BRIEFING TO CIJC
2 Feb 2005
1
Background
• MND-MOM Construction Safety Review
Committee to review areas where
construction safety can be enhanced
• Study of practices in other countries,
e.g. Hong Kong, United States
• Briefing covers two areas:
• a) Regulatory Framework
b) Procurement Systems
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Regulatory Framework Review
Choong Teck Min
Senior Engineer
Building Engineering Division
3
Areas of Review
1. Accredited Checker for Temporary
Earth-Retaining Structures
2. Review of Accredited Checker System
3. Supervision of Structural Works
4
1
Accredited Checker
for Temporary Earth
Retaining Structures
(TERS)
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Current Practice
Design
PE performs
design
QP reviews and evaluates
adequacy of design
Construction
PE supervises
construction
QP reviews
instrumentation readings
and conducts site
inspection for safe
excavation
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TERS
Need for additional measures for TERS
• Uncertainties in ground conditions
• Excavation can impact surrounding
properties
• High risk - requires close monitoring
• Requires specialist knowledge and
experience
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Proposed Requirements
< 4m depth
PE performs design
AC performs independent
check
4m depth or
more
PE (Geotechnical)
performs design
AC(TERS) performs
independent check
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Proposed Requirements
PE (GEOTECHNICAL)

Registered by Professional Engineers Board
AC (TERS)


Registered by BCA
Criteria
- PE (Geotechnical) with post-graduate degree and 5 years
design/construction experience, OR
- PE (Geotechnical) with 10 years design/construction
experience
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Proposed Requirements
• Owner/developer (not builder) shall appoint
AC for TERS
• Issuance of permit to commence TERS
construction will be granted based on
the strength of the certification of the
AC(TERS)
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2
Review of Accredited
Checker System
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CURRENT AC SYSTEM
• AC plays a important role in final check to
minimize risk of design errors
• BCA approves plan based on strength of
AC’s certification
• Crucial that AC’s independent check
is competently done with adequate
resources
12
AC ORGANIZATIONS (ACO)
• ACOs required to have more staff/resources.
ACOs are in better position to carry out
AC checks
• Critical that complex and medium-sized
projects should be checked by ACOs
as they have highly experienced and
senior professionals
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PROPOSALS ON ACOs
BCA intends to enhance AC System as follows:
a) Reduce prescribed limit of value of building works
for individual ACs from $10 million to $3 million
b) Enhance prerequisite for ACO registration:
Current required: 1 AC, 2PEs & 2 engrs
Proposed required: 2 ACs, 2PEs & 2 engrs
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AC SYSTEM REVIEW
Feedback sought from industry on other
ways to enhance the current AC System
to improve competence and quality in AC
checks for structural safety
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3
Supervision of
Structural Works
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Current Provisions
PROJECT COST (MILLION)
MINIMUM
QSS
Non-Landed
Landed
$3 - $15
$6 - $30
1 COW
> $15
>$30
1 RE
• Resident Engineer - No work experience
required under current legislation
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Issues with QSS
• IES/ACES feedback - developments tend to
provide only 1 QSS. This is inadequate and QP
unable to fulfil supervision duty effectively
• Structural safety can be compromised due to
inadequate resources for supervision
• Problems cited with 1 QSS
– No backup when QSS go on leave, NS, falls sick
– No backup for supervision of critical works for
long periods e.g. 24 hours concreting, night
beam launching or supervision of off-site works
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Breakdown: 2004 Projects
Overall: 70% of all projects has minimum 1RE/COW
QSS PROVIDED
PROJECT COST
< $30
$30 - $60
$60 - $90
> $90
1 COW
50 %
NA
NA
NA
1 RE
33 %
32 %
33 %
NIL
1 RE + 1/2/3 COW
15 %
60 %
67 %
70 %
2 RE
2%
8%
NIL
30 %
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Supervision Team
• Inadequate QSS will compromise quality
of supervision and undermine safety
• Study Visit: HK Supervision System.
Elaborate requirements for QSS.
• Proposal: QP to appoint supervision
team in order to have adequate
resources for supervision
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QP Supervision Team
• Feedback sought from ACES / IES on adequate
numbers of QSS required for projects in the
following categories.
