Categories
Nov 2020

Standing firm on staff safety with launch of PCR testing lab

Building more with less GHG

Sheena Wong 

Building on the Group’s first greenhouse gases (GHG) exercise, we will continue expanding the GHG inventory to the rest of Gamuda developments. 

Construction is a polluter of GHG 

The construction sector delivers the infrastructures necessary for societal growth by consuming non-renewable, fossil-based energy. Naturally, it also emits a large amount of GHG in the process. 

It was reported in the Global Status Report for Buildings and Construction 2019 that buildings and construction together account for 36% of global final energy use and 39% of energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions when upstream power generation is included.  

Overall, our progress towards sustainable building and construction methods is advancing, but improvements are still not keeping up with a growing population and increasing energy demand. 

While there have been calls to reduce emissions, capture carbon, and move away from fossil fuels, what has been done by the construction sector is little compared to the amount of carbon it emits. 

An evidence-based approach in tracing our GHG output

As a responsible builder, we are addressing our GHG footprint.  

While reducing GHG emissions is essential to prevent further deterioration of our changing climate, we cannot manage what we cannot measure.  

Hence, since the beginning of 2020, Gamuda embarked on a data-based journey in developing our first GHG inventory jointly with Gamuda Land, Gamuda Engineering, and Gamuda Berhad. 

The objective was to establish a comprehensive baseline for GHG measurement and monitoring, especially for Scope 1 and 2 emissions.  

The entire exercise was based on a robust, credible and globally-recognised framework to identify and calculate emission sources – the GHG Protocol.  

By the end of FY2020, we completed a series of workshops and follow-up sessions with key personnel who have access to essential information on our on-site or off-site processes. 

This exercise covered different facets of the Group’s businesses, namely Menara Gamuda, MRT  Putrajaya Line’s Ampang Park Underground Station, twentyfive.7 sales gallery, Gamuda Walk as well as Kota Permai Golf and Country Club (KPGCC).  

It had since involved and exposed Gamudians from the construction, QSHE, project management, clubhouse, facilities to administration the right way in measuring and reporting the GHG information.

Defining the scopes and boundary of GHG emissions 

In constructing a built environment, we often engage a range of internal and external services at different points in the value chain, spanning across finance, design, materials, construction, and life cycle maintenance.  

GHG emissions take place in these aspects of our businesses and along the value chain, and they are categorised into three scopes. 

 

Source: The US Department of Energy 

Scope 1 emissions
Direct emissions from the burning of fuel, fugitive emissions and chemical processes that are under the reporting company’s control.  

Construction specific examples are the diesel generators (Genset) to illuminate our project site, air-conditioning leaks, the diesel or fuel consumption by excavator, crane, company-owned cars, and motorcycles designated for employee use.  

Scope 2 emissions
Indirect emissions from the use of purchased electricity. 

For example, the electricity sourced from Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) to power our electrical-driven machinery e.g. the tunnel boring machine (TBM), project sites, office buildings, centralised labour quarters, etc. 

Scope 3 emissions
All other indirect emissions that occur in the value chain of the company, including both upstream and downstream emissions.  

Examples are the embodied carbon in construction materials, fuel consumption from employee-owned vehicles or other commutes (flight, train, bus) by vendors in accessing our project site. 

Learnings from our first GHG mapping exercise

Rise spoke to some of our colleagues who were extensively involved in this GHG exercise.  

Teng Yew Woo, Safety and Health Manager for MRT Putrajaya Line offered his view, “GHG reporting was a new topic for me back then. Now, I’m glad to be a part of this exercise as I have gained so much in learning the global standards for sustainability reporting.” 

He believed that GHG monitoring is a very long journey for the construction sector, “It takes a lot of hard work and commitment to influence our construction peers to adopt better management of our GHG emissions.”  

“Through a GHG perspective, we understand the consequences of our operations better and how it affects our lives,” Teng said. 

Shamsudin Yusof, Environment Manager for QSHE department, had a challenging time collating data across different departments. He shared that cross-departmental coordination for data collection sometimes complicates the process, raising doubts on data quality and accuracy. 

Still, he believes in continuous effort as he said, “GHG measurement gives an indicator on our carbon footprint to our investors, and is fast becoming a trend for corporations worldwide to seize as a solid business case.” 

“In the future, we should plan to audit our GHG data collection for better transparency,” added Shamsudin. 

Eric Chua, Project Engineer for Project Management Department, twentyfive.7 said, “It’s scary to see the numbers and realise that we have emitted so much GHG from day-to-day operations.” 

He recalled one of his biggest challenges during the data collection exercise was the lack of company records for on-site fuel consumption by company-owned motorcycles. “We had to categorise that as a negligible sum, but from there, we aim to improve our data recording practices,” he said. 

“There’s no way that we could eliminate GHG emissions entirely, but this exercise serves as a good reminder for us to identify the gaps and direct our efforts on the greatest GHG reduction opportunities,” added Eric. 

“Through a GHG perspective, we understand the consequences of our operations better and how it affects our lives.”

Teng Yew Woo

"GHG measurement is fast becoming a trend for corporations worldwide to seize as a solid business case."

