AY1516 NUS CE Club Interface Magazine

INTERFACE YEARBOOK 2015
NUS CIVIL ENGINEERING CLUB
NUS CE CLUB
Contact us at http://ceclub.sg/
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Contents
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01
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Message from Head of Department

Editors Note
Chairpersons write-up
About the CEE Department

About CE Club
Introduction to Professor Liew Mun Leong
Laser Tag for SHD day (Safety and Health Day) 2015
CESE Camp 2015
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INTERFACE YEARBOOK 2015

NUS CIVIL ENGINEERING CLUB
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NUS CE CLUB
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Published by:
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Site Visits
Operation Orion 2014
Student Exchange Programme
Vacation Internship Programme
Industrial Attachment Programme

Other Events
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irst of all, I would really like to express my gratitude to those who contributed articles
to the magazine despite their busy schedule.
This magazine includes an introduction into this department and this club before
featuring the main highlights of the past year like Safety and Health Day which was a
memorable one for those who participated in the Laser Tag game. Informative articles by
seniors are also included for those who are interested in learning more about internships
and exchange programmes. Site visits organised for students are also featured in the
magazine.
Hence, I hope that this magazine will provide a good way to relive the unforgettable
memories for those who have participated in these events and a good overview for the
incoming freshmen to look forward to another exciting year ahead!
Teng Shi Ru
Publications Director
NUS Civil Engineering Club
17th Management Committee
NUS CIVIL ENGINEERING CLUB YEARBOOK
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Write-Up
T
he Academic Year of 2014/15 was indeed an exciting and fruitful one for the
undergraduates in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE), with
varying endeavours which highlights the essence of striking a balance between a vibrant
student life and achieving academic excellence.
This magazine documents our journey over the past year, with an introduction to an array
of student events including career and internship fairs, site visits and alumni sharing
sessions. Of course, student events are not strictly limited to academics. Dynamic
adventures of bonding activities through the annual Freshmen Orientation Camp, lively
matches of laser tag incorporated into the Safety and Health Day, numerous welfare events
over the year, as well as being a blessing to overseas communities through Operation
Orion are also encompassed in the plans.
On behalf of the NUS Civil Engineering Club, I would like to extend our gratitude to
Distinguished Professor Phoon Kok Kwang (Head of Department CEE), Assistant
Professor Chew Soon Hoe (staff advisor Civil Engineering Club), Dr Justin Yeoh (staff
advisor Civil Engineering Club), the dedicated team of administrative staff of the CEE
Department as well as every student under the Department for your unwavering support
towards the Club and making the school our second home.
In the upcoming new year, let us continue working together as one student body to fulfill
our vision of serving the student affairs, welfare and career development interests of all
CEE undergraduates. We wish you all the best in your future academic year.
Lim Yue Ying

Chairperson
NUS Civil Engineering Club
17th Management Committee
2015
About
CEE Department
he Department of Civil & Environmental
To support these programmes the Department has
Engineering is one of the eight Departments
a team of more than thirty highly qualified and
and Divisions in the Faculty of Engineering of the
professionally experienced academic members.
National University of Singapore. The Department
They regularly conduct specialized short courses
has been rated 3rd in Civil & Structural Engineering
and provide consultancy and advisory services.
category (2015), and 10th in Environmental Sciences
Interacting closely with industry, government bodies
category (2015), by QS World University Rankings.
and statutory boards, they are actively engaged in
Research and Education are driven through three
research and development activities. These R & D
exciting programmes embracing the increasingly
programmes are well supported by research grants
integrated, interdisciplinary nature of modern civil
from the University, Agency for Science, Technology
engineering:
& Research (A*STAR) and other government
Offshore Engineering
Protective Technology
Hazards, Risks & Mitigation
agencies as well as private sector organizations.

More information about the Department of Civil
& Environmental Engineering can be found at:
http://www.eng.nus.edu.sg/cee/.
About CEE.indd 1
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About CE Club
F
ounded in 1997, NUS Civil Engineering Club of

National University of Singapore is an affiliated club
of the NUS Students Engineering Club. The NUS Civil
Engineering Club looks specifically into the wellbeing
and interests of the Civil Engineering undergraduates.
It aims to serve all student affairs, welfare and career

development interests of all Civil Engineering
undergraduates. This includes fostering strong ties
between the different levels of Civil Engineering students,
working hand-in-hand Department and other clubs
to bring about greater benefits for all Civil Engineering
students, heightening the social awareness of Civil
Engineering students about local community and also
awareness about the local Civil Engineering industry,
and bringing students out of their comfort zone and into
other parts of the world in order to give students a global
perspective of the Civil Engineering industry and social
issues.
It holds many events and activities throughout the year
to serve the Civil Engineering Faculty. Students can get to
know at http://www.facebook.com/ceclub.
Like our Facebook page to receive

the latest updates on CE Club.
About CE Club.indd 1
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M E S S A G E
F O R
CivilEngineering
Club 2015
from
Distinguished Professor and
Head of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Phoon Kok Kwang
kkphoon@nus.edu.sg
e will embark on our new academic

year 2015/2016 in a month or so. We
are excited to see new faces, be you
a freshman or an exchange student,
in our midst. Needless to say, we warmly welcome
back our seniors. We hope you have enjoyed your
break and you are fully recharged to engage our new
semester with vigor. The past academic year has
been fruitful for the department; our environmental
engineering programme has been ranked 10th in QS
World University Ranking in the new multidisciplinary
subject Environmental Sciences which involved
colleagues from other departments in NUS and our
civil engineering programme has climbed from 7th
placing in 2014 to 3rd placing in 2015. This affirms the
quality of education and the quality of graduates that
the department has produced. Our graduates remain
highly sought after by the industry that is experiencing
a boom in infrastructure development and the trend is
expected to continue for the next few years based on
BCAs five years forecast. Despite the strong demand for
our graduates, we remain committed to strengthening
our engagement with the industry to produce more
industry ready graduates. For example, we are currently
working with more than 100 companies to provide
quality internship training.
We are also very fortunate to receive strong support
from our young alumni in sharing their working
experiences with our currents students. The student
clubs had worked extremely hard in the past year to
create greater vibrancy in the student community,
link up with alumni and companies for site visits, and
organized a highly successful career fair with BCA. We
are glad to hear from past attendees that these events
have helped them in knowing the industry better and
making more informed career choices. This year, the
department will continue to roll out new initiatives to
forge stronger relationships with our students, alumni

and industry, such as the re-run of the successful
young alumni dialogue session with another group of
young alumni on 18 Aug 2015 and a career talk by three
engineer leaders from a professional society on 18 Sep
2015. I hope you will make the most out of time in NUS
by studying hard and engaging actively in our myriad
student activities.
We are extremely honoured to invite Professor Liew
Mun Leong as our commencement speaker this year.
Professor Liew is Chairman of the Changi Airport
Group and Surbana Jurong Pte. Ltd. He graduated
with a first degree in civil engineering at the University
Of Singapore (predecessor of NUS) 45 years ago. I
would like to share my introduction and Professor
Liews commencement speech with all of you.
The future work place is evolving rapidly and it
is necessary to cultivate soft skills through active
engagement in activities outside your classroom. Do
not wait to be invited. NUS offers a rich plethora of
opportunities for experiential learning, both within
and outside NUS. You should make use of whatever
opportunities to further strengthen your talents.
Lastly, I would like to congratulate the Class of 2015.
We are very proud of your achievements. NUS is
rolling out lifelong learning opportunities to support
our national SkillsFuture movement. CEE will follow
suit, because we believe in supporting your aspirations
and playing a continued role in your learning journey.
Best of luck, Class of 2015! Do stay in touch and if time
permits, offer your service to make our department
even better.
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INTRODUCTION TO
PROFESSOR LIEW MUN LEONG
CEREMONY 10
(CEE), 9 JULY
2015, 3PM
US Pro Chancellor Mr Poad Mattar, Distinguished

Guests, Graduates, Ladies and Gentlemen. Good
afternoon. We are indeed honoured to have
Professor Liew Mun Leong as our Guest Speaker today.
Prof Liew has spent 22 years in the public service
developing Singapores Changi Airport, military airports
and establishments, and heading two science and
technology statutory boards -- SISIR, NSTB formerly of
SPRING Singapore and A*Star.
He was the Registrar of the Professional Engineers
Board, granting engineers licenses to practise in
Singapore and regulating engineering practices in
Singapore. He has also served in international public
institutions such as the Executive Board of International
Organization for Standardization or ISO, for which he was
later elected and served as its President for one term.
In the private sector, he has 22 years of experience
leading 10 public listed companies in four countries. In
2000, he was appointed as the founding President & CEO
of CapitaLand Group, a public listed real estate company,
which under his watch, has become the largest real
estate group (by market capitalization) in South East Asia,
operating in over 20 countries with more than 12,000
staff.
He currently chairs the Changi Airport Group and Surbana
Jurong Pte. Ltd. Currently he also sits on the boards
of Singapore Exchange, CapitaLand Hope Foundation
(the philanthropic arm of CapitaLand), NUS Business
School, Human Capital Leadership Institute, Chinese
Development Assistance Council and the Singapore
China Foundation.
In 2013, Mr Liew was appointed as Provost Chair and
Professor (Practice) in NUS Business School and the
Faculty of Engineering.
Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in welcoming
Professor Liew Mun Leong, to the rostrum.
Message for CE Club.indd 2
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US Pro-Chancellor, Mr Poad Mattar, Distinguished

Guests, Graduates, Ladies and Gentlemen. Good
afternoon.
I feel immensely honored to speak to you today in what must

be one of the proudest moment of your life. I fully understand
your euphoria at this moment. 45 years ago, in 1970, I too
proudly walked down this academic aisle to receive my
Bachelor of Engineering degree from this same university. We
were then proud as pioneer graduates to receive the first batch
of engineering degree from the then University of Singapore.
I remember the convocation was held at the National Theatre
at River Valley Road. It was one of Singapores most prominent
public buildings, with a futuristic cantilever roof structured
over an open air building. Regrettably it has been demolished.
Although such an iconic building which had a special meaning
to us was demolished, our education will remain with us and
can never be destroyed.
Speech at NUS
Commencement 2015
for the presentation
of the class of 2015

NUS Graduate School
for Integrative
Sciences and
Engineering, Faculty
of Engineering
on Thursday 9 July
2015 at The University

