Reference: http://www.bcm.org.sg/Portals/0/Resources/Singex%20BCM%20Article.pdf

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(Singex Venues Pte Ltd)
Singex Venues Pte Ltd is the manager of Singapore EXPO
Convention and Exhibition Centre, the leading and largest
purpose-builtmeetings,incentive,conventionsandexhibitions
(MICE) facility in Singapore. Being in the MICE industry for
over three decades, the veteran is continuously seeking new
avenues to reaffirm Singex’s commitment towards achieving
ISO9001:2008 certification in 2008, Singex is proud to be
further awarded with the Business Continuity Management
(BCM) SS540:2008 certification and has chosen the standard
to spearhead itself towards being Asia’s leading MICE venue.
Boasting an average of 600 events and a massive six million
international visitors annually, Singex certainly understands
the crucial need to enhance its business continuity plans to
uphold accountability to its clients, stakeholders and visitors.
As a key installation to Singex’s repertory, BCM plans are also
being incorporated into Singapore EXPO’s new convention
wing, MAX Atria which is expected to be operational in the
first quarter of 2012.
Including BCM into Initial Designs
By factoring BCM into the design of MAX Atria’s infrastructure,
Singex has purposefully devised and prepared separate
escape routes and procedures for its visitors in the case of
a disaster (e.g. VIP emergency rooms). This is particularly
important as Singapore EXPO continues to host distinguished
local and international leaders (e.g. ex-British Prime Minister,
Minister Goh Chok Tong and many others) Given the sheer
number of events and human traffic Singex handles daily,
they are especially concerned about the safety of everyone
on its premises. James Boey, Deputy Director of Corporate
Development in Singex shared, “The cost now is just dollars
and cents but if a disaster strikes and we are not prepared,
the subsequent cost may be human lives.”
designed comprehensive contingency plans and frameworks
for effective responses. For instance, prior to BCM, Singex had
already installed round-the-clock surveillance in all its facilities to
spot discrepancies and trained operational staff in First-Aid and
Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs). BCM helped Singex
to further consolidate these existing practices and built them
into a standard guideline in which they can follow in case of an
emergency. Singex also pointed out that this BCM guideline
would be replicated for other venues it would manage in the
near future. Moreover, as a by-product its BCM implementation,
Singex has also set up Emergency Response Teams (ERTs) to
address and tackle problems during the emergencies.
Safeguarding the MICE Industry
Citing the Icelandic volcanic eruptions in 2010 as an example,
Mr Boey said, “As a result of the volcanic disaster, numerous
MICE events across Europe were cancelled because the
venue managers and organisers had no contingency plans.
With an increase in awareness of such potential risks, Singex
is now more prepared and confident in maintaining our
operations even if our primary venue, Singapore EXPO were
to be compromised.” As part of its BCM contingency plans,
Singex has arranged for alternative holding sites in case
events could not be held in the EXPO. Alternative offices in
Ubi are also planned for staff to carry on with their duties in
the event of a disaster.
To achieve the level of service excellence befitting of a luminary
leader, the BCM-ready Singex has to ensure that its business
partners are also capable of providing sustainable services in
times of disruption. Therefore, to ensure that its entire value
chain is disaster-ready, Singex took the initiative to introduce
and encourage its vendors and partners to take up BCM.
One of which is its regular food caterer - Pin Si Pte Ltd, which
readily took up the programme. Both companies further
strengthened their individual BCM plans by converging some
of their strategies. For example, plans have been entrenched
for Pin Si to use MAX Atria as an alternate facility.
BCM as a part of Corporate DNA
Moving forward, Singex agendas to engrave BCM into its
corporate DNA to achieve a 100% employee buy-in. Mr Boey
adds, “We have to reinforce a world-class BCM mentality in
all our staff in order to rank as a world-class MICE venue.”
To augment its preparedness, Singex has made plans to
host joint exercises with the Singapore Police Force (SPF),
Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) and the SMRT on a
mass scale.
DAC Teo Chun Ching, Commander of Bedok Police Division
commends, “Singex has been an active member in our
Safety and Security Watch Group. Over the years, the
Police and Singex have collaborated on various exercises to
develop response protocols and ensure security measures
are constantly being improved. We are certain that with these
latest dual certifications in BCM (SS540:2008 & BS25999),
EXPO will continue to be an exemplary event venue in
Singapore in terms of crisis management and disaster
recovery practices.”
MICE Resilience and Reliability
About Singex Venues Pte Ltd
Singex Venues Pte Ltd is a BS25999, ISO 9001:2008 and
SS540:2008 certified venue management company based in
Singapore. It has been managing Singapore EXPO Convention
and Exhibition Centre since its opening in 1999.
A top-ranked venue in Asia and Singapore’s largest purpose-
built MICE facility, EXPO covers over 123,000sqm of indoor
and outdoor space. Comprising convention-exhibition halls,
conference halls, meeting rooms, and mobile conference
rooms, EXPO welcomes over six million visitors and 600
events every year, ranging from conventions and exhibitions
to corporate meetings and banquets.
By early 2012, EXPO will feature a new convention wing, MAX
Atria. Equipped with 3.5G mobile coverage, WIFI access,
business centre, and 2,500 parking lots, EXPO is conveniently
located just five minutes from Changi International Airport and
fifteen minutes from the city centre.
Infrastructure