Speech at 15th Society Of Project Managers (SPM) Anniversary Dinner

Mr Gan Kim Yong, Minister for Manpower, Resorts World Convention Centre

       Introduction

1. Good evening. Thank you for the invitation to join you at the 15th Anniversary Dinner of the Society of Project Managers. I am glad to note that the Society has grown over the years to become the key institution for the project management profession in the construction sector. The strong support for the dinner tonight is a testament of your strength and success in promoting and developing the profession.
   
   Outlook and productivity in the construction sector
2. The construction sector is one of our key economic growth engines, currently accounting for about 4 to 5 per cent of our national nominal GDP and 12 per cent of total employment. After reaching an all-time high of $35.7 billion in 2008, construction demand (excluding reclamation works) moderated to $21 billion in 2009 due to the global financial crisis. The Building and Construction Authority (BCA) expects total construction demand for this year to range between $21 billion and $27 billion. Barring unforeseen circumstances, BCA also expects the volume of construction contracts to be awarded over the next two years to be sustained at between $18 billion and $25 billion yearly. This shows that there is healthy potential in the sector.
3. In terms of productivity, however, there is scope for the sector to do more. In the 1990s, the sector experienced a drop in productivity by an average of 0.1 per cent annually. With the implementation of the Construction 21 recommendations, productivity growth improved to 0.4 per cent annually since 2000. However, this is still below the national average of one per cent per annum over the same period. Furthermore, when compared to overseas countries, our construction productivity levels are half that of the US and only one-third that of Japan.
4. Going forward, the construction sector must make every effort to improve its productivity in order to enhance its long-term competitive edge and business sustainability. This is in line with the Government’s aim to make skills, productivity and innovation the basis of our future economic growth and achieve a target of two to three per cent productivity growth per annum over the next decade. Towards this objective, we have set up the National Productivity and Continuing Education Council (NPCEC) to champion and drive national productivity initiatives. The construction sector has been identified by the NPCEC as one of the key priority sectors, with $250 million set aside from the National Productivity Fund to drive productivity improvements in the sector. BCA has also introduced a series of initiatives under the Construction Productivity and Capability Fund (CPCF) to help the sector achieve higher productivity growth at all levels – at the industry-level, through industry transformation and re-structuring; at the enterprise-level, through investments in technology and automation; and at the worker-level, through training and upskilling.
   
   Construction sector’s safety performance a concern
5. While we focus on driving productivity in the sector, similar efforts are also required to improve the construction sector’s safety performance. In the first half of this year, 15 construction workers were killed at work, up from 11 in the same period last year. The sector’s mid-year fatality rate was also the highest compared to other sectors. Besides the worrying trend in fatalities, my Ministry is also concerned over the recurrence of incidents in typical construction work such as work done at height. Many of the cases have happened before and learning points have been shared with the industry. The Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Council has also rolled out many programmes and initiatives to help the sector design out risks at source, better audit and check workplaces through a standardised audit protocol as well as made available various training and capability building courses. However, the sector can only make meaningful improvements with a stronger sense of ownership in taking charge and managing known work hazards. Otherwise, similar incidents will occur and lives will continue to be lost. Project managers like yourselves can do much more to prevent such unnecessary loss of lives.
6. I strongly urge all stakeholders in the construction sector to make the best use of the support given by the Government to improve both safety and productivity. This will require stakeholder at all levels to work closely together – from companies, project managers, to the supervisors and workers to transform the sector and deliver higher value-added projects safely as we build the future skyline of Singapore. Let me elaborate.
   
