If Mr Pang Kwai Sun were a superhero, his powers would be speed, stealth and tenacity. The construction site supervisor has directed vehicles during a blackout at a traffic junction. During a flash flood, he guided pedestrians away from knee-level waters.

The Senior Higher Engineering Officer is in charge of everything within the boundaries of the Beauty World MRT station construction site in Bukit Timah, ensuring that the public can find their way around path diversions safely. He has even arranged for the elderly in wheelchairs to be carried up staircases at Beauty World Plaza which lacks ramps.

Mr Pang, 46, joined the Land Transport Authority in 2003 as a supervisor for the Circle Line project at Paya Lebar MRT station. “It was a good challenge working with an existing and operational station,” he says with a tinge of pride.

By now, Mr Pang and his colleagues are used to the engineering difficulties. “It is how to handle the public that poses the biggest challenge,” says Mr Pang’s supervisor, Senior Project Engineer Low Yew Huat, 57.

He praises Mr Pang for his “innate sense of public service”. Mr Pang regularly meets the owners of the shophouses nearby, who worry about lost customers and lower profits. “We try to adjust when we work and finish within a few hours after midnight, to avoid affecting their peak business hours (the next morning),” says Mr Pang.

In person, Mr Pang seems almost painfully shy. His speech is sparse, his face rather serious. But he offers the slightest of smiles when he mentions his two teenage children. In his own time, he enjoys listening to instrumental music and travelling.

Beneath that hard hat and steely gaze, Mr Pang finds satisfaction in simple things: “I am happy whenever every stage of work is completed without any accidents or complaints.

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This is the third in a series to celebrate those working behind the scenes to keep our daily operations running smoothly. For previous stories, visit our Unsung Heroes section.