Again in Hong Kong the standard of workmanship can vary consider- ably. It is possible to obtain a stand- ard of work here as good as any- where in the world. In other cases the standard is appalling. Te correct this it might be worthwhile consider. ing the use of the French Agrément system in which a contractor is res- ponsible for a building for ten years after completion. He, in turn, will take out an insurance policy to in- demnify himself. This method is well worth trying in the Colony, but with the amount of sub-contracting done at the present time, as well as the pre- valence of "mushroom" firms, it might well present some problems. Again if such a survey were carried out considerable effort would be needed to obtain full cooperation from all concerned. For example in one census which was held in the building industry in Hong Kong, in 1963, to obtain information about the training of apprentices only 7.2% of the questionnaires sent out were returned. Such a return is, of course, liable to give severely distorted in- formation. If another census were carried out in Hong Kong a radical change of heart would be necessary if it were to achieve its purpose.
Teamwork
Whether it be Hong Kong or other parts of the world the key to an in- crease in production is improved teamwork and a great deal of re- search is needed along these lines. Better communications between mem- bers of the building team means in- creased outputs and lower costs.
The
The Tavistock Institution in Co- operation has been set up, in the United Kingdom, and is doing valu- able research in conjunction with the Operational Research Society. Excel- lent work is being done at Manches- ter, London and Birmingham. results of a pilot scheme were pre. sented, by this body, at a conference of the National Joint Consultative Committee of Architects, Surveyors and Builders. It was agreed to con- tinue with the research at a cost of £20,000.
The project combines the discip- lines of sociology and operational re- search and one of the tasks is to find the best type of organisation for various kinds and sizes of contracts. In the opinion of most people, who have seriously studied the matter. there is no doubt that normal tender- ing methods used are a weak link in the contracting system. For example it has been stated that firms which
normally tender for jobs costing around £1m. usually obtain one con- tract in every ten that they tender for. The cost of preparing these ten es- timates is 2% of the labour cost of the contract which the firm is award- ed. For firms who are employed on small jobs, averaging around £150, a typical firm manages to obtain one job in every three that it tenders for. It has been estimated that the cost of tendering here amounts to 23% of the cost of wages on the job that it wins. There is no doubt that such a system of tendering is extremely wasteful and such expense
is pletely unproductive.
com-
For this reason the Banwell Com- mittee has been set up, in the United Kingdom, and its purpose is to inves- tigate the placing and management of building contracts. This committee is also looking into the common com- plaint that far too little information is supplied, by the architect and con- sultants, to contractors, on which to build up a tender. Also that far too much information is inaccurate and too many items in the bill of quantities are provisional. The same complaints are not uncommon in Hong Kong.
Management
The main purpose of building management is to bring about condi- tions in which the maximum effort may be obtained from the resources of money, materials, men and me- chanical equipment, to create condi- tions in which all can work effectively.
Both in the United Kingdom and in Hong Kong there is a definite need for more qualified building technolo- gists on the contracting side. It has been estimated that in England the industry could absorb five hundred graduates,
from Universities and Colleges of Advanced Technology each year. At the moment there is only one chair in building in Eng- land and this is held at the Man- chester College of Science and Tech- nology. Progress is however being made in this direction and later it should be possible to correct the con- dition in small and medium sized firms, in England, where Parkinson's Law usually applies in reverse.
As Sir Sik Nin Chau has so often said, educated people are badly needed to form the managers and leaders in industry in Hong Kong and this is nowhere more evident than in con- tracting. Professional staff is scarce, little or no middle management exists, and in many cases, a few trained men attempt to run the complete firm.
THE HONG KONG & FAR EAST BUILDER-VOLUME 19, NUMBER 4
One has only to pick up a trade journal, from England, to see the number of advertisements inserted by contractors, for technologists, work- study engineers and skilled staff for the planning department of firms, to realise the transformation that has come over building in Britain in the last ten years. The Colony needs to think on similar lines. Such qualified people are commanding good salaries and first class fringe benefits which are commensurate with the improve- ments that they are effected in the industry.
When we begin to realise that management is not just a collection of dogmas and shibboleths as so many so called informed people tend to believe, and that not all manager are born, then perhaps we shall really get some- where in the improvement of manage- ment techniques.
One of the weak links in the managerial chain in building is, with- out doubt. site management. Because the industry is becoming more com- plicated, with many more specialists being employed, more qualified and competent men are needed to take charge on site. These men may be likened to a works manager in an engineering firm. A builder's site agent may be called upon to handle all types of technical and managerial problems and to liaise with both pro- fessional staff and labour.
The seriousness of the situation has been appreciated in England and a survey