LEMBAGA JURUTERA MALAYSIA

BOARD OF ENGINEERS MALAYSIA

KDN PP11720/01/2010(023647) ISSN 0128-4347 VOL.45 MARCH-MAY 2010 RM10.00

 contents
Vol 45 March - May 2010

2 Presidents Message
Editors Note

4 Announcement
Payment Of Stamp Duty
Requirement Of Engineering Consultancy Practice To Register 32
Publication Calendar

5 Event Calendar

Cover Feature
6 Sustainability In Asset Management

12 Strategic IT In Facilities Management For Malaysian

Health Sector
39
18 Building Industry Stakeholders Association

Engineering & Law

22 Liquidated and Ascertained Damages: Some Recent
Legal Developments

Feature
28 Rainwater Management And Utilisation System
44
39 Enforcement Of Coastal Development Guidelines

41 Product Design Innovation To Reduce Cost And Enhance

Product Competitiveness

45 Occupational Safety And Healthy Management:

Where Do I Begin?

51 Understanding The Underlying Principles Of 56

QLASSIC Assessment

Engineering Nostalgia
56 Welcoming A New Teacher To A School In Sabak Bernam
Coconut Estate - 1958
 presidents message
KDN PP11720/01/2010(023647)
ISSN 0128-4347
The term asset management has become the
buzzword among property industry players lately.
This is understandable given the fact that new
developers and owners of building complexes are
Vol. 45 March - May 2010
getting more aware of the benefits of life cycle
MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF ENGINEERS MALAYSIA costing and the importance of asset management with
(BEM) 2009/2010
respect to the service level that their buildings can
President offer. In some countries, Systemic Asset Management
YBhg. Dato Sri Prof. Ir. Dr Judin Abdul Karim
or SAM is one of the major considerations for the
Secretary
Ir. Ruslan Abdul Aziz design and delivery of buildings.
Registrar The emergence of Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) and the
Ir. Hizamul-Din Ab. Rahman growing interest of oversea investors in local properties have further
Members necessitated the incorporation of good asset management in order to
YBhg. Dato Sri Prof. Ir. Dr. Judin Abdul Karim
YBhg Tan Sri Prof. Ir. Dr. Mohd Zulkifli bin Tan Sri Mohd Ghazali benchmark international standard to these properties. Local facilities
YBhg Dato Ir. Hj. Ahmad Husaini bin Sulaiman managers and technical staff should take asset management seriously
YBhg. Dato Ir. Abdul Rashid Maidin
YBhg. Dato Ir. Dr. Johari bin Basri as it is going to be the norm as more service sectors are opened up
YBhg. Datuk (Dr) Ir. Abdul Rahim Hj. Hashim
YBhg. Dato Prof. Ir. Dr. Chuah Hean Teik by 2015.
YBhg. Brig. Jen. Dato Pahlawan Ir. Abdul Nasser bin Ahmad
YBhg. Datuk Ar. Dr. Amer Hamzah Mohd Yunus The huge stock of Malaysian properties also means more
Ir. Mohd Rousdin bin Hassan
Ir. John Anthony
opportunities for facilities engineers. As of 3rd quarter 2009, there were
Ir. Wong Siu Hieng 4,295,930 residential units, 10,044,849 sq m of shopping complexes
Prof. Ir. Ishak Abdul Rahman
Ir. Tan Yean Chin and 16,075,929 sq m of purpose-built offices according to National
Ir. Chong Pick Eng Property Information Centre (NAPIC) - Property Stock Report. These
Ir. Dr. Lee Teang Shui
Mr Jaafar bin Shahidan are assets as well as liabilities, depending on the level of management
EDITORIAL BOARD by local asset managers and their engineering teams. The recently
Advisor launched Government Transformation Programme road map entails
YBhg. Dato Sri Prof. Ir. Dr Judin Abdul Karim further supply of infrastructure inventory and housing for the poor. It is
Secretary therefore timely that these cumulating built environment are planned,
Ir. Ruslan Abdul Aziz
designed and constructed towards Total Asset Management.
Chairman
YBhg. Dato Ir. Abdul Rashid bin Maidin
Dato Sri Prof Ir. Dr. Judin bin Abdul Karim
Editor
Ir. Fong Tian Yong President
Members BOARD OF ENGINEERS MALAYSIA
Prof. Sr. Ir. Dr Suhaimi bin Abdul Talib
Ir. Ishak bin Abdul Rahman
Ir. Prof. Dr K.S. Kannan
Ir. Prem Kumar
Ir. Mohd Rasid Osman
Ir. Dr Zuhairi Abdul Hamid
Ir. Ali Askar bin Sher Mohamad
editors note
Ir. Rocky H T Wong

Executive Director
Ir. Ashari Mohd Yakub
Publication Officer
Pn Nik Kamaliah Nik Abdul Rahman
Assistant Publication Officer
Pn Che Asiah Mohamad Ali
Design and Production
Inforeach Communications Sdn Bhd
Printer
Art Printing Works Sdn Bhd
29 Jalan Riong, 59100 Kuala Lumpur
The Ingenieur is published by the Board of Engineers Malaysia
(Lembaga Jurutera Malaysia) and is distributed free of charge to
registered Professional Engineers.
The statements and opinions expressed in this
publication are those of the writers.
BEM invites all registered engineers to contribute articles or
send their views and comments to the following address:
Commnunication & IT Dept.
Lembaga Jurutera Malaysia,
Tingkat 17, Ibu Pejabat JKR,
Jalan Sultan Salahuddin,
50580 Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 03-2698 0590 Fax: 03-2692 5017
E-mail: bem1@streamyx.com; publication@bem.org.my
Website: http://www.bem.org.my
Advertising
Subscription Form is on page 56
Advertisement Form is on page 55
The accumulation of property assets over the last
few decades has attracted keen interest of industry
players on Asset Management. The emergence of
more shopping complexes and commercial centres
with more sophisticated M&E facilities requires more
systemic asset management to ensure a higher level
of service to the occupants.
The concept of Total Asset Management is well
documented in the article on Achieving Sustainability in Asset
Management. The article recognizes the contribution of IT in
assisting business process and managing asset. Similarly, the role
of IT is expressed in another article on facilities management for
the health sector.
Some case studies on rain harvesting by National Hydraulic
Research Institute of Malaysia (NAHRIM) should provide tips to
designers since rain harvesting constitutes four points in the Green
Building Index (GBI) total score of 100.
Asset Management as an integral part of service providers
operation will be an important subject to engineers as the nation
approaches a developed nation status by 2020.
Ir Fong Tian Yong
Editor

2 THE INGENIEUR
announcement

Rev. No.: 0 Date: 12.5.2009 BEM/RD/SOF/02 Serial No.: 0024 REQUIREMENT OF

BOARD OF ENGINEERS MALAYSIA
CIRCULAR NO. 1/2009
PAYMENT OF STAMP DUTY
Reference is made to the amendment and
implementation of the First Schedule of the Stamp
Act 1949 (Act) which came into effect from 1 st
January 2009. Consequential to this amendment,
all service agreements of the construction industry
are now chargeable with an ad valorem stamp duty
at the rate of RM5.00 for every RM 1,000.00, or
part thereof, of the total contract value. Prior to that,
the stamp duty for such a contract was a standard
fixed sum of RM 10.00.
The Board is of the view that Stamp Duty, similar
to Service Tax, is not part and parcel of the fees
payable to an engineering consultant for services
rendered to a client. As such, Stamp Duty shall be
borne by the client.
Should BEM FORM (1999) BEM MODEL FORM
OF MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT BETWEEN
CLIENT AND CONSULTING ENGINEER FOR
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES is used, engineers
are advised to insert the following new clause
under General Conditions prior to signing the
agreement:-
Clause 11.9 The Client shall be responsible for
paying any Stamp Duty arising
from the signature and execution
of the Agreement.
ENGINEERING CONSULTANCY
PRACTICE TO REGISTER
To all registered Professional Engineers,
It has come to the attention of the Board
of Engineers Malaysia that many registered
Professional Engineers are practising through
non-registered Engineering Consultancy Practices
(ECPs). The Board would like to remind them that
by doing so, they would be contravening Section
7A(1) and Section 15(1)(m) of the Registration of
Engineers Act 1967 which reads as follows :
7A. (1) Notwithstanding subsection 7(1), a
sole proprietorship, partnership or body
corporate may practise as an Engineering
consultancy practice and recover in any
court any fee, charge, remuneration
or other form of consideration for
any professional engineering services
rendered by it pursuant to its practice
as an Engineering consultancy practice
carried on by virtue of this section, if
it is registered with the Board as an
Engineering consultancy practice and
has been issued with a certificate of
registration.
15(1) (m) if he causes or permits or suffers any
sole proprietorship, partnership or body
corporate in which he is a sole proprietor,
partner, director or shareholder to
practise as an Engineering consultancy
practice prior to its registration by the
Board;

[269th Board Meeting / 12th May 2009] Please be informed that under the amendments to
DATO SRI PROF. Ir. Dr. JUDIN ABDUL KARIM the Registration of Engineers Act 1967 (Revised
President 2002) it is now mandatory for a sole proprietorship,
BOARD OF ENGINEERS MALAYSIA partnership or body corporate to be registered with
the Board as an Engineering consultancy practice
(ECP), failing which it is an offence for that sole
proprietorship, partnership or body corporate to
provide professional engineering services. Prior
to the amendment, any registered Professional
Engineer who intended to practice as a sole
June 2010: proprietor and/or a partnership just needed to
WATER inform the Board of their intention and the place
of the business.

Sept 2010: As the above amendments have been in force

PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT since 1 st December 2002, the Board takes a
serious view of the matter and hereby reminds all
Dec 2010: registered Professional Engineers that the Board will
TRANSPORTATION & SAFETY henceforth be enforcing strictly the need to register
ECPs as per the requirements of the Registration
of Engineers Act 1967.

4 THE INGENIEUR
 event calendar

Courtesy Visit to BEM from Engineers Australia

Seminar on March 15, 2010
Career Development:
Developing
Professionals For
Innovative Economy
March 23, 2010
UTM Skudai, Johor, Malaysia
Meeting in session. From left: BEMs Board Members & officials
Right: Engineers Australia delegates
First on the right: Ir. P. E. Chong (Chairman of EA Chapter Malaysia)

Dato Sri Prof. Ir. Dr. Judin Abdul Karim,

President of BEM delivering his opening
speech

Meeting chaired by Dato Sri Prof. Ir. Group photo

Dr. Judin bin Abdul Karim, President
of BEM

Courtesy Visit to BEM from Dr. Nguyen Truong Tien,

President of Vietnam Society For Soil Mechanics &
Geotechnical Engineering (VSSMGE)
Prof. Dato Ir. Dr. Zaini Ujang, Vice March 16, 2010
Chancellor of UTM presenting a paper
on Engineer and Sustainability/Green
Technology

Meeting in session
Press Conference by co-hosts BEM & UTM

Meeting chaired by Ir. Ruslan Right: Dr. Nguyen Truong Tien posing
Abdul Aziz, Secretary of BEM questions
Section of Participants THE INGENIEUR 5
 cover feature

Sustainability In
Asset Management
By A.I. Che-Ani and W.H.W. Badaruzzaman,
Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia,
T.Z.T. Mahmood and M.S.I. Syahrial,
SV Solution Centric Sdn. Bhd

The term sustainability carries a wide range of definition. In some instances, its definition is taken
rather vaguely and regarded as almost too ambitious or impossible to achieve. The recently published
Manual of Total Asset Management (Pengurusan Aset Menyeluruh) introduced by the Ministry of
Work shows our Governments commitment in supporting the notion of sustainability with respect to
asset management. Sustainable asset management crystallized the concept of cradle to the grave
into existence. It basically puts forth the consideration for maintenance right from the design stage
all the way to the operation of the building, as well as making it ready for adaptive re-use. The
beauty about the various terms such as building maintenance, facility management, customer driven,
design maintenance, and maintenance input from the drawing board is in its goal towards achieving
sustainable asset management. The question to ponder at this point is how do we actually implement
what we have set out to achieve. In this regard, we cannot deny the contribution of Information
Technology (IT) in assisting our business process, particularly in managing the asset. However, IT
itself does not constitute to the best practice in asset management without clear business process
and technical expertise. With this in mind, human capital, business processes and systems we use in
managing our asset have to be set in parallel to achieve sustainable asset management.

B
uilding and infrastructure
nowadays are no more in
simplified form. There are
many new innovative features
that have been introduced into
our built asset. With the Green
Building Index (GBI) in place and
carbon credit initiatives, various
stakeholders are really serious
in designing and managing their
assets. This does not only apply
to new construction, but also
existing buildings that need to
be managed and maintained
efficiently. The importance of post-
construction in building life-cycle
has brought forward the concept of
sustainability in asset management.
It basically takes the cradle to
the grave idea when defining the
maximum performance and usage
of a built asset.
This paper explores the approach
of bringing sustainability in asset
management. It proposes three
key areas that need to be taken
care of i.e. business process,
human capital and the system
(IT mechanism). These aspects
actually go parallel to the Malaysian
Total Asset Management (TAM)
Manual and Dasar Pengurusan Aset
Kerajaan (DPAK). It is a Government
document, but does provide the
bottom line aspiration for all nature
of Malaysian industries, be it
Government or private sector.
Malaysian Total Asset
Management Manual
The Malaysian industry reference
point for asset management has to
be the TAM Manual, part of the
DPAK. Launched in April 2009 by

6 THE INGENIEUR
 cover feature

former Prime Minister Y.A.B. Dato

Seri Abdullah Hj. Ahmad Badawi
(now Tun Abdullah Hj. Ahmad
Badawi), this document provides
the key idea and direction for
the whole life-cycle of our assets.
According to the manual, asset
refers to movable assets (aset alih),
fixed assets (aset tidak alih), live
assets (aset hidup) and intellectual
property (harta intelek). With the
wide coverage of assets, an asset
management team is no longer
focused on buildings only. It has
to be integrated to achieve the
aspiration of TAM Manual. The
TAM model for infrastructure,
building and movable assets is
shown in Figure 1.

Sustainable Asset
Management
Achieving sustainable asset
management basically deals with the
business process, human resource
Figure 1: The TAM model for infrastructure, building and movable assets
and Information Technology (IT)
(Manual Pengurusan Aset Menyeluruh, 2009)
s y s t e m . I n wh a t e ve r t a s k w e
perform, the business process
must be there and in ensuring it
is well implemented, we need
various levels and competency of
team members. It is not a one-
man show. As we are now living
in the millennium era, IT in every
business process. Data needs to be
converted into information and IT
makes this happen within a click.
The explanation of these three key
areas is as follows.

Business Process (BPE/COBIE/

BIM/ROI)

The TAM Model as depicted

in Figure 1 suggests the cradle
to the grave phenomena. The
asset management cycle covers
planning until the disposal stage
(or adaptive re-use). In the global
arena, various theories and tools
have been developed to support Figure 2: The theory of BPE (Preiser and Vischer, 2005)

THE INGENIEUR 7
cover feature
Figure 3: COBIE process
this idea. Among them are Building
Performance Evaluation (BPE),
Construction Operations Building
Information Exchange (COBIE),
Building Information Modelling
(BIM) and Return on Investment
(ROI).
BPE is the process of systematically
comparing the actual performance
of buildings, places and systems to
their expected performance, based
on the post-occupancy evaluation
(POE) process model. Therefore,
POE is a sub-process of BPE. It
addresses the needs, activities,
and goals of end users using the
facilities, maintenance, building
Figure 4: ROI in asset development
8 THE INGENIEUR
operations, and design-related
questions. Figure 2 summarizes the
theory of BPE.
Meanwhile COBIE is part of
BIM theory. In this approach, all
design and construction information
are securely transferred to the
building management team. It
emphasizes the data and information
management for producing
building user manual, realizing
that building documentation is
normally fragmented, unorganized
and not in a useful format. In short,
the process of COBIE (as in Figure
3) is to gather information during
construction submittal, define
minimum required information
submittals to verify performance,
direct data import to Computerized
Maintenance Management System
(CMMS), and provide integration
with building space model.
Every business begins with an
investment in asset or infrastructure.
The element of ROI should be
considered right from the beginning
i.e. how to maximize profit from
our assets and not be a liability
to the building owner later on.
Once construction completes,
revenue stream will start, but with
it also operational cost which is
divided into two main categories,
fixed and variable; where variable
is the total cost to maintain the
developed properties. When both
stages combine the issues became
noticeable, as in Figure 4. The
best way to handle this issue is
to plan maintenance management
early by way of the right strategy
using CMMS as the tool. Having a
good CMMS manages cost, keeps
customer satisfaction level high,
hence sustainable revenue with
extended life cycle of asset. This
is something that the investor or
building owner is willing to pay for,
especially when green development
is also taken into account. It is
done via deployment of appropriate
c o r r e c t ive m a i n t e n a n c e , w e l l
planned preventive maintenance, and
accurate predictive maintenance.
Human Capital
H av i n g i d e n t i f i e d t h e b e s t
practices in business process, we
need human capital in executing the
idea. Humans are the best machines
and super-power computer in
ensuring best practices are put in
place. Therefore, we need team
members with various technical
knowledge and competence. It
ranges from the design team to
the building management team.
 cover feature

Table 1: Whos who in providing sustainable asset management

Core business/services Professional service provider (based on programme

outcome outlined by MQA)

Building design ARCHITECT

Engineering/Structure/Infrastructure ENGINEER
Cost and contract administration QUANTITY SURVEYOR
Valuation and estate agent VALUATION SURVEYOR
Town and regional planning TOWN PLANNER
Landscape LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT
Land survey LAND SURVEYOR
Interior design/architecture INTERIOR ARCHITECTURE
Building control/performance BUILDING SURVEYOR

Competency is best represented

from the outcome of an academic
programme developed by Malaysian
Qualification Agency (MQA).
In our context, the professional
services involve the professions
of Architect, Engineer, Quantity
Surveyor, Valuation Surveyor, Town
Planner, Landscape Architect, Land
Surveyor, Interior Architecture and
Building Surveyor, as depicted
in Table 1. All these professional
services have to work hand-in-hand
with the ultimate goal of achieving
sustainable asset management.

