Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Abstract
The Superintending Officer (S.O.) is an officer appointed by the Financial Controller to supervise and
issue works instruction in accordance with Standard P.W.D. Form 203 of the Agreement. The S.O.
must be capable and knowledgable in different fields. A knowlegable, confident, possess high moral
values, ethical, discipline, dynamic, innovative, fair and efficient S.O. will dictate the direction of the
Project to be implemented. These elements which form the backbone of the human capital
characteristic shall be nurtured and possessed by the S.O. to guide the S.O. in any decision making or
action taken during project implementation to avoid delay in project completion or project cost overrun.
There are cases where the decisions and actions taken by the S.O. has been criticised by the Auditor-
General. In ensuring the smooth implementation and to avoid wasteful and misuse of the power during
construction supervision of the Government project, the S.O. shall play an important role and
demonstrates the important of human capital characteristic of a S.O. when discharging the duties
entrusted by the Government. The major characteristic/criteria to be possessed by the S.O. includes
work within the stipulated domain or framework, emphasize on human capital development, Project
risks identification and prevention, understood and guided by interaction plan which serves as
reference/guidance, and skillful in decision making. This paper is intended to discuss on decisions and
actions taken by the S.O. to solve issues arising during projects implementation, such as Pulau
Perhentian Project, Phase 2 Beaufort WTP Project, Construction of Off-river Storage Project, Jalan
Universiti Project and Expansion of Mengkuang Dam Project. The outcomes of the S.O. decisions and
actions taken on the above projects are project cost saving, on time project completion, sick project
status be avoided, inconsistency of decision making and dispute with the Contractor and consultant be
avoided.
1.0 Introduction
1
Director General, Water Supply Department, KeTTHA
2
Civil Engineer, Water Supply Department, KeTTHA
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2.0 Background
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a) Ensure the quality of the material used and quality of works comply
with the Contract;
b) Ensure local authority and other authorities requirements are
complied during project implementation;
c) Ensure the Contractor looks after the welfare of the workers,
especially on matters related to safety, insurance coverage and
salaries due.
d) Ensure the duration of the insurance as required in the Contract is
always valid during project construction stage, and if necessary, the
S.O. shall take necessary action to extend it;
e) Monitor the work progress and if necessary, to take early action to
approve extension of time or impose liquidated ascertained
damages or recommend to the Officer concerned to terminate the
Contractor’s work in accordance with the provision of the Contract;
f) To discharge the responsibilities as the S.O. so that the
Government could honour his responsibilities in the Contract:
• The Contractor is not prevented or restricted or prohibited
from carrying out the works in accordance with the Contract;
• Application by the Contractor on the approval and decision
shall be replied accordingly within the reasonable time
frame;
• Interim payment certificates to the Contractor shall be
prepared and issued in accordance with the provisions of
the Contract; and
• Each progress payment to the foreign Contractor shall take
into consideration withholding tax in accordance with the
prevailing rate.
iv) In addition, the S.O. shall also ensure that extension of time is only
issued based on the reasons stated in the Conditions of Contract.
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The Implementation Agency shall ensure the S.O. is competent and priority
shall be given to candidate who is Technical Officer that could apply his
expertise/knowledge and experience when discharging his duties and dictate the
direction of the project.
The S.O. shall know and understand the legal framework related to the
Contract so that he could discharge his duties in orderly manner. In addition, the S.O.
shall understand each element as shown in Figure 1 which is inter related, i.e. legal,
Contract, technical and financial. As such, the S.O. ensures that his duties and
responsibilities are within the domain, he shall seek the advice of others such as the
Finance Ministry if situation warranted.
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Human capital is one of the important elements in the organisation and the
S.O. shall emphasis on development of human capital in the workforce. The
appointed S.O. must possess strong human capital, competent and well verse in
Contractual matters so that he could give guidance to the project team under his
supervision to supervise/ monitor the project in accordance with established circular,
guidelines and regulations.
In line with the Government’s effort to give better services to the Client and to
elevate the competency of the staff, high priority shall be given to training of staff in
area related to their daily task and also career development. The S.O. shall carry out
the planning and implementation of the above in two (2) phases, i.e. short and long
term planning to be carried out concurrently.
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It is expected that in tandem with the increase of the professionals and sub-
professionals in the organisation, the responsibilities and liabilities shall also be
increased accordingly. Adequate well trained workforce is necessary to ensure the
projects are monitored, implemented and handover with high quality within the
stipulated time frame. Opportunity shall be given to existing staff for promotion as a
mean to retain the experienced staff. Training and development and career path for
the professional and supporting staff shall be implemented as shown in Figure 2. For
example, all the professional staff in JBA is borrowed from Jabatan Kerja Raya
(JKR) and it is a common practice that the staff will have to be transferred out when
there is a promotion exercise. The vacancy left by the promoted staff will be filled up
by new engineer/ assistant engineer who warrant the training process which is very
time consuming to start all over again.
