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DIRECTORY OF SINGAPORE PROCESS & CHEMICALS INDUSTRIES 2021/2022
Some of the bigger established SMEs have project work, including those delayed by Circuit Breaker measures in April and May 2020 while most of the smaller ones have shutdown and turnaround maintenance and repair contracts to keep them going in the face of tighter labour and operational difficulties.
For Universal Solution Pte Ltd, 2020 was the worst year for the company since it started operation 10 years ago.
According to Mr Alagu Thirunavirkarasu, Director of Universal Solution, the company had difficulty in delivery execution and it had to decline new projects because of the shortage of workers.
Work delays was also encountered at JEL Maintenance, which applied successfully for extension of time (EOT) for some of its projects due to the manpower issue.
“We had to settle for little or no margin, because of the accompanying increased costs, especially for procurement of workers from other available sources locally,” said Mr Nagappan Sathappan, JEL Maintenance’s CEO & Managing Director.
Cyclect Electrical Engineering Pte Ltd, which serves the PCM sector in construction and maintenance areas, had on-going essential maintenance work in Indonesia and China that helped offset the adverse impact on its Singapore operations in the early days of the pandemic. Furthermore, its diversified business including those in the construction and marine sectors also helped reduce its dependence on CPM work here.
Mr Melvin Tan, Managing Director of Cyclect, who is also Vice President of the 13th ASPRI Executive Committee, said that in the face of manpower shortage, it had to innovate to improve productivity of its workers. It also made great efforts to find strategic partners to enlarge its operational capacity and capabilities.
“We also developed greater new skill sets and capabilities in the areas of IOT and Cybersecurity to improve productivity and safety, and will continue to recruit and build our capacity despite the challenges,” he added.
Learning the hard truth of reliance on migrant workers
The most difficult and stressful issue for all process service providers since the pandemic started is the availability of sufficient workers and ability to deploy them for work on site.
With the onset of the health crisis, plant owners had introduced regulations to protect their own staff. This meant that PCM companies have to comply with two sets of conditions, one mandated by the Government when working in the plants and a second by the plant owners.
The SMM requirements have also made the workers very self-conscious of their predicament while working with others, especially after the virus had infected many in the dormitories. The use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and safe distancing measures have further slowed the pace of work.
Besides fearing for their own safety, the wellbeing of their loved ones back home also weighed heavily on their minds. As their mental health was affected, many could not concentrate on their work.
Mr Teo Jia Jing, Director of Omega Construction & Engineering Pte Ltd, said that
its workforce has been reduced by about 60% since the pandemic began in 2020. Some of those whose contract expired decided to return to their home countries to be with their families while the rest moved to other companies for higher pay.
“We tried to persuade them to stay with us, but to no avail. Fortunately, our clients were very understanding and, with their support, we discussed and made the necessary adjustments to workflows and manpower allocations to allow us to fulfil our project obligations,” said Mr Teo.
The company also had to attend to the mental wellbeing of the workers.
“We did a lot of outreach to workers since they were mentally affected during the Circuit Breaker, mainly worrying about getting infected and how their family members were doing back home. We assured them that they would be fine and we would look after them and even help their families if necessary. We also bought some necessities for them,” said Mr Teo.
During the Circuit Breaker, MOM and some non-governmental organisations (NGOs) had reached out to the company to help organise activities for its workers, including an excursion and a Christmas celebration last year. In addition, they visited the dormitories and distributed gifts to the workers.
Mr Teo said the workers were very happy and touched by the outreach from our community.
Working conditions can be challenging for some workers
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