IT System
Figure 5: Painting the picture clearer Typical Current Practice
Before getting IT in place,
baseline data have to be made
available and reliable. The existing
organizational asset management
business process perhaps has to
be adjusted and customized to
suit the CMMS. The myth about
IT system is it will take care of
every mechanistic task of asset
management. We have to realize
that IT is enabler for the whole
structure of asset management,
thus providing total solution for
sustainable asset management. It is
not that when we have a superb IT
system, everybody just stays back
and become the observer. The IT
system needs input to convert data
into information, and this is found Figure 6: Painting the picture clearer Portal Based Idea

THE INGENIEUR 9
cover feature
Figure 7: Maintenance Approach of UKM Future Prospect Roadmap
to be the most lacking, leading to
a white elephant project. As a
rule of thumb, engage a business
partner that provides total solution,
rather than selling the software
and/or gadgets.
The Case of UKM
With the launch of DPAK,
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
(UKM) under the Department of
Development Management (JPP) is
seriously implementing these three
key areas. Proper set-up as outlined
above is now in place with an
almost full team of professionals on
board. We use WebTMA system.
The typical current practice is
shown in Figure 5.
Th e p o r t a l b a s e d i d e a a s
shown in Figure 6 portrays UKMs
move towards sustainable asset
management. With the maintenance
dashboard and clear structure
of reporting, plus the various
professional team members, we
s t r o n g l y b e l i e ve t h a t w e c a n
sustain the best practices of asset
management procedure. The IT
system is just in place and this
will enable real-time performance
monitoring of UKM maintenance
10 THE INGENIEUR
businesses. Various parties involved
in this business i.e. maintenance
contractor, parts supplier, assets
supplier, vendor, education outfit,
as well as technician and engineers
are linked within one system
with the JPP, thus creating better
communication that will enhance
the success of the whole business
process. In short, UKMs aspiration
in achieving sustainable asset
management is summarized in
Figure 7.
CONCLUSION
Sustainable asset management is
neither a new formula, nor rocket
science. It is quite a straight
forward procedure, as outlined
in the three key areas, namely
the business process, human
capital and IT system. The most
critical part in starting this is
human capital. Without complete
professional team members, this
is just a dream and it will never
become true. Various documents
are now available on the best
practices of business process. We
are very fortunate that Malaysian
Government is now moving
towards this direction, and this
translates into DPAK and TAM
Manual. As one of the Government
bodies and research universities,
UKM is moving with Governments
aspiration and transforming its
business processes. BEM
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Atkin, B., Brooks, A. (2009).
Total Facilities Management.
3 rd Edition. Oxford: Wiley-
Blackwell.
D a s a r Pe n g u r u s a n A s e t
Kerajaan (2009). Malaysian
Government.
H a s e l b a ch , L . ( 2 0 0 8 ) . Th e
Engineering Guide to LEED
New Construction: Sustainable
Construction for Engineers. USA:
McGraw-Hill Companies.
Krygiel, E., Nies, B. (2008).
Green BIM: Successful
Sustainable Design with Building
Information Modeling. Indiana:
Wiley Publishing, Inc.
M a n u a l Pe n g u r u s a n A s e t
Menyeluruh (2009). Malaysian
Government.
Preiser, W.F.E., Vischer, J.C.
(2005). Assessing Building
Pe r f o m a n c e . M a s s a ch u s e t s :
Elsevier Butterworth-
Heinemann.
Smith, D. K., Tardif, M. (2009).
Building Information Modeling:
A Strategic Implementation
Guide for Architects, Engineers,
Constructors, and real estate
Asset Managers. New Jersey:
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Wo o d , B. ( 2 0 0 9 ) . B u i l d i n g
Maintenance. Oxford: Wiley-
Blackwell.
 cover feature

Strategic IT In Facilities Management

For Malaysian Health Sector
By Prof. Ir. Dr. Zuhairi Abd. Hamid,
Executive Director Construction Research Institute of Malaysia (CREAM),
Mohd. Khairolden Ghani, Kamarul Anuar Mohamad Kamar, Maria Zura Mohd. Zain and Ahmad Hazim Abdul Rahim,
Manager, Construction Research Institute of Malaysia (CREAM)

This paper briefly examines one case study of a teaching hospital in Malaysia to explore the current
uptake of Information Technology (IT) in Facilities Management (FM) and to learn whether the
Strategic IT in FM framework developed by NHS Trusts in UK is applicable to the Malaysian health
sector. The Malaysian case study examines the effectiveness of the framework in order to develop a
preliminary understanding of FM in Malaysian hospitals to set up the scene for future work in this
field. This paper also aims to look at the current uptake of IT in FM for that particular hospital and
to explore the potential of implementing strategic IT in FM by relevant authorities in Malaysia.

A
lthough FM is prominent
in Western Europe, US and
Japan, it is still a relatively
new concept in Malaysia (Omar,
2004; Hamid, 2004; CIDB, 2007).
Like other countries in South East
Asia, Malaysia shares a similar
approach to FM. There is limited
understanding and practice of FM
benchmarking in the South East Asian
(Moore et al., 2004) region. Whilst
the Asian region in general continues
to suffer from a property overhang in
most sectors, the cost of occupying,
servicing and maintaining space
continues to generally represent a
high cost in business terms for both
owners and occupiers, and hence
demands a level of understanding,
operation and management (Moore
et al., 2004).
A statement by the former Prime
Minister of Malaysia: Unless
Malaysians change their mentality to
become more aware of the need to
provide good services and improve
the upkeep of buildings, we will
forever be a Third World country
with First World infrastructure
(Badawi, 2001) has stressed the
importance of FM in the Malaysian
context.
The average use of IT systems in
the Malaysian construction industry
is shown in Table 1 (Hamid, 2002;
Hamid, 2003). The results suggest
that advanced IT systems in FM
is still very limited in its use. The
Malaysian construction industry
has realised this and is taking
initiatives in ensuring the role of
FM for the whole life-cycle cost in
construction (Omar, 2002; Hamid,
2002; 2003; 2004).
Lessons Learnt from UK
Experience and Plan for
Technology Transfer
A study by the European Centre
for TQM (Jarrar and Zairi, 2000)
suggested that effective transfer
of best practices is made up of
six major steps as shown in Figure
1. Each step captures the crucial
elements and information from the
research stages that are relevant
in the transfer process of good
practices.
Three dominant issues namely
corporate culture, relationships
within an organisation and level
of technology use are pertinent

12 THE INGENIEUR
 cover feature

Table 1 Average Use of ICT Systems as a Percentage of IT Software Blueprint of Malaysia (Ministry of
Application in Malaysian Construction Industry in 2002 (Hamid, 2002) Health Malaysia, 1997) under the
banner of Leading Healthcare
ICT Systems Average %
into the Information Age as the
Internet/web 14.1 reference document.
Office tools 13.6 The Malaysian health vision is
to develop a nation of healthy
Database 10.5
individuals, families and communities
Finance and Accounting 10.4 through a health system that is
Document management 10.2 equitable, affordable, efficient,
technologically appropriate,
CAD 10.1
environmentally adaptable and
Network (internal) 9.5 consumer friendly, with emphasis
Bills of Quantities 7.5 on quality, innovation, health
promotion and respect for human
Planning tools 6.0
d i g n i t y, a n d wh i ch p r o m o t e s
FM 2.6 i n d iv i d u a l r e s p o n s i b i l i t y a n d
Product modelling 2.0 community participation towards
an enhanced quality of life. The
Decision Support Systems 1.6
Malaysian Telehealth Application
GIS 1.0 will, on completion, provide every
VR 0.5 resident of the country with an
Others 0.4 electronic Lifetime Health Record
(LHR) and Lifetime Health Plan
(LHP) (Abidi et al., 1998).
The Malaysian health vision
to the transfer of best practices Hospital Information also does not specifically mention
(APQC, 1998). These are some System in Malaysia the importance of IT in FM despite
salient points to remember in the the contribution of FM and the
transfer of UK experience to the In Malaysia, the development importance of information sharing
implementation of strategic FM and of strategic IT in the health sector to deliver value-for-money services
IT to the Malaysian health sector. is known as t
he Telemedicine to patients and healthcare.

Applying Strategic IT in
FM to the Malaysian
E
n
Searching Health Sector
a
b This paper includes one case
l Evaluating
i study from the perspective of the
n Malaysian health sector. The Strategic
g
IT in FM derived from the UK NHS
Validating
E Trusts is tested on its practicality in
n
v one hospital. It is not the intention
i of this research paper to go in
r
o Transfer depth to propose a similar strategic
n IT framework for the Malaysian
m health sector. The inclusion of the
e
n
Review Malaysian hospital is to answer the
t following questions:
Routinizing
1. Why is IT in FM significant to
Figure 1 Efective Transfer of Best Practices (Jarrar and Zairi, 2000) Malaysia?

THE INGENIEUR 13
cover feature
2. What is the difference in FM
activities between NHS Trusts and
Malaysian Hospital?
3. D o e s M a l ay s i a n H o s p i t a l
have similar FM structure in the
organisation?
4. What is the strategic FM in the
context of Malaysian Hospital?
Figure 2 Organisation Chart of a Malaysian Hospital
14 THE INGENIEUR
5. Is strategic IT in FM relevant for
Malaysian Hospital?
In order to answer these
questions a series of interviews with
the following objectives were held
with the senior management staff of
a Malaysian Hospital in 2004:
Explore Information Management
and Technology strategies both at a
national level and within Malaysian
Hospital,
Identify challenges and
opportunities in this strategic
direction,
 cover feature

I n v e s t i g a t e t h e Fa c i l i t i e s Facilities Directorate in the UKs A simple checklist prepared in

Management related elements
of Information Management and
Technology strategy,
Explore the implementation
i s s u e s o f I T w i t h i n Fa c i l i t i e s
Management, and
Identify the strengths and
weaknesses of current practices.
The following sections will
discuss the uptake of strategic FM
and IT for FM in the Malaysian
health sector from a case study
u n d e r t a k e n a t o n e M a l ay s i a n
hospital.
Overview of FM Functions
in UK and Malaysian
Hospital
An overview of the differences
between FM functions and uptake
in UK and Malaysian Hospital are
investigated, with the intention to
evaluate the uptake of strategic FM
in the Malaysian health sector.
A clear distinction between
the NHS Trusts and the hospital
i n M a l ay s i a i s t h a t t h e F M
function is not directly under one
directorate/department like the
NHS Trust. In Malaysian Hospital,
FM activities are disintegrated into
three departments as shown in
Figure 2.
There is no direct link between
all the FM functions or activities
in the Malaysian Hospital under
one director. As such the strategic
FM functions are dependent
on individual departments. A
holistic approach to strategic
FM is only achievable when the
strategic direction of the hospital
is considered.
Relevance of Strategic IT
in FM
Malaysian Hospital needs to
define clearly the strategic FM
activities before embarking on
strategic IT in FM. The author
foresees this will not be an easy
task as Malaysian Hospital for FM
activities are distributed to various
departments as shown in Figure
2. A task force should be set up
to organise all the FM activities.
This task force must be appointed
by the hospital board members,
and should explore possible ways
to implement strategic FM at the
hospital.
Figure 3 summarises the differences
in the NHS Trusts and Malaysian
Hospital perspectives of strategic
FM. An NHS Trust was chosen
for the purpose of comparison
because it shared similarity as one
of the leading teaching hospital
in UK. The definition and role of
FM in the Malaysian health sector
need to be clearly defined. One
suggestion is to rank according
to priority. The ranking below
was determined from high level
discussion and interviews with
the hospital management. The
two activities below are needed
to improve the uptake of IT in FM
in Malaysia.
1. Revamp the current Information
System/Information Technology (IS/
IT) function,
2. A l i g n I n f o r m a t i o n S y s t e m
development with design, build,
operate and transfer consortium/
concessionaire.
The lessons learnt and the steps
in developing Strategic IT for the
Malaysian Hospital are as shown in
Figure 4. This is a guideline which
will assist the hospital to plan for
its strategic implementation of IT

UK NHS Malaysian Remarks

Trust Hospital
Focus areas 1. Strategic FM x Strategic FM is not an agenda
2. Strategic IT in FM x x item at Malaysian Hospital
Key drivers to implement 1. Government Although there are initiatives
strategic FM initiatives from both the Government and
2. Hospital initiatives hospital there is no strategic
3. FM strategic Plan planning for FM at Malaysian
x Hospital
Definitions 1. Definition of FM x There is no clear definition of
2. Definition of FM or IT in FM in the Malaysian
Strategic FM x health sector
3. Definition of
Strategic IT in FM x

Figure 3 Checklist on Current Implementation of Strategic FM at Malaysian Hospital

THE INGENIEUR 15
cover feature

Figure 4 Steps in Developing Strategic IT in FM

16 THE INGENIEUR

in FM. Malaysian Hospital needs
to consolidate its strategic FM as a
first step before starting to plan its
strategic IT in FM.
CONCLUSION
The practice of FM for the health
sector in Malaysia is very different
to that in the UK NHS Trusts. As
mentioned, Facilities function is
under Finance Division of the
Trusts whereas in the Malaysian
health sector this function is under
the Administration Department
of the hospital. The confinement
of the management of FM in the
Malaysian health sector to one
department such as the Facilities
Directorate in the NHS Trusts, is
non-existent. FM as a profession
or a function in the health sector
is not recognised. FM activities in
Malaysia are categorised as building
maintenance, engineering services
and support services, and are more
accepted and grouped under the
administration department of the
hospital. Within the administration
department FM services are further
located within other divisions
or smaller support units. This
separation of FM activities into
many divisions has made the
implementation of strategic FM
difficult. The implementation of FM
in the Malaysian health sector is
seen to be practised as operational
rather than tactical, and far from
strategic since it is scattered
throughout the hospital.
The case study revealed that
the concept of strategic FM is
relatively new to the management
in Malaysian Hospital and there is
no established definition of strategic
FM in the Malaysian health sector.
Malaysian Hospital needs to focus
more on establishing its strategic
FM plan with clear definition and
objectives before planning for its
strategic IT in FM. BEM
cover feature
REFERENCES
Abidi, S.S.R. Goh, A. Yusuff, Z. (1998) Telemedicine and medical informatics in
the Multimedia Super Corridor: the Malaysian vision, Proceedings of the Ninth
World Congress on Medical Informatics, 1998, pp. 12821286.
APQC,(1998) Improving Facilities Management Through Information Technology,
Consortium Benchmarking Study Best Practice Report, American Productivity
and Quality Center
Badawi, Abdullah A. Datuk Seri (2001) The Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia,
(February 2001), The Star (newspaper), Malaysia.
CIDB (2007) Construction Industry Master Plan 2006-2015, CIDB
Hamid, Z., Alshawi, M.(2004) A Framework for Strategic Information Systems
Planning (SISP) in Health Sector Facilities Management : Transfer of Best Practice,
4th International Postgraduate Research Conference, University of Salford, UK,
Volume 2 page 458-471, 2004.
Hamid, Z, Sarshar, M. (2002), Embedding ICT to the Malaysian Construction
industry, Proceedings of the 2nd. International Postgraduate Research Conference in
the Built and Human Environment, 11-12 April, 2002, University of Salford.
Hamid, Z, Sarshar,M. (2003) Specification of a Strategy to Facilitate the Effective
Integration of ICT in the Malaysian Construction Industry, Paper submitted to
Construction Innovation Journal for publication. (Submitted on 8th. May, 2003)
Hamid, Z., Alshawi, M. (2004) A Framework for Strategic Information Systems
Planning (SISP) in Health Sector Facilities Management : Transfer of Best Practice,
4th International Postgraduate Research Conference, University of Salford, UK,
Volume 2 page 458-471, 2004.
Hamid.Z, Sarshar,M. (2004a) Strategic Information Systems Planning Requirements
in Facilities Management for Health Sector A Plan for Technology Transfer
to Malaysian Construction Industry. INCITE 2004-World IT for Design and
Construction Langkawi, Malaysia: 18-21 February 2004. CIDB Malaysia -
University of Salford, United Kingdom -The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
Page 589-598.
Hamid, Z, Alshawi, M. (2005) A Proposal on Strategic System Planning Framework
for Facilities Management (SSPfFM) in the Health Sector, 5th International
Postgraduate Conference, April 14th 15th 2005, University of Salford, UK,
Volume 2 page 958-973
Jarrar, Y, Zairi, M, (2000) Best practice transfer for future competitiveness: a study
of best practices, Total Quality Management, 11, 4-6.
Ministry of Health Malaysia (1997) Telemedicine Flagship Application. Malaysias
Telemedicine Blueprint: Leading Healthcare into the Information Age, 1997,
Ministry of Health Malaysia.
Moore, M., Finch, E. (2004) Facilities management in South East Asia, Facilities,
September 2004, vol. 22, no. 9-10, pp. 259-270(12) Emerald Group Publishing
Limited
NHS (2001) Building the information core Implementing the NHS plan, Crown
copyright
Omar, Z., (2002) Presidents Message, Buletin Ingenieur, Volume 16, Quarterly,
September, 2002 , Board of Engineers Malaysia.
Omar, Z., (2004) Presidents Message, Buletin Ingenieur, Volume 24, December,
2004 February, 2005 , Board of Engineers Malaysia.
THE INGENIEUR 17
 cover feature

Building Industry
Stakeholders Association
By Building Management Association of Malaysia

Building industry stakeholders in Malaysia have come together to form the Building Management
Association of Malaysia (BMAM) to enhance and protect their collective interests. What are their
aspirations and expectations?

