Istilah Abali

I’m currently a senior project manager working for one of Turner & Townsend’s key global clients as a cost analyst for the construction of a data centre in Singapore. I provide advice and solutions to project challenges, bringing greater value to the development of the project.

Over the past five years, I’ve worked in fast-paced projects such as commercial offices, retail and data centres - which has been a fantastic learning curve as a professional consultant. My regional experience includes Singapore, Hong Kong and Indonesia.

Q. How do you contribute to Turner & Townsend making a difference?

A. I would see that my contribution to Turner & Townsend in making a difference through my daily interactions with different stakeholders, both internal and external. By having the client’s or business’ best interest at heart, you can continue to maintain a good service and delivery processes, simultaneously providing innovative solutions where required.

Q. Describe your typical day.

A. I don’t think it has ever been a typical day for me, but usually I would start with a cup of coffee at hand and check out Facebook! After, I’ll start checking of emails, list and prioritise the things to be done during the day. Lunch is a sacred time for me as it gives me the opportunity to catch up with colleagues, the project team and clients. After work, I hit the gym every alternate day to keep a healthy lifestyle.

Q. What is the emerging trend in your industry specialism and how are you responding to this?

A. Singapore’s construction landscape in the past fifty years has seen project owners typically adopting the traditional approach to procurement, which is design, bid and build.  In recent years, we have seen a shift, where more clients are beginning to appreciate to the value of adopting other procurement routes such as design and build, or the partnership approach to drive quality and schedule.