Cultural Centre
by Professor
Liew Mun Leong
Our civil engineering course back then was a rigorous four year
journey. Only 7 out of 27 students in the cohort graduated.
The first Dean of Engineering Faculty, Professor Ansley told
us that Dr Toh Chin Chye, the Vice Chancellor then, wanted
him to ensure that the first batch of engineering graduates
must be of the highest quality and standards. He cautioned us
that high casualty rates would be inevitable.
Why did I choose to pursue an engineering degree, which at
that time, was known to be a tough course? The motivation was
my late father. He migrated from China out of abject poverty
and worked as a fitter, a lathe machine turner, at a shipyard
at Tanjong Rhu. It was hard labor for his whole life. When I
was young, he confided in me that his humble aspiration was
that I would eventually get a job as a clerk, working seated
under an electric ceiling fan instead of being a manual worker,
like him. His supervisor was a foreman and their big boss
was an English engineer whom they fondly nicknamed tua
kau meaning, big dog. The engineer was a highly respected
manager, upon whom my fathers job solely depended on.
That very high respect for the engineering profession stirred
up my childhood fantasy to do better than just working under
an electric fan. I aspired to go beyond my fathers dream. I
wanted to be an engineer.
As Singapore in the mid 60s was going through rapid
industrialization, I figured that the employment prospects for
an engineering graduate should be better than others. Has it
turned out to be a right decision? The answer is a humble yes,
as my career progression 45 years after graduation would bear
testimony to. Let me give you a quick snapshot of my career.
I first got a job as a development engineer with a company
called National Iron & Steel Mills with a then attractive
monthly salary of $850. But I was soon called up for
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National Service, and my income plunged from $850

to a meagre $90 per month. Fortunately I was soon
recruited as a civil engineer and posted to the Ministry
of Defence. My job - and I was the first and only civil
engineer in Mindef - was to help build up and maintain
all military camps and infrastructures for the SAF.
Frankly, there was no interesting engineering works and
I didnt exactly love my job. But I persevered and after
three years I got myself posted to the Airport Division
of Public Works Department, known as PWD, to gain
some hard engineering experience.
In 1974, I was involved in the expansion of the existing
Paya Lebar Airport and, one year later, the development
of Changi Airport. I was the engineer supervising the
construction of first runway and taxiway system and
later, was appointed as Chief Airport Project Manager to
lead in the second phase of Changi Airport development
and Terminal 2 construction. Concurrently I was also
appointed the Registrar of the Professional Engineers
Board, licensing and managing the Code of Conduct of
Professional Engineers.
After some 15 years in airport engineering, I was
appointed as a CEO to run a statutory board, formerly
known as Singapore Institute of Standards and
Industrial Research (SISIR). We set and promulgated
Singapores national standards and conduct industrial
research and development projects for manufacturing
companies. That summarises my first career with 22
years in the public service.
In 1992, I was recruited to lead a public listed specialist
engineering group. The company was a gold mine of
specialist engineers but it was under performing. My
job was to turn the company around. I did not have any
commercial experience but my engineering training
and background put me in good stead. As a trained
engineer, I understood the industry and was able to
successfully transform and turnaround the company
profitably within a few years.
In 1996, I managed a government owned property
company called Pidemco Land, which was formerly
part of URA. In 2000, we merged with DBS Land group
to form CapitaLand, which eventually grew to be the
largest listed property company in South East Asia. End
2012, at 67, I stepped down as the President and CEO
after leading the group for 16 years. These 20 years in
the private sector summarises the milestones of my
second career.
Currently, I chair Changi Airport and Surbana Jurong
Group, both of which are actively undertaking mega
development and engineering projects. I am now

back to my engineering domain knowledge again. As
Provosts Chair Professor (Practice) in the Engineering
Faculty and Business School I also do some forum
lecturing to engineering and business students on a
pro bono basis. It is very satisfying that I am going
back to help the engineering and business students in
this third stage of my career.
So what advice would I give to you, our freshly
minted graduates, to start you off your career? As
Steve Jobs said in his famous 2005 commencement
speech at Stanford University, I cannot connect the
dots forward for you. But I can connect my own dots
backwards and pick up some messages from my own
career experience to share with you. So here are the
dots for you to take away with:
(1) Build your Core Competence

The employment market in Singapore is wide open to
engineering graduates. Choose your first job to develop
your core competencies in order to build something
solid which you can develop a recognisable strong
foundation on. Dont think of immediate monetary
incentives. They will come your way later. In my case, I
wanted to be an engineer, I trained and qualified as an
engineer and worked professionally as an engineer to
build camps, infrastructure, airports, condominiums,
shopping malls, and hotels. The business community
subsequently recognised my worth and made me a
business leader in the real estate industry where my
engineering knowledge and management skills could
be put to advantageous use. So before becoming a
business CEO, I was first and foremost a practising
professional engineer. If not for my engineering
background I dare say the opportunities that
subsequently came to me would never to be realised.
(2) Focus on job performance, not quick

career climb
Be patient on your job. It is encouraging if you have big
ambitions, but take your time. Most of you will have 40
years or more in your working life. Unless, of course,
you plan to retire very early in your 40s, when you
should ordinarily still be peaking upwards. It would
be wasteful if you choose to stop work prematurely,
since so much human capital has been invested in
you. And believe me, you will be bored to death if
you let up too early in life. There is no need to rush
to peak in career climb. Life is not about rushing to
your final destination and then do nothing. It is
the journey that matters. Take your time, enjoy
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your work and career journey. I have witnessed many

talented people peaking up very early in their life and
sadly falling off just as soon.
There will be many things to learn in your first job. It
is an apprentice stage. You need to stay focused, learn
and perfect your skills always striving to achieve good
job performances. By doing that, you are creating value
in yourself by becoming a competent and capable
professional. Build to invest in your own human capital
and it will help you build your future career. If you
spend your time dreaming or planning how to get the
next promotion or how to take short cut to become a
CEO or a millionaire, you will probably end up doing
just that, dreaming and planning or worst doing the
wrong things in life.
I have often told my colleagues that I had never
planned to become a CEO or aimed to become a young
millionaire. It just never crossed my mind. I was first a
CEO of a statutory board at 42 and later became a CEO
of a commercial company at 46. To some I would be
considered a late developer but then after 20 years, I
am still valued by others as worthy of my salt.
(3) Stay Disciplined

Develop a strong discipline in whatever you do. I
believe you cannot do anything great or achieve much
in life if you dont have strong personal discipline. By
virtue that you are graduating today, you must have
learned to be disciplined in your few years study. You
need to adopt the same discipline to achieve your
success in your career. I have not come across a CEO
who has no personal discipline. At my age, I still get
up at 6 every morning for my daily 5 to 6 km jog to
keep myself fit and healthy. I also keep the discipline
of reading the two local and three international papers
every morning before going to office to keep myself
abreast about what is happening around me. It is just
sheer discipline that I developed over the years. When
I job interviewed young people, I find that not many
do their regular exercise and they dont read enough.
Many confess they dont even read the local papers. No
time, no interest or just no discipline.
Having discipline in your personal conduct will prepare
you for the discipline you need in the work place.
Discipline in the work place includes being punctual,
completing your work within deadlines, observing
protocols and mannerism at meetings, observing
dress codes, and so forth. If you lack discipline in
your conduct, you will not earn the respect and trust
of your colleagues, your bosses, customers and other
stakeholders. Only when you conduct yourself with

discipline, then can you impose discipline on others,
which you will need to master if you wish to become a
leader in future.
(4) Adopt and stick to your core values

Adopt and be steadfast with a set of good core values
in your career. Good core values can serve as a moral
compass when you have to make decisions in your job.
It is your DNA. When you become more senior in your
job, you will have learn to exercise discretion in lots
of important decisions, sometimes in circumstances
which are not clearly black or white. Your core values
should guide you in your judgments and decisions.
You will at least know, what are the absolute No, Nos.
There are some universal core values that cannot go
wrong. To me, high integrity must be a core value
for all of us. I have seen many bright talents broken
down in their career and life once they compromise
their integrity. Never, never touch money which is
not yours. It is a slippery road once you make the first
mistake. Corruption will destroy your life no matter
how capable you are.
I remember very clearly what my boss Mr Sim Kee
Boon the Head of Civil Service once told me, We
can accept genuine mistake. But if you put one dollar
which is not yours in your pocket, we will go after
you. Philip Yeo, another Permanent Secretary, once
wrote, It is better be poor but proud. How simple
but wise. Over the years I have come across several
bright talents, including very capable engineers, being
prosecuted for corruption. They have spent time,
the best years of their lives, in jail.
(5) Build your character, not just your

resume
After earning a good degree and having a successful
career, how will others judge your virtues? A
philosophical journalist David Brooks wrote about
resume virtues in his recent book The Road to
Character. He suggests, you will finally be judged
by other people not only on your abilities, which
contribute to external life or success, but also by the
worth of your character. He calls it eulogy virtues.
Described as the core of your being it will ultimately
define your inner life. I think your education will not
have achieved its purpose if you fail to consciously
build up both your resume virtues and eulogy virtues.
I recommend you to read David Brookss book
The Road to Character. It may change how you
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prepare your next journey and how you should conduct

yourself in life.
(6) Your Working Mindset

I have often been asked what are the keys to my career
success. There are 5Ps which are the tenets of my
working mindset:
(a) First P is Paranoid which is the English word for two
very Singaporean character traits called Kiasu and
Kiasi. As a civil engineer we are trained to handle all
sorts of eventualities and unexpected forces, be it, for
example, the one in a hundred years storm for flood
planning or the unforeseen devastating tsunami. Being
Paranoid forced me to plan ahead to deal with even the
most remotely possible adversity. It forces me also to
foresee unexpected but large impactful events which
economists call Black Swans. Being paranoid has
naturally forced me to prepare for any eventualities, for
example, in engineering design and in volatility of the
business world. The consequence of not doing so may
be regretful and unforgiving. There is nothing wrong or
shameful about being paranoid.
(b) Second P is Perseverance. You must persevere on
your job or your mission and cannot let up too easily.
Successful achievements take time and sustainable
efforts. I recall being patient in my first job, which was,
I must admit, very boring. I didnt really like doing a
maintenance job in Mindef, but I persevered, learned
from it, and got promoted and progressed forward. On
hindsight, I did learn something from persevering on
first few years doing a maintenance job.
(c) Third P is Perfectionism. You cannot do anything
great if you do not aim for perfection. To me, being a
perfectionist does not necessarily mean you will get
complete perfection. It means striving to get the best
results given the set of circumstances you have to deal
with. The question for a perfectionist is, to always ask
whether his work be improved and or can he get even
a better outcome? Sloppiness and carelessness have no
place for great achievements. As a civil engineer we need
to be a perfectionist because mistakes can be fatal. As a
CEO, I need to set high standards of performance and
insist on delivery of high quality products and services.
It is not about being fussy, but taking pride in what we
do and represent.
(d) Fourth P is Passion. If you dont have passion for
what you do, dont do it. Quit and do something else.
If you dont have passion you will not be a perfectionist
and you cant persevere. Changi Airport will not be
the best airport in the world (awarded more than 400

times as such) if my colleagues at the airport are not
passionate about what they do at the airport.
(e) Fifth P is Pragmatism. Its good to have ideals
but you have to be pragmatic. Pragmatism is about
finding practical solutions to problems without blind
adherence to doctrines, mantra or ideology, and yet
be uncompromising on your values system. Both our
founding Prime Minister, Mr Lee Kuan Yew and our
current Prime Minister, Mr Lee Hsien Loong, have
spoken about the need for pragmatism for Singapore
to survive. As an engineer and a business person we
would have to be pragmatic about our solutions to
problems and yet stay steadfast to our core values.
This is my career story, and I strongly believe it can be
yours too. Whatever I have managed to achieve thus far
can be attributed to the opportunities that Singapore
offered to me particularly during the early years of
nation building, to the best engineering education this
university had given me, to the many mentors in my
career, my own 5Ps mindset, and subconsciously, my
determination to do my parents proud. Opportunities
came for me when Changi Airport had to be built. It came
when a public listed engineering specialist company
needed an experienced engineer to be its CEO, and it
came when a property company was looking for a CEO
familiar with property development business. I was
ready when opportunities came knocking on my door.
The big question for you is whether you have prepared
yourself to be ready when opportunities come your way.
As graduates of the 21st century, you are going to face
different opportunities and challenges than those
of us who finished school in the last century. As you
proudly graduated today, you too have received a good
engineering education from this university. Now it is
for you to make full use of the good start and promising
future in front of you. Do your part in contributing
to society by excelling in what you set out to do, and
directly or indirectly, you will serve your country well.
Finally, my heartiest congratulations to all of you
on your graduation today. It is indeed a very happy
occasion and you should celebrate! I wish you the
best in all your future endeavors as you embark on
your career. YOU are the future of Singapore. Go
on to engineer well your future and make NUS,
Singapore your family and loved ones proud of you!
Thank you!
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Safety and
Health Day 2015
n annual event organised by CE