P
roperty management in Malaysia, particularly
stratified property management, has evolved
through time. In the earlier years, most
storeyed buildings were largely constructed and
owned by the Federal and State Governments,
hence the popularly known Bangunan Persekutuan
(Federal Building) located in most important cities
and towns countrywide housed Ministries and
Government departments. This practice was then
extended to provide cheap public housing in the
form of multi-storeyed municipal flats for the low
income groups. The construction of such public
housing projects which began during the immediate
post-independence era, is being continued as Projek
Perumahan Rakyat (Peoples Housing Project). The
active involvement of the private sector in the
construction of stratified commercial and residential
buildings only became visible in the late 70s and
early 80s. Prior to this period, private developers
were mostly involved in the construction of landed
commercial, industrial and residential properties
such as two or three-storey shop-houses, factories,
detached and semi-detached bungalows, terrace link
houses, and the like.

Group photo of Pro-Tem Executive Committee of BMAM

18 THE INGENIEUR

Legal Developments
The enactment of the Valuers, Appraisers and
Estate Agents Act, 1981 (VAEA Act) and the Strata
Titles Act, 1985 (ST Act), and more recently the
Building and Common Property (Maintenance and
Management) Act, 2007 (BCPMM Act) emphasise the
need to promote, streamline and regulate the building
management industry, with the view to providing
viable and sustainable stratified property development,
maintenance and management by empowering the
owners. These Acts assume cross-cutting priority over
the public and private sectors and are perceived to
be the important points of reference in the building
management industry.
Principal Issue of Contention
The principal issue of contention right now is that
the Board of Valuers, Appraisers and Estate Agents
(Board) is claiming that pursuant to Section 21 of the
VAEA Act, property management can only be performed
by licensed property valuers duly registered with the
Board, and that such functions cannot be performed
by others. The Boards claim for exclusivity in the
property management industry has set off a continuing
series of reactions and resistance from all industry
stakeholders, namely the Chambers of Commerce,
developers, engineers, architects, shopping complex
and high rise building managers, joint management
bodies and management corporations, to name a few.
Several articles have been highlighted in the media
by individual organisations, effectively articulating and
putting forward their respective points of view.
Other Major Issues
The other major issues put forward by these
organisations are:
Property management is a multi-disciplinary
occupation and not a uni-disciplinary profession
like medicine or dentistry. It involves several
disciplines such as engineering, architecture, law,
project accounting, public relations, corporate
communications, event and space marketing,
advertising, events management, etc. and therefore
cannot be the exclusive preserve of the Board;
Property valuation, and by extension property
valuers, have nothing whatsoever to do with the
scope and functions of multi-disciplinary property
cover feature
management, which are hands-on and mostly
operational in nature. Board-registered valuers are
welcome to work as property managers, but they
should not claim exclusive rights or deny others
the right to maintain and manage properties;
It is building owners who take the commercial
risks of investing billions in loans and equity on
their properties. Logically, it is in the building
owners interests to maximise value creation
and sustain enhancement of property value and
return on investment. Certain business and
entrepreneurial capabilities are involved in order to
generate revenue for building owners in the area of
management of shopping centres and commercial
high-rise buildings. Therefore, building owners
with their vested interests, solely or collectively,
should have the absolute right to employ suitable
people or companies of their choice to undertake
property management for their buildings based
on the competitive market forces of supply and
demand;
The ST Act and the BCPMM Act expressly allow
property owners or legally incorporated entities or
the developers the rights and responsibility to act
as property managers to maintain and manage the
properties, and to also appoint managing agents to
perform property management and related services.
There is no requirement whatsoever in these Acts
that these managing agents must necessarily be
valuers, nor are there any related references in
this regard in the VAEA Act;
In the absence of competitive market forces,
exclusivity granted through a monopoly will
encourage corruption and rent-seeking in the
property management industry, the costs of
which will be passed on to owners in the form
of increased maintenance charges with no
proportionate increase in service value;
Malaysia has begun a series of liberalisation
processes in line with AFTA and WTO requirements.
The liberalisation of 27 sub-sectors in the services
industry is a case in point. The Boards claim for
a monopoly over property management is totally
inconsistent with the Governments economic
liberalisation efforts and will hurt its promotional
initiatives to encourage foreign investment in
the property sector a key driver of economic
development in the country;
THE INGENIEUR 19
cover feature
Property management should be effectively
segregated from the Board of Valuers, and a
separate entity, such as a Board of Property
Managers (similar to the Strata Titles Board), should
be set up under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of
Housing and Local Government to monitor and
oversee property management in Malaysia
No other countries include property management
functions under the regulatory ambit of a
professional regulatory body or Act of Parliament.
Other Commonwealth countries such as Singapore,
Hong Kong and the United Kingdom do not
have such regulatory bodies or laws to restrict
the work and designation of property managers.
The discipline of property management shows no
precedence as a regulated profession anywhere in
the world.
The Building Management Association of Malaysia
(BMAM) had its beginnings in 2005 as the VAEA Joint
Action Group, comprising the following building
industry stakeholders:
Developers, Owners and Chambers of Commerce
Real Estate and Housing Developers Association
of Malaysia (REHDA)
International Real Estate Federation (FIABCI
Malaysia)
Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and
Industry Malaysia (ACCCIM)
Malaysian Association of Hotel Owners (MAHO)
Malaysian Retailer Chains Association (MRCA)
Professional Bodies
The Institution of Engineers (IEM)
Association of Consulting Engineers Malaysia
(ACEM)
Malaysian Institute of Architects (PAM)
Malaysian Association for Shopping and High Rise
Complex Management (PPK)
Management Corporations, Joint Management
Bodies and Residents Associations
Bunga Raya Management Corporation
All PJ Residents Association Coalition (APAC)
Grandeur Tower Management Corporation
Le Jardine Management Corporation
Teratai Mewah Management Corporation
20 THE INGENIEUR
Shopping complex
Perdana Villa Deluxe Management Corporation
Wisma Rampai Owners Association
Kenanga Apartments Management Corporation
Le Jardine Condominium Joint Management
Body
The Joint Action Group has, through the years,
met with several members of parliament, the second
finance minister, minister of housing and local
government, second deputy finance minister and
a host of government officials and put forward its
collective position and points of view through a series
of proposals and memorandums for their consideration.
Conferences, seminars and forums have also been
held from time to time to inculcate awareness among
stakeholders on the various issues in focus.
Aims and Objectives of BMAM
BMAM, which received its official registration
as an Association under the Societies Act, 1966
on November 4, 2009, has the following aims and
objectives:
1. To establish and maintain a register of competent
and qualified practitioners in the building management
industry of Malaysia. The said register shall comprise
individuals, corporate bodies and other organisations
involved in the building management industry of
Malaysia;
2. To p r o m o t e c o - o p e r a t i o n , g o o d w i l l a n d
understanding between all stakeholders in the building
management industry of Malaysia;
3. To advance, inculcate awareness and promote
best practices among all stakeholders in the building
management industry of Malaysia;

4. To help improve and sustain the overall quality
of building management in Malaysia;
5. To provide a forum for discussions with and
between all stakeholders in the building management
industry of Malaysia;
6. To seek participation and membership in
committees and such other appropriate organs
of management of the Government and other
regulatory authorities as the representative of all
stakeholders in the building management industry
of Malaysia;
7 . To m a k e o f f i c i a l r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s t o t h e
Government and to other legislative and regulatory
authorities for and behalf of all stakeholders in the
building management industry of Malaysia;
8. To share resources, including but not limited
to professional expertise, equipment, technology
and human resources between stakeholders in the
building management industry of Malaysia;
9. To conduct educational and training programmes
with the view to upgrading the overall standard of
building management in Malaysia;
10. To undertake research, collect, collate, co-
ordinate, and distribute by any means deemed
advisable, data, information, ideas, knowledge,
methods and techniques on the building management
industry of Malaysia
11. To seek, where appropriate, affiliation and
accreditation with other like-minded professional,
e d u c a t i o n a l a n d t ra i n i n g b o d i e s t o e n h a n c e
professionalism in the building management
industry of Malaysia and to upgrade the educational
and training programmes of the Association;
12. To print and publish journals, magazines and
newsletters with the view to promoting quality
building management in Malaysia;
13. To promote professionalism in the building
management industry of Malaysia;
14. To represent, defend and protect the collective
interests of all stakeholders in the building
management industry of Malaysia;
cover feature
15. To p e r f o r m s u ch o t h e r f u n c t i o n s f o r t h e
overall promotion of the aims and objects of the
Association.
Membership
Ordinary Membership shall be opened to registered
societies, organisations and professional bodies
representing developers, Chambers of Commerce and
Industry, architects, engineers, surveyors, real estate
agents, property appraisers and valuers, shopping and
highrise complex managers, agents, managing agents,
building managers and building facilities managers.
Corporate Membership and Institutional Membership
shall be opened to registered corporate bodies, statutory
institutions and societies representing agents, managing
agents, building managers, building facilities managers,
owners associations, residents associations, joint
management bodies and management corporations.
Where appropriate, other associations or civil
society organisations, which are not direct stakeholders
in the building management industry of Malaysia but
have an indirect interest, may also be invited by the
Association as Associate Members. Associate Members
shall be eligible to attend all meetings upon invitation
of the Association but shall not be eligible to vote or
hold office in the Association.
Pro-Tem Executive Committee of BMAM
Dato Teo Chiang Kok (ACCCIM) - President
Mr Lee Weng Onn (IEM) - Deputy President
Mr S. Venkateswaran (Bunga Raya Management
Corporation) - Secretary General
Datuk Eddy Chen (REHDA) - Treasurer
Ms Joyce Yap (PPK) - Committee Member
Mr Lee Chor Wah (PAM) - Committee Member
Mr Richard Chan (PPK) - Committee Member
(Ex-Officio)
Mr Philip Choy (Stratified Property Management) -
Committee Member (Ex-Officio)
The Way Forward
The way forward to develop and maintain a
dynamic and sustainable building industry in Malaysia
in a rapidly globalising economic environment is
through consultation and networking among multiple
stakeholders in the industry. BMAM is confident of
contributing significantly towards this laudable national
objective. BEM
THE INGENIEUR 21
 engineering & law
Liquidated And Ascertained Damages:
Some Recent Legal Developments
By Ir. Harbans Singh K.S.
P.E., C. Eng., Advocate and Solicitor (Non-Practicing)
C
ompletion of the works under a typical
construction/engineering contract remains
the single most important obligation of the
contractor and the main expectation of the employer.
When such completion is delayed i.e. the contractor
is unable to complete the works by the original date(s)
set in the contract or by any new date(s) fixed by the
contract administrator and the cause(s) of the delay
does not entitle the contractor to any extension of
time under the contract, he is culpable of breaching
the contract. Accordingly, the contractor is thereby
liable for all the consequences flowing such breach; the
principal of which is to compensate the employer for
the loss or expense suffered by him as a consequence
of the non-completion. Most forms of contract have
clauses on the financial contractual remedy in the
form of damages provisions available to the employer
in the event of the contractors said default. The
provision of such clauses on the employers financial
contractual remedy, is and has been, the object of
much criticism, but nevertheless, on an overall basis,
remains the most practical mechanism for resolving
the issue on a win-win basis for both parties. Such
provisions are common, although their labels differ
from form to form; the more popular of which are
liquidated damages, liquidated and ascertained
damages, penalty, etc. Though used synonymously,
there are distinct differences between these labels. One
should be mindful of the relevant pronouncements
of the Malaysian Federal Court, in particular, in the
case of Selva Kumar a/l Murugiah v Thiagarajah a/l
Retnasamy [1995] 2 MLJ 817 and the recent case of
Johor Coastal Development Sdn. Bhd. v Constrajaya
Sdn. Bhd. [2009] 4 MLJ 445 which have shed light on
the way the local courts view these clauses.
22 THE INGENIEUR
The Malaysian Position
It should be appreciated that in Malaysia, the
relevant statutory provision that deals directly with the
issue of liquidated damages and penalties is Section
75 of the Contracts Act 1950 (Rev. 1974) entitled
Compensation for breach of contract where penalty
stipulated for. It states:
When a contract has been broken, if a sum is
named in the contract as the amount to be paid in
the case of such breach or if the contract contains
any other stipulation by way of penalty, the party
complaining of the breach is entitled, whether or
not actual damages or loss is proved to have been
caused thereby, to receive from the party who has
broken the contract reasonable compensation not
exceeding the amount so named or, as the case
may be, the penalty stipulated for.
The said Section 75 is in pari materia with Section
74 of the Indian Contracts Act 1872 where it was first
enacted and then followed in the local jurisdiction.
The first interpretation to this provision was given
in the Indian case of Bhai Panna Singh v Bhai Arjun
Singh [AIR 1929 PC 179] where the Privy Council held
in regard to the Section 74 of the Indian Contracts
Act 1872 that:
The effect of S74 of the Contracts Act 1872 is to
disentitle the plaintiffs to recover simpliciter the
sum of RS10,000, whether as penalty or liquidated
damages. The plaintiff must prove the damages
they have suffered.

This was followed locally in Maniam v The State of
Perak [1957] MLJ 75 where Thomson J held:
In the first place, in this country there is no
difference between penalty and liquidated damages
.. As is said in Pollock and Mulla on the Indian
Contracts Act (7th Edn.) at p40, The section boldly
cuts the most troublesome knot in the common
law doctrine of damages. In brief in our law in
every case, if a sum is named in a contract as to
be the amount to be paid in case of breach it is
to be treated as a penalty. See Bhai Panna Singh
v Bhai Arjun Singh [AIR 1929 PC 179].
In Wearne Brothers (M) Ltd v Jackson [1966] 2
MLJ 155, the Malaysian High Court held that whether
the clause in the agreement was a penalty clause or
otherwise was irrelevant in view of Section 75 which
provides that in every case, the court must determine
what is the reasonable compensation. It went on to
state that the effect of the Section is that the plaintiff is
disentitled from recovering simpliciter the sum fixed in
the contract whether as penalty or liquidated damages
and must prove the damages suffered by him unless
the sum is a genuine pre-estimate. This interpretation
was confirmed subsequently by the Privy Council in the
cases of Linggi Plantations Ltd v Jagatheesan [1972] 1
MLJ 89 where Lord Hailsham held that Section 75 of
the Contracts Act 1950 was intended to cut through
the rather technical rules relating to liquidated damages
and penalties. Robert CJ in the Brunei case of Chung
Syn Kheng Electrical Co Bhd v Regional Construction
Sdn Bhd [1987] 2 MLJ 763 commenting on the effect
of Section 75 said:
This means that the amount provided for liquidated
damages will only be enforced in favour of the
plaintiff if it can be shown that this amount was
a genuine pre-estimate of the damages likely to
flow from the specified breach. The amount
of loss or damage which has actually occurred
must be a major factor in deciding whether the
amount provided for was an honest pre-estimate
of the likely loss or damage. If the actual loss
or damage suffered is very much less than the
sum agreed, the court will refuse to enforce the
engineering & law
agreement to pay a specified sum by way of
liquidated damages.
The Federal Court was given an opportunity in
the case of Selva Kumar a/l Murugiah v Thiagarajah
a/l Retnasamy [1995] 2 MLJ 817 to revisit the matter
and make a ruling on it. Peh Swee Chin FCJ (who
delivered the judgment), effectively held at p823 that
in Malaysia, Section 75 of the Contracts Act 1950
does away with the distinction between liquidated
damages and penalties as understood under English
Law. This flows from Section 75 providing that in every
case where a fixed sum is specified in the contract as
payable upon breach thereof, the court must determine
what is the reasonable compensation, whether or not
actual damage or loss is proved to have been caused
thereby. The words whether or not actual damage
or loss is proved to have been caused thereby must
be given a restricted construction so that a plaintiff
who is claiming for actual damages in an action for
breach of contract must still prove the actual damages
or reasonable compensation in accordance with the
settled principles in Hadley v Baxendale (1854) 9
Exch. 341(which is per 74 of the Contracts Act 1950).
Any failure to prove such damages will result in the
refusal of the court to award such damages. However,
for cases where the court finds it difficult to assess
damages for the actual damage as there is no known
measure of damages employable, and yet the evidence
clearly shows some real loss inherently which is not
too remote, the words in question will apply. The
court ought to award substantial damages as opposed
to nominal damages which are reasonable and fair
according to the courts good sense and fair play. In
any event, the damages awarded must not exceed the
sum so named in the contractual provision.
The above pronouncement in the said case (in short
Selvakumars case) was applied with mixed results in
the subsequent cases. The principle requiring proof of
actual loss before imposing liquidated damages/agreed
compensation was applied in Reliance Shipping &
Travel Agencies v Low Ban Siong [1996] 2 MLJ 543 and
Lion Engineering Sdn. Bhd. v Pauchuan Development
Sdn Bhd [1997] 4 AMR 3315; to quote some examples.
In a similar vein, a case that apparently comes within
THE INGENIEUR 23
engineering & law
the exception to the said restrictive interpretation of
Section 75 of the Contracts Act 1950 is Keen Builders
Sdn. Bhd. v Utara Dua (M) Sdn Bhd (Samudra
(Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Garnishee) [1998] 2 CLJ Supp.
256 where it was held that owing to the nature of
the damages arising from the delayed completion of
a building project which involved variable factors
including currency fluctuation, the parties consensus
of having mutually agreed upon a figure must come
within the said exception.
A shift from Selvakumars case was seen in a
number of cases; the first of which was Arab Malaysian
Corp. Builders Sdn Bhd v ASM Development Sdn
Bhd [1998] 2 CLJ 169 that has been considered
previously in relation to the reluctance of the courts
to injunct the employer from deducting liquidated
damages. However, a more pronounced movement
away in thinking was shown in the High Court case
of Sakinas Sdn Bhd v Siew Yik Hau & Anor [2002] 2
MLJ 497 where Abdul Aziz Mohamed J reiterated the
principles in Selvakumars case into two categories of
cases, namely:
1. The first category where the evidence must show
some real loss inherently and that such loss was not too
remote but it would be difficult for the court to assess
damages or the actual damage or loss because there
is no known measure employable. Therefore, even if
there was no evidence of actual damage or loss, the
court would nevertheless award substantial damages
not exceeding the sum so named in the contract as
liquidated damages; being a sum which was reasonable
and fair according to the courts good sense and fair
play. It was held that delay in construction projects
was a species of breach for which no known measure
of damages was employable; this being applied in
Sakinass case and in the subsequent case of Yap Yew
Cheong & Anor v Dirga Niaga (Selangor) Sdn Bhd
[2005] 7 MLJ 660; and
2. The second category where the damage for such
loss was not too remote and could be assessed by
settled rules. In this case, the failure to prove damages
for actual loss or damage would result in the courts
refusal to award such damages despite the wording
24 THE INGENIEUR
of such clauses in question. Selvakumars case falls
squarely in this second category.
Recent Developments
Whilst the above-mentioned developments were
happening in Malaysia, the Indian Courts were
given various opportunities to review the previous
interpretations that had been given to their Section
74 of the Contracts Act 1972; this culminating in the
case of Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Ltd v SAW
Pipes Ltd AJR 2003, Supreme Court 2629 where the
court at para 65 held:
Jurisdiction of the Court to award compensation
in case of breach of contract is unqualified as to
the maximum stipulated and compensation has
to be reasonable. Under S73, when a contract
has been broken, the party who suffers by such
breach is entitled to receive compensation for any
loss caused to him which the parties knew when
they made the contract to be likely to result from
the breach of it. This section is to be read with
S74, which deals with penalty stipulated in the
contract, inter alia (relevant for the present case)
provides that when a contract has been broken
the amount to be paid in case of such breach,
the party complaining of breach is entitled,
whether or not actual loss is proved to have been
caused, therefore to receive from the party who
has broken the contract reasonable compensation
not exceeding the amount so named. Section 74
emphasises that in case of breach of contract,
the party complaining of the breach is entitled to
receive reasonable compensation whether or not
actual loss is proved to have been caused by such
breach. Therefore, the emphasis is on reasonable
compensation. If the compensation named in
the contract is by way of penalty, consideration
would be different and the party is only entitled
to reasonable compensation for the loss suffered.
But if the compensation named in the contract for
such breach is genuine pre-estimate of loss which
the parties know when they made the contract
to be likely to result from the breach of it, there
is no question of proving such loss or such party

