Singapore’s construction market is bouncing back

With the Singapore construction market now booming once again after the impact of Covid, Mindy Loo, Singapore-based Lead Engineer at ABS Group’s Extreme Loads and Structural Risks (ELSR) Team explains more about her experience in Blast Engineering.

Can you tell us about your background and how you came into your role within the Extreme Loads and Structural Risks (ELSR) division of ABS Group?

Ever since I was a child growing up in Malaysia I was fascinated by buildings and how they were created and constructed, so it perhaps is no surprise that I studied structural engineering – which I did for my bachelors and my PHD in Australia.

After graduation I was offered the opportunity to become involved in blast engineering, which is a very niche discipline. It is fundamentally related to structural engineering, but it is about testing extreme loads on a structure and I fell in love with the subject.

The first company I worked for was a consultancy where one of the clients was a state-owned utilities company in Singapore.

After some time, I was offered a role directly within that company.

After several years working for them I was contacted by ABS Group about working for them in Singapore and I jumped at the chance.

What is the role of Blast Engineering and security by design from a structural engineering perspective?

Blast Engineering is focused on the likely impact of critical events such as terrorist attacks and national emergency situations (military) on critical infrastructure - specifically buildings.

Our role is to look at these risks from a Security By Design (SBD) perspective and plan and design the necessary protective security measures within the fabric of a building, mitigating against potential, specific threat scenarios.

Understanding that a building might be subjected to a catastrophic event is a necessary thing to consider within structural engineering and design. You need to be conscious that the unexpected might happen and you need to plan for this to help prevent the impact should it occur.

Organisations need to understand the risks. Prevention is key. To be able to prevent, you need to be aware of the potential scenarios and risks and designs to protect against them. This is where we support our clients.

Singapore has robust legislation when it comes to building design – can you shed some light on the processes you have to work to?

As part of the Ministry of Home Affairs counter terrorism strategy, Singapore's Infrastructure Protection Act (IPA) – came into force in 2018, requiring new construction and any additional and alteration works to existing buildings that are categorized as key installations, termed as Special Development or Special Infrastructure, to undergo the Security by Design (SBD) process as standard.

SBD involves an assessment of a building's security risks and the implementation of suitable protective measures to be incorporated into the building's design to enhance a structure to withstand blast effects.

Implementation is often a challenge in the modern built environment - particularly in Singapore, due to the proximity of threats and the dense urban landscape that is rich with potential targets.

These unique issues present a challenge to building owners and developers while designing buildings and this is where our team delivers invaluable support.

SBD is a complex process that goes parallel with the wider building design and has to be engineered into it. So, we work closely with other partners in the design process including architects and structural engineers, because the design and any change or alteration affects the SBD process.

Within the IPA you also work with the Centre for Protective Security, specifically its Protective Engineering Division– a technical team within the Singapore Police Force that oversees SBD. They assess and approve security plans, which include Blast Effect Analysis (BEA) and Structural Resiliency Study (SRS) reports. These are prepared by consultants, known as Competent Persons (Blast), approved by the Commissioner of Infrastructure Protection to prepare security plans. These CP (Blast) also prepare certificates of works completion for a special development or special infrastructure.

This is one of the key advantages that we deliver for our clients – including myself, we have four Competent Persons (Blast) within our group. Our company has one of the highest number of qualified CP (Blast) in the market today.  

So yes – it’s a highly regulated and scrutinised area of the construction environment in which we operate.

What type of projects do you and the team get involved in from a blast engineering perspective?

It’s a range to be honest - we have dealt with hospitals, data centres, power plants, electrical substations and water installations, through to MRT depots,  stations, and security command posts.

We work on both new build and existing buildings – which present their own challenges as they were often built before terrorist and military threat levels like those today really existed.

How do you and the team add value to the customers you work with?

The team is a highly experienced one that is able to look at the individual risks for every project we work on and develop unique solutions that are specific to the problems our clients face.

You need to understand the characteristics of the problem to come up with the right solution. It is not about standard solutions. It does not have to be a costly solution, but it does have to be a tailored solution.

Paying attention to the details and the specific needs of the client enables us to create the best solution to the problem.

Fundamental to that is the breadth of experience and knowledge across our ELSR team makes it unrivalled in terms of our capabilities for our clients.

We also utilise cutting edge tools to help create bespoke solutions to our clients’ problems.

Having dedicated offices here on the ground in Singapore is also a key benefit for our clients and the level of local knowledge we offer is vitally important.

Before I joined the team, the Singapore market knew about the quality and expertise of ABS Consulting through the work and reputation of my colleagues, Darrell Barker, Chris LeBoeuf and Nelson Duran.

Because I am also known as an experienced blast engineer, within Singapore the fact I am here on the ground provides additional levels of trust, local knowledge and speed of response to clients.

Our wider teams are based in the UK and the USA so there are time differences to manage. With our dedicated Singapore offices that isn’t an issue so our ability to respond to the needs of our clients at the moment of contact has increased.

Certainly, news has got out that we are present and local since we established the Singaporean division of ELSR in February 2022 and that is creating growing demand for our services, reflected in the fact that we will shortly be adding a new member to the team here in Singapore.

What is the construction market like in Singapore at the moment?

The construction business is booming again in Singapore after Covid, seeing us work on a range of both new build and retrofit building projects.

Given the nature of the world, we are also seeing a growing trend for data centre projects – not just in Singapore but on projects outside the country. Everyone wants more data and that has to be protected!

As an example, we are currently working on a project in the Philippines with a Singapore-based business.

Even though they don’t have a requirement in the Philippines to undergo building standards to IPA using SBD they are happy to build to those standards as they recognize the benefits of doing so.

What do you enjoy about your role at ABS Group?

At ABS, I am part of a great team, one that is really open and supportive across our offices here in Singapore, the US and UK. There is such a wealth of experience and expertise that we are able to bring measurable value to our customers.

It’s also a multi-disciplinary team – covering civil, structural, chemical, oil and gas and military - and everyone is there to support each other. So, it’s an increasingly rewarding role and I get to do what I have a passion for in a place that I love.