Figure 2: Training/Career.
Risk shall have implication/ effect on each project which could be divided into:
i) External Risks
• Which is beyond the control/ influence of the project team, such as
change in Government policies and market shift.
In short, risks are associated with loss. Methods to identify risks are:
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i) Checklist
• To identify the possible sources of risks.
ii) Flowchart
• To understand cause and effect of the risks.
iii) Interview
• To discuss with the related party who is capable of identifying the
risks.
Figure 3 shows the life cycle of each project and Figure 4 explains the risks
and prevention measures during award of tender.
PROJECT DOCUMENTATION
IMPLEMENTATION ( TENDER ADVERTISEMENT
PLANNING DOCUMENT)
DOCUMENTATION
(CONTRACT AWARD OF TENDER
DOCUMENT) TENDER EVALUATION
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Award of Tender
Letter of Award is not • Ensure Letter of Award consists
complete complete details.
In this case, the S.O. shall prepare the risks profile and the project
implemented shall be monitored closely based on the risks profile as prevention
action.
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The S.O. shall be capable to choose the best alternative to solve a problem
and to make decision based on Conditions of Contract and prevailing procedures.
Any decision shall be made carefully and be aware of the uncertainty and associated
risks of each project so that the effective result could be obtained, for example
projects at Pulau Perhentian, Phase 2 Beaufort WTP, Construction of Off-River
Storage, Jalan Universiti Project and Expansion of Mengkuang Dam. Major
decisions made by the S.O. on the issue arising during project implementation are to
ensure that the works could be completed within the approved duration.
i) Variation Order has increased the water reticulation coverage from 60%
to 100% with extra cost of RM8million only.
ii) Combination of two (2) reservoirs into one (1) reservoir at Pulau
Perhentian which has been declared as Marine Park. In the original
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scope of works, the Contractor was required to build two (2) reservoirs at
Pulau Perhentian, i.e. 1.14 ML at Pulau Perhentian Besar and 0.6 ML at
Pulau Perhentian Kecil. The S.O. has decided to combine these two (2)
reservoirs into one (1) reservoir with equivalent capacity based on the
following:
a) To preserve the environment by reducing green area required to
make way for the construction of reservoirs and associated
pipeline. By doing so, it will reduce the erosion and suspended
solid carry over to the sea directly, and indirectly it will reduce the
possible damage to the coral reef which is sensitive to suspended
solid;
b) Speed up the construction process;
c) Reduce the construction waste; and
d) Reduce the movement of the construction material barge within
Marine Park.
iii) Pulau Perhentian project which is under design and built concept has
kept the Grade 25 concrete foundation for elevated reservoir against the
original design of Grade 35 when there was mistake made by the
Contractor. The foundation of Bukit Bubus elevated reservoir was
designed to Grade 35 concrete, however, sample taken during
concreting and core samples taken at the foundation for compressive
tests were found to be Grade 25. In this case, the S.O. could ask the
Contractor to demolish the concrete foundation; however, the S.O. has
requested the Consultant to carry out reverse analysis on the foundation
structural capability to withstand the load by using Grade 25 concrete.
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As the result, the submarine pipeline was completed one (1) month
ahead of new Contract schedule and six (6) months before the
completion of original Contract.
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ii) Due to omission of the works from the Contractor, decision shall be
made whether to apply clause 5b of the Conditions of Contract on the
Contractor (Non compliance with the S.O.’s instruction). The Contractor
has failed to comply with the S.O.’s instruction to continue the submarine
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pipe laying works with suitable lay barge size to fulfill the requirement of
pipe laying.
iii) Decision to allow the Contractor to proceed with onshore pipeline laying
works using push and pull method instead of conventional trench and lay
method in Sabah Land area. Due to delay in solving land matter in
Sabah Land compound, the Contractor is forced to lay the pipeline
during monsoon season.
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Figure 10: Pipe been pulled from Labuan shoreline by using wire rope.
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Figure 13: Tie-in of pipes laid by laybarge and laybarge shore pull method near Labuan shore.
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Figure 15: Pipe laying with high water table and soft ground.
iv) Decision to appeal for open cut instead of pipe jacking [three (3)
locations] for crossing JKR road. Due to high ground water table,
construction of pipe jacking and receiving pits is very difficult.
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v) The S.O. had made decision to stop the operation of the pump to
facilitate investigation and to avoid further damage to the other pumps
despite the scheduled arrival of the Prime Minister on the next day.
This is an innovation project using storm water as source of raw water. The
study of this project have been completed in the period of less than two (2) months,
and the outcome is a project capable of producing raw water of 9million cubic metre
equivalent to 90 days of raw water from a new water source. Ammonia content of 4-
5mg/ℓ at the extraction point has been reduced to less than 1mg/ℓ via biological and
physical processes.