is not required to lead evidence to prove actual
loss suffered by him. Burden is on the other
party to lead evidence for proving that no loss
is likely to occur by such breach.
The said decision appears to show a shift by the
Indian Courts away from their previous restrictive
approach towards the position generally held under
English Law. Whether the local courts would follow
suit was tested recently in the case of Johor Coastal
Development Sdn Bhd v Constrajaya Sdn Bhd [2009]
4 MLJ 445 where the appellant contended before the
Federal Court that:
(a) The decision in Selva Kumar as identified in
the first issue is incorrect on the grounds that:
(i) the Federal Court in Selva Kumar decided
not to construe S 75 literally but to adopt a
more limited construction;
(ii) the Federal Court in its judgment had relied
on two old Indian cases. The Indian Supreme
Court has in a recent case, Oil & Natural
Gas Corp. Ltd. v Saw Pipes Ltd. AIR 2003
2629 departed from these cases; and
(iii) Selva Kumars decision insists that damage
must be strictly proved in every case despite
the presence of mutually agreed liquidated
damages clause, parties are forced to always
litigate as the defaulting party would argue
that there is no actual proof of actual
damage.
(b) The parties in the instant case have by Cl
16.2 of the agreements contracted out of S 75
of the Act. In the agreements, by Cl 16.2, the
parties unconditionally and irrevocably agreed
that the sum stipulated to be payable by the party
would constitute reasonable compensation and
that each party expressly waives any objection
it may now or hereafter have that those sums
would be otherwise than fair compensation.
Clearly the parties intended to and have Cl 16.2,
contracted out of S 75 of the Act.
engineering & law
In the majority decision dismissing the appeal
Arifin Zakaria FCJ, after having reviewed S 75 of the
Contracts Act and the relevant authorities, had this to
say at p 459 to 461:
Reverting to the first question posed to us, based
on the authorities considered above, it is my
view that the legal position may be summarized
as follows:
The appellant/vendor cannot recover or retain
without proof by evidence of the loss or damage
suffered as a result of the breach of the agreements.
This is because S 75 of the Act provides that in
every case, the court must determine what is
reasonable compensation, whether or not actual
damage or loss is proved to have been caused
thereby.
And as was held in Selva Kumar actual damages
or reasonable compensation must be proved in
accordance with the principles set out in Hedley
v Baxendale (1854) 9 Exch. 341.
The appellant urged this court to depart from
Selva Kumar and the long series of decisions
on S 75 relying on a recent two bench decision
of the Supreme Court of India in Oil & Natural
Gas Corporation Ltd v SAW Pipes Ltd LRI 348.
Upon close examination, I find that Oil & Natural
Gas falls in the category of cases where the loss
suffered is incapable of assessment. Hence, the
amount stipulated may be regarded as a genuine
pre-estimate of damages and therefore it is
recoverable. Further in Selva Kumar itself the
court recognized that where the court finds it
difficult to assess damages as there is no known
measure of damages employable, the stipulated
sum may be recoverable. It should also be noted
that nowhere in Oil & Natural Gas the Indian
Supreme Court stated that the provisions of the
Indian Contracts Act can be contracted out. In
view of the above, I am of the view that Selva
Kumar is still good law
THE INGENIEUR 25
engineering & law
This decision being that of the apex court of the
country vide the doctrine of stare decisis binds all
the lower courts and must therefore be followed.
Though it precluded an attempt to overrule Selva
Kumars case, the application of the said decision
as envisaged by Sakinas case may still be relevant
especially in terms of its two-fold categorization
exercise. However as Sakinas case was never cited
and therefore not reviewed, its actual effect and status
is a moot point. But what is clear from a long list
of other authorities is that neither Selva Kumar (and
therefore Johor Coastal Development) is applicable for
contracts drafted in accordance with Schedule H of
the Housing Developers (Control and Licencing Act)
1966 for accommodation type of building contracts.
In Brisdale Resources Sdn Bhd v Law Kim [2004] 6
MLJ 76, Faiza Tamby Chik J held that:
(1) There was no provision in the sale and
purchase agreement which required the plaintiff to
give notice of his intention to claim for damages.
The agreement was drafted in accordance with
Schedule H of the Housing Developers (Control &
Licensing) Act 1966 for accommodation type and
it is a statutory contract that cannot be contracted
out, unless with the consent of the Controller
of Housing or Government. The intention is to
protect purchasers such as the plaintiff from the
defendant who has more bargaining power and
who unilaterally take advantage of interpreting
the plaintiffs conduct as a waiver and who could
refuse to pay compensation even though in
breach of the agreement.
(2) The agreed liquidated damages for late
delivery of vacant possession as contained in
Cl 22 of the sale and purchase agreement was
a mandatory provision. Therefore, the plaintiff
need not prove his losses pursuant to S75 of the
Contracts Act 1950.
A similar finding was made in Tai Kim Yew & Ors v
Sentul Raya Sdn Bhd [2004] 4 MLJ 227 where it was
held that the right of the plaintiff was solely governed
26 THE INGENIEUR
by the relevant clauses of the Sale and Purchase
Agreement and the Housing Developers (Control &
Licensing) Regulations 1989. Section 56(3) of the
Contracts Act 1950 has no relevance. The right to
be paid the liquidated and ascertained damages was
automatic once there was a delay by the developer/
defendant to hand over possession. The latter must pay
the purchaser/plaintiff immediately, without further ado
once there was a delay. There was no obligation on
the part of the plaintiff/purchaser to give notice to the
defendant. Several reasons have been cited both by
the courts as well as the practitioners for this departure
from the rigors of the decision in Selva Kumar but it
is patently obvious that the main purpose for this is
presumably based on public policy grounds and the
need to protect purchasers of housing projects.
Returning to the recent decision in Johor Coastal
Development, many practitioners especially employers
were disappointed once again that instead of overruling
Selva Kumar, it has on the other hand reaffirmed it.
Critics have long argued that Selva Kumars decision
itself has defeated the very purpose of drafting and
incorporating liquidated damages provisions in
contracts as in any case the defaulting party will always
challenge any imposition of such damages, leaving
the employer to come to court or to an arbitral forum
to prove their actual loss or damage; an onerous task
incurring additional costs and time. Furthermore, the
consequence of such an approach has been to put
the liquidated damages recovery mechanism on a
similar footing to the recovery of unliquidated (general)
damages at common law. Therefore the very purpose
of including a financial contractual remedy is seriously
comprised and rendered materially ineffective
Discounting the fact that the distinction between
liquidated damages and penalties within the context of
Malaysian Law has been removed by the relevant case
law, it is submitted that the common law position as
enunciated above is equally relevant and applicable
when a challenge is made to the enforceability of a
liquidated damages provision. Accordingly, if the
contractor can prove on a balance of probabilities that

such damages are anyway not due to the employer
because they fall under the second category of
damages under Sakinas and are not too remote and
could be assessed by settled rules, then the burden
is on the employer to prove his actual loss and/or
damage. It was the appellants contention that by the
provision of the said clause, the parties had contracted
out of S 75 of the Contract Act 1950 (and thereby
circumvented Selvakumar); relying on certain dicta
of Lord Wilkinson in Ooi Boon Leong v Citibank NA
[1984] 1 MLJ 222 (PC) and the Indian case of Oil &
Natural Gas Corporation Ltd v SAW Pipes Ltd [2003]
LRI 348. The respondents case on the other hand was
that S 75 of the Contracts Act 1950 spells out different
consequences and the Indian and local authorities that
deal with general principles do not appear to have
been drawn to the attention of the Privy Council in Ooi
Boon Leong and that nowhere does Oil & Natural Gas
suggests that the provisions of the Contracts Act can
be contracted out where the provision was a deliberate
departure from the common law.
The Federal Court was posed with the following
question of law: Whether or not parties entering into a
contract are entitled to contract out of the provisions of
S 75 of the Contracts Act 1950. To this Arifin Zakaria
FCJ in delivering the majority decision held that as
regards this question, it had to be determined whether,
on the proper construction of the Agreement (i.e. the
SPA), the parties had in fact excluded the application
of S 75 of the Act. There was no clear provision in
the SPA which excluded the application of S 75 of the
Act. As such, the question did not arise based on the
facts of the case. Commenting on the respondents
contentions, in agreeing with it, Arifin Zakaria FCJ at
p460 said:
It should also be noted that nowhere in Oil &
Natural Gas the Indian Supreme Court stated that
the provisions of the Indian Contracts Act can be
contracted out.
In his dissenting judgment Hashim Yusoff FCJ held
at p470:
engineering & law
It is also trite law that the courts have to give
effect to the provision of the statute. In the
instant appeal, the parties had agreed to a
stipulated sum and the manner of payment at
fixed installments. All these payments could
be easily calculated and the parties have
specifically agreed under Section 82(b) of the
SPA, that in the event of a breach, all monies
already paid shall be forfeited. So clearly a
sum has been named as the amount to be
paid in case of such breach and the vendor
(the appellant) is therefore entitled to receive
from the purchaser (the respondent) who has
broken the contract reasonable compensation
not exceeding the sum so named, whether or
not actual damage or loss is proved to have
been caused thereby. Under clause 16.2 of
the SPA, the parties had agreed that the sums
stipulated in the SPA to be payable by the
defaulting party would constitute reasonable
compensation to the non-defaulting party and
had also waived any objection thereafter that
those sums would be otherwise than fair or
reasonable compensation. This stipulation I
feel, is not contrary to S 75 of the Act.
Although not answering the question posed
directly, the majority decision nevertheless leaves
the possibility of the parties being entitled to
contract of the Contracts Act 1950 and in particular
exclude the application of S 75 if there was a
clear provision to this effect in their agreement
and as determined by a proper construction of
the agreement. However, more convincing is
the approach taken in the dissenting judgment
of Hashim Yusoff FCJ which, if adopted would
make the enforceability of such a clause easier
u n d e r t h e c i rc u m s t a n c e s . Fo r a n e m p l oye r,
under the prevailing conditions, the inclusion of
a circumventing clause is the best alternative to
ensure that the pre-agreed liquidated damages as
stipulated in the contract can be recovered upon
the contractors breach of non-completion/late
completion.
THE INGENIEUR 27
 feature
Rainwater Management
And Utilisation System
By Ir. Hj Ahmad Jamalluddin Shaaban, Ir. Mohd Zaki M.Amin & Dr. Huang Yuk Feng,
National Hydraulic Research Institute of Malaysia, NAHRIM
A
part from the traditional
development of water sources
in the form of dams, ponds
and pipelines, rainwater harvesting
is certainly a refreshing approach
towards an integrated, environment
friendly and sustainable urban water
resources development initiative. In
many parts of the world, the uses
of rainwater are expanding in order
to accommodate the needs of the
environment and growing water
supply demands. In many parts of
the world, unfortunately, it remains
the only choice. In addition to
providing a dependable and locally-
controlled water supply, proper
rainwater management can also
provide tremendous environmental
benefits. It can help in reducing
or mitigating urban flash flood
problems through a reduction of
peak storm runoff, and also assist
in reducing sedimentation and
pollution problems. The utilization
of rainwater harvesting should
also be related to other aspects of
living like food and water security,
e nv i r o n m e n t a l r e h a b i l i t a t i o n ,
protecting wetlands and now in
coping with climate change.
28 THE INGENIEUR
Rainwater Management
Rainwater management focuses
on providing the right stormwater
solution. With a full range of
new technologies, rainwater
management can provide an
engineered solution for many
of our needs. A good rainwater
management system can be a cost-
effective approach to the escalating
issue of water conservation and
management for now and the
future. However, there has been
a ch a n g e i n t h i n k i n g o n t h e
single function view of traditional
stormwater management to the
integrated and comprehensive
perspective that is captured by
the term rainwater management.
Stormwater suggests there is a
problem, whereas rainwater is a
resource. Traditional stormwater
management is reactive. It only
deals with the consequences of
the rare extreme events. Rainwater
management, on the other hand,
i s p r o a c t ive i n m a n a g i n g a l l
rainfall events that occur in a
ye a r. R a i n wa t e r m a n a g e m e n t
integrates drainage infrastructure
planning with relevant planning
processes in order to address the
impact of rainwater on community
values. It is a necessity in the
planning processes, the approach
of design with nature to integration
of rainwater management with
community. The desired outcome
is to improve both the natural and
built environments in an urban
setting. This means determining
how rainwater management
objectives can be integrated with
land development processes and
tools to mitigate the cumulative
impact of landscape alteration,
and produce cumulative watershed
landscape benefits. In general,
rainwater management is aimed
at resolving existing problems
and protecting environmental
resources as both are associated
with land use change, either past
or proposed.
Tool to re-position the altered
hydrologic characteristics
Urban development can change
a regions hydrology (water flow
amounts and patterns). Where

