Singapore's Kim Yew Integrated takes on digital technology

594
2
Singapore's Kim Yew Integrated takes on digital technology

SINGAPORE: The engine of facilities management is always in full gear behind the grandeur of buildings that dot Singapore's skyline.

For more than 30 years, Kim Yew Integrated has been a firm that makes sure government offices and landmarks are not only safe, but a sight to behold.

The company was founded by Mr Jim Tan, who arrived in Singapore from Malacca in the 1970s.

He started working as an electrician, and in 1985 he started his own business, called Kim Yew Electrical and Sanitary.

The patriarch ran the business with his wife before passing on the baton to the next generation.

Since then, Kim Yew has grown from 10 employees to 500 employees.

Two of the four children of the Tans are driving the firm to the next level of digital building maintenance.

The COVID-19 epidemic pushed the company to speed up its use of technology, according to Eldest child Patrick Tan, the managing director of Kim Yew Integrated.

"We were quite impacted by the dormitory lockdown of the workers," said Patrick Tan.

We were already engaged with software providers to use digital technology like tablets and smartphones. We have been working with vendors to do smart vehicle tracking. He said that the pandemic pushed us to look into how to use technology to reduce the reliance on manpower.

Kim Yew is big on predictive maintenance, or using data-driven, proactive maintenance methods to evaluate the condition of equipment, and estimate when maintenance is necessary.

Patrick Tan said that this is a necessary transformation that opens up growth opportunities and secures its family legacy.

This is a critical period because the new norm is different from before, he said.