MND injects $450m to boost construction sector productivity

Under the Construction Productivity and Capability Fund.

The Ministry of National Development is setting aside another $450m for the second leg of the Construction Productivity and Capability Fund (CPCF).

Speaking at the Committee of Supply Debate in Parliament yesterday, Senior Minister of State Lee Yi Shyan stated that the $450m initiative will focus on helping firms manufacture as many building parts as possible in a factory, as well as help companies move up the value chain by acquiring R&D, engineering and design capabilities.

The $250m CPCF was first launched in 2010, and was topped up to $335m in 2014 to quicken the pace of re-structuring.

Here’s more from the speech:

The first thrust is the adoption of “Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (or DFMA)”. Simply put, DFMA requires the industry to manufacture as many building parts as possible in a factory. Prefabricated parts are then assembled on site. To embrace DFMA well, our firms need new capabilities in design, engineering and manufacturing.

To reduce the inefficiency associated with multi-layer subcontracting, we will look also for ways to integrate and improve communications amongst all parties in the value chain. BCA introduced Building Information Modelling (BIM) in 2012.

Since then, more than 80% of the larger consultancy firms and 60% of larger contractors have adopted BIM. The adoption of BIM has standardized the digital communications amongst all parties in the value chain. BCA will push BIM usage to all players ultimately.

To encourage concurrent engineering, the public sector will also push on with the Early Contractor Involvement (or ECI). This approach enables the project owner and his consultants and contractor to undertake the project as an integrated team, resolving many construction details at the early stage which can save months from the overall project schedule.

The second thrust is to develop deep capabilities in the industry that Er Lee talks about. It is important that our progressive firms benchmark themselves against the international best practices. We will find ways to help them move up the value chain by acquiring R&D, engineering and design capabilities.

Our progressive firms must develop new expertise in in-house cross-functional teams comprising architects, engineers and project management professionals. They should have a larger proportion of skilled workers, professionals and a stable workforce.