PEARL Impulse Enterprise

PEARL Impulse Enterprise PEARL Impulse Enterprise is essential a fairly small consultancy company that provides training and consultancy services in sustainable construction.

The latter simply means the promoting good green practices in construction esp MyCREST, QLASSIC and IBS. We conduct DIY scheme for ISO 9001 and MyCREST. We also can conduct customised training on QLASSIC and IBS Score.

16/08/2021

Brief review on changes in the newly published MyCREST assessment requirements

MyCREST, seemingly a government green building assessment tool was introduced in year 2016. This green tool emphasizes on the concerted effort for carbon abatement in line with global quest for carbon reduction. Essentially it comprised of three components namely reference guides, scorecard and carbon calculator. The reference guides then were divided into four parts which were introduction, design stage, construction stage and Operation and Maintenance (O&M) stage. Generally these documents described the assessment criteria, the eligible credit points and recommended strategies to fulfil the assessment requirements. First edition of reference guides were published in 2016 in conjunction with the launching of MyCREST then. However after few years of its presence in the industry, several issues and shortfalls have been raised by the industry players. Notwithstanding that fact it was reviewed somewhere in year 2018/2019 which led to the published of second edition of MyCREST reference guides in the year 2020.

One of the significant changes in this version 2 of MyCREST is the combination of design and construction in one reference guides and scorecard. This is made to imply that all the compliance at the design stage will be assessed and verified at the construction stage. Formerly there were several assessments made in the construction stage which were not assess in the design stage. Secondly there is no average points for design and construction stages at the construction stage assessment. This simply means the score of these stages of assessments will stand independently. Previously the average score at design and construction will be considered the score at the construction stage which really did not reflect the actual score at the construction stage. Thirdly is the introduction of Not Applicable (NA) clause. This clause will allow the applicant to apply for NA for any of the requirement that they cannot comply which is beyond their control. This new provision has made MyCREST more flexible to comply and provide an avenue to garner comparatively better score which can lead to higher MyCREST star rating.

With regard to energy requirements, there is a changes in reduction of percentage compliance of Cr points for air-conditioned building from 50% to 30%. The reduction is made after taking consideration from the industry that 1-2 star achiever have the difficulty to comply with the requirement on meeting with 50% reduction. Another changes pertaining to energy is the requirement on commissioning expert. In MyCREST version 1, the commissioning specialist is known as CxA, Commissioning Authority. However in version 2 it has been changed to CxE, Commissioning Engineer. In version 1, the appointment of CxA is mandatory criteria but in version 2, is being converted to credit point criteria which is awarded with 5 points. Basically the intension of MyCREST is to encourage the project to appoint professional commissioning person to undertake systematic commissioning works. However it could increase the financial burden to the project. The other changes is on the energy simulation requirements. In version 1, for an applicant that is targeting for three stars and above must provide dynamic energy simulation. But in version 2, it has become an option.

Taking into account of the above description denotes that the changes that have been made to MyCREST has make it more flexible and practical to adopt. In addition the changes also has made MyCREST compatible to other green tools at global arena.

BRIEF ACCOUNT ON CONDUCTING OF QLASSIC ASSESSMENT AT SITE BY QLASSIC ASSESSORAll QLASSIC applications shall be submitted...
25/01/2021

BRIEF ACCOUNT ON CONDUCTING OF QLASSIC ASSESSMENT AT SITE BY QLASSIC ASSESSOR

All QLASSIC applications shall be submitted to CREAM office at Sunway Putra Mall, Kuala Lumpur. CREAM will take few days to process the said application. Upon completion of the process, CREAM will appoint the duly assessors and set the date for site assessment.
On the agreed date, the assessors will arrive at the respective site. The assessment will be undertaken using the standard assessment forms issued by CIDB. Generally there are three methods in performing the QLASSIC assessment which comprised of visual, physical and measurement. Visual inspection is the observation by the naked eyes at the specified distance. Physical is moving the identified objects to check on the functionality of it as intended. Meanwhile measurement is the assessment using the specified measuring tools on the acceptable tolerance values mentioned in CIS 7 such gap between door panels, lippage height, gap for evenness of surface, squareness at wall edges, verticality etc.
One must remember that the assessors will not check all the buildings in the project site. They will check based on the sampling plan identified and selected buildings by CREAM. These selected buildings are marked on the project site plan. The applicant is not allow to change any of the identified buildings. The first level of QLASSIC assessment is building components whereby there are four components i.e. structural work, architectural work, M&E work and external work. For the purpose of discussion let’s focus on one component which is architectural work. The latter carries the highest weightage among all the components. Under architectural work is divided into six elements which are internal finishes, roof, external wall, apron and perimeter drain, car park/car porch and material and functional tests. Again for the purpose of discussion we will choose one element which is internal finishes. Under this element is further sub divided into six sub elements which entails floor, internal wall, ceiling, door, window and fixtures (internal).
During the site assessment, the assessor will observe on the compliance of the finishing work to the quality standards stipulated in CIS 7. For any non-compliance found is considered as a defect. In architectural work, CIS 7 has clustered defects in seven groups known as defect group. These defect groups are finishing, alignment and evenness, cracks and damages, hollowness/delamination and jointing. The descriptions for these defects in each defect group are explicitly spelled out in CIS 7. These defect groups are provided on the respective CIDB assessment form for the assessor to mark tick (/) for compliance and cross (X) for non-compliance. For instance, when the assessor enter the residential building and say he enter the bedroom, he will check all the sub elements (floor, internal wall, ceiling, door, window and fixtures (internal)) under the element of internal finishes. The sample of the completed assessment form is shown below:

Understanding The Distribution Of Weightage in QLASSIC Assessment StructureGenerally the QLASSIC weightage is divided in...
19/01/2021

Understanding The Distribution Of Weightage in QLASSIC Assessment Structure

Generally the QLASSIC weightage is divided into 3 parts i.e. building components, building elements and building sub elements. The first level is the building component whereby it is divided into 4 components namely structure work, architectural work, M&E work and external work. The distribution of the weightage is shown in Table 1 . What is the basis for this distribution? Apparently the weightage distribution is based on general cost breakdown of a building construction cost. Normally for building project, architectural cost comparatively higher than other costs. As a result, in the table shows generally architectural work commands a higher weightage.

Under building component is building element which is the second level in QLASSIC structure. Since architectural work carries the higher weightage among the building components, let examine the elements under architectural work. From Table 2 shows there are 6 elements which is internal finishes, roof, external wall, apron and perimeter drain, car park/car porch, and lastly material and functional test. Noticed that under the element of internal finishes is further subdivided into 6 sub elements. From all the 6 elements noticed internal finishes carries the highest weightage i.e. 68 %. Why? The main reason is that quality work for internal finishes is easily visible by the building owner or house buyer.
Hopefully this will some information on QLASSIC weightage distribution.

Please like this article

04/01/2021

Exploring Potential Areas Of Research In QLASSIC

There has been numerous quality issues that prevails in the construction industry that has gravely tarnished the image of the construction players. In an effort to address these prevalent quality issues, CIDB has promotes and propagates QLASSIC. Essentially the latter is the quality assessment tool developed by CIDB. QLASSIC is expected to elevate the quality performance of the construction projects which eventually will benefits the buildings owners. Despite of its importance, noticed that there is lack of research has been done on QLASSIC. Based on that pretext, there are few areas of research that can be explored in QLASSIC as follows:

i. Key success factors in implementation of QLASSIC
ii. Practicing ISO 9001 QMS towards attaining high QLASSIC performance
iii. Relationship of QLASSIC performance with customer satisfaction
iv. Recommended strategies towards achieving high QLASSIC performance
v. Adoption of IBS in construction can drives towards achieving high QLASSIC performance
vi. Incorporating QLASSIC in quality cost matrix towards achieving relatively high quality performance in construction.
vii. QLASSIC paves the way towards sustainable construction

22/11/2020

Recommended Steps For Importation of Construction Products.

Preferably the contractors are required to use locally produced construction products e.g. steel bar, portland cement, tiles, water closet (WC), sanitary ware, heat insulation material, glazier etc for their construction projects. However there are cases where they need to import construction products for the completion of their projects. If the contractors intend to import their construction products they must be aware that they need to comply certain CUSTOM requirements in order to avoid their imported products stranded at port upon its arrival. This may result in huge financial losses due to storage charges imposed by the port operator.

In relation to the above description, there are few recommended steps for the contractors to import their products as follows:

1. Firstly based on the technical description of the intended imported products, the contractors need to identify the relevant HS code for the products. If they have the difficulty in determining the HS code, they can consult Bahagian Khidmat Teknikal, CUSTOM Head Office for their assistance.

2. Once the HS code has been identified, next the contractor need to check whether there is a statement 'Certificate of Approval (COA) from Chief Executive of CIDB' attached to the HS code. If such statement prevails then it simply means that the contractor need to apply COA from CIDB upon arrival of the product at port for port clearance. Therefore advisably the contractor should consult CIDB on their COA requirements prior to making any necessary importation arrangements.

3. Generally CIDB COA requirements is about conformity assessment of products to the specified mandatory standards. Basically there are 2 types of conformity assessment namely Product Certificate (PC) and Full Type Test Report (FTTR). Thus the contractor need evaluate which type of testing that they want to adopt which suits their financial standing.

4. After the contractor has decided the type of conformity assessment then they have to appoint accredited Conformity Assessment Body (CAB) to undertake all the testing procedures.

5. Once the contractor obtain the successful testing result then only the contractor will proceed with importation process. The most common mistake by contractor is to perform importation arrangement while waiting for test result.

6. Once the shipment arrives at port the contractor will apply COA from CIDB.

PS: Our company is providing consultancy services for contractors or importers for importation of construction products. Please do not hesitate to contact us for further clarification through our email: [email protected]

04/11/2020

Sustainable construction underpins sustainable development

Global warming has become a critical issue in international landscape. One of the reasons for global warming is due to the abundance of carbon in the atmosphere. Among the main sources of carbon emission is the rampant physical development activities. However one cannot stop development. It is very crucial for the prosperity and the well being of any developing country. Indeed it can be considered as engine of economic growth. Hence development needs to be continued but in different approach which led to the emergence of sustainable development. This simply means that development is executed under controlled environment whereby it reduces its carbon emission and less damages done to the environment.

