Message from QSD Chairman (April 2014)

 2014 HKIS QSD Scholarship Presentation Ceremony

With three years of experience in organising this event, the 2014 HKIS QSD Scholarship Presentation Ceremony was successfully held on 28 March 2014 in the Institute’s Surveyors’ Learning Centre.

 

Perhaps members may note that the objective of setting up the scholarship for students reading related quantity surveying courses at local universities and the Institute of Vocational Education (IVE) is to nurture and encourage more young people to join the surveying profession in view of the shortage of quantity surveyors in Hong Kong. The problem with the lack of quantity surveyors at all grades will not be eased in the near future due to the new housing construction initiatives put forward by the government. In the next ten years, the government will construct 470,000 housing units for the people of Hong Kong. So the demand

for quantity surveyors will be overwhelmingly high. Hence, the career prospects for quantity surveying graduates will be quite promising in the next five years. The Council considers that we should not only attract a large number of young people to the profession, but also help maintain the social status of quantity surveyor as a highly-valued professional in the construction industry. By awarding scholarships and conducting other promotional activities, we will be at the forefront of industries in attracting more high caliber young people to join the profession.

 

Eighteen scholarships were awarded to students for their outstanding performances in key quantity surveying modules leading to the award of bachelor and associate degrees and higher diplomas. You can refer to the following link for the details.

http://www.hkis.org.hk/en/st/st2014/201404/2014st04_5f_qsd.pdf

 

The prizes were presented to the awardees by the Senior Vice President of the Institute, Sr Vincent Ho, donors of the scholarship, and me.

 

Congratulations to all the awardees for their marvelous academic achievements. I would also like to express my gratitude to the nine quantity surveying consultancy firms for their generous support as sponsors of the scholarship. I certainly hope that they will continue their financial support for the scholarships in the years ahead.

 

Many thanks also go to the guests, department heads, and teaching staff from the three universities and the IVE; the General Council Members; and the QSD’s Council Members for their support and attendance at the ceremony. Finally, I would like to extend my heartfelt appreciation to Sr Steven Tang and Sr Dr Ken Hui for their tremendous efforts to make this event a great success.

 

Meeting with the Architectural Services Department

The Communication Meeting with the Architectural Services Department (ArchSD) was held at its Queensway Government Offices on 27 March 2014. The other party attending the meeting was the Association of Consultant Quantity Surveyors (ACQS). The meeting was chaired by the Director of the Architectural Services Department, Sr KK Leung, with a number of his senior officials including the presence of a representative from the Development Bureau.

 

During the meeting, a number of items were discussed. We expressed our concerns and offered comments on the following topics:

 

  • The wider implementation of NEC3 in works contracts let by the Works Branch, which includes the ArchSD in 2015. 
  • The use of Building Information Modeling (BIM) in Public Works projects. It appears that the ArchSD lags behind the Housing Department in the use of this state-of-the-art technology. 
  • The trend of using the design and construction (D& B) procurement strategy in public works projects. Only a handful of experienced contractors have the ability to tender for such projects. Hence, the competition for D & B projects will not be as keen as those projects let under traditional procurement approach.

 

Secondary School Visit

With the successful launch of a series of visits to secondary schools during the last Council Year, the Council has embarked on another series of visits to secondary schools in order to encourage students to select quantity surveying as their course of study when they enroll in university.

 

We started off by visiting the Shaukeiwan Government Secondary School on 9 April 2014. Council Members, Sr Sunny Choi, Sr Dr Ken Hui, and Sr Steven Tang, together with Sr Thomas Ho (the Hon Secretary of the Institute) and I, joined this visit. First, we showed a video to students describing the Institute and the QSD. I then delivered a short speech regarding the structure of the Institute and the function of its six surveying divisions. Sr Sunny and Sr Dr Ken shared their experiences as quantity surveyors for the government and a tertiary educational institute, respectively. Finally, Sr Steven conducted a quiz with students and presented them with souvenirs. The students enjoyed the event very much.

 

The Hong Kong Housing Authority’s New Standard Conditions of Contract for Capital Works

I attended a Briefing Session on the implementation of the New Standard Conditions of Contract for Capital Works of the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HKHA). Prior to this, the HKHA has conducted four Stakeholders Engagement Sessions from 2012 to 2013. For this New Standard Conditions of Contract, it appointed a consultant to draft the documents. The exercise began in February 2012. Having conducted a series of Stakeholder Engagement and Briefing Sessions with the Tender Committee, Building Committee, and Audit Sub-committee, the HKHA received joint approval from the Building and Tender Committee in November 2013 to adopt this suite of Conditions of Contract for Capital Works, which includes the following:

 

Main Contracts

The General Conditions of Contract (GCC) and Special

Conditions of Contract (SCC) for:

  • Building Works
  • Foundation Works
  • Civil Engineering Works
  • Miscellaneous Works

 

Nominated Sub-contracts

The Articles of Agreement and General Conditions of Nominated Sub-contracts to Building Works Contracts (NSC GCC)

The Standard Library of Special Conditions of Nominated Sub-Contracts to Building Works Contracts (NSC SCC)

 

The new Conditions of Contract will be implemented in all new capital works (i.e., main contracts) with tenders issued from May 2014 onwards. The new nominated sub-contracts shall be implemented from August 2014 onwards after their associated building works contracts have adopted the new Conditions of Contract.

 

Members who work on the HKHA’s capital works projects are advised to familiarise themselves with these new conditions of contract. The new Standard Conditions of Contract can be downloaded from the HKHA’s website at:

http://www.housingauthority.gov.hk/HAGCC/index.html.