Shamsudin Yusof

“It’s scary to see the numbers and realise that we have emitted so much GHG from day-to-day operations.”

Eric Chua

Categories
Nov 2020

Standing firm on staff safety with launch of PCR testing lab

Building more with less GHG

Sheena Wong 

Building on the Group’s first greenhouse gases (GHG) exercise, we will continue expanding the GHG inventory to the rest of Gamuda developments. 

Construction is a polluter of GHG 

The construction sector delivers the infrastructures necessary for societal growth by consuming non-renewable, fossil-based energy. Naturally, it also emits a large amount of GHG in the process. 

It was reported in the Global Status Report for Buildings and Construction 2019 that buildings and construction together account for 36% of global final energy use and 39% of energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions when upstream power generation is included.  

Overall, our progress towards sustainable building and construction methods is advancing, but improvements are still not keeping up with a growing population and increasing energy demand. 

While there have been calls to reduce emissions, capture carbon, and move away from fossil fuels, what has been done by the construction sector is little compared to the amount of carbon it emits. 

An evidence-based approach in tracing our GHG output

As a responsible builder, we are addressing our GHG footprint.  

While reducing GHG emissions is essential to prevent further deterioration of our changing climate, we cannot manage what we cannot measure.  

Hence, since the beginning of 2020, Gamuda embarked on a data-based journey in developing our first GHG inventory jointly with Gamuda Land, Gamuda Engineering, and Gamuda Berhad. 

The objective was to establish a comprehensive baseline for GHG measurement and monitoring, especially for Scope 1 and 2 emissions.  

The entire exercise was based on a robust, credible and globally-recognised framework to identify and calculate emission sources – the GHG Protocol.  

By the end of FY2020, we completed a series of workshops and follow-up sessions with key personnel who have access to essential information on our on-site or off-site processes. 

This exercise covered different facets of the Group’s businesses, namely Menara Gamuda, MRT  Putrajaya Line’s Ampang Park Underground Station, twentyfive.7 sales gallery, Gamuda Walk as well as Kota Permai Golf and Country Club (KPGCC).  

It had since involved and exposed Gamudians from the construction, QSHE, project management, clubhouse, facilities to administration the right way in measuring and reporting the GHG information.

Defining the scopes and boundary of GHG emissions 

In constructing a built environment, we often engage a range of internal and external services at different points in the value chain, spanning across finance, design, materials, construction, and life cycle maintenance.  

GHG emissions take place in these aspects of our businesses and along the value chain, and they are categorised into three scopes. 

 

Source: The US Department of Energy 

Scope 1 emissions
Direct emissions from the burning of fuel, fugitive emissions and chemical processes that are under the reporting company’s control.  

Construction specific examples are the diesel generators (Genset) to illuminate our project site, air-conditioning leaks, the diesel or fuel consumption by excavator, crane, company-owned cars, and motorcycles designated for employee use.  

Scope 2 emissions
Indirect emissions from the use of purchased electricity. 

For example, the electricity sourced from Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) to power our electrical-driven machinery e.g. the tunnel boring machine (TBM), project sites, office buildings, centralised labour quarters, etc. 

Scope 3 emissions
All other indirect emissions that occur in the value chain of the company, including both upstream and downstream emissions.  

Examples are the embodied carbon in construction materials, fuel consumption from employee-owned vehicles or other commutes (flight, train, bus) by vendors in accessing our project site. 

Learnings from our first GHG mapping exercise

Rise spoke to some of our colleagues who were extensively involved in this GHG exercise.  

Teng Yew Woo, Safety and Health Manager for MRT Putrajaya Line offered his view, “GHG reporting was a new topic for me back then. Now, I’m glad to be a part of this exercise as I have gained so much in learning the global standards for sustainability reporting.” 

He believed that GHG monitoring is a very long journey for the construction sector, “It takes a lot of hard work and commitment to influence our construction peers to adopt better management of our GHG emissions.”  

“Through a GHG perspective, we understand the consequences of our operations better and how it affects our lives,” Teng said. 

Shamsudin Yusof, Environment Manager for QSHE department, had a challenging time collating data across different departments. He shared that cross-departmental coordination for data collection sometimes complicates the process, raising doubts on data quality and accuracy. 

Still, he believes in continuous effort as he said, “GHG measurement gives an indicator on our carbon footprint to our investors, and is fast becoming a trend for corporations worldwide to seize as a solid business case.” 

“In the future, we should plan to audit our GHG data collection for better transparency,” added Shamsudin. 

Eric Chua, Project Engineer for Project Management Department, twentyfive.7 said, “It’s scary to see the numbers and realise that we have emitted so much GHG from day-to-day operations.” 

He recalled one of his biggest challenges during the data collection exercise was the lack of company records for on-site fuel consumption by company-owned motorcycles. “We had to categorise that as a negligible sum, but from there, we aim to improve our data recording practices,” he said. 

“There’s no way that we could eliminate GHG emissions entirely, but this exercise serves as a good reminder for us to identify the gaps and direct our efforts on the greatest GHG reduction opportunities,” added Eric. 

