Teoh Lai Xing is set to achieve his dreams with the help of BCA-Teambuild Built Environment Undergraduate Scholarship.
Having been inspired by his Father who was from the built environment sector, Lai Xing developed his passion and fixed his eyes on becoming an engineer when he graduated from Jurong Junior College. An impression was made whenever his Father pointed out to him the buildings that he was involved in when Lai Xing was still in secondary school and he could still remember distinctly the stories behind each building.
Lai Xing was from the Normal (Academic) course in secondary school. With hard work and determination, he went on to pursue his degree in a local university. During his Civil Engineering course in Nanyang Technological University, Lai Xing was awarded the BCA-Teambuild Built Environment Undergraduate Scholarship jointly offered by Building and Construction Authority (BCA) and Teambuild Engineering & Construction Pte Ltd. He took up a 10 weeks internship – Industrial Orientation (IO) Programme – provided by Teambuild and was placed in the project “Rivervale Delta” where he started to learn what it takes to be a Project Engineer in a local main contractor firm. Whilst it was a challenging experience, the satisfaction gained when he saw progress left a mark on him.
Lai Xing joined Teambuild officially as a Project Engineer in 2015 when he graduated. Apart from being glad that his first project was located near his house, he was grateful that his first project, West Terra @ Bukit Batok, involved the use of multiple innovations that were new to the industry. From the use of Building Information Modelling (BIM) during the design phase to the use of Prefabricated Bathroom Units (PBUs) and Prefabricated Prefinished Volumetric Construction (PPVC). The project also adopted the use of Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (DfMA) Steel Link Bridges for its Multi-Storey Carparks as well as Mass Engineered Timber (MET) from Austria for its Resident’s Committee Centre (RCC). It was a melting pot of experience where Lai Xing was able to learn from and it provided him with the opportunity to be directly involved in the transformative technologies that BCA has been promoting through the Construction Industry Transformation Map (ITM). West Terra @ Bukit Batok was later awarded with BCA BIM Gold award in 2016 and HDB Construction Award in 2019.
While gaining hands-on experience on-site is one of the best ways to learn, it could be a long and arduous process as a project would normally take years to complete. Teambuild acknowledged that and established a Career Mentorship Programme designed to equip young engineers with useful skills in both technical and non-technical areas. Each new engineer would be assigned an experienced Project Manager as mentor to provide guidance and support. Leveraging the knowledge of the mentors help the young engineers learn through real-life experiences of their seniors. The programme is structured such that by the end of first year, the mentees would have been through the entire process of a project, from the tender phase to the actual construction as well as the handing over phase. This programme also allows engineers from different teams to have a platform to interact with one another to share ideas and experiences.
With precast experience gained from his IO and the West Terra project, Lai Xing continued to help establish work sequences for Prefabricated Prefinished Volumetric Construction (PPVC) for his 2nd and currently 3rd project. Lai Xing is also currently expanding his horizon by taking up a Specialist Diploma in Virtual Design and Construction (SDVDC) with BCA Academy in view of implementing and improving the use of VDC on site. He has also been given a drone operator permit by Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) to be used for monitoring site activities.
The scholarship provided by BCA and Teambuild has set Lai Xing on an accelerated path in his career. With the positive experience during industrial internship, he was effectively building a substantial head-start early on which starts him off on a firm footing. Lai Xing is thankful to both BCA and Teambuild for providing ample opportunities and resources to develop his potential. He is excited about his journey ahead to play a role in shaping the Built Environment in Singapore.
TEOH LAI XING
BCA-Teambuild Built Environment Undergraduate Scholarship
Attained: Bachelor of Engineering in Civil Engineering, Nanyang Technological University
Now: Senior Project Engineer, Construction Unit
From: Jurong Junior College