KDN PP11720/1/2006 ISSN 0128-4347 VOL.31 … PDF (05_07)/BEM06/04_BEM Sep_Nov...Dato’ Prof. Ir. Dr. Wahid bin Omar Registrar Ir. Dr. Mohd Johari Md. Arif Secretary ... Ir. Prof.

KDN PP11720/1/2006 ISSN 0128-4347 VOL.31 SEPT - NOV 2006 RM10.00

LEMBAGA

JURUTERA

MALAYS IA

BOARD OF ENGINEERS MALAYSIALEMBAGA JURUTERA MALAYSIA

BUILDING

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4 President’s MessageEditor’s Note

Announcement5 Publication Calendar

Event Calendar

Cover Feature6 Structural Concrete Design: Should BS 8110

Be Replaced By Eurocode2?12 The Way Forward: Construction Industry

Master Plan 2006-201516 The Current Trends and Development of

Public Toilets in Kuala Lumpur

Update20 Implementation of Skills Accreditation

For Local And Foreign Skilled Construction Workers

22 Malaysian Standard MS 2015: Public Toilets -Minimum Design Criteria

Engineering & Law28 Illegality And Breaches Of Consultancy Contracts:

Lessons To Be Learnt From Luxor Holdings SdnBhd V. Hainal-Konyl Sdn Bhd

Feature33 IBS Roadmap 2003-2010: The Progress

and Challenges

36 Some Design And Practical Perspectives InConcrete Cracks

38 Safety In Building Construction & Construction Site

42 World Toilet Organisation’s Perspective On Toilets

50 Managing Mega Projects – The Experiences Of KLIA

Engineering Nostalgia56 Jalan Petaling/Jalan Bandar

Before/In Between/After

33

18

2T H E I N G E N I E U R

Pembaharuan Sijil Pendaftaran Tahun 2007Syarikat Pertubuhan Perbadanan &Multi Disiplin (Body Corporate & Multi Discipline)

Pembaharuan Sijil Pendaftaran Tahun 2007Syarikat Ketuanpunyaan Tunggal &Perkongsian (Sole Proprietor & Partnering)

Pg 24

Pg 26

BORANG

Members of the Board of Engineers Malaysia(BEM) 2005/2006

PresidentYBhg. Dato’ Prof. Ir. Dr. Wahid bin Omar

RegistrarIr. Dr. Mohd Johari Md. Arif

SecretaryIr. Dr. Judin Abdul Karim

Members of BEMYBhg. Tan Sri Dato’ Ir. Md Radzi Mansor

YBhg. Datuk Ir. Hj. Keizrul AbdullahYBhg. Mej. Jen. Dato’ Ir. Ismail Samion

YBhg. Dato’ Ir. Shanthakumar SivasubramaniamYBhg. Datu Ir. Hubert Thian Chong HuiYBhg. Dato’ Ir. Prof. Chuah Hean Teik

Ar. Dr. Amer Hamzah Mohd YunusIr. Henry E ChelvanayagamIr. Dr. Shamsuddin Ab LatifIr. Prof. Dr. Ruslan HassanIr. Mohd. Rousdin HassanIr. Prof. Dr. Hassan BasriTn Hj. Basar bin JuraimiIr. Ishak Abdul Rahman

Ir. Anjin Hj. AjikIr. P E Chong

Editorial Board

AdvisorYBhg. Dato’ Prof. Ir. Dr. Wahid bin Omar

ChairmanYBhg Datuk Ir. Shanthakumar Sivasubramaniam

EditorIr. Fong Tian Yong

MembersIr. Mustaza SalimIr. Chan Boon Teik

Ir. Ishak Abdul RahmanIr. Prof. Dr. K. S. Kannan

Ir. Prof. Dr. Ruslan HassanIr. Prof. Madya Dr. Eric K H Goh

Ir. Nitchiananthan BalasubramaniamIr. Prof. Madya Megat Johari Megat Mohd Noor

Ir. Prem Kumar

Executive DirectorIr. Ashari Mohd Yakub

Publication OfficerPn. Nik Kamaliah Nik Abdul Rahman

Assistant Publication OfficerPn. Che Asiah Mohamad Ali

Design and ProductionInforeach Communications Sdn Bhd

The Ingenieur is published by the Board ofEngineers Malaysia (Lembaga Jurutera Malaysia)

and is distributed free of charge to registeredProfessional Engineers.

The statements and opinions expressed in thispublication are those of the writers.

BEM invites all registered engineers to contributearticles or send their views and comments to the

following address:

Publication CommitteeLembaga Jurutera Malaysia,Tingkat 17, Ibu Pejabat JKR,

Jalan Sultan Salahuddin,50580 Kuala Lumpur.

Tel: 03-2698 0590 Fax: 03-2692 5017E-mail: [email protected]

[email protected] site: http://www.bem.org.my

Advertising/SubscriptionsAdvertisement Form is on page 49

President’s Message

Editor’s NoteRecent policy issues relating to buildings, such as replacing

CFO with CCC, Professional Indemnity Insurance and the “buildthen sell” concept for housing development have attracted greatinterest among related professionals especially engineers andarchitects. The Publication Committee will publish the outcomeof firm decisions on these issues in due course. Meanwhile, wewelcome any views or suggestions in this regard.

In conjunction with the national effort to promote good andsanitary public toilets through the recent toilet design competition and the nationalforum cum exhibition, the two articles published here cover the international andlocal perspectives of good toilet design, trends and innovation.

With regard to the ‘Engineering Nostalgia’ section, we are getting fewercontributions from readers. As this is understandable, we are consideringsupplementing this section with photographs of interesting engineering featuresand/or projects, and are looking forward to contributions to this section of the bulletin.

Ir. Fong Tian YongEditor

KDN PP11720/1/2007ISSN 0128-4347

VOL. 31 SEPT-NOV 2006


Building codes are essentially sets of safety regulationsin respect of structure, fire, and health. They were originallydeveloped in response to frequently occurring hazards ofstructural collapse, catastrophic fires, and the spread ofdisease. Along with other developments, building by-lawshave been very effective in reducing markedly the probabilitiesof disaster. Closely related to the life of the community, thesematters became the responsibility of the city council ormunicipality.

There are some who protest the restrictions that buildingcodes impose and argue that they are not needed. Yet, every time there is loss of lifefrom fire or collapse of scaffolding in the news, there is public outcry against thelaxity of laws or officials and a demand that something be done to prevent recurrence.Legislation to promote safety continues to be demanded and building codes willprobably be necessary for some time, despite the many difficulties encountered intheir formulation and application.

Codes, by themselves, can never be made to guarantee any consistent level ofsafety so long as there is freedom to choose the form that the building and its partsmay take. The designer may also be concerned about the various choices that providesomewhat more than the minimum called for in the codes. This, in fact, ought to bethe normal case, the tolerable probabilities envisaged by the codes being reachedonly on occasions when the advantage to be gained by compromising safety in aparticular choice is worthwhile. Maximum freedom in design becomes possible onlywhen safety can be included and adequately treated as a design consideration.

This philosophy can be associated quite closely with the present situation instructural design. It is now obvious that no practical set of restrictions can guaranteecomplete structural safety. It is also fairly clear that design codes, applied withoutthought, are inadequate. A satisfactory compromise is only obtained by the applicationof a design code in the hands of a competent professional. The design code reflectsthe best general guide that can be produced from the cumulative experience of theprofessional group which developed it. The professional consultant must be furtherconcerned with the specific design case and must introduce his own knowledge andjudgment in dealing with any new or unusual features.

Dato’ Prof. Ir. Dr. Wahid bin OmarPresidentBOARD OF ENGINEERS MALAYSIA

Publication Calendar

Announcement

The following list is the Publication Calendarfor the year 2006 and 2007.While we normally seekcontributions from experts foreach special theme, we arealso pleased to accept articlesrelevant to themes listed.

Please contact the Editor orthe Publication Officer inadvance if you would like tomake such contributions or todiscuss details and deadlines.

December 2006: ENVIRONMENTMarch 2007: AGRICULTUREJune 2007: WASTESeptember 2007: POWER

We are a Malaysian based specialist consulting company providing

consulting and project management services in the design,

development, construction and fit-out of Data Centres, Control Rooms

and Command Centres.

Our skills and expertise have been deployed in several prestigious and

high-end technology facilities in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and the

Middle East. We seek dynamic and motivated individuals to join us as

partners.

Position and Scope

1. Consultant / Engineer, Mechanical Services

2. Consultant / Engineer, Electrical Services

� Provide engineering design and consulting services in Mechanical and

Electrical services for Data Centres, Control Rooms, Command Centres

and Call Centres

� Provide Project Management / Supervision services

� Develop and validate design documentation, specifications and Drawings.

Pre-requisites

� Degree in Electrical / Mechanical Engineering, preferably a Professional

Engineer.

� Minimum 5 years experience in project execution and design experience in

M&E projects

� Conversant with Computers and working knowledge of AutoCad

� Willing to work outside office hours when the need arises.

Interested candidates are invited to apply online, fax or call for an appointment.

C2 Consult Sdn Bhd37A Jalan Bukit Desa 5, Taman Bukit Desa

Off Jalan Klang Lama, 58100 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: +603 79804702 Fax: +603 79803795

Email : [email protected] or

Call Ow Yong MC (+6019 331 9887)

International Energy Conferencefor Sustainable Asia

Date: 26 - 28 November 2006

Venue: Sunway Pyramid Convention Centre, Kuala Lumpur

Jointly Organised by:AAET Asean Academy of Engineering and Technology

The Associated Chinese Chambers ofCommerce and Industry of Malaysia

CPD Hours: 16 hours for Day 2,3 & 4

EVEN

T C

ALE

ND

AR

ASME SECTION VIIIPressure Vessel: Design Fabrication,Inspection, Flaw Detection & Repair

30th Oct - 3rd Nov 2006(Monday to Friday – 5 Days)

CPD Points – 30 Hrs

Time: 9am – 5pm

Venue: Boulevard Hotel, Mid Valley, Kuala Lumpur

Contact: EDS AsiaMs. Low/Ms. Huda (Tel: 03-2287 2977)

The Board of Engineers Malaysiawishes all readers

Selamat Hari RayaAidil Fitri

&

Happy Deepavali

Selamat Hari RayaAidil Fitri

&

Happy Deepavali

The Board of Engineers Malaysiawishes all readers

T H E I N G E N I E U R

Structural Concrete Design:Should BS 8110 Be ReplacedBy Eurocode 2?

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By Wahid Omar, Assoc. Prof., Faculty of Civil Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Skudai

A long period of Britishcolonisation resulted inMalaysia inheriting many

aspects of engineering practices fromthe British. After almost 50 years ofindependence, Malaysia still verysignificantly relies on the British codesin design and construction practices.The earlier generations of Malaysianengineers had been very familiar withCP 114 and CP 110 and the presentgeneration is comfortably using BS8110. In bridge design BS 153 and laterBS 5400 are the main references usedby local engineers. The dependency onBritish codes went to the extent that,

With effect from 2010, BS 8110 (1), the British code for the structural use of concrete, will bewithdrawn to give way to the full implementation of Eurocodes in the United Kingdom. Theshifting to Eurocodes is the result of a long term effort to harmonise the structural design andconstruction practices throughout all countries in the European Union (EU) which was firstinitiated in 1974.

The publication of the final version of Eurocode 2 (EC 2), BS EN 1992-1-1:2004, with a full title ofEurocode 2: Design of Concrete Structures, Part 1-1: General Rules for buildings, in 2004 by theBritish Standard Institution (BSI) and similar publications in other EU countries, signifies thatthe shifting to EC 2 is now confirmed. Although many other parts of Eurocodes that are relatedto EC 2 are still at the drafting stage and yet to be published in the final document, thedevelopment in the UK clearly indicates that there will be no turning back. The use of EC 2 will bemandatory in 2010 after a period of about 10 years of familiarisation in which EC 2 is encouragedto be used voluntarily in design work parallel with BS 8110.

How should Malaysia especially engineers react to the development in the UK? The followingcan be the alternatives:

(a) Continue to use BS 8110 and do nothing about the change in the UK(b) Consider code of practice from other countries such as USA, Australia or Japan(c) Develop our own code of practice(d) Follow the development in the UK and adopt EC 2

This article discusses the issues above and puts forward some thoughts for reflections amongcivil engineers in Malaysia. Some detail aspects of EC 2 are also presented as in the author’sopinion it will be a good early exposure for local engineers.

it was stated in the Malaysian UniformBuilding By Law (UBBL) that thedesign and construction of Malaysianbuildings shall comply with Malaysianor equivalent British codes.

At the level of tertiary educationin Malaysia, the teaching of designcourses in the Civil Engineeringprogramme, to the author’s knowledgeis based on British codes and for thedesign of structural concrete, BS 8110is the main reference used. In designand construction practices, perhapsmore than 80% of local engineers andconsultants carry out their work basedon BS 8110. Government agencies such

as local authorities are more familiarwith the British codes.

IMPLICATIONS OF BS 8110WITHDRAWAL

The scenario presented aboveshows that there will be a huge impactin Malaysia with the withdrawal ofBS 8110. There will be wide-rangingimplications that will affect almost thewhole segment of the design andconstruction industry. Below are someof the scenarios that may happen foreach of the alternatives mentionedabove:

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T H E I N G E N I E U R 7

� Continue with BS 8110

This will certainly save a lot ofresources. One can imagine theresources in terms of money,manpower and time that are requiredto shift to another code. Judgingfrom the above scenario, shiftingfrom BS 8110 to a different code willinvolve a total change in the designpractice and a major re-educatingprocess for engineers and otherrelated parties. It will require hugeresources.

Continuing with BS 8110 meansthat engineers and authorities willcontinue with the present practiceand maintain the status quo.However the question to be asked is:Can we survive with the continuinguse of BS 8110? It should be realisedthat eventually BS 8110 will beobsolete as there will be noupgrading of the code once EC 2 isfully adopted in the UK. Continuingwith BS 8110, Malaysian engineersmay risk losing to internationalcompetitors in that we may produceuneconomic designs.

Thus, the saving in resources bynot shifting may not be enough tocompensate for the loss incurred inthe long run in the form of businessopportunities and economic benefitsof the global market. Malaysia has avery small domestic market and tosustain and survive, local engineersand consultants are expected toventure in the global market. Fromanother angle, globalisation bringsinternational consultants to dobusiness in Malaysia. They may havethe advantage of designs based on a

more advanced code of practice andconsequently will be morecompetitive than local consultants.

Continuing with BS 8110 meansthat there will be no changes in thecurriculum of local universities andthe future local graduate engineerswill only be familiar with BS 8110.This will lead to a point whereMalaysian engineers will eventuallybe isolated from global competitionand the cost and consequences willbe unbearable to the country’seconomy.

� Adopt Other Countries’ Codes

The concern here is that shiftingto codes other than EC 2 may requireas much resources and effort, if notmore than that needed if Malaysiaadopts EC 2. Unless the chosen code,in terms of its technical advancementand standing among international

codes, are much more superior toEC 2 and BS 8110, the move can beconsidered as unwise.

Familiarity with British codesamong most Malaysian engineersmakes it extremely difficult to switchto another code that has no historicalrelationshipwith us. British codessuch as BS 8110 is widely practicedin Malaysia. Besides the code itself,many other documents andreferences have relationships withthe British codes.

� Develop Our Own Codeof Practice

Before one thinks of doing this,one has to scrutinise many facts.Perhaps the most important fact toexamine is whether Malaysia hasenough and relevant experts todevelop the structural concrete designstandards. Previous experience hasshown that when we tried to developMalaysian concrete design code, MS1195; it ended up with almost a totaladoption of BS 8110.

A good standard needs to bedeveloped based on extensiveresearch and observations. Lack ofresearch is a very well acknowledgedfact in Malaysia. Observations madeare seldom properly (readscientifically) investigated andreported. In many situations, eventhose investigated, the reports wouldnot be easily available. Properdocumentation and record keeping forfuture reference is not yet widelypracticed. In this circumstances, workto develop a good code will be

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extremely difficult. Another issue iswhether we are willing to invest asubstantial amount of money for thedevelopment of standards. The currentpolicy shows that effort to developstandards in Malaysia are more on avoluntary basis. The policy would notbe able to attract or encourage enoughexperts to participate in codedevelopment.

� Follow the Development in theUK and Adopt EC 2

It seems this is the most viableoption available under the presentcircumstances, although some peoplemay think differently. For someengineers this option shows that wewill never be ahead of others, as far asthe design practice is concerned. Atthis point of time, prolonging thediscussion on this issue will not bringany benefit and lead us nowhere.Changes and something more practicalshould be done rather than discussinga topic that may result in fingerpointing.

As mentioned above, for Malaysianengineers to participate and benefitfrom globalisation and to have theability to sustain competitiveness inthe global market, the design practiceshould be based on the most advancedknowledge. In the near future, BS 8110could not provide this need and themost appropriate means available isto adopt EC 2.

The whole range of structuralEurocodes was developed jointly byexperts throughout countries in theEU for a period of 30 years and isregarded as one of the mosttechnically advanced code in theworld(2). Recently, EC 2 has beenaccepted as meeting ISO standardsand this opens greater opportunity forthe code to be accepted worldwidealongside other well known codes.

