safety together

BCA annual report 2005: 030

safety together


In close co-operation with the industry, BCA continues to ensure

that buildings and structures are designed, constructed and

maintained with safety in mind.

BCA annual report 2005: 032 BCA scrutinises the plans to ensure that Qualified Persons and Accredited Checkers have been carrying out their duties diligently.


Improved Structural Design Quality for

Complex Projects

BCA maintained its role in scrutinising the plans submitted

by the Qualified Person and Accredited Checker to

ensure that they had been carrying out their duties

diligently, especially for complex projects.

For high-rise buildings, the Qualified Person would be

required to carry out sufficient load tests to verify the

foundation design assumptions. There must also be

adequate number of tests to ascertain the capacity of

the pile. For complex steel projects, the Qualified Persons

now have to present their design concepts and analyses

to BCA, checking for redundancy and robustness to

prevent the disproportionate collapse of structures.

To further improve the quality of structural steelworks,

BCA worked closely with the Institution of Engineers

Singapore and the Association of Consulting Engineers

Singapore to encourage engineers to engage only steel

fabricators accredited by the Singapore Structural Steel

Society for their steelworks. For major projects, Qualified

Persons were further encouraged to appoint an

independent testing agency to check on the quality of

steelworks erected on site.

Safety Actions after Nicoll Highway

Incident

Following the Nicoll Highway incident, BCA took action

to assure the public that buildings near the collapse site

were safe. Our engineers worked round the clock to

inspect and monitor the adjacent buildings to verify

that they were structurally safe. The media was given

a technical briefing at the site on how building safety

assessment was carried out.

To address widespread public concern over the safety

of other Circle Line sites, excavation works were

temporarily suspended while BCA conducted a

comprehensive safety review of the design and

construction of deep excavations at these sites. BCA

reviewed the adequacy of the design of the temporary

works and the monitoring measures at the sites,

deploying 56 engineers and specialists, assisted by three

independent consultants, to perform checks and

inspections over two months. Excavation works were

BCA annual report 2005: 034 BCA broadened the inspection of properties adjacent to Circle Line excavation sites for added assurance.


finally allowed to resume after BCA had verified that

all adequate safety measures were in place at each site.

BCA also responded to feedback on damage to properties

adjacent to Circle Line excavation sites. Together with

the professional engineers, BCA carried out inspections

on 230 affected buildings. All, but two, were declared

structurally safe. Broadening the checks for added

assurance, BCA further surveyed 700 buildings within

the 100-metre radius of the Circle Line sites.

Reduced Impact of Construction Work on

Nearby Buildings

Recently, BCA further required the Qualified Person to

submit an assessment report on the effect of proposed

excavation works on nearby buildings before

commencing work. This move sought to protect buildings

near construction sites. The report had to take into

consideration factors such as the site conditions, type

and vulnerability of buildings and soil conditions and

propose an appropriate temporary earth-retaining

structure that would minimise the impact of excavation

works on nearby buildings.

In addition, BCA had been promoting the use of an

environmentally friendly piling system for landed

property projects to minimise disturbance and damage

to adjacent properties. From 2002 to 2004, the use of

this piling system had increased from 35% to 60%. As

a result, feedback on excessive vibration or damage to

nearby properties was reduced by 30% during this period.

Enhanced Safety Measures for Deep

Excavation Sites

Paying closer attention to safety measures at deep-

excavation projects, BCA formed a Deep Excavation

Team to carry out audit checks and inspections of critical

deep-excavation sites, ensuring that the builders and

the project teams had fulfilled their statutory duty in

ensuring safety on site.

For projects involving two or more levels of basement,

the professional engineer who designed the temporary

work was required to brief BCA on the temporary works

design and the proposed monitoring measures. The

project builder also had to present the construction

sequence and various site-safety control measures.

BCA annual report 2005: 036 BCA published posters and advertisements to remind the public the importance of window safety.


Other Actions on Building Safety

BCA continued to take strict enforcement action against

parties who flouted the building regulations. These

moves aimed to send a strong message to remind

industry players that building safety could not be

compromised. During the year, BCA revoked a total of

32 permits, and since 1999, BCA had prosecuted 69

project parties.

Enforcement actions were also taken against building

owners who put up unauthorised structures that posed

a hazard to the public. These owners were given a

choice to retain the structures if they engaged a Qualified

Person to inspect them and submit plans for approval.

Otherwise, they must be removed. BCA would issue

notices to owners to demolish those that are unsafe.

To share experiences with the industry, BCA organised

two seminars on Achieving Quality Structural Steel

Works and Enhancing Building Security during the year.

Two circulars to industry professionals and practitioners

were also issued to emphasise the importance of carrying

out construction site checks and tests on structural

materials to ensure compliance with the design codes

and specifications.

New Legislation on Exterior Features

Recognising that falling windows and other exterior

features could pose serious threats to public safety, BCA

amended the Building Control Act to regulate the design

and installation of exterior features. It was made effective

on 1 October 2004. Relevant provisions were also

introduced in the new Building Maintenance and Strata

Management Act to make building owners responsible

for their maintenance after installation.

Specifically for windows, a minimum safety performance

standard was introduced in the Building Control

Regulations for new installations. Building owners were

also required to appoint approved window contractors

to carry out a one-off retrofitting of existing casement

windows fitted with aluminium rivets. A 12-month grace

period, which would end by 30 September 2005, was

granted for this retrofitting exercise.

BCA annual report 2005: 038 BCA introduced the staircase storey shelter as an alternative to household shelters to meet changing needs of consumers.


To raise public awareness of the window legislation,

advertorials in four languages were published in local

newspapers, and information on the legislation and

maintenance of windows made available on both BCA's

and the Housing and Development Board's websites.

Building Maintenance and Strata

Management

The new Building Maintenance and Strata Management

Act came into effect on 1 April 2005. It was committed

to a Select Committee for consideration before being

passed in Parliament at its third reading on 19 October

2004.

Significant changes included enhanced provisions for

building maintenance for public safety and the

introduction of a two-tier management corporation

system for more effective management of mixed-use

strata developments. Other new provisions included

staged implementation of large development projects

and a rebuttable statutory presumption of liability for

inter-floor leakage. The administration of the Strata

Titles Boards was also transferred to the Ministry of

National Development from the Ministry of Law.

In March 2005, BCA published a layperson’s guide

entitled Strata Living in Singapore on the new Building

Maintenance and Strata Management Act targeted at

homeowners.

More Civil Defence Shelter Solutions

In response to changing needs, the staircase storey

shelter was introduced as an alternative to household

shelters in July 2004. BCA worked closely with precasters

to develop several buildable solutions on precast

household and staircase shelter components for landed

houses and condominiums. BCA also participated in a

series of blasts tests carried out by Singapore Civil

Defence Force and the Defence Science & Technology

Agency to validate shelter components and to optimise

design requirements.

BCA annual report 2005: 040 Providing stand-off distance from a building with bollards is one of the ways to enhance the security of buildings.


Protective Engineering Against Terrorism

To further enhance the security of buildings, BCA led

a multi-agency workgroup, comprising agencies from

the Ministry of National Development and the Ministry

of Home Affairs, to study and propose suitable measures

to protect against the threat of terrorism.

Resulting from these efforts, a booklet entitled Enhancing

Building Security was published. The booklet aimed to

keep building owners, developers and building

professionals aware of the need for security and

protection of buildings and highlighted practical and

cost-effective security measures and design

considerations that could help lessen the severity of a

terrorist attack on a building. The booklet was distributed

to owners of about 2,000 industrial and commercial

buildings and other stakeholders in February 2005.

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