HIGHLIGHTS

May 2017

THE PROJECT MANAGERNewsletter of the Society of Project Managers, Singapore www.sprojm.org.sg MCI (P) 153/08/2014

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SPM Annual Dinner 2016

The Critical Role of PM in WSH- Guest-of-Honour’s message at SPM Annual Dinner

Accreditation Scheme for PMs

The Society of Project Managers (SPM) was one of eight associations that re-affirmed their commitment to workplace safety and health during the Construction WSH Leadership Summit 2015. Since the Construction Summit, with the support of the WSH Council, SPM has developed a list of specific stakeholders’ action plans to improve WSH competency among Project Managers. This will be done through courses for Project Managers that integrate WSH fundamentals. The SPM has also taken the lead to roll out the accreditation of Project Managers. Taken together, these efforts will greatly enhance the level of professionalism among Project Managers. I applaud your efforts.

It is important for Project Managers to be equipped with the fundamental knowledge and principles of workplace health and safety. With overall control over construction work activities, Project Managers play a critical role in inculcating a culture of Safety and Care to the supervisors and workers.

The Society of Project Managers (SPM) will launch an accreditation scheme for project managers on 6th June 2017.The Accreditation of Project Managers (APM) is a formal certification scheme of project managers established and administered by SPM for the built environment and construction industry (BE&CI) in Singapore. The certification is an official recognition that the Project Manager (PM) has met the competency standards as laid out by the Society for the practice and provision of good professional project management service in Singapore.

The APM scheme will change the landscape of project management in Singapore, particularly the BE&CI. It will propel the standard of project management practice to greater heights, and will help the industry to achieve better project outcomes in productivity, workplace health and safety as well as environmental sustainability. Building and infrastructure projects, particularly the larger and more complex ones, will benefit in having clearer scope and objective definition, risk identification and management and greater stakeholder satisfaction.

The APM Framework

In essence, the APM framework consists of 4 pillars: Practice Standards, Training, Assessment System and Recognition (in short we call it “STAR” Framework).

Standards: A set of internationally recognized PM standards is adopted. There are many good PM standards used in industrialized countries where the PM maturity is well established. We have looked at a number of well-known PM standards, including PMI, APM, IPMA and AIPM. SPM has been closely involved in GAPPS (the Global Alliance for the Project Professionals) since its inception in 2003. In fact, SPM is a founding member of GAPPS and has participated in the development of their global PM standards. The GAPPS PM standards have been mapped with many established international PM standards.

SPM has decided to use the GAPPS PM standards as the reference competency

standards for our accreditation scheme. For a start, some customization to our local industry practice will be made. An international standard reference will help propel the local PM practice standards forward to benefit the industry as a whole.

Mr Sam Tan Chin Siong, Minister of State, Prime Minister's Office and Ministry of Manpower

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The Future of Us Exhibition Pavilion

Prefabricated Pre-finished Volumetric Construction - Game Changing Technology

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01THE PROJECTMANAGER

President's Message

Over the years as projects become larger and more complex, more and more are coming forward to claim themselves as project managers even though they had only been involved in limited scope of a larger complex project. This resulted in confusion and uncertainty not only in our own local market but also overseas. The Singapore project manager is a much sought after professional. There is thus a strong call for more order going forward, a clearer attribution of experience and affirmation.

The Society of Project Managers is thus coming out with the accreditation of project managers (APM). We want to set the minimum standards for project management practice. We hope this would raise the level of professionalism to our practice and project the right image for our country. We hope to propel Project Management Practice in the Building and Construction Industry in Singapore to a higher standard of expertise and proficiency to meet increasing demands of value enhancement and sustainability in project delivery with all its complexities and challenges. This inauguration has been mooted for a while and it is a culmination of many months of consultation with recognized Project Management practitioners and learned bodies in designing the scheme.

We have also assembled a panel of very distinguished project managers to be our assessors. The scheme is governed by our APM Board chaired by our founding President Mr Chow Kok Fong.

The Board is responsible not only for the policy governing the current accreditation but also for improving the scheme as it matures and receives greater acceptance.

We will be launching the Accreditation of Project Managers (APM) for our members on Tuesday morning 6 June 2017. We have already received numerous support from many different organizations covering government bodies, developers, consultants and contractors. We hope all of you can come and network among project management practitioners and professionals.

I have found this to be a very humbling experience and a very fulfilling journey as I know with certainty that going forward we are making our profession one which we can all be proud of.

Thank you.

