BCA Singapore

We believe in recognising and celebrating exemplary practices within our Built Environment sector. Today, we are thrilled to spotlight Exyte, a leader in design, engineering and delivery of high-tech facilities in Singapore, for its commitment to nurturing talent and fostering a culture of continuous learning and growth. Exyte prioritises nurturing talent as a fundamental aspect of its core competencies. This begins with cultivating an environment that is enticing for employees, such as: ✔️ Openness to Innovation: A prime example of this is Mr. Ricky To, an architect by training, whose bold proposal to set up a Data and Digital Innovation department called 'Augment'. The department leads the implementation of various technological solutions to address everyday business problems by collaborating with users. This openness to innovation not only demonstrates Exyte's commitment to embracing new ideas but also its ability to leverage cutting-edge technologies for efficiency, benefiting both the organisation and its employees. ✔️ Talent Development and Mentorship: Today, Mr. To mentors fresh hires specialising in BIM, computer or data science and software development. One such mentee is Ms Oh Qi Qi. Their combined expertise can combine technology with various engineering disciplines to address industry-specific challenges, particularly those as massive and intricate as the Built Environment. Exyte also practices succession planning and has initiatives like High-Potential Employee Development and a Graduate Engineers Program to ensure a robust talent pipeline for sustained growth and innovation. ✔️ Growth-Oriented Culture: With a firm belief in outperforming competitors, Exyte implemented a Learning Management System (LMS) and launched a Training Catalogue with 180+ courses, witnessing a remarkable increase in staff training rates. ✔️ Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Initiatives: Exyte's recent hiring of an Employee Wellness Specialist underscores their commitment to fostering a workplace culture that promotes holistic well-being. 🔗 Read more on how Exyte delivers global impact and excellence with operations in over 20 countries to attract top talent worldwide!

The CORENET X submission portal has been revamped for a smoother user experience. Now featuring: 🔗 Web-based access (via Singpass login) - no software downloads needed! 🚀 Guided submission journey for easier use 🤝 Collaborative project workspace for streamlined access 🕵️‍♂️ Enhanced tracking of submission status & timelines 💳 Centralized payment portal for simplified fee processing Ready to explore these new features? 🔗 Express your interest at www.go.gov.sg/cxbeta. Let’s make project submissions hassle-free!

Heartiest congratulations to all winning teams of the inaugural AI Hackathon for the Built Environment Sector at Archifest 2024 in Singapore! The programme, spearheaded by SIA-YAL in support of BuildSG, drew participation from 10 teams with close to 50 participants. Among the champions is Team 9, whose innovative project, "Design Change Identification," tackles a critical issue in construction: design variations. Their solution utilises Machine Learning (ML) techniques to automate and identify the design changes in different versions of floor plans, thereby eliminating the mundane task of verifying the changes manually. This demonstrates the transformative power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in revolutionising construction processes, and improving overall project management efficiency. Ready to embark on your journey towards AI-driven excellence in the Built Environment? 🔗 Visit https://aihackathon.pro to get started.

Smart Inspection Seminar 2024 What an incredible turnout at our 2nd industry seminar on Smart Inspection! With over 550 industry professionals in attendance, the event was a showcase of the industry’s collective interest in exploring the latest advancements and trends in inspection technology. ​ ​ We want to give a shout out to all the smart inspection solution providers for sharing their expertise and benefits of tech adoption at the tradeshow and workshops. The energy and enthusiasm at the morning workshops were inspiring, setting the stage for a day filled with valuable insights and engaging discussions (if you missed it, you can watch the highlights of the event at https://youtu.be/qr0jE_73CuQ?si=W16jgH1iBV1brzA_)​ ​ We also wish to specially thank two speakers from the industry who shared their invaluable experiences in adopting smart inspection technologies:​ • Mr Ke-Vin Lim from City Development Limited who offered insights into the benefits and use cases of 360 Captures.​ • Mr Gerald Ho from Soilbuild Construction Ltd who shared their remarkable digitalisation journey, leveraging on Site Management Platform (SMP) to enhance efficiency and productivity. ​ ​ The future of smart inspection is promising, and we are encouraged by the sharing of first movers who have come onboard this transformative journey. BCA will be introducing data standards and guidebooks in adopting 360 captures for virtual TOP inspection and SMP. The pre-release draft of the guidebooks and seminar materials could be found at https://go.gov.sg/smart-inspection-tech-seminar. We welcome industry’s feedback so we can refine and improve the content. 

