of the integrated Prefab MEP riser

BIM model for integrated Pre-fabricated Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing (Prefab MEP) riser

Recognising Projects that Exemplify BE transformation

BCA introduced the inaugural Built Environment Transformation Award in September 2022 to recognise projects that demonstrate commitment towards transformation. The award aims to encourage high standards of sustainability, productivity, digitalisation and other areas that support capability building, workforce development, innovation and resilience.

A total of four projects were awarded:

PSA Liveable City
- Demonstrated outstanding effort in applying FM best practices to improve operations and maintenance of the building.
- Extensive data-sharing ecosystems allow multi-disciplinary project team members to easily access project data through smart devices, allowing multiple stakeholders to collaborate on designs in real-time while improving decision-making.
JTC’s 1 and 7 North Coast
- Adopted digitalisation technologies extensively, such as IDD and Common Data Environment platforms to improve overall productivity through data sharing and cross‑disciplinary collaboration.
- With FM practitioners involved in collaborative building design upstream, the team identified potential maintenance issues and tweaked designs for easier operations and maintenance after construction. For example, access routes were provided for the entire building façade and sturdier materials were used for outdoor furniture to ensure easy maintenance.
Eunoia Junior College
- One of the first movers to adopt Cross Laminated Timber, Prefinished Modular Façade and a timber and concrete hybrid slab system, leading to a 44% improvement in productivity over 2010 levels.
- Adopted a collaborative design approach with upfront FM involvement to identify potential maintainability issues at the design phase, while reducing operational challenges in building maintenance after construction.
The Tapestry
- Adopted PPVC and achieved a 50% improvement in productivity, as well as CONQUAS (Star) and Quality Mark (Star) certification.
- IDD was adopted by designing and planning digitally before construction took place.
- The close partnership between developer and builder in this project helped develop deep capabilities in the project parties, which justified further collaborations in subsequent PPVC projects, including Whistler Grand, Irwell Hill Residences and Tengah Garden Walk EC.

Built Environment Transformation Award 2022 winner PSA Liveable City demonstrated outstanding effort in applying FM best practices to improve operations and maintenance of the building.

Built Environment Transformation Award 2022 winner JTC’s 1 and 7 North Coast adopted digitalisation technologies extensively to improve overall productivity.

BCA Organisation Structure

Enhancing Safety across the Built Environment

The Building and Construction Authority (BCA) champions the development and transformation of the built environment sector, in order to improve Singapore’s living environment. BCA oversees areas such as safety, quality, inclusiveness, sustainability and productivity, all of which, together with our stakeholders and partners, help to achieve our mission to transform the Built Environment sector and shape a liveable and smart built environment for Singapore.

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