, Limited

T H E C O N S T R U C T O R • Spring 2006 1

President’s Message

Secretary General & Executive Editor: Mr. Monty Chan�� !"#$%&'()

Publisher: The Hong Kong Institute of Construction Managers, Ltd.Room 801, 8/F, 25 Des Voeux Road Central, Hong Kong.Tel:(852) 2523 2081 • Fax: (852) 2845 4749E-mail: info@hkicm.org.hk • Web Site: www.hkicm.org.hk

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed or implied in this publication and those ofthe authors do not reflect those of the HKICM, its officials or editorial staff. The HKICM,its officials or editorial staff therefore do not and shall not accept any liability or responsibilityof whatsoever nature in the context of this publication. Opinions, conclusions,representations, views and such other information in this publication shall be understoodas neither given nor endorsed by the HKICM, its officials or editorial staff.

The Communication, Publicity & Publications Committee of HKICM 2005/ 2006Chairman: Mr. F. P. ChungMembers: Mr. Jeff Cheung, Dr. Thomas Ng, Mr. Stephen Siu, Mr. Christopher Wong, Mr. C. L. Wong, Mr. Robin Yip

Dear Fellow Members,

Time flies and is never enough for us to achieve the many goals in life. So is it with my term of

office. HKICM has her own long-term objectives and with your continuous support and

contribution, growth will sustain year by year.

To me, Construction Managers are those managers in charge of construction projects and

construction management is the science and art of managing construction projects. HKICM

welcomes all those professionals involved in construction projects to join in, as construction

management requires coordinated input from various professions and the adoption of

multidiscipline approach.

I must thank all of you for introducing new members to our Institute. Among the new members, there

are many heavyweight leaders in different business sectors and who have the insight and innovative

perspective of leading our Institute forward. Some new members are young and energetic and could

be brave enough to break through our traditional paradigm and to jump out of our bounded rationality.

It is almost time for you to elect your new President and new Council Members. In future, I will always

be there to support the Institute. Lastly, for the sustainability of our Institute, it is always advisable to

accept new blood, new species and new generation.

Yours sincerely,

John K. W. CHAN (Prof.)

President

T H E C O N S T R U C T O R • Spring 20062

News & Events

The Building Authority has officially written in confirming the TCP roles of HKICM members who fulfilled the qualifying criteria as

per our Membership Handbook. The General Council will continue endeavouring for the broader recognition of HKICM members.

HKICM / CASA Joint Spring Dinner

Prof. John Chan (left 3), Mr. K.L. Tam (left 2) and guests

From Left: Ms. Y. Wu, Mr. Jeff Cheung, Mr. Raymond Leung, Mr. K.L. Tam, Mr. W.F. Cai,

Prof. John Chan, Mr. Jeffrey Fung, Mr. M.K. Woo, Mr. Monty Chan

Spring Lunch Gathering with Officers of the Liaison Office ofthe Central Government in HKSAR

HKICM / AIB Joint Christmas Dinner

Mr. K.K. Choy (left 4), Prof. John Chan (left 3), Mr. C. Wong (left 5),

Mr. Raymond Leung (right), Dr. Alex Cheung (left 2) and guests

Mr. C.M. Ho (back), Mr. Fred Li (left), Dr. Evia Wong (center), Mr. Robin Yip (right)

HKU SPACE – Forum on Professional Development

AIQS Representative Mr. Peter Ng & Mr. M. Charlton

HKICM / AIQS Joint CPD Seminar on“Prolongation and Cost Claims underthe HK General Conditions of Contract”

News & Events

CPD Events Coming up

The JO Team of VisitorsProf. Edwin Chan & Mr. Y. K. Lau Mr. Gilbert Kwok & Mr. Y. K. Lau

JO Visit to Precast Concrete Factory in MainlandCPD Seminar on HK and PRC Construction Law