Club, the Safety and Health Day
last year was held on the 19th of
September. Traditionally, the
Safety and Health Day was held to promote
safe practices, and usually comprised
games and safety demonstrations. As an
added twist this year, the CE club organised
a Laser Tag competition, inviting teams to
sign up and battle against one another, all
while practising safety.
Laser Tag for SHD.indd 1
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CESE
Camp
am very honoured to be heading CEEs inaugural combined camp - CESE Camp 15. This was a very important
step because I strongly believe that course camp is the chance to meet friends who you will keep and work with
for the next 4 years. It was very heartening to see that both Civil and Environmental seniors cooperated well with
one another and most importantly, everyone had fun and left the camp with memories and lasting friendships.
We finally felt like a big CEE family!
With the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and Family Matters as our main sponsors, we were able to incorporate
more varieties to our activities like bringing in external vendors for Laser Tag and adding a jumping fun experience
in Trampoline Park.
CESE Camp 15 would not have been successful without the support and guidance of many people in the CEE family.
I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to firstly, the CEE staffs Mdm Sarimah and Jason for their readiness from
helping the camp to book our venues to sending email blasts to all seniors and freshies. Secondly, we would like to
thank Prof Phoon for gracing our event and his endless support. Thirdly, we are also grateful to Prof Justin and Prof
Chew for their guidance throughout our planning stage and for their moral support during the camp. Next, I would
like to thank the ESE Project Director and Vice Project Director, Jonathan Tay and Teng Yong Chen, for agreeing to
combine camp and for their excellent partnership throughout these 8 months of planning. In addition, I would like to
show my appreciation to all my camp committee, house heads, OGLs and councillors for their help during the camp
and for making the camp an enjoyable for the freshies. Finally, to my Vice Project Director, Han Zhengguang, for
always being there for me and hyping the people up with his immense energy. It has been a good learning experience.
Tan Teng Fong Rebecca
Orientation Project Director
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Site Visit to C937 Fort

Canning Station (formerly
River Valley Station)
Written by: Cuthbert Yeo 24 Aug 2014
Type of soil profile encountered (CE2112)
t was only week 2 of our first semester so there

were no tutorials yet J The sign-ups for this site visit
announced on our NUS Civil Engine club facebook
page garnered nearly 520 seen and there was about 60
odd students oversubscribed. Tak Kin and I only managed
to bring 45 students in total together with Geotechnical
Professor Dr Darren Chian!
We first went over to LTA Hampshire office at Little India
to collect our PPE (Personal protection equipment)
and then proceed to site. A second bus was also catered
at later time at 2pm for year 1 students whom had
CE2409 Lab sessions that would join straight at site.
Upon arrival at C937 site, we were warmly welcomed by
senior project engineer Mr Esen Sze. He was in charge
of the Tunnel Team. He then gave a short introduction
of his other team mates to us whilst the second bus
arrival. When everyone was present in the huge board
room, Mr Jin Teck then started the presentation. The
overall presentation covered mainly on type of soil profile
encountered along Fort Canning Hill; construction
methods employed - traffic diversion and Singapore
river diversion; the use of Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM)
and how it works; Challenges faced due to existing
surrounding monuments or debris found underground;
solutions and preventions methods employed so as to
maximize the effectiveness of TBM.
The soil profile along Fort Canning were mainly Jurong

formation. There exist huge boulders with stiff clay
matrix. Old ground anchors were also identified and
remove prior to boring from TBM as they can impede and
most likely damage the TBM cutter head. The soil under
60m tall Fort Canning hill were Fort Canning Boulder
Bed (FCBB) and requires a slower rotation of cutting
head (1.2 revs/min) to prevent fast wear and tear. In some
instances, the overburden pressure is not enough for TBM
then manual labour of removing soil would have to be
employed. Other problems beneath include debri like old
ground anchors as well as not affecting the operational
Circle (CCL), Red (NSL) and Purple (NEL) lines whilst
boring underneath them. The clearance margins were as
low as only 1 metre beneath existing operational lines!
Construction methods employed (CE2112

and MA1506)
According to Mr Jin Teck, once site is granted, first priority
was to set up the admin site office container buildings and
start building of the 2 shaft ends before the arrival of the
TBM cutter head and rings. Once they arrived, boring
starts immediately. Subsequently, diaphragm walls (D
walls) and trenches would then be built also. The use
of bentonite slurry also helps hasten curing process in
D walls panels? (Or stronger???) LTA strongly prefers a
top down construction methods for their site office and
station. Reason being that the roofs provide a stable and
rigid structure that prevents deflection.Traffic diversion
along river valley road was used to make way for TBM
head to bore. Double rail tracks on both to and fro sides
were designed to push away crippled (non-functional)
trains so that existing functional trains can still operate
on the main track for commuters to ride.
Some of the challenges faced along East tunnel include
avoiding the Starhub cables and gas pipes. Consultation
with relevant authorities such as PUB is required before
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Site Visit to C937 Fort Canning Station (formerly River Valley Station)
any boring begins. Of particular importance is when
boring beneath national monuments such National
Museum. The National Museum is build artistically
of glass faade; hence the need for a vibrational meter
to monitor and ensure vibrations from TBM does not
cause resonance which may eventually break the glasses
if it ever matches the natural frequency of the National
Museum building.
Professional divers works in buddy system. They were also

deployed to perform drilling holes and looping of cutting
wires. No diving is allowed during or just after CAT 1 Rain
for safety reasons.
Challenges faced across West Tunnel includes diversion

of Singapore River for cut and cover to proceed; removal
of obstruction like debri left behind by past construction
activities which left behind old ground anchors, king posts
and sheet piles which would impede the effectiveness of
TBM; ground improvement made prior to boring and
undercrossing of the Singapore river itself. The diversion
of Singapore River per se required the use of precast earth
retaining walls before allowing river water to be diverted
from original to temporary canal route.
The use of Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM)

and how it works (CE2112)
Cofferdams were then installed on the original river

route. Before an internal pump sump is used to drain
out the water from the cofferdam to the temporary canal
route, professional divers were hired to ensure no leaks
were present when the soldier piles were installed. If
leaks were detected, divers would have to use the epoxy
resin provided to seal the gap between the soldier piles
so that pump sump could effectively keep the area within
cofferdam dry for workers to begin their cut and cover
operations. This method was similarly employed prior to
piling for base of
the Avalon night
club in Marina
Bay Sands.
It is important to divert the river because boats along

Singapore river must still be operational for tourism
purposes.
The790m long East tunnel along C937 and C936 is

approximately 6m in diameters that runs 45m in depth
(around 10floors down). When facing tough FCBB, the
cutterhead rotation would be slowed down to 1.2 revs/
min. It is of key importance to ensure that excavation
volume remains constant in the mud skips. (I thought
count by mass of soil not volume???? Dont count air voids
what? cause all saturated mud ah?) At the cutter face,
compressed air of around 2 bars (20m below sea level) is
maintained to ensure pressure at cutter surface is able to
hold the soil in its place. This is to prevent sudden collapse
of soil if water ingress occurs such as the movement of
groundwater table when equilibration occurs. A backup
gantry (90m long) is also present within the TBM in the
event the main motors fail, the backup generator would
then be activated to not hinder the construction progress.
In general, to increase the pressure at surface, we
increase the revolution of the cutter head or slow
down the rate of conveyor belt. The vice
versa is true.
After boring is done, hydraulic jacks from
erector would be used to install the rings
in 6 sections. Primary backfill will then be
done with grouting. Curing would be as
fast as 10 seconds to temporarily hold these
rings in place. As there is still a marginal gap
between the shaft ends and the installed rings,
secondary grouting would then be used to
reinforce the structural stability of rings. The
animated videos presented by LTA on how the
TBM operates should be included in CE2112 lecture notes.
All in all, the students we brought, especially the year 1s,
were very impressed and excited about what they saw
over at LTA C937 site. The NUS Civil engineering club,
together with Dr Darren Chian, is very grateful for the
kind hospitality and experience we shared with LTA
senior project engineer Mr Sze and Mr Jin Teck as well as
the rest of engineers and safety officers that evening.
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Site Visit to JTC Jurong Rock

Caverns @ Jurong Island
photo@ceclub.sg
Written by: Cuthbert Yeo 17 Jan 2015, Edited by Toh Yi Shan
ow likely is it within a lifetime you can step into

a 27m by 20 m space excavated from hard rocks?
What are your odds of being in it just before
black gooey liquid hydrocarbon take your place? Just how
often do you get to be at 152m below ground level, 4 times
deeper than the deepest MRT line?
If you allow me to count, perhaps the chance is about one
in ten thousand--just like striking a 4D lottery.
On 16 January, Friday (that was AY14/15 Semester 2 Week
1, before tutorials officially started), JTC Corporation
invited 20 shortlisted Civil Engineering students (selected
based on their written statements) on a privileged journey
to Jurong Island to witness the recent magnum opus
of Singapores local civil engineering scene: the Jurong
Rock Caverns (JRC). Conceptualised in 2001, starting
its massive construction from 2006 and involving about
1,700 workers up to date, the JRC was officially opened
in September 2014 by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
As Singapores first underground commercial storage
facility for liquid hydrocarbons, the JRC is designed to
support and complement the operations of more than
100 petrochemical and manufacturing companies within
Jurong Island, providing a secure supply of feedstock.
Built at a depth of 138 metres beneath the seabed of
Banyan Basin of Jurong Island, JRC frees up 60ha of the
islands surface to increase land utility. As the regions
petrochemical hub, Jurong Islands status will be
redefined, given the potential and exciting opportunities
JRC bring forth. With the engineering and economical
significance that the JRC shoulders, no doubt many of us
cant wait for the exclusive preview. Deep down, we know
this site visit will be one of a kind.
Upon arrival, we were warmly welcomed by JTCs
Deputy Director Ms Lim Ai Ting and Senior Manager
Ms Sharon Yuen from the Human Resource. Ms Lim
gave a comprehensive career talk about the boundless
opportunities in JTC (think future underground science
city, induction programme for new job entrants and land
reclamation!).
Following this, Senior Project Manager Ms Chong Pui