Once Malaysia decides to adoptEC 2, the next course of action is onlyto focus on its implementaion.Strategies need to be properlyplanned and efficiently executed.Some proposed strategies areoutlined elsewhere(3). As far as theinformation and supportingdocuments such as guidelines inusing the code are concerned,sufficient documents are availableand can be taken directly from the

8

UK. Since the approach in UK isusually to compare the EC 2 with BS8110, the way the subjects are explainedand discussed should be easilyadaptable to Malaysian engineers.

One distinct feature in EC 2 whichis a great advantage to Malaysia is theprovision of National Annex. In theNational Annex, different countries areallowed to use their own values forcertain design parameters and safetyfactors to reflect differences in climaticconditions and also recognise that thelevel of safety in a country remains thecountry’s prerogative. National Annexprovides flexibility and opportunity andshould be fully utilised to make EC 2relevant and used in Malaysia.

EUROCODE 2 IN BRIEF

EC 2 are part of the whole rangeof structural Eurocodes that have beendeveloped by EU countries andintended to harmonise the design andconstruction practices within EU. Theharmonisation provides equalopportunities to all engineers,consultants and contractors topractice within all the countries in theEU. It took almost 30 years ofdevelopment and is claimed to be themost technically advanced in theworld.

There are 10 design standards ofEurocode to be used in constructionas listed in Table 1.

Besides those listed in Table 1,there are many other parts ofEurocodes connected to EC 2 and mayrequire cross-referencing during theprocess of design and construction.One example is BS EN 206, a standardfor concrete materials. The existenceof many parts makes the process ofshifting to EC 2 look rathercomplicated, especially during theearly stage of familiarisation.

Only BS EN 1990: Basis ofstructural design, has been producedin a single part. This basic document(occasionally known as EC 0)contains principles and requirementsfor safety, serviceability and

BS EN 1990: Eurocode: Structural safety, serviceabilityBasis of structural design and durability

BS EN 1991, Eurocode 1: Actions (loads) on structuresActions on structures

BS EN 1992, Eurocode 2: Concrete

BS EN 1993, Eurocode 3: Steel

BS EN 1994, Eurocode 4: Composite Design and detailing

BS EN 1995, Eurocode 5: Timber

BS EN 1996, Eurocode 6: Masonry

BS EN 1999, Eurocode 9: Aluminum

BS EN 1997, Eurocode 7:Geotechnical design BS EN 1998, Eurocode 8:

BS EN 1998, Eurocode 8: Seismic design

Seismic design

Table 1: Eurocodes in Construction

Eurocodes Contents/Description

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durability of structures. EC 1consists of four parts, and part 1 isfurther subdivided into sevensections. Details are listed in Table2. Some parts are yet to be publishedby BSI.

EC 2 consists of different partsas listed in Table 3. The focuscurrently will only be on theprincipal part; Part 1.1 which is tosupersede BS 8110 Part 1 and 2.Among the benefits outlined by theUK Concrete Centre in using EC 2are (4):

� The new Eurocodes are claimedto be the most technicallyadvanced codes in the world

� Eurocode 2 should result in moreeconomic structures than BS8110

� The Eurocodes are logical andorganised to avoid repetition

� Eurocode 2 is less restrictive thanBS 8110

� Eurocode 2 is more extensivethan BS 8110

Below are some of the notabledifferences between EC 2 and BS8110(4):

� The arrangement of chapters inEC 2 are generally laid out to

give advice on the basis ofphenomena (e.g. bending, shearetc) rather than by member typesas in BS 8110 (e.g. beams, slabs,columns etc).

� In EC 2 ‘load’ is called ‘action’.Dead and live loads will appearas permanent and variableactions respectively in EC 2.

� Perhaps the most significantchange that may affect theMalaysian designers is that EC 2measures concrete strength basedon cylinder and all designexpressions are developed oncylinder strength.

� EC 2 adopts a tradit ionalEuropean approach in designwhere engineers are expected torefer to other documents suchdesign guides or textbook inorder to apply the designprinciples of the code. As aresult, EC 2 does not providederived formulae (e .g. forbending, only the details of thestress block are expressed). Forexample, those familiar withClause 3.4.4.4 of BS 8110: Part1, would not find the samedesign expressions in EC 2.

� Unlike BS8110 in which theguidelines provided are limitedfor normal strength concrete,higher strengths of concrete are

covered by Eurocode 2, up toc lass C90/105 . However,because the characteristics ofhigher strength concrete aredifferent, some expressions inthe code are adjusted for classesabove C50/60.

� In shear design of beams, themajor difference is that EC 2 doesnot fix the angle of diagonalshear crack at 45o as proposedby BS 8110. The method used inEC 2 is known as the variablestrut inclination method. Themethod allows engineers tochoose the optimum angle inorder to achieve the mosteconomic design.

� The punching shear checks arecarried at 2d from the face of thecolumn and for a rectangularcolumn, the perimeter is roundedat the corners.

� Serviceability checks can still becarried out using ‘deemed tosatisfy’ span to effective depthrules similar to BS 8110.However, if a more detailedcheck is required, Eurocode 2guidance varies from the rules inBS 8110 Part 2.

� The rules for determining theanchorage and lap lengths aremore complex than the simpletables in BS 8110. Eurocode 2

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Eurocode 1 Title Standards supersededBS EN 1991–1–1 Densities, self-weight and imposed loads BS 6399: Part 1 and BS 648BS EN 1991–1–2 Actions on structures exposed to fireBS EN 1991–1–3 Snow loads BS 6399: Part 2BS EN 1991–1–4 Wind actions BS 6399: Part 3BS EN 1991–1–5 Thermal actionsBS EN 1991–1–6 Actions during executionBS EN 1991–1–7 Accidental actionsBS EN 1991–2 Traffic loads on bridges BD 37/01BS EN 1991–3 Actions induced by cranes and machineryBS EN 1991–4 Silos and tanks

Table 2: Eurocode 1

Eurocode 2 Title Standards supersededBS EN 1992–1–1 General rules for buildings BS 8110: Parts 1 and 2BS EN 1992–1–2 Fire resistance of concrete structures BS 8110: Parts 1, Table 3.2 Part 2, section 4BS EN 1992-2 Bridges BS 5400: Part 4BS EN 1992–3 Liquid-retaining and containment structures BS 8007

Table 3: Eurocode 2

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(1) British Standard Institution, BS8110, Part 1, Structural Use ofConcrete, 1997, UnitedKingdom.

(2) Implementation of theStructural Eurocodes, TheStructural Engineer, UK, August3, 2004

(3) Wahid Omar, Updates onEurocode 2 and Preparing for theImplementation in Malaysia,Paper submitted August 2008 toJURUTERA, Bulletin TheInstitution of EngineersMalaysia

(4) Narayanan, R.S., Brooker, O.,Introduction to Eurocodes: Howto design concrete structuresusing Eurocode 2, The ConcreteCentre, UK, 2005 (Internetversion)

(5) Moss, R., Webster, R., EC 2 andBS 8110 Compared, TheStructural Engineer, UnitedKingdom, March 16, 2004BEM

considers the effects of, amongstother things, the position of barsduring concreting, the shape ofthe bar and cover.

National Annex

EC 2 has a supplementarydocument known as National Annexwhich allows the use of alternativevalues that suit individual countries.Malaysia should take full advantageof this as there are many designparameters taken directly fromforeign codes that are usually notvery suitable to our environment.Concrete cover, which is related todurability and fire requirement; andtime-dependent deformation ofconcrete, such as creep andshrinkage, for example, may requirelocal design values. I t is anopportunity for local researchers tocarry out study on these topics andother areas.

THE CHALLENGES

It is admitted that many moreaspects should be discussed to assistMalaysian engineers to understand

the EC 2, but this will be done inother publications. In short EC 2 issimply a design guide and engineershave options to exercise their ownengineering judgement based ontheir level of competency inengineering knowledge. Thechallenges are that engineers areexpected to be more competent,have deep understanding of thesubject and be fully prepared toacquire new knowledge in order togain the maximum benefit of EC 2.

CONCLUSION

It is crucial for Malaysia todecide its destiny in response to thewithdrawal of BS 8110. The earlierthe decision can be made, the betterfor engineers and other partiesinvolved in construction.Experience in the UK has shown thatthe shifting to Eurocode requirestremendous effort and hugeresources. It is important for theauthorities to work closely withprofessional bodies as the withdrawalof BS 8110 may cause very significantimpact not only to engineers but tothe whole economy.

REFERENCES

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The Way Forward: ConstructionIndustry Master Plan 2006-2015

12

By Gerald Sundaraj, Construction Industry Development Board

The construction industry is oneof the productive sectors thatconstantly contribute to the

economy. However, its growth ratesfluctuate between extremities thatvary from as high as 21.1% in 1995to as low as -24% in 1998. Since the1990s, the contribution of theconstruction sector to the GDP alsofluctuated albeit at a more stable ratevarying from a high of 4.8% in 1997to an estimated low of 2.7% in 2005.This shows that the demand forconstruction is highly sensitive todevelopments in other sectors of theeconomy. It indicates that, sinceconstruction involves long terminvestment and long term risks, itwill be the first to be suspended atthe first sign of an economicdownturn, and the last to be revivedduring an economic upturn leadingto long periods of recession for theconstruction sector whenever aneconomic cycle is experienced. Thisis merely good business sense.

Since the financial crisis in 1998,the construction sector growth ratehas not reached anywhere near thepre-1998 growth rates reaching itshighest at 2.1% in 2001 and decliningto 2.0% in 2002, 1.5% in 2003 andinto a contraction of -1.5% in 2004estimated to improve to -1.1% in2005. This was at the back of market-price GDP growths of around 4.4%,5.4% and 7.1% for 2002, 2003, 2004respectively. It is obvious that theconstruction sector has been in thedoldrums for quite some time.Quarterly reports showed that theconstruction industry has been inrecession since the second quarter of2004, reaching its minimum of -2.6%in the third and forth quarters of 2004and has remained negative up to thefourth quarter of 2005 albeit at alesser contraction rate.

Our analysis showed that the sub-sectors that contributed to theconstruction industry’s contributionfor 2004 and 2005 were residential,commercial and infrastructure withthe rest contributing marginally. Interms of value, residential,commercial and infrastructuregenerated 30%, 12% and 40%respectively in 2004, and 30%, 16%and 31% respectively in 2005. Privatesector demand constituted 74% and66% of the market value in 2004 and2005 respectively with the remaindercoming from the public sector.

The construction sector does notcreate its own demand. The demandfor construction is a derived demandi.e. demand is derived from everyother economic sector, and from boththe public as well as the privatesectors. The demand can generally beclassified as wealth creation demandfrom economic needs forinfrastructure and commercialbuildings, and quality of life demandsuch as needs for housing. Demandcan also come from foreign markets

for the same reasons as domesticdemand. However, fulfilling foreignmarket demands does not bring withit the multiplier effect to the economyas domestic demand does, althoughcontribution to the constructionindustry performance may still beaccrued. That being the case, whydoes the construction industry notperform well when other sectors areperforming reasonably well in the lastthree to four years? The answer liesin the fact that a large part of thedemand for construction came fromthe public sector in terms ofinfrastructure projects. As theseprojects are governed by theGovernment budget their availabilityis finite and limited to the amountplanned every five years.Unfortunately for construction in the8th Malaysia Plan some projects hadto be implemented earlier in order torejuvenate the economy, particularlyunder the Stimulus Package in 2003.As a result, less projects were left tothe end of the 8th Malaysia Planresulting in a dearth of public sector

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projects at the end of the five-yearplan.

This argument is furtherstrengthened by the fact that, as theeconomy expands, demand forquality of life commodity, such ashousing, also expands resulting in thedominating demand for residentialsub-sector for both 2004 and 2005.Demand for the wealth creatinginfrastructure, consequently, becamelatent demand since it had to becurbed as allocations are exhaustedunder the 8th Malaysia Plan.

If demand for the constructionsector is derived demand and, as such,to a large extent, out of the controlof the construction industry, can wedevelop a Master Plan for it? Theanswer is yes. There are twofundamental dimensions that must bedeveloped for the constructionindustry to enhance its role, and evenits relevancy to the economy. The twodimensions are:

(a) Increase contribution byincreasing market size in new andunexplored developing foreignmarkets.

(b) Improve productivity, efficiencyand cost-effectiveness of thedomestic construction industry inorder to provide comparativeadvantage to the economy

It is for these reasons that theConstruction Industry Master Plan(CIMP) was developed by the industry,for the industry.

The CIMP was developed toovercome some of the weaknessesthat were inherent in the constructionindustry before this. They include,inter alia, quality deficiencies, over-dependency on foreign labour leadingto a leak in the economy as a resultof repatriation of earnings by foreignlabour as well as numerous ensuingsocial and health problems, severalmajor catastrophes, and the lowproductivity of the constructionindustry. The construction industrygave itself ten years, from 2006 until2015, to rectify the weaknesses andto improve the industry’sperformance as well as its image. Thefollowing are some of the mainfeatures of the Construction IndustryMaster Plan:

Vision: The Malaysianconstruction industry shall be aworld class, innovative andknowledgeable global solutionprovider

Mission: To be a dynamic,product ive and res i l ientenabling sector, supportingsustainable wealth creation andvalue creation, driven bytechnolog ica l ly-pervas ive ,creative and cohesive constructioncommunity.

Seven Strategic Thrusts wereidentified:

1. Integrate the constructionindustry value chain to enhanceproductivity and efficiency

2. Strengthen the constructionindustry’s image.

3. Strive for the highest standardof quality, occupational safetyand health, and environmentalpractices

4. Develop human resourcecapabilities and capacities inthe construction industry

5. Innovate through research anddevelopment and adopt newconstruction methods

6. Leverage on information andcommunication technology inthe construction industry

7. Benefit from globalisationincluding the export ofconstruction products andservices

Each of the strategic thrusts mustbe relevant and contribute to the twodimensions that form the crux of theneeds of the CIMP. The rationales areas follows:

� Strategic Thrust 1: By integratingthe value chain of construction,productivity enhancement can begenerated as the various partiesthat make up the value chain ofconstruction can integratetheir functions and save timeboth during development aswell as during modifications.Communication is also facilitatedthrough the integration of valuechain. The early identification ofmembers of the project team willalso bring about greaterunderstanding of the client’s andproject’s needs. Further, if theintegration were to includepublic sector functions, such asapproval and issuance ofcertificates, the wholedevelopment process can beimproved. Leveraging on thepowers of ICT, these processescan be managed in a productiveand effective manner.

� Strategic Thrust 2: The poorimage of the constructionindustry arises out of a numberof weaknesses in the industry andincludes issues such as poorpaymaster, a dirty, difficult anddangerous industry, and a sunsetindustry. The image prevents it

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from attracting the best to itsfore. To improve the industry’sperformance attracting the besthuman capital is essential. Toimprove the image of the industryall the weaknesses must berectified. A respectable image ofthe industry will also attract morelocals to join the industry leadingto a reduction of repatriatedfunds by foreign workers.

� Strategic Thrust 3: Poor quality,accidents, and destruction of theenvironment have high costs toboth the firms undertaking theproject as well as to society. Thesecosts may be hidden or they maybe real. Environmental cost isespecially heavy to thesociety if not addressed.In order to nurture adynamic constructionindustry these issuesmust be given priority asthey affect theproductivity of theindustry. Thedevelopment of highquality industry playerswill also create a barrierto entry in the marketespecially if suchattributes are taken intoconsideration whenawarding projects.

� Strategic Thrust 4:Construction depends toa large extent on humanskills. Even technology-intensiveconstruction techniques dependon the skills of its workforce toutilise technology effectively. Assuch, the development of humanresource is one of the mostcritical aspects of improving theproductivity of the constructionindustry.

� Strategic Thrust 5: Research anddevelopment is an essentialelement if we want to maintainour lead in foreign markets as wellas develop new products orprocesses that can improve theproductivity of construction. Inforeign markets any newconstruction methodology thatprovides competitive advantages

are easily copied by competitorsespecially those from the hostcountries. To keep ahead of thecompetitors, new competitivetechnology must be developed.New products and new processesare also needed to providecomparative advantage toMalaysia’s economy that dependson the construction industry toprovide the assets for productionand other wealth creationactivities. If new methods and newmaterials are able to provide cost-effective solutions, they shallcontribute to the competitivenessof the local construction industryand to the economy as these willresult in productivity increase.

� Strategic Thrust 6: The powersof ICT have, as yet, not been fullytapped to benefit the constructionindustry, not only in Malaysia,but all over the world. There aremany more areas in theconstruction industry that cancapitalise on the powers of ICTand improve its performance.Currently, even digitalsubmission for approval by localauthorities is at an experimentalstage. Integration of the varioussoftwares needed in theconstruction industry to achieveinter-operability is still beingresearched. Utilising the digitalworld to achieve mass purchaseof construction resources has also

not been implemented. These areall activities that will improveboth the supply chainmanagement as well as theintegration of the value chainleading to improvement inproductivity.

The use of ICT will also allowthe industry to traverse the digitalworld. It will provide opportunityfor outsourcing and off-shoring.At the same time it allows for theformation of virtual partnershipwithout a need to be physicallyclose. Many projects are securedthrough the Internet nowadays.As such, focusing on thedevelopment of ICT inconstruction can also provide an

opportunity to expand theconstruction market as wellas the market of all theservices and products relatedto it.

� Strategic Thrust 7:Globalisation is both a threatand an opportunity for theMalaysian constructionindustry. Not only does itopen doors to other markets,but it also requires that weopen our doors to others. Inthis context it is imperativethat Malaysia’s constructionservice providers maintaintheir edge andcompetitiveness to stave offgreater challenges from otherservice providers from all

over the world and also tocapture opportunities in otherforeign markets. This strategicthrust will facilitate theexpansion of the constructionmarket as well as the contributionto the GDP. However, asmentioned above, foreignprojects do not provide themultiplier effect to the economyas much as local projects do.