Date Events

8 April 2006 Site Visit to HKU SPACE Community College, Kowloon Bay

25 April 2006 CPD Seminar on “An Approach to Carry Out Structural Appraisal of Reinforced Concrete Structures”

29 April 2006 HKU SPACE 50th Anniversary Professional Education Seminars Forum I :

“Creating a Quality Living and Work Environment for Hong Kong”

T H E C O N S T R U C T O R • Spring 2006 3

J O N e w s

Junior Organisation of HKICM

Interview with Leading Constructors — Mr. K. L. Tam

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Mr. K. L. Tam, Mr. C. H. Lee and Mr. C. P. Cheung

T H E C O N S T R U C T O R • Spring 20066

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T H E C O N S T R U C T O R • Spring 2006 7

SMILE-SMC: A Contractor Development Initiative– with Benefits for All of UsMohan M. Kumaraswamy and S. Thomas Ng

Centre for Infrastructure and Construction Industry Development,

Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong.

IDENTIFYING THE NEEDS – for improved Teamworking and Information

Management

Few would argue that the construction industry is critical to Hong Kong’s economy. A healthy,

efficient and better-performing construction industry will therefore benefit the whole region,

while the increased competitiveness of all organisations involved, including contractors,

consultants and their clients, could directly benefit the readers of this Newsletter who are

presumably involved with this industry.

Industry Reports worldwide have been recommending various measures for performance

improvements in construction for many years. While many of these recommendations are

country-specific, there are common elements in the proposed improvement agendas in a few

countries, such as Australia, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, Singapore and the UK

(Kumaraswamy et al., 2005). Some of the recent thrusts and trends are to aim for value for money (VfM)

through significantly improved teamworking. For example: (a) the Construction Industry Review Committee

in Hong Kong recommended a ‘changed culture’, ‘partnering’ and ‘process re-engineering to achieve better

integration’ (CIRC 2001), (b) The UK Office of Government Commerce advocated Teamworking to ensure

VfM (OGC 2003). The potential for developing ‘integrated project teams’ and improved relationships has

been recently tested in a multi-country survey launched from Hong Kong, with valuable feedback from

Australia, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, Singapore and the UK. The results indicate the readiness and

indeed enthusiasm for such initiatives (Kumaraswamy et al., 2005, Rahman et al., 2005).

Meanwhile, rapid developments in ‘Information & Communication Technologies’ and ‘Knowledge

Management’ have highlighted the tremendous advantages that can be harnessed by construction

organisations through significantly improved IKM (Information & Knowledge Management’ (Kumaraswamy

et al., in print).

However, the relevant literature suggests that the above measures are at present mostly focused on large

contractors, as for example, for developing partnering and alliancing mechanisms with big clients. The

crucial role of Small and Medium sized Contractors (SMCs) in the project teams is frequently ignored. This

is a serious oversight since no industry improvement initiative can succeed without addressing SMC

problems and empowering their own development. They carry out the largest share of the actual construction

work in most countries - working as main contractors on small projects and subcontractors or suppliers on

large projects. Also, they form the largest number of business organisations in the construction supply

chain, create the highest number of job opportunities and employ a significant part of the younger work

force of most nations (Rahman et al. 2004).

F e a t u r e s

Dr. Mohan M. Kumaraswamy

T H E C O N S T R U C T O R • Spring 2006 8

F e a t u r e s

In Hong Kong, there are over 23,500 registered construction organisations of which more than 98% are

Small and Medium Contractors (SMCs). As elsewhere, SMCs ultimately carry out most of the actual

construction works. However, they often suffer from a lack of continuous work and tough price competition.

On the other hand, they also suffer from insufficient ‘information’, inadequate (or nil) knowledge management

frameworks and tools, lack of time and resources for self-improvement and technological upgrading. Without

sound information & knowledge management (IKM) it is difficult to improve their competitiveness and

performance levels. These shortfalls spotlight the urgent needs for an SMC-friendly system for improved

IKM.