Hian introduced us to the technicalities of constructing
the five rock caverns and the engineering principles
(groundwater hydraulics pressure) that retain the liquid
hydrocarbons within in the caverns. You may be thinking,
Why build it under the Banyan Basin, instead of simply
drilling a hole in the dry ground?. As Ms Chong explained,
pre-feasibility studies were conducted to determine the
suitability of the rocks as well as the geology of rock stratas
using seismic lines. Under numerous site investigations,
JTC collected rock and site selections. As Jurong Island
was reclaimed from an amalgamation of seven Southern
Islands, the rocks beneath the Banyan Basin proved to
be more studious and reliable for excavation and storing
liquid hydrocarbons. Moreover, the Banyan Basin allows
oil tankers to access the caverns to deposit and retrieve
the hydrocarbon efficiently.
So the rocks beneath the Banyan Basin are suitable. How
can we reach 138m below all that water to excavate the
rocks? The general idea is to utilise vertical boreholes
until a certain depth and proceed with horizontal drilling
through the rocks underneath the Bayan Basin. Ms
Chong explained that the vertical drilling took place on
the land behind the Basin. First, diaphragm walls were
inserted into the ground to stabilise the soil and provide
excavation support. With the excavating machines
digging within the diaphragm walls, ring beams are
mounted in the interior until a certain depth is reached.
From there onwards, sprayed concrete lining with steel
fiber reinforcement is used for the interior of the vertical
tunnel. Reaching 152m below ground level, the vertical
borehole will take a horizontal turn to create tunnels,
then the caverns subsequently. Beneath the Banyan Basin,
drill-and-blast tunnel cycle was employed to excavate
the rocks for creating the caverns. Transport-lifts (T-lifts
for short) were used to transport huge machineries,
materials into and also out of the vertical hole. Once
the excavation works are complete and the rubbles were
removed (more than 1.47million cubic metres), the walls
of the caverns were shotcreted. After performing rock
mapping for the caverns, rock bolts were used to reinforce
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Site Visit to JTC Jurong Rock Caverns @ Jurong Island

rocks. Furthermore, to reduce water penetration into the
caverns, since sedimentary rocks are crack-prone, grout is
injected into rock stratas surrounding the cavern to form
grout curtains.
By this time of the talk, we couldnt wait to see the civil
engineering works weve learnt for ourselves; but not if we
werent briefed for our safety by Senior Project Manager
Mr. Melvin Ng! At the point of our visit, two out of the 5
caverns were ready for operations and we were to visit one
of the two, which was not filled with liquid hydrocarbon.
As works were still ongoing, Mr Ng reminded us to stick
together as much as possible in case we got lost! Yes the
cavern is that big!
Soon after we file out of the briefing room into the
changing rooms, we were so delighted to find the lockers
containing our safety gears to have our names on them!
Evidently, the JTC staff have put in a considerable amount
of effort in ensuring that our site visit was fuss-free and
full of surprises! When everyone was dressed in grey
safety suits, white helmets and Phua-Chu-Kang boots, we
set off for JRC by the Banyan Basin, imagining how the
rock cavern will actually be like based on Ms Chongs and
Mr Ngs descriptions.
However, upon arriving the site entrance, we realised that
we were still a long way to the actual cavern! I must say good
things are definitely worth the wait :) Instead of taking
the T-lift (which was occupied by lorries), together with
Ms Chong and Ms Lim, we travelled down the access shaft
by the man-lift, which was operated by a really friendly
worker. I cant remember how long we were in man-lift,
but as we peered out of the perforated steel sheets, the
landscape gradually changed from uniform ring beams
to the organic SFR concrete lining; from glaringly hot
sunlight to warm natural light to cold fluorescence white
flood lights. The change in environment and mood was
so imperceptible and comfortable in the lift. It was only
when the man-lift hit bottom and we spilled out onto the
tunnel where dark spaces were so starkly contrasted by
white artificial luminescence, that we realised the last
time we enjoyed the suns warmth was perhaps a good
15 minutes ago. While acclimatizing to the change in
visual landscape (think: long tunnels, regularly spaced
fluorescent tubes, rocks, water dripping from the top, by
the sides), we climbed onto a yellow sheltered trunk
of a large lorry. This trunk is certainly a curious one, for
at the middle of the shelter is a sturdy yellow horizontal
pole that is meant as a hand-grab. Given the two wooden
benches against the trucks railings, I cant help but
imagine the trunk as a filled MRT carriage should there
be 50 workers onboard. On the bumpy road to the cavern,

as Ms Chong explained the aeration pipes, megafans and
more JRC trivias, I cant help but look back at the trail
the lorry treaded, trying to remember the sunny up-there
that we left behind, to no avail. This time, the lorry passed
by team of workers drilling fallen rocks. They looked up
and I caught one workers gaze, wondering when was
the last time he was bathed by sunlight; wondering if he
misses it dearly.
Eventually, where the road was no longer littered with
small rocks, the lorry sped towards the rock cavern; light
trails wheeze past our eyes when Ms Chong ended her
introduction . Before we could recover all that sight, the
lorry hailed to a stop: the rock cavern was finally within
walking distance! To access the cavern, we have to walk
down a ramp that was nearly as tall as the caverns crown
(or ceiling). It was only at the bottom of the ramp did
we feel the caverns enormity and magnificence: we have
to arch our necks back to see the crown 6 storeys up and
take a few moments to mentally estimate how many
apartments can the caverns width fit (about 3!). It was not
long after Ms Chongs rehash of her cavern introduction,
the entourage dispersed into different corners of the
cavern to explore. That was the first time we could look
at the shotcrete, rock bolts and the sedimentary rocks up
close! Seeing them in real-life and proximity really helped
concretise our learning on paper (pun unintended). Soon
enough, Ms Chong was surrounded by students with
burning questions: why got water leak into the cavern
and create so many puddles? There are some cracks
that cannot be helped. Whats gonna happen when the
cavern is filled with crude oil? No one will have access to
it; we will extract out all the oxygen from the cavern and
pump in inert gas to eliminate the possibility of fire. How
does the water curtain keep the oil within the cavern?
Water curtains provide hydrostatic pressure, which is
higher than the pressure inside the cavern, so the oil
will not flow out due to pressure difference. Et cetera, et
cetera Once the technical curiosity was quenched, we
just glided through huge water puddles therapeutically
towards the end of the cavern (about 300m in length) for
the remaining time, enjoying the stillness of the rocks
juxtaposed with the dissipating ripples we had roused;
perhaps imagining what its like to be in the space that
would soon be filled with oil or perhaps not.
After a couple of group shots, we traced our paths back to
the lorry, which would bring us towards the light at the
end of the tunnel, where the man-lift will transit us to
sunlight. Funny how we miss the brightly lit dark space
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Site Visit to JTC Jurong Rock Caverns @ Jurong Island

when we were leaving for the sun, just like how we missed
the warm when we embraced the underground.
On the bus back to JTCs site office, we were all exhausted
and dusty but in the air hangs a sense of satisfaction. Ms
Chong quickly debriefed us before we changed out of
our safety gear quite reluctantly. Lastly, the site visit was
concluded with tea reception and a fruitful networking
session with Deputy Director Ms Lim Ai Ting and Senior
Manager Ms Sharon Yuen, albeit our sweet exhaustion
from venturing the treasure cave.
If you were to ask us again, what are the odds of being
152m below ground level in JRC as a civil engineering
student? We would say: more golden than striking 4D.
More golden.
Ms Sarimah Bte Mustafa and the CEE Department, not

forgetting the cooperation and enthusiasm from our
participating students!
Students feedback:
It was a rare chance for me to go underground all the
way to the cavern because once it operates, no one else
gets to visit. The cavern is huge! I didnt feel constrained
or claustrophobic at all. Compared to MRT tunnel
construction, this excavation work is much larger in
scale. So it was a totally different feeling. And we get
to learn about their different engineering techniques,
hence it contextualised my learning in school.
- Yang Xiqing Lenis
For the kind hospitality we received and this privileged

underground experience, the NUS Civil Engineering
Club will like to provide our sincerest thanks towards HR
Deputy Director Ms. Lim Ai Ting and Senior Manager
Ms. Sharon Yuen for making all the necessary internal
arrangement, liaison efforts and beyond. To the Senior
Project Managers Mr. Melvin Ng and, especially Ms.
Chong Pui Chih for her patient and detailed guide to
JRC, we want to thank them for adding a comprehensive
technical outlook to this site visit. For the success of this
trip, the Club wants to credit all the workers, engineers
and safety officers who have dedicated their precious time
and effort to ensure that our experience was as carefree
and safe as it was eye-opening.
Benefits brought about with JRC
We are eternally grateful to ComfortDelgro for

accommodating our transport requests, and our
thoughtful bus driver, without whom we would be unable
to travel to and within Jurong Island. Finally, this site
visit cannot do without the administrative support from
Hydrocarbon Storage Principle
By storing liquid hydrocarbons in JRC, Singapore would

be able to extract greater value from her land. Large tracts
of surface land would be freed up for higher value added
manufacturing projects on Jurong Island. JRC also helps
address demand for new storage capacity and attract
investments to Jurong Island with its extra 1.47million
cubic metres storage capacities. Furthermore, JRC also
helps lowers the risks relating to health and safety to
workers as well as the environment since import and
export of liquid hydrocarbon is fully automated. The JRC
provides a secure deposition for our hydrocarbon assets
since its stored underground.
The ability for the cavern to contain the liquid hydrocarbon

or crude oil is based on simple mechanisms we learnt from
CE2134 and CE2112. Firstly, the cavern has to be entirely
beneath the ground water table. Since the
density of oil is lesser than water (hence it
floats), hydrostatic pressure at the cavern
roof has to be greater than the product
storage pressure to prevent the product
from migrating. This is done with the help of
inert gases. Groundwater that seeps into the
cavern is removed by pumps and is treated
and disposed of, or recycled accordingly.
An important to note is that spare pumps
has to be stationed in the event of failure
of main pumps. Water curtains comprising
horizontal and vertical water-injected
boreholes are provided around the caverns
to enhance the hydrostatic pressure.
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Site Visit to Sembawang Shipyard
ome CE students went on a site visit to Sembawang

Shipyard on the 23rd of January, 2015. It was a really
informative and valuable site visit as it presented
us with the opportunity to witness operations that are
unique to the maritime industry. We would like to take
this opportunity to represent the participants as well as
the CE Club to thank Andrew, Wei Kean and their team for
taking the time off from their busy schedule to organise
this site visit. It was a pleasure and we hope there would
be more opportunities to work with them in the future.
Site Visit to
New Cairnhill Serviced Residences
organised by Woh Hup Private Limited
he site visit was held on 29 August 2014 at New

Cairnhill Serviced Residences by Woh Hup and
we learnt a lot about pre-tensioned (PT) beams.
This is similar to how the muscle fibres in our body
gained strength when it is resorted to stretching (huge
pre-tensioning) before actual load is placed. This is
particularly useful for long spans.
We also learnt about increasing site productivity with the
use of table forms that werent dismantled and repeatedly
used from levels to levels. Jump forms were used with
hydraulic jacks. Metallic formwork was employed in
huge columns to ensure consistencies in quality of
workmanship.
Real life site accidents were also briefed to us. The

engineers at Woh Hup reminded us on the importance
to be good and caring engineers that ensures safety and
welfare for their workers.
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Operation Orion
2014
Written by Wong Jian Wen

