I am directly contributing to the safety of lives.
Either way, people are saved, which is what drew Hui Qi to the field in the first place: “I am directly contributing to the safety of lives,” she says.
Supported in chasing her passions
In support of her passions, HTX is sponsoring Hui Qi’s PhD programme at National University of Singapore (NUS), Civil and Environmental Engineering department with a research interest in blast engineering.
This is valuable as "blast engineering is considered a deep specialisation within structural engineering, and there are currently many knowledge gaps," she shares.
The subject is not taught at the undergraduate level, so like many blast engineers, she had to learn on the job. Her foray into the sector came when she worked in a design office dealing with SBD projects. Despite being seven years into her engineering career then, Hui Qi gamely took on the challenge to enter a new field and began a three-year stint developing buildings that could withstand explosions.
In 2019, she moved to the Ministry of Home Affairs where she worked for the Singapore Police Force’s Centre for Protective Security as an engineer focused on SBD projects and event security planning, before eventually joining HTX’s Protective Security & Safety (PSS) Centre of Expertise (CoE).
Wanting a better grasp of the advanced topics, in 2020, Hui Qi embarked on a part-time Master of Engineering course at NUS. However, it was a struggle to balance school with work, and she considered stopping after she completed the degree. This is when her mentor, Er. Dr Tan Swee Hong, Head (Blast Engineering) PSS CoE, stepped in.
"Er. Dr Tan has great ideas on how PSS CoE can support the protective security industry and has identified R&D areas to work on and what training we should take," says Hui Qi. He strongly encouraged her to continue her studies, and with Director (PSS CoE)’s and HTX management’s support, Hui Qi successfully applied for sponsorship to complete a full-time PhD.
Contributing to Singapore’s blast engineering knowledge base
Excitedly, Hui Qi shares that her research, which is slated to complete by 2025, will contribute to PSS CoE’s development of industry guidelines to support Singapore's Infrastructure Protection Act (IPA). Introduced in 2018, the IPA requires buildings in Singapore to meet standards for the national counter-terrorism framework.
"Our goal is to publish a design guide that provides clarity for engineers working on critical infrastructure or high-profile development projects," says Hui Qi.
The challenge in doing this comes from needing to understand the various design and practical problems faced by buildings with different uses and from varying industries. There is also the issue of how existing blast design codes and industry standards are written for the U.S. context and are not always appropriate locally.
For example, to reduce reliance on manual labour and speed up the construction process, Singapore has moved to using prefabricated structures that are assembled on site. But blast design of these prefabricated components is not included in existing codes and standards.
By focusing her research on the effects of blasts on precast columns, Hui Qi therefore plays a significant role in enabling PSS CoE to develop their guide.
"I am grateful to be able to expand my knowledge while conducting research that will contribute to the development of the design guide," she proudly proclaims.
Her goals for the future? "To expand my knowledge and deepen my expertise in blast engineering to do my part in making Singapore a safer place," she concludes.