Dr. Ting Seng KiongPresident (11th Council)Society of Project Managers

We hope to propel Project Management Practice in the Building and Construction Industry in Singapore to a higher standard of expertise and proficiency to meet increasing demands of value enhancement and sustainability in project delivery with all its complexities and challenges

Welcome! New SPM MembersWe extend warm welcome to the following new members into SPM :

Name Membership Place of Practice

Beh Swee Ding Ordinary Arcadis Project Management Pte Ltd

Chan Kian Guan Ordinary SIPM Consultants Pte Ltd

Deny Wijaya Student Curtin Singapore

Lim Keng Shin Ordinary Chip Eng Seng Contractors (1988) Pte Ltd

Lim Lip Wee Kenneth Ordinary Arcadis Project Management Pte Ltd

Ng Meng Hui Ordinary RSP Architects Planners & Engineers

Sellappalany S/O Perithamby Ordinary Arcadis Project Management Pte Ltd

Tan Gak Peng Sam Ordinary Ministry of Transport (Air Division)

Tang Chee Loong Ordinary Surbana Jurong Consultant Pte Ltd

Teo Tiow Guan Associate Vigcon Construction Pte Ltd

Than Lwin Associate Vigcon Construction Pte Ltd

Tng Poh Koon Jeffrey Ordinary Davis Langdon KPK

Vibhor Agarwal Associate Surbana Jurong International Consultants Pte Ltd

Wee Keng Boon Student Singapore University of Social Sciences

Yan Wai Hoe Associate Arcadis Project Management Pte Ltd

02 THE PROJECTMANAGER

The SPM Annual Dinner was held on 23 September 2016 at the Marina Mandarin Hotel. The 21st anniversary celebration’s atmosphere inside the hotel ballroom was warm and friendly. It was uplifting to see about 580 guests, old friends and acquaintances renewed their connections once again and this is one of the most endearing images that will remain of the evening.

Annual Dinner

In his welcome speech, our President, Dr Ting Seng Kiong, informed that the Society has been focusing in the past year on the development of the SPM accreditation of project managers to enhance their recognition and professionalism.

Mr Sam Tan, Minister of State, Prime Minister's Office & Ministry of Manpower was our Guest-of-Honor.

His key message to the members and guests was integrating workplace safety and health into Project Management practice and business. He hoped that project managers would be the change

Dr Ting Seng Kiong giving the welcome speech

Mr Sam Tan, our Guest-of-Honour for the event

From left: Dr Ting Seng Kiong, Mr Li Ning of NTU, Ms Wang Xueting Vanessa of NUS, Mr Poh Wee Kiat of SIM and Mr Sam Tan

Token of appreciation from Children’s Society (from Left: Mr Chia Boon Khiang, Dr Ting Seng Kiong and Mr Sam Tan)

Full turnout for the event!

agents in leading the charge towards developing a safe working conditions and environment. The evening saw SPM handed out 3 awards of Master in International Construction Management Program in NTU to Mr Li Ning, Master of Science in Project Management program in NUS to Miss Wang Xueting Vanessa and Bachelor of Building & Project Management program in SIM University to Mr Poh Wee Kiat & Mr Leong Bai Kuang Nelson, for their outstanding performance in their respective courses. SPM would certainly be looking forward to their contributions in the field of project management in the future.

Keeping to our tradition of giving and as part of the SPM’s corporate social responsibility, SPM made a donation of $10,000 to the Singapore Children’s Society.

Throughout the 10-course dinner, members and guests were entertained by the Susan Harmer band which belted out familiar favourites. Music, good food and great company created a convivial atmosphere for the evening. Amidst the celebratory mood of the evening, it was also an opportune time to catch up with fellow professionals in the industry. Old friendships were rekindled and new contacts were made as members and guests mingled among each other. All too soon, the evening came to an end. As the good byes, were said, it was time to look forward to the next SPM dinner in 2017.

Reported by: Tan Kok Siong

03THE PROJECTMANAGER

SPM Best Student Award

At the 21st Annual Dinner 2016, SPM presented awards to the best students from MSc (Project Management), National University of Singapore and MSc (International Construction Management), Nanyang Technological University and Bachelor of Building and Project Management, UniSIM. The winners were Vanessa Wang (NUS), Li Ning (NTU), Webb Poh (UniSIM) and Nelson Leong Bai Kuang (UniSIM). The Project Manager took the opportunity to catch up with three of the winners to get their thoughts on how their academic achievement and award would help them in their career.