At the implementation stage, 20recommendations have beenforwarded. These recommendationswere the result of consultations withthe industry. Each of the strategicthrusts has been fully analysed andthe process required to achieve it isformulated in the recommendations.

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As a prelude to the successfulimplementation of CIMP, eight CriticalSuccess Factors were identified. Theyare as follows:

For productivity: Continuousimprovement throughout the valuechain from inception to operationto facilities management.

For quality: Emphasis on qualityin the use of manpower, materials,equipment and methods adopted.

For human resource: Creation ofcompetent workers through skills-upgrading and knowledgeenhancement.

For knowledge: Sharing of bestpractices to upgrade the level ofknowledge of the constructioncommunity

For innovation: Continuousresearch and development that isvital to introduce new and creativemethods, materials, tooling andequipment (i.e. constructiontechnology)

For environmental practice:Sustainable practices are the keysto the well-being of futuregenerations.

For industry sustainability:Generating new opportunities bothin the domestic and overseasmarkets.

For professionalism: Enhancementof professionalism is key to theimprovement of the image of theindustry.

Twenty-two industry-wide keyperformance indicators have beenrecommended. However, it may benecessary to translate the industry-wide key performance indicators toactivity key performance indicatorsto aid implementers in monitoringprogress.

The CIMP also comes with 56recommended action plans for the 20recommendations mentioned earlierand identified the parties responsiblefor their implementation as well asthe milestone for each action. The

organisational framework forimplementation as well as the phasesand schedules for implementationwere also included.

The CIMP did not try to identifyprojects for the construction sector.This was never the purpose of thePlan. As mentioned earlier, theconstruction industry survives onderived demand and is not in controlof it. The opportunities for theconstruction industry from 2006 to2015 come from the 9th and 10th

Malaysia Plan and the status of theeconomy during that period. Based onthe 9th Malaysia Plan we expect thedemand therein, and the demand insubsequent Plans, to be substantial.Under the 9th Malaysia Plan, thestrategy to create Regional GrowthCentres, the need for UrbanTransportation, the introduction ofprivate finance initiatives are someexamples of exciting developmentthat promise to push demand forconstruction beyond expectation. TheGovernment’s move to back upprivatisation with PFI will transforminfrastructure into a commodity andcreate more business opportunity.

Ours is not toprovide projects.Ours is but toprepare the industryto undertake thetasks and to bearthe trust expectedof them honestlyand successfully.

What the CIMPcan do is tosupplement thed o m e s t i cc o n s t r u c t i o ndemand withforeign demand asthe CIMP hasidentified activitiesto develop a moreconcerted andeffective strategy toexport constructionservices. What thePlan aims to do inthis context is toprepare theM a l a y s i a nc o n s t r u c t i o nindustry for a morepenetrative global

role. It does not promise that projectswill be secured. What it does promiseis that future contractors will be moreprepared and more confident toundertake projects overseas.

What the CIMP sets out to do isto make the domestic constructionservice more productive, moreeffective, more technologically-pervasive and less labour-intensive,and more confident to venture beyondour shores, and thus become moreresilient. By doing these we hope tobe a more effective contributor to theMalaysian economy. As stated earlierthe demand for construction isderived from other sectors. Putting itdifferently, we provide the foundationfor other sectors to build theiractivities, be they manufacturing,mining, agriculture, tourism, orservices. If we are able to deliver ourfunctions efficiently, cost-effectively,and on time, then our clients fromthe other economic sectors willbenefit from our endeavour. Thenation, of course, is the finalbeneficiary. That, in a nutshell, is whatthis first ever CIMP for Malaysia setsout to achieve and to deliver.

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BEM


By Hooi Yoke Meng, Deputy Director, Architect Department, City Hall, Kuala Lumpur.

Being the premier city andcapital of a nation thataspires to be fully developed

by the year 2020, Kuala Lumpur’svision, goals, function and growthmust contribute strongly to theattainment of the ideals embodiedin the nation’s Vision 2020.

The Vision of Kuala Lumpur isconsistent with the national visioni.e.

“KUALA LUMPUR – A WORLDCLASS CITY”

Kuala Lumpur will strive toestablish the highest quality living,working and business environmentbenchmarked against the best in theworld.

As a world class city, KualaLumpur must ensure that theinfrastructures, social andcommunity facilities and amenitiesmeet the highest expectations of itsresidents, visitors and investors. TheKuala Lumpur Structure Plan 2020is the blueprint that will guide thedevelopment of Kuala Lumpur forthe next 20 years.

PUBLIC TOILETS

The provision of public toiletsprovides a form of infrastructurenecessary for the enjoyment of thecity by visitors and residents. Thiscan also makes a significant impacton the comfort of individuals andfamilies who visit public spaces inthe city and their perception of thecity as a desirable place to visit.

City Hall Kuala Lumpurrecognizes the vital contributiontoilet provision and a well managedservice can make, both to the qualityof life for residents and to the imageKuala Lumpur makes on visitors.

This in turn impacts on the localeconomy.

THE CHALLENGES

The challenges of public toiletprovision are:(1) Need: Changing demographic

and human activity in the cityimpose a greater demand forpublic toilets.

(2) Image: The necessity to provideclean, user-friendly, accessibleand safe toilet environmentwith a high standard of hygieneand maintenance.

(3) Ethics: To raise users’ etiquetteand to motivate change in thepsychological ethics andattitude of users.

KUALA LUMPUR’S PUBLICTOILET STRATEGY

To meet the challenges of toiletprovision, a public toilet strategywas developed for the city of KualaLumpur. The Kuala Lumpur Public

Toilet Strategy establishes thefoundation and direction for theprovision and development ofpublic toilets, design, managementand maintenance, and thedevelopment of a “Clean toiletCulture’ in the next five years.

The strategy identifies thedeficiencies in the overall networkas well as incorporates user’s needsin the existing toilet provision andmaintenance.

The strategy also identifies whatadditional facilities may be requiredto establish an efficient networkaddressing the needs and desires ofresidents and visitors, and the worksrequired to upgrade and replaceexiting facilities. Generally, thescope of the strategies confined tothe clear responsibility of City HallKuala Lumpur.

PRESENT POLICIES ANDSCENARIOS

Present City Hall Kuala Lumpurpolicies promote the ‘evening

The Current Trends And Development OfPublic Toilets In Kuala Lumpur

Street Toilet, Architect Department, City Hall Kuala Lumpur

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economy’, the ‘almost’ 24 hour city,tourism, and public transport usage.All these have increased the need formore toilets. The public is notautomatically entitled or able to usethe toilets in public premises,drinking places or restaurants. Accessmay be restricted to customers onlyand children may be barred fromsome premises. Muslims may bewary of using toilets in premiseswhere alcohol or non-halal food isserved. Although the monorail hastoilet facilities, the facilities arelocated inside the station, accessibleonly for commuters and often notaccessible to disabled. In some of thelight rail transport stations, there areno toilet facilities at all.

Women are particularly in needof public toilets as they are the oneswho are out and about in the daytime, travelling on public transportmore than men and oftenaccompanied by children, the elderlyand disabled. Yet there is less publicprovision for public toilets forwomen than men.

CURRENT TRENDSAND DEVELOPMENT

Simply providing the facilitiesdoes not address the needs of users.An important part of providing the

facilities is to assess the type of users,suitability of locations and provideappropriately facilities.

The current trends anddevelopment of public toilet in KualaLumpur are to reflect:� Wide range of users.� Residents.� Tourists� Commuters.� Users of associated facilities e.g.

public parks.� Women.� Disabled.

Even though there are a numberof different user groups, there arebasic requirements for all of them.These requirements include:� Safe, hygienic facilities� Privacy whist using the facility� Sense of safety (most facilities

have a caretaker)� Cleanliness.� Facilities for Muslim users.� Mobility of users’ group.� Significance of tourism.� Hierarchy of toilet provisions

The development of a hierarchyof toilet provision would enablefacilities to be targeted to an area’sneeds. Both spatial (geographicallocation) and temporal (patterns andpeaks of usage) consideration are

taken into account in developing ahierarchy of provision to cover thewhole city.

The central area is the main focusof the city’s business and retailactivities and the part tourists arelikely to visit. The main transportroutes radiate out from the citycentre, railway, Light Rail Transport(LRT) and bus stations being thegateway to the rest of the city. TheMonorail runs through the heart ofthe city’s tourist belts and shoppingoutlets. It is within the vicinity ofthese areas that our priority locationsof public toilets are. Other areas arepublic parks where there are a lot ofusers during the evenings andweekends.

Directional signage will beprovided at 100 metres from thelocation of the toilets. A City ToiletMap will also be provided for theconvenience of users.

City Hall Kuala Lumpur is alsolooking into including public toiletsin planning requirements for newdevelopments. Under the KualaLumpur Planning Act 267, 1982,there is no requirement that publictoilets be included in town planningpolicy. Recently, City Hall KualaLumpur succeeded in getting a toiletprovision for a ‘quicker planningapproval’. In this case, City Hall KualaLumpur entered into an agreementwith the developer.

WHY ADDRESS TOURISM?

One of the strategies of the KualaLumpur Structure Plan is to promoteKuala Lumpur as a tourist destinationand an international shoppingparadise. The provision of adequateand accessible toilet facilities willpromote Kuala Lumpur as a ‘touristfriendly’ city.

In commemoration of 50 yearsof nationhood, 2007 is designated as‘Visit Malaysia Year’ and the countryis expected to receive an increasedinflux of visitors. City Hall is alreadyimplementing the programme toprovide facilities such as themedlighting, pedestrian walkways, publictoilets and landscaping in touristareas and attractions.

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STREET TOILET PROGRAMME

Street toilets are toilets facilitiesplaced in central publicthoroughfares, footpaths, squaresand bus stops usually in open andwell lit areas. These types of toiletsare necessary to establish anefficient network of toilets alongfootpath links from transportstations like the monorail, light rail,bus stop, pedestrian crossings andcar parks.

Some 20 locations have beenidentified in the city centre’s touristattraction places, shopping outlets,near the vicinity of transportstations and bus stops. Between 12and 14 street toilets are expected tobe completed and commissioned bythe end of the year for ‘VisitMalaysia Year 2007’.

Two designs will be used. One isthe design done by the Architect’sDepartment of City Hall KualaLumpur and the other is designedand manufactured locally by aMalaysian sanitary ware companycalled the ‘Automatic Street Toilet’.

Since the footpaths are of limitedspace, the design from theArchitect’s Department consists of:� Two or three cubicles and a space

for a caretaker/cleaner� Facilities for the disabled

The ‘Automatic Street Toilet hasseveral unique features. Theyinclude:

� Two cubicles, one squatting bowltype, the other the sitting bowltype.

� Both bowls have sensor activatedflush.

� The sitting bowl cubicle isdisabled friendly and the bowlhas a ‘Automatic seat cleaner’.The seat is activated after everysingle user, sprayed with water,scrubbed and dried after eachuse. It is ‘break resistant and UVresistant’, complete withcontrolled built-in concealedbidet (for Muslim users).

� Both cubicles are complete witha ‘baby change station’ and a‘juvenile waiting seat’. (Women/Children Needs)

� High Tech Automatic SlidingDoor

� Hands free operating tap andhand dryer.

� Vanity top for putting shoppingbags, briefcases etc.

� Janitor’s kiosk� Coin Box Activated Door entry

with independent counter.� The walls of the toilets can be

lighted up for advertisementpurposes.

CONCLUSION

The vision and goals for KualaLumpur have been formulated withthe aim of creating a sustainablecity. Research has showed thatpublic toilet provision constitutes

the vital missing link of sustainableand accessible cities.

The current trends anddevelopment of public toiletsoutlined in the Kuala Lumpur PublicToilet Strategy is aimed towardsachieving the long term vision of‘Kuala Lumpur – A World Class City’.Any strategy is a ‘live’ documentthat will require revisions andmodifications as priorities andcircumstances change. Needs andusage also changes over time.

The current priority in the citycentre, around main shoppingoutlets and transportation stationsrepresents only part of the networkof public toilets to be provided inthe city of Kuala Lumpur. This is toaddress the present needs of tourists,shoppers and commuters.

As population grows, or moretourist belts are developed inKuala Lumpur, the need for moretoilets are inevitable. Althoughpresently toilet provision is theresponsibility of the City Council,City Hall Kuala Lumpur is lookinginto how the private sector canplay its role in delivering thisfacility in the future.

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Automatic Street Toilet, City Hall Kuala Lumpur

1. The Structure Plan 2020, CityHall Kuala Lumpur.

2. The Kuala Lumpur PublicToilet Strategy, City Hall KualaLumpur

3. TTA. Mountain toilet andtourist toilet.Proceedings ofWorld Toilet OrganisationConference, Taipei 2003.

4. Bichard J, Hanson J, Greed c.Access to the builtenvironment-barriers, chainsand missing link: review.London: University CollegeLondon, 2003.

5. ‘Automatic Street Toilet’: GohBah Huat Bhd, Malaysia.

6. Cavanagh S, Ware V: Atwomen’s convenience: ahandbook on the design ofwomen’s public toilets,London: Women’s DesignService 1996.

REFERENCES

BEM

Update

All construction workers currently involved in skill trades atthe construction sites are required to be certified by CIDBwith Sijil Kecekapan Kemahiran (SKK) for local workers andPerakuan Kemahiran Pekerja Asing Binaan (PKPA) for foreignworkers before 31 July 2006. Therefore all constructionworkers who are involved in the listed skill trades are requiredto register themselves with CIDB for the skill accreditationprocess.

All foreign construction workers who wish to renew theirVisit Pass (Temporary Employment) or PLKS with theDepartment of Immigration Malaysia after the fifth year inservice are also required to undertake CIDB skill assessmentand obtain the PKPA. The skill accreditation process issubsequently required to be undertaken every three yearsthereafter.

Foreign construction workers must apply to CIDB for theskill assessment not later than three months before the expiryof PLKS. CIDB has the right to reject any application whichdoes not meet this requirement or impose a penalty of RM200for every applicant.

1. Definition of Skilled Worker

1.1 As stated under Section 2 of ACT 520, a skilledconstruction worker means a person possessing theaccepted level of skill as determined by the Lembaga,of one or more trades as listed in the Third Schedule.

1.2 Thereby the accreditation of a person as a skilledconstruction worker is through the conferment ofthe SKK or PKPA.

2. Objectives of the Skilled WorkersAccreditation Programme

2.1 To ensure that only skilled workers are allowed toperform construction works that require skilledlabour.

2.2 To meet the requirements set out by the Departmentof Immigration Malaysia pertaining to the extensionof Visit Pass (Temporary Employment) for foreignconstruction workers.

2.3 To fulfill the Government’s objective in enhancingworkmanship and quality in construction.

3. Main Contractors’ Responsibilities

3.1 Main contractors must ensure that all their workersboth local and foreign are registered with CIDB andpossess the Green Card.

3.2 Main contractors must ensure that their skilledworkers possess the SKK or PKPA. Contractors are toforward their application for accreditation to CIDBand CIDB will then inform them of the date and placeof accreditation.

3.3 Main contractors must ensure that their foreignworkers who have been in Malaysia after the fifthyear undergo the accreditation and acquire the PKPAor return to their country of origin if they fail to doso.

3.4 Main contractors must ensure that theirsubcontractors’, nominated subcontractors’ and labouronly subcontractors’ workers fulfill the requirementsset out above (paragraph 3.1, 3.2 and 3.3)

4. Skill Trades

4.1 At the outset, CIDB have identified 12 trades for theaccreditation exercise as listed below.

5. Application for Accreditation

5.1 Application can be made at any CIDB offices bycompleting the application form.

5.2 The skills assessment will be conducted at AkademiBinaan Malaysia, accredited training centres and atworksites.

5.3 If contractors wish to accredit their workers for tradesother than those mentioned below, they may do soby contacting any CIDB offices.

6. Action Against Errant Main Contractors

6.1 Failure by Main Contractors in complying with thedirective will result in disciplinary action againstthem as provided under the Regulation forRegistration of Contractors (1995)-Regulation 15(1),LPIPM Act 520, 1994 which can result in theirregistration being revoked, suspended or withdrawn.

Implementation Of Skills Accreditation For LocalAnd Foreign Skilled Construction WorkersFrom Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB)


List of Main Skill Trades

1. Bricklayer2. Concretor3. Carpenter (Formwork)4. Plasterer5. Barbender6. Painter7. Building Internal Plumbing Work8. Sanitary Fittings Installation Work9. Building Wiring Installation10. Drywall Installation11. Pipe Reticulation Work12. Tiler

For further information, contact:Construction Industry Development Board MalaysiaTel: 03-2617 0317/318/319

Update

Malaysian Standard MS 2015: Public Toilets -Minimum Design Criteria


Objective: To assist in the provision of clean, hygienic, safeand convenient-to-use public toilet facilities of appropriatedesign and quality and to give guidance on the basic careand maintenance of the facilities.

Scope: This MS covers all public toilets whether found instand-alone structures or inside buildings. It coversstatutory requirements, design, location, number, type andquality. Guidance is given on the provision of public toiletsof various categories and adequacy, wherever they may belocated.