natural vegetation and soils allows
the gradual absorption and slow
movement of rain, paved streets
and buildings speed both water
and pollutants to our waterways.
Po l l u t a n t s f r o m c o m m e r c i a l ,
industrial and residential activities
that may appear insignificant at
their source are moved by rain
into storm drains that flush the
wastes into rivers, lakes, or marine
waters.
Sustainable urban development
must encompass a balanced
programme that take into
consideration many factors
amongst which are environmental
soundness, economic efficiency,
etc. Sustainable development
also must pursue a water balance
w i t h i n t h e hy d r o l o g i c cy c l e .
Impervious surfaces such as roads,
h i g h way s , h o u s i n g a r e a s a n d
parking areas prevent rainwater
from infiltrating naturally into the
ground in a timely fashion. Runoff
remaining on the soil surface is
termed stormwater, and eventually
finds its way into streams, rivers,
and finally discharges into water
bodies such as lakes and sea.
Movement of this stormwater
across the soil not only cause
erosion but also carries and
deposits untreated pollutants
such as sediment, nutrients and
pesticides, into surface water bodies
which can result in disastrous
pollution problems. Rainfall
in the urban areas inevitably
c r e a t e s s t o r m wa t e r r u n o f f i n
the watershed. Implementing a
rainwater harvesting system that
can cover wide surfaces is one
way to decrease the amount of
stormwater runoff and minimize
the problems associated with
i t . R a i n wa t e r h a r v e s t i n g a n d
management can then be used as
a tool to re-position the altered
hydrologic characteristics back to
their original condition.
Coping with climate change
A No Regret Approach
The impact of climate change
on the lives of people, and how
the changes eventually challenge
the resolve in water resources
management has become an
important issue. In Malaysia, studies
on hydroclimate projection show
that an increment of 10% in
average annual rainfall in Kelantan,
Terengganu and Pahang States, and
a decrement of 5% for Selangor
and Johor States, are projected
respectively, over the next 40 years.
There is a consistent relationship
between changes in maximum
and minimum monthly rainfall and
changes in the river flows. The flood
flow changes range from +11% to
+43%, while the low flow changes
range from -31% to -93%, which
mean more frequent floods and
droughts are predicted in future
(NAHRIM, 2006).
With higher extreme rainfall in
the future, how should we cope
with the extra water? Rainwater
harvesting can be one of the
solutions for coping with these
extreme climate variations so as not
to be caught unaware. For example,
the No Regret Approach of the Star
City Rainwater Harvesting System
in Korea is a good strategy for
climate change adaptation. Existing
centralised water infrastructures
are vulnerable to climate change
and urbanization. The system
d e m o n s t ra t e s t h a t s a f e t y a n d
sustainability of current centralised
water system can be increased by
the addition of a decentralized
rainwater management system
(Rainwater Research Centre, 2009).
Th e c o n c e p t o f m u l t i p u r p o s e
rainwater management implemented
in the Star City is not only useful for
efficient flooding mitigation, but also
for drought management. It should
be borne in mind that it would
feature
be more efficient to manage both
flooding and drought simultaneously
using the same facilities. The
concept of multipurpose rainwater
management has been serving this
purpose very well.
In addition, the use of low-
impact development strategies
which include permeable paving
materials, detention and retention
ponds, green roofs and rain gardens,
will also be able to reduce flooding
without expensive upgrades to the
existing drainage infrastructure. This
concept is really a No Regrets way
to prepare for possible flooding,
where if climate change doesnt
produce the extreme rainfall as
predicted, the detention and
retention ponds, rain gardens, green
roofs and permeable pavements
will still make our neighbourhoods
and natural habitats greener and
pleasant, improve the health of
urban watersheds, and also provide
storage facility of a conjunctive
water supply.
Green Infrastructure,
Green Technology
A s c i t e d by B a r t e n s e t . a l .
(2009), Green Infrastructure (GI)
is a means to adapt to effects
of climate change with regards
to flooding, biodiversity, urban
cooling, renewable energy and
noise and light pollution. The main
benefits of GI regarding hydrology
are rainfall interception, increased
soil infiltration, water uptake, water
storage and delaying & decreasing
peak flows all of which decrease
the volume of water that requires
management. Meanwhile, the term
of green technology encompasses
a continuously evolving group
of methods and materials, from
techniques for generating energy to
non-toxic cleaning products and a
host of other strategies.
Green technology subject areas
include energy, green building,
THE INGENIEUR 29
feature
environmentally preferred
purchasing, green chemistry and
green nanotechnology (Green-
Technology, 2010). Harvesting
rainwater is one of the green
i n f r a s t r u c t u r e t e ch n o l o g i e s
approach, either in the absence or
presence of other water sources, is
essential for any future sustainable
development of cities. It has
become one of the important
elements in the Green Building
Index (GBI) under water efficiency
criterion (GBI, 2010). It has great
potential to decrease the volume of
stormwater needing management
at all levels. Rainfall interception,
mainly by trees, reduces the
amount of water reaching the
ground. Increased infiltration of
soils through root growth and
root turnover increases the rate at
which water is relocated from the
surface to the subsoil/groundwater.
Vegetation removes water from the
ground through transpiration and
therefore increases the capacity of
the soil to store water. Finally the
remaining rainwater can be stored
in ponds, wetlands and other open
spaces within the floodplain and
prevent damage to homes and other
properties.
Rainwater Utilisation
Rainwater harvesting and
utilization has been practiced in
Malaysia especially in the villages
for a long time. From research
carried out by NAHRIM at Taman
Wangsa Melawati, Kuala Lumpur
(Shaaban and Appan, 2003), the
household use of rainwater for non-
potable purpose contributes 34% of
the total monthly household water
use. Rainwater is a dependable and
locally-controlled water source and
can be implemented quickly and
modularly. Unlike big dams that
collect and store water over large
surface areas, small-scale rainwater
30 THE INGENIEUR
harvesting projects have less water
loss to evaporation because the
rain is collected locally and can be
stored in a variety of ways.
Supplement to the existing
treated water supply
Rainwater tanks complement
mains water supply infrastructure
in certain countries. Rainwater
harvesting has become one of the
possible choices that can be used to
solve the problem of water scarcity
in developing countries like India,
Sri Lanka, Kenya and Tanzania,
where the hundreds of millions of
people depend on rainwater for
their domestic water needs whilst
rain is not a regular phenomenon
throughout the year. Sumida City,
which is located in the east of central
Tokyo, Japan, started to introduce
the Innovative Sky-Water Projects in
1982 (Murase, 2003). The City Hall
has taken initiatives to promote sky
water projects, not only in Japan,
but also in other areas in Asia.
Tokyos annual average rainfall as
a water resource is some 25 billion
cubic meters, while the annual
city water consumption in Tokyo
is 2 billion cubic meters. If Tokyo
were to use this rainwater, most
of which is at present discharges
into drains, it would achieve much
greater water independence. As
cited by Murase (2003), a city
totally reliant on a large, centralized
water supply pipeline (life-line) is
very vulnerable in the face of a
large-scale natural disaster (major
earthquake etc.). A shift from life-
line to decentralized life-points
should be encouraged.
Ko r e a i s r e c o g n i z e d a s a
most difficult area for rainwater
management because of the uneven
distribution of rainfall and where
about 70% of the country is
mountainous with steep rocky slopes
(Han, 2007). Thus, the concept of
multipurpose rainwater management
was suggested, in order to create a
more efficient management system,
and some examples of proactive
management were introduced. The
Seoul Metropolitan Government
(SMG)
has
been plagued by repeated
damage to the city by flooding
because the urban area is covered
with impervious surfaces. As a
remedy, SMG has enforced two
multipurpose rainwater management
projects, which are the Seoul
City Rainwater Management and
the Star City Specific Rainwater
System Project. Rainwater harvesting
can also act as a buffer against
drought.
Solution to environmental
problems
Rainwater harvesting resolves
many social and economical issues,
and enhances the communitys
capacities to manage or reduce
the risk of disaster such as flood
and drought. Rainwater harvesting
can be used to combat flooding
and erosion. According to research
carried out by the NAHRIM at
Taman Wangsa Melawati Kuala
Lumpur, it was also found that
with the incorporation of rainwater
harvesting system, it is possible to
achieve a 20% reduction of the
peak discharge in this housing
area, with the assumption that
every terrace house here has been
installed with the same system.
Further reduction of peak discharge
of up to 50%, could be achieved by
installing the systems in the other
commercial and public buildings
within the housing area. Besides
that, the impact of climate change,
which has become a hot issue in
these years, will change the rainfall
spatial and temporal patterns of the
country that will result in challenges
related to water such as floods and
drought. Flash floods are likely

to become more frequent while
the potential for drier conditions
could lead to more severe droughts.
Rainwater harvesting can then be
an important mitigation measure.
Flooding has also led to serious
problems associated with the quality
and quantity of groundwater. The
short duration but intense heavy
rains falling on the surface tend
to flow away rapidly leaving very
little for recharge of groundwater.
Capturing the rain and releasing it
slowly to the aquifers has become
an ideal solution to retain or
improve the quality of groundwater.
Thus, it cannot be denied that
rainwater harvesting is a sustainable
approach and can be very cost-
effective in the long term.
Approach to sediment and
pollutant trap
Pollutants from commercial,
industrial and residential activities
that may appear insignificant at
Reduce flooding on
neigbouring property,
overflow in sewers and
erosion in streams by
absorbing water from
imprevious surfaces
Filter oil and grease from
driveways, pesticides and
fertizers from lawns, and
other pollutants before
they reach the storm drain
and eventually streams,
wetlands, lakes and
marine water
Figure 3.1: Benefit of Rain Garden as a tool for rainwater management in minimizing the impact of stormwater problem
their source are moved by rain and
snowmelt into storm drains that flush
wastes into rivers, lakes, or marine
waters. Pollutants commonly include
nutrients, sediments, pathogens and
pollutants. First rainfalls discharges
can be the most dangerous, because
first flush concentrations of
pollutants are high. When we build
more hard surfaces like roofs, roads
and parking lots, we also increase
the volume of runoff. These higher
flows flush with great energy into our
waterways, scouring out essential
habitat such as fish spawning and
refuge areas, and eroding stream
banks.
Rainwater utilization by means
of the rain garden concept, also
known as vegetated infiltration
basins, biorentention gardens or
facilities, and infiltration rain
gardens, are landscape features
designed to treat stormwater runoff
from hard surface areas such as
roofs, roads and parking lots. They
consist of depressed garden spaces
Increase the amount of water that soaks into
the ground to recharge local groundwater
feature
where runoff can pond and infiltrate
into deep constructed soils and
then into the native soils below.
Figure 3.1 shows the concept of
rain garden that can minimize
runoff volumes, as sediment and
pollutant trap and also increase
the amount of water for recharging
local ground water. Figure 3.2
shows the anatomy of rain garden
concept (Hinman, C., 2007). The
use of rain garden has the following
advantages:
Rain gardens can be sized
to temporarily store runoff from
smaller to medium sized storm
events in the depression area itself,
the constructed soils, and any
constructed reservoir;
Pollutant removal - vegetated
soils remove more stormwater
pollutants than non-vegetated soils
through processes of absorption,
filtration, sedimentation, infiltration,
phytoremediation, volatilization,
surface resist;
Source: Rain Garden Handbook for Western washington Homeowners
(Hinman, C.< 2007)
Provide habitats for
beneficial insects
and birds
THE INGENIEUR 31
Source: Rain Gardens, by Roger Bannerman
feature
Rain Garden at the Roundabout
Photo by Seattle Public Utilities
Newly planted Seattle rain garden
Figure 3.2: Anatomy of Rain Garden Concept
32 THE INGENIEUR
Rain garden by means of
bioretention systems have
demonstrated excellent removal for
heavy metals, with some research
showing the most uptake occurs in
the mulch layer. Hydrocarbons are
removed via absorption during the
storm event, then biodegradation
in the mulch layer by microbial
populations;
Pollutant load - bioretention
areas can be used to treat highly
contaminated runoff from some land
uses where pollutant concentrations
exceed those typically found in
stormwater;
G r o u n d w a t e r r e c h a r g e -
stormwater in rain gardens is
detained for period of time, it has
a chance to infiltrate, replenish soils
and replicate the natural hydrology.
Bioretention areas can be applied
in almost any soils or topography,
since runoff percolates through a
man-made soil bed and the design
can return excess flows to the
stormwater system.
Rainwater Harvesting
System Components
And Designs
A rainfall water harvesting
system has three components:
the supply (rainfall), the demand
Source: Rain Garden Handbook for Western
Washington Homeowners (Hinman, C.< 2007)

( wa t e r r e q u i r e m e n t ) , a n d t h e
system that moves the water to
the plants or collector, and storage
is an additional element which
is optional. Rainfall - rainwater
runoff refers to rainwater which
flows off a surface. If the surface is
impervious (water cannot penetrate
it), then runoff occurs immediately.
If the surface is pervious (water can
penetrate it), then runoff will not
occur until the surface is saturated.
Runoff can be harvested (captured)
and used immediately to water
plants or can be stored for later use.
Several factors affect runoff, the
most important being the amount of
rainfall. Rainfall duration refers to
the length of time the rain falls, the
longer the duration, the more water
available to harvest. The intensity
of the rainfall affects how soon the
water will begin to run off and also
how fast it runs off.
Simple harvesting system
for non-potable use -
Landscaping
A simple harvesting system
of non-potable use such as for
landscaping, usually consists of
a catchment area, and a means
of distribution, which operates by
gravity. The water is deposited in a
landscape holding area, a concave
area or planted area with edges to
retain water, where it can be used
immediately by the plants. Water
collects on roofs, paved areas or
the soil surface. Gravity moves the
water to where it can be used. In
some cases, small containers are
used to hold water for later use.
A catchment area is any area from
which water can be harvested. The
best catchments have hard, smooth
surfaces, such as concrete or metal
roofing material. The amount of
water harvested depends on the
size, surface texture, and slope of
the catchment area. The distribution
system connects the catchment
area to the landscape holding area.
Distribution systems direct water
flow, and can be very simple or
very sophisticated. For example,
gutters and downpipe direct roof
water to a holding area, and gently
sloped sidewalks distribute water to
a planted area. Hillsides provide a
perfect situation for moving water
from a catchment area to a holding
area. Channels, ditches, and swales
can be utilized to move water.
Landscape holding areas store
water in the soil for direct use by
the plants. Concave depressions
p l a n t e d w i t h g ra s s o r p l a n t s
serve as landscape holding areas,
containing the water, increasing
water penetration, and reducing
flooding. Depressed areas can be
dug out, and the extra soil used to
berm (a bank of soil used to retain
water) the depression. With the
addition of berms, moats, or soil
terracing, flat areas also can hold
water. One holding area or a series
of holding areas can be designed
to fill and then flow into adjacent
holding areas via spillways (outlets
for surplus water).
Complex water harvesting
system for non-potable use
Water harvesting cannot provide
a completely dependable source
of water supply because it is
dependent on the weather, and
weather is not dependable. To get
the maximum benefit from rainwater
harvesting, some storage can be
built into the water harvesting
system to provide water between
rainfall events. Components of
complex systems that utilize
storage include catchment areas,
usually a roof, conveyance systems,
storage, and distribution systems,
to control where the water goes.
The amount of water or yield
t h a t t h e c a t ch m e n t a r e a w i l l
feature
provide depends on the size of
the catchment area and its surface
texture. The main components of
rainwater harvesting system can be
elaborated as follow:
Roof catchment defines the
collection surface from where
rainfall is harvested. The roof
of a building is always the first
choice.
Conveyance systems direct
the water from the catchment
area to the storage container.
With a roof catchment system the
gutter and downspouts are the
means of conveyance. Gutters and
downspouts are either concealed
i n s i d e t h e wa l l s o f b u i l d i n g s
or attached to the exterior of
buildings
Storage facility - basically is
to store the rainwater. The size
of storage tank is dictated by
several variables: the rainwater
supply (local rainfall), the rainwater
demand, and the projected length
of dry spells without rain, the
catchments surface area, aesthetics,
personal preference and budget.
First flush system - to remove
debris that gathers on the catchments
surface, and ensure high quality
rainwater. The first one mm of
rainwater is usually directed into
the first flush system to filter out
the dirty materials.
Distribution system - gravity-fed
or pumped from the storage tank
to the feeder tank or directly to the
end users. As for landscaping areas,
it will direct the water from the
storage containers to landscaped
areas. The distribution device can
be a hose, constructed channels,
pipes, perforated pipes, or a manual
drip system. Gates and diverters can
be used to control flow rate and
flow direction. A small submersible
pump will be required to provide
enough pressure to activate the
control valve.
THE INGENIEUR 33
 feature

Source: Low Energy House.com

Source: Low Energy House.com

(a) (b)

Figures 4.1(a), (b) and (c) show

the typical design of the domestic
rainwater installation system.

Rainwater Harvesting System

Design and Construction

The steps involved in designing

a complex water harvesting system
include site analysis, calculation,
design, and construction and these
can be summarized as follows:

Site analysis The surrounding

area of the site needs to be
monitored and potential causes
leading to failure of the system have
to be identified. Leaf and branches
fallen from the tall trees near the
catchment area may block the
gutters and downpipes, and bring
about failure of system. Rainfall is a
very important factor that has great
influence over the positioning of the
system. Rainfall volume and pattern
for the site can be determined using
the recorded rainfall data from the
nearby rainfall station.
Catchment area (roof catchment
or runoff catchment) Sizes of
potential catchment areas need to
be identified in order to estimate
the maximum rainfall that can be
(c)
Figure 4.1 (a), (b) & (c): Typical domestic rainwater installation with storage tank
harvested. A typical catchment used
is the roof top of a house or building.
Roof material and condition can
affect the quality of rainwater
harvested. In the case where roof
catchment is insufficient, surface
runoff from runoff catchment can
be considered as a supplement.
Quality of surface runoff must be
given high attention since it may be
polluted and consist of sediments.
Remember that harvesting rainfall
can also include systems on the
ground.
Determine and calculate water
demand Daily water demand
can be easily determined. Non-
potable water demand such as toilet
flushing, landscaping and general
cleaning need to be estimated
or measured. Estimation can be
done based on experience or field
measurements. For potable systems,
daily potable water demands like
drinking and cooking have to be
estimated based on number of
tenants. Water treatment facilities
are a priority in this case.

