GUIDELINES ON QUIETER CONSTRUCTION FUNDjan-2017).pdf · 5.5 The date on vendor's invoice is deemed to be the date of purchase of ... sufficient dimension to mitigate noise generated

Guidelines on Quieter Construction Fund

Updated Jan 2017 Page 1

GUIDELINES ON

QUIETER CONSTRUCTION FUND



1. OBJECTIVE

1.1 The Quieter Construction Fund (QCF) is a funding scheme to support Singapore-

registered companies to adopt the use of quieter construction equipment, noise control

equipment and encourage innovative solutions to mitigate noise and hence, reduce the

impact of construction noise on sensitive premises to achieve a quieter living

environment.

1.2 ‘Equipment’ henceforth refers to individual or a group of quieter construction

equipment, noise control equipment and innovative solutions to mitigate noise at

construction or demolition sites.

2. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

2.1 To be eligible, the applicant must be a Singapore-registered company who is

a) Operating on existing or proposed construction site(s) also referred to as

‘Builder’; or

b) Supplying construction equipment for existing or proposed construction site(s)

also referred to as ‘Supplier’. (Refer to 3.5 for more details)

2.2 The above mentioned construction site(s) must be located less than 150 metres from

any hospital, home for the aged sick, residential building or other noise sensitive

premises.

2.3 Purchase or leasing of equipment from or to related companies is not supported.

2.4 Equipment which is required contractually by the developer (whether public or private)

is not supported under the QCF. Equipment that is in excess of the contractual

requirement can be considered. The applicant would have to declare that “the contract

for the Construction Project does not require the Applicant to procure or use quieter

construction equipment” in Part 5 of the Application Form.

3 EQUIPMENT REQUIREMENTS

3.1 The types of equipment that will be considered for support are listed in Annex A1.

(Note that the list of equipment shown in Annex A1 is not exhaustive)

3.2 The applicant has to show that the noise performance of the equipment meets

requirements listed in Annex A2. The noise performance of the equipment must be

measurable during inspection.



3.3 The supported equipment must be used at the approved construction site(s) and

according to the Terms & Conditions of the grant.

3.4 For applicants who are builders, the purchase or leasing of equipment must not be made

before submission of application.

3.5 For applicants who are suppliers, the purchase of equipment must not be made before

submission of application. Upon provisional approval from NEA, suppliers must

submit the proof of purchase to NEA within 1 month from the date of provisional

approval.

3.6 Purchase of used equipment will not be supported.

3.7 The same equipment or any of its components shall not have been granted the Quieter

Construction Fund or other cash reimbursement or incentives from the Government or

other Government agencies (e.g. BCA’s Mechanisation Credit)

4 FORM OF ASSISTANCE

4.1 The funding support is shown below:

Equipment Category Purchase / Lease Cost Funding %

Quieter Construction

Equipment (purchase)

≤$100,000 per equipment Up to 50%, capped at

$30,000 per equipment

>$100,000 and ≤$200,000

per equipment

Up to 30%, capped at


>$200,000 per equipment Up to 25%, capped at



Equipment (leasing)

≤$30,000 per equipment Up to 50%, capped at


>$30,000 per equipment Up to 30%, capped at


Purchase & Setting up

of Noise Control

Equipment

≥$5,000per Project Site Up to 50% per Project

Site

Purchase & Setting up

of Innovative Solution

≥$5,000per Project Site Up to 50% per Project

Site



4.2 All disbursements will be made on a reimbursement basis to a single account of the

applicant only.

4.3 The minimum total investment amount per application must be $5,000 or above.

4.4 For applicants who are builders operating on construction site of project cost ≤ $50

million, the total funding disbursed to the project site is capped at $150,000, or 5% of

the project contract value, whichever is lower.

4.5 For applicants who are builders operating on construction site of project cost > $50

million, the total funding disbursed to the project site is capped at $200,000.

4.6 For applicants who are suppliers, the total funding disbursed to an applicant, being a

supplier of equipment, is capped at $150,000, over 2 years.

4.7 All costs which are not relevant to the above equipment category are not supported (i.e.

cost of disassembly, maintenance, operations and internal manpower etc). GST and

COE are not supported. The costs for Professional Engineer’s services as well as site

sound measurement report for perimeter noise barrier and noise enclosure are

supported.

