Ir Kew Boon Pew is a mechanical and electrical engineer who established his own consulting firm called Kew & Associates after gaining experience working for another firm. He discussed his roles and responsibilities on the Skypod Residences project, which included designing the building's M&E systems, getting approvals from authorities, and monitoring construction. Some issues during construction included improper fan duct installation and fire alarm panel replacements, which Ir Kew helped resolve by liaising with other project members. The interview provided insights into the important role of M&E engineers in construction.

1. c
&
E E R
SKYPOD
RESIDENCE
BOON PEW
& ASSOCIATES
M & E
ENGINEER
WORK SCOPE
MECHANICAL AND
ELECTRICAL
SYSTEM

2. CONTENT
INTRODUCTION
PERSONAL &
COMPANY PROFILE
M&E ENGINEER
PROJECT
2
1
5
3
ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES OF A M&E
ENGINEER IN A CONSTRUSTION
RELATION BETWEEN OTHER PROFESSIONS
SKYPOD RESIDENCE
ROLES & RESPONSIBLILITIES
OF OUR INTERVIEWEE IN
THIS PROJECT
PROBLEMS FACED AND
SOLUTION

3. INTRODUCTION
What comes to mind when you think of mechanical and
electrical engineering? Think you know what this profession
is all about? Ever wondered what it takes to be a M&E
engineer? In this month’s issue, we have conducted an
exclusive interview with a M&E engineer, Ir Kew Boon Pew.
Through our interview session, we have learned and found
out so much more about the world of mechanical and
electrical engineering. There are a lot more that lies within a
M&E engineer. Get the inside scoop of their job description,
responsibility and challenges all in this magazine.
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4. PERSONAL
COMPANY PROFILE
Ir Kew Boon Pew, aged 49 in 2015, was born in the year of 1966 in
Malaysia. He finished his primary and secondary studies locally and headed to
University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia for tertiary studies in the year
of 1982. He took up Mechanical & Electrical (M&E) Engineering course there. He
graduated after six years of studies and returned to Malaysia in the year of 1989.
Since then, he started working as a M&E engineer in Sepakat Setia Perunding,
which is presently a leading multi-disciplinary engineering consultancy firm in
Malaysia. He worked there with a basic salary of RM1800.00 per month. After a
period of time working under the company, Mr. Kew had gained enough working
experience and thus he sat for the Board of Engineer Malaysia (BEM) Exams. In the
year of 1993, he had successfully received the title “Ir” from BEM at the age of 27.
Four years later, he opened his own company namely “Kew & Associates”, which is
a M&E engineer firm at Bandar Puteri, Puchong. Up until now, he has handled over
20 massive projects and is still striving for the better in the future.
1997. Kew & Associates has a total of 10 employees including 5 draftsmen and
5 graduate M&E engineers. His company has involved in many small and
massive projects such as low rise and high rise apartments, condominiums,
factories and etc.
KEW & ASSOCIATES JURUTERA PERUNDING | M & E | CONSULTING ENGINEERS
No.26-2, Jalan Puteri ½, Bandar Puteri, 47100 Puchong, Selangor Darul Ehsan.
Kew & Associates was established by Ir Kew Boon Pew himself in
STUDIED AT
UNSW
WORKED IN MALAYSIA
AFTER GRADUATE
ENTITLED AS A
PROFESSSIONAL
ENGINEER
ESTABLISHED
KEW&ASSOCIATES
S
AGE
27 years old16 years old 22 years old 31 years old
“Ir”
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5. Before any project begins, discussion must
be done with the clients. The concepts,
requirements and thoughts regarding the
construction will be discussed. The M&E
engineer will design and implement systems
that are practical and most energy efficient. He
will also create many systems based on the
different requirements and purposes. Then,
Tender drawings will be produced.
Later on, the M&E engineer will produce detail
drawings
Not only that, the mechanical & electrical
engineer has to approach several authorities to
get approval.
M&E engineer has to do testing work
every 2-3 days to ensure systems are built
according to requirements. This process
usually lasts for about one month. Testing
of lifts usually takes a longer time as
inspection from JKKP is needed in order to
get the APA number of the lifts.
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
IN A CONSTRUCTION PROJECT
Before Construction
During Construction
contractor. The M&E engineer has do
site inspection to make sure that the
contractors do according to plan.
To improve on their work, the M&E
engineer and team will have meeting
every period of time in order to check
progress and coordinate with other
building teams such as civil and structural
(C&S) engineers.
After Construction
This process is lead by the main
Upon completion of the project, the
3