Operation Orion Project Director 2014
e embarked on our 14th excursion to a quaint

village of Manle. Man Le (), located
in southwestern China, is a small village
comprising of an estimated 100 villagers. The village is
located in the small town of Jia Sa in Xinping County,
Yunnan Province.
Traditional Customs
Manle Village is home to a small ethnic group of HuaYao
Dai. Teeth dyeing and tattooing are the ethnic Dais most
ancient customs, having been recorded in a variety of
historical literatures as their typical features. Dyeing
teeth black is popular practice among the Huayao Dai
women. A minced mixture of a type of wild grass called
smelly cine berry and niter is placed on palm leaves. The
usual practice involves coating the mixture on the front
teeth before going to bed. The effects can usually be
observed in a couple of days with the front of their teeth
turned black. This is followed by a finishing process using
wood tar for the teeth to be shiny a token of the Huayao
Dai womens beauty. Teeth dyeing also serve as a means to
prevent tooth decay.
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Operation Orion
2014
We are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we
are divided. Our construction of both the toilets and the
solar panel lights would not be made possible without
the help of the villagers. Without the ease of machinery
support, we had to rely on teamwork. With the help of the
villagers, we would form a long human chain vehemently
transferred materials from one person to the other. There
was a sense of accomplishment as the structure rose
steadily, brick by brick.
Living in the village taught us a valuable lesson of
contentedness. Finding contentment with the stuff they
have and being together with their love ones was far more
important than wealth. They treated us like family, forged
on broken Mandarin and a number of times Google
translate.
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Operation Orion
2014
I would like to thank Lee Foundation for funding us

on our project. This will not be possible without their
support and the belief in us. I would also like to thank
Asst. Professor Chew and Associate Professor Chin for
their guidance through this journey. Lastly I would also
like to thank CEE Department for the faith and support
for Operation Orion through these years.
WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT

OPERATION ORION?
Do like our facebook page

https://www.facebook.com/OperationOrionNUS
and check out our website at
http://operationorion.ceclub.sg/
for more information on our next operation
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Student Exchange Programme
SEP
A
S an NUS student, participating in the Student Exchange Programme (SEP) will allow you
to spend up to a year aboard in a prestigious university. You can enjoy living, studying
and learning in a new environment. You will be able to experience a new culture, have
the chance to make new friends and establish your network in a foreign country. For more
information on the SEP, please visit http://www.eng.nus.edu.sg/cee/programmes/ CEE-UGStudentExchangeProgramme.html
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Experience Abroad at
Seoul, Korea Hanyang

University International
Summer School
by Zhu Yueshuang (CVE3)
Summer School in South

Korea
This was not the first time I had travelled to South Korea,
but this was the first time I got to study in Seoul, the
capital city of South Korea. Although I cannot speak
Korean, I still selected Hanyang University
as part of my summer program.
Now, I have finished this
program and have since
gone back to Singapore, but I
still think and reminisce about
this summer holiday.
About HISS
Before
I
selected
Hanyang
International Summer School, I knew
that the summer program fee was costly.
However, Hanyang University touched
my heart by providing international
students with tuition subsidies. Im
thankful for this learning opportunity and
Im proud to be part of this big family. In
Hanyang International Summer School, I
took GEN6060 and ISS1041, which could be
mapped to HR2002 and EG2401 respectively in
NUS. Professors and teachers at HISS were not
just professional in their field but were friendly
and outgoing. They have different teaching methods
compared to those of professors in NUS. HISS not only
enriched our lives academically but also provided us with
many exciting field trips, such as Seoul City Tour, Mud
Festival and Nanta Show. From my personal experience,
these things are really worth to do.
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Seoul, Korea Hanyang University

International Summer School
Life in Seoul
During weekends, my friends and I
travelled around the city. It is believed
that Seoul is not only a shopping paradise
but also recreation center. Lotte World
and Everland are places I mostly want
to recommend. Lotte World is a major
recreation complex in Seoul. It is made
up of two main sections, the outdoor
amusement park Magic Island, and the
indoor Adventure. It was worth spending
the whole day enjoying performances
and recreational facilities in the Lotte
World. Everland is South Koreas largest
theme park with a zoo and water park,
located in Yongin. Actually, I preferred
Everland as I really like one of the roller
coasters, called T Express. T Express is
South Koreas highest, fastest, longest
and steepest roller coaster; and it has the
worlds steepest wooden coaster record
in 2009. It was really worthwhile to
experience it. Besides these amusement
parks, Dragon Hill Spa is another
worthwhile place in Seoul. In Dragon Hill
Spa, my friends and I were able to enjoy
plenty of relaxation facilities, including
traditional hard charcoal sauna and
multiple sweating bathrooms with the
scent of black oak, outdoor bath, salt
room, swimming pool and gym. We were
amazed by this superior spa experience.
All in all, Dragon Hill Spa is a good place
for us to experience Koreas spa culture
history. In addition, N Seoul Tower is
also a good place to enjoy night view of
Seoul. Meanwhile, the Locks of Love
can be found at the Roof Terrace. All in
all, I had a really fun time and Im glad
that I went on this exchange, I highly
recommend Hanyang University as a
summer program.
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Seoul, Korea Hanyang

University International
Summer School
by Quek Xian Yun & Yao Chunjia (CVE3)
The MERS situation in Korea made

a number people withdraw from this
program but we were glad we had not!
Here at HISS, more than half of the
participants are from Singapore. We have
classes 4 days a week, school field trips such
as the Seoul City Tour and Boryeoung Mud
Festival would be scheduled on Fridays. The
workload of the modules depends on your
lecturer. For us, we could finish our work on the
day itself. During our free time, we explored Seoul,
fit a Jeju trip in one of the weekends, visited the
jjimjilbang, went shopping, cycling, and hunting
for good food (which is everywhereeeeeeee).
The mud festival was really an eye opener. We really
loved the giant inflatable mud slide, where one slides
into a mud puddle, get splashed with mud at the end. It
was so crowded we had to wait for over an hour just to get
our face painted with coloured mud.
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Seoul, Korea Hanyang University

International Summer School
Trying the hanbok was one of the things on our checklist.
There are many places in seoul where one can try on the
hanbok. We went to the Insadong Tourist Information
Centre.
Part of the summer program perks is discounted theme
park tickets! We visited Lotte World and Everland with
friends that we made from the summer program! The
only downside it rains very often in July so be sure to
check the weekly weather forecast before deciding when
to visit the themeparks!
As much as we try to stick to plans, we still met
with unexpected situations such as having to
go to the hospital, going to the Subway police,
spending a night in the jjimjilbang. But oh
well, you will never know if you have never tried!
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the Technion Israel Institute

of Technology
by Nurhakim
Introduction
I am Nurhakim. I was enrolled to the Technion for a Semester as an Exchange Student
as part of my SEP. I was there from the 1st March till the 30th July 2015.
The table below is the list of modules I took while at the Technion.
Technion Modules
NUS Modules Mapped
014605 Industrialised Building
TE4, 4MC
097657- Organisation and Entrepreneurship
UEM4, 4MC
014123 Concrete Structure 1
CE3165 Structural Concrete, 4MC
014610 Building Construction Methods
CE5805 Construction Methods (TE4), 4MC
099760 Managerial Negotiation
UEM1, 2MC (EX1020)
Experience
When travelling to a new country, there is a sense
of trepidation and excitement. I imagine Israel to
be a purely middle-eastern country with deserts
and camels. However, to my surprise, Israel has a
diversity of environment from nature to desert.
There are even high mountains and the lowest
point in the whole world, the Dead Sea. The
picture to the left is Tel Aviv-Yafo
My experience is an enriching one. I was there
from the 1st of March till the 30th July. It was
for the Spring Semester. I did not know what
to expect from this journey but with any
new adventure, there is bound to be new
surprises. I had made new friends from
all over the world, China, Taiwan, Hong
Kong, Germany, Mexico, Florida, Los
Angeles, South Korea and etc.
Studying in the Technion was an insightful one. The school
culture is really informal. This is totally different from NUS. For example,
not everything is set in stone. Things can be negotiated. I had a class,
Construction Methods, where there was suppose to be an exam at the end of
the course but the students negotiated with the professor to have a project
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the Technion Israel Institute of Technology
instead as it would enhance their learning on the curriculum.

This was a culture shock for me as the student. Also, student
life is not all about studies. There are parties all thrughtout
the semester. There was a Students Day Party where there is
a big carnival in school where there were booth games, food
stalls, a huge concert and different types of discos. I went to
a silent disco where there is no music unless you put on head
phones. It was cool but weird. People were dancing but you
cant hear the music unless you put the head phones. To top
it all off, this happened in school. I guess the culture in Israel
is more liberal as compared to Asian culture.
Israel is a beautiful country. It is deeply rooted with history.
The Dome of the Rock or the Western Wall in Jerusalem
where it is religious place for muslims and Jews. Also, the
Sea of Gallilee where Jesus was said to walk on water. Also,
the Bahai Garden is located in Israel where it is an important
landmark for the Bahai faith. There are plenty of ancient
palaces and landmarks. Herodium, Herods places, Acre and
Caesarea are ancient cities where one can find remnance of
the past glory. That is not all, Israel is rich with biodiversity.
One could hike in the lush jungle and grasslands of the
Golan Heights and also go the barren desertscape of the
Negev desert. If there is a place I would like to visit again, it would definitely be the
Golan Heights and the Makhtesh Ramon.
Overall,I think what I would miss the most are my friends there. It was a blast to
work, study, play and travel with them.Truth be told, my journey in Israel was a very
fruitful one.
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Toronto, Canada University

of Toronto
by Koh Tongjie (2nd Semester, 2014-2015)
I was given the opportunity to be able to go on the Student

Exchange Program, and my university of choice was the
University of Toronto (UofT).
Academic
The curriculum in UofT is largely
similar to that of NUS. Most of the
civil engineering modules offered here
have a NUS equivalent, and thus I was
able to map my core modules over with
no problem at all. The school also uses an
online learning portal, which is similar to
our IVLE.
Taking notes is a very large part of UofTs
learning culture; it is a common sight to see
students bringing in their own notebooks to
lectures. Lectures are often taught using the
traditional chalkboard, and lecturers rarely
upload multimedia aids such as webcasts.
Personally, I found this chalk-and-talk style of
lectures to be more engaging. Having to take down
notes in class helps one to pay attention in class and
absorb better, as opposed to NUS lectures, where some
students do not pay as much attention in class as they
have printed notes to fall back on.
The learning culture and environment is largely similar
to NUS, in that there are both students who are genuinely
passionate in their learning, and students who are more
practical and only interested in doing well for tests and
examinations. Workload and difficulty of the tests and
examinations are roughly the same as well.
Cherry Blossoms in the school campus!
Do note that the engineering cohort consists mainly of Asian

undergraduates! If you are looking to have a more varied
demographic in your class, try to take some non-engineering
courses instead!
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Toronto, Canada University of Toronto