Use of this MS: This standard is intended for use by localauthorities, Government departments and other providersof public toilets, consultants, designers, builders, toiletfacility providers, toilet cleaning service provider and thosewho are not involved in the building industry.

Performance requirements: The function of public toilets isto provide facilities for the public to use in which they mayurinate, defecate, clean themselves, groom, performparenting needs and otherwise attend to bodily needs in aclean, secure, private and hygienic manner. Public toilets maybe exposed to the effects of the weather, external loads andpressures and ground movement. In addition, their structureand fittings may be subjected to vandalism. Public toiletsshall be designed to withstand weather, vandalism andundesired activities.

Number: Sufficient public toilets units shall be provided tomeet the requirements of the locality and the expectedgender ratio. One measure is to ensure there is no or minimumwaiting time before a toilet is available for use.

Basic requirements� Safe environment� Facilities with personal hygiene and privacy� Usable by all gender, age and parenting needs� Needs of Disabled persons and care givers are met� Convenient facilities and fittings� Construction of fittings that are structurally sound and

made from durable materials� Fittings are vandal resistant� Well lighted and good ventilation (natural or mechanical)

DESIGN GUIDENumber of toilet units: Determine the likely population, lengthof stay, arrival rate, the occupancy time, gender ratio, whether

all-gender or gender specific toilet facilities are to be providedand consider provision for expansion.

For short-term stay, the population at any point of time istotally dependent on the nature and the reason for stopping.Coach tours, for an example, typically allow 15 minutes to 30minutes for ‘comfort’ stops, but up to an hour at a scenic spotor other points of interest.

An indication of the likely number of people that may beexpected at a particular location may be obtained by studyingthe intended catchment area and by assessing various factorsincluding the following: traffic volumes (pedestrians andvehicular), car parks, shops, bus stops, taxi stands, touristattractions, sports and major entertainment venues,amusement parks and places of worship in association withthe level of use and associated seasonal peaks.

The arrival rate of the public at a toilet facility will bedifferent for short-term stay locations to that for mediumand long-term stay locations.

Length of stay Arrival rate (% of population)Short term <1hour >80Medium (1hour – 2hours) 5 – 10Long (>2hours) 10 - 15

Arrival rates are usually determined as an average peakarrival rate over a 15-minute period. This length of time canbe varied to suit the location and a 30-minute or 60-minuteperiod could be more appropriate.

Design occupancy time: It is recommended that the followingdesign occupancy times be used when determining the numberof toilet units that should be provided.

Situation Gender Design occupancy time (seconds)(Total = use time+hand wash time)

No interval Female 150 90 + 60effect Male 100 60 + 40

Limitedopportunity Female 130 70 + 60

to use Male 90 50 + 40(interval effect)

For further information, please refer to MS 2015 : PART 1 : 2006

Prepared by Ling Pei San


By Ir. Harbans Singh K.S., B.E. (Mech) S’pore, C. Eng., P.E., LLB (Hons) London, CLP, DipICArb

Illegality And Breaches OfConsultancy Contracts:

Of all the species of contracts encountered in theengineering/construction industry, it isundeniable that the ones that are the most

informal or nebulous are the ones involving theconsultants, especially the engineers. One may attributethis to mere ignorance of the law, or, the lackadaisicalattitude of the profession, but more often than not,most engineers seem to be content with the fact thatso long as they are ultimately remunerated for the workdone, the legalities are of secondary concern. The endresult is consultants working upon the issuance of amere letter of intent or just oral representations. Themore informed consultants, or the ones being riskaverse, take the formal route; insisting upon the drawingup of an official consultancy contract 1. Having enteredinto such a contract, no matter what its form or content,is no guarantee as to its enforceability. Should such acontract be tainted with illegality, its consequences maybe dire; a fact exemplified lucidly in an earlier Court ofAppeal’s decision of Sami Mousawi-Utama Sdn. Bhd.v Kerajaan Negeri Sarawak 2. Furthermore, should theconsultant concerned breach his obligations under thesaid contract, in particular, if the obligations go to theroot of the contract, he may lose his entitlements forthe recovery of his professional fees and instead facetermination and its attendant ramifications. It has beena general belief by a majority of consultants that suchfundamental breaches are confined merely to designwork. However, as of recent, the trend has slowly shiftedto also encompass supervision and contractadministration duties, which, for all intents andpurposes, reflect on the ultimate realization of the fruitsof the particular contract being implemented.

Both these issues have been amply dealt with in therecently decided case of Luxor Holdings Sdn. Bhd. v

Hainal-Konyi (M) Sdn. Bhd. 3; a case on appeal fromthe High Court. In a carefully formulated judgment,the learned judge, his Lordship Mokhtar Sidin JCAthoroughly reviewed the background and law relatingto the issues raised and made some crucialpronouncements that should serve as a useful lessonto consulting engineers’ vis-à-vis contracts relating totheir engagement. This short article has been pennedwith the objective of informing practicing engineerson the possible approach the courts will take inconstruing, and thereupon enforcing the consultancycontracts referred to such forums and the areas to bemindful of in ensuring that such contracts are not heldagainst them.

FACTS OF THE CASE

The appellant (the defendant in the court below)engaged the respondent (the plaintiff in the court below)as their consultant civil and structural engineer. Theappointment was made through a letter dated November14, 1995 which the parties agreed to be the contract.The contract was for a lump sum of RM410,000comprising of RM242,000 for alternative structuraldesign and RM168,000 for the scope of services underPart A Condition of Engagement, Board of EngineersMalaysia (BEM). Apparently, the structural design bythe previous consultant was discarded and the structuraldesign by the respondent was adopted. For theappellant’s project, the respondent assigned E1 and E2(DW2), their two engineers to look after the project.

1. Either based on the ‘BEM Model Form’ or a ‘Bespoke’ Form.2. [2004] 2 MLJ 414, CA.3. [2006] 3 MLJ 727, CA.

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Lessons To Be Learnt From Luxor Holdings Sdn. Bhd. V Hainal-Konyi (M) Sdn. Bhd.e

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On April 17, 1996, DW2 gave a three-month notice tothe respondent to resign in accordance with his contractof service.

Before that, E1 had left the respondent and set uphis own consultant firm known as ANZ Sdn Bhd. Whenthe said DW2 tendered his resignation, the relationshipbetween DW2 and the respondent was not cordialanymore because of some accusations and allegationsby the respondent in particular by PW1. DW2 deniedthe allegations and as a result DW2 left the respondentbefore the three months lapsed. DW2 then joined E1and the firm’s name of ANZ Sdn Bhd was changed toAzman, Lim & Associates, where both E1 and E2 werethe substantial shareholders and the only directors.

On May 7, 1996, the appellant gave notice to therespondent to terminate the contract and also informedthe respondent that the appellant wished to change theirconsultants. The appellant then requested the respondentto submit the invoices for all works done up to the dateof termination. On May 27, 1996, the appellantproceeded to appoint the firm of Azman, Lim & Associatesas their new consultant. On August 15, 1996, therespondent submitted their final invoice for the sum ofRM393,750, i.e., the total amount stated under thecontract minus RM36,750 already paid by the appellant.The RM36,750 consisted of RM35,000 as fees and thebalance 5% service tax. On September 9, 1996, theappellant wrote back stating their refusal to pay theamount claimed by the respondent and again requestedthe respondent to itemise the claims. By their letterdated September 4, 1996 the respondent refused toitemise the invoice and claimed that since the appellantunilaterally terminated the contract, the appellant shouldpay the balance of the amount stated in the contract.By this letter, the learned judge was of the view that therespondent were seeking damages for breach of contractand not for works done under the contract.

The respondent instituted the present action whenthe appellant failed to pay the amount claimed by therespondent. The statement of claim showed that therespondent’s claim was for breach of contract in thesum of RM393,750. The respondent claimed that thetermination was unlawful, null and void and therespondent were entitled to recover the full amountunder the contract.

The appellant in their statement of defence statedas follows:

(1) The defendant used the services of the plaintiff onthe basis that the engineers employed by the

plaintiff were registered with the Board of EngineersMalaysia (BEM) in accordance with the Registrationof Engineers Act 1967.

(2) The plaintiff had failed to carry out its obligationsstipulated in the letter of November 14, 1995 andwas in breach of the said agreement; particulars ofbreach are as follows:

(a) The plaintiff had at all material times usedthe services of E2 to oversee the projectworks; E2 being an engineer registered withthe BEM.

(b) By the month of April or May 1996, E2 andE1, both registered engineers of BEM withthe plaintiff company had resigned.

(c) As a result of the resignations of E1 and E2the plaintiff did not have the expertise andregistered engineers to carry on with thework as civil and structural consultants forthe project.

(d) The plaintiff did not appoint other registeredengineers to take over conduct of the projectand caused the contractor and other workersinvolved in the project not to be able toproceed with their work.

(e) The defendant then requested the plaintiffto obtain the services of other registeredengineers to carry on with the work but theplaintiff failed to do so.

(f) On the basis of the plaintiff’s failure to obtainthe services of qualified and registered civiland structural engineers to carry on with theproject work, the defendant terminated theplaintiff’s services vide their letter of May 7,1996.

The respondent’s/plaintiff’s claim in the presentappeal was that the appellant/defendant had wrongfullyterminated the contract and as a result the respondentwas entitled to the full sum under the contract. Theappellant, on the other hand, claimed that thetermination was justified because the respondent wasin breach of the contract when no registered engineerwas appointed to the project when E1 and DW2resigned. The appellant in their letter terminating theservices of the respondent also informed the respondentthat they would be appointing a new consultantengineer in place of the respondent. The appellant

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made no secret that they wanted DW2 to be theconsultant. Though there is nothing in the record toshow that the respondent was not happy with theappointment of DW2, it was clear from the meetingsbetween the respondent, the appellant and the architectof the appellant that the respondent was not happyand not willing to work with the said DW2.

FINDINGS OF THE COURT OF APPEAL

In allowing the appeal with costs, the Court ofAppeal held as follows:

� On the issue whether the agreement between theappellant and the respondent was illegal

PW1 was one of the directors of the respondent;an international company operating in Malaysia.With the coming in force of Section 7A of theRegistration of Engineers Act 1967 4, the respondentbecame a body corporate whereby it was subjectto statutorily imposed prohibitions and restrictions,principal amongst which was, PW1 (being aforeigner) was not allowed to be a shareholder orto hold the office of a director. As the evidenceshowed, PW1 was the alter ego of the respondentand he was the one who negotiated and concludedthe consultancy contract for and on behalf of therespondent. This was in direct contravention ofthe Act which proscribed such conduct. Hence,the agreement was held to be illegal.

In buttressing his decision, the learned judge said:

‘…… in my view, being an employee only andon top of that a temporary one for a particularproject, the power of PW1 differed substantiallyfrom that of a director or a shareholder. As anemployee of a particular project, PW1 has totake instructions and directions from thedirector, shareholders or officers of therespondent and that also in respect of theproject he was employed. Apparently, in thepresent appeal, it was the other way round, itwas PW1 who gave instructions and directionsto the shareholders and directors of therespondent such as the instructions anddirections to DW2. It shows that PW1 hadexceeded the authority given to him and actedin contravention of the prohibitions andrestrictions imposed in the certificate issued tohim. The appellant contended that as anemployee, PW1 could not negotiate or enterinto a contract with any party. The appellant

submitted that any contract by an unauthorisedengineer is illegal and he cited RaymondBanham & Anor v Consolidated Hotels Limited[1976] 1 MLJ 5 and John B Skilling & Ors vConsolidated Hotels Ltd [1979] 2 MLJ 2 ….’

He further said:

‘…. at the time when the negotiations and theconclusion of the agreement, the appellant didnot know that PW1 was not a director, ashareholder or an officer of the respondentand that he had no authority to act for therespondent. Though PW1 claimed that he wasauthorised by the respondent to do so, the letterof authorization was never produced.

Looking at the evidence as a whole, I am inagreement with the appellant that PW1 wasthe alter ego of the respondent just becausehe was the one who incorporated therespondent. He should have stopped doing sowhen the Act was amended because by thenhe was prohibited from being a shareholder, adirector or an officer of the respondent. Heshould not hold himself as such. Surprisingly,none of the shareholders, the directors or theofficers of the respondent stopped PW1 fromdoing so. This is understandable because theevidence shows that PW1 was the only personwith the respondent who could allocate theshareholding, appoint the directors, appointand terminate the engineers within therespondent in total contradiction to theprohibitions imposed by the Act and thecertificate issued to PW1. It is also apparentthat PW1 was the only person with therespondent who could negotiate and concludea contract for the respondent. The Act didnot permit PW1 to do so. From the evidence,it is clear to me that the agreement with theappellant was concluded by PW1 on behalf ofthe respondent. The Act did not permit himto do so. For that reason, I find that theagreement was illegal.’

� On the issue of whether there was a breach ofcontract permitting termination of the contract dueto the respondent’s default in assigning areplacement engineer.

4. In short ‘the Act’.

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It was held, that by not naming the replacementengineer who was registered upon the resignationof DW2, there was in fact no consultant engineerassigned to the appellant’s project as was stipulatedin the consultancy contract. This was supportedby cogent evidence which also showed that therewas no such assignment even up to the date oftermination. It should have been apparent to therespondent that this breach would inevitably resultin the appellant’s project being delayed. Such abreach was accordingly serious and thereforeentitled the appellant to terminate the consultancycontract.

His Lordship, Mokhtar Sidin JCA explained the basisof his judgment in the following words:

‘….. the second issue raised by the appellantwas in respect of the number of registeredengineers attached to the respondent whenDW2 tendered his resignation to therespondent. The appellant contended thatunder the contract the respondent shouldassign two registered engineers to theappellant’s project at all time. The evidenceshows that when E1 left the respondent therewas no replacement for him. There wasalready a breach by the respondent. WhenDW2 tendered his resignation the respondentfailed to inform the appellant the names ofthe registered engineers to replace E1 andDW2 as consultants. The appellant raisedthe issue of the replacement of DW2 withthe respondent, i.e. PW1. It is apparent tome, even at that time the appellant did notknow that PW1 had no authority to representthe respondent. The appellant gave evidencethat it was necessary for the project to becompleted within time so that they would notbe penalised for late delivery…..’

He continued:

‘…. the appellant contended that the learnedjudge was in error when he said that ‘thereis no express terms in the contract that theplaintiff must have at all times engineers whoare registered with BEM’. It is obvious thelearned judge misread the Act in particularSection 7 where it is stated that no personshall practise, carry on business or take upemployment as an engineer unless he is aregistered professional engineer. Section 2defines ‘registered engineer’ to be an engineerunder this Act. In my view, an engineer could

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only practice as an engineer or a professionalengineer once he registers himself with BEMunder Section 7 of the Act. In the agreementbetween the parties, when it states that theengineer, meant an engineer registered underSection 7 of the Act. The learned judge wasindeed in error when he stated in thejudgment the above…….

…. when DW2 tendered his resignation, therespondent did not name his replacement. IfI am not mistaken, when DW2 tendered hisresignation PW1 asked DW2 to stop workimmediately in respect of the appellant’sproject. PW1 knew that the appellant wantedto complete their project in time. By notnaming the replacement of DWl there wasno consultant engineer assigned to theappellant’s project. According to theevidence, the respondent did not assign anyengineer until the appellant terminated theagreement. This was the second breach bythe respondent. It was obvious to theappellant that when the respondent failed toname the replacement for DW2, theappellant’s project would be delayed. In viewof the breaches by the respondent, I am ofthe view that the appellant is entitled toterminate the agreement ….’

COMMENTS/OBSERVATIONS

From the foregoing judgment, a number ofobservations can be made which can serve as a lessonto practitioners, especially Consulting Engineers.First and foremost is the fact that the Courts areprepared to enforce the requirements of the Actliterally and strictly. This is most laudable as thewhole purpose of the Act is to protect the publicfrom the effects of unprofessional practices and instilla sense of integrity to the engineering fraternity; afact clearly articulated by a previous bench of theCourt of Appeal 5. To this effect, breaches especiallyof Section 7 & 7A of the Act are held in a very seriouslight to the extent that any ensuing contract taintedwith illegality may result in its unenforceability bythe Courts. Furthermore, the word “engineer” is givena restricted meaning (contrary to its common usage);being confined to an engineer or other qualifiedperson registered under the Act 6. This is consistent

5. See the C.A’s judgment in Sami Mousawi-Utama Sdn. Bhd. vKerajaan Negeri Sarawak [2004] 2 MLJ 414.

6. Thereby breathing life to Section 2 of the Act.

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with the Malaysian Court’s approach for the otherprofessions e.g. the definition of an “architect” inGunung Bayu Sdn. Bhd. v Syarikat Pembinaan PerlisSdn. Bhd. 7.

Secondly, foreign engineers practicing in Malaysiashould take heed of the Court of Appeal’spronouncement on their status in respect of theirregistration and involvement in body corporatespursuant to the relevant provisions of the Act and inparticular Section 7A. However, in the author’s humbleopinion, it was not necessary for the Court to followthe Singaporean decisions of Raymond Banham & Anorv Consolidated Hotels Limited 8 and John B. Skilling &Ors v Consolidated Hotels Ltd. 9 (which are merely ofpersuasive nature) as there was already on record theCourt of Appeal’s previous judgment of Sami Mousawi-Utama Sdn. Bhd. v Kerajaan Negeri Sarawak 10. Perhapsthis was because it was not brought to the said courtsattention. Be that as it may, the instant pronouncementreinforces the Court of Appeal’s earlier decision; therebyreflecting its consistency in its approach to the saidmatter.

