Civil Engineering Management Principles

Introduction

Today, Hong Kong is known for being a thriving cosmopolitan that serves as a major financial center. Back in the 1960s, Hong Kong was still a fishing community with a weak economy. Then you could wonder who was involved in creating such a fantastic morph. Without a doubt, the Hong Kong local construction sector has contributed significantly to the creation of buildings and amenities in the neighborhood that have continually supported the economy’s long-term growth over the years. However, in recent years, this long-standing sector has had a number of difficulties related to the effectiveness of building projects, which has prompted the government to implement new measures in an effort to boost the productivity and sustainability of the Industry. In response, the Development Bureau of HKSAR recently published “Construction 2.0 – Time to Change,” a report that outlines the six main issues that the industry is currently facing and establishes three pillars, including innovation, professionalism, and revitalization, to provide guidance for future industry growth. The three pillars may be realized in a variety of ways. By reviewing the Report and my knowledge of construction management, I will explain the meaning of each pillar and offer recommendations on how to implement each one. These recommendations will be based on four categories: the current procurement systems, contractual arrangements, and tendering approach, organizational setting, construction planning, and financial feasibility study.

Discussion

Innovation

Innovation in the construction sector refers to the identification and use of fresh strategies and equipment to complete the full construction process, including planning, designing, building, and other activities (The Development Bureau of Hong Kong, 2018). In order for businesses to adapt to changes in the market economy and develop new technologies to increase the productivity and efficiency of construction project work, as well as improve project delivery results, innovation is a crucial component of the construction industry. This is advantageous for all parties involved in the building project, including experts in the field, corporations, and the general public.

The interests always skew either the customer or the contractor under the common contractual structures used in today’s building projects. For instance, a contract based on “Bills of Firm Quantities” cannot accommodate significant changes in the project’s tasks, which is unfavorable for the contractor. Similarly, a contract based on “Bills of Approximate Quantities” does not reveal the project’s final cost until the project’s tendering stage, which is quite risky for the client. The Government may broadly use New Engineering Contract (NEC) for current building projects in order to address these issues with conflict of interest brought up by traditional contractual systems. The NEC is a set of contracts intended to oversee a building project throughout its whole and to avoid expensive disagreements (ice, 2019). In contrast to standard contracts, NEC places a strong emphasis on the partnership idea rather than the client-contractor relationship and encourages teamwork among all project participants in order to accomplish shared objectives. Additionally, it promotes open, cooperative issue resolution and proactive risk detection. These distinctions enable NEC to concentrate more on project management while also increasing the procedural and managerial requirements of NEC contracts (Construction Industry Council of Hong Kong, 2015). As a result, it is possible to greatly boost both the productivity and cost-effectiveness of building projects.

Innovation may also be achieved via new methods for construction planning in addition to modifications to the contractual arrangements. In order to transfer cutting-edge building technology from top nations to the local construction sector, the government may first create the Construction Innovation and Technology Application Center. Robotic applications and the Internet of Things (IoT) are two examples of these cutting-edge technology. The practice of adding sensors to machine parts in order to track their activities is known as the Internet of Things (IoT) (For Construction Pros, n.d.). The development of “intelligent machines” as a result of IoT usage considerably improves the efficiency of the building phase.

Building information modeling (BIM) may be employed to a larger extent in addition to IoT. An intelligent 3D model of the structure is the first step in the BIM process, which is then modified to account for changes as the project progresses (AUTODESK, n.d.). BIM enables greater collaboration between engineers and contractors by enabling the designer to access data from the 3D model related to the physical and functional qualities of the building. BIM offers more effective means for the design team and the construction team to collaborate. Given that the present maximum budget is specified as HK 30 million, BIM may be implemented more broadly in the local construction sector by reducing the maximum budget of capital projects that BIM applies on. The expenses associated with design and construction mistakes may be significantly reduced with the widespread use of BIM and better decisions on designing and building projects.

Additionally, the government may encourage off-site building by employing Modular Integrated Construction and Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DfMA) (MiC). Construction Industry Council of Hong Kong, n.d., defines DfMA as a design methodology that focuses on the simplicity of manufacture and effectiveness of assembly of construction components. MiC is an innovative construction technique in which free-standing integrated molecules are produced in a prefabrication factory before being transported to the installation site. By minimizing the quantity of manpower and materials required, DfMA and the usage of MiC may dramatically decrease the number of on-site project activities while also speeding up and decreasing the cost of assembly. Most notably, this may increase construction worker safety since certain on-site construction duties are replaced with those performed in a controlled factory setting (ice, 2019).

Professionalization

The application of professional expertise to improve performance across a broad variety of project activities, increase the quality of built assets, and decrease the frequency and severity of events is referred to as professionalization in the construction business (The Development Bureau of Hong Kong, 2018). It is crucial to the industry since it not only assures the smooth operation of building projects but also maintains the industry’s reputation and image. This enables the industry to attract the backing of other societal players like stockholders and the media, so ensuring its sustainability. However, the industry’s reputation as being risky and opportunistic has declined due to a very high event rate, including project delay and failure. Therefore, the Government should implement certain steps to raise industry professionalism.