34 THE INGENIEUR

Determine and calculate
storage required Storage or tank
size is mainly affected by rainfall
intensity, catchment area and
water demand. An optimum tank
size can be determined taking into
account these three factors using
the TANGKI NAHRIM Rainwater
Simulation Software.
D e t e r m i n e s t o ra g e t y p e
The storage tank can be located
above ground or under ground,
depending on the space available.
Various types of tank can be used
depending on the budget.
Filtering system Selection of
a filtering system is dependent on
the purpose of the system and the
quality of rainwater harvested. Leaf
guards are generally mandatory
for catchment areas surrounded by
Figure 4.2: Simulation Example for Tangki NAHRIM Rainwater Simulation Software
forest or tall trees. First flush device
can be used to improve the quality
of the rainwater. UV type filter is
used for potable system.
TANGKI NAHRIM Rainwater
Simulation Software
Estimation for the size of
rainwater tank can be calculated
using Tangki NAHRIM rainwater
simulation software, as it was
p u r p o s e l y d e ve l o p e d f o r t h e
rainwater harvesting system projects.
The main purpose of this software
is to estimate the optimum size
of tank for rainwater harvesting
systems used to store rainwater. This
software can generate the amount of
rainwater captured, total rainwater
volume delivered, reliability of the
feature
system, coefficient of rainwater
utilization, storage efficiency, and
percentage time of tank empty. This
simulator software is only meant to
be a guide in estimating the size
of the rainwater storage tank with
its respective reliability. A step-
by-step simulation example of the
software is shown in Figure 4.2 and
this software can be downloaded
at http://www.nahrim.gov.my/my/
perisian-tangki-nahrim.
Case Studies
NAHRIM has also installed systems
at a mosque in Taman Bukit Indah
Ampang and the
National
Zoo
, and
at some islands and rural areas,
where rainwater is an important
water source for the residents.
THE INGENIEUR 35
feature

Mosque at Taman Bukit Indah, Ampang

NAHRIM embarked on the rainwater project at the Taman Bukit Indah Mosque, Ampang, in 2003,
on the request of the mosque committee. The main objective of the project is to use rainwater as the
supplement or the alternative water supply for the flushing of toilets. The system cost is about RM95,000.
An underground rainwater storage tank was constructed under the parking area with the total volume
of rainwater approximately about 60m3. The storage tank is constructed using polyethylene modules
wrapped in geotextile called hydronet and an impermeable High Density Polyethylene liner. The reliability
of the system is about 80% based on the simulation using the Tangki NAHRIM Simulation Software.
The schematic arrangement of the system is shown in Figure 5.1.

Figure 5.1: Schematic arrangement of the Rainwater Harvesting System at Mosque Taman Bukit Indah Ampang

36 THE INGENIEUR
 feature

National Zoo at
Ulu Klang
NAHRIM in collaboration with
DID initiated the rainwater
project at the National Zoo
in 2008 on the request of
the National Zoo. The main
o b j e c t iv e o f t h e p r o j e c t
is to use rainwater as the
supplement or the alternative
water supply for the public
toilets flushing and the two
hippopotamus ponds. The total
cost for the system is about Figure 5.2(a): System Layout of the Rainwater Harvesting System at the
RM324,750. The rainwater National Zoo
harvesting system is designed
to store a total volume of
365.7 m3. The average total
daily water demand is about
17.36 m3. Rainwater is used
to replace river water for
the hippopotamus ponds.
Th e r e f o r e , t h e r e i s n o
direct saving in the water
bill. However, based on the
estimated average total daily
wa t e r d e m a n d , t h e t o t a l
rainwater consumption is
about 520 m3 per month. The
system layout and the detailed
system components are shown
in Figures 5.2(a) and (b),
respectively. Figure 5.2(b): System Components of the Rainwater Harvesting System at
the National Zoo

Research Needs For
Rainwater Utilisation And
Management
Development of low cost and
efficient technology to support
rainwater harvesting is very important
to promote rainwater utilization.
Invention and investigation of local
made rainwater harvesting system
components such as first flush
chamber and rainwater storage
tank, which are low cost and
suitable for the local weather
conditions encourage installation
of system and ensure good quality
of rainwater storage.
Natural treatment chain in the
rainwater tank to treat harvested
rainwater is necessary in order to
reduce the presence of bacterial
and metal contaminants for
producing good quality of potable
rainwater. The best conditions such
as optimum temperature and pH
values to make the treatment a
success needs to be characterized.
Besides that, utilisation of rainwater
to supplement public water supply
and groundwater is also essential
for the high water consumption
i n d u s t r i e s s u ch a s f o o d a n d
electronic factories. Research on
how rainwater can be used as non-
potable water source, in terms of
quantity and quality, to substitute or

THE INGENIEUR 37
feature
supplement existing water supplies
has to be carried out in order to
convince factory owners of all the
pros about adopting a rainwater
harvesting system.
The
reduction of peak storm
runoff
can help in reducing or
mitigating urban flash flood
problems in the cities.
Research on
rainwater management to help in
flash flood reduction for a big scale
river catchment needs to be carried
out in order to assess the impact of
rainwater harvesting on big scale
flood protection projects. The
use
of rain garden in conjunction with
other Low Impact Development
(LID) practices in reducing the
amount of stormwater entering the
drainage systems is yet to be widely
practised in the country. Researches
on how effective rain garden can be
used as alternative to the traditional
stormwater management and its
specific functions as sediment and
pollutant trap and a recharge source
to local ground water need to be
figured out.
Regulation And Policy Needs
Compulsory rainwater utilization
in Malaysia would result in some
implications on legal, social and
economic sectors. From a legal
aspect, compulsory rainwater
utilization would involve amendment
of certain laws since this attract
some development, planning,
environmental and health issues.
Incentives in the form of reductions
in rates chargeable on raw water
supply or tax rebates when owners
add rainwater harvesting system to
existing buildings or in new ones
as practiced in countries like Japan,
Australia and the United States
of America can be considered.
Various implementation policies
could be made and devised to
make rainwater harvesting and
utilization as part of the social
38 THE INGENIEUR
system. Implementing bodies may successful implementation of the
take into cognizance the initiative project. Rainwater utilisation should
to promote the implementation of not be restricted to supplementing
rainwater harvesting by subsidising water supply but has to be justifiably
facilities of rainwater harvesting related to other aspects of living
systems and incentives for rainwater like food and water security,
utilisation. flood mitigation, environmental
rehabilitation, and now coping
CONCLUSION with climate change. Rainwater
management in response to climate
In order to strengthen the case extremes ultimately enhances the
for its large-scale implementation of resilience of human society. It
rainwater utilization in the country, is a necessity in the planning
serious efforts should be given to processes, with the desired outcome
several aspects. Comprehensive plans to improve both the natural and
have to be prepared by the relevant built environments in an urban
stakeholders to ensure extensive and setting. BEM
REFERENCES
Bartens, J. et.al. (2009), Green Infrastructure & Hydrology, http://www.
greeninfrastructurenw. co.uk/ climatechange/
Capital District Region, CRD (2010), Low Impact Development-Rainwater
Management http://www.crd.bc.ca/watersheds/lid/garden.htm
GBI (2010), What is the Green Building Index? http://www.greenbuildingindex.
org/index.html
Green-Technology (2010), Green Technology What is it? http://www.
green-technology.org/what.htm
Han, M.Y. (2007). Proactive Multipurpose Rainwater Management in Korea,
The school of Civil, Urban & Geosystems Engineering, Seoul National
University, 2007
Hinman, C. (2007), Rain Garden Handbook for Western Washington
Homeowners, Washington State University, WSU Pierce County, 2007;
Low Energy House (2010). Rainwater Harvesting- Water Collection, http://
www.lowenergyhouse.com/rainwater-harvesting.html
Murase, M. (2003). Innovative Sky Water Projects for Sustainable
Development in Cities, Proceedings of the 11th IRCSA Conference, Texcoco,
Mexico, August
NAHRIM (2006). Study on the Impact of Climate Change on the Hydrological
Regime and Water Resources of Peninsular Malaysia, National Hydraulic
Research Institute of Malaysia, Malaysia, 2006
NAHRIM (2010), Tangki NAHRIM Simulation Software, http://www.nahrim.
gov.my/my/perisian-tangki-nahrim
Rainwater Research Centre (2009), Rainwater Management System in Star
City Star City Rainwater Harvesting System Guide Book, Korea, 2009
Shaaban, A.J. and A. Appan (2003). Utilising Rainwater for Non-Potable
Domestic Uses and Reducing Peak Urban Runoff in Malaysia, Proceedings
of the 11th IRCSA Conference, Texcoco, Mexico, August 2003
 feature

Enforcement of Coastal
Development Guidelines
By Ir. Tan King Seng

F
or development in coastal areas, there is already
a set of guidelines well in place to be used by
all the three levels of Government i.e Local
Authorities; State and Federal Governments in approving
development projects as well as sand mining in coastal
areas.
The framework of the guidelines was based on
the spirit of Cabinets intention to conserve national
environment and Rio Summit Declaration 1992 in
ensuring that proper development is carried out in
coastal zones of Malaysia. About 70% of Malaysian
population live in coastal towns comprising Kuala Perlis,
Kuala Kedah, George Town, Seberang Perai, Lumut, Extract from the Coastal
Port Klang, Port Dickson, Malacca, Muar, Batu Pahat, Development Guidelines
Johor Bahru, Kota Bahru, Kuala Terengganu, Kuantan,
Mersing, Kuching, Bintulu, Miri, Kota Kinabalu, Tawau Types of Coastal Development
For the purpose of these guidelines, development
and Sandakan.
projects in the coastal zone may be classified into
The Cabinet had on Jan 23, 1997, agreed that with
four broad types:-
the Cabinet paper put up by the Ministry of Agriculture
(a) Shore front development
(which oversees JPS until March 2003. JPS has since
(b) Back shore development
been placed under the purview of Ministry of Natural
(c) Land reclamation
Resources and Environment) in preparation of the
(d) Sand mining and river mouth dredging.
Coastal Zone Development Guidelines that:
Setback Limits
(i) The guidelines be used by all Local Authorities in (a) The following setback limits are proposed:-
processing all proposed developments in coastal zones (i) 60 metres for sandy coast measured from
including coastal towns for Mean High Water Line; and;
(a) foreshore development including large scale (ii) 400 metres for muddy coast measured from
development projects, construction of ports and the seaward edge of mangrove vegetation/forest.
harbours However, no development should be allowed
(b) backshore development such as construction of in areas where mangrove vegetation/forest have
mixed development and construction of hotels and been gazetted as permanent forest reserve under
buildings as well as complexes for all purposes in the National Forestry Act 1984.
between high and low water marks

THE INGENIEUR 39
feature
Agricultural Areas in Coastal Zone, Perlis
(ii) The guidelines be used by all State Governments
and Federal PTG in processing sand mining in State
and Federal territorial waters as well as sand dredging
at river mouth areas to solve flooding and siltation
problems as well as ports and harbours capital and
maintenance dredging
The spirit of the Guidelines has taken into account
the physical processes of the coastlines, the impact of
development and sand mining on the stability of the
shorelines and the negative effect of siltation and erosion
and lowering of water quality.
The employment of licensed Environment Impact
Assessment (EIA) and Environment Management
Plant (EMP) consultants approved by Department of
Environment (DOE) is therefore essential to ensure the
project proponents will adhere to all EIA requirements
as outlined in the reports approved by DOE during EIA
one-stop committee meeting.
The Local Authorities as the custodian of nations
land and mines as well as waterways shall be transparent
and uniform when comes to approving any development
in coastal zone. Local authorities should ensure that all
coastal development projects which they approved are
built with nature or built in nature and not built against
nature. Examples of projects built against nature are
large scale land reclamation projects, construction of
tiger prawns/fishes ponds in coastal zone which causes
severe water pollution problems
Development without destroying the environment,
bio-diversity and flora & fauna in project areas is a
project built with nature such as eco-tourism projects
including the construction of chalets and restaurants on
stilts e.g a project in mangrove swamps in north west
part of Langkawi Island and Tg. Piai areas in Johor
which is earmarked and gazetted by State Government
of Johor as Ramsar site through request made by Federal
Government as signatory of Ramsar Conventions.
Projects like construction of new harbours and
capital dredging as well as maintenance dredging of
40 THE INGENIEUR
Urban centers along shoreline, Pulau Pinang
eight existing harbours in Malaysia has significant impact
on coastal stability and water quality in nearby areas
but are allowed provided there are sufficient mitigating
measures to abate the negative impact as outline by the
EMP consultants engaged by the project proponents.
In Malaysia, we have a total of seven existing
major ports and a new proposed major port which
needs maintenance dredging on a yearly basis and
capital dredging on a three yearly or a five-yearly
basis depending on the technical specification put
up by ports operators or port authority, Besides that
the planned capital dredging schedule are also based
on the availability of funds annually and five yearly
approved by Parliament and allocated to the Ministry
of Transport (MOT). In any case, capital dredging
for major ports will costs Government at least RM15
billion to maintain the designed depth of the navigation
channels. It is estimated that at least another RM5
billion are required to carry out capital dredging for
minor ports. (About 17 minor ports are under the
jurisdiction of Marine Department, MOT).
In conclusion, both the Government and private
sector have good mechanism to ensure smooth running
of approved coastal development projects including
ports. The approving authorities also have development
guidelines in making decision on EIA matters. What is
lacking is strict enforcement of EIA and EMP mitigating
measures to ensure that the on-going projects are not
detrimental to to environment and bio-diversity.
In doing so, and to fulfil DOEs idea of self regulating
to reduce the burden of its enforcement officers, the
approving authorities should follow-up and follow
through all EMP programmes of the approved projects
closely i.e strict monitoring and enforcement of the
EMP mitigating/abating measures of all approved major
coastal development projects. One way is to get an
impartial independent EMP consultant to monitor and
ensure implementation of all mitigating measures by
project proponents. BEM
 feature

Product Design Innovations

To Reduce Cost And Enhance
Product Competitiveness
By Ir. Oh Seong Por
General Manager, Samsung SDI (M) Sdn Bhd

I
n recent years, the demand for raw materials in
the manufacturing industries have risen sharply so
much so that material cost contributes the largest
portion of the total unit cost of a product. A change
in material cost can determine the total cost and
profit margin. Many methods have been practiced
to bring down material cost as the way to enhance
competitiveness. Some of the common practices are
Negotiating with suppliers to cut down material
price
Developing several vendors who supply the same
raw material as the strategy to compare price and
select the lowest
Localizing the supplier of raw material and
eliminate the transportation cost incurred through
import.

Confining to these traditional approaches only is

impractical because supplier will tend to give up when
the price offered has become too low to generate profit.
Another approach which is able to bring mutual benefit
to both the supplier and purchaser is required. The
appropriate one is to redesign the parts or components
Television assembly line
that form the product. According to Magee (2007),
Toyotas president Mr Katsuaki Watanabe launched a
company wide strategy called Value Innovation, with The innovative strategy here is not to develop new
the intention to go much deeper than cutting costs of product but to modify the existing product especially
individual parts with suppliers by going back to the the parts to drive down material cost. Every part is
origin of product development. If Toyota improves its designed with specific geometry, dimension, features
designs and the design process, and treats associated and material type in order to serve specific functions.
vehicle parts as integrated systems, Watanabe believes, The context of modification is to look at the current
fewer parts may be needed, production time will part design in fulfilling the required function. Here
decrease, and consumers will again receive more the lean principle is applied to search and eliminate
quality for less. hidden non value-added or wasted design such as

THE INGENIEUR 41
feature
over size, over weight, over material usage, high cost
material or excessive features. Most of the parts possess
some kind of wasted or non value-added design. The
cause of this might be due to lack of study, limitation
of technology or undiscovered better manufacturing
know how when the part was initially designed. It is
also the belief that there is always a better way of
designing part or product that motivates humans to
do improvement.
PRODUCT DESIGN INNOVATION
There are many innovative design techniques being
practiced by product designers. Some of the popular
ones are Design For Six Sigma (DFSS), Design For
Manufacture (DFM), Design For Assembly (DFA),
Value Analysis (VA) and Tear Down Design Concept
(TDDC). Each technique has its own focus that allows
the designer to achieve the desired product design
either in terms of cost, function, development lead
time or manufacturability. Even though they may differ
in approach, all are innovation techniques meant for
designing a product to fulfill customer needs. It is up
to a designer to choose the right technique to satisfy
the needs of both external and internal customers.
Design For Six Sigma
Design For Six Sigma (DFSS) can be defined as a
rigorous approach of designing a product with the aim
to reduce delivery time, development cost, increase
effectiveness and better satisfy customers. It is actually
an extension of the primary six sigma breakthrough
improvement methodology pioneered by Motorola.
The term six sigma refers to the quality level in which
variation about the average causes product defect of
3.4 part per million (ppm) with the assumption that the
average value shifted by 1.5 standard deviation over
a long period of time (Pyzdek, 2003). The objective
here is to eliminate and control the variation in the
process in order to achieve zero defect.
The basic equation of DFSS is a transfer function
represented by:
Y = f (X) or Y = f (X1 + X2 + .. X1X2
+ X1X3..)
This equation defines the relationship between
dependent variable (final product output) Y and
independent variable (input design factors) Xs. The
fundamental approach of DFSS is to identify the
key design factor Xs which have significant impact
to the final product performance Y. The common
42 THE INGENIEUR
tools used to prioritize and sort out the vital design
factor Xs is the Failure Mode Effect Analysis (FMEA).
The next step is to optimize the vital design factors
using statistical techniques such as Response Surface
Methodology or RSM. Experiment quantitative data
is used in the RSM to predict the performance of
Y and using this information, a team of designers
will be able to determine the proper design factors
X to optimize the response of Y. All these design
activities follow a very structured roadmap consisting
of Identify, Design, Optimize and Verify or acronym
IDOV. Advantages of DFSS are:
Design new product that reaches six sigma
quality level and insensitive to variation
Cut down product development time
Reduce development cost.
Design For Manufacture
Design For Manufacture (DFM) is a design practice
that ensures that the realities of manufacturing are
incorporated into the product design. Engineers can
come up with any product design but it is meaningless
if it is not or difficult for manufacturability. The
objective of DFM is to improve manufacturability
by factoring product design features that will make
them easier to be manufactured, hence reduce cost
(Whitney, 2004).
Translating a concept into a manufactured
product involves numerous considerations, such
as:
Material to use (metals, plastics, ceramics,
organic materials)
M a t e r i a l f o r m i n g a n d s h a p i n g p r o c e d u r e s
(extruding, pressing, casting, molding, etc)
Machining processes (milling, drilling, reaming,
broaching, sawing, grinding)
Machine and tool changeover procedures
Material handling
Quality control
Minimizing the number of parts is probably
the important consideration in DFM that has the
greatest impact on manufacturability, cost, quality
and time. Fewer parts translate into fewer materials
used and suppliers (hence lower material/supplier
related costs), simpler bill of materials (thus
lower costs of parts, handling and control), lesser
assembly steps (hence fewer workstations and
lower overhead cost) and higher product reliability
(thus less maintenance, fewer breakdowns and
lower costs).