Unlocking the Power of Collaborative Contracting   In delivering construction projects, effectively balancing the interests of all parties in the value chain while striving for efficiency is a significant challenge. However, there exists an approach to achieving both: the adoption of collaborative contracting.   At the heart of this approach is a collaborative mindset, involving a fundamental shift from self-interest to project interest. Mr Sathia, Partner at Allen & Gledhill puts it eloquently, “We do not need to see it as competing interests. If you look at the interest as project interest and to achieve KPIs of the project, everybody can stand to gain”.   BCA recently announced the launch of a set of contract clauses (Y-SG clauses) to align NEC4 contract for construction and engineering projects with Singapore’s laws. The Y-SG clauses is now publicly available here.   Together, let’s reframe our perspective, focusing on collaboration to ensure the successful delivery of construction projects.

🧐 Research and innovation is fundamental in Singapore's development as a knowledge-based, innovation-driven economy. In the BE sector, these efforts can support and enhance industry transformation, which is why the Cities of Tomorrow (CoT) R&D Programme was launched in 2017.  CoT helps to catalyse research investment to yield innovative and sustainable solutions, in collaboration with the BE sector. This will help establish a BE sector that can build faster and more sustainably, while optimising limited manpower and resources.  📢 We are therefore glad to launch the fourth CoT grant call! 📢  At an engagement session last week, BCA's Group Director (Built Environment Research & Innovation Institute) Mr Jonathan Cheng also emphasised the importance of collaborative partnership between academia and industry for better research translation outcomes.  🔗 To find out more about the CoT programme, visit go.gov.sg/bca-cot-programme. 

🏙️ Did you know that on average, more than 90% of our time is spent in buildings? This is why designing for better health and wellness indoors is crucial. The Health & Wellbeing (Hw) badge, under BCA’s Green Mark 2021 (GM: 2021) scheme, evaluates how buildings contribute to the mental, physical, and social wellbeing of occupants. Factors such as thermal comfort, lighting and accessibility are taken into account during the evaluation. Only buildings that meet the required health and wellness requirements will be awarded the badge.   🧘🏻‍♀️Swipe to discover more and learn about some of the initiatives building owners adopt to promote the health and wellbeing of its occupants. Stay tuned to our series as we continue to unpack the other GM: 2021 badges!  🔗 For more information, visit go.gov.sg/gm2021.

Singapore's Top 250 Best Employers for 2024 🏆 Congratulations to all the Built Environment (BE) Firms that have secured a spot in Singapore's Top 250 Best Employers for 2024! This remarkable achievement speaks volumes about their dedication to nurturing a positive workplace culture, as recognized by The Straits Times (ST). For further insights, check out ST's article showcasing Singapore's Best Employers 2024 here. 🔗https://www.straitstimes.com/best-employers-singapore-2024 Curious to uncover what sets these firms apart? 🤔 Watch this space as we feature BE professionals and business leaders from these winning firms, sharing their invaluable perspectives and experiences working for one of Singapore's Best Employers! Here's wishing everyone a Happy Labour Day!

CORENET X 2nd Pulse Check Survey With the recent soft launch of CORENET X on 18 December 2024, we would like to share with you the next milestone which is the upcoming voluntary submission phase on 1 June 2024. In light of this and as part of our ongoing industry transition efforts, we would like to extend an invitation to your organisation to participate in the 2nd Pulse Check Survey. Your inputs are important to us for assessing industry readiness and planning support required for CORENET X.      The survey will be conducted by WSP and Korn Ferry and can be accessed at: https://forms.office.com/r/DLB2RbXekn. It will be available until 21 May 2024.     We look forward to your participation and thank you in advance for your contribution!

BuildSG LEAD Summit 2024 More than 300 esteemed Built Environment (BE) leaders and professionals gathered at Marina Bay Sands today for the BuildSG LEAD Summit 2024. BCA CEO, Mr Kelvin Wong, announced our collaboration with NEC in developing the Y clauses to align the NEC4 contract with Singapore's laws—a significant milestone in fostering deeper cooperation for our BE sector. The Singapore Contractors Association Ltd - SCAL also launched its newly developed SCAL HR Guidebook in collaboration with the Institute of Human Resource Professionals (IHRP) at the LEAD summit. The guidebook will serve as an HR resource kit to equip firms with practical strategies and tools to elevate their HR practices. The LEAD Summit continues to be a platform for invaluable discussions on leadership, workforce, and value chain transformation, as well as on leveraging innovation and technology to propel growth. Let us continue to press on in our journey for a transformed BE sector together! 💼🏗️