Lack of project management skills is the cause of construction project delays and incidents. To that end, the government may implement various organizational changes and planning strategies that will help experts in the industry improve their project management abilities. First, the government may tighten the oversight of capital project costs by establishing institutions like the Project Cost Management Office (PCMO). To improve cost management in the industry, PCMO analyses project needs and corresponding regulations, develops and promotes cost management policies for capital construction projects, and closely examines cost estimates from previous projects (The Development Bureau of Hong Kong, 2018). To improve the abilities and cost estimating knowledge of various work areas, PCMO provides project management training courses. Additionally, it aids in enhancing present project management and cost-control methods by referring to international standards and, if required, hiring outside support services (The Development Bureau of Hong Kong, 2018). The aforementioned actions support financial feasibility analyses of building projects and significantly improve cost estimate accuracy. This makes it possible for the building projects to be completed in a more professional manner and helps prevent accidents brought on by going over budget.

In addition to creating the PCMO, the government may also create groups that will help elites develop into a team of project management industry leaders. As an illustration, the UK Government established the Major Projects Leadership Academy (MPLA) to improve the leadership capabilities of regional civil servants and, as a result, result in a marked improvement in the performance of construction projects, including a rise in the proportion of projects finished on schedule and within budget. The Hong Kong government may study and analyze the UK’s success case in an effort to create a comparable measure in Hong Kong. The cooperation between departments may be improved in Hong Kong by raising the degree of leadership, which makes it possible to complete project duties more successfully and effectively. By lowering errors and encouraging the whole project team to perform at their highest level throughout project delivery, this enhances the industry’s credibility in the eyes of the general public.

In addition, there are practical approaches to improve the effectiveness of building projects and encourage professionalism. For instance, to improve the working force’s professional abilities, The Hong Kong Institute of Construction (HKIC) may provide more site-based learning courses, diploma and higher-diploma courses, such as machine operation courses, water work courses, and others. To increase employees’ knowledge of safety during on-site building projects, HKIC may also provide additional safety trainings to the working forces. Along with this, various actions may be taken to increase site safety, such as looking at worker behavior to determine what causes accidents and encouraging “design for safety” to include safety features in building designs to avoid potential risks from materializing (The Development Bureau of Hong Kong, 2018). The second strategy to improve the effectiveness of construction projects is to change the way workers are paid. In Hong Kong nowadays, the bulk of construction projects employ traditional contractual arrangements such contracts based on “Bills of Firm Quantities.” They are part of a fixed-fee structure, which has given employees price certainty, so they have a tendency to complete fee-paying project chores rapidly, which seriously degrades the quality of the building activities (The Development Bureau of Hong Kong, 2018). Change the payment system to a monthly compensation basis to deter this conduct. This may improve construction job quality and lower the likelihood of accidents. In addition, due to their intense workload, construction employees should get enough pay during downtime. This creates a more desirable workplace for the workforce, drawing additional talent to the sector while also preventing the present workforce from contracting in size (The Development Bureau of Hong Kong, 2018). The aforementioned actions all contribute to more effectively and safely completing construction projects and to higher-quality project outputs. This raises the level of professionalism in the sector.

Revitalization

Construction industry revitalization refers to changing the public’s impression of the sector from one that is filthy, unsafe, and boring to one that provides a safe, supportive environment for young talented people (The Development Bureau of Hong Kong, 2018). It is always associated with innovation, which introduces fresh concepts and strategies to breathe new life into the market. A revitalization of the sector may solve the issue of labor shortages brought on by senior employees retiring, entice more young talent in design and construction to join the sector, raise the sector’s professional bar, and ultimately improve project outcomes in local construction projects. Therefore, it is essential that the government implement policies to change the stereotypical sector into a thriving one.

Change of the commercial perspective ingrained in the majority of project participants today is one of the keys to rejuvenation. The decision-making process for contemporary construction planning and contractual arrangements mainly relies on technical concerns, laws, and regulations. This limits project members’ field of vision, which hinders their ability to think creatively and make adjustments during building projects. This issue may be solved by using contemporary contractual and procurement techniques as NEC (described in a). As a result of NEC’s assistance in achieving effective risk distribution among the project participants, its contractual structure is able to place a greater emphasis on project performance than on technical and other legal matters. This allows construction projects flexibility and opens the door for more fresh ideas to improve the project’s conclusion. These fresh concepts inspire the creation of more creative strategies and tactics and draw more young people to the industry.

Additionally, system re-engineering should be done by the government. As a result, there are less restrictions when making decisions on procurement systems and contractual arrangements since old and redundant rules are removed. By avoiding pointless changes to the contract agreements, this frees up the project participants’ attention to concentrate on methods to enhance project management and make wiser choices that will increase the effectiveness of project delivery.

Additionally, strategic procurement is a possibility. According to Quora (n.d.), strategic procurement is the adoption of long-term strategies to assure timely delivery of products and services for businesses to accomplish their key business goals. This is essential for a project’s success. The NEC and other cost-based contract types, such as cost reimbursable contracts and target cost contracts, are only a few of the new developing contract types available. Target cost contracts incentivize the contractor to perform better on the project in order to earn more money, whereas cost reimbursable contracts considerably enhance the simplicity of cost computation. They also provide enormous flexibility for changes in the project’s scope, quantity, and program. The best performance of a project may be attained by choosing a proper procurement strategy, and this helps to revitalize the industry.

Conclusion

The three pillars of innovation, professionalism, and revitalization can be realized in a variety of ways using various strategies and tactics based on modifications to the existing procurement systems, contractual arrangements, and tendering procedures, organizational settings, construction planning, and financial feasibility studies.