Vanessa first received her Master of Science, Project Management from NUS in 2015. Currently she is on secondment to the Defence Science Technology Agency (DSTA) and task to carry out procurement assignment. Previously she was working on the policy aspect of procurement at Ministry of Finance thus it is a good opportunity to learn more about the operational side to gain a deeper understanding on the challenges faced on the ground. She is glad the knowledge gained in Master of Science, Project Management has helped her acquire a better understanding on dealing with Change, actively manage Risk and promote effective communication among stakeholders. Greater awareness of these key issues will aid in the way she moulds and administer each project, reducing uncertainty to achieve the desired outcome.

Vanessa Wang

Webb Poh received his Bachelor of Building and Project Management from UniSIM in 2016. Currently he is employed as General Manager in DiHub Pte Ltd, overseeing business operations and managing a team of 13 staffs. Part of his job duties include strategizing business process management, develop training roadmap for his team and scaling up enterprise services to meet the market demand. Webb thought that his project management degree course had enhanced his communication skills within his own organisation and skills required to be an orchestra conductor to manage the time, quality and cost well. Besides the project management theoretical pedagogy, the course introduced tools such as lean methodology on project management which was clearly defined and executable in real life project.When asked about his thoughts on the PM's role in the construction industry and how the award has influenced his career advancement in project management, he viewed the construction industry as very complex in nature. The productivity index is also the lowest as compared to other sectors. The needs to increase productivity and upgrade the skillsets in construction sector have always been a challenge due to many factors from human dynamics. Hence, dealing with industry workgroup and professional practitioners require someone to have high empathy. A leader must have the relevant skillset of getting all team members to align common project goals, keeping projects on time and coordinated works from all project stakeholders. As a project manager, he must be involved in details right from managing the client’s budget, prepare for calling of tender, all the way until the final closure stage of the project. He is a key leader in driving and keeping all activities in place. The award recognition had motivated him to keep working hard and the achievement had brought tremendous pride to his company as well. With the project management credential which recognizes the experience and skill of professional managers, the award has open out windows of opportunity in complementing his current role and career in the company. His senior management has recognized his effort not only in taking up part-time degree course but also won this Project Management Student award.

Reported by: Shaun Yeo

Webb Poh

Li Ning received his Master of Science, International Construction Management, NTU in 2016. He joined China Construction and working as marketing executive for business development in China. One of his main responsibilities is to assist in putting tender bid to secure PPP projects. In order to secure viable investment, he needs to carry out feasibility studies and economic evaluation of the project. Li Ning revealed that during the pursued of Project Management course he could not understand the profound meaning of this course that would able to assist him to secure a project management career in future. It was only after he started work in China Construction that he realised the significance of this degree, in part cultivating his way of thinking, enriching his perspectives to understand how things are worked out. The benefit is profound and gradual. He thought the knowledge he gained in Project Finance studies had helped him to secure his current job because of PPP project that his current employer is pursuing. He thought Project Manager’s role is crucial in Singapore construction industry. It is a leadership role that provides direction and leads the project team to achieve the project desirable outcome. He does not rule out that in future he will like to be a Project Manager as he had met many experience and good Project Managers in the 21st SPM anniversary dinner.He expressed his gratitude to NTU for recommended him to this SPM award which helps him to be more confident. He was well recognised by his company and superior not only because of his overseas learning experience but also because of the SPM award.

Li Ning

04 THE PROJECTMANAGER

The assessors as a group has good industry coverage: Private and Public sectors; Developer, Consultant and Contractor.

The Benefits Although the accreditation is voluntary, it will offer many benefits to individual project managers, companies and the industry. The main crux of the APM scheme is to drive for excellence. Training is the main driver – to raise skills level, encourages continual learning and upgrading of knowledge and skills. A culture of lifelong learning and skills upgrading will form in the PM fraternity – very much aligned with the national Skills Future objectives.

i. For IndividualsWhen accredited and formally certified, a project manager will be set apart from other non-certified project managers that he has undergone rigorous assessment and validation of his practice, experience and qualifications as a project manager. The certification will testify that he has attained a level of competence measured against global project management standards. This will advance his career growth and professional development and enhance his employability in Singapore and overseas.

ii. For CompaniesThe APM certification will be a useful aid for companies looking to procure reliable project management services because it sets a benchmark for project management practice standards and is a mark of quality assurance. It will enable developers, contractors and consultants to make clear distinctions between different service providers.

iii. For the IndustryAs projects become larger in scale and complexity, there is a need for the BE&CI to differentiate the good from the mediocre project managers, and establish competent project management capability to manage these complex projects. SPM’s APM scheme will ensure that the industry is able to provide a ready pool of competent project managers who can provide consistent standards of quality service to meet the needs and demand of large multi-million dollar, multi-stakeholder and multi-deliverable projects with high degree of integration complexity.

