IBS saves time and reduce labour costs
Published on: Monday, October 12, 2015
Kota Kinabalu: Industrialised Building System (IBS) can help to shorten construction period and ensure better quality in workmanship finishing, according to Sabah Institute of Engineers (Malaysia) Chairman Ir. Tan Kok Yon.Speaking at a seminar on IBS, Saturday he said since 2003, the Federal government had implemented a roadmap for greater use of IBS construction to elevate the standards of the local building or construction industry and reduce dependence on foreign labour in the real estate industry.In many countries, IBS is used to construct social housing besides others like student accommodation, hotels and military quarters.
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IBS is defined as a method of construction that has manufacturing properties in construction. Similar to the paradigm shift in manufacturing during the Industrial Revolution, IBS has reduced the cost, labour and time of construction of buildings in Malaysia and is setting new standards for the industry.Asked if it is the duty of a consultant to help a developer to save on costs as in a case whereby a developer of apartments insisted that it was the duty of his consultant to help his company save costs, Tan explained: "No, a consultant has to ensure public safety first besides other functionality consideration, laws and regulations, codes of ethics and conduct as a professional."Asked if IBS could help developers save costs, Tan said: "Not necessary, but IBS can shorten construction period and help to save time related costs for the developer or contractor." Developers and contractors currently face a shortage of skilled and unskilled labour, and IBS projects require fewer workers than other construction methods.At the seminar, Hume Cemboard Industries and BriSteel Corporation presented their products and technical expertise to attendees. Sabah based BriSteel Corporation's BrisFrame is a structural building technique that uses light gauge steel for the construction of open IBS buildings that are cost effective, fast to build in eco-friendly construction, easy to mobilise with pre-engineering solution, fire resistant, corrosion resistant and total pest resistant. An example is the Petronas quarters for some workers in Sipitang.
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Dr James Lim of the University of Auckland, New Zealand presented a few papers on structural cold formed steelwork in buildings, their endurance during earthquakes with reference to the Christchurch earthquake, tests and fire outbreak.According to Dr Lim, for example, for light gauge steel modular construction comprises prefabricated room-sized volumetric units that are normally fully fitted out in manufacture and are installed on site as load-bearing 'building blocks'.
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"Their primary (IBS) advantages are economy of scale in manufacturing of multiple repeated units, speed of installation on site, and improved quality and accuracy in manufacture," he explained.He said from stringent testing and real life experiences in Christchurch earthquakes, such structures withstood seismic forces better than concrete structures without major damages as axial load is transferred by way of direct wall-wall bearing, taking into account eccentricities in manufacture and installation of the modules, which causes additional build-up of moments and accentuates the local bearing stresses at the base of the wall. Restraint is provided at the floor and ceiling positions so that the effective height of the wall may be taken as its clear internal height. Loading from the floors and ceilings is taken as applied at the face of the wall.Meanwhile, in conjunction with World Architecture Day 2015, PAM Sabah Chapter plans to bring together a panel of renowned architects – Ken Yeang (Malaysia), Roshan Gurung (Hong Kong), Takashi Niwa (Vietnam) and Matt Gibson (Australia) – to present their works and visions for the Borneo Architecture Festival, an international design conference at the Tanjung Aru STAR on October 23, 2015.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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