Enterprise profile

Woh Hup, one of Singapore’s largest construction and civil engineering specialists, is behind some of the country’s most iconic attractions such as Gardens by the Bay and Jewel Changi Airport. Founded in 1927, the 1,000-strong company strives to deliver high quality, innovative building solutions.

Problem statement

With the Building and Construction Authority pushing for construction companies to adopt Building Information Modelling (BIM) for all drawing submissions, Woh Hup needed to equip staff with new skills to operate its BIM systems. Using BIM – which models buildings on digital blueprints instead of paper ones – would improve workflow efficiency.

However, due to the company’s size, Woh Hup realised that a one-off course conducted by an external party would not be feasible. Instead, it wanted a group of employees to be certified as BIM Master Trainers (BMT) so they could go on to train and mentor other staff and subcontractors. Their expertise would include using BIM on 3D, 4D and 5D platforms for modelling, costing, and scheduling across Woh Hup’s operations.

Impact Achieved

Singapore Polytechnic’s Digital Building Innovation Centre (DBIC) developed a comprehensive training programme to reinforce BIM platform knowledge at Woh Hup. This included producing a handy set of reference materials with interactive media and videos.

DBIC also provided BMT training to a group of Woh Hup employees who were more proficient in the platform. These employees were then tasked with training their colleagues – a more sustainable and cost-effective solution than one-off courses by third parties. As a result, the company saw a 10 percent boost in overall productivity.

With project managers now equipped with BIM knowledge, they can use the digital tool to detect issues such as design overlaps or specific problems onsite and come up with solutions quickly.

Thanks to the productivity gains, Woh Hup has transformed the job scopes of up to seven employees, enabling them to do more business-critical tasks. It has also been able to redesign 14 job roles, including modellers, quantity surveyors, site supervisors and project managers.

DBIC perspective

To Mr Chiew Yih Tsair, Lead (BIM) and Project Manager at DBIC, Woh Hup’s receptiveness to change and collaboration was what made the project a success.

As a large organisation, it recognised the long-term challenges of adopting BIM capabilities across the company. By training a group of employees to be BMTs, the company ensures that the knowledge would be passed on seamlessly to other employees over time, thus building a culture of knowledge-sharing.

“From developing the BIM curriculum from start to finish, and then supporting Woh Hup with the implementation and training, we’ve been able to equip not just employees but also subcontractors with the right skills and knowledge,” said Mr Chiew. “I believe we have fulfilled our mission in preparing the organisation and the wider industry for long-term success.”