Malaysia Rapid Transit Corporation (MRT Corp) Sdn Bhd hosted a study visit by the Land Transport Authority of Singapore (LTA) from 20 to 21 February 2019, held at MRT Corp Headquarters.

The delegation of four was led by Madam Choo Chai Foong, LTA Group Director, Infrastructure Design and Engineering for Building Information Modelling (BIM).

The objective of the visit was to learn on how to replicate MRT Corp success in becoming the first infrastructure developer in Asia to achieve BIM Level 2 accreditation.

The feat, awarded by Lloyd’s Register in December 2018, was achieved for its adoption of BIM Level 2 in the construction of the Sungai Buloh-Serdang-Putrajaya (SSP) Line. This recognition generated interest from local and regional organisations such as LTA, to seek knowledge from MRT Corp.

LTA is a statutory body under the Ministry of Transport of the Singapore Government which spearheads land transport developments in Singapore. The agency is responsible for planning, operating and maintaining Singapore’s land transport infrastructure and systems.

Since it was in the process of reviewing its current practice and planning to enhance and improve their BIM workflows, LTA has requested MRT Corp’s assistance to conduct a knowledge learning session.

The first day of the session started with MRT Corp Planning and Design Director Er. Poh Seng Tiok sharing a presentation on the background of the SSP Line Project and explaining the key planning, design challenges and advancement process using Digital Engineering technology in the SSP Line design process.

The programme continued with a comprehensive overview of BIM by MRT Corp Digital Engineering team, led by Deputy General Manager of Design and Planning Yeap Beow Heng. Among the topics covered in this session were BIM Workflows and Process, BIM Solutions and Challenges as well as case studies on the Digital Engineering Adoption for MRT Titiwangsa Station.

On the second day, the LTA delegates managed to gain insights on MRT Corp’s BIM in Rail Academy (BIRAC) through a visit to MyBIM Center located at Sunway Putra Mall. Encik Mohamad Farid A. Hamid, MyBIM Centre General Manager, briefed the delegates on the centre roles in BIM development in Malaysia and BIM learning programmes offered by MyBIM.

The study visit continued at MRT Corp Headquarters in the afternoon with a Virtual Reality (VR) showcase walkthrough and VR Design Review by Chong Min Chun, MRT Corp Planning and Design Engineer. He explained that the VR technology will be used to review the design in virtual environment.

The visit ended with a briefing by Encik Ahmad Aswadi Yusof, MRT Corp Planning and Design Senior Manager followed by a discussion on MRT Corp activities in Geographic Information System, Reality Modelling, Unmanned Aerial Vehicle and BIM Portal.