5 QUALIFYING PERIOD

5.1 The Qualifying Period refers to the period separately defined for builders and suppliers

below whereby the following conditions listed below have been carried out in order for

support to be granted.

5.2 The Qualifying Period for builders refers to the period not more than 6 months starting

from the date of application to such time when all of the following must have been

carried out, in order for support to be granted:

i. Completed the purchase or lease of approved equipment; and

ii. Implemented the equipment at the approved construction site; and

iii. Informed and facilitated NEA officer for site inspection; and

iv. Conducted a sound measurement of the equipment at the approved construction

site.

5.3 The Qualifying Period for suppliers refers to the period not more than 6 months

starting from the date of purchase of equipment to such time when all of the following

must have been carried out, in order for support to be granted:

i. Imported the equipment into Singapore

ii. Informed and facilitated NEA officer for equipment inspection; and

iii. Conducted a sound measurement of the equipment; and



iv. Leased the equipment to a construction site located less than 150m from any

hospital, home for the aged sick, residential building or other noise sensitive

premises

Refer to Annex C for requirements on site sound measurement report

5.4 Support will not be granted if the proposed equipment is

i. Purchased/leased, before the date of application; or

ii. Delivered and received in Singapore by the applicant before the date of

application; or

iii. Purchased / leased after the Qualifying Period.

5.5 The date on vendor's invoice is deemed to be the date of purchase of the proposed

equipment / machinery.

6 POSSESSION PERIOD

6.1 During the Possession Period, the applicant shall not:

i. use the equipment for unintended purposes or at non pre-approved sites;

ii. lease or lend the equipment to a party (unless for applicants who are

suppliers);

iii. sell the equipment;

iv. allow the equipment to lose its intended function or be damaged beyond

repair;

v. scrap/dispose the equipment; or

vi. allow or be a party in bringing the equipment out of Singapore.

6.2 It is the applicant’s responsibility to take care of the equipment, and shall be solely

responsible for any losses. Lost / Stolen of equipment shall not entitle the applicant to

claim under the scheme.

6.3 Every application will be evaluated individually for noise reduction impact. The same

equipment may be approved for one application but rejected for another application.

6.4 The Terms & Conditions attached to the Letter of Offer apply.



7 CLAIM

7.1 The applicant should submit for claims using the prescribed claim form. The applicant

should submit one consolidated claim application for cash purchase of equipment.

7.2 For approved funding of $50,000 or higher per project site for purchase, and approved

funding of $10,000 or higher per project site for leasing only, external audit

certification on qualifying expenses of the equipment must be submitted.

7.3 All claims must be submitted within the stipulated Claim Period.

8 HOW TO APPLY

8.1 Applicants are encouraged to contact the Fund Secretariat to determine the eligibility of

their proposed equipment before submitting an application.

8.2 Applications are to be made on the prescribed application form, with all necessary

supporting documentation duly attached. The application and supporting documentation

may be submitted in soft copies. The soft copies should be emailed to

[email protected], and entitled in the format “QCF Application – [Company Name]”

All information submitted will be held in the strictest confidence.

For more information, you may refer to the FAQs or contact us via the following email

or phone number.

Email: [email protected]

Tel: 6731 9834



ANNEX A1 – LIST OF SUPPORTED EQUIPMENT (List not exhaustive)

Category Equipment Name Photographs for Reference


Equipment

*(see notes for

specific equipment)

Jack-in piling

‘Silent’ sheet piling

Concrete crusher machine

Electrical rebar bender & cutter

Electrical concrete vibrator /

poker



Battery powered floodlights

(without use of generators)

Noise Control

Equipment

Perimeter noise barrier

Noise curtain containing sound

absorbing material

Plant noise enclosure

Machine noise enclosure

http://www.google.com.sg/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwi1xM6XzNnOAhUMKY8KHcraDm0QjRwIBw&url=http://www.ledfloodlightretrofit.com/sale-6148598-10-watt-tri-pod-battery-powered-portable-led-flood-lights-for-mining-lighting.html&psig=AFQjCNHIehoHDgFYx3jouezcDAz2UhYoKg&ust=1472112397509711



Rotary head enclosure

Acoustic silencer or muffler

Vibration absorption, isolation or

damping device

Innovative Solution Crack inducer

Modified Auger bucket

Insulated Kelly Bar

Active Noise Control device

*Notes for specific equipment:

1) For leasing of piling machines



Only the leasing cost of the machine would be claimable. The cost of the piling materials is not

claimable. The applicant should provide an itemized quotation stating the breakdown of the total cost

of the piling contract.