Another significant principle that can be distilledfrom the instant judgment is that pertaining to thenecessity for consultants to provide registeredengineers during the contract implementation stage,especially if there is an express stipulation to thiseffect in the consultancy contract 11. Breach of sucha stipulation is regarded a fundamental breach ofcontract, as reflected in the said decision, since itwill inevitably lead to an ensuing delay in the projectinvolved with its attendant dire ramifications for theclient. Consequently, the client may be entitled, astranspired in the instant case, to terminate thecontract and claim the consequential damages.Consultants should take particular heed of this aspectof the judgment as there is a tendency to treat thesaid obligation lightly, since to date a majority ofclients have not been enforcing similar obligationsstrictly. Notwithstanding this being a contractualrequirement, consultants should realize that the needto provide such engineers is also a statutoryobligation 12; breach of which carries concurrentstatutory sanctions.

It should also be noted that on the facts of thecase, the respondent’s claim against the appellantfailed as it was merely for damages for breach ofcontract; not for works done under the contract. Asis clearly elucidated by the learned judge in thedetailed judgment, this claim could not be tenablein law on the said basis; hence its summary dismissal.This does not mean that based on the facts, the

BEM

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respondent could not have claimed the costs for thework done. On the contrary, in the author’s opinionthis could have been sustained and successfullypursued, had the claim being premised on Section71 13 of the Contracts Act 1950 (Act 136, Rev. 1974)i.e. for quantum meruit.

It is pertinent to note that Section 71 can beinvoked by the aggrieved person even to a voidcontract as its purpose is to prevent unjustenrichment. Provided, the aggrieved party can meetthe four conditions stipulated in Section 71 on abalance of probabilities, the claim could be sustainedin law: Siow Wong Fatt v Susur Rotan Mining Ltd. &Anor 14. In the final analysis, much depends on theway the claim is drafted especially on the legal basisbeing pursued. For this, careful thought has to beexpended in arriving at the very legal premise of theclaim as a wrong decision reached may compromisethe claim and thereby render it ultimately nugatory.

CONCLUSION

The Court of Appeal’s instant decision is a verypertinent one for consulting engineers in particularand also their employers as it underlines in nouncertain terms the judicial approach that is currentlyfavoured in addressing issues pertaining toconsultancy contracts that are submitted to such aforum. The issues under consideration are notunfamiliar to the industry as they encompass mattersthat are encountered frequently in practice by mostof the industry players. Much has to be learned fromthe said decision, which if read in conjunction withearlier pronouncements of the local courts, furnishesvaluable guidelines for the practitioners to imbibeand observe. However, it is ultimately left to theindustry itself to take heed of the said judicialpronouncements and to ensure that these are adheredto as strictly as possible; failing which theconsequences are well apparent and for which noone else can be faulted.

7. [1981] 2 MLJ 149 where the HC held that an ‘architect’ meantan Architect registered under the Architects Act 1968 (Act 117).

8. [1976] 1 MLJ 5.9. [1979] 2 MLJ 2.10. [2004] 2 MLJ 414, CA.11. In particular the BEM’s Standard Form of Agreement.12. E.g. under the ‘Street, Drainage & Building Act 1974’, ‘Uniform

Building By-Laws’, etc.13. Entitled ‘Obligation of person enjoying benefit of non-gratuitous

act.14. [1967] 2 MLJ 118; (1967) 2 PCC 413, PC. See also Ted Bates

(M) Sdn. Bhd. v Balbir Singh Jholl [1979] 2 MLJ 257, FC.

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IBS Roadmap 2003-2010:The Progress and Challenges

33

By Ir. Shahrul Nizar Shaari, CIDB Malaysia

the usage of prefabrication inMalaysia, kudos must be givento the agency for being the firstto champion a coordinatednational-level programme forindustrialisation of theMalaysian construction sector. Itcan also be rightly claimed thatit is actually a re-brandingexercise by the Government toreintroduce prefabricatedconstruction amid negativeperceptions by industry players.Nonetheless, it is also a fact thatthe term “IBS” goes far beyondbeing a modern method ofprefabricated or offsiteconstruction. IBS also includesthe Open Building Concept thatwas first promoted during therebuilding years of post-warNetherlands. The rules fordimensions, positions andinterfaces of components areimportant elements of OpenBuilding. As such, the principles

of Modular Coordination (MC) arealso applied. In the Malaysiancontext, it is the rules set by theMalaysian Standard MS 1064 thatwere based on NederlandsNormalisatie Instituut (NNI)’s NEN6000; the standards for MC in designof buildings. In fact, the amendmentof the Uniform Building By-Law(UBBL) to incorporate MC has beenoutlined in the IBS Roadmap.

The ideal state of having onecommon IBS Open System, based onthe fundamentals of Open Building,for the whole industry is very unlikelyin the near future. This is because theindustry already has 129 IBS systemsproviders that cover precast concreteframes, panels and blocks, steelframes, prefabricated timber framesas well as system formworks2 . Each

Prefabricated constructionin Malaysia started almost40 years ago with the

completion of the Tunku AbdulRahman Public Housing Estate;or commonly known as thePekeliling Flats. For the last fourdecades, the constructionindustry has been experimentingwith various prefabricatedconstruction; being lead byvarious precast concrete solutionproviders. In most cases, it wasfor one-off and isolated projects.No proper plan was formulatedby the Government for theindustrialisation of constructionuntil the inception of the IBSRoadmap 2003-2010. Amasterplan to facilitate thetransformation of the Malaysianconstruction sector wasformulated with inputs fromindustry and endorsed by theCabinet in October 2003. Knownas the “Industrialised BuildingSystems (IBS) Roadmap 2003-2010”,the masterplan is based on the 5-MStrategy (Manpower, Materials-C o m p o n e n t s - M a c h i n e s ,Management-Processes-Methods,Monetary and Marketing) with thetarget of having an industrialisedconstruction industry as well asachieving Open Building Concept bythe year 20101 . The transformation ofthe construction sector is crucial inensuring the successful achievementof Vision 2020.

Even though the ConstructionIndustry Development Board (CIDB)Malaysia is not the first to promote

1 Industrialised Building Systems (IBS) Roadmap 2003-2010, CIDB Malaysia,2003

2 IBS Manufacturers Directory 2005/2006, CIDB Malaysia

Installation of Precast Concrete Wall: Manpower –Critical Success Factor

“The lead secretariatfor the development and

monitoring of IBSRoadmap is CIDB, under

the patronage of theMinistry of Works.

Supporting the programare the various agencies

involved in the 5-Mactivities of the Roadmap;

with JKR as the mostimportant partner.”

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system provider has investedheavily and not all systems orproduction facilities are easilyadjustable or convertible.Nonetheless, as outlined in theIBS Roadmap, the strategy is tostart with Government buildingprojects as it has great volumeand in most cases, controlled bya single agency. This is not newas the Public Works Department(JKR) has always been using itsown standardised building plans.The only change is to convert theplans using IBS components. Infact, by the time the IBSRoadmap was launched, thedepartment had already beenissuing standard IBS drawings.In essence, it is planned that thedevelopment of the nationalOpen System is based onGovernment standard plans.

The lead secretariat for thedevelopment and monitoring ofIBS Roadmap is CIDB, under thepatronage of the Ministry of Works.Supporting the programme are thevarious agencies involved in the 5-Mactivities of the Roadmap; with JKRas the most important partner. Thecommitment by the Government onIBS implementation is very high.After the Roadmap’s endorsement bythe Cabinet, the first strong indicationby the Government was through the2005 Budget announcement inSeptember 2004. First, it wasannounced that all new Governmentbuilding projects are required to haveat least 50% IBS content; which iscalculated through the IBS ScoreManual that was developed by CIDB.The decision to make it compulsoryfor Government buildings was tocreate sufficient momentum for thedemand of IBS components. In orderto attract private clients, the secondannouncement was on the levyexemption for housing projects thathave a minimum IBS Score of 50%3 .

The IBS Agenda was furtherboosted with the 2006 Budgetannouncement. Tax incentive wasoffered through Accelerated CapitalAllowance (ACA). IBS manufacturerswould be given ACA for expensesincurred in the purchase of mouldsused for production of precastconcrete components. Also stated inthe 2006 Budget was that the

incentives for users ofstandardised drawings based onthe usage of IBS and MC.

It seems that with all thesecommitments by theGovernment, the IBS Agendawould be smooth sailing.Unfortunately, the IBS Roadmapwas launched at the end of theEighth Malaysia Plan; and bythen, most of the Governmentallocations for development hadbeen utilised. As the kick-startinitiative depends almost solelyon Government projects, notmuch could be seen in terms ofIBS application. It was limited toone or two “IBS pilot projects”and thus it could be argued thatnothing much has changed inthe industry since theintroduction of the IBSRoadmap. As such, even thoughJKR offers a new set ofGovernment quarters’ drawings

using IBS and MC, it is not beingutilized fully due to the low overalldemand of public constructionactivities. Until the public projectsunder the Ninth Malaysia Plan arerolled-out physically by the variousGovernment agencies, the actualimpact of the IBS Roadmap’sinitiatives will not be felt by theindustry. The support from theseGovernment clients is very crucial.They must equip their staff withrelevant IBS knowledge in order toensure proper execution of theprojects. Besides that, the appointedcontractors must not be allowed tocounter propose conventionalconstruction. Nonetheless, with thestrong commitment from theGovernment, it is expected that by theend of the Roadmap period; whichcoincides with the end of the NinthMalaysia Plan, positive changes willmaterialise.

Besides the support fromGovernment projects, it is alsoimportant for private developers toparticipate in ensuring the successfulimplementation of the programme.Some may argue that the incentivein the form of exemption of levy forprojects with minimum IBS Score of

3 2005 Budget Speech, www.pmo.gov.my4 2006 Budget Speech, www.pmo.gov.my

Government would ensure that all IBScomponents used in public projectsare MS 1064-compliant4 . This wouldfacilitate standardisation ofcomponents and increase productivityof construction. The commitment ofthe Government is furtherstrengthened with the announcementof the Ninth Malaysia Plan. Againemphasis was given to IBS in publicand affordable housing projects. Inaddition, it was also declared that theGovernment would be offering more

“IBS is far beyondprefabricated solutions

and projectimplementation. IBS is also

about the changing ofconventional mindset,championing humancapital development,

developing bettercooperation and trust,

promoting transparency;and, most importantly,

high integrity.”

Precast-In-situ Hybrid Putra Mosque, Putrajaya:Upholding High Integrity – No Compromise

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50% is too little. The effectiveness ofthe offer is very unlikely due to thefact that the current levy imposed onbuilding projects is already low.Initially the levy charged forconstruction projects was at 0.25%.However, after the enforcement of theEconomic Stimulus Package in 2003,it was reduced to 0.125% and as forlow, low medium and medium costhousing projects5 , no levy is imposed.Based on the 0.125% rates, say for aRM20 million project, the levy to bepaid to the Government is onlyRM250,000. The offer will only beattractive if the increase of cost dueto the usage of IBS components is lessthan that value. With the current lowdemand and low standardisation ofIBS components, undoubtedly theinitial usage of IBS will increase thetotal material costs of the project;even though ultimately it lowers thetotal construction costs in the longerterm. Because of this, the industry isnot too keen to take up this offer bythe Government. As such, an increasein take-up rates will only materialisewhen overall prices of IBScomponents are reduced.Alternatively, positive response isexpected to pour in if the Governmentdecides to increase the levy back topre-2003 rates.

Nevertheless, it is crucial tohighlight that the incentives discussedabove are designed to prepare privatedevelopers for a major change. It isstated in the IBS Roadmap that by theyear 2008, all private development arerequired to achieve a minimalbuildability or IBS Score before anydevelopment approval is given. Thisis similar to what has been practicedin neighbouring Singapore. Inensuring the success of itsconstruction industrialisationprogramme, the Buildable DesignAppraisal System (BDAS) wasintroduced. BDAS was made as amandatory requirement for allbuilding plans approval. It wasimplemented on January 1, 2001 for

all new buildings and new extensionsthat are more than 5,000m2 in grossfloor area (GFA). And with effect fromJanuary 1, 2004, the minimum GFAis reduced to 2,000m2 6 . The year 2008is not too far away and inconsequence, it is also important forboth the government as well asdevelopers to start to make relevantpreparation on this matter. Propermechanism must be developed andpromotions and educationprogrammes must be in place withinone or two years before the date ofimplementation.

down the market rates. TheGovernment through CIDB’s AkademiBinaan Malaysia (ABM) spendsmillions of Ringgit each year to trainconstruction workers but it is of nouse if the graduates are not interestedto find jobs in the constructionindustry due to the extremely lowwages. In the end, the industry willalways prefer the labour intensivemethods, at the expense of IBS;quality and productivity.

It is important is for theGovernment to have a properassessment and verification schemefor IBS products, manufacturers,contractors (installers) and workers inplace. This is needed to avoid inferiorproducts and service providers fromflooding the market. While the IBSAgenda also includes thedevelopment of IBS techno-preneurs,it is very important that stringentquality control is imposed. An “IBS-Status” programme is suggested to bedeveloped and modelled based on theMultimedia Development Coperation(MDEC) approach. This can also beused to develop incentivesprogrammes and not limited toverification activities. In addition,promotion and Continual ProfessionalDevelopment (CPD) programmes fordesigners must be enhanced toinclude IBS knowledge. A survey ofthe industry shows that 66% ofarchitects admit to have “Poor”knowledge in IBS8 . In fact, on thesuggestion section of the survey, mostof the respondents (34%) haverequested for more awareness andeducation programmes on IBS.

In summarizing the issues, CIDBas the lead secretariat requires solidsupport from the relevantGovernment agencies that areinvolved in its implementation. Alsoimportant is for the Government andindustry to work hand-in-hand inensuring successful implementationof the IBS Roadmap and achievingthe target of constructionindustrialisation. IBS is far beyondprefabricated solutions and projectimplementation. IBS is also about thechanging of conventional mindset,championing human capitaldevelopment, developing bettercooperation and trust, promotingtransparency; and, most importantly,high integrity.

35

5 Economic Stimulus Package Speech, 2003, www.mten.gov.my6 Code of Practice on Buildable Design, Building and Construction Authority

(BCA), Singapore, September 2005,7 1.85 juta warga asing bekerja di Malaysia, Berita Harian, 19 July 2006.8 IBS Survey 2005: Survey on Malaysian Architects’ Experience in IBS

Construction, CIDB Malaysia, 2006 BEM

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Another main challenge forsuccessful implementation of the IBSAgenda is regarding the constructionworkforce. In fact, it can be stressedthat the most critical success factoris reducing or eliminating the illegalforeign workforce that is flooding thecountry. In fact, the total number ofillegal workers in Malaysia isestimated at four times the numberof legal workers; with the latterestimated at 1.85 million7 . As longas it is easy for the industry to findillegal workers, labour rates willremain low and builders will find itunattractive to change into simplifiedsolutions such as IBS. Irresponsibleemployers are still bold enough to hirethe illegals; and in the process, bring


By Ir Tee Horng Hean

The presence of visible cracks inconcrete is inevitable whensubjected to excessive tension-

inducing forces such as pulling,bending, twisting, etc. Even if steelreinforcement bars (rebars) areplaced into concrete, it still does notprevent the concrete from crackingbut on the other hand, rebars merelycontrol the crack width (NPIRD,2004). Cracks, classified asstructural or non-structural candeteriorate from non-structural tostructural cracks due to seriouscorrosion of rebars (Perkins, 1997,p.81).

PROPERTIES OF CONCRETEAND STEEL

Un-reinforced concrete, beingcapable of resisting relatively highcompressive forces, behaves ratherpoorly with the imposition of tensileforces. Concrete, having aresistance in tension ofapproximately seven to 15% that ofits compressive strength (MacGinley& Choo, 2001, p.13; Price, February1951, pp.417 – 432; Wang &

Salmon, 1992, p.13) is “strengthen”through the provision of steel barsin zones where tensile stressesexists. Steel, be it mild or hightensile, is a complementary materialto be added to concrete and somediffering properties of concrete andsteel are shown in Table 1.

When there is a rise intemperature, an object would expandand when the temperature is reduced,the object experiences contraction.Steel and concrete have the samelinear expansivities thus expandingand contracting by the same amountwith varying temperatures.

CONCRETE CRACKS

� Axially Loaded Forces (Tensile/Pulling & Compressive Forces)

When a Reinforced Concrete (RC)structural element is subjected to apulling force (Fig. 1), separationcracks penetrating through the entirecross section (Shina, 1988, p.290)would develop when its tensilestrength resisting the applied force isexceeded. It should be noted that theuse of concrete having a Young’sModulus of 30000N/mm2 withminimum high tensile rebars (basedon BS8110:1985), the tensile forceexperienced by the concrete would beapproximately 30 times thatexperienced by the rebars when atensile force is applied onto thiselement. Reduction of the stress ontothe concrete is either through theprovision of more reinforcements orthe reduction of the concrete stresswhich the latter is seldom adopted inpractice.

If the axially applied forces(Fig . 1) were reversed, the RCmember would experiencecompression and would very seldomcrack and fail unless of course if theconcrete’s compressive endurancelimit has been exceeded. One suchexample can be witnessed in mostmaterial testing laboratories whereprogressive compressive force isapplied on concrete samples and priorto complete failure, cracks can beobserved on the test samples.