6. M&E
ENGINEER
ARCHITECT
CIVIL AND
STRUCTURAL
(C&S)ENGINEER
CLIENTS
NOMINATED
SUBCONTRACTOR
M&E Engineer needs to deal with many people in a project such as
architect, civil and structural engineer, clients, nominated subcontractor and so on.
In every project, M&E engineer needs to design the mechanical and electrical
system of a building according to client’s needs and requirements. Besides, M&E
engineer needs to determine the spaces, whether it is sufficient for the mechanical
and electrical system based on the architect’s drawings, if there is insufficient
space, M&E engineer need to inform architect to make changes. Apart from that,
M&E engineer also needs to coordinate with C&S engineer to make sure structure
of the building suits the mechanical and electrical system. M&E engineer also needs
to inspect the progress of mechanical and electrical system and solve problems
faced by nominated contractor during mechanical and electrical system
construction.
M&E ENGINEER
IN THE CONSTRUCTION TEAM
4

7. SK
S
K
Y
P
O
d
INTRODUCTION TO
SKYPOD
Skypod is a fully integrated
mixed-development located in
the highly sought-after
township of Bandar Puchong
Jaya. This freehold
development comprises two
tower blocks with 26 storeys.
All units feature practical and
elegant designs to capitalize on
space, natural lighting and
environmentally friendly
elements. Located below the
residences is the convenience
of retail shops.
Client of this project is a
developer named IOI group.
The construction is leaded by
Jasmurni Construction
Sendirian Berhad follow by 8
nominated subcontractor.
This project started in May
2012 and was expected to
complete in January 2015 but it
was delayed due to insufficient
workers.
PROJECT
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8. When the project first started, the mechanical and electrical
(M&E) engineer, Ir Kew Boon Pew had a discussion with the
client. The discussion includes the concepts, requirements and
thoughts of the client for the project. Later on, he conducted a
meeting with his draftsmen and the draftsmen produced tender
drawings. After tender, Ir Kew checked the shop drawings from
subcontractors showing conduit run, cable run and etc. At the
same time, Ir Kew received plans from the architects and checked
on it. After finalizing everything, he started to get approval from
local authorities by sending a formal letter (including calculation
of the amount of electricity needed for every unit in the building
and etc.) to respective authorities.
During the construction stage, Ir Kew was in charge of monitoring
the mechanical and electrical components of the building. This
includes the sewerage works, the electrical, telephone & extra-
low voltage (ELV) services, lift services, swimming pool & jacuzzi
system, sanitary plumbing services, fire protection services, air
conditioning & mechanical ventilation services and internal water
reticulation.
S
K
Y
P
O
D
Roles &
responsibilities
Ir. Kew boon pew
6

9. Sample of approval letter to
local authorities
Calculation of the amount
of electricity needed for
every unit in the building
s a m p l e
S
K
Y
P
O
D
7

10. Mechanical &
Electrical system
FIRE PROTECTION SYSTEM The fire protection system built in
Skypod includes the sprinkler system, standpipe system and the fire alarm
system. First, the sprinkler system provide early fire control, helping to
mitigate the hazards for occupants and firefighters alike. Next, the
standpipe system consist of a fixed piping system and hose valve
connections to preclude the need for long hose lays within tall buildings. It
is combined with the sprinkler systems as they both are fed by a single
water supply. Lastly, the fire alarm system consist of interconnected
devices and controls to alert building occupants to fire. Ir Kew had to
ensure the fire protection system to be installed and runs smoothly by
doing monitoring work during construction.
INTERNAL WATER RETICULATION The internal water
reticulation sector includes the design, operation and maintenance of
water distribution and wastewater collection system. It comprises all
the public pipe works in the building including the pumping systems,
access chambers and their construction and maintenance. During
construction, Ir Kew had to monitor the work of installation piping from
bulk meter to domestic water tank at all the shop front.
S
K
Y
P
O
D
8

