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Singapore. A spray-painting robot providing that smart finishing to the walls of your new home could well be the construction worker of the future.

Innovations in Singapore's construction industry like this are expected to lower building costs, create a safer work environment, and reduce a reliance on foreign labour.

Similar examples were featured at the inaugural BuildTechAsia 2011 yesterday, where 140 exhibitors from nine countries, including Malaysia, Italy and New Zealand, showed off their best practices and technology.

The three-day exhibition was officially launched by Ministry of National Development Permanent Secretary Tan Tee How and will run at Singapore Expo until tomorrow, in conjunction with Singapore Construction Productivity Week.

The building sector has enjoyed robust growth in recent years, and this year, the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) projects that construction demand will reach S$22 billion ($18 billion) to S$28 billion. New infrastructure developments will call for sophisticated construction skills and advanced building technologies that meet high safety and productivity standards.

In particular, the use of the Building Information Modeling (BIM) technology, a three-dimensional real-time building modeling software, could reduce the industry's dependence on foreign workers and the cost of construction, said BCA chief executive John Keung.

The program digitally represents a building at stages of its construction on a platform, allowing architects, engineers and builders to track its development. Users can minimize errors and so save on manpower and resources that would otherwise be spent on reworking the design.

BIM is already used widely in the United States, Australia and other countries.

“If companies can make use of these technologies, they will be able to cut down on their labour requirements,” Keung said. “They will also save on the costs of providing dormitories for workers and transport, and minimize accidents, all of which are costs added on.”

Changes will slowly alter how builders work. For instance, replacing traditional bamboo-pole-based scaffolding at construction sites with flexible formwork systems, made of aluminum, plywood, steel or plastics, could make a job site safer. These new materials can meet the most demanding structural designs, without risking the lives of workers.

A memorandum of understanding was signed at the ceremony between BCA, buildingSMART Singapore, buildingSMART Korea and Netherlands-based OpenBIM.info to further develop BIM education programs.


Reprinted courtesy of Straits Times Indonesia. To subscribe to Straits Times Indonesia and/or the Jakarta Globe call 2553 5055.