My Reader's Response - Use of Cladding in Singapore
From the article "Use of cladding in buildings here have grown in recent times: Experts", Mokhtar (17 June 2017) reported that use of cladding has increased recently in Singapore with strict observation especially after the tragic incident of Grenfell Tower in Kensington. Furthermore, the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) is gathering more information on the event to improve on their rules regulating the use of cladding.
Cladding has its many uses, such as for the purpose of noise reduction, for aesthetic appeal, as well as to provide insulation to reduce the energy needed to cool a building. Buildings such as Asia Square Tower and The Cathay use cladding for these reasons.
However, cladding poses a hazard when it comes to fires, it is due from the ventilation gaps that keeps the building cool but ended up allowing the fire to go up to other levels. Nonetheless, Singapore still adopts the use of cladding but follow strict safety standards on the materials used to meet the class ‘0’ standard.
In order to ensure that cladding use meets the class ‘0’ fire safety requirements, it is essential that proper and stringent checks are in place to ensure that similar accident does not happen in Singapore.
According to Ng (2017), on-site testing where a sample of material will be set on fire to test the rate of combustion, is not mandatory for the installation of claddings in Singapore. Claddings are instead assumed that it has obtained a certificate of conformity (COC), affirming its fire safety standard prior to its installation from accredited laboratories.
In May 2017, a fire that broke out in a building at 30 Toh Guan Road was resulted from its external cladding. According to the Singapore Civil Defence Fore (SCDF) (2017), it was found that not all the cladding’s composite panel comply with the fire code - class ‘0’ standard, where fire will not spread along the surface when ignited. Rather, exterior claddings of different class standards were mixed at its warehouse, resulting to the incompliance.
Leong (2017) stated that since the fire outbreak in Toh Guan, checks by SCDF were held on the other buildings whose exterior claddings are installed by the same construction firm, Chip Soon Aluminium, whom is also the sole distributor of the cladding brand name Alubond. According to Ng (2017), buildings that failed the check will have to remove their cladding within two months.
According to SCDF (2017), checks carried out on the affected buildings are examined on several factors, such as the result of an on-site testing; the distance between the cladding and possible fire hazards; the ratio of building exterior covered by claddings; as well as the fire safety provisions in the building, including the fire sprinklers, fire alarm, fire escape route and fire hose reels.
Lee (2017), a consulting engineer, said: "Definitely, more checks should be done. Without a full-scale exercise for all other buildings with cladding, how would the authorities know if other suppliers do not have similar mix-ups?".
In summary, stringent checks by SCDF should not be only restricted to the buildings whom claddings are installed by Chip Soon Aluminium, but to also extend random checks to other buildings to ensure that all buildings in Singapore has complied to the fire safety requirements.
(555 words)
References:
Faris Mokhtar (2017). Use of cladding in buildings here have grown in recent times: Experts. Retrieved from http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/use-cladding-buildings-here-have-grown-recent-times-experts
Ng Jun Sen (2017). How did cladding woes happen despite layers of checks? Retrieved from http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/distributor-placed-two-models-of-cladding-in-one-stock
Public Affairs Department, Singapore Civil Defence Force (2017). News Release: SCDF Takes Immediate Actions to Ensure Fire Safety of Buildings. Retrieved from https://www.scdf.gov.sg/sites/www.scdf.gov.sg/files/SCDF_Press_Release-24_Aug_2017.pdf
Leong Wai Kit (2017). Fire tests on building cladding too lenient; certification process can be improved: Experts. Retrieved from http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/fire-tests-on-building-cladding-too-lenient-certification-9203268
Ng Jun Sen (2017). Outer cladding of 24 buildings fails checks. Retrieved from http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/housing/outer-cladding-of-24-buildings-fails-checks
Singapore Civil Defence Force (2017). News Release: SCDF Takes Immediate Actions to Ensure Fire Safety of Buildings. Retrieved from https://www.scdf.gov.sg/general/news/news-releases/2017/scdf-takes-immediate-actions-ensure-fire-safety-buidlings
Ng Jun Sen (2017). No reason to think improper cladding used elsewhere: SCDF. Retrieved from http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/housing/no-reason-to-think-improper-cladding-used-elsewhere-scdf
Cladding has its many uses, such as for the purpose of noise reduction, for aesthetic appeal, as well as to provide insulation to reduce the energy needed to cool a building. Buildings such as Asia Square Tower and The Cathay use cladding for these reasons.