Food
On-campus Food Trucks
On-campus food is, sadly, quite limited in choice. The

cafeterias at libraries and the engineering block do
not offer a wide variety of stalls. There are food trucks
scattered along the main driveway of the campus, and
these are more popular among the students as they
offer a wider variety of food. There are microwave ovens
available at the school cafeterias, and these are good to
re-heat your food if you decide to bring your own packed
meals.
Off-campus food is much better. Toronto, or rather
Canada, is widely known for their Poutine, which is
basically French fries and cheese curds topped with light
brown gravy or sauce. Otherwise, there is a wide variety
of food in Toronto as it is one of the most multi-cultural
cities in the world, and one would have no problem
finding a style of cuisine to his or her liking.
Canadian Poutine!!
Culture
Ultimately, Toronto is similar to Singapore in
some aspects, so one would have minimal problems
adjusting. Their culture, however, is vastly different.
Canadians have been reported to be
among the nicest people in the world, and
you really need to experience it to believe
it. Their hospitality and gracefulness is
definitely a defining feature of my SEP
experience. As I went during semester 2,
I got to experience the famous Canadian
Winter as well, as Canada has one of the
coldest winters in the world. There is also
no lack of winter activities there, such as
tobogganing, snow skiing, ice hockey, ice
fishing, etc.
The University of Toronto also provides
very good support for exchange students
as well, and there are many activities
and events that one can apply for, such
as a homestay at a Canadian family over
the weekend. However, do take note that
Toronto is an urban city, so one would
have to travel to other cities to experience
Canadas scenic attractions.
Snow Skiing
2015
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VIP
EG3602
or most of us, after completing 4 semesters of study, we may spend our May-July holidays
in an organisation working as an intern under EG3602 VIP. VIP is a 12-week internship
programme that upon successful completion, will grant the student 6MCs (UEM) which
will be graded on CS/CU basis. Additional benefits include a maximum of 3 days of annual leave
during the 12-week period, and a recommended allowance of $800-$1000 per month. Participants of VIP had claimed that it was a valuable working experience to them, and indeed prepared them for the real world in their near future. The VIP application exercise usually starts
in February. For more information on EG3602 VIP, please visitg http://www.eng.nus.edu.sg/
undergrad/epmc/vip
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Vacation Internship
Programme
Name: Angelina Lee
Organisation: Dragages Singapore Pte Ltd

VIP Period: 11th May 2015 to 31st July 2015
was glad to have an opportunity to intern at Dragages

during the three month vacation. It was an eye opening
experience and I have learnt a lot from it. I have learnt
that an engineer must be flexible. We need to be able to
adapt to changes in situations fast.
I was attached to a site engineer and my daily duties
involved shadowing my engineer for inspections with the
RTO. I have learnt more about the structural stuff during
these inspections. Through this internship, I realized the
importance of teamwork and coordination. There are
various parties involved in this entire project, from the
various departments internally such as the design team
and the production team to M&E team and externally with
the different subcontractors. The various stakeholders all
play a crucial role in the construction process. Everyone
is important and coordination is definitely needed so that
the project can proceed smoothly and as planned. Thus,

as an engineer, there is a need for good communication
skills apart from having technical knowledge.
Various new problems can occur and some of the
solutions to these problems cannot be obtained from the
textbooks. Years of experience do help greatly in such
situations. Therefore, engineers need to be flexible and
able to think on the spot.
All in all, I think the internship was a good learning
experience and I am thankful for the opportunity. It
enables me to put what I learnt in school and see it being
applied in the working environment. It is definitely an
interesting experience. I was able to see how each person
plays a crucial role in the project.
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Vacation Internship
Programme
Name: Cuthbert Yeo
Organisation: Land Transport Authority

Area of Specialisation: Geotechnical/Project Management
VIP Period: 18th May 2015 to 06th Aug 2015
Designation: Site Intern @ C923 Upper Changi Station
ersonally, I really felt the need to see for myself what

I have actually learnt so far from school that is applied in
reality, so I requested HR to place me at the site nearest
to my house. I was posted to C923 Upper Changi Station
of Downtown Line 3 Package C which would complete by
2017. Only Entrance A was Top-Down (with secant bored

piling) and the rest of the station box was constructed
Bottom-Up (with Dwall). This is a Design-Bid-Build
project.
C923 site surrounded by various stakeholders; sheltered walkway to be provided within 400m radius of station to
provide better connectivity for commuters to ride.
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The beginning weeks were rather daunting. I was
inundated with meetings (project safety, risk, design,
instrumentation audit, concrete casting plans, CD Door
inspections @ Yongnam factory, PDM, QPs audit, weekly
and bi-weekly progress meetings from main contractor
Samsung C&T) as well as policies that you have to pick up
and be aware of in 1 to 2 weeks time (mainly TR26, CP65,
CP4 Foundation, LTA Construction Safety Handbook,
LTA Materials and Workmanship (M&W) Specifications
book and Civil Design Criteria RevA1 as well as some
BCA Advisory) so that I could understand what was
exchanged on the meeting tables. They can be found
here:
https://www.lta.gov.sg/content/dam/ltaweb/
corp/Industry/files/Construction_Safety_Handbook.
pdf and: https://www.corenet.gov.sg/general/e-info/
codes-and-regulations.aspx After I was done, quickly
move on to method statements (so that deviations can
be spotted during PGI), design change reports
and GIBR for borelogs and preliminary damage
assessment reports by consultants. In my case,
these were done by MEINHARDT, Amberg and
instrumentation readings by TRITECH.
It is important to get the hang of how the drawings
are to be read based on sections or gridlines (in
my case 1xGL ~ 11.6m) as well as understand
their shorthand acronyms. I also had to make
the personal effort to break the ice and establish
good relationships with not only my colleagues
from your site office, but also those from the main
contractor and QPs teams. What I did was to
went round the Samsung C&T office and Parsons
Brinckerhoff office and introduced myself
personally and for staffs who werent around at
their tables, I left a POST-IT note leaving my name and
school so that I could get the required information I
needed later in my report. It is good to do all of this early
so it wouldnt be so awkward later.
I will now briefly elaborate as much as I can remember in
these 13 weeks based on topics:
Diaphragm Wall (Dwall) similar to CE3115

I was guided by HENO Hafiz on construction of Dwall.
The general sequence is to survey, mark, then hoard the
area perform trial trench whenever utilities or SPPG or
Singtel cables are there construct guide wall (control
alignment of box cutter) setup bentonite plant
(foundation has to be PE calc; pipes embedded must be
properly connected; concreting slurry to be fresh and

not reused; working slurry can be reused) mobilise
excavator then grab cutter then box cutter(increasing
depth for different reach of machine; bite sequence
shown below pic) KODEN machine to test vertical
profile of trench Stop ends with water stops placed
at corners of panels to be casted Rebar cage in
Concreting through surging( where concreting bentonite
slurry floats up as concrete is tremie in; with pipe at least
3m embedded to prevent re-entry of slurry; RFI first then
cast!) Stop ends are removed when concrete still green
leaving behind the water stop (hydrophilic water strips)
Any bulge would then be hacked. Major cracks or water
seepages would then be Polyurethane grouted depending
on the severity of the finishes. If honeycombs were found
in panels, they would be hacked, BRC and casted.
Utilities Gap and Diversion

I was guided by ENO Vasu on utility gaps. (See Instrumentation for settlement limits of utilities as an example)
The utilities were either supported by I-beams or concrete
haunching.
Most of the utilities were not diverted despite being in the
way of the designated construction area due to the high
cost of fines imposed for damages. The presence of the
utilities would impede the use of grab cutters or BAUER
box cutters in the construction of diaphragm wall. Hence,
the construction of diaphragm wall beneath these utilities
was constructed in stages as excavation progress. Based
on the soil condition, the utility gap excavation may vary
with different depth and with or without the use of BRC.
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Exposed soil surface at utility gap must be monitored for
water seepage or soil collapse. Lean concrete was used as
soil protection wall to protect the soil face from collapse.
At every section of the utility gap, hydrophilic strips and
re-groutable tubes would be installed along the perimeter
of the opening to manage the water seepage through
the construction joint. After the main reinforcement is
installed, formwork installation follows and gaps will be
casted with C40 concrete between existing Dwalls.
long horizontal struts. LTA requires reinforced concrete

strutting system for certain area in this project.
Hydraulic Jacks used to preload the horizontal struts
PUB, SP telecom and SPPG utilities clearly surveyed and

marked.
Strutting with Bottom-Up Approach similar to

CE5108/CE5112
Minimum of 2 Strain gauges attached on web of struts
Omission of S7 @Section F-F and G-G
I was guided by SPE Karthigesh on strutting systems used.

It was unusual to use 3xUB as struts for deep excavations
(usually 2xUB) until after 2005. This also meant greater
emphasis of settlement or deflection readings by
TRITECH and contractors. The lack of openings requires
the Sub contractor YONGNAM to lower all the struts in
pieces. These pieces of struts would then be preloaded
with hydraulic jacks, before assembling them on site
and installing them at required levels. For diagonal
struttings, shear ankles has to be placed between the
waler and concrete packing; this would also mean longer
time for hacking and removal as compared to 20.2m
This deep excavation requires 7 struts initially, which

contractors themselves later found the last unnecessary
and the final strut (S7) was omitted at Section F-F and
Section G-G. I made the attempt to do a similar soil
modelling with the help of FEM analysis tool PLAXIS.
The estimated excavation depth during construction is
approximately 28m below existing ground level.
BCA Advisory Note on ERSS: https://www.corenet.gov.

sg/einfo/Uploads/Circulars/CBCA090402.pdf
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Comparisons of design results from FEM programme,
actual strain gauge readings from TRITECH and ultimate
deflection limits imposed by BCA would then be compared
to see if they meet serviceability state requirements. BCA
also requires the analysis in the event of a one strut failure.
When all requirements are satisfied would then validate
the omission of S7 strut from initial design.
after backfilling. It is important for instruments to be

placed in sets (in the event one spoils; the next closest
reading would provide an equally realistic result) as well
as to monitor the drawdown of groundwater table for
excavations.
Instrumentation similar to CE4216
Relationships between supervisors and workers must be

good to ensure good exchange of information. Whatsapp
messenger is pretty much abused when reporting on site
conditions haha, so its important that you are in the group
chat. It is also important to learn the Chinese, Blangadashi
and Korean language (in my case of Korean engineers) when
communicating with the worker on progress of works.
I must say the work culture and perks given by LTA can
be pretty good! There is travel credit provided to full time
personals and welfare events like yoga, dragonboat and
even floorball for you to interact with the people from
other departments like the project, contracts or design
teams even!
C923 tunnel and station box is mainly situated in Old

Alluvium (OA). Hence, most report took only drained
analysis. EC7 requires both drained and undrained
analysis. Also, with the presence of important services
and live utilities, settlement is closely monitored with
settlement markers and optical prisms to ensure they
do not reach alert level or work suspension level. For
example, for C923 project, Singtel Submarine cable can
only settle no more than 5mm; 15mm or more settlement
would cause a SWO. Monitoring frequency is arranged
prior to and during excavation as well as during and
Site Language and Work Culture
Floorball welfare organized monthly around months end by Racheal J
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Vacation Internship
Programme
Name: Emily Tan Yi Xuan and Clayton Wong Tze How
Organisation: Woh Hup (Private) Limited
ur VIP was carried out at Woh Hup (Private)