When a load is imposed on astructural element, checks should betaken to ensure that concentratedloadings do not exceed thecompressive/tensile endurance limitof concrete as this would constitute afailure in the region of the appliedloading and depending on thestructural design, cracks woulddevelop prior to failure. To avertcracks due to concentrated loadings,additional reinforcements should beprovided and where this is notpossible, an increase of the area of

Some Design AndPractical Perspectives InConcrete Cracks

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Properties Concrete SteelTensile strength Poor Good

Compressive strength Good Slender bars would buckle

Shear strength Fair Good

Durability Good Corrodes when exposed and unprotected

Resistance to fire Good Loses strength at high temperatures

Table 1: Complementary Properties of Concrete and SteelSource: Adapted From: Mosley, W. H., Bungey, J. H. & Hulse, R., 1999, ReinforcedConcrete Design, Fifth Edition, Palgrave, London, p.1.

Figure 1

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concrete in contact with such loadingsshould be looked into.

� Flexural Forces In Concrete

Flexural cracks will develop in RCwhen subjected to pure flexural forces(Fig. 2) when the concrete in thetension zone cannot resist the tensilestresses induced by the flexural forces.The top portion of a beam is incompression while the bottom portionin tension when the elementexperiences pure bending (Fig. 2).Provision of adequate longitudinalreinforcements would suffice inresisting a predetermined flexuralforce and preventing serious cracksas shown in Fig. 2. The methods ofdetermining the amount ofreinforcements, usually covered intexts on Mechanics of Materials, RC

Design and Code of Practices are notdiscussed here.

If a RC beam is cast from thetension zone to its neutral axis witha particular grade of concrete andperhaps due to unforeseencircumstances, the remaining portionof the beam is cast with another gradeof concrete, transverse shear wouldbe present which under normalcircumstances are negligible.Transverse shear forces that exceedthe concrete stress are bound toproduce cracks between the interfacesof the different grades of concretes.Besides, differential shrinkage willtake place between the old and newconcrete at the interfaces (Taft, Speck& Morris, 1999). Thus it is vital thatduring concreting certain form ofcontrol is adopted so that such asituation does not arise.

37

BEM

� Torsional Forces In Concrete

Due to the layout of the structuralelements, there may be times wheretorsional forces might be present. Theuse of closer shear links spacing andthe provision of additionallongitudinal rebars to counteracttorsional forces are usuallyrecommended in most Code ofPractices when torsional stresses aresignificant. The crack patterns thatform due to torsional forces are ofspiral form as shown in Fig. 3.

� Spacing of Reinforcements

In the BS8110 Code of Practice,though not explicitly mentioned, thereason for minimum spacing ofrebars, in Clause 3.12.11.1, “minimumdistance between bars” is to ensurethat proper compaction duringconcreting can be achieved.Recommendations for the maximumdistance between bars are also given.In the Indian Code of Practice, IS 456:1978, the maximum slabreinforcement distance is the lesserof three times the slab’s effectivedepth or 450mm (Pillai & Menon,1998, p.162; Shina, 1998, p.292).

The British Code of Practice,BS8110:1985 on the other hand,permits larger reinforcement spacingthat is the lesser of three times theslab’s effective depth or 750 mm(Mosley, 1999, p.186; Kong & Evans,1994, p.326).

The Institution of StructuralEngineer’s Manual (I. Struct. E ICEJoint Committee, 1985) howeverrestricts the slab reinforcementspacing of main bars to the smallervalue of three times the slab’seffective depth or 300 mm while thedistribution bars, the lesser of threetimes the slab’s effective depth or 400mm.

When rebars are placed toowidely apart and if a situation ariseswhere highly concentrated forces areimposed between the providedrebars, cracks would propagate fromthe applied loading to the rebars.Also, with rebars (of larger cross-sectional sizes) placed too widelyapart, the control of crack is lesseffective as compared to rebars (ofsmaller cross-sectional sizes) that areplaced closer.

Figure 2

Figure 3

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T H E I N G E N I E U RT H E I N G E N I E U R 38

By Ke Geok Chuan, Director, Policy and Research Division, DOSH Malaysia

There are two Acts that governbuilding construction activitiesnamely, The Factories and

Machinery Act 1967 (Act 139) andThe Occupational Safety and HealthAct 1994 (Act 514). The Departmentof Occupational Safety and Health(DOSH) under the Ministry ofHuman Resources is the leadauthority in the enforcement ofthese laws.

These Acts are supported byrelevant regulations, enabling anyperson or duty holder to be clear onhow to discharge his legal obligationsand responsibilities. One of theregulations is the Factories andMachinery (Building Operations andWorks of Engineering Construction)(Safety) Regulations 1986.

The Statutory Requirements

The laws that DOSH enforcescover building operations and worksof engineering construction. Some ofthe salient requirements that have tobe complied with by any person whoundertakes any building operationand works of engineeringconstruction are as follows:

� Notification of Commencementof Construction Work

Notice in the prescribed form (JKJ103) shall be served on the Inspectornot later than seven days from thecommencement of those operationsand which the person undertakingthem has grounds for believing that

they will be completed in a period ofmore than six weeks. Such forms canbe obtained from DOSH’s regionaloffices.

� Application for the installationof certificated machinery

Application through thesubmission of the form JKJ 105 shallbe made to the DOSH’s regional officeif tower crane, material hoist,passenger/material hoist, powerscaffold and any other hoistingmachinery, pressure vessel or steamboiler are installed and used in theconstruction site. No person shalloperate or cause or permit to beoperated any such machinery inrespect of which a certificate of fitness

Safety In Building Construction& Construction Site

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is prescribed, unless there is a validcertificate of fitness issued under theFactories and Machinery Act 1967.

The applicant also has to ensurethat tower crane, passenger/materialshoist and power scaffold are installed,erected, maintained, and dismantledby competent persons or company.

In addition, registered craneoperator with DOSH has to beemployed during the operation oftower crane, mobile or derrick craneat the construction site.

� Installation and Operation ofConcrete Batching Plant

At some construction sites,concrete-batching plants can be found- they are erected and used for theproduction of mass concreteaggregates. In such cases, form JKJ 105has to be submitted. Writtenpermission for the commencement ofthe operation has to be obtained fromthe Inspector before any such plant canbe used for the mass production ofconcrete at the work site.

This statutory requirement is inaddition to the written approvals thatneed to be obtained from the LocalGovernment Authority and theDepartment of Environment.

� Design and installation oftemporary structures

Temporary structures such asscaffolds, catch platforms, ramps,wastes disposal chutes, loadingplatforms, reshores, formworks arecommonly erected, installed and usedin construction work. Design drawingswith detailed calculations for suchstructures have to be prepared andendorsed by a Professional Engineer.These requirements are provided forin the regulations to ensure theintegrity and safety of temporarystructures at the work site for the wholeduration of the project.

The main contractor or hisrepresentative must ensure that suchdocuments can be made available forthe examination and inspection by theInspector during his site visit.

Many fatal accidents involvingusage of such temporary structures inthe past have been traced to poor andinadequate design - failure toincorporate suitable safety features,

safe usage, operation, installation andhandling even though duty of care hadbeen made on the loadings that thestructures are subjected to.

� Formation of Safety and HealthCommittee

A safety and health committee hasto be established if there are 40 or moreworkers employed at the constructionsite. The safety and health committeehas to be chaired by the projectmanager and the registered safety andhealth officer as the secretary. TheOccupational Safety and Health (Safetyand Health Committee) Regulations1996 provides for the equal numberof appointees from the managementand workers. This is one of the safetyarrangements that has to be put inplace by the employer to comply withthe law.

� Appointment of Safety andHealth Officers

Under the Occupational Safetyand Health (Safety and Health Officer)Order 1997 a registered safety andhealth officer shall be employed forany building operation or any workof engineering construction where thetotal contract price of the project ismore than RM 20 million. The officershall be employed full-time in theconstruction site to ensure that he isable to discharge his duties andresponsibilities as provided for underthe law.

� Formulation of Safety andHealth Policy

In any work where more than fiveworkers are employed, a writtensafety and health policy with respectto the safety and health at work ofemployees shall be prepared,approved and endorsed by the topmanagement. A statement and anyrevision of it must be brought to thenotice of all employees. Thisrequirement applies to all employerswhether they are main contractor,trade contractor, or sub-contractor.

� Appointment of Site SafetySuper visor and ContractorSafety Supervisor

The Factories and Machinery(Building Operations and Work OfEngineering Construction) SafetyRegulations 1986 provide for theappointment of such personnel. The

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T H E I N G E N I E U RT H E I N G E N I E U R

main contractor shall appoint apart time safety site supervisor whoshall spend at least 15 hours perweek exclusively on safetysupervision and on promoting thesafe conduct of work generallywithin the site.

Also every contractor other thanthe main contractor in charge ofworksite who employs more than 20persons to carry out work on aworksite shall appoint a part-timecontractor’s safety supervisor, whoshall spend at least five hours perweek exclusively on safetysupervision and on promoting safeconduct of work generally by thecontractor’s employees. Thesepersonnel in addition to the safetyand health officer play an importantrole in ensuring that the work siteis safe at all times and in assistingthe contractors or employers on dueobservance of the laws.

� Notification of Accidents,Dangerous Occurrence,Industrial Poisonings andOccupational Diseases

The main contractor or hisrepresentative has to notify thenearest DOSH’s regional office in theevent of any accident that preventworkers from performing their normalduties by more than four days. FormJKKP 6 can be used to make suchnotification.

All cases of industrial poisoningsor occupational diseases have to bebrought to the attention of theemployer and DOSH by making useof the form JKKP 7.

40

Risk Control (HIRARC). The draftdocument has been prepared andawaiting consultation with industrystakeholders before it is introduced forthe guidance of the constructionindustry.

(iii) Steps have been taken by DOSHto come out with more new guidelinesunder the framework on occupationalsafety and health legislation. Suchinitiatives will be consistent with theself-regulation principle as enshrinedunder the Occupational Safety andHealth Act 1994.

CONCLUSION

It is the fervent hope of DOSH thatevery party or duty holder in theconstruction industry candemonstrate good corporategovernance by exercising safeperformance and adherence to theprevailing laws. Construction worklike any other business operation canbe managed well and profitably if topmanagement in close collaborationwith their employees ensures that allwork activities are undertaken safelyat all times without cutting cornersor compromising on goodengineering standard.

Recent Legislative Developments

(i) The Dewan Rakyat and Dewan Negara have passed the amendmentsto the Factories and Machinery Act 1967(Act 139). Existing provisionshave been reviewed, enhanced and strengthened. New technologicaldevelopment such as special scheme inspection has been incorporated.Penalties have been enhanced to ensure that all duty holders comply withthe law. The amended Act is awaiting the Royal assent before it can belegally enforced.

(ii) A proposed Occupational Safety and Health (Occupational Safetyand Health Management System) has been formulated and submitted toMinistry of Human Resources’ Legal Adviser for comments. Constructionindustry stakeholders have been consulted for their comments and feedback.

One of the objectives of these regulations is to ensure that any personwho undertakes any building operations and works of engineeringconstruction shall have a functioning and effective safety and healthmanagement system at the work site.

(iii) Relevant steps have been taken to review and update the Factoriesand Machinery (Building Operations and Works Of Engineering Construction)Safety Regulations 1986.One of the new requirements is for the developerto provide for a suitable and adequate budget allocation to meet the costincurred by the main contractor in formulating and implementing a safetyplan at the work site.

Other Non-StatutoryRequirements

(i) Relevant steps have been taken toreview the current guidelines on publicsafety in construction work to take intoconsideration current developments inthe construction industry.

(ii) The requirement to carry out riskassessment by contractors involvingconstruction activities in congestedurban center will be provided forunder the Code of Practice on HazardsIdentification, Risk Assessment and

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World Toilet Organisation’sPerspective On Toilets

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By Colin See, Director, World Toilet Organisation

Sanitation is all about theprocess whereby peopledemand, effect, and sustain a

hygienic and healthy environment byerecting barriers to preventtransmission of disease agents. It isalso a crucial element for sustainablegrowth, be it rural or urbanenvironments. The most importantsource of water contamination indeveloping countries is human faeces,due to the lack of adequate sanitationfacilities

The United Nations, incollaboration with individualnations, regularly monitors access towater and sanitation. United Nations’World Health Organisation is one ofthe leading agencies in estimatingthe deaths caused by water-bornediseases. The most recentlycompleted assessment, published in2000 by the World HealthOrganisation (WHO 2000), is themost comprehensive to date,providing information for 89% of theworld’s population.

International statistics (WHO andUNICEF 2000) indicates that 2.6

billion people in the world today arewithout any form of “improvedsanitation” (defined by WHO as a pit

toilet, a pour-flush toilet or a WCconnected to a public sewer or a septictank). The real situation is even worse:the statistics include toilets that areso bad, or shared by so many peoplethat it cannot be regarded as“improved sanitation”.

About one billion of the six billionpeople in the world are served bysewerage systems but much of thissewerage is discharged into rivers,lakes and the sea with little or notreatment: Only about 300 millionpeople have their sewage treated inan environmentally acceptable way(Matsui 2002). The excreta from theremaining 5.7 billion people aredischarged directly into theenvironment.

The World Health Organisation’sdata showed high morbidity anddeath rates worldwide due toconsumption of unsafe drinkingwater. Currently, about 20% of theworld’s population lacks access to safedrinking water, and more than fivemillion people die annually fromillnesses associated with unsafedrinking water or inadequatesanitation. If everyone had safedrinking water and adequatesanitation services, there would be200 million fewer cases of diarrhoeaand 2.1 million fewer deaths causedby diarrhoea illness each year1 .

According to the U.S. Bureau ofthe Census international data groupand UN population estimates, globalpopulation between 2000 and 2020will grow from just over 6 billion toas much as 7.5 billion, with most ofthe increase in developing countriesof Africa and Asia. Projections offuture water-related deaths willdepend on these future populationestimates as well as a wide range of

1 While each of these assessments offers a picture of the populations without accessto water and sanitation services, different rates of response to surveys, inconsistentdefinitions of “access” and “adequate,” and poor data availability make it difficult,and ill-advised, to draw conclusive trends over time. At the same time, despiteproblems with the data, it is evident that while progress has been made in providingwater services to specific regions and areas, limited resources and rapidly growingpopulations have made it difficult to provide comprehensive and complete waterand sanitation coverage for all. The most serious consequence of this failure iswidespread water-related disease and death.

While data are incomplete, the World Health Organisation estimated in the 2000assessment that there are four billion cases of diarrhea each year in addition tomillions of other cases of illness associated with the lack of access to clean water.Since many illnesses are undiagnosed and unreported, the true extent of these diseasesis unknown.

Estimates Of Water-RelatedMortality

� World Health Organisation2000 - 2.2 million (diarrhoeadiseases only)

� World Health Organisation1999 - 2.3 million

� WaterDome 2002 -more than three million

� World Health Organisation1992 - four million

� World Health Organisation1996 - more than five million

� Hunter et. al. 2000 -more than five million

� UNDP 2002 -more than five million

� Johannesburg Summit 2002 -more than five million

� Hinrichsen et.al. 1997 -12 million

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other factors. Excluding deaths frommalaria and other diseases carried bywater-related insect vectors, thecurrent international estimates oftotal water-related disease mortalityrange between 2.2 and five millionannually.

No “best estimate” is provided. Thewide range of this estimate is, byitself, a strong indicator of the needfor better monitoring and datacollection on this public healthproblem.

Sanitation According ToGeographical Regions

The majority of these people livein Asia and Africa, where less thanone-half of all Asians have access toimproved sanitation and two out offive Africans lack improved watersupply. Moreover, rural services stilllag far behind urban services.Sanitation coverage in rural areas, forexample, is less than half of that inurban settings, even though 80% ofthose lacking adequate sanitation(two billion people) live in rural areas– some 1.3 billion in China and Indiaalone.

And the urban populations ofAfrica, Asia, and Latin America andthe Caribbean are expected to increasedramatically. The African urbanpopulation is expected to more thandouble over the next 25 years, whilethat of Asia will almost double. Theurban population of Latin Americaand the Caribbean is expected toincrease by almost 50% over the sameperiod.

Although the greatest increase inpopulation will be in urban areas, theworst levels of coverage at present arein rural areas.

There are specific problems facedby each region.

AfricaAfrica is facing an on-going,

endemic water and sanitation crisis

that debilitates and kills in largenumbers, limiting economic growth,educational access, and lifeopportunities. Most at risk are thepoor, especially women and childrenin rural and informal settlements.Only 62% of Africans have access tosafe water (85% urban and 47%rural), the lowest regional coveragein the world. Just 60% of thepopulation has access to adequatesanitation.

East Asia and PacificThe East Asia-Pacific region with

its large population may hold the keyto achieving the global MillenniumDevelopment Goals (MDGs). Itfeatures some of the world’s mostrapidly growing and robusteconomies, but development progressvaries widely among the countries inthe region. There are 480 million poorpeople in East Asia who need to gainsustained access to safe water suppliesand sanitation services.

Latin America and CaribbeanAbout 220 million people live in

poverty in Latin America and there is

still a long way to reach the MDGs ina sustainable way: To meet the targetin water and sanitation,approximately 123 million additionalpeople in urban areas and 23 millionadditional people in rural areas willrequire access to water supply. Forsanitation, 131 million additionalurban dwellers and 32 million ruralinhabitants will need access toservices.