2) For purchasing/leasing of excavators with noise reduced engines

Application must be accompanied with localized noise barriers. The localised barriers must be of

sufficient dimension to mitigate noise generated during the operation of the excavator. The cost of the

localised noise barriers is also claimable.



ANNEX A2 – PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS

Equipment Category Performance Requirements


Equipment

At least 5 dB(A) quieter than 2 other equipment

meant for the same work commonly used in

Singapore.

Noise Barrier & Enclosure Comprises acoustic absorbing material

Designed and installed to ensure effectiveness of

noise reduction

Tested and reported according to the following

standards or equivalent international standards:

a) ISO 10140-2 : 2010 Acoustics -- Laboratory

measurement of sound insulation of

building elements -- Part 2: Measurement of

airborne sound insulation; and

b) ISO 717-2 : 2013 Acoustics -- Rating of

sound insulation in buildings and of

building elements -- Part 1: Airborne sound

insulation.

or

a) ASTM E90 Standard Test Method for

Laboratory Measurement of Airborne

Sound Transmission Loss of Building

Partitions and Elements; and

b) ASTM E413 Classification for Rating

Sound Insulation.

For noise panels:

a) Achieve a Sound Transmission Class of 20

b) Perimeter noise barrier: Achieve a

minimum noise reduction of 10 dB(A) for

specific construction work as compared to

without the noise barrier, measured at the

same receiver point within the acoustic

shadow of the noise barrier. The perimeter

noise barrier, if used as site hoarding,

should meet and surpass BCA’s

requirements for protective hoarding in

terms of minimum height.

c) Noise enclosure: Achieve a minimum noise

reduction of 15 dB(A) for specific

construction work, as compared to without

the noise enclosure, measured at the same

distance from the noise source.

For noise curtains:

a) Achieve a Sound Transmission Class of 15

b) Noise curtains: Achieve a minimum noise

reduction of 5 dB(A) for specific

construction work, as compared to without

the noise curtain, measured at the same



distance from the noise source. The noise

curtains should ONLY BE USED to

mitigate noise as a localized barrier or at the

façade of a superstructure and NOT as a

substitute for the parameter noise barrier on

the site hoarding.

Innovative Solution Able to achieve a minimum noise reduction of 5

dB(A) for a specific construction work where the

Innovative Solution is implemented

ANNEX B – LIST OF NON-SUPPORTED EQUIPMENT

Equipment which normally does not cause construction noise or not meant to mitigate

construction noise will not be supported. Items such as the following will not be supported:

Noise meters

Security system

Environmental monitoring equipment

Computer hardware and software

Public relation programmes

Consultancy studies

Equipment that are quieter due to smaller dimensions or power



ANNEX C – REQUIREMENTS FOR SITE SOUND MEASUREMENT REPORT

Applications that are offered the grant will be required to conduct site sound

measurement to prove that the implemented equipment meets performance requirements in

Annex A2. Only equipment that meets the performance requirements will be supported. The

site sound measurement must be carried out during the Qualifying Period.

1) Quieter construction equipment

The applicant must facilitate NEA officers for an equipment inspection during the

Qualifying Period.

2) Noise control equipment – Perimeter noise barrier, noise enclosures and noise curtains

The site sound measurement report must be prepared by an independent company and

with reference to ISO 10847 Acoustics – In-Situ Determination of Insertion Loss of Outdoor

Noise Barriers of All Types, or other equivalent international standards, subject to NEA’s

approval. The site sound measurement must be conducted in the presence of NEA officers.

The applicant must submit the report before or during the submission of Claim form.

3) Innovative solutions

The applicant must facilitate NEA officers for an equipment inspection during the

Qualifying Period. For specific innovative solutions such as active noise control system, a

site sound measurement report must be prepared by an independent company with reference

to a relevant ISO or other equivalent international standard, subject to NEA’s approval. The

site sound measurement must be conducted in the presence of NEA officers. The applicant

must submit the report before or during the submission of Claim form.

Documents

GUIDELINES ON QUIETER CONSTRUCTION FUNDjan-2017).pdf · 5.5 The date on vendor's invoice is deemed to be the date of purchase of ... sufficient dimension to mitigate noise generated