Design For Assembly
Design For Assembly (DFA) methodology is similar
to DFM, except it focuses explicitly on simplifying
product assembly. The objective of DFA is to minimize
assembling time which eventually leads to lower cost.
This is accomplished by following the guidelines and
procedures for minimizing the number of parts to
be assembled, assessing procedures to assemble the
parts and determining the best sequence of assembly.
Considerations for determining the best assembly
sequence are:
That parts can be easily mated
E a s y a c c e s s t o f a s t e n e r s o r p o i n t f o r
maintenance
That parts can be fitted with minimal turning or
reorientation of the product
That as parts are fitted, the combination of them
does not deform, move out of tolerance, scrap or
interfere with other components
There is sufficient space for hands, tools or robotic
grippers to perform assembly task.
Computer aided DFA is needed since there are
many combination of assembly steps even for a
modest size and complication level of a product.
DFA software includes guidelines for minimizing the
number of assembly steps, minimizing the number of
reorientations of parts during assembly and determining
whether assembly should be manual or automated.
Designers, by looking at the assembly procedure as
they incorporate a shape into a design are able to
determine the most practical and least time-consuming
assembly procedure for the shape. In addition, with
the computer aided DFA, designers can simulate
three-dimensional models of components on computer
screen.
Value Analysis
The origin of value engineering can be traced to
World War II efforts to sustain and increase production
of weapons while facing the difficulty of sourcing
scarce materials. Shortages forced many substitutions of
materials. Such substitution, besides ensured availability,
also managed to cut costs, fulfill requirements, improve
product function and performance. These brought
about invaluable conclusion that a well organized
study of alternative materials, processes, procedures
and the like, could reduce cost and enhance quality
improvements which were overlooked before [Iyer,
2000].
feature
Henry Erlicher, Vice President of Purchasing Division
in General Electric (GE) Company, USA, reasoned that
an organised approach could make this phenomenon
of improvements happened through guided objective
rather by chance. He assigned Lawrence Delos
Miles, a trained electrical engineer and educator to
purchasing division to undertake this study. The result
was the creation of Value Analysis (VA) technique. He
introduced the relationship of value-function-cost in
the following formula
value = function whereby
cost
Value describes the worth of a product or a service
which customers are willing to pay for. There are four
basic kinds of value namely USE Value, ESTEEM Value,
EXCHANGE Value and COST Value.
Function is what makes a product work or sell. Miles
defines Function as a want to satisfy a requirement.
It is the end result or action desired by the customer
who is willing to pay for it.
Cost is the total of material, labor, design and
overhead allocated to the product or service.
Higher value is desired since it increases the
acceptances of customers who are ever ready to pay
for it. Based upon the above formula, value can be
improved through making functional improvements
with optimal incurrence of cost. Value analysis enables
determination on how the part could be made at
lower cost without sacrificing essential attributes and
performance. It ensures cost effectiveness by identifying
unnecessary cost and averting the use of resources
unnecessarily. It focuses on the steps to identify and
segregate the necessary from the unnecessary and
thereby develop alternative ways to accomplish the
necessary. According to Miles, anything less than
necessary functional capacity is unacceptable; anything
more is unnecessary and wasteful. The core of value
analysis is to design a product or service which can
appropriately fulfill its intended function, no more no
less with minimal incurrence of cost.
Value analysis follows a well structured roadmap
which is commonly known as Job Plan. It consists of
several phases like Information, Function, Creation,
Evaluation and Investigation. Value analysis requires
team effort in which experienced members from
different departments like engineering, production,
purchasing, sales, maintenance, quality control, come
together to brainstorm to find ways to improve the
current design.
THE INGENIEUR 43
feature
Tear Down Design Concept
Tear down design concept (TDCC) is a method of
comparative analysis in which disassembled products,
systems, components, and related data are visually
compared: and their functions are determined, analyzed
and evaluated with the intention to improve the value
adding characteristics of the project under study (Sato
& Kaufman, 2005). Comparative analysis is a fast way
to stimulate designers or engineers to come out with
better design of components, parts or systems that can
contribute to superior edged product over competitors.
Tear down concept works on human beings potential
to imitate and with the belief that there is always room
for improvement. The design approach is divided into
three steps:
Step 1 Blast. It is the initial level in which products
made by competitors are dissected or dismantled to low
level components. Every single dismantled component
is accounted for and displayed in an orderly manner
as shown in Figure 1, so that it can be systematically
visualized, analyzed and understood. The idea is to
stimulate the visual and feeling senses to generate design
improvement to the dismantled parts. Normally a show
room is allocated so that all the dismantled components
of the products can be displayed for everyone to see
and make the necessary comparisons. It is a visual
management approach which allows designers to
develop creativity essential for improving design in a
shorter time frame.
Step 2 Create. This is the phase involving detailed
analysis of the disassembled components. It begins by
listing down components according to the order of part
cost with the most expensive component appearing
first and ending with the cheapest one. Of all the
components, only a few ones are considered expensive
and they make up about 70% - 80% of the overall unit
material net cost. This finding is in line with the Pareto
Principle 20/80 whereby 20% of components make
up 80% of the entire cost (Sato & Kaufman, 2005).
Brainstorming and cross function approaches are applied
to develop what to do as well as how to do ideas to
improve component designs so that they can regain and
overtake the competitors advantage. There are several
basic guidelines to develop new ideas. They are:
1. Find alternative cheaper material which can provide
the same function.
2. Reduce the size of component such at length, width
and height
44 THE INGENIEUR
Figure 1: Display of dissected parts of CRT
3. Reduce the thickness of component
4. Reduce the weight of component (when item No.
2 or No. 3 or both are accomplished)
Step 3 Refine. This is the phase of evaluation and
selection of the best alternative ideas based upon the
most value added and best cost effectiveness. Prior to
this, small quantities of new design component are
inputted to production line to make pilot products.
Problems encountered at every process station where
new component is used is identified so that appropriate
action can be taken. Tear down design concept is a
cross function approach that requires participations
from various departments such as production, quality
control, purchasing, maintenance, engineering and sales.
Concurrent approach is applied in which all members
are actively involved in giving ideas or suggestions. It
is an effective and fast technique in product design.
CONCLUSION
Selecting the right product design innovation
approach can help to achieve the desired objectives
either in reducing the development time, lowering cost
or enhancing product value that customers are willing
to pay for, Thus continuous improvement to product
design is vital to ensure success and survival of any
industry. BEM
REFERENCES
Iyer, S.S. (2000). Value Engineering, New Age International
(P) Ltd. Publisher, Delhi, pp 24
Magee, D. (2007). How Toyota Became # 1, Penguin Group,
New York, pp 25-45
Nicholas, J. M. (1998). Competitive Manufacturing
Management. McGraw-Hill, Singapore
Pyzdek, T. (2003). The Six Sigma Handbook. McGraw-Hill,
New York, pp 705-723.
Sato, Y., Kaufman, J. J. (2005). Value Analysis, Industrial
Press Inc., New York
Whitney, D. E. (2004). Mechanical Assemblies, Oxford
University Press, New York.
 feature

Occupational Safety And Health

Management: Where Do I Begin?
By Mohamad Aliasman bin Morshidi and Asmalia binti Che Ahmad

M
ost people think that method statement for demolishing management system on how to
managing Occupational activities? What were the safety manage Safety and Health at a
Safety and Health (OSH) is codes of practice or guidelines, workplace.
easy. But, the majority of companies precautions and considerations I n t h i s p a p e r, t h e a u t h o r
fail to manage OSH as part of their before the demolition was will explain OSH management
business process. Without thinking executed? These are some of principles from a general point of
of the importance of OSH, most the common questions when an view. Based on statistics from the
organisations underestimate the accident happens. From Safety Department of Occupational Safety
impact of OSH managements and Health management point and Health (DOSH) in Figure 1,
failure in their businesses. An old of view, this is what we call an most fatal accidents occur in the
supermarket building collapsed Occupational Safety and Health construction industry. This is due
during demolition activity in Petaling (OSH) accident. This type of to physical hazards involved in
Jaya on May 28, 2009, shocking the occupational accident can be construction activities. Different
public and professionals especially prevented if we understand and physical project progress will
engineers and safety and health implement a basic and systematic create different levels of risks.
practitioners. This was a unique
accident that caused six deaths.
The public and Government wonder
how this accident can occur when
the demolition activities have
already been approved by the
Local Council. What were the
safety aspects or risk assessments
before the approval? What were
the safety aspects and risk control
during the demolition? Are the
Local Council, project consultants
and project contractors taking
OSH management seriously during
the planning and execution of
demolition? Did the engineer study
the strength of the building when
they decided to use an excavator
to demolish the building from the
top? Did the engineer identify other
alternative methods and define the Figure 1 Statistics of Fatality Accident by sectors by DOSH

THE INGENIEUR 45
feature
Occupational Safety and
Health Management
Principles
Most people would agree that
poor working environment and
unsafe acts may directly affect
employees health and safety.
Furthermore, most employers see
the need to minimize the risk of
accidents and to protect ill-health
effects among workers. However,
this is not easy to achieve in
actual practice. People are aware
of the cost implication when any
accident or disease occur at the
workplace. Both the direct and
indirect cost are significant. Some
of the direct costs are the medical
costs, repair or replacement of
equipment, compensation cost
for the victims family and others.
Much higher indirect cost can affect
the company such as the loss of
productivity, supply chain effects,
delay in projects execution, damage
to the companys image, legal
impacts etc. This is what we call
in OSH management, the Icebergs
Concept.
The main objective of OSH
management is to understand the
possible causes of accidents and
other events at the workplace which
harm the workers and damage
the properties. With growing
scientific knowledge, the political
and social concerns over OSH at
workplace has broadened, and the
effects of work have been studied
extensively. The study is not just
on the one possible root cause but
also multiple possible root causes
(direct or indirect causes). Some of
the knowledge disciplines which
are needed to manage OSH are
summarized in the Table 1.
Understanding the basic
Occupational Safety and Health
Management (OSHM) principles
is crucial to ensure that fatalities,
serious injuries and property
46 THE INGENIEUR
Table 1: Summary of disciplines required when managing OSH at
workplace
Knowledge
Description
Discipline
- It explains the properties or characteristics of
different substances and ways they behave in
Chemistry and
different circumstances.
physics
- Examples: electricity, explosive and flammable
materials, acid and caustic chemicals
- This includes toxicology, hygiene and medicine
- It explains living organisms composition and
processes.
Biological sciences
- Examples: harmful organisms effect on human,
human body responses and reactions when under
physical stress
- It involves designing the risk controls, building
constructions, mechanical processes
Engineering
- Examples: safe design for machineries and
buildings, fire protection system,
- It explains human behaviour at workplace
Psychology - Examples: stress effects on the mind, individual or
group behaviour at the workplace
- It explains the behaviour of people in a group
- Examples: management processes, work patterns,
Sociology
communication among humans and also in the
organisations
- OSH laws or rules enforcement
Law - Examples: Employment Act, OSH Acts (OSHA),
Factories and Machinery Act (FMA)
Ref: NEBOSH, International General Certificates Notes
damages can be minimized. The There are two management
common direct incident impacts systems that are widely used in
are summarized in Figure 2. Malaysia namely
OSH management principles 1. Malaysian Standard MS1722:
comprises three-pronged 2004 based on International
strategies: Labour Organisation Guidelines
1. Safe place for employees to on Occupational Safety and Health
work Management Systems 2001(ILO-
2. Safe plant and equipment for OSH 2001)
employees to use 2. O c c u p a t i o n a l H e a l t h
3. Safe system or management and Safety Assessment Series
system for the organisation or (OHSAS18001:2007) Standard
project Management System

Figure 2 Negative impacts due to incident at workplace.
Th e b a s i c O S H f ra m e wo r k
management system based on
OHSAS18001:2007 is summarized
in Figure 3. By using OSH
m a n a g e m e n t s y s t e m s u ch a s
Figure 3 Basic OSH framework management system based on OHSAS18001
OHSAS18001:2007, all OSH
hazards and risks can be managed
efficiently and effectively. This will
minimize any incidents related to
OSH.
feature
Management Commitment
From the management team
perspective, any money required
and spent for companys activities
must have value added and return
to the organisation. But, from
OSH point of view, it is difficult to
quantify the real value in terms of
financial return. The main reason
is, OSH activities are indirectly
linked to project or manufacturing
operations. Management, however,
has a narrow and short-sighted view
on how to manage organisations
risk.
So, where do we begin? A
paradigm shift among the
shareholders and organisations top
management is needed to ensure
the success of OSH management at
the workplace. OSH management
must be a part of business strategies
especially in a competitive business
environment. By allocating financial
support, manpower and commitment
THE INGENIEUR 47
feature

Table 2: Summary of common OSH laws in Malaysia

Laws
Occupational Safety &
Health Act (OSHA) 1994
Factories & Machinery Act
(FMA) 1967
Atomic Energy Licensing
Act (AELA) 1984
Uniform Building By-Laws,
1984
Scope Enforcement Body
Overall OSH management based on self-regulation Department of Occupational
approach such as the responsibilities of employers Safety & Health (DOSH)
and employees, requirement of Safety & Health
Officer, Chemical Management
OSH management based on directive approach Department of Occupational
when dealing with factories and machinery safety. Safety & Health (DOSH)
OSH requirements on radiation safety such as Atomic Energy Licensing
radioactive materials and x-ray Board
OSH requirements in designing a building Local authorities

to OSH management, risk from
accidents at workplace can be
managed efficiently and effectively.
The organisation will be surprised in
terms of workers productivity and
companys image when OSH issues
are tackled systematically. A sense
of responsibility and accountability
from the top management on Safety
and Health issues at the workplace
will make the worker feel safe
and cared for. The management
team must walk the talk on their
commitment stated in the OSHs
policy. Failure to deliver the OSH
commitment from top to bottom
will make the workers lose respect
of the management and this, in
turn, can de-motivate them.
Management commitment in
OSH includes complying with
OSH legal requirements. Some
of the Malaysians OSH laws are
summarized in Table 2.
Design Safety
Developed countries such as
Great Britain, United States of
America (USA) and Australia have
already started a new proactive
approach using design safety
method in managing OSH at the
workplace. For example, in Great
Britain, the Construction (Design
and Management) Regulations
2007 (CDM 2007) are the revised
form of Construction (Design
and Management) Regulations
1994 (CDM 1994). CDM 2007
was enacted on April 6, 2007
with one year transition period
(mandatory by April 2008). These
regulations apply to all construction
works in Great Britain and its
territorial waters. CDM 2007 is the
combination of updated CDM 1994
and the Construction (Health, Safety
and Welfare) Regulations 1996 into
a single regulatory package. All
those who work in the construction
industry have their part to look after
safety and health and improving
the industrys safety and health
records. The objectives of CDM
2007 can be viewed in Figure 4.
CDM 2007 consists of five parts
with an Approved Code of Practice
(ACOP) that provides practical
guidance on complying duties. One
of the main parts is an additional
duty where a project is notifiable.
Notifiable is a construction project
requring more than 30 days or 500
person days. For notifiable projects,
the client has to appoint a CDM
coordinator. The client and the
designers i.e. architects, engineers
and quantity surveyors have to
provide information of the project
to the CDM coordinator. The duties
of CDM coordinator are to:
Advise and assist client
Liaise with client, designers and
contractors
Notify project detail to Health
Safety Executive
Coordinate safety and health
aspects of design work
Identify, collect and pass on
pre-construction information
Prepare and update Safety and
Health File
In Australia, Construction Hazard
Assessment Implication Review
(CHAIR) was developed in support
of Memorandum of Understanding
between the New South Wales
Government and the contractors.
CHAIR is a tool developed to bring
together all the key stakeholders
involved in design to help identify
and eliminate or minimize inherent
risks in a structured and systematic
way. A facilitator is required to
encourage workshop participation
to constructively challenge the
design and explore whether issues
have been overlooked or not
sufficiently thought through. The
facilitator should have the ability
to keep the workshop on track
and moving along together with
understanding of the principles

48 THE INGENIEUR
 feature

and structures 2008 was issued

by Commission for Occupational
Safety and Health, under provisions
of OSH Act 1984. This code does
not have the same legal force as
regulation but may be used by
courts as standards. The code of
practice contained explanatory
information such as:
Principle of safe design
Delineation of responsibility
K n o w l e d g e , skills and
experience required
The risk management process
i.e. hazard identification, risk
assessment and risk control

Figure 4 The objectives of Construction Design Management Regulations On the other hand, our neighbour,
Singapore, introduced Guidelines
on Design for Safety in Buildings
of safety in construction and the CHAIR 2 focuses on and Structures 2008 (GUIDE). The
project. This will assist designers, construction and demolition objective of GUIDE is in line with
constructors, clients and other issues and is performed just Workplace Safety & Health Act
stakeholders to identify and prior to construction, when full (WSH Act) which aims to reduce
reduce construction, maintenance details are known risk from source. GUIDE is one of
and demolition risks associated C H A I R 3 - f o c u s e s o n the components to improve site
with design. CHAIR provides a maintenance and repair issues safety and assist key stakeholders
rigorous framework for a facilitated and is performed at the same on the process of design safety.
discussion on the risk. The risks are time as CHAIR 2 The safety and health information
then formally listed for action by will then be transferred along the
appropriate stakeholders. The aims Along with CHAIR, Code of construction process chain. This
of CHAIR are: Practice for safe design of buildings creates a framework which allows
To identify and eliminate or
minimize risks in a design as
soon as possible in the life of
a project
To involve key considerations
such as operability, aesthetics
and economics with elements
of safety
To implement measures to
improve the construction
industrys OSH and injury
management performance