ADDRESSING THE NEEDS – through a RD&D initiative and a Web-based

System

Overview

RD&D (Research, Development & Dissemination) to address the above problems, was planned

by a team from the Faculties of Engineering and Architecture and the eBusiness Technology Institute

of The University of Hong Kong. The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Fund of the

Trade and Industry Department of the HKSAR, accepted the project proposal to identify & develop

a system to help in the ‘Strategic Management with Information Leveraged Excellence’ (SMILE)

for ‘Small and Medium Contractors’ (SMCs), i.e. SMILE-SMC.

The primary aim of the SMILE-SMC project was to empower the continuous improvement of construction

companies in general and SMCs in particular, by providing an SMC-friendly information & knowledge

portal, framework and useful tools for continuous improvement in boosting productivity, quality and image,

through strategic information & knowledge management.

For example, efficiencies and savings are envisaged through faster and easier access to (a) important

information, (b) a wider range of potential business partners (e.g. suppliers, specialists, subcontractors,

etc.), and (c) formats and guides to assist in some basic work processes, such as purchasing and materials

management, permit applications, as well as for performance improvements through benchmarking.

Although the primary focus is on contractors, and particularly SMCs, SMILE-SMC is expected to also

benefit (and therefore be widely used by) construction clients, consultants, and suppliers.

The system disseminates services through six major ‘zones’: Member Zone, Wanted Zone, Available Zone,

Information Library, Discussion Forum and Performance Improvement Zone. These zones include SMC-friendly

information & knowledge management (IKM) platforms and tools e.g. for efficient information access, materials

management and ‘electronic information exchange’ for boosting their operational processes.

Basic Summary of R&D elements in System DevelopmentThe basic system and above ‘zones’ were developed on the basis of findings from intensive and extensive

Research, including an initial pilot ‘needs analysis’ survey conducted with a cluster of partner contractors

(PCs), followed by a structured questionnaire survey across the industry, ‘workflow analyses’ with the site

staff and senior management of PCs, monthly brainstorming ‘Team Meetings’ arranged with industry

partners, and a series of well-attended Workshops open to the whole industry (including a Development

Workshop, three Dissemination Workshops and a Training Workshop). All these exercises elicited many

diverse needs, but enabled prioritisation of areas of particular concern, that fed into the Development of

the SMILE-SMC system. The funded R&D project for SMILE-SMC development was thereby successfully

completed in Feb. 2006. Trialling is in progress and will be completed in May 2006.

Dr. S. Thomas Ng

T H E C O N S T R U C T O R • Spring 20069

Launch and Dissemination of SMILE-SMC

Dissemination commenced in March 2006, along with the free Trial Period, which is until 31 May 2006.

During dissemination (both during and after the Trial period), the front-end and major parts of the web-site

will be available to any ‘visitor’, while some specially developed inner parts will need to be restricted to

‘members’. Such members will necessarily need to be recruited on the basis of a nominal annual fee, so

as to finance the Operation & Maintenance, essential Up-dating and any possible Upgrading. (note: daily

Monitoring and Upgrading is clearly needed for this type of web-site, because of the nature of the rapidly

changing information & knowledge and the wide range of users etc.). Nominal membership fees (to enable

extra facilities to members) will therefore be targeted to meet such costs (and certainly ‘not for profit’)! The

objective is to fund essential part-time staff and consumables, and if possible (if more time is enabled) to

develop useful ‘add-ons’ to add value to members, if so desired. However, given industry conditions, any

membership fee will necessarily be very low, if the web-site is to attract paying members.

Meanwhile, any interested organisation (and its personnel) may take immediate advantage of the

free Trial Period to draw on many member benefits from SMILE-SMC as indicated in the following

summary.

In fact, SMILE-SMC can be accessed by anybody at http://smile.hku.hk

While basic information (including about members) is available to any ‘visitor’, Trial Membership will open

the door to many additional and direct benefits, such as being able to publicise one’s own services and/

or needs to all those who visit the web-site.