“Through a GHG perspective, we understand the consequences of our operations better and how it affects our lives.”

Teng Yew Woo

"GHG measurement is fast becoming a trend for corporations worldwide to seize as a solid business case."

Shamsudin Yusof

“It’s scary to see the numbers and realise that we have emitted so much GHG from day-to-day operations.”

Eric Chua

Categories
Nov 2020

Nov 2020 – Gamuda Rise Newsletter

Tunnelling beyond

Copyright © Gamuda Berhad

With an internationally acclaimed team

Joyce Shamini 

In October 2020, all 13.5 km of tunnels connecting the Klang Valley Mass Rapid Transit Putrajaya Line underground section was finally completed. This marks the end of a journey that began since March 2018, a staggering feat involving up to 600 Malaysians.  

Main contractor, MMC Gamuda KVMRT (T) Sdn Bhd, though having gathered substantial expertise in completing the KVMRT Kajang Line, were many times pushed to the wall by forces beyond their control.  

To start with, compared to the MRT Kajang Line, the alignment traverses a more diverse range of geologies, from the highly karstic limestone region of the Chan Sow Lin-Sungai Besi area — notorious for some of [1]SMART’s worst sinkhole incidents — to the unusually hard and abrasive granitic features in the Titiwangsa region.  

Twelve out of the 16 tunnel drives were self-performed, while simultaneously interfacing with 17 construction sites[2] and hundreds of affected stakeholders.  

In terms of scale and technical complexity, the project is a level up from the MRT Kajang Line[3], but it also operated under some of the most challenging circumstances — a near termination of the project halfway through, a massive cost rationalisation exercise thereafter, and the most recent — working in the context of a pandemic.  

Needless to say, the completion of the tunnel drive is a great point of relief and celebration. Yet it is also a time of much speculation, as our tunnellers look over a still uncertain horizon.   

Amidst these ambivalent times, we spoke to Director of Tunnels, Gusztáv (Gus) Klados 

With almost 50 years of industry experience under his belt, Gus has seen tunnelling powerhouses rise and fall, and has cradled Gamuda’s tunnelling arm since its infancy. It is only apt then to glean from his perspective as we grapple with the future beyond.   

“When we started with the SMART project in 2002, a lot of people told us we were crazy, and we can’t build a tunnel in the middle of KL.  

“In fact, the first underground Light Rail Transit alignment deliberately avoided the areas in Kuala Lumpur with karstic limestone as it would have been extremely difficult to build in,he said. 

These turned out to be the exact conditions in which both the SMART project and MRT Kajang Line existed in.  

To prepare for SMART, Gus assembled a team of promising young engineers and sent them to Germany to be part of the tunnel boring machine (TBM) assembly team.  

“During construction, we were pitted back to back against a very experienced German contractor in charge of the Northern drive, eventually we finished the Southern drive well ahead of them.  

That was the birth of our tunnelling capabilities in Gamuda and we managed to build up an internationally significant team during this process, that is remarkable, Gus added. 

The tunnellers have been unstoppable since, growing exponentially in technical know-how and project capabilities. In fact, the timely breakthroughs of MRT Putrajaya line TBMs were only possible with their acute foresight early in the project.  

When deliberating on the tunnel drives programme and machines to procure, the leaders vouched to procure new TBMs on top of recommissioning refurbished TBMs from the MRT Kajang line.  

Although the decision to procure new TBMs cost more at that time, it eventually paid off as the tunnellers met their projected milestones despite unexpected lapses in the tunnelling works, i.e. when a particularly difficult stretch from Titiwangsa to Sentul West entailed blasting the rocks right in front of the TBMs as a final resort, and when the Movement Control Order ensued.  

Ultimately, Gus attributed the radical growth of our capabilities to having the right set of people (that includes client and top management as well) and technology, but none of these would have been possible without continuity of projects.  

As the Circle Line (meant to complete the KVMRT network) and many other tunnelling jobs remain in cold storage over political and global uncertainties, Gus expressed his concern over the future.  

“There will be other places where we will have an opportunity and we do have a good chance of getting jobs, but it would be a great loss for the country for all these talents to scatter around,he said. 

Gamuda Australia has made heads turn this year with multiple prequalifications for Australian projects, bearing weight to our strong position among global players.  

As to his thoughts on how we will fare away from home grounds, Gus responded in full confidence, “We have the knowledge, and we have the capabilities. If we cannot use it in Malaysia, we will use it somewhere else.

[1] The Stormwater Management and Road Tunnel Project. 

[2] Including 11 underground stations and other ancillary structures. 

[3] The Kajang Line consist of seven underground stations stretching over a 9.5 km alignment in Kuala Lumpur’s central business district.

Building more with
less GHG
 

Building on the Group’s first greenhouse gases (GHG) exercise, we will continue expanding the GHG inventory to the rest of Gamuda developments.

The team behind
Illaria Hillside Homes 

On the morning of 9th September, all of us in Menara Gamuda received a pleasant surprise, being greeted by balloons, coffee and cakes.