More details of the APM scheme will be announced at the APM Launch. Come and join us in the launch on 6th June at Grand Copthorne Waterfront. Details on registration for the APM Launch event are available on our SPM Website: www.sprojm.org.sg or you can email our Secretariat [ societyofprojectmanagers@gmail.com ]

Written by:

Yip Kim Seng2nd Vice President, SPMChair of APM Committee

The APM scheme will change the landscape of project management in Singapore, particularly the BE&CI.Assessment System: Methodology and processes are developed for robust assessment of the PM competency level of individuals to be accredited.Training: Training courses will be developed to enable practitioners to level up their knowledge and competency skills. Training will primarily help to bridge practice competency gaps to enable accreditation qualification for those candidates assessed to have fallen narrowly short. Training and development will be required for renewal of certification under the SPM Continuing Professional Development system. Recognition: The accreditation scheme is an industry-led certification of individual PM practitioners. Industry support for the accreditation scheme is key. There need to be demand for certified project managers for good practice standard and quality.

APM BoardThe Accreditation of Project Managers (APM) Board has already been formed. The members are the past and current presidents of SPM. The APM Board will oversee the PM standards for assessment, select qualified assessors and trainers for the APM scheme and approve the certification of qualified project management practitioners.

APM Assessment The APM scheme will be for SPM members. At the point of application, the applicant will be screened for basic qualifications and criteria. These include

• SPM Membership• Years of relevant industry experience• Years of specific project management experience• Scope and depth of PM experience

The APM Assessment will essentially be in two parts – Knowledge and PracticeKnowledge alone is not enough to validate the quality of a Project Manager. We will need to couple this with Practice experience. We will require the candidate to show proof of PM practice in the assessment.Interviews will be carried out by the assessors with the candidate.Should there be a shortfall in area of knowledge and/or experience, candidate would be advised to attend specific training modules to bridge the gap, or practice a while longer in certain aspect of Project Management.

APM Panel of AssessorsWe already have a panel of 12 assessors to conduct the assessment of APM applicants. The assessors are of good industry standing, well respected and experienced in the discipline of Project Management.

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Project Managers must ensure effective implementation of permit-to-work. They should prevent incompatible works to be carried out in close proximity to high risk construction work and be ready to stop the works and revoke the permit if the works are deemed unsafe.

Project Managers must also ensure that sub-Contractors produce Risk Assessment (RA) for their specific work activities customised to actual site conditions. Generic RA should not be accepted.

These are important safety measures and Project Managers must ensure that they are complied with and taken very seriously. Safety should never be compromised for progress of works and adequate safety measures must be in place before the commencement of any work. When Project Managers take reasonable measures to ensure the overall safe condition of the worksite, workers will feel assured that they can go home safely at the end of each day.

The Construction Industry WSH Action Plans is a good example of how Stakeholders groups from the Construction value chain come together to develop a set of actions plans, with the aim of reducing workplace fatality rate. In order to achieve significant progress in WSH, continued efforts and follow-through in driving the Action plans items is thus very important. I urge the SPM to continue with your good work and collaboration with the other stakeholders in working through the remaining action plans.

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The Critical Role of PM in WSH

Accreditation Scheme for PMs

05THE PROJECTMANAGER

Note: No part of this newsletter shall be reproduced without the written permission of the Publisher, Society of Project Managers. The views of the writers expressed in the newsletter may not necessarily represent the corporate views of the Society and no liability is accepted in relation thereof.