South AsiaThe region is experiencing a

paradigm shift in rural sanitation thatis on track to enable achievement ofthe MDGs ahead of schedule inBangladesh and India. During fiscal2005 significant strides were made inpromoting the approach of rewardingvillages and districts for achievementof “open defecation-free” (ODF) statusand movement up the sanitationladder. Bangladesh and India bothadopted national programmes topromote Total Sanitation byrewarding villages achieving ODFstatus.

Millennium DevelopmentGoals 2

Everyone has a part to play toachieve UN’s MDG

Increasing recognition on howsanitation directly impacts on health,living conditions, education andpoverty reduction has intensified the

2 The eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – which range from halving extremepoverty to halting the spread of HIV/AIDS and providing universal primary education,all by the target date of 2015 – form a blueprint agreed to by all the world’s countriesand the entire world’s leading development institutions. They have galvanizedunprecedented efforts to meet the needs of the world’s poorest. More informationat http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/

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advocacy for markedly improvedsanitation access. The inclusion ofsanitation targets in MillenniumDevelopment Goals (MDGs) and anunderstanding that improvedsanitation is essential to achievingtargets for good health, holisticeducation and environmentalsustainability has given furtherimpetus to address the challenge ofsustainable sanitation. Sanitation inthis context refers to the immediatehousehold and community needs forhuman excreta management requiredfor privacy, a healthy living conditionand a clean environment.

The Millennium DevelopmentGoals (MDGs) are eight goals to beachieved by 2015 that respond to theworld’s main development challenges.The MDGs are drawn from the actionsand targets contained in theMillennium Declaration that wasadopted by 189 nations, and signedby 147 heads of state andGovernments during the UNMillennium Summit in September2000.

Goal Seven, for example, is toensure environmental sustainability,to reduce by half the proportion ofpeople without sustainable access tosafe drinking water and basicsanitation. Just as important are theother goals like ‘integrate theprinciples of sustainable developmentinto country policies andprogrammes; reverse loss ofenvironmental resources’ and ‘achievesignificant improvement in lives ofat least 100 million slum dwellers, by2020’

To achieve the 2015 targets inAfrica, Asia and Latin America andthe Caribbean alone, an additional 2.2billion people will need access tosanitation by that date. In effect, thismeans providing sanitation facilitiesto 384,000 people every day till 2015.

The Role Of WTO In RuralEnvironment Sanitation

WTO supports the MDG withEcological Sanitation

World Toilet Organisation (WTO)is committed to support advocacy andconsensus building on the importanceof sanitation and continues tospearhead the cause on effective and

locally adapted sanitation approachesand technologies.

WTO advocates environmentallysafe and sustainable sanitationsystems. Safe sanitation systems areproven to solve many water relatedissues. Thus, adoptingenvironmentally safe systems will, inthe long run, help greatly inminimizing water borne health issues.Further, since sanitation systems areused by the people everyday, safesystems will educate people in termsof their hygiene and cleanliness. WTOalso believes in continuous trainingand education. People need to be told,and told again and again.

The objectives of WTO in ruralsanitation include developing andintroducing sustainable, innovativeapproaches to help improve sanitationservices in needy communities in thedeveloping countries by working withthe authorities, organisations andbusinesses responsible for sanitationin rural areas.

Social marketing strategy isbroadly recognized as the use ofmarketing strategies and techniquesto achieve a social goal, and WTO hasadopted this strategy to meet the MDGon sanitation. Social marketing coversboth demand and supply. It aims atstimulating a desire for toilets and

Benefits of Ecological SanitationWater

School children of today will be the users and decision-makers oftomorrow. Therefore topics related to ecological sanitation should be

included in school curricula.

Start with and for the children

Public-toilets in Bangalore, India

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meet the user’s needs by tailoring thedesign and number of toilets andconsider the user’s ability to afford.A two-step mechanism is adopted,which includes – capacity building3

of the local workers and decisionmakers with respect to toiletconstruction, and constructing toiletswhich stand out as examples foradoption by the local people.

WTO’s philosophy ofenvironmentally safe and sustainablesanitation solutions incorporates theresource recovery options – in theform of green energy (biogas) andnutrient reclamation (compost).Further, these sanitation solutionsadvocate minimal use of water in theprocess. Dry sanitation systems arealso available and are ideally suitedfor many locations. In a few locations,like Indonesia, where water is usedfor personal cleansing and is acultural practice, it is not possible tochange, unless there is an acuteshortage of water. There are examplesof such interventions in manycountries. WTO also incorporates theuse of grey water (washwater, kitchenwater) for toilet flushing so that ineffective the wastewater generated isminimized. Rainwater harvesting isanother intervention, whose usageminimizes the quantity of water goingdown the drain.

In collaboration with Habitat forHumanity, funded by World VisionLanka and Lien Foundation, a projectwas undertaken by WTO to capacitybuild the local construction workersin construction of ecologically safesanitation systems in the tsunamiaffected areas in Sri Lanka. Thistraining led to the construction ofmore than 50 Ecosan toilets in a spanof three months. WTO also prepareda document on designing of toilets,emphasizing the fact that “Sanitationis Dignity” for the NGOs working inSri Lanka.

This experience in implementationof ecological sanitation within thecultural context of Sri Lanka led to aproject on a larger scale, involvingcommunity participation andempowering their capacities. BandaAceh and Meulaboh in Indonesia areamong the badly affected cities bytsunami. The water table level in thecities has risen to an alarming height,making sanitation issues more critical.With funding from Singapore RedCross Tidal Waves Asia Fund andsupported by Kimberly ClarkProfessional, WTO has taken up aproject in training local engineers,designers, decision makers, andcontractors in designing andconstructing of ecologically safesanitation systems. It is also

constructing Ecosan community toiletsin 13 locations in Banda Aceh andMeulaboh. This project is on-going.

The Role Of WTO In UrbanDevelopment

Water & Basic Sanitation — AMatter of Life and Death4 inurban areas too

The availability of clean, freshwater is one of the most importantissues facing humanity today - andwill be increasingly critical for thefuture, as growing demands outstripsupplies and pollution continues tocontaminate rivers, lakes and streams.

To raise awareness and galvanizeaction to better manage and protectthis crucial resource, the UnitedNations General Assembly hasproclaimed the year 2003 as theInternational Year of Freshwater(Water Year 2003).

“Lack of access to water - fordrinking, hygiene and food security- inflicts enormous hardship on morethan a billion members of the humanfamily,” said United NationsSecretary-General Kofi Annan.“Water is likely to become a growingsource of tension and fiercecompetition between nations, ifpresent trends continue, but it canalso be a catalyst for cooperation. TheInternational Year of Freshwater canplay a vital role in generating theaction needed — not only byGovernments but also by civil society,communities, the business sector andindividuals all over the world.”

To meet the MDG targets requirescoordinated action, not just fromGovernments but also from peoplewho use water and those who investin it. Substantial resources are alsoneeded. Currently, it is estimated thatapproximately US$30 billion per yearis being spent on meeting drinkingwater supply and sanitationrequirements worldwide. It isestimated that an additional US$14to US$30 billion per year would beneeded to meet the targets on waterand sanitation.

Virtually all societies in the last20 years are wrestling with anacceleration and intensification ofpeople movement, and this has a greatimpact on environmental sanitation.

3 Capacity building is facilitated by World Toilet College (more details provided below)4 The UN Works for Freshwater

Benefits of Ecological SanitationEnergy

Cooking using biogas from human excreta

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Many nations have also beenworking to industrialize, with aneye towards export markets. Thecost of their respective successes iscompounding the rate ofenvironmental degradation, and insome cases, of massive proportion.Only about 300 million people havetheir sewage treated in anenvironmentally acceptable way(Matsui 2002 ) , as mentionedabove.

At the expense of this aresanitation facilities, ranging fromsolid waste treatment to adequatepublic toilet facilities. UnitedNations Centre for HumanSettlements (UNCHS) estimates thatover 20 mega-cities with 10 millionpeople or more will be found indeveloping countries. This willcontribute to the fact that globally,less than 70% of solid waste is beingcollected, only 50% of householdshave sanitation, and thus toiletfacilities.

Furthermore, low or non-existent capacity in wastewatertreatment is another major factorcausing water pollution in mostparts of the developing world. InLatin America, only about 14% ofurban wastewater received propertreatment before discharge.Although the level of sewagetreatment is reported to be higheramong Asian cities (on averageabout 35%), it is still unacceptablethat most of the wastewater isdirectly drained to various waterbodies. Standard wastewatertreatment is almost non-existent inmany African cities. Toilets, andlack of them, have a major impacton environmental sanitation. Liketoilets, there are also many othertypes of environmental concerns.

In the past, toilet ‘hardware’components have seized the lion’sshare of any city’s budget. In turn,there was neglect or outright dropin mass education about toilethygiene. Research has shown thatit is the correct use of water andsanitation facilities that yield thegreatest health impact. Accessalone may bring little or no healthimpact. For efforts to be sustainedthere i s a need to addressbehaviour change andconditioning.

WTO’s Annual Activities

Utilizing the media to reach outto everyone

Where it matter most for manyof us is sanitation in public places5

- where a large number of people areusing one area, such as a bus stationor school, especially when they areeating food from the same source,there is a greater risk of the spreadof diseases such as cholera, hepatitisA, typhoid and other diarrhoeadiseases.

These places vary in the numberof people using them, the amount oftime that people spend there and thetype of activity that occurs in the area,but all public places need to haveadequate sanitation and hygienefacilities.

Responsibility for the provision ofsanitation facilities in public places isnot always obvious, especially wherethese are informal gathering places. Itis vital, however, that an agencymonitors the sanitation facilities inpublic places on behalf of the users.Ideally, this should be part of the roleof the Ministry of Health, or itsequivalent. Special attention should bepaid to the adequacy of facilities, theiravailability to the public, and theconditions of their operation.

However, in reality, provision ofgood public toilet facilities areneglected worldwide. Until recently,the fear of embarrassment preventsdiscussion on the subject. Solutionscannot be found if discussions arediscouraged. Campaigns for socialchange faced an uphill task.

Dirty toilets are not unique toSingapore. In fact, Toilets NGOs aresprouting out worldwide on their owninitiatives and there has not been aglobal platform for advocacy of bettersanitation, and taking responsibilityfor the environment.

Important components of anyeffective strategy will include theintroduction of new technologies,communication, training, policychanges, and community involvement.The sanitation issues include:

� Sanitation needs to addressed asa whole, including theimprovement of facilities,environmental conditions andbehavioral or social change;

� Programmes are demand-basedand the community should be fullyinvolved in the process; the massmedia should be utilised topublicize them.

� Sanitation should be a componentof other health-promoting ordisease control programmes;

5 World Health Organisation

Benefits of Ecological SanitationNutrition

Restored soil fertility throughnutrient reuse

Improved soil quality throughreuse of organics

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priority should be at the nationallevel to be sustainable.

� To sustain the change over along period of time until suchchange becomes internalizedand part of our social culture.

� To accelerate our own ‘learning-curve’ by learning from theworld-wide toilet fraternityespecial ly from experts inJapan, Taiwan, UK, Australia,Finland, USA.

� To mobilize and coordinate bothvolunteers and interestedorganisations to assist in thisnational effort as a civil societyand through our work, bringpride and dignity to our peopleon their daily visits to the toilet.

� To provide capacity training toraise the standards of all whoare involved

This strategy is reflected in theactivities that WTO holds annually.

World Toilet Summit & WorldToilet Expo / Forum

There is no need to reinvent thewheel every time

The opportunity of networkingwith the professionals to propagatethe need for better toilet standardsglobally, and to gather resources,promote creative development andsustainability effort for sanitationissues, perpetuates annually witheach World Toilet Summit.

The world was first introduced toWTO at the 1st World Toilet Summitheld in Singapore from November 19to 21, 2001 at the Singapore Expowith support and acknowledgmentfrom both the Singapore Ministry ofthe Environment, and the UnitedNation Environment Programmeamongst others.

WTO has also started a series ofWorld Toilet Expo & Forum events.While World Toilet Summit remainsa global platform and conference-led, the new series is expo-led, andfocus more on regional and localsolutions on public toilets of the hostcountry.

From 2001, the World ToiletSummit was launched in Singapore.Thereafter, it became a travellingroad-show:

� Year 2002, November, SuwonCity, Korea

� Year 2003, October, Taipei,Taiwan

� Year 2004, November, Beijing,China

� From 2005, there were twoconferences per year:

� Year 2005, May, Shanghai,China – World Toilet Expo &

Forum� Year 2005, November, Belfast,

United Kingdom – World ToiletSummit

� Year 2006, May, Indonesia –World Toilet Expo & Forum

� Year 2006, September, Moscow,Russia – World Toilet Summit

� Year 2006, November, Bangkok,Thailand – World Toilet Expo &Forum

One direct benefit is tourism.Today, there are still many touristsites without international gradetoilet acceptable to tourists. Nomatter how attractive or historic atourist site is, it cannot attract andserve tourist unless it has equallyattractive toilets.

Public toilets were originallybuild to serve locals and designedbased on their culture and habits.With air travel cost dropping andthe proliferation of budget airlines,more people are t ravel l ing.Spending power is also growing.

Tourists with food and drinksneeds to plan visits to the toilet on

an average 2 � � to 3hrs. If suchtoilets visits are facilitated well, thegoodwill will bring tourists back.Tourism is hospitality. Relatedtopics are brought up during TheWorld Toilet Summits e.g. KoreaSuwon, Super toi lets; Beij ingTourism Bureau’s renovation of alltourism toilets in Beijing; ShanghaiWorld Toilet Forum.

World Toilet Day, November 19

It’s everybody’s business

The purpose of this Day is tohave people in all countries to takeaction, to increase awareness oftoilet users’ right to a better toiletenvironment, and to demand for itfrom the toilet owners. As such, itis also the toilet user’s duty tocontr ibute towards i tsmaintenance, c leanl iness andhygiene.

Press releases are sent to themedia, and notices send to all ToiletAssociations to be united in ourmessage. On this day we at theSecretariat of WTO would like alltoilet users to get involved. As thesaying goes, “If you don’t discussit, you can’t improve it.” Rather,‘It’s everybody’s business’

For World Toilet Day 2006, wewould l ike the country ’ssupermarkets to extend a discountfor all toilet products. This willoffer households a f inancial

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incentive to break the toilet taboo.The more people like toilets, theymore they’ll talk about it and takecare of it.

World Toilet College

Training with a Social Mission

WTO has started World ToiletCollege (WTC) in 2005 becausethere was a need for anindependent world body to ensurethat the best standards in ToiletDesign, Cleanliness, Maintenance,Quality of Work and SanitationTechnologies are kept.

There are present ly nocomprehensive toilet educationalinstitutions that address both urbanand rural toi le ts ’ needs in acontinuous manner. Locally andworldwide, through WTO, WTC hassupport f rom Governmentministries and agencies, privatecompanies, sanitation experts, andindustry stalwarts. In addition,WTO has a network of resourcessuch as the World Toilet Summitsand the Singapore Polytechnic toleverage.

The training programmes havea societal miss ion besidesimparting technical skills:

� Toilet cleaners are lowly paidworkers that are not alwaysappreciated. By re-creating thejob, and bringing it to a newprofessional level, they becomemulti-skilled to become betterpa id and more product iveRestroom Specialists.

� The Ecologica l Sani ta t ionCourse is the first of many thatwi l l t ra in much neededsanitation human resource –estimated to only number 400presently - to help alleviate the2.4 billion people worldwidethat do not have a toilet.

� Badly des igned publ icres t rooms are d i r ty andshunned by users, which maylead to personal hea l thproblems . Moreover, theRestroom Design course willalso help reinforce designs andprovisions that promote pottyparity.

CONCLUSION

The wor ld ’ s sani ta t ionproblems seem insurmountable,but with everyone playing a part,we can help achieve the MDG forwater and basic sanitation. Wecan empower local communities tonot only help the underprivilegedbut also conduct activities thatinstill pride and ownership inhaving clean toilets and adequatesanitation. BEM

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RestroomSpecialist

EcologicalSanitation

RestroomDesign

Coming Up: Plumbing Course

Restroom Specialist Training CourseTrain the Trainers’ course, June 2006

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Managing Mega Projects- The Experiences Of KLIA

50

By Tan Sri Dato’ Prof. Ir. Jamilus Hussein and Prof. Dr. Shafie Karimin

N o one, especially in theaviation fraternity, wouldhave thought and believed

that a small group of Malaysianprofessionals would have been ableto deliver successfully The KLInternational Airport (KLIA) projectto the Government of Malaysia sevenyears from the word ‘go’.

Touted as one of the mostarchitecturally beautiful andsophisticated airport in the world, theprofoundness of this achievementwould be more overwhelming if thefollowing considerations are takeninto account;

� A green field 25 million passengerper annum 1st Phase airportdevelopment on a generally peatsoil, palm oil plantation andsecondary forest site,

� Seven-year completion frominitiation to site study andselection, Masterplan and

Architectural design concept,engineering design, procurement,physical construction, testing andcommissioning, and the crucialairport operational readiness andtransfer exercise,

� Two years into the project, asudden fundamental shift in theproject’s organisational andprocurement approach was made– from a contractor-drivendesign and build turnkey to aclient-driven total projectmanagement approach,

� 205 different contract packagesrunning concurrently on a 7850acres 1st Phase development site,with 130 million metres of earthmoved; two 1.1 km tunnel BHSconnecting tunnel; 200,000square metres of graniteflooring; 18,500 km fibre opticcables laid; 30,000 workers atpeak from 50 different countries;to name a few,

� 52 months total constructionincluding testing andcommissioning and operationalreadiness and transfer from the oldairport in Subang,

� First ever airport to successfullydevelop, design and implement afully integrated IT airportmanagement system,

� No major operational breakdownon opening day except a minorglitch on the baggage handlingsystem (BHS),

� From a submitted estimate ofRM20 billion design and buildturnkey contract without timecompletion guarantee, the projectestimate was reduced to RM11billion on the same scope with fullcommitment on time completionby KLIA Berhad – a newly setupMalaysian run Minister ofFinance Inc company given thetask to implement the project inlate 1993.