Mobilising agents
of social change
 

With the increasing number of communities affected by socio-economic crises, social innovators and entrepreneurs have been responding and collaborating in different ways to build and innovate more sustainable approaches to drive collective movements in improving the lives of others.

Enabling the
Differently-Abled
 

As a beneficiary of Project Differently-Abled (DA) myself in 2016, I was really glad when Gamuda established the Enabling Academy (EA) in May 2017.  

Let’s play
sports together
 

Jun Lin is an intern at the Group Corporate Communications and Sustainability department. He is also a part-time Physical Education (PE) assistant with Nexus International School.  

Growing with
the industry
 

This year, Master Builders Association Malaysia (MBAM) had an intriguing candidate running for their annual Safety and Health award.  

 

A vital breakthrough in digitalised construction 

MGKT continues its dominance at the forefront of digitalising construction in Malaysia with the creation of the BIMAR (Building Information Modelling Augmented Reality) App which recently took top honours in the Malaysian Technological Excellence Awards (MTEA) 2020 under the Augmented Reality category. 

Categories
Nov 2020

BIMAR App takes top honours in MTEA

BIMAR

a vital breakthrough in digitalised construction

Adam Anand Row

Pictured from left to right are Zur Ain Binti Zulkafely, BIM Modeller; Pua Boon Hin, Head of Survey; Tan Wei Hong, BIM Engineer; Nick Morecock, BIM Manager; Tony Joseph, GIS Development Lead; Mohan Naresh, BIM Coordinator; Koay Feng Jin, Site Engineer; and Ikhwan Aizuddin Bin Aziz, Senior Site Engineer the passionate core development team and contributors who worked closely to bring the BIMAR App to life. 

 

MGKT continues its dominance at the forefront of digitalising construction in Malaysia with the creation of the BIMAR (Building Information Modelling Augmented Reality) App which recently took top honours in the Malaysian Technological Excellence Awards (MTEA) 2020 under the Augmented Reality category.

The brainchild of a dynamic group of visionary leaders within MGKT, BIMAR is a ground-breaking solution for carrying out efficient and accurate site inspections. It was developed completely in-house by a young and innovative team of BIM developers, surveyors and engineers.

It is the first of its kind developed by a Malaysian contractor, enabling site inspections to be carried out easily and in real-time using just the app, installed on a mobile device.

BIMAR revolutionises the field of construction validation, streamlining both the inspection and reporting process, allowing for greater efficiency as well as cost savings. Using AR technology, the BIMAR app creates Virtual 3D overlays of design and construction elements that are superimposed over real-time screen camera capture of the worksite.

Clashes or errors in construction can be spotted instantly, circumventing reworks or repairs which could incur further costs as well as cause delays in a construction schedule. Unlike conventional validation methods which rely on photos, drawings, laser scan point clouds and hardcopy documents, BIMAR offers clear insight and precision at every stage of construction.

Speaking on the success of the BIMAR app, Tony Joseph, the MGKT GIS Development Lead shared, “The benefits that BIMAR brings has won over both our consultants and contractors, greatly minimising errors, while saving time and improving the accuracy of their construction validation during its test implantation for the works on the MRT Putrajaya Line Project.”

Along with various cloud-enabled functions which allow direct reporting from in the field, BIMAR is extremely scalable and can be customised to enable a rapid, large-scale roll-out across mega infrastructure projects with ease.

In a nutshell, BIMAR is an accurate, efficient, cost-saving solution for construction validation that is sure to become a vital and indispensable tool for future projects in line with Industry 4.0 trends.

The team is already looking forward to developing BIMAR 2.0.
If you think you’d like to contribute, get in touch with team lead Tony Joseph, at:
TonyJoseph@kvmrt-ug.com.my

The team’s victory was featured in the Singapore Business Review (SBR), click HERE to read the story.

Categories
Nov 2020

Growing with the industry

Growing with the industry

Joyce Shamini 

 

This year, Master Builders Association Malaysia (MBAM) had an intriguing candidate running for their annual Safety and Health award.  

Unlike others, he has three construction sites under his watch. He was also the only one practising in a mega project involving many kilometres of tunnels and massive underground structures.  

He is Norazar (Azar) Bin Abd Rahman, the Assistant Safety Manager of MMC Gamuda working in the Underground package of the KVMRT project since 2012.  

Though hailing from a construction management background, Azar deftly paved his way into developing QSHE[1] expertise.  

As a young fledgling environmental engineer, he observed a systematic gap in construction safety compliance, compounded by a local skill gap in QSHE knowledge. 

Motivated by the simple fact that every effort towards construction safety goes a long way in saving lives[2] Azar decided to earn the National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health (NEBOSH) certification on his own expenses. 

All ears as Azar explained some of the project’s QSHE best practices.

The decision proved pivotal as it led to more training and openings in the project. 

Before you know it, Azar found himself in charge of emergency drills simulating fire breakouts in tunnels and just recently onboard of an internal committee commissioned to design project-wide COVID-19 prevention measures.  

At the time of writing, Azar has already come out as one of three finalists in the MBAM award.  

The process started way back in March with a written submission, an intense interview with MBAM’s panel of committees in September and lastly, a visit by the judges themselves to the finalist’s site.  

