Paramount-UOWM collaboration towards sustainable construction waste management
It was certainly a day to remember, especially for the seven teams of students from UOW Malaysia’s (UOWM) School of Engineering. In preparation for the Capstone Project Final evaluation, these young aspiring engineers had worked tirelessly and spent sleepless nights in just a matter of weeks to complete their assignments. Focusing on the theme ‘Innovative Segregation and Sorting System for Construction Waste’, the project was aimed at developing a system to efficiently sort and segregate construction waste.
This was held in collaboration with Paramount Corporation Berhad and is part of a year-long industrial grant research project involving the development of innovative solutions to minimise environmental impact and optimise resource utilisation.
This collaboration was initiated in 2023 involving Paramount, UOWM and the Sustainable Buildings Research Centre at the University of Wollongong, Australia. The goal was clear – to engage with the academia and leverage on bright minds to advance innovation for sustainable construction waste management.
From the initial discussions and site visit which resulted in a case study analysing waste categorization, quantification, and current management practices, it has since evolved into a more in-depth discussion on opportunities for sustainable waste solutions at Paramount’s project sites.
Under the banner of UOWM’s 4th EUReS Engineering Research Symposium (2-3 April 2024), the event kicked off with an opening speech by Deputy Group CEO, Benjamin Teo before the respective teams pitched their ideas and introduced the system prototypes built for this project.
“As a property and construction player the challenges involving the management of waste is no small matter. Good waste management not only ensures legal compliance, but it can also protect the health and safety of our workers as well as the environment while saving costs and reducing expenses for disposal,” said Teo.
For the project evaluation, Paramount was represented by PCSB General Manager, Adrian Choo and Senior Manager (ESH), Deva Dass as well as Senior Manager (Project Management), Ivan Chan who formed part of the judging panel together with other industry partners.
Evaluation of the projects were based on effective concept presentation supported by an assessment of the prototype development specifically on design, functionality, usability and technical achievement. Finally, points were also given for teamwork.
In the end, the winning team which developed a solution named AEROGLIDE unanimously clinched the top prizes under two categories – Champion (Best of the Best) as well as the Industrial Choice awards.
All in all, the judges were impressed by the speed and ability of the students to process and apply the relevant information from existing data and observations from the site visit to develop these solutions which are currently lacking in the industry. This further reinforces the importance of education as a pillar in nation building and inspires hope for the future of the industry.