Managing Mega Projects- The Experiences Of KLIA

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June 28, 1998, was the KLIAinaugurated date declaring the airportofficially opened to commercialoperation. It was also a date whereMalaysians realized that throughproper and effective usage of projectmanagement knowledge and skillslarge, scale and complex projects canbe completed in time and within costwithout sacrificing architecturalbeauty, functionality and quality. Itwas also a date that showcased to theworld, Malaysian professionals’strength and capability in the field ofproject management and constructionmanagement.

Since then, this small group ofMalaysian professionals, through itspresent flagship company KLIAConsultancy Services Sdn Bhd (KLIAConsult), has continued to utilize thegreat benefits of project managementin handling large-scale Governmentprojects. Amongst them are;

� airport,� dam, water treatment plant, and

solid waste treatment plant,� railway and monorail,� highrise office building complex,� integrated transport terminal,� integrated transport information

system,� university campus, and� hospital.

From these experiences, severalimportant aspects that need to begiven serious effort to ensure thatlarge-scale projects achieve thedesired performance and success are:

� The need for effective projectmanagement on both Client/Owner and Contractorsorganisation – knowledge,experience and competency

� Managing large-scale projects isabout managing complexities –work content and work processes

� Strategic project planning is keyto control

� Good leadership is vital for success

Projects And Project Management

Projects are projects whether theyare small or mega in scale. The

difference between the two lies in thebreadth and depth in term ofcomplexity of scope and scale. In asfar as the life cycle is concerned, everyproject goes through almost the samestages, phases and related workprocesses. Furthermore, thecharacteristic of a project will notchange whether a formal projectmanagement processes is used or not.

What changes is how events andissues are dealt with effectively andefficiently while the project is inprogress so as not to jeopardize thetargeted project objectives in time,cost, and quality. All projects willcertainly face issues, potential risks,conflicts, and uncertainties caused bylack of or indifferent flow of projectinformation, which if not dealt withproperly, systematically, and timelywill increase the risk of project failure.It is a question of doing the wrongthing right as against doing the rightthing wrong. Even doing half rightof what is wrong from the outset maysave the project from total failure.

Modern Project Management hasevolved to specifically deal with thesekinds of situation. It is essentiallyabout ensuring that a project willsucceed in meeting the client’s setobjective/s. It is an organisationalmanagement approach andmethodology that provide theframework and system withguidelines, processes, procedures,tools and techniques to manage theworkload, the people, andorganisation/s involved in the project.Its approach is also much aboutintuitive, managerial, and humanisticskills to mobilize the energies ofdiverse and multi-disciplinary team

members to work in a goal-orientated,disciplined, and team-workingenvironment to achieve projectperformance.

Project management is a sciencein that it relies on proven andrepeatable processes and techniquesto achieve project success. It is an artbecause it also involves managingand relating to people, and requiresthe project manager to apply intuitiveskills in situations that are totallyunique for each project. A goodproject management methodologyprovides the framework, processes,guidelines, and techniques to managethe people and the workload. A goodmethodology increases the odds ofbeing successful and thereforeprovides value to the organisation, theproject, and the project manager.

The biggest value proposition forproject management, particularly inmanaging large-scale complex timebound projects, relates to the wayproject organisation and the teammembers execute the following set ofproject implementation methodology:

� Communicating and managingexpectations with clients, teammembers, and stakeholders moreeffectively.

Many problems on a project can beavoided with proactive and multi-faceted communication. In addition,much of the conflict that arises ona project is not the result of a specificproblem, but because of surprises.Standard methodologies alwaysfocus on formal and informalcommunication, which results infewer surprises.

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� More focus on metrics and fact-based decision-making.

One of the more sophisticatedaspects of project managementmethodologies is that they provideguidance to make it easier tocollect metrics (measures). Metricsgive you information that helpsyou to determine how effectiveand efficient your team isperforming and the level of thequality of your deliverables.

� Improved work environment.

If the project is well planned andperforms accordingly the workenvironment improvestremendously. Clients will be morewilling to provide additionalsupport, project team memberswill take more ownership of theproject, morale will be better, andthe project team will behave witha greater sense of professionalismand self-confidence.

� Resolving problems more quickly.

On many occasions, some teammembers spend too much time andenergy dealing with problemsbecause they do not know how toresolve the problems to begin with.Having a proactive issuemanagement process helpsensure that problems areresolved as quickly aspossible.

� Better solution “fit” the firsttime through betterplanning.

Many projects experienceproblems because there is agap between what the clientexpects and what the projectteam delivers. Using projectmanagement methodologyresults in better projectplanning, which gives theteam and the sponsor anopportunity to make surethey are in agreement on themajor deliverables producedby the project.

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� Resolving future risk beforeproblems occur.

All project managementmethodologies have processes inplace to identify and manage risks.Risk management will result inpotential problems beingidentified and managed before theproblems actually occur.

Nevertheless, it is important to beaware that by putting up a projectmanagement system andmethodology will not necessarily leadto project performance if the projectmanagement culture within theproject organisation and teammember level of project managementknowledge and practice is low andinadequate. Project success also hasto do with the level of competency ofindividual team members in the‘know-what’ (project managementbody of knowledge, disciplinaryknowledge) and the ‘have what’(experience-know how, humanistic/soft skills). The level of competencyis very much dependent on the levelof exposure and capability of theproject manager and members in hisproject organisation (these are theknow who) in utilizing the ‘know-what’ and ‘have what’ specific to theproject external and internalenvironment requirements to match

the project success metrics. Inaddition, both of these aspects ofcompetency must at the same timebe matched with the required level ofcompetency in the various technicaldisciplinary fields to enable the rightplanning, problem-solving anddecision-making.

In the final analysis, the sum ofthe level of competencies of theindividual team members and projectmanagement organisation in the‘know what’ and the ‘have what’, and‘know how’ of the technicaldisciplinary knowledge will ensureproject issues are being address in aproactive, systematic and timelymanner. When an organisationdevelops this project managementworking culture, one that ischaracterized with team-working,process and goal-orientated,discipline, problem-solving, anddecision-making traits, the odds fora project to perform and achievesuccess will be very much increased.

Figure 1 and Figure 2 depict theconcept and role of projectmanagement in the constructionindustry and how the projectmanagement organisation on theclient/owner work side by side withthe contractor’s constructionmanagement organisation to realizeand make sure project objectives andgoal are achieved.

T

- The client determines that WHAT.

- The construction industry determines the HOW.

- The construction industry is obligated to results, based on key role of Project Management in conceptual development, optimisation of know-how and innovative processes.

- Independent role of Project Management in protecting Client's overall interest is assured as it is the Project Managers main interest.

- Independent Project Management will result in the right balance throughout the Project between Budget, Quality, Time, Information & Organisation forcing all involved Parties to clearly focused on Client's aim and objectives.

- The (non-technical) Client can focus on his pricipal role in the Project without placing a load on his organisation. Thus, retaining his valuable resources for his Core Business

The Rightful Roles:WHAT

HOW

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ion

Ind

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ProjectManagement

DisciplinaryConsultants

Main Contractor &Sub-Contractors

LeadConsultant

Figure 1: Role of Project Management

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Managing Mega Project Is AboutManaging Complexities

The term “mega” denotessomething that is huge – size, scale,scope, requirements, money,functionality, form, technical, etc.,which in turn conjures the variouscontention of difficulties one will faceto get the project completed andachieve the desired “value” outcomein time, cost, and quality.

In the managerial sense, itconcerns the issue of acuteness of thespan-of-control to affect effectivenessin controlling the various types andlevel of on-going planned projectevents and activities so that theyperform to the desired technical,quality, sequence and timerequirements.

In construction, the issue of span-of-control of the multitude of projectactivities is relative to the aspect of“time”, which in turn influence thelevel of risks the project faces. Whentime is not a factor to do the thingsyou want to do, no matter what thescale and size, the issue of difficultyand complexity are rendered lessacute. Things can be done in arelatively smooth step-by-stepmanner following each event andwork activity process with far less

conflicts. The same goes foravailability and management ofresources, funding and cashflow. Aslong as there is a proper and effectivemonitoring and control mechanismput in place, a proper and disciplinedorganisation, competent andknowledgeable personnel to keepthings in hold, good leadership, andgood contractors and consultants,one can expect the project to performconsiderably well.

In managing mega projects, timeis a luxury one could not afford.With time as one of the coreobjectives of a project, even a simpleproject may become more complexto deliver. For a mega project, thebigger the scale and size of theproject the more complex the workprocesses gets and a slight delay inone component of the project willhave an exponential knock-on effectto the other project components. Anoversight on one component on anyaspect of the work requirement canresult in the other components to bereviewed and reworked. In projects,there are always potential issues andconflicts along the way that if notcaptured and addressed adequatelyfrom the outset may well be thecrucial blow to project progress andperformance.

In mega projects, every effort mustbe given to the task of identifying andaddressing the occurrences of issuesand conflicts at the outset and duringthe implementation phase with theaim to reduce them to the minimum.In particular, difficulties are prone toarise out of the issue of procurementand contractual obligation vis-à-viswork execution; work packagesintegration and interfacing;communication and information flowvis-à-vis decision-making;organisational issues vis-à-visresource adequacy, teamwork, andcommitment level. All of these havea high potential to adversely affecttime, cost, and quality output.

It is the task of the projectplanner/s together with the projectteam members to pierce through themaze and come out with the necessarystrategies, plans, and system ofcontrol.

The planners need to analyze thewhole macro and micro projectdelivery processes in detail (seeFigure 3 and Figure 4) to seekpotential conflicts that constrain thedelivery process. Interest of theproject’s stakeholders need to becross-checked and streamlined withthe competing demands coming fromthe external and internal project

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WHAT

HOW

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Ind

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ProjectManagement

DisciplinaryConsultants

Main Contractor &Sub-Contractors

LeadConsultant

Project ManagementOrganisation

Both organisationcompliment to work towards

Project objectives

ContractorConstruction Management

Organisation

Planning &Integration

QualityQA/QC

CostCotract

RiskHSSE Design Dev.

EngineeringCost

CotractRisk

HSSEDesign Dev.Engineering

(Consultants)

Planning &Integration

QualityQA/QC

Construction Management &

Supervision

PD/PMPM Org

ClientPD/PM

PM Org.

Client

PD/PMContract Org.

Figure 2: Role of Project Management within Client and Contractors organisation

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environment to determine andestablish ‘what’ needs to be donein what manner and ‘how’ will itbe done in order to meet thepredetermined project objectivesin t ime , qua l i ty, and cos t .Appropriate project strategy vis-à-vis the project’s critical successfactors needs to be established foran appropriate project structureand management control system tobe developed.

Strategic Project Planning Is KeyTo Control

The essence of managingcomplexities is about control and theability of the implementingorganisation to increase effectivenessin its managerial span-of-control.When the risks are high, the key torisk management and control of theproject performance is effectiveplanning. This is to ensure plans thatare put in place effectively streamlineand offer quick responses to anyconflicts and issues arising out of thecompeting demands from externaland internal parties.

The performance of managerialcontrol over the project to meetproject objectives and goals will belargely dependent on strategiesformulated to control not just plannedwork activities duration, cost, andquality but also, manage

complexities, the aspects on projectorganisation and information control(see Figure 4). Due to the differentnature of work activities as the projectundergoes different project phases, setof requirements for the five controlelements also changes. The controlprocesses of these five controlelements need to be planned andstructured to correspond to therequirements and complexity of workcontent and activities in each andsometimes overlapping phases.

The planning process, as depictedin Figure 5, starts not just with theproject scoping and the project

technicalities but more importantlylooks at the strategic element of theproject. Failure to look at this aspect,particularly in managing complex job,will render inadequacy andineffectiveness to the projectorganisation to respond and maketimely decision on issues,complications, and conflicts thatarises throughout project phases.

Once the planning exercise iscompleted, project implementationplans which also includes themonitoring and control systems, mustbe effectively transmitted andcommunicated to the variousorganisations in the project team.These plans should adequatelyaddress the critical implementationconsiderations, as follows:

� Project implementation strategiesin architectural and engineeringdesign concept and workapproach; the most effectiveprocurement and contractualapproach; funding and costmanagement, quality assuranceand quality controlimplementation; most suitableproject organisation structure;effective monitoring and controlsystem; vis-à-vis the establishedproject critical success factors.

� Master work implementationprogramme, schedules and workactivities methodologies.

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Each Phase will be subjected to Controlling Processes In

Time, Cost, Quality, Organisation & Information

Each Development Phasemust be Controlled to

ensure the Project Development is in

accordance with the setProject END RESULT or

GOAL Broad Plan forsubsequent Phases

Detailed Plan & Approachfor next Phase

Project Result

Controlling Aspects

TCQOI

Figure 4: Elements in Project Control

Figure 3: Framework to control project complexity

Mission

Strategy

MGT Style

Structure

Systems

SkillStaff

Stakeholders

Determination of Project's Managerial Approach

Wh

atH

ow

ProjectsDevelopment Environments

Shared Values

Critical Success Factors

Cultural behavior & strong traditions

Roles, Responsibilties, Powers & Structure

Management & Administrative Procedures

Recruitment of Skilled Staff as a result of above

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� Authority level and decision-making structure and protocols.

� Communication and informationflow structure and protocols forthe whole project organisation –includes document management.

� Organisational, managerial andadministrative procedures.

� Risk management plan

All these plans must be developed,documented, and communicatedduring the initiation stage and furtherrefined from feedback as the projectprogresses. The strategic role of theplanners continues throughout theproject in particular working with thevarious contractors’ planners inmaking sure their work activitiesWBS, sequence of work activities, andduration are coordinated with themaster implementation programme.The planners are the custodian of themonitoring and control of alldevelopment and site activities where‘trouble-shooting’, re-strategizing,and re-planning are a continuous,constant and iterative process untilthe project is completed.

Leadership And The HumanDimension In A Project

One of the aspects in projectmanagement managerial frameworkas shown in Figure 3 is managementstyle. The importance of managerial

style in formulating projectorganisational strategies alludes to thefact that different types of projectrequire different types of inter-personal traits of the leader to leadthe different levels of the projectorganisation. In addition, the differentnature of task and activitiesthroughout the life cycle phases of theproject requires different type oforganisational structure thatnecessitates different style ofmanagement. It also alludes to thedifferent personality traits of thedifferent category of personnel andworkers involved in the project toexecute the different nature of tasksand activities required in the life cycleof the project. For these reasons, goodproject leadership is at every stage ofthe project.

In mega projects, the diversity ofthe project types, organisationallevels, and personnel and workersinvolved is as diverse as the projectscope. With the numerous tasks to beaccomplished by the various teammembers and other related parties,project leaders must foster a workingenvironment of active participationand minimize dysfunctional conflicts.They must have the ability andcapacity to attract willingness fromthe project team and related partiesto participate, be motivated, andcommitted to achieving the project’svision, objectives and goals with the

resources at their disposal within arealistic timeframe. They mustdemonstrate that they are also goodmanagers and good leaders, withstrong will and focus that takesresponsibility for decision-making aswell team builders and integratorsproviding all the opportunity for teammembers to perform. A goodcommunicator and listener is sensitiveenough to the project organisationalbehaviour and the changesthroughout the project life cycle tonurture trust and respect that willinspire the development and creationof self directed work teams.

It is through good strongleadership and ‘managership’ thatteam members and related partieswould be willing to go the ‘extra mile’to meet the project objectives andgoals. With good, efficient, andeffective ‘stewardship’ of the wholeproject organisation, it will be highlyunlikely projects do not perform tomeet objectives and goals to thesatisfaction of the client.

CONCLUSION

Projects will be projects whethermega or otherwise. The differencebetween them is their level ofcomplexity. The higher the level ofcomplexity the higher the focus,attention, and effort needed during theplanning as well as the implementationstage. With time as a major deliverableand determining factor, to have controlover the entire work processesthroughout the project life cycle is theorder of the day. To increase the levelof span-of-control over the project,highly effective approaches andmethodologies are needed. For this, themodern project management approachhas shown to be most versatile andeffective to ensure project performanceand success.

Nevertheless, organisationalaspect is also a major determinant toproject performance. Good andeffective leadership and‘managership’ will inspire a highlyefficient and effective workingenvironment and teamwork with asingle focus and the extra mile tomake the project a success.

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Critical Success Factors

High Level Risk Estimation

Formulate Project Strategies

Organisational Conditions

Figure 5: The planning approach

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BEM


Today

engin

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osta

lgia

Jalan Petaling/Jalan Bandar, KL

Before

In between

Photos contributed by Miss Ling Pei San

KDN PP11720/1/2006 ISSN 0128-4347 VOL.31 … PDF (05_07)/BEM06/04_BEM Sep_Nov...Dato’ Prof. Ir. Dr. Wahid bin Omar Registrar Ir. Dr. Mohd Johari Md. Arif Secretary ... Ir. Prof.

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