Not Leaving Gas Safety to Chance
Gas Engineer Lydia Koh, 24, had just completed a lesson on energy-saving and gas safety practices. Sixty young beneficiaries from the Ang Mo Kio Family Service Centre waited eagerly for Lydia to reveal the answer to the specially designed quizzes. When she did, the room erupted in cheers, as the children rushed to make their next move on a giant snakes and ladders gameboard that Lydia designed and produced. This was one of the many regular activities organised by SP Heart Workers – the staff volunteers of SP Group.
“We kept the game interactive, with short but impactful dos and don’ts. These children can be Powersavers and safety ambassadors among their families and friends,” Lydia said with a smile.
To Lydia, who heads the Leak Survey unit at SP’s Gas Operations team, spreading gas safety practices is a top priority. She champions gas safety awareness as a member of SP’s gas safety taskforce and the SP Heart Workers.
Lydia’s team of 11 inspects gas pipelines all around Singapore, on foot and in specially designed leak-detection vehicles. They cover over 400km a month.
Driven by her desire to make a difference, Lydia is on a constant hunt for ways to uplift the job of her team to achieve greater precision and efficiency.
She developed ATLAS, a combination of three apps and data visualisation tools, which enables her team to digitally file close to 3,500 reports annually from any work location. The platform which was launched in September 2019 generates monthly reports instantly, saving time required for travel and report routing. ATLAS is estimated to save 2,100 manhours per year, equivalent to over S$65,000 in cost savings.
Public education continues to be a focus for Lydia, an engineer under SP’s Engineering Development for GraduatEs (EDGE) Programme. The programme enables her to gain exposure through stints in various business units over a five-year period.
“I’ve heard about older people who try to find the source of a gas leak with a lighter, which is extremely dangerous.”
“Home owners may feel we’re being overly careful, but the implications for their family members, neighbours, even their pets could be severe. Gas safety must never be left to guesswork,” cautioned Lydia.
— 2 January 2020