However, cladding poses a hazard when it comes to fires, it is due from the ventilation gaps that keeps the building cool but ended up allowing the fire to go up to other levels. Nonetheless, Singapore still adopts the use of cladding but follow strict safety standards on the materials used to meet the class ‘0’ standard.
In order to ensure that cladding use meets the class ‘0’ fire safety requirements, it is essential that proper and stringent checks are in place to ensure that similar accident does not happen in Singapore.
According to Ng (2017), on-site testing where a sample of material will be set on fire to test the rate of combustion, is not mandatory for the installation of claddings in Singapore. Claddings are instead assumed that it has obtained a certificate of conformity (COC), affirming its fire safety standard prior to its installation from accredited laboratories.
In May 2017, a fire that broke out in a building at 30 Toh Guan Road was resulted from its external cladding. According to the Singapore Civil Defence Fore (SCDF) (2017), it was found that not all the cladding’s composite panel comply with the fire code - class ‘0’ standard, where fire will not spread along the surface when ignited. Rather, exterior claddings of different class standards were mixed at its warehouse, resulting to the incompliance.
Leong (2017) stated that since the fire outbreak in Toh Guan, checks by SCDF were held on the other buildings whose exterior claddings are installed by the same construction firm, Chip Soon Aluminium, whom is also the sole distributor of the cladding brand name Alubond. According to Ng (2017), buildings that failed the check will have to remove their cladding within two months.
According to SCDF (2017), checks carried out on the affected buildings are examined on several factors, such as the result of an on-site testing; the distance between the cladding and possible fire hazards; the ratio of building exterior covered by claddings; as well as the fire safety provisions in the building, including the fire sprinklers, fire alarm, fire escape route and fire hose reels.
Lee (2017), a consulting engineer, said: "Definitely, more checks should be done. Without a full-scale exercise for all other buildings with cladding, how would the authorities know if other suppliers do not have similar mix-ups?".
In summary, stringent checks by SCDF should not be only restricted to the buildings whom claddings are installed by Chip Soon Aluminium, but to also extend random checks to other buildings to ensure that all buildings in Singapore has complied to the fire safety requirements.
(555 words)
References:
Faris Mokhtar (2017). Use of cladding in buildings here have grown in recent times: Experts. Retrieved from http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/use-cladding-buildings-here-have-grown-recent-times-experts
Ng Jun Sen (2017). How did cladding woes happen despite layers of checks? Retrieved from http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/distributor-placed-two-models-of-cladding-in-one-stock
Public Affairs Department, Singapore Civil Defence Force (2017). News Release: SCDF Takes Immediate Actions to Ensure Fire Safety of Buildings. Retrieved from https://www.scdf.gov.sg/sites/www.scdf.gov.sg/files/SCDF_Press_Release-24_Aug_2017.pdf
Leong Wai Kit (2017). Fire tests on building cladding too lenient; certification process can be improved: Experts. Retrieved from http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/fire-tests-on-building-cladding-too-lenient-certification-9203268
Ng Jun Sen (2017). Outer cladding of 24 buildings fails checks. Retrieved from http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/housing/outer-cladding-of-24-buildings-fails-checks
Singapore Civil Defence Force (2017). News Release: SCDF Takes Immediate Actions to Ensure Fire Safety of Buildings. Retrieved from https://www.scdf.gov.sg/general/news/news-releases/2017/scdf-takes-immediate-actions-ensure-fire-safety-buidlings
Ng Jun Sen (2017). No reason to think improper cladding used elsewhere: SCDF. Retrieved from http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/housing/no-reason-to-think-improper-cladding-used-elsewhere-scdf
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