As Gamuda’s Head of Safety, Christopher John Fenton asserted, “In our hearts, he is already a winner.” 

With the completion of KVMRT underground works drawing nigh, some may wonder about the fate of our QSHE talent pool. Rest assured, there is no end in which the industry needs to improve.  

Public awareness on construction safety is increasing and demand for negligent parties to be held accountable is growing, shaping a contractor’s prospect in getting future jobs.   

Azar presents a beacon of hope in uplifting the scant and undervalued merits of construction safety. He is part of a rising, professionally competent generation determined to bring a paradigm shift, in tying the success of a project to its QSHE compliance.  

His trailblazing journey is one that inspires us, and surely one which we are proud to be a part of.  

Azar (in the centre with yellow sleeves) hosting visitors from the Elevated project to learn about practical implementations of site safety.

[1] Short for Quality, Safety, Health and Environment  

[2] In April 2020, Construction Industry Development Board reports that Malaysia’s Fatal Accident Rate (FAR) was not only 10 times worse than that of the United Kingdom but in fact deteriorated by 20% since the turn of the century. 

Categories
Nov 2020

Let’s play sports together

Let’s play sports together

Jun Lin is an intern at the Group Corporate Communications and Sustainability department. He is also a part-time Physical Education (PE) assistant with Nexus International School. 

In recent weeks, I have been familiarising myself with the Group’s milestones from 1976 to 2019 and learning about the sustainability goals.  

My role also requires me to work closely with Rafy, our Assistant Manager for Graphic Designer and Multimedia in shortlisting images for the annual report.  

My favourite assignment has to be studying the company’s timeline, because it gives me a brief of the company’s history. From there, I learned more about the company’s founding principles and how people worked together to build its legacy.  

Understanding the company’s background also helps me to perform my work better.  

While I gain a lot of experience from my internship roles, I still put time into enjoying swimming at home, running, and cycling around my neighbourhood on weekends or during my free time. It keeps me active and happy because I get to do the activities that I enjoy.  

National swimmers, Joseph Schooling and Michael Phelps, inspire me a lot because they demonstrate good swimming skills through long hours of training and determination.  

I hope to be like them one day, even when defeated in some of their events, they never give up and will always keep trying. 

My PE teacher, Mr Paul, encourages me to keep up with my swimming and running. When he sees me doing my last lap of swimming or running, he will always cheer for me and give me lots of encouragement. 

Playing sports is good for my health and builds up my immune system. I am even doing a 16-hour intermittent fasting to have a healthy diet and maintain my weight.  

I learn that I am a stronger person from practising sports. Swimming and running help to train my stamina, while cycling helps to guide me in road safety and traffic signs. 

Practising sports teaches me to be resilient in whatever I am doing, helps me learn different methods to overcome challenges, as well as gives me a chance to enjoy nature and fresh air.  

Good health is important for everyone too. I always recommend my colleagues and friends to play sports because with a healthy functioning body, we can do more.  

Sports offers all of us a platform to practice discipline and determination. It is highly important to maintain a work-life balance to lead a happy life and attain longevity.

 

"Practising sports teaches me to be resilient in whatever I am doing, helps me learn different methods to overcome challenges, as well as gives me a chance to enjoy nature and fresh air."

Jun Lin

Categories
Nov 2020

Enabling the Differently-Abled

Enabling the Differently-Abled

Emelyn Lee Sian Mey 

As a beneficiary of Project Differently-Abled (DA) myself in 2016, I was really glad when Gamuda established the Enabling Academy (EA) in May 2017.  

While many are aware that EA conducts the Employment Transition Programme (ETP), I wish to share that its true value lies where individuals with autism feel comfortable at the workplace and are able to integrate well with their colleagues, knowing that the ecosystem is conducive for work and career growth. 

The ETP goes beyond classroom learning, for both the trainee and job coach. It’s just the beginning for individuals with autism in their workplace journey.   

It’s with great pride to share that EA is a recognised centre for candidates to earn the Skills Certification in Office Administration, Sijil Kemahiran Malaysia (SKM) Level 2 (Certificate).  

This is something to be reckoned with because EA is the first appointed SKM examination centre in Malaysia that offers Office Administration skills assessment for individuals with autism. Hence, it is heartening to know that EA will soon be offering SKM Level 3 by the end of this year, and Level 4 and 5 in the future.  

Since its establishment, the academy has trained more than 60 qualified candidates for the job market. More than half are currently employed in the fields of property and construction, banking, programming, manufacturing, pharmaceutical, retail, legal and agriculture.  

Gone are the days when we often hear individuals with autism taking on laborious roles such as packing and storage as their common job options. 

Some of the academy’s graduates have gone on to pursue further education and vocational training; and others are venturing into social enterprises and self-employment as their career path. This is made possible as they have benefited from the soft skills and practical skills training in a simulated office environment in EA, with continuous support from their job coaches. 

Attesting to the success of the ETP, I spoke with two fellow graduates – Darren Maung and Shashidharan Subramaniam, who are amongst the 60 EA graduates who have been working throughout the challenging COVID-19 pandemic and when layoffs abounded. 

