that good overall planning, based on operational research, right from design stage to completion of the building, can show a saving in cost of at least 10%. In all cases the work should be designed, paying strict attention to the availability of labour, plant and materials, with a true understanding of all operations.
For those sceptics among
us it might be worthwhile to quote an ex- periment which was carried out at Ratiobouw in Holland,
The following extract is taken from "Organisation of Building Sites" by R. C. Sansom (H.M.S.O., 21s):
"The job at Ratiobouw, Holland, involved the construction of 510 flats of two types. A contractor was as- sisted in preparing detailed work- programmes for foundations, load- bearing walls, and floors and finishings. The foremen and opera- tives were specially instructed working methods and time and pro- gress recording. Detailed layouts for the site installation and plant were calculated and set, an efficient site administration office established.
on
"An analysis of real costs through- out the job was made, and relative to those for other projects as carried out by the same firm, labour costs were 20 per cent lower and overheads and plant costs 10 per cent lower, the savings totalling approximately £49,- 700. Investigation and advisory costs were £4,600, so that a net saving of 88.5 per flat resulted, equivalent to approximately 6.8 per cent of the total building costs. Taking a particular operation on floor construction, on the above sites, for which the firms's average costs during the previous 24 years were known, an average reduc- tion in labour costs of 55 per cent, and in average hours of 65 per cent, was achieved; at the same time there was an increase in average hourly earnings of 33 per cent.
This would seem positive proof enough
The Acting Director of the Public Works Department in Hong Kong said, in his speech, that all employed in building most work together as a team. There is no doubt that there should be much greater momentum given to communications, in the building industry, in the Colony. If members of the team do not liaise to the fullest extent, efficiency is drastically reduced. This is where the package deal (where the contrac- tor employs the architect as a mem- ber of his staff and is responsible for the building from the clients brief to completion) scores. Besides the
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package deal, from the communica- tions point of view, the negotiated contract, also has many advantages. Here the contractor is selected, by the client, on the advice of an inde- pendent architect, and he is brought into the picture right from design stage.
Using the normal tendering methods the contracting industry is perhaps the most complicated of all industries consisting of an amorphous team made up of the architect, con- sultants, quantity surveyor, main contractor as well as sub-contractors and suppliers. No other industry is so fragmented. The amount of sub- contracting done in Hong Kong makes the matter even worse than in most other countries.
In the United Kingdom horizontal integration has been taking place on a large scale and as before stated un- less the medium sized firm integrates with large firms, or form a consortium they may well be forced out of exis- tence. In Europe large contracts are more and more being carried out by the large national contractors who, if well mechanised and with facilities for proper planning, are far more capable of doing an economical and sound job than their smaller rivals.
With the amorphous set up of the industry vertical integration is ex- tremely difficult but progress is being made with the package deal ("all-in" contract) in many parts of the world. Whether it would work in Hong Kong remain to be seen. The pack-
age deal undoubtedly has the advant- age that there is more interplay be- tween design and construction which allows for far more scope and pos- sibility of improvement of managerial skills.
be
In England architects can employed on the full-time staff of a contractor providing that they are in a separate design section. They are also allowed to sit on the board as advisers but are not permitted to become directors, Attention is being given to this point, at the present time, by architectural institutions as it is realised that good men are requir- ed, in the industry, both on the con- struction as well as on the design side. In the past some architects have even been prepared to give up member- ship of their institution to become This directors of contracting firm. sorry state of affairs, applies only to the building industry, and does not apply to civil engineering for exam- ple.
There is no doubt that a far better relationships needs to exist between all members of the building team and the view that the other party is al- ways trying to get away with some- thing and out "to pull a fast one" needs to be obviated. Improved com- munications can help to correct this. Joint education of architects, build- ers and surveyors, as has already been suggested by various bodies in the United Kingdom, would also considerably help. Some thought should be paid to these views in the Colony at the present time.
New equipment often means greater efficiency, lower costs and a saving of time. Here a mono- rail transporter is shown on the job in Malaya. The transporter runs on a single rail and requires no driver. It is largely used for carrying concrete from the mixer to the discharge point. ▼
THE HONG KONG & FAR EAST BUILDER-VOLUME 19, NUMBER 4