Limited, a firm established in 1927 and is now one of
Singapores top main contractor firms. For the whole of
our internship duration, we were attached to a project at 15
Cairnhill Road. The project was developed by Capitaland
and Woh Hup was contracted as the main contractor. The
site consisted of a hotel block and a condominium block,
along with a shared carpark with an eco-deck at the
top, addition and alteration (A&A) works to an adjacent
mosque and a link bridge to Paragon.
We were attached to the Structural, Architectural, Quality
Assurance/ Quality Control (QAQC) and Technical
departments in Woh Hup, following different mentors
throughout our internship duration. From there, we got to
see really how difficult working on-site was, mentally and
physically. When we began our internship, we experienced
much of a culture shock. We knew the conditions on
site were dirty and dusty, and sometimes extremely hot
or extremely cold. What we had underestimated was
the challenge of communication. The site engineers
had to follow tight schedules which
might otherwise delay
the project. Therefore, they had to liaise and negotiate

with many different subcontractors, consultants as well
as their own colleagues from other departments, making
their working days very long and tiring.
Despite all the hardships, the engineers still got much
work done every day. In the structural department, we
witnessed the construction process of a typical storey at
the tower blocks and a small part of the eco-deck, from
the lifting of an integrated slab structure known as the
tableform, the tying of reinforcement bars, and finally
casting. In the architectural department, we got to see the
typical finishing works for the units in the tower blocks,
from the construction of brick walls and drywalls, to
the installation of windows, doors and cabinetry, to
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finishing level works like marble laying and plastering.
In the QAQC department, we observed rectification
works done by site staff due to coordination issues. In the
Technical department, we caught a glimpse of how the
technical drawings were being created by drafters for the
site engineers to use.
After this internship, we have come to realise that working
on site is really demanding and requires huge amounts of
guts. However, the work done is still very rewarding, and is
one-of-a-kind. It is a completely different work experience
compared to staying in an office and staring at a computer
screen the whole day. Many of our mentors that we
interned under displayed much pride in their work. Even
many of the workers that we spoke to were proud of the
previous projects that they had been involved in. To be a
part of the creation of a structure that is much bigger than
you are, that will be of function to so many users, and
that has the potential to outlast you is an overwhelming
feeling. Site engineers get to experience that feeling firsthand, witnessing day to day transformations. Be it the
casting of a column or the installation of a window panel,
over time these add up to new levels and whole facades.
In addition, working on site is never boring. Every
day poses many different challenges to site engineers.
Throughout our internship duration, we were able to
witness a whole variety of problems that the engineers

faced. There were usual issues like lack of manpower and
materials, but there were also unique problems such as
the casting process taking very long because of many
reinforcement bars clogging up formwork and disputes
between workers. We also saw how the engineers used
their skills and knowledge to solve them in the most
efficient way possible, such as bringing forward other
parts of the project when some parts are delayed. They
were problem solvers, doesnt matter if the problem was
technical or management related.
Clayton and I would like to express our utmost gratitude to
the many mentors and staff at Cairnhill that taught us and
guided us throughout
our internship duration.
This internship made
us understand the job
scope and challenges
and joys of working as
a contractor a lot more,
and was extremely
rewarding to the both
of us.
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Vacation Internship
Programme
Name: Yuen Li Ting, Janette
Organisation: Penta-Ocean Construction Co Ltd
VIP Period: 2nd June 2015 to 31st July 2015
he involvement in a Penta-Ocean / Koon Joint

Venture project awarded from the Ministry of Transport
(MOT) for Land Preparation Works for Airport
Development has brought upon an extraordinary
experience and a myriad of valuable insights.
For a brief background, the New Project is for land
preparation works for the expansion of Changi Airport.
The works include site clearance, ground treatment
including the strengthening of the ground for airport
facilities and operations, and earthworks. The works are
complex in nature and in more than 70 phases across
more than 1,000 hectares.
Therefore, in a large-scale operation, construction
techniques have become secondary to the skill of
project management. In my personal opinion, there
is no doubt that the knowledge derived from the
stacks of lecture notes is essential in imparting crucial
information and eventually, shaping a sophisticated civil
engineer. However, these personal skills and expertise
can only be translated into a safe and profitable project
through efficient planning, organizing, motivating, and
controlling resources, procedures and protocols.
From my point of view, the subset of project management,
communication, is of utmost importance to the
momentum of the design-build technique. In this project
delivery system, the design phase and construction
phase of a project are overlapped. In order to keep up

with the delivery schedule, I believe that the meticulous
adherence to the construction plan can be demonstrated
by an accurate transmission of instructions. As a result,
I am convinced that the success of a project is not solely
accredited to a group of skilful and insightful personnel,
but to the harmonious and conducive working culture
established by amiable individuals.
Moving away from the non-academic aspects, the
technical components have been an eye-opener. Through
my weeks of internship, I have encountered several
ground improvement methods that are regarded beyond
the school syllabus. For instance, the Pre-fabricated
Vertical Drains (PVD), Vibro-flotation technique,
vacuum and surcharge methods, to name a few. These
approaches, coupled with the respective comprehensive
method statements, have made the understanding of
advanced technologies relatively straight-forward. As
such, the learning journey has been an intriguing and
enjoyable process, which justified the significance of
practical constituents into the curriculum.
To conclude, I believe that an internship is effective in
re-examining the past contents acquired as well as to
establish fresh intelligence for the future. Therefore, this
unique participation is strongly encouraged for optimal
learning experience and a better understanding of the
role as a civil engineer in an actual practice situation.
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Vacation Internship
Programme
Name: Luan Do
Organisation: AECOM + Black & Veatch
n average student I am, I was nervous if I could

manage things that were going to be given to me. Well,
the fact is, I couldnt. Tons of mistakes were made. Some
are really terrifying. Whats worse, some excel sheets
with errors of mine have been used for actual costing. But
heres the good thing, my supervisors were really patient
when they were informed about those mistakes. Make
all mistakes you can while youre an intern, they said
(and they really meant it, in a good way of course!). Those
mistakes really benefited me. I learned lots of things like
real-life constraints and work coordination with other
mechanical engineers and process engineers. And yes,
I was interning at a Water Reclamation Plant project
Deep Tunnel Sewerage System (DTSS) Phase 2.
Some of the things I did was General Arrangement (GA)
where I got to size and design buildings (be it storage
tank, or process facility, etc.) with limited land space. On
top of that, preliminary design, I realised things I learned
like CE3115 or CE3116 were not very useful due to the time
constraint (but youd need to know the basics). There
were just too many members to go into the details. All you
need is just some rules of thumb, which were instructed
to me readily by my supervisors. After these GA was done,
it will be then passed to the CAD team which will help to
draw out the design (you have got to sign on your sketch to
ensure accountability quite an interesting experience).
Other things were like drainage design it was a big
headache for me given the massive scale and constraints
and again, there were rules of thumb, arrangement of
pipes across the plant, etc.
They are great people, no matter how busy they are, they
would still have time for you (which made me feel bad
at times). You will really learn to appreciate the dynamic
working environment here when things keep changing.
It was a great learning curve for me. I would definitely
encourage you to join this DTSS project as an intern if you
are interested.
Cheers!
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Vacation Internship
Programme
Name: Ang Pei Sin
Organisation: Santarli Construction Pte Ltd
n my 12 weeks tenure at Santarli, it has been an eye-
done. I started off this internship with the mind-set that
opening experience in providing a sneak peak into the
engineers would only be doing drawings and calculations.
industry. It is really fortunate that I am attached to this
However, after this 12 weeks of internship, I realised that
project for the fact that most of the civil engineering
there is so much more communications involved for it
projects are building based. Being on aviation park
is not just calculations and drawing, there is also a lot of
staging ground (APSG) exposes me to a myriad of
coordination involved. While it is important to not forget
equipment that isnt commonly used. Having the
the fundamentals that you have learnt in school, it is also
privilege of going on site to P. Tekong has taught me a
important to know how to communicate to others. This is
lot that cannot be compared to just watching videos or
especially important for this industry is heavily dependent
poring through textbooks. There were many instances
on foreign talents and workers. Through meetings, site
of learning opportunities, such as watching the process
visits, and new friendship forged, I would recommend
of floating pipes being connected allowed me to
students to take up internship for their summer break.
understand how the workers work with the tide and make
use of the best timings to make their work easier; being
present in the various meetings and making minutes
allowed me to understand how all the engineers come
together to discuss, to update on their work progress,
and discuss solutions to issues; being on the dredger for
supervision also allowed me to see how engineers make
an effort to communicate with people who do not speak
their language and still ensuring that they get things
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Vacation Internship
Programme
Name: Bok Su Hui
Organisation: Shimizu Corporation

Area of Specialisation: Structural
VIP Period: 11th May 2015 to 06th Aug 2015
have always wanted to do an internship in a main

contractor firm and I felt that Shimizu Corporation was
the right one for me with its expansive track records in
the built and construction industry.
During my internship with Shimizu Corporation, I
was attached to the business development team. The
business development team takes charge and oversees the
projects from the pre-tendering stage to the completion
of the project. Their main functions are the delivery of
the companys capabilities as well as the best technical/
construction proposals to the developer to clinch the
project. After winning the tender, we will ensure that the
project goes smoothly by providing support to the site
team and the consultants/clients.
Throughout the internship, I was exposed to the
tendering process. I attended tender briefings, where
clients/developers invite consultants in charge to explain
Aerial view of site
Piling machines used in site

to the invited main contractors on the scope of work to
be carried out in the project. I was involved in a tender
which required me to study architectural and structural
drawings, and work with the project team and the
Engineering team, where the engineers guided me and
taught me on the technologies adopted in our proposals
such as top down construction, use of self-compacting
concrete, raft foundation and many more. The tender
process then concludes with a tender interview, where
we present our capabilities and more importantly our
proposed methodology of construction proposed
sequence and type of construction work, technology
used, equipment utilised to obtain the shortest duration
and lowest cost.
In addition to the tender tasks given to me, I was given
the opportunity to visit many sites under Shimizu.
Internship - Suhui.indd 1
2015
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7/9/15 3:39 PM

technical expertise as compared to my
peers who were attached to site; this
internship may not be the best option
to take up. However, I beg to differ.
This internship exposed me to the best
of both worlds: sweating out under
the hot sun in the monthly site visits
and the tension of attending tender
briefings and interviews to beat the
other competitors
Use of precast for link bridges in residential project

These include the Capitol Redevelopment, Thomson
Line contract T207 and The Tembusu Condominium.
I had the chance to observe on-site construction work,
such as piling works, boring works, top-down basement
construction, superstructure works, precast concrete
works and individual unit finishes. This was the highlight
as I was able to get a taste of the different construction
purposes civil works, commercial and residential, and
learn how each construction methodology is unique and
catered to the purpose intended of the project.
and clinch the project. I was lucky to

be able to witness the whole process
of how a main contractor firm works,
from the tendering of a project to the construction of
it. In addition, I believe the business development team
plays a big role in the organisation as without them, who
would be there to ensure the supply of projects for the
firm? I am grateful that I was given an opportunity to
work in Shimizu and this experience is definitely one I
will remember.
This internship is a fulfilling and definitely a unique one.