11. SWIMMING POOL mechanic system built in Skypod
includes swimming pool pumps, filters and automatic salt water
chlorination system. The pumps act as the heart of the entire
sewers had sufficient capacity. The factors that should be
considered for the capacity are the peak hourly rates of flow and
the peak rates of flow from industrial plants. Besides that, Ir Kew
had to verify that the sanitary sewers are at a certain grade and
alignment to transport sewage from residential area to the point
of disposal.
Mechanical &
Electrical system
mechanical system. What is does
is that it circulates water through
the filter and heater. The filters
process the water in the pool as it
is pumped. As for the automatic
salt water chlorination system, it
purifies water effectively, ensuring
that the pool is free from harmful
bacteria.
SEWERAGE SYSTEM For
the sewerage system of Skypod,
Ir Kew had to make sure that the
sanitary sewers were designed
with suitable materials. He also
had to assure that the sanitary
S
K
Y
P
O
D
9

12. LIFT SYSTEM Skypod consist of 2 towers and have 10 lifts in
total, tower 1 consist of 2 lift lobby and each lobby comprises 3
lifts including a fire lift, tower 2 has only 1 lift lobby with 4 lifts
including a fire lift. Ir Kew has to ensure the lift systems function
well according to several factors such as personal spaces,
interpersonal distances, physical dimensions. He has to be
concern about circulation efficiency, for example the location and
arrangement of the lifts and the coordination with lobby,
stairway and corridor.
AIR CONDITIONING & MECHANICAL
VENTILATION Skypod is designed and constructed in such a
way that the form and fabric of the building minimizes the use of
mechanical ventilating or cooling systems for cooling purposes.
Besides, the ventilating and cooling systems installed by Ir Kew in
Skypod are energy efficient and are capable of being controlled to
achieve optimum energy efficient. These air-conditioning and
mechanical ventilation for cooling purposes lead to increased
energy use and higher carbon dioxide emissions. Therefore,
controls should be done to prevent the operation of simultaneous
heating and cooling within any area of the building.
Mechanical &
Electrical system
S
K
Y
P
O
D
10

13. The problems faced during the construction of
Skypod includes the fan ducting issue, TNB
inspection issue and the fire alarm panel issue.
Firstly, regarding the fan ducting issue, a few fan
ducts mounted at Skypod are not accurately 2.1m
from the ground. Hence, Ir Kew had to liaise with the
Civil & Structural engineer to ensure clear shaft of
2.1m and then reinstallation of fan ducts was
conducted. Next, another problem faced was TNB
inspection issue. Refer to TNB site inspection dated
02/05/14, Ir Kew had to monitor the installation
work of 2 layers 3 nos 150mm dia. HDPE pipe to be
extended beyond external drain apron as per TNB
requirement. Lastly, the initial use of zonal fire alarm
control panel had been replaced with one repeater
fire alarm panel at the guard house. This is because
when several floors or zones are monitored by one
fire alarm control panel, a repeater fire alarm panel
can replace the zonal fire alarm control panel on
each floor or in each zone for easy identification.
S
K
Y
P
O
D
Problems faced &
ITS Solution
11

14. WEE SUE WEN
TAN MIN CHUEN
Ir KEW BOON PEW
NG KWANG ZHOU
TAM ZHAO WEI
YEAP PHAY SHIAN
Through our interview session with Ir Kew Boon Pew, we have
gained more knowledge about the work scope of a M&E
engineer. We get to further understand the relationship
between a M&E engineer and our future profession (architect
or quantity surveyor). This has definitely give us advantages
when we step into the world of construction. Being a M&E
engineer is never a simple nor easy task. They hold great
responsibilities in the construction industry. We are truly
grateful that Mr. Kew is willing to share his experience and
stories with us. It is an awesome learning journey after all.
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