24 November 2016 – Held at the Singapore Recreation Club, the last SPM Technical Talk of 2016 focused on the Future of Us Exhibition given by guest speaker Er. Ng Soon Hua (Managing Director of SH Ng Consultants Pte Ltd), the Qualified Person engaged for the project. This award winning project (A’ Design Platinum Award 2016) is a

large scale exhibition pavilion (comprising lattices, domes, canopies and linkways) commissioned as part of the series of signature events to round up Singapore’s Golden Jubilee year of celebrations. Er. Ng shared with the audience the main challenges that the project team faced -

1. 5 months duration from design, authorities submission, procurement, fabrication to erection of the steel structures

2. Design reviews to ensure budget constraints are met without impacting the project timeline

3. Unique structures and shapes that give rise to different load combinations with risk of progressive collapse

4. Difficulty in determining the wind loading on the structure due to its unique design

And the key solutions that led to the successful completion of the project –

1. Use of steel arches, independent structures to ensure robustness and high constructability of the entire structure

2. Use of prefabricated elements, with proper QAQC procedures such as pre-assembly off site

The Future of Us Exhibition Pavilion3. Use of bolts and nuts connection system for efficient

construction4. Restricting length of individual components for ease of

transportation 5. Multiple/ back up steel fabricators and suppliers6. Constant engagement with authorities for prompt

submissions and approvals.The talk ended with a Q&A session where enthused participants exchanged views on project risk management and structure design considerations.

Reported by

David Cheong

The Editorial Team

Mr Teoh Wooi Sin (Chairman)

Mr Yip Kim Seng (Advisor)

Mr Tan Kok Siong (Advisor)

Mr Carlson Ng

Mr David Cheong

Mr Lee Kok Boon

Mr Manish Banga

Mr Shaun Yeo

Dear Readers,

Wishing you and your family…from the Editorial Team...

You can look forward to the following in the coming issues:Management of Mediacorp Project

Looking Forward...

Dear Readers,We invite you to contribute articles of Project Management

interest so that this can be shared with the project management fraternity.

We also invite you and your esteemed company toplace an advertorial under our sponsorship scheme. The cost of sponsorship is $3,000 for one full page or $2,000 for a half page. Your advertorial can be in the form of a feature article such as a write-up on a project or projects undertaken by the sponsor or on any subject of project management

interest and practice.You can convey your interest to

societyofprojectmanagers@gmail.comWe sincerely looking forward to your

contributions and support.

Editorial Team

Calling for feature Articles and Sponsorship!

Presentation of Token of Appreciation

from Dr Ting Seng Kiong (left)

to Er. Ng

07THE PROJECTMANAGER

Prefabricated Prefinished Volumetric Construction

The seminar, which was jointly organized by SPM, UniSIM and Arcadis, was held on 28 July 2016 at UniSIM Campus. The seminar featured five distinguished speakers from real estate and construction industry.

It started with Mr. Ramamoorthy Rajendran, Director for Technology and Capability, Building and Construction Authority (BCA) speaking about the performance requirements for PPVC. He shared BCA’s vision for increasing productivity in construction industry and the target of 2% to 3% per annum increase in productivity till 2020. He also outlined BCA’s first construction productivity roadmap, and covered Design for Manufacturing & Assembly (DfMA) as well as Prefabricated Prefinished Volumetric Construction (PPVC).

This was followed by Ms Irene Meta, Senior Vice President for Development and Project, OUE limited who provided in-sights into OUE’s decision to adopt PPV for the extension to the Crown Plaza Changi Airport Hotel. She covered in her talk the salient considerations for implementing PPVC including the adaptation of design for PPVC, tender process, PPVC technologies etc. She ended her talk with important lessons learnt and tangible benefits as major takeaways for the participants.

After tea break., the seminar resumed with Mr Tang Kok Thye, an Associate Partner of ADDP Architect LLP

GAME CHANGING TECHNOLOGY

delivering his talk on design for productivity. Mr Tang gave a comparison of PPVC vs conventional construction, the PPVC requirements, Steel PPVC, completed and on-going PPVC projects in Singapore, existing and potential PPVC suppliers, and challenges in implementing PPVC.

Mr William Ling, CEO of Sembcorp EOSM then shared his experience on PPVC construction. He covered in his talk the importance of modularity

and DfMA, Sembcorp’s DfMA products and PPVC system, challenges for the industry, and the limitations and constraints of PPVC.

The last speaker, Mr Tay Ter Long, Executive Director of Arcadis Singapore, gave his accounts on PPVC which entailed a fundamental change in the project delivery process starting from the inception. The usual design process which allowed detailed design to be developed and/or changed as the project progressed is no longer an economically viable option. The payment regime had to be reviewed as large amount of works and materials were done off-site in a manufacturing facility. Similarly, valuation of variations methodologies had to be reviewed.

The talk ended with a lively Q&A session where both the participants and speakers shared their knowledge and experiences in the topics of PPVC and improvement in construction productivity.

Reported by:

Teoh Wooi Sin

08 THE PROJECTMANAGER