Many might feel that since I was not exposed to much
Escape shaft 1
Excavation works
at residential
project
Internship - Suhui.indd 2
2015
7/9/15 3:39 PM
Vacation Internship
Programme
Name: Chan Tak Kin, Fabian Choo and Yeo Tsze Deng
Organisation: Sembcorp Marine
If you are looking for an internship in the Marine

industry, look no further, Sembcorp Marine is the place
for you. Rumor has it that the marine industry is tough
and undulating, this myth is therefore busted. The marine
industry does not only call for a keen sense of alertness,
it also involves a certain level of physical endurance.
The tasks performed are challenging and demanding,
however, with this said, the sense of accomplishment
that you receive upon accomplishing the project is one
where it cannot be described by words. As a result of the
challenges that the industry faces, it is of small wonder
that the office are very closely knitted. It is of a rare sight to
be able to witness a bond so strongly fortified within the
project team and your fellow colleagues. If you
enjoy to working in an environment
which values team spirit,
a work place that offers
memorable
learning
experiences and that you
do not fear the toughness,
I strongly encourage you to
pursue a fruitful internship
with Sembcorp Marine.
with a more holistic description of our daily routine

within our respective departments. I was posted to the
piping department, whereas Fabian and Tsze Deng were
both posted to Hull and the Engineering Design Office
respectively. Essentially both Fabian and I belong to the
production unit whereby speed is of the essence when
the yard docks a vessel. The Design office, as the name
suggests receives and designs the layout of the vessel
upon receiving the project. As such the
experiences that we share differs
vastly.
With that being said, I would

also like to share the experiences
that me and my fellow course
mate, Fabian Choo and Yeo Tsze
Deng shares with the yard. As a
result of our department posting,
we are therefore able to provide you
Internship - Tak Kin .indd 1
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14/9/15 5:19 PM

PIPING DEPARTMENT: CHAN TAK KIN
HULL DEPARTMENT: FABIAN CHOO
In order for efficiency to be ensured within the

piping department, regulations and stringent
measures are paramount to the shops daily
operations. The Engineer will commence their day
by supervising the toolbox briefing that will be
conducted without fail at 7.50am every morning
upon the first siren. Shop/Vessel inspection will
then be conducted for duration of 1hr 30mins
in order to ensure the smooth flow of removal,
fabrication and installation works. The nature
of a production department also suggest that
proper planning and conflict management needs
to be in place in order to prevent delays and as far
as possible to eliminate the possibility of having
reworks which subsequently results in the loss of
man-hours. As such during my internship I was
fortunate enough to be attached to both shop and
onboard to expose myself to the different styles of
management. Such that it can be observed that
the shop requires a high level of interpersonal
relationship management as the Engineers daily
conduct involves a large amount of interaction
between the Engineer, Yardmen and even external
vendors. The Engineer on vessel on the other hand
involves technical expertise and experience as the
works are much more technical in nature. As such I
was given the first hand opportunity to witness not
only the docking of the vessel, but to experience
the working conditions within the vessel and to
gain new insights of the different systems that
allows the vessel to run in the vast oceans.
Fabian at the Hull department was given the

opportunity to board different types of vessels,
from LNG, to tanker, to barge carrier and even
passenger cruise.
The piping system is akin to the blood vessels in

the human body, as such the failure of the pipe will
bring about drastic conditions that may lead to
fatal accidents, and as such the department needs
to have a dedicated team to ensure the quality and
effectiveness of the production. However, amidst
this fast pace work environment, the dedication of
each personnel makes the job of every individual
much easier and needless to say rewarding.
Internship - Tak Kin .indd 2
Ships dock at Sembcorp Marine Admiralty yard

mainly for repair and renewal work. And at Hull
Department, we are responsible for steelwork
repair and renewal, be it on the Hull of the ship,
or any work that involves general steelwork. Hull
Department is even responsible for all manhole
covers opening and closing.
Life is tough working in a shipyard and full-timers
are expected to work 7 days a week once assigned to
a project, till the end of the vessel repair progress.
Yet the challenging nature of the job is what spurs
the people on, and at the end of project, you will
be rewarded with a heighten sense of entitlement
and achievement.
LEARNING EXPERIENCE
In essence we felt that the learning curve for this
internship is well-paced as the mentors provides
us with sufficient guidance as well as time to
gain elementary mastery of the computational
software like AutoCad and Aveva Marine for the
design departments, while the production units
allows for management flexibilty. The experience
onboard was an eye-opener as well, as we are able
to verify the work that we accomplish in the office
and we are able to absorb practical knowledge that
concerns ship design simultaneously.
2015
14/9/15 5:19 PM
Industrial
Attachment
Programme
Name: Kenneth Chan
Organisation: Dragages Singapore Pte Ltd

IAP Period: 12th January 2015 to 25th June 2015
he 24 weeks spent at Dragages has been an enjoyable

experience. I have made many friends and have gained a
lot of knowledge and experience during this time.
I have learnt a lot as I have been exposed to many aspects
of construction site work. This experience is special
because not many people have the opportunity to learn
from the ground and be so involved and hands on in their
work. By being on the ground and experiencing building
from design, I gain a perspective that is beyond what is
learnt in theory from text book, or even in practice if I
were to go to a consultant company. Ive picked up abit
on costs, M&E, quality, scheduling and managing people
as well.
During my internship, amongst other duties, I was tasked
to Being the engineer in charge of precast. Doing so has
given me a sense of responsibility and accountability to
my foremen and workers. I maintain a good relationship
with them to learn as best I can from them and also try to
push them, but not break them.
The exposure to so many activities have and will benefit
me greatly as I return to school for my final year of studies
as well as when I decide on a career path after graduation.
However, despite working for 6 months, there is still many
aspects that I have yet to learn such as architectural works,
faade, trades, cost control and many more. I believe I
still have lots to learn and there is a large potential for me
to continue learning in the construction industry.
I believe that no two projects are identical. And the best
way to benefit from in this industry to continue learning.
Learning from experience and learning from reading
on reports from other site works, not only confined to
Singapore, but in other countries, other climates, and
other site designs.
As my interest in construction grows, I believe there is
great potential that I will continue pursuing this sector
in my professional career after graduation. Having
contribute to the construction and completion of a project
has a special sense of achievement and self satisfaction .
Besides work, I have gained tremendous respect for all the

staff and workers on site. My time with them have been
enriching and Ive come to know so much about their
culture, food and way of life. Living in Singapore all my
life and having friends who are mostly Singaporeans, I did
not have much opportunity to learn first hand about what
life is like overseas other than from TV documentaries.
Working here, Ive learnt about the struggles of growing
up in a developing country, or the tradition of arranged
marriages in India. All these lessons learnt have also
contributed significantly to my overall experience while
working in Dragages.
In the site of more than 400 staffs and workers, there are
only 5 Singaporeans. It can be seen that the construction
industry in Singapore is heavily driven by foreigners. Be
it workers, or site staff like engineers, trades, faade, and
all other departments. It is eye opening to see how every
one is willing to work abroad, away from their families
for extended periods of time just to make a living and
provide a better life for their family. The sacrifices made
is highly commendable and I hope one day, I will find the
courage and purpose to do that as well.
In a nut shell. These past 24 weeks has been some times
the longest hours of work, and most intense, physically
and mentally draining work. However, I have found
a lot of joy in my work as it has been purposeful and
enriching. I am thankful for my supervisor and friends
for entrusting me work and guiding me closely. It has
also been meaningful on a personal level as I learnt about
myself. What interests me, what are my strengths and
weaknesses and areas where I can improve in.
I believe that this IA has been greatly beneficial to my
education as a university undergrad as it places emphasis
on much more than theoretical studies, or short term
goals. While doing IA, you gain perspective and insights
to your career, and future life with a family and its
responsibilities. And for that, I am truly grateful for. It has
been a joy to work in Dragages.
IAP - Kenneth.indd 1
2015
A
8/9/15 10:38 AM
Other events:
Open Day, Career Fair, Welfare pack giveaway
n addition to the many major events that the Civil Engineering Club has headed, there have
also been many other smaller, but nonetheless still as important, activities that we have hosted
throughout the past year. Firstly, the club set up a booth for Open Day, held on the 14th of March, to
provide advice for incoming students in choosing their course of study.
The Civil Engineering Club also played host to the BCA-NUS Networking Session this year, in
conjunction with the Building and Construction Authority (BCA). The fair saw 34 firms, all partners
of BCA, set up booths in the Engineering Auditorium to recruit students from Civil, Environmental
and Mechanical Engineering as well as other faculties such as the School of Design and Environment.
In addition, the Civil Engineering Club also
organized numerous welfare activities for
the student population throughout
the year, including 3 welfare pack
giveaways and a steamboat to
celebrate the Lunar New
Year.
Other Events.indd 1
2015
A
7/9/15 3:57 PM

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INTERFACE YEARBOOK 2015

NUS CIVIL ENGINEERING CLUB

OFC cover page.indd 1

Message from Head of Department

About the CEE Department

Introduction to Professor Liew Mun Leong

INTERFACE YEARBOOK 2015

OFC cover page.indd 1

Operation Orion 2014

Student Exchange Programme

Vacation Internship Programme

Industrial Attachment Programme

Designed & Produced by:

Blk 501 Jurong West St 51 #03-255

NUS CIVIL ENGINEERING CLUB YEARBOOK

Lim Yue Ying

NUS CIVIL ENGINEERING CLUB YEARBOOK

he Department of Civil & Environmental

To support these programmes the Department has

Engineering is one of the eight Departments

a team of more than thirty highly qualified and

and Divisions in the Faculty of Engineering of the

professionally experienced academic members.

National University of Singapore. The Department

They regularly conduct specialized short courses

has been rated 3rd in Civil & Structural Engineering

and provide consultancy and advisory services.

category (2015), and 10th in Environmental Sciences

Interacting closely with industry, government bodies

category (2015), by QS World University Rankings.

and statutory boards, they are actively engaged in

Research and Education are driven through three

research and development activities. These R & D

exciting programmes embracing the increasingly

programmes are well supported by research grants

integrated, interdisciplinary nature of modern civil

from the University, Agency for Science, Technology

& Research (A*STAR) and other government

Hazards, Risks & Mitigation

agencies as well as private sector organizations.

NUS CIVIL ENGINEERING CLUB YEARBOOK

ounded in 1997, NUS Civil Engineering Club of

It aims to serve all student affairs, welfare and career

Like our Facebook page to receive

Phoon Kok Kwang

e will embark on our new academic

forge stronger relationships with our students, alumni

NUS CIVIL ENGINEERING CLUB YEARBOOK

Message from HOD.indd 1

US Pro Chancellor Mr Poad Mattar, Distinguished

NUS CIVIL ENGINEERING CLUB YEARBOOK

Message for CE Club.indd 2

US Pro-Chancellor, Mr Poad Mattar, Distinguished

I feel immensely honored to speak to you today in what must

for the presentation

of the class of 2015

2015 at The University

Liew Mun Leong

NUS CIVIL ENGINEERING CLUB YEARBOOK

Message for CE Club.indd 3

National Service, and my income plunged from $850

NUS CIVIL ENGINEERING CLUB YEARBOOK

Message for CE Club.indd 4

development and engineering projects. I am now

(1) Build your Core Competence

(2) Focus on job performance, not quick

your work and career journey. I have witnessed many