Examples of benefits

1. Member Zone: (a) Members* can publicise company information including descriptions of up to 5

projects; while (b) all who access the web-site can search for potential business ‘partners’

2. Wanted Zone: (a) will contain messages on services, equipment, materials and people NEEDED by

members; since (b) Members* can advertise their own needs in ‘wanted’ messages

3. Available Zone: (a) will have messages on services, equipment, materials and people AVAILABLE

with members; since (b) Members* can advertise their own ‘available’ items

4. Information Library: contains valuable construction industry information, collected from various sources

(while special information has been stored with specially designed flow-charts, check-lists etc. for later

use by Members after May 2006),

5. Discussion Forum: Members* can exchange ideas on hot topics and common concerns

6. Performance Improvement Zone: contains ideas on how Information & Knowledge Management can

improve performance levels (e.g. through special tools and plug-ins, such as for more efficient ‘electronic

information exchange’ with sites and partners, convenient formats for capturing and retrieving operational

and business information e.g. in purchasing, materials management etc.; and benchmarking platforms

etc.: all of which can be available to Members after May 2006).

* available (free) up to 31 May 2006 to ‘Trial Members’

F e a t u r e s

REFERENCES

CIRC (2001) Construct for Excellence: Report of the

Construction Industry Review Committee (CIRC), January,

Hong Kong.

OGC (2003) Procurement and contract strategies. Office of

Government Commerce (OGC), HM Treasury, London, UK.

Kumaraswamy, M.M., Ling, F.Y.Y., Rahman, M.M. and Phng,

S.T. (2005) ‘Constructing Relationally Integrated Teams’,

Journal of Construction Engineering and Management,

American Society of Civil Engineers, Oct. 2005, Vol. 131,

No. 10, pp. 1076-1086.

Kumaraswamy, M.M., Palaneeswaran, E., Rahman, M.M.,

Ugwu, O.O. and Ng, S.T. (in print) Synergising R&D initiatives

for e-enhancing Management Support Systems, Journal of

Automation in Construction, Special Issue on Electronic

Commerce in Engineering and Construction,

Rahman, M.M., Kumaraswamy, M.M., Ng, S.T.,

Palaneeswaran, E., Lam, E. and Ugwu, O.O. (2004)

Integrating SMCs into Construction Value Chains.

Proceedings of the 1st International Conference of World of

Construction Project Management (WCPM2004),

May 27-28, Ryerson University, Toronto, 552-563.

Rahman, M.M., Kumaraswamy, M.M., Karim, K., Ang, G.

and Dulaimi, M. (2005) ‘Cross-country perspectives on the

integrating Construction Project Teams’, 6th Construction

Specialty Conference of the CSCE (Canadian Society of

Civil Engineers), ISBN 1-894662-10-5, 2-4 June, 2005,

Toronto, Canada CDROM, 10 p.

F e a t u r e s

So SMILE-SMC can now help all of us. Firstly, it can help Contractors to improve their competitiveness

and performance levels. It will help them to obtain and process important information and ‘knowledge’.

SMILE-SMC is also designed to be used by Clients and Consultants e.g. when they look for a wider

range of nominated sub-contractors, specialist contractors, suppliers and other services. In general it

opens up opportunities (a) for sourcing new business partners, and (b) for efficiently accessing useful

information and knowledge in what can be a ‘one-stop’ portal.

Overall, in addressing the industry needs as were identified at the beginning of this article, SMILE-SMC

can contribute to construction industry development through the various provisions for better Teamworking

(e.g. through facilities for sourcing and co-operating more efficiently with new and existing business partners)

and improved Information & Knowledge Management (through a ‘one-stop’ industry information source,

special tools, formats, flow-charts and check-lists, benchmarking etc.) as outlined above.

For more information and for downloading a simple application form for free Trial Membership (available

only up to end May 2006): see http://smile.hku.hk (and then you may email your completed application to

smilesmc@hku.hk, or fax it if more convenient).

T H E C O N S T R U C T O R • Spring 2006 10

Fig. 1: Users and Uses of SMILE-SMC Fig. 2: All may benefit from basic information