CHAIR consists of three main

processes and is summarized in
Figure 5.
C H A I R 1 p e r f o r m e d a t
conceptual stage of a design
which is the best opportunity
to make change Figure 5 CHAIR Process

THE INGENIEUR 49
feature
every stakeholder to participate
in making vital safety and health
decisions. GUIDE is recommended
in three phases:
GUIDE 1 - Concept Design
Review
GUIDE 2 Detailed Design,
Maintenance and Repair
Review
GUIDE 3 Pre-Construction
Review
The steps in conducting GUIDE
are listed in Figure 6. The GUIDE or
review committee consists of client,
design engineer, architect, project
safety and health coordinator, and
contractor. It will be chaired and
facilitated by Project Safety and
Health Coordinator to facilitate
stakeholders in reviewing the
design and mitigate risks. Project
Safety and Health Coordinator
should be in the team as early as
the concept design stage. He will
also maintain records of safety and
health arising from design review
and actions taken in the Safety
and Health Risk Register. The key
aspects covered are design concept,
accessibility, confined spaces,
lighting, emergency, excavation,
fall prevention, working platforms,
hoisting, layout, maintenance,
material handling, storage, methods,
o p e r a t i o n , p hy s i c a l h a z a r d s ,
sequence, standardization and
weather. The Safety and Health Risk
Register (same principle as HIRADC
in OHSAS18001:2007 Management
System) is a live document whereby
risks identified from the design
stage are recorded and kept for
future reference. It records:
GUIDE 1, 2 and 3 results
and changes or risks to be
mitigated
Relevant safety and health
information that contractor and
client should take note
Construction method advisory
note
50 THE INGENIEUR
Figure 6 Steps in implementing GUIDE
Maintenance method advisory
note
Safe Operating Procedure for use
and maintenance of equipment/
machinery of the completed
building e.g. gondolas, scissor
lifts, etc.
CONCLUSION
Without full commitment from
the companys management, it
is difficult to implement OSH
m a n a g e m e n t a t a wo r k p l a c e .
Commitment must be translated
into the organizations business
strategy and OSH management
integrated to the organisations
b u s i n e s s o p e r a t i o n . Th i s i s
because it involves investment
from financial, human and time
aspects. The Government plays a
significant role in establishing OSH
guidelines. The guidelines can be
established with commitment and
teamwork between the Government,
professional bodies and industry
players. Enforcement of OSH laws
and guidelines must be efficient
and effective. This will ensure that
industry complies with the laws
and commit to minimize accidents
at the workplace. BEM
REFERENCES
Occupational Safety and Health
Assessment Series Standard Management
System (OHSAS18001:2007)
National Examination Board for
Occupational Safety and Health
(NEBOSH) International General
Certificates Notes
Occupational Safety and Health Act
(OSHA) 1994
Factories and Machinery Act (FMA)
1972
Gambatese, J.A., Hinze, J., Haas, C.T.
(1997). Tool
to design for construction
worker safety. Journal for Architectural
Engineering. March: 32-41
Gambatese, J.A. & Hinze, J. 1999.
Addressing construction worker safety
in the design phase designing for
construction worker safety. Automation
in Construction. 8:643-649
Health & Safety Executive (HSE). 2007.
Construction (Design and Management)
Regulations 2007.United Kingdom
Summerhayes,S.D (2008) CDM
Regulations 2007 Procedures Manual.
Blackwell Publishing, Great Britain.
Workcover, New South Wales. 2001.
CHAIR Safety in Design Tool. Australia.
WSHCouncil. 2008. Guidelines on design
for safety in building and structures.
Singapore.
 feature
Understanding The Underlying
Principles of QLASSIC Assessment
By Ir. Mukhtar Che Ali
Q
LASSIC is essentially
an acronym for Quality
Assessment System In
Construction. It is an assessment
tool introduced by Construction
Industry Development Board (CIDB)
somewhere in late 1990s in an effort
to develop a tool that can measure
objectively the quality performance
of construction projects. This gave
rise to the release of QLASSIC
guideline. Eventually in year 2006
this guideline was upgraded to
become construction industry
standard (CIS) referred as CIS 7:
2006. Generally it is an adoption
of CONQUAS 21 which has been
successfully practiced by Building
and Construction Authority (BCA),
in Singapore. In fact, a similar
assessment tool is also practiced in
Hong Kong known as Performance
Assessment Scoring System (PASS) by
the Hong Kong Housing Authority.
The introduction of QLASSIC is
No. of Projects
Figure 1: Distribution of QLASSIC Scores
expected to address several of the
predominant quality issues that
prevail in the construction realm.
OVERVIEW OF QLASSIC
PERFORMANCE
Based on CIDBs website i.e.
e-QLASSIC since end of year 2006
till at end year 2009, 163 projects
(Figure 1) have been assessed by
QLASSIC. The average QLASSIC
score recorded is about 66%.
The highest score is 85% and the
lowest score is 40%. From the total
number of 163 projects, seven
(4%) projects scored above 80%,
42 (25%) projects scored between
71-75% and 43 (26%) projects
scored at the range of 66-70%.
These results indicate that it is
not easy to attain comparatively
high score. Therefore, construction
stakeholders need to intensify their
effort in order to elevate the current
score which eventually could
attribute to improving quality in the
construction landscape. Currently
the application of QLASSIC is on
a voluntary basis and no fees are
imposed by CIDB for the services.
ASSESSMENT STRUCTURE
One has to remember that
QLASSIC is an independent
method of measurement of the
workmanship of construction work
based on an approved standard.
Currently the implementation
QLASSIC is benchmarked to CIS
7:2006 which is meant for building
construction work. Generally CIS
7: 2006 outlines the specifications
of acceptable quality standards for
assessing building works. Initially
it would be advisable to have an
insight pertaining to basic QLASSIC
assessment structure. The first
level of assessment according to
THE INGENIEUR 51
feature

Table 1: Weightage distribution for building components according to building categories

Component Category A Category B Category C Category D
Landed Housing Stratified Housing Public Building Special Public Building

Structural work (%) 25 30 30 30

Architectural work (%) 60 50 45 35
M&E work (%) 5 10 15 25
External work (%) 10 10 10 10
Total score (%) 100 100 100 100
(Source : CIS 7:2006)

CIS 7:2006 is categorizing the
building construction works into
four categories as follows:
Category A (landed housing)
- detached, semi-detached, terrace
and cluster house.
Category B (stratified housing)
- flat, apartment, condominium,
service apartment and town
house.
Category C (public building) For instance the architectural
- office building, school and other
related facilities or building
intended for public use.
Table 2: Sample of weightage distribution of
Category D (special
component elements - architect
public building) - hospital
and airport only.
Then under each of
these categories, it is broken
down into four components
i.e. structural, architectural,
M & E and external work.
Each of these components
is assigned a weightage
wh i ch d i f f e r f r o m o n e
category to another, as
shown in Table 1. Among
these building components,
notice that architectural
work is allocated with
a comparatively high
weightage. Generally these
weightage are allocated
according to the distribution
between the cost proportions
of the four components
in the various categories (Source: CIS 7: 2006)
of building and also preference is architectural elements as exhibited
given to aesthetic considerations. in Table 2. The contractors should
Since the architectural work is take note that bonus weightage of
being allocated comparatively 3% will be awarded if the projects
high weightage, generally QLASSIC plastering works apply skim coat
scores signifies the quality of the or pre-packed plaster since the
finished construction works. usage of these products can lead
Next each of the components is to better finishing.
further subdivided into component During the assessment, the
elements which again are assessors will examine the works
allocated with different weightage. either by visual inspections or
physical measurements. Sample
component is further divided into of assessment criteria is shown in
Table 3. Upon completion
of the assessment, the
assessors will calculate
the required score.
Initially, the sum is the
score of the component
elements which will
become the score for each
component. Finally the
summation scores of all
the building components
will derive QLASSIC
score. In this regard,
the score indicates the
level of compliance of
the inspected items to
the quality standards
as stipulated in CIS 7:
2 0 0 6 . Fo r e x a m p l e i f
the score is 80%, simply
denotes that 80% of the
total number of inspected
items by the assessors at
the time of inspection
comply with CIS 7: 2006
quality requirements.

52 THE INGENIEUR

Table 3: Sample of assessment criteria in CIS 7:2006
Table 4: List of Trainers for QLASSIC Awareness Course
No Trainer
1 En Mohd Faizal Abd Hamid
2 Ir. K. Laxana Naidu
3 Ir. Bruce Chan
4 Ar. Chan Seong Aun
5 Sr. Kang Wee Leng
6 Mr Yeow Yoon Foo
The details on the CIS 7:2006
assessment is explicitly explained
in the QLASSIC Awareness Course.
The latter was developed by CIDB
together with the representatives
from industry. This one-day course
has been awarded eight CCD
points for contractors. Therefore
it is highly recommended for
project stakeholders i.e. developers,
consultants, main contractors, sub-
contractors etc to subscribe to this
training module. The list of CIDBs
registered trainers is displayed in
Table 4.
It is imperative to note that
QLASSIC is intended to complement
Contact No
03-26170352
012-2863631
012-3321512
019-2260571
012-2634325
019-2284829
the normal contractual drawings
and specifications. As such it is not
intended to be used independently
as working specifications. Another
salient point to note is that QLASSIC
excludes works such as piling,
foundation and sub-structure works
which are heavily equipment-
based. In short the fundamental
of QLASSIC assessment can be
summarized as shown in Figure 2.
ASSESSMENT APPROACH
Th e a p p r o a c h a d o p t e d i n
executing QLASSIC assessment is
as follows:
feature
Standard Assessment Tool
QLASSIC implementation is only
benchmarked to CIS 7:2006. As
such the assessments refer to the
same acceptable quality standards,
using the same designed assessment
forms and same set of measurement
tools and equipment. Since this
assessment institutes elements of
uniformity, it enables the results
to be used for the purpose of
comparison. Therefore QLASSIC
score can become a yardstick to
measure quality performance of
construction projects. Apart from it
the referred score can also become
a useful performance indicator to
reflect the ability of the contractors
to deliver the desired quality of
construction end products.
Independent External Assessor
QLASSIC assessments are
performed by assessors appointed
by CIDB. This is to uphold certain
elements of impartiality during
assessment. Currently the said
assessments are executed by CIDB
technical officers. However CIDB
has the intention in the future to
outsource this activity to technical
personnel in the construction
manpower market.
Random Sampling
The execution of QLASSIC
on a given project is based on
random samplings. The inspections
by the QLASSIC assessors are
on the predetermined sampling
locations calculated using an
acceptable statistical method. The
same approach is also capitalized
in CONQUAS, Singapore.
Commencement of Assessment
As mentioned above, QLASSIC
assessment is broken down into
four components. For structural and
M & E components the assessments
are done during the construction
process. For architectural and
THE INGENIEUR 53
feature
Figure 2: Fundamental of QLASSIC assessment structure
external works components, the
assessments are carried out after
the practical completion of the said
projects. Thus for engineering works
the assessors have to make several
site visits according to the stages
of work progress and take relatively
longer time to produce results.
In view of this scenario, CIDB is
currently focusing assessment on
architectural works, external works
and basic M & E fittings.
One Time Assessment
This simply means that there
is no re-assessment. The standard
i.e. CIS 7:2006 does not allow for
second chance of assessment on the
same project if the score happens
to be considerably low. This is
to encourage the applicants to
seriously prepare for the assessment.
The project team must ensure all
making good defects are done
satisfactorily. Moreover this is to
inculcate work culture of do it right
the first time and every time.
BENEFITS OF QLASSIC
QLASSIC can derive a number
benefits to industry. Obviously it
54 THE INGENIEUR
will benefit the end user or rather
the customer. A project with a
comparatively high score deems
to indicate less defects which
would definitely delight the end
user. QLASSIC can also benefit the
consultant in area of improving
their supervisory works. If the
score is comparatively low, it
also reflects the poor supervision
by the consultant. Besides that
QLASSIC can generate remarkable
benefits to the client or developer.
Firstly it can become a quality
performance indicator to market
their products. Secondly they
can use the score as one of the
criteria in selecting their capable
contractors.
C o n t ra c t o r s c a n a l s o r e a p
benefits. Firstly by consistently
achieving relatively high QLASSIC
score for their projects, it can
boost confidence on their
a b i l i t y t o d e l iv e r d i s t i n c t iv e
quality works. Hence it can
lead to market expansion as
well as establishing long term
business relationships with the
clients. Secondly, it strengthens
the QA/QC departments in
managing the established quality
m a n a g e m e n t s y s t e m . Th i r d l y,
analysis of data on QLASSIC
scores especially the scoring of
their components elements can
continuously improve project
quality. Indeed the latter can
assist the contractors to prioritize
their area of improvement. For ISO
9001:2008 certified contractors,
this activity is in line with clause
8.4. Furthermore QLASSIC can be
integrated into ISO 9001:2008.
CONCLUSION
QLASSIC which was
introduced in late 1990s is
essentially an assessment tool to
measure objectively the quality
performance of construction
projects. It was developed via
adaptation from CONQUAS
which was widely used by BCA
in Singapore. Generally the
assessment structure starts with
categorizing the building projects
into four categories. Later each
building category is further divided
into four components namely
structural, architectural, M & E
and external work. The summation
of the marks from the components
will derive QLASSIC score. The
approach adopted is by third party
assessment. Currently the average
QLASSIC score is 66%. QLASSIC
can generate several benefits
to industry players. Finally the
implementation of QLASSIC can
promote and propagate quality in
the construction industry. BEM
REFERENCES
CIDB (2006), Quality Assessment
System for Building Construction
Work, CIS 7: 2006
www.cidb.gov.my
engineering nostalgia

Welcoming a new
teacher to a school
in Sabak Bernam
coconut estate -
1958
Photo by: Mr Lau Eng (Bekok, Johor)

Subscription Form
The Ingenieur is the official publication of the Board of Engineers Malaysia. The journal provides useful and quality
information on policy update, accreditation of local and foreign universities, training and courses, safety and health,
business opportunities and others within the engineering arena. It is published four (4) times a year. To subscribe,
please complete the following details:

BLOCK CAPITALS PLEASE

Name:
Address:

Postcode: Country:
Tel: Fax: E-mail:

Enclosed is a postal order/cheque No. Yes! I would like to subscribe The Ingenieur for:
payable to Lembaga Jurutera Malaysia. Please fax/mail this form to: 1 year of 4 issues RM30.00
2 year of 8 issues RM60.00
Lembaga Jurutera Malaysia,
3 year of 12 issues RM90.00
Tingkat 17, Ibu Pejabat JKR, Kompleks Kerja Raya Malaysia,
Jalan Sultan Salahuddin, 50580 Kuala Lumpur Others (Please specify)
Tel: 03-2698 0590 Fax: 03-2692 5017 (Please tick the appropriate circle)
 Malaysias Authoritative Source
Of Engineering Matters
More than 11,000 copies of The Ingenieur are currently published and distributed to Professional Engineers, Graduate Engineers, Private
Sector, Government Departments, Universities, Private Colleges, Libraries and other organisations related to engineering.

Ad ver t i s e m e n t R ate s
Full Colour Black &
Per Insertion Per Insertion
Back Cover RM3,500 White ROB Full Page RM1,100
Inside Back Cover RM2,500 ROB Half Page (vertical) RM750
Inside Front Cover RM2,800 ROB Half Page (horizontal) RM750
Facing Inside Front Cover RM2,700 ROB Quarter Page RM500
Centre Spread RM3,300
ROB Full Page RM2,000 Publication 16th March
ROB Half Page (vertical) RM1,100 Dates 16th June
ROB Half Page (horizontal) RM1,100 16th September
ROB Quarter Page RM750 16th December

Ad ver t i s e m e n t B o o ki n g (Tick the appropriate boxes)

Issue Full Colour Black & White
March 2010 Back Cover Full Page
June 2010 Inside Back Cover Half Page (vertical)
September 2010 Inside Front Cover Half Page (horizontal)
December 2010 Facing Inside Front Cover Quarter Page
March 2011 Centre Spread
June 2011 Full Page
September 2011 Half Page (vertical)
December 2011 Half Page (horizontal)
Quarter Page

Payment Terms & Conditions

Enclosed herewith our cheque no: _________________ for RM ________ Booking & Copy Deadline:
4 weeks before publication date
made payable to Lembaga Jurutera Malaysia. (Please include 50 cents
commission for outstation cheques) Advertisement size:
W: 210mm x H: 297mm (A4)
To invoice us. Payment will be made within 1 month from the date of
invoice. Bleed size:
Name of Organisation : ________________________________________ W: 216mm x H: 303mm
Contact Person : ________________________________________ Type area:
Designation : ________________________________________ W: 184.6mm x H: 271.6mm
Address : ________________________________________
: ________________________________________ Advertising Materials Requirements:
High Resolution PDF files (300dpi)
Tel/Fax No : ________________________________________ with colour proof

Artwork Charges:
Signature : _______________________ Typesetting, artwork and pdf conversion or
any other requested assistance by advertisers
will be charged separately at trade rates.
Send/Mail/Fax this form to: Publication Department, Board of Engineers Malaysia, The positioning of the advertisements, unless
Tingkat 17, Ibu Pejabat JKR, Jalan Sultan Salahuddin, 50580 Kuala Lumpur specified will be at the discretion of BEM.
Tel: 03-2698 0590 Fax: 03-2692 5017 E-mail: bem1@streamyx.com Cancellation will not be entertained.