Shashi (in green shirt) in a small group discussion with his fellow trainees.

Darren conducting a presentation.

Shashi (standing, third from right) with his fellow EA graduates and job coaches. 

“Before joining EA, I knew little about finding employment. Upon reflection, I definitely have a better outlook on myself. I’ve gotten used to the feel of corporate life, working at my computer and doing paperwork,” said Darren, currently interning at Roche Holdings. 

He works in the IT support and writes pieces on his colleagues’ contributions and achievements, similar to our Rise newsletter. He aspires to excel in whatever he undertakes and appreciates the friendly teamwork he has with his colleagues.  

Darren’s joy of work resonates with Shashidharan as well. “My confidence at work has improved after attending the ETP. I have learned how to use the IFCA accounting software for data entry, and how to process Purchase and Delivery Orders,” he said.  

As a data analyst in Gamuda’s Group Corporate Communications and Sustainability department, Shashidharan is fortunate to have colleagues who embrace neurodiversity and inclusion in the workplace. With detailed discussions, he understands the requirements of his tasks better, especially when he gets new assignments.  

From our conversations, I learned that their success stems from their motivation to work. This is further made possible from having encouraging coworkers who have also learned the essential techniques in supporting their differently-abled colleagues.  

With job coaching and guidance, EA graduates have proven that they are capable of handling more than just administrative tasks, among other fields of work, in partner companies such as DRB-Hicom and Uniqlo.  

EA has since motivated and supported 16 corporate organisations to embrace an inclusive work culture, in which seven of them have recruited at least two adults on the autism spectrum.  

This holistic approach has been useful in ensuring the continuity of support and employee retention, promoting sustainable employment as a valued contribution to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs). 

Beyond knowledge transfer 

The EA team has taken a step further by publishing Malaysia’s first ever ETP trainer’s manual in July.

Available in paperback and e-book form, it aims to equip individuals and companies in training employees with autism.

It was a milestone when the Special Education Division of the Education Ministry approved the ETP trainer’s manual for nationwide distribution to secondary schools with special education programmes.

Categories
Nov 2020

Mobilising agents of social change

Mobilising agents
of social change

Ruby Chan and Melissa Lai 

With the increasing number of communities affected by socio-economic crises, social innovators and entrepreneurs have been responding and collaborating in different ways to build and innovate more sustainable approaches to drive collective movements in improving the lives of others.  

Aligning to the values in galvanising the ecosystem of humanitarian and inclusiveness, Yayasan Gamuda recognises the unsung heroes through the Star Golden Hearts Awards (SGHA) and Gamuda Inspiration Awards (GIA).

“When SGHA first started in 2016, we received 100 nominations. Now, we had over 500 nominations from individuals, NGOs and social enterprises,” commented Yayasan Gamuda Head, Ts. Sharifah Alauyah.

“With the growing number of nominations, it’s a true reflection that SGHA not only supports the recognition of communal responsibilities, but it also allows us to mobilise our collective resources and supporters around the nominees’ projects and strengthen the sustainability of their efforts,” she added.  

Each year, 10 outstanding individuals or groups are chosen as the SGHA winners and among them, a special Gamuda Inspiration Award is awarded to one deserving winner with a grant of RM50,000 in recognition of their meaningful and impactful efforts.  

Last year, SGHA awarded Sujana Mohd Rejab in recognition of his efforts in enabling disabled children to have equal access to quality life with dignity. 

The selection of the GIA winner is guided by these judging pillars – (1) authenticity of the social causes, (2) sustainable use of innovative-driven solutions, (3) societal impacts and lastly, (4) scalability for future collaborations.

Hear from our Gamudians who conducted the internal due diligence for this year’s GIA.

 

In 2016

100 nominations

In 2020

515 nominations
Causes include education, environment & social
Nominees include NGOs, social enterprises, social entrepreneurs or individuals
James Ong Chin Wei
Internal Audit Executive, Gamuda Berhad 

One very significant change that I observed in today’s social innovators is the growing use of technology in its outreach programmes. All SGHA winners serve as a role model to the community when it comes to giving back to society and doing good for the betterment of everyone. I recalled during one of my conversations with the finalists who said – giving back is easy but what makes it hard is to ensure the efforts are sustainable for the continuous betterment of societies. Through SGHA, it’s inspiring to see how Yayasan Gamuda recognises these unsung heroes and collectively, empowers them to build sustainable communities. 

Suzane M. Samy 
Environmental Manager, Gamuda Parks 

Social innovators are now operating at the grassroots level and empowering a lot more communities. It was a life-changing experience for me to hear the stories of one’s challenges and how an individual was able to come out of the rubbles and became an inspirational public figure. Empowerment is an important agenda in building a sustainable community – when we can’t be everywhere to create a difference, we work with those who can help us in creating our success stories. 

Shukri Ismail
Assistant Manager, Gamuda Enterprise Digital Platform 

The pandemic has spurred the efforts in social outreach and programmes to be executed in a more effective and efficient way digitally through the adoption of software for research and data collection efforts. The guiding pillars of GIA winner selection serve as a direction to ensure their efforts are sustainably impactful for the communities they serve. 

