MAINBOARD-LISTED groundworks engineering firm CSC Holdings has lowered costs and boosted productivity with two patented solutions: a mobile site reporting (MSR) system, and a reinforced concrete (RC) pile handler, it said on Wednesday.

CSC said that it has achieved 25 per cent savings on manpower and 150 per cent improvement in site recording efficiency with the MSR, which digitises the entry of site data such as daily production records and inventory and machinery movements.

And by using its RC pile handler, the number of piles handled each day has risen 50 per cent. The machine, which uses a grip mechanism to lift and secure pile sections, replaces the use of traditional crawler cranes to transfer RC piles.

With the pile handler, the company also reported saving 71 per cent on manpower and 73 per cent on the cost of each pile installed.

The MSR system is patented in Singapore; the RC pile handler has been granted patents in Singapore, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia and the Philippines and is awaiting approvals in Laos, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, CSC said.

The two solutions were reportedly developed with S$370,000 in support from Building and Construction Authority schemes.

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Said CSC chief executive officer See Yen Tarn in a statement: "Operating in an environment where margin and manpower challenges abound has made us realise the importance of building resilience through innovation.

"We are thankful to have pushed through with several productivity and safety solutions since some years ago, as these have become even more crucial to us today, given how the Covid-19 outbreak has impacted the foreign worker situation."

Foreign workers in Singapore's construction and other sectors have been affected this year by border-control measures and movement restrictions aimed at controlling the spread of the deadly novel coronavirus in migrant dormitories.