Message from QSD Chairman (July 2014)

Meeting with the Quantity Surveyors Association of the Hong Kong Housing Authority (QSA of the HKHA)
Following the last meeting with the QSA of the HKHA in 2012, the QSD Council suggested that we meet with its representatives once again so that they could update theCouncil on the latest QSA developments. The QSD Council would also like to take this opportunity to brief them on the work that it had been carried out by us. Council Member, Sr Sunny SL Choi, was kind enough to arrange a gathering with the QSA at the Housing Authority’s Headquarters in Homantin on 4 July 2014. The current Chairman of the QSA is Sr Johnny KW Yung, who led eight other members to meet with us. During the meeting, the following topical issues were discussed:
a) A brief introduction on the new suites of the General Conditions of Contracts, which were fully implemented in May 2014.
b) Increasing the production of housing units with a target of 20,000 and 8,000 units for rentals and HOS flats, respectively, each year for the next ten years. Hence, there should be more outsourcing of QS consultancy services to those QS firms on the HKHA list.
c) Creating new QS posts to address the dramatic increase in the workload of quantity surveyors in the coming years.
d) The BIM journey being currently undertaken by the HKHA with the objective for full implementation in 2015.

The meeting was very fruitful and informative. Many thanks go to Sr Thomas Ho, Sr KL Wong, and Sr Honby Chan for joining me to attend the meeting.

Visit to the Hong Kong Gifted Education Teachers’ Association
A delegation of five Council members comprising Sr Thomas Ho, Sr Raymond Kam, Sr Steven Tang, Sr Joseph Chong, Sr Dr Ken Hui, and I took the time to visit the Hong Kong Gifted Education Teachers’ Association on 8 July 2014. The title of our talk was 測量之路︰力臻完美. The audience, which numbered 30, included students, teachers, and parents, some of whom asked a lot of questions about the route to becoming a professional surveyor and the employment prospects for professional quantity surveyors in the next few years. Our members took time to answer each question thoroughly. All in all, the talk was well-received by everyone.

Visit to Pui Ching Middle School
For the second consecutive year, we visited Pui Ching Middle School on 9 July 2014 with the kind arrangement of our Promotion Sub-committee in conjunction with the school’s career office. Council Members Sr Thomas Ho, Sr Raymond Kam, Sr Tzena Wong, and Sr Dr Ken Hui accompanied me to visit the school. Approximately 60 senior form students attended the talk. We had anticipated that there would be quite a few female students at the event, so Sr Tzena took this opportunity to highlight what she did as a project manager with quantity surveying background for international luxury chain stores. The students were quite fascinated with our talk.

The last item on the agenda was a Q&A session with the Council passing out gifts. Council members quizzed the audience with questions regarding the Institute and its Board duties and the functions of its divisions, as well as wider issues relating to quantity surveying. The students enthusiastically answered our questions and showed great interest in the prospect of becoming professional quantity surveyors. Many thanks go to Sr Steven Tang for organizing the event for us. The Council has planned more school visits after the summer holiday.

HKIS QSD Annual Dinner
The HKIS QSD Annual Dinner will be held on 26 September 2014 in the Grand Ballroom of the Royal Plaza Hotel on Prince Edward Road West, Kowloon. This is the perfect occasion for fellow members, government officials, academics, and friends of the quantity surveying profession to catch up with each other in a casual and relaxing atmosphere. Tables are selling out fast. If you are still undecided about attending this must-go event, I strongly encourage you to buy a table for your company or tickets for yourself and colleagues. We look forward to seeing you all at the festivity.