Dr. Ho Sook Wah
Consultant, English Language Unit, Gamuda Berhad 

Social innovators are now concerned with approaches that are sustainable and scalable, with systemic changes that address the root causes. We also see social impact processes that include engagement, empowerment, inclusion and restoration of human dignity. Besides being awed by the efforts of these top 10 winners this year, they have also inspired me to continue to plough back into vulnerable communities. 

WHO WILL BE THE NEXT

GAMUDA INSPIRATION AWARD WINNER?

Stay tuned

to SGHA Workplace Group to find out more!
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Categories
Nov 2020

The team behind Illaria Hillside Homes

The team behind Illaria Hillside Homes

Nadia Zuraida 

From left to right: Muhammad Fahd (PMD), Lim Chee Kean (MSD), Muhammad Khaliq (PMU), Sueway Tan (MSD), Cindy Tan (MSD), Winson Ooi (MSD), Marcus Yuen (MSD). 

 

On the morning of 9th September, all of us in Menara Gamuda received a pleasant surprise, being greeted by balloons, coffee and cakes. The Illaria team definitely knew how to make an impression for a product launch. 

Behind every great product, there is a team transforming an architectural vision into a reality.

The team behind the new Illaria hillside homes comprises a young and dynamic group from Product Management Unit (PMU), Project Management Department (PMD), and Marketing and Sales Department (MSD).

What inspires you to do this? 

Sueway, Winson and Marcus (MSD): The product itself is attractive, so, prior to the special preview for staff, we wanted our colleagues in Menara Gamuda to start talking about Illaria. Word-of-mouth is a more convincing way to project an image of Illaria. That’s how the idea to do a nice surprise came about. It was satisfying to see happy faces on that day, everyone’s expression was priceless! 

Khaliq (PMU): For us, it is more of creating a product that we know can meet the new norm of what people want for their homes. We conducted preliminary research to understand how the market has changed, and the outcome – home design and layout are shaped by the post-pandemic trends. It is exciting as this will be the first time that we are tasked to re-think our home space.

What were the challenges faced by the team? 

Khaliq (PMU), Jess and Fahd (PMD): We had to be agile and quick to adapt to many changes within a short timeframe to roll out Illaria according to the new market norm. There were many limitations especially when we had to do rounds of discussions to plan and design – all these happened during the MCO when everyone was working from home. Our team come together under the guidance of our General Manager, Chu Wai Lune to deliver Illaria. We anticipate a growing need for flexible home design where people can easily convert their homes into a working space, an extra bedroom for the grandparents, hobby room or children’s study area – all these were incorporated into the new Illaria design. 

Winson (MSD): Similarly, we were racing against time to roll out Illaria. We had finalised our plans to reach out to people digitally during MCO as we did not know when it will be lifted. Upon entering RMCO, we adapted our plans, sought vendors to fabricate our material as well as planed the detail of our guerrilla marketing to maximise impact. Besides that, our team also needs to look into submission to local authorities for plan approvals, advertising permits, etc. This is still an on-going process for us. 

How did you overcome the challenges? 

Khaliq (PMU), Jess and Fahd (PMD): We had many discussions with our management as well as took reference from news and research that are available online to consider the criteria of a good home based on people’s changed lifestyle. Also, our team members contributed their own lockdown experience so we took them into consideration when designing Illaria. Ultimately, we went through the list and deliberated the best approach for planning this phase before finalising the plan. It was an arduous process but necessary for us to truly breakthrough with a product that is compatible with the new norm. 

Winson and Marcus (MSD): Over the years, we have worked with many vendors and they were helpful to take on this challenge with us to design and print our marketing material, to fabricate our Illaria booth set-up as well as the gift boxes and balloons. We also planned the logistics to deliver the surprise to our colleagues who are based on site. The team came together to overcome all obstacles to achieve a successful pre-launch registration drive for Gamuda employees. We received good responses and enquiries for Illaria in the two ensuing weeks. 

Would you say that the campaign was successful? 

Sueway, Cindy and CK (MSD): Definitely! The pre-launch we had at Menara Gamuda definitely got people talking about Illaria so I consider that was a huge success for the team! The staff preview event on that very weekend received an overwhelming response as many people were curious about Illaria. 

How would you describe the whole experience on this product development and launch? 

Khaliq (PMU), Jess (PMD), Sueway and Cindy (MSD): It was very challenging, yet it felt so rewarding when the digital launch gained so many registrants! Under the leadership of our GM, we learned a lot and motivated each other to overcome conflicts. We always believe that when we respect each other’s differences and opinions, the work outcome will be great because we are able to assess ideas more holistically. That’s the power of teamwork which the team had from the start. Hopefully, we can keep up the momentum for the upcoming official launch of Illaria! 

“No task is too great, no accomplishment too grand, no dream too far-fetched for a team. It takes teamwork to make the dream work.”  
John C. Maxwell

Categories
Nov 2020

Building more with less GHG

Building more with less GHG

Sheena Wong 

Building on the Group’s first greenhouse gases (GHG) exercise, we will continue expanding the GHG inventory to the rest of Gamuda developments. 

