The Japan Club of Kuala Lumpur (hereinafter referred to as JCKL) has been popularized throughout the years by the Japanese community living in Malaysia for interaction. Plus PM Consultant Sdn Bhd (Plus PM) was in charge of managing the renovation work associated with the aging of the building, and implemented compliance assessment against current regulations associated with the renovation work such as building diagnosis, decision of renovation policy, maintenance schedule, authority submission support, tender, construction management (safety and quality control), and obtaining Certificate of Completion and Compliance (CCC).
Plus PM invited Mr. Norio Yanai, Executive Director of JCKL, who has decided the renovation work from several options such as rebuild, relocate and renovate, to give us the details of the project and evaluation for Plus PM.
RC Building
In 1976, the building of JCKL Clubhouse located at Taman Seputeh was established as a Japanese School. It is a historical facility that has been utilized until now since its conversion into a Clubhouse in 1995 as a place to cultivate interaction between Japanese people.
It is not only utilized for Japanese expatriates and their families who reside in Kuala Lumpur, but also for Japanese retirees who stay in Kuala Lumpur on MM2H (long-term stay visa) programme. It has been 40 years since the building was built, and it became crucial to circumstantiate the safety of the building, thus we considered to request Plus PM to perform a Building Diagnosis.
“There have been several discussions within the club’s board members over whether to maintain or rebuild the facility in the future. Although the Club’s future funding plan has just started 3 years ago but since the club’s 50 years anniversary is approaching few years later, this plan reignited 2 years ago, and the board members have envisioned the club in 3 patterns:
① Rebuild at the current site,
② Relocate to the Japanese school site in Saujana,
③ Renovation of the existing building. And with that, this project was launched at the end of the 2019 .”
– Executive Director Mr Yanai.
“We had many challenges for ① such as conflict with building related laws & regulations, as well as challenges related to neighborhoods in order to rebuild on the current site. For ②, there were problems such as construction schedule coordination with the Japanese school, etc. For ③, JCKL had many concerns, especially about the unknown renovation cost for existing buildings and whether the structure could be safe in the first place, and. that caused a snag in our plan. That is when a member of the board directors introduced Plus PM.” Recalled by Mr Yanai of the process during when the project was awarded.
As the first response, Plus PM suggested to assess the building and make a building diagnostic report (Engineering Report) and based on the findings to develop the policy.
“Because the content of the proposal that made use of the local experience was reliable and there was neutral advice, we requested Plus PM to perform a “building diagnosis” after a resolution by the JCKL Board of Directors. Then, based on the survey results and the furture plan consideration, we decided to start this project.
The Building Diagnosis report from Plus PM signified that the building can be maintained if structural reinforcement, renovation and regular maintenance are carried out in line with current legislation. Based on the results of the construction cost estimation, the cost can be significantly reduced compared to relocation and rebuilding and therefore the project has moved remarkably in the direction of “Refurbishment”.
In Malaysia, the Architect (Designer) is responsible for building design and legal compliance, and construction companies are responsible for construction contents. However, since the building of JCKL Clubhouse has been repeatedly expanded and rebuilt over the years, furthermore the usage has also been changed, it may not be possible to obtain a Certificate of Compliance and Completion (CCC) that guarantees legal compliance
In addition, the architect for JCKL building has been retired and it is required to find another architect who could make a responsible decision for the safety of this old building.
“Plus PM considered this as a potential risk from the early stage of the project, and had a reliable architect participated in this project from the building survey stage. I was able to have the rich experience and network in Malaysia once again.” – said Mr. Yanai.
Based on the results of the survey, the Authority submission has proceeded successfully, and the project was moved to the tender stage for contractor selection. And a total of 8 local and Japanese contractors were going through a competitive tendering.
Of course preparing tender conditions and evaluate the proposals when making contractor selection is important, but the most important matter in this renovation work was “ensuring safety during construction”. Each facility in JCKL will be used on Saturdays and Sundays, and club members cannot stop using the facilities during the construction period. Safety measures were indispensable, such as separating the access for club members, contractors and materials during construction, temporary work plan and placement of guards.
“Proposal for safety measures during construction was included in the tender conditions. With this conditions, not, only it confirmed the tender price, but also the safety awareness of each tenderer, and also enable the board of Directors to decide the contractor unanimously. We highly appreciate that we were able to award the work to a local contractor who has maintenance work experience for JCKL Clubhouse in the past at a construction cost of 30% lower than the original budget.” – discussed about evaluation of the Plus PM at the tender stage.
Image: Correction of Evacuation Route
Image: Correction of Fire Fighting Services
Image: Passage slop height and slop correction and overhead warning
Plus PM Consultant Sdn. Bhd. provides project management and construction management expertise in construction projects in ASEAN. We also provide assistance for companies looking to enter and expand into the ASEAN market.
Plus PM Consultant is a Construction Consulting and Construction Management company serving clients in ASEAN countries
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