JOHNSTON, R.I., USA, November 8, 2022 – FM Global, one of the world’s largest commercial and industrial property insurers, today opened the company’s first client-centered experiential risk management facility in Asia Pacific, situated in Singapore Science Park. Designed to meet the complex and diverse needs of the Asia-Pacific region, the FM Global Centre aims to empower clients and prospects in the region to protect their assets today while increasing their longer-term resilience.
"The FM Global Centre embodies how businesses can take action to realize the business value of risk improvement and increased resilience,” said Malcolm Roberts, FM Global president and chief executive officer. “With the opportunity for first-hand experience in the science of risk management, companies will be empowered to elevate conversations about risk improvement and can more effectively address the challenges of increasing climate risk as well as growth and infrastructure challenges in the region.”
The FM Global Centre enables organizations to learn about and experience solutions grounded in the company’s scientific research and engineering expertise, not only to protect property and assets, but to keep their businesses going and growing strong. The SGD$80 million, 6-story facility spanning 11,613 square meters houses a series of interactive simulation labs and learning spaces, including an immersive theater that demonstrate how investment in risk improvement can prevent losses and deliver business value. These insights can help organizations make the best decisions to strengthen supply chains, protect owned locations, or locate new facilities and ultimately generate business value. The Centre’s interactive simulation labs have a specific focus on natural hazards, demonstrating how property losses resulting from high-wind events, floods and earthquakes can be prevented through a focus on greater climate resilience. Other experiential areas include material impact testing, flood simulations, and a virtual warehouse simulation to demonstrate the risks posed by natural hazards.
The Centre is also home to the company’s Asia operations. Present in the Asia Pacific region for 50 years and headquartered from Singapore for nearly 40 of these, FM Global has a regional focus on the pharmaceuticals, healthcare and technology manufacturing sectors, as well as supporting the expansion of global clients into Singapore and Asia Pacific.
It is hoped that the FM Global Centre will contribute significantly to Asia Pacific’s growing loss prevention culture and encourage regional businesses to take action in enhancing their resilience. “We are a global business with a strong commitment to improving the resilience of our clients in Singapore and across the region to help them better serve their communities and customers. Our fundamental belief is that the majority of loss is preventable, and the FM Global Centre reflects this combination of engineering and insurance insight,” said Tan Hian Hong, operations senior vice president, operations manager, Asia.
The FM Global Centre, which has incorporated Asian design principles to achieve a harmony with the landscape, was developed by Ascendas-Singbridge, supported by main contractor Nakano, consultant and designer PT Consultants, M&P Consultants JRP, and interior designers Gensler and Cundall. It is built to FM Global’s FM Approved standards and represents one of the most resilient and well-protected buildings in Asia Pacific.
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About FM Global
Established nearly two centuries ago, and present in the Asia Pacific region for 50 years, FM Global is a mutual insurance company whose capital, scientific research capability and engineering expertise are solely dedicated to property risk management and the resilience of its client-owners. These owners, who share the belief that the majority of property loss is preventable, represent many of the world’s largest organizations, including one of every three Fortune 500 companies. They work with FM Global to better understand the hazards that can impact their business continuity in order to make cost-effective risk management decisions, combining property loss prevention with insurance protection.
Singapore’s FM Global Centre complements the US-based FM Global Research Campus, which is regarded as the world’s premier center devoted to preventing physical threats to its clients’ properties from turning into real-life catastrophes. Here, real-time simulations anticipate what preparations and protection the client’s facilities need to mitigate disasters.
FM Global has established partnerships with educational, technical and governmental organizations around the world, including the Institute of Catastrophe Risk Management, which serves as a trusted advisor to standards and risk-focused organizations in Singapore and across the region.
About the FM Global Centre
Located in Singapore Science Park, the 6-story building spanning 11,613 square meters includes an immersive media theater with capacity for 80 people and offers robust hands-on loss prevention education across 10 interactive simulation laboratories and four learning spaces, including:
- Natural Hazards Lab: Learn from a series of interactive physical and virtual demonstrations how to prevent property losses from the impact of natural hazards, including high-wind events, floods and earthquakes. Live demonstrations include large flying debris impact testing apparatus, flood simulations and mitigation solutions, and a virtual warehouse simulation that shows the risks posed by earthquake, fire, wind, and flooding, complemented by life-like sounds.
- Fire Pump Lab: Using projection mapping and lighting, we demonstrate the importance of a well-designed and well-maintained fire pump as part of an effective fire prevention strategy.
- Riser Lab: Understand the four different types of risers as part of a fire protection system and what is involved in their maintenance and testing. Using augmented reality, you will experience the importance of having the right fire protection system and special protection systems for your facility.
- Sprinkler Lab: Learn how sprinklers work with live demonstrations of various sprinkler discharge characteristics. The Sprinkler Lab illustrates the strengths and limitations of various types of sprinklers, showcasing their uses in the event of different fire hazards.
- Warehouse Lab: Witness how fast a fire spreads based on the nature of materials and how they are stored. You will see how a warehouse is configured in a series of visual demonstrations and learn about the best practices in warehouse protection. The aim is to help you identify and understand deficiencies in rack storages and shelves.
- Building Assemblies Lab: Material selection helps determine your property’s resilience. We share which FM Approved roof and wall assemblies are best suited to withstand wind hazards, and various insulation materials for protection against fire hazards.
- Utilities and Production Lab: We identify the various hazards and safeguards associated with industrial equipment such as boilers, generators, turbines and fuel tanks. Learn more about FM Global’s recommended testing and maintenance practices to maximize resilience.
- Electrical Lab: Through electrical fire losses, learn about electrical risks, one of the major causes of loss across all industries. This insider experience allows you to appreciate a range of risks as well as the implementation of strategies to prevent property damage and business interruption from electrical damages.
- Ignitable Liquid Use and Storage Labs: These two labs utilize virtual simulation setup to provide insights on how to recognize and control ignition sources in a range of liquid storage scenarios, as well as identify process hazards and solutions to improve your company’s risk profile. These two labs also showcase a range of different devices used to mitigate risk.