   Role of project managers in boosting safety and productivity
7. Project managers play a pivotal role in transforming the sector to achieve higher productivity and better safety outcomes. As projects get larger in scale and become more complex, the discipline and function of project management become even more important and critical. You are the catalysts in the entire value chain to ensure design quality, effective implementation and timely delivery of construction projects and you will need to complete all these duties in a safe manner.
8. I would like to suggest the following areas which you can look into as you carry out your work:
   • Planning. Significant productivity and safety gains can come about through better planning of the overall schedule and optimal use of resources. It can also involve the drawing up of a good site management plan for better housekeeping and work processes. Beyond planning, effective leadership and management skills are important for achieving higher productivity. As project managers, your decision on the resources, processes and quality of inputs, and your ability to make timely and optimal decisions will contribute to more efficient and effective outcomes as well as ensure the safety of the workforce under your charge.
   • Design. Good design leads to projects with greater buildability and lower risks, resulting in higher productivity gain and better safety outcomes. Project managers can tap on the WSH Council’s Design for Safety Programme. You understand the key principles and you can work closely with the architects and consultants to design building systems and installation details which are simple, easy to construct, standardised and with minimum safety risk. You can facilitate the use of prefabrication or pre-assembled structural and architectural components and replace or minimise architectural wet trades with dry components or semi-dry trades where possible. By adhering to these design principles, you can help the construction sector to move away from traditional labour-intensive processes and adopt more advanced labour-saving technology, while enhancing safety at the same time.
   • Construction. You can leverage on your good working relationships and interpersonal skills to encourage contractors to adopt more labour-efficient construction methods. Higher skills are necessary to achieve higher productivity. Therefore, you should also actively encourage the contractors to upgrade the skills of their workers so as to produce quality and productive work.
   • Safety. Safety is also critical in your work. Project managers have a responsibility to safeguard the lives of workers in your projects because you can impact on how work is to be carried out and ensure measures are properly implemented to protect the workers. Besides, work safety and productivity are also closely intertwined. We cannot achieve productivity without ensuring high safety and health standards. The smooth progression of a project under your charge can be seriously compromised if unsafe conditions and practices lead to work stoppages and a de-motivated workforce affected by work injury incidents. Therefore, it makes business and professional sense for you, as project managers, to ensure safety in your work.
   Relevance of skills upgrading to higher productivity 

9. As you can see, the areas which I have just outlined require project managers to possess a variety of expertise and knowledge, as well as to keep yourselves updated and relevant with the latest development and technological trends in the construction sector. Continuous learning and upgrading is therefore critical for a project manager. It will help you to carry out your duties more efficiently, and in turn, contribute towards higher productivity and better safety outcomes.
10. I was told that SPM collaborates with the BCA Academy to conduct a course that equips construction professionals with the necessary knowledge on Project Management throughout all stages of a project. This is useful as it prepares engineers in the construction sector to take on the role of project managers. Since its inception in 2008, the course has provided training to more than 120 professionals. I understand that several SPM council members are even personally involved in conducting training, including Mr Seah himself. I hope SPM will encourage more project managers to take up the course.
11. To better understand how you can use the WSH Council’s Design for Safety Programme to design out risks at source, project managers can attend the two-day Project Safety and Health Coordinator Course. This is accredited by my Ministry and offered by several associations to help you implement the programme through the “GUIDE” process. “GUIDE” is a systematic process which enables the building design team to identify, review and record the risks of the building design. The outcome of applying “GUIDE” is a safety design endorsed by all parties involved. It will also provide documentation of the resultant hazards or vital WSH information for the safe conduct of construction and maintenance activities.
12. More recently on 1 October, SPM has also collaborated with BCA to organise a one-day Seminar on Managing Complexity in Projects that attracted 300 participants. It is heartening to see the active role that SPM plays in raising the skills of project managers. I urge the Society to continue to work closely with the various government agencies and the sector to raise awareness among members on the importance of safety and productivity. Your efforts will go a long way to enhance the professionalism of project managers and raise the capability of our construction sector to new heights.
    
    Concluding remarks
13. With the continued support of project managers and SPM, Singapore will gain much ground in our journey towards higher productivity, especially in the construction sector.
14. It now leaves me the pleasure to congratulate SPM on its 15th anniversary. Thank you and have an enjoyable evening.