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Drain
Diversion at
JPS outlet.
i) Cost saving of RM8 million by open cut method in the middle of the road
for pipe laying.
ii) Application of hot tapping and line stopping methods reduced the water
interruption to 500,000 consumers.
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Figure 27: Hot tapping machine 1000mm and 1500mm dia. installed on the
1000mm dia. gate valve of the existing pipe.
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i) Cost saving by changing the design from linear spillway to labyrinth type,
it also increase the safety level of the dam. Labyrinth type of spillway
does not require very wide surface area for the same flow;
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Stage 1:
1.1 Construct Draw-off Work No.2
1.2 Construct Upstream Cofferdam 1
1.3 Divert streamflow through Draw-off Works No.2
1.4 Construct Upstream Cofferdam 2, Downstream
Cofferdam and Detention Pond
Stage 2:
2.1 Construct new dam at left valley
2.2 Construct Draw-off Tower No.2
2.3 Construct Valve House 2
2.4 Construct perimeter road in left reservoir
2.5 Complete slope protection works and rehabilitation
of borrow areas
Stage 3:
3.1 Functionality test of Draw-off Work No.2
3.2 Remove Upstream Cofferdam 1 & 2 and Downstream
Cofferdam
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Stage 4:
4.1 Siphon and pump water from existing reservoir to fill
new reservoir at left valley
4.2 Commission supply of water (to Sg Dua WTP) using
Draw-off Tower No.2
Stage 5:
5.1 Construct river diversion works at existing reservoir
5.2 Heighten existing dam
5.3 Demolish existing draw-off tower
5.4 Construct Draw-off TowerNo.1
5.5 Strengthen and extend existing Draw-off Culvert
5.6 Construct Valve House 1, spillway & saddle dams
Stage 6:
6.1 Siphon water from new reservoir at left valley to existing
reservoir to EL 34m.
6.2 Construct balancing channel at existing saddle dam
6.3 Commence impounding
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v) Proposal not to close existing dam resulted in less public complaints and
it could continue be used for recreation purpose; and
vi) The S.O. understood fully on the quantities built-up and well verse with
the approaches taken by the Contractor, i.e. Contractor from China, thus
is well prepared for the price negotiation.
The relevant clauses related to the S.O. in the Conditions of Contract are as
follows:
i) Clause 24 – Variations;
ii) Clause 25 – Valuation of Variations;
iii) Clause 28 – Payment to Contractor and Interim Payment;
iv) Clause 31 – Final Account and Payment Certificate;
v) Clause 39 – Completion of Works;
vi) Clause 40 – Damages for Non-Completion;
vii) Clause 43 – Delay and Extension of Times;
viii) Etc.
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6.0 Conclusion
The S.O. shall understand his roles and responsibilities in supervising the
project so that he could discharge his duties effectively and ensure the project is
implemented smoothly.
Any decision and action by the S.O. will have the effect of project cost saving,
completion within the stipulated time, prevention of projects with sick status,
irregularities in decision making and disputes with the Contractors and Consultants
could be avoided and the project could be implemented in accordance with the
schedule.
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Reference:
1. Hasnul Mohamad Salleh, Ir. Dr., Ang Eng Kiat, Ir. and Wong Mun Tin, Ir..
Labuan Phase 2 Water Supply Project, http://www.jba.gov.my, 2011.
2. Hasnul Mohamad Salleh, Ir. Dr., Teo Koon Haw, Ir. and Zulkiflee Abdul Hamid
Ir.. Alternative Water Supply Scheme for KLIA, http://www.jba.gov.my, 2011.
3. Hasnul Mohamad Salleh, Ir. Dr., Angkasa Consulting Sevices Sdn Bhd (ACS)
and JBA Project Team. Expansion of Mengkuang Dam,
http://www.jba.gov.my, 2011.
4. Hasnul Mohamad Salleh, Ir. Dr. and Lim Soon Guan, Ir.. Construction of
Kinabenua Hybrid Water Treatment Plant, Pulau Labuan, 2011.
6. Hasnul Mohamad Salleh, Ir. Dr.. Action Plan To Improve JBA Service
Delivery, http://www.jba.gov.my, 2010.
8. Hasnul Mohamad Salleh, Ir. Dr. and Lim Soon Guan, Ir.. Application of Green
Technology in Pulau Perhentian Water Supply Scheme,
http://www.jba.gov.my, 2009.
For further information on this paper and permission to use material contained in this
paper, request could be made via http://www.jba.gov.my. ALL COPY RIGHT IS
PROTECTED. Content of this paper protected under copy right shall not be reprinted
or used in whatsoever form without written consent from the authors.
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