Sustainable development is supported by three major components namely economy, social and environment. Economy means sustainable development will create new technology and new economic growth area. Meanwhile on social means that sustainable development will able to promote social well of the community. The third component, environment which denotes that efforts are being made to safeguard the environment during the process of development.

The key success factor for sustainable development is sustainable construction. Generally the latter is comprised of six elements which are sustainable site planning, energy efficiency, water efficiency, using of eco materials, sustainable waste management and Indoor environment quality.

With regard to the above description deems to indicate that sustainable construction plays a significant role in ensuring the success implementation of sustainable development.

03/11/2020

MyCREST - An Introduction

MyCREST is essentially an acronym for Malaysian Carbon Reduction and Environmental Sustainable Tool. It was introduced by Ministry of Works (MOW) somewhere in mid year 2016 primarily to navigate the construction industry in resonating with green agenda of the government on carbon reduction. Purportly this concerted effort of the government is to join the global community to address issues on global warming. Seemingly in COP 15, 2009 the government had pledged to reduce GHG emission intensity (per unit of GDP) to 40% by year 2020 compared to 2005 emission intensity subject to assistance from developed countries. Subsequently in COP 21 at Paris, 2015 the government had re-pledged to further increase the GHG reduction intensity to 45% by year 2030, relative to the emissions intensity in 2005. This reduction consists of 35% on an unconditional basis and a further 10% conditional upon receipt of climate finance, technology transfer and capacity building from developed countries. In view of these two pledges that had sent a strong signal for MyCREST to advocate carbon reduction in its assessment regime. Nevertheless this tool also incorporate elements of sustainability in its assessment framework. Hence MyCREST can be considered as holistic sustainable tool that quantify carbon reduction as well as acknowledges concerted effort in improving the social economic wellbeing and safeguarding the environment.

Generally MyCREST can be divided into two components which are reference guides and scorecore. Carbon calculator has been has been incorporated in the latter.

27/10/2020

What is QPASS? It is an acronym for 'Quality Product According to Specified Standard'. Essentially it is a program introduced by CIDB to regulate construction materials complying with mandatory standards. Since it started to enforce in mid of the year 2016, it can be considered at the infancy stage. Hence to educate the industry our company has introduced the related introductory course known as 'Understanding the regulatory requirements on complying materials to mandatory standards under CIDB Act'. It is one day course basically deliberating as how to comply to the relevant provisions under the said act.

27/10/2020

Understanding Underlying Principles of QLASSIC Assessment

Basically any credible assessment system must uphold impartiality and integrity. Same principles apply to QLASSIC assessment. Having said this the underline principles of QLASSIC assessments are as follows:

a. Third Party Assessor
All QLASSIC assessors are appointed by Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB). These assessors are general technical personnel from construction industry that have passed their stringent assessments in assessor competency training conducted by CIDB. Thus this make QLASSIC assessments impartial and integrity.

b. One Time Assessment Only
This means that there is no second assessment. The contractors that are not happy with their low score, cannot re-apply for QLASSIC assessment after their remedial actions. This practiced demands the contractor must seriously prepared for the said assessment.

c. Pre-determined Sampling Size
QLASSIC assessment does not assess all the buildings in a given construction project. It assesses the number of the buildings based on the calculated sampling size. The latter is calculated by CIDB, prior to site assessment. However this information is not shared with the applicant before site assessment. The assessor will only inform the contractor upon arrival at site. This means that the contractor need to well prepared for all buildings in the project since they do not know which buildings will be selected by the assessor.

d. Conformance to Industry Quality Standard
QLASSIC assessment is being conducted benchmarking to quality standards stipulated in Construction Industry Standard (CIS) 7 which is being developed by CIDB. Hence the result of QLASSIC assessment primarily indicates the ability of a given project meeting the quality standards set by the industry.

10/09/2020

How QLASSIC can benefit contractors?
Three key performance indicators in construction project namely are time, cost and quality. Generally time and cost can easily be measured quantitatively but not quality. The latter most of the time is being measured qualitatively. Notwithstanding the fact, QLASSIC is essentially quality assessment tool in construction that can be used to measure quality quantitatively. Hence by implementing QLASSIC, contractors can benchmark their quality performance, establish their quality track record for marketing purposes, enhance market expansion and identify areas of improvement for continually improve their quality performance

24/03/2019

Training and consultancy services in sustainable construction. For details can contact us :

mukhtar 0199579568

Address

Batu Caves
68100

Opening Hours

Monday 09:00 - 17:00
Tuesday 09:00 - 17:00
Wednesday 09:00 - 17:00
Thursday 09:00 - 17:00
Friday 09:00 - 17:00

Telephone

0199579568

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when PEARL Impulse Enterprise posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to PEARL Impulse Enterprise:

Shortcuts

Share

Category