Construction is a polluter of GHG 

The construction sector delivers the infrastructures necessary for societal growth by consuming non-renewable, fossil-based energy. Naturally, it also emits a large amount of GHG in the process. 

It was reported in the Global Status Report for Buildings and Construction 2019 that buildings and construction together account for 36% of global final energy use and 39% of energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions when upstream power generation is included.  

Overall, our progress towards sustainable building and construction methods is advancing, but improvements are still not keeping up with a growing population and increasing energy demand. 

While there have been calls to reduce emissions, capture carbon, and move away from fossil fuels, what has been done by the construction sector is little compared to the amount of carbon it emits. 

An evidence-based approach in tracing our GHG output

As a responsible builder, we are addressing our GHG footprint.  

While reducing GHG emissions is essential to prevent further deterioration of our changing climate, we cannot manage what we cannot measure.  

Hence, since the beginning of 2020, Gamuda embarked on a data-based journey in developing our first GHG inventory jointly with Gamuda Land, Gamuda Engineering, and Gamuda Berhad. 

The objective was to establish a comprehensive baseline for GHG measurement and monitoring, especially for Scope 1 and 2 emissions.  

The entire exercise was based on a robust, credible and globally-recognised framework to identify and calculate emission sources – the GHG Protocol.  

By the end of FY2020, we completed a series of workshops and follow-up sessions with key personnel who have access to essential information on our on-site or off-site processes. 

This exercise covered different facets of the Group’s businesses, namely Menara Gamuda, MRT  Putrajaya Line’s Ampang Park Underground Station, twentyfive.7 sales gallery, Gamuda Walk as well as Kota Permai Golf and Country Club (KPGCC).  

It had since involved and exposed Gamudians from the construction, QSHE, project management, clubhouse, facilities to administration the right way in measuring and reporting the GHG information.

Defining the scopes and boundary of GHG emissions 

In constructing a built environment, we often engage a range of internal and external services at different points in the value chain, spanning across finance, design, materials, construction, and life cycle maintenance.  

GHG emissions take place in these aspects of our businesses and along the value chain, and they are categorised into three scopes. 

 

Source: The US Department of Energy 

Scope 1 emissions
Direct emissions from the burning of fuel, fugitive emissions and chemical processes that are under the reporting company’s control.  

Construction specific examples are the diesel generators (Genset) to illuminate our project site, air-conditioning leaks, the diesel or fuel consumption by excavator, crane, company-owned cars, and motorcycles designated for employee use.  

Scope 2 emissions
Indirect emissions from the use of purchased electricity. 

For example, the electricity sourced from Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) to power our electrical-driven machinery e.g. the tunnel boring machine (TBM), project sites, office buildings, centralised labour quarters, etc. 

Scope 3 emissions
All other indirect emissions that occur in the value chain of the company, including both upstream and downstream emissions.  

Examples are the embodied carbon in construction materials, fuel consumption from employee-owned vehicles or other commutes (flight, train, bus) by vendors in accessing our project site. 

Learnings from our first GHG mapping exercise

Rise spoke to some of our colleagues who were extensively involved in this GHG exercise.  

Teng Yew Woo, Safety and Health Manager for MRT Putrajaya Line offered his view, “GHG reporting was a new topic for me back then. Now, I’m glad to be a part of this exercise as I have gained so much in learning the global standards for sustainability reporting.” 

He believed that GHG monitoring is a very long journey for the construction sector, “It takes a lot of hard work and commitment to influence our construction peers to adopt better management of our GHG emissions.”  

“Through a GHG perspective, we understand the consequences of our operations better and how it affects our lives,” Teng said. 

Shamsudin Yusof, Environment Manager for QSHE department, had a challenging time collating data across different departments. He shared that cross-departmental coordination for data collection sometimes complicates the process, raising doubts on data quality and accuracy. 

Still, he believes in continuous effort as he said, “GHG measurement gives an indicator on our carbon footprint to our investors, and is fast becoming a trend for corporations worldwide to seize as a solid business case.” 

“In the future, we should plan to audit our GHG data collection for better transparency,” added Shamsudin. 

Eric Chua, Project Engineer for Project Management Department, twentyfive.7 said, “It’s scary to see the numbers and realise that we have emitted so much GHG from day-to-day operations.” 

He recalled one of his biggest challenges during the data collection exercise was the lack of company records for on-site fuel consumption by company-owned motorcycles. “We had to categorise that as a negligible sum, but from there, we aim to improve our data recording practices,” he said. 

“There’s no way that we could eliminate GHG emissions entirely, but this exercise serves as a good reminder for us to identify the gaps and direct our efforts on the greatest GHG reduction opportunities,” added Eric. 

“Through a GHG perspective, we understand the consequences of our operations better and how it affects our lives.”

Teng Yew Woo

"GHG measurement is fast becoming a trend for corporations worldwide to seize as a solid business case."

Shamsudin Yusof

“It’s scary to see the numbers and realise that we have emitted so much GHG from day-to-day operations.”

Eric Chua