5Sunday, January 20, 2019

Year RoadLength RoadMaintenance @December Index(RMI)

2003 2,366 60.542004 2,366 64.292005 3,829 67.322006 3,782 70.372007 4,039 73.442008 4,722 74.942009 4,670 74.142010 4,532 75.582011 4,588 75.882012 4,972 75.582013 5,058 77.562014 5,440 77.122015 5,526 81.532016 5,706 83.202017 5,848 84.792018 6,262 84.50

(Source: Annual Road Condition Survey Report by Konsultant Timur)

CMSRoads’SphereofInfluence

CMS Roads sphere of influence is spread across the State viathecompany’sRoadMaintenanceUnits(RMUs)thatarelocatedatKuching,Sibu,Bintulu,Miri,LimbangandLawas.Thelocationof theRMUsenable teamstobecloser to theareasunder theircare.WiththeadditionofRMDSgAsapintheNorthernRegion,CMSRoadswillaltogetherhaveatotalof18RMUsandfourRoadMaintenanceDepots(RMDs)initsstable.

CMSRoadstakesgreatprideinthatitsworkforceof804employeesismadeuptotallyofSarawakians.Severalstaffhavebeenwiththecompanysinceitsprivatisationsome18yearsagoandtheyhavegoodthingstosayabouttheirtimeonboardCMSRoads.

AbdulRahimJamal,aSeniorRegionalManageratCMSRoadswhohasservedthecompanyfor16years,hadthistosayaboutthemaintenancecontract:“ThePBCmodelallowsboththeclientand the contractor some flexibility in managing the necessarymaintenanceactivities.Italsoencouragesinnovationandenablesustogetthingsdonemoreeffectivelyandefficiently.”

Kelvin Ng, a Senior Operations Executive, who has been withthecompanysince2000at the timeof itsprivatisation,had thistosay: “In thiscompany, Ihavebeenwell takencareof.What Icouldn’tachieveinmylastjob,I’vebeengiventhechancetodohere.Thecompanyreallyappreciatesme,mystrengthsandmycontributions.”

Anding Unchit, an Operations Executive, has been with thecompanyfor15yearsfollowing18yearsofservicewithJKR.Hesaid,“Wetrytokeeptheroadsopenallthetimeforthebenefitofthe rakyat.Weareallonebighappy familyatCMSRoadsandthecompanytakesgoodcareofus.Thefacilitiesandbenefitsarethere,includingmedicalandmanyotherbenefitssuchasforthosemarriedwithchildren.Wearealsoprovidedtheappropriateattireandtrainingtodothejobright,withastrongconcernforthesafetyoftheworkersandroadusers.”

PromisingDaysAhead

Sarawak is set to register higher economic growth as well asachievemorebalancedeconomicdevelopmentundertheState’sRM11.914billionbudgetfor2019–itslargesttodate.Over75%,orRM9.073billionofthefundshavebeenallocatedfordevelopmentexpenditure,while theremainder, totallingRM2.841billion,havebeenearmarkedforoperatingexpenditure.Encompassingsocio-economicand rural transformation initiatives,walkaboutprojectsaswellasinitiativesundertheDigitalEconomy,thedevelopment-based and rural-focussed State Budget 2019 aims to stimulatea higher level of economic activity and economic progress forSarawakiansaswellastoconnectherpeopleonseverallevels.

KeepingtheMomentumGoing

AstheState’sleadinginfrastructurefacilitatorandaprimemoverintheSarawakgrowthstory,CahyaMataSarawakBerhad(CMSortheGroup),tooisplayingitsparttospureconomicgrowthandconnect Sarawakians. The Group continues to leverage on itshealthybalancesheet,localknowledge,experiencedmanagementteam, proven strategies and a synergised portfolio of Sarawak-basedbusinessestomaximiseitsparticipationintheState.

BeingaleadingproponentoftheState’sgrowthstory,CMScontinuestoidentifystrategiesthatarehelpingtobuildandstrengthenlinkagesbetweenmarkets,businessesandcommunities,aswellascreaterealvalue for itsdiversestakeholders.Today,CMScontinues tocreate value for the State through its involvement in the highlyanticipatedMiri-MarudiRoadRehabilitationProject. Connectingtownsandpeople,theprojectisnotonlyontrackbutprogressingwellaheadof itsoriginal30-monthschedule.Theproject isalsodirectlyaddressingoneofSarawak’sbiggestchallenges–thatofreducingthedevelopmentgapbetweentheruralandurbanareas,notonly in termsof infrastructure,butalsobywayof improvingaccesstomarketsandliftingthelevelofincomeamongSarawak’sruralcommunities.

