“Anecdotally, R&I investment tends to be project-based and sporadic, rather than a consistent policy. Such modest levels of R&I investment can hinder innovation and growth, and limit the pace of transformation in the built-environment sector,” said Mr Lim.

To address this issue, BCA has in recent years focused on developing and helping spur adoption of innovations in the built-environment sector. “We would like to see more firms—especially the larger ones—recognize [that] their own R&I spent is a strategic investment to cover new opportunities and raise their competitive edge, both at home and abroad,” said Mr Lim.

“Without this, competition between the firms here threatens to degenerate into a downward price spiral rather than how good the firms actually are. In this situation, only the firms with the deepest pockets will emerge.”

To realise this vision, BCA is pursuing three specific strategies. The first involves improving incentives for firms to invest in R&I. To this end, BCA is working with other government agencies to better recognise R&I when evaluating the quality component of a firm’s bid during the procurement process for public-sector projects.

Second, BCA will be facilitating the test-bedding of innovative technology and solutions at actual construction sites. And third, the authority recently enhanced the Building Innovation Panel, which is a committee consisting of members from both regulatory agencies as well as trade associations to address regulatory hurdles to innovative solutions.

Innovation in Public Housing

As the government agency responsible for public housing in Singapore, the Housing & Development Board (HDB) has invested heavily in research and development (R&D) to support construction productivity through the whole cycle of building. Dr Cheong Koon Hean, chief executive officer of HDB, gave an overview of the different technologies and innovations that the organisation has used over the years.

At the design stage, HDB uses solutions such as prefabricated, prefinished automatic construction, as well as building information modeling (BIM). On the logistics and construction front, it has leveraged 3-D fabrication, precast automation, and smart integrated construction to boost productivity. Finally, at the postconstruction stage, data analytics and robotics solutions are used for maintenance purposes. HDB started using prefabrication techniques decades ago, noted Dr Cheong, and today has more than 50 components in its precast library.

An Industry Pioneer

One construction company that has benefited from BCA’s and HDB’s efforts to uplift the industry is Teambuild Engineering & Construction, one of the pioneers in using PPVC technology in Singapore. Established in 1992, the company focuses mainly on residential projects.

They were introduced to the PPVC concept during an overseas trip led by BCA to explore the use of modular construction techniques. They refined the technology upon their return and first used it in a project for HDB. It has since used PPVC for other developments, and has been recognised with industry awards for its innovation.

“When we started off, there were a lot of concerns surrounding PPVC. Will it be structurally sound? Will there be a leaking problem? Eventually, what we have achieved is a testament that such a method of construction is feasible. You save a lot of manpower on site while still being able to achieve the same—or even better—quality that a normal conventional construction can offer,” said Johnny Lim, executive director at Teambuild.