Project Cost
Minimum QSS for
Supervision Team
< $30 million
$30 - $60 million
$60 - $90 million
> $90 million
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RE’s Work Experience
• ACES/IES Feedback: Experience of RE important,
especially in larger, more complex works with
safety impact
• Work experience will therefore be required for RE
• Feedback sought from ACES / IES on number of
years of experience an RE should have to perform
effective supervision
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Projects < $15 million
Development
Project Cost
18 storeys high-rise
$6.3 million
18 storeys high-rise
$9.95 million
20 storeys high-rise
$10 million
20 storeys high-rise
$14 million
Yu Neng Primary School
$13.8 million
Bendemeer Road School
$11 million
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Projects < $15 million
• Currently only 1 COW provided for projects
under $15 million
• Proposal amend current provisions to as
follows:
Project Cost
Minimum QSS
$3 - $6 million
1 COW (no change)
$6 - $15 million
1 RE
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Supervision by Builder
• Duty is implicit. Builder has to provide all resources
required to build according to approved plans,
including resources for supervision
• Proposal: Builder to submit supervision team to
support permit application, and some details on
how supervision will be performed at site
• Builder will be required to review his supervision
team if his proposal appears grossly inadequate
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Review of Procurement
System
Lim Jue Meng
Senior Manager
Procurement Policies
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Areas of Review
•
Licensing of contractors
•
Review of CRS
– Raising financial requirements
– Raising safety requirements
•
Price quality method (PQM)
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Objectives
• Ensure safety
– Builders are competent and able to fulfill
statutory duties under the BC Act and
related legislation
• Enhance capability & enable longer term
sustainability
– need to nurture better performing firms that
can deliver quality and ensure safety
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Framework of Licensing of
Contractors
• Registration of Licensed Contractors
comprises:
– Licensed Building Contractors (LBC)
– Licensed Specialist Contractors (LSC)
• Registration renewable on a periodic
basis
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Framework of Licensing of
Contractors
• Designated specialist works:
– Piling
– Earth-Retaining and Ground Stabilisation
– Soil Investigation and Instrumentation
– Structural Steelworks
– Pre-stressed Concrete
– Precast Concrete Works
– Structural Strengthening
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Framework of Licensing of
Contractors
• Criteria for Registration:
– Experience and qualifications of
personnel
– Safety record
– Pass examination (if needed)
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Framework of Licensing of
Contractors
• Application for Registration to identify:
– Approved Person (AP)
• the key decision-maker who has full financial
control of firm
– Technical Controller (TC)
• the key decision-maker who controls
construction work on site
• responsible for supervision and execution of
works
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Framework of Licensing of
Contractors
• For new construction firms
– based on qualifications and experience of
AP and TC
• For existing construction firms
– exemption clause being considered
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Review of CRS
• Licensing as minimum eligibility
• Raising financial requirements
• Raising safety requirements
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Licensing as Eligibility
For licensing of both building and specialist
contractors :
• The higher grade firms will mostly not be
affected (e.g. A & B grades in CW and L5 & L6
in CR workheads). The lowest grades will be
affected unless they raise their personnel
levels.
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Raising Financial Requirements
• Currently CRS uses paid up capital or networth
• BCA will consider other financial indicators
(current liquidity ratio, net profit margin,
loans to subsidiaries, cashflow balance,
debt to equity ratio) and/or credit rating by
third party to rank firms
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Raising Safety Requirements
• Currently only the A1 & A2 grades
contractors must be certified under the
OHSAS 18000.
• To extend OHSAS18000 requirement to B1
and B2 grades.
• C1 and C2 firms to have simplified safety
management system with some key
requirements of OHSAS 18000
37
Raising Safety Requirements
• Firms with warning letter from MOM (24
demerit points within a 12-month period)
will be downgraded for a year
38
Price-Quality Method (PQM)
• Quality attributes are already allowed in
public sector tenders
• PQM enhances the current system by
formalizing quality assessment through a
systematic methodology
– Optimise value by awarding to the most
competent tenderer with the most economically
attractive proposal
– Differentiate the better contractors from average
ones
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Price-Quality Method (PQM)
• Price and quality tender evaluation models
are practised in UK, Australia, Hong Kong,
New Zealand, Japan, France, EU
• Studied the HK and NZ models
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Proposed PQM
• Score tenders according to pre-defined
weightings for both price and quality
attributes
• Uphold transparency and objectivity
• Price still higher weightage (60-80%)
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Proposed PQM
• Quality attributes include:
– Past and / or ongoing projects’ performance
(timeliness, quality (CONQUAS), safety,
awards etc)
– Relevant track records & past experience with
agency
– Project specific proposal (resources, method
statement, programme, innovations, etc)
42
Proposed PQM
• Formula approach to combine price scores
and quality scores
– lowest price tender max price score, highest
quality tender max quality score
– Tenderer with highest overall score would be
awarded the project
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Feedback from Industry
• BCA seeks feedback from the industry
on the above review by 28 Feb 2005
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Thank You
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