Groupsubsidiary,CMSRoadsSdnBhd(CMSRoads),hasbeentaskedwithcompletingthisimportantproject.Havingsuccessfullyrolledouttheroadsurfacingcomponentoftheproject,CMSRoadsexpectstocompletetheextensiveupgradingoftheroadbyearlyQ22019.ThisisahugemilestoneforthecompanywhichcontinuestoproveitselfasamajorassettoSarawakasitkeepstheroadsitistaskedwithsafeforallusers.

CMSRoads–ThenandNow

A homegrown company with some 15 years to its name, CMSRoads is entrusted by the State government to manage andmaintainspecificStateRoads.Roadsthatarewell-built,managedand maintained are essential conduits for bringing communitiestogether. They also help increase trade and improve inter-stateefficiencies.

CMSRoads’rootsgobackto1994whenPPESRoadMaintenanceSdnBhdwasestablished.At that time,PPESWorks (Sarawak)SdnBhdhelda51%equitystakeinthecompany.Thefollowingyear,thecompanywasrenamedSaraRoadMaintenanceSdnBhd.In2000,aspartofthePublicWorksDepartment’s(betterknownasJabatanKerjaRayaorJKR)RoadMaintenancePrivatisation,SaraRoadMaintenanceSdnBhdwasawardedapilot contractby theState tomaintain813kmofStateRoads inKuchingandSamarahan for two years. Having proven its ability during thetrialperiod,SaraRoadMaintenanceSdnBhdwassubsequentlyawardeda15-yearcontractinJanuary2003forthemanagementandmaintenanceof 2,366 kmofStateRoads inSarawak.Thiswasahugelyimportantmomentforthecompany.

InJuly2004,SaraRoadMaintenanceSdnBhdwasrenamedCMSRoadsSdnBhd.Subsequently,between2005and2008,thetwominorityshareholderscashedout,makingCMSRoadsSdnBhdawhollyownedsubsidiaryoftheCMSGroup.ByJanuary2014,thelengthofStateroadsunder thecontracthad increased to4,100km.Todate,CMSRoadsistaskedwithmaintaining6,262kmorabout18%of the total lengthofStateRoads inSarawak,whilethebalancecontinues tobemaintainedby JKRandother localauthorities.

AStrongFocusonQualityandOutcomes

Today,CMSRoadscontinuestostrengthenitsworkingrelationshipwithJKRanddeliveronitsresponsibilitiesinaneffectivemanner.ItscontractwithJKRisa“PerformanceBased”oneandisthefirstofitskindinMalaysia.Unlikeanormal“QuantityBased”contract(QBC),thisPerformanceBasedContract(PBC)isresults-orientedandfocusesonqualityandoutcomes.ItrequiresCMSRoadstoachieveapredeterminedperformanceindicatorforeachcategoryofworkbeforeanypaymentisreceived.PBCsarewidelyusedindevelopedcountriesandarerecommendedbytheWorldBankforthepreservationandmaintenanceofroadassets.

Bywayofexample,aPBCwouldrequirethecontractortoensureall potholes are patched and all blocked drains are cleared,withinapplicableperiods;whereasunderaQBC, thecontractorisobligatedtopatchuptoacertainpercentageofthepavementarea,andtoclearthedrains,infixedcycles.

ThebenefitsofaPBCtotheGovernmentarequiteclear:

• Annualsavingsof10-20%;• Fasterandbetterresponsetime;• HighermaintenancestandardsthroughthePBCsystem;• Annualbudgetingiseasierthankstofixedratesforbothroutine

maintenanceand instructedworks, i.e., thoseoverandaboveplannedroutinework;

• TransferstheobligationsandrisksofworksmanagementfromtheStatetothecontractor;and

• MakesiteasierforCMSRoadstoincorporatenewtechnologiesandequipment.

To measure performance under the PBC, annual managementandmaintenancetargetsaresetinadvancebetweenCMSRoadsandJKR.Thisisthenindependentlyverified.Thecontractcoversthecarriagewaypavement,verges,drains,selectedbridgesand“road furniture” includingdestinationsigns.Performance relatingtotheconditionofpavementsisthenindependentlymeasuredandreportedintheRoadMaintenanceIndex(RMI).

ThetableaboveillustratestheincreasingroadlengththatJKRhasentrustedCMSRoadstomaintainbasedonthecompany’sabilitytoperform(asevidencedbytheincreasingRMIrate).

JeeMengTong isaSeniorOperationsExecutivewhoworks intheSouthernRegion.HehasbeenonboardCMSRoadsfor12yearsandhadthistosay:“Oursizeandscaleasanorganisationmeans that external factors such as late payments don’t hinderour very importantwork.Wealsohave thebestequipmentandmachinery,aswellasextensiveexperience,havingbeen in thisfield for 15 years. We are familiar with all the road systems inSarawak.Personally,hereatCMSRoads,Ienjoybetterpayandthework-lifebalanceisalsoverygood.Thecompanyreallycaresaboutourwelfare.I’mveryhappytobewithCMS.”

PeterMandieisanOperationsExecutivewhohashadsome18years of experience working with CMS Roads. Prior to that heheldrelevantGovernmentpositionsdatingbackto1983,includingwith JKR. He said, “CMS Roads is well equipped with the rightmachineryandhasastrongandloyalteam.Weknoweveryinchof every road throughout the State that is under our contract. IbelieveonlyCMSRoadshasallthisinformationandexperience.”

Inadditiontoitsprimaryroadmaintenanceactivities,CMSRoadsactivelysubcontractsportionsofroutineworksuchasdrainclearingandgrasscuttingactivitiestolocalentrepreneursthroughapropertendering system. This too is helping to create employmentopportunitiesandspureconomicactivitythroughouttheState.

BringingInnovationintoPlay

Today,CMSRoadsisleveragingonthelatesttechnologyanditsextensivetrackrecordtoseetheMiri-MarudiRoadRehabilitationprojectandotherimportantinfrastructureprojectsthroughtotheirfullcompletion.Bringingtothetablequality,expediencyandworld-classtechnology,coupledwithsomehardySarawakianresiliencetotacklethechallengesofadverseweatherconditionsandtoughterrain,CMSRoadscontinuestoproveitselftimeandtimeagain.

To date, the company has invested heavily in 620 units ofequipmentandmachinery to the tuneofRM109million tocarryout its maintenance work in an effective and efficient manner.Theinvestmentsincludeitemssuchasworktrucks,tippertrucks,excavators,backhoeloaders,motorgraders,fuelandwatertankers,plus stabiliser machines, pavers, cement spreaders, vibratingrollers,pneumaticrollersandtandemrollers,amongotherthings.The recent addition of four Road Scanners and a state-of-the-artFallingWeightDeflectometer (FWD) tomeasure thebearingcapacityofpavementwhichthentheresiduallifespanofpavementcanbedetermined,hastakenCMSRoads’maintenanceeffortsupseveralnotches.

To facilitate planning, monitoring, execution and reporting, thecompany has developed a proprietary software which it haslabelled“CREAM”(theacronymforCMSRoadEngineeringAssetManagementSystem).CREAMservesasaneffectiverepositoryof information for road inventory and condition data, as well asmaintenancehistoryandGISinformation.Today,allroadsunderthecontractcanbescannedandphotographedwithGPScoordinatestorecordtheirroughness(usingtheInternationalRoughnessIndexorIRI),texture,rutting,aswellasthelongitudinalprofileandcrossfall.Moreover,eachcrewmembercaninitiate,manageandreportoneachassignedactivityusinganapponsmartphones issuedtothem.

CMSRoadsisalsoproactivelypursuingcollaborativeresearchanddevelopment (R&D)activitieswith JKRandseveral universities,especially inareasrelatedtonewpavementsurfacingsolutions.TheR&Dactivitiestodateincludecementstabilisingactivities,thecreationofconcreteroadsincorporatingrecycledadditives,foam,polymermodifiedbitumenandgeogrids,plusnoisereductionandsoilstabilisingelements.

Today, CMS Roads can stand shoulder to shoulder with otherleading road maintenance contractors across Malaysia, andin some instances, across the region. Equipped with the vastexperience in road maintenance and to some extent, solidconstructionexperience,CMSRoadshas taken it upon itself toshare thisknowledgewithotherstakeholders.To thisend,CMSRoadshostsregularworkshopsandbriefingsonrelevanttopics,suchasnewsurfacingmethodsandmaterials.Byopenlysharingthe latest industry developments with others within the roadmaintenanceecosystem,CMSRoadsiscertainlyplayingitspartinhelpingacceleratetheState’sorganicgrowth.

FortheBettermentofSarawakandHerPeopleCMSRoads recognises that ithasaspecialdutyof trustandaresponsibilitytoundertakeitsworkproactivelyandprofessionally.The company and its teams are totally committed to not onlymeeting theexpectationsof JKR,butalso thecommunities thattheroadsconnect.CMSRoads’dedicatedteamofSarawakianstakegreatprideintheirworkandwillcontinuetoensurethattheexistingroadsundertheircare,togetherwiththenextgenerationofroads,aremaintainedinthebestpossiblemannerforthebenefitofSarawakandherpeople.

SPURRING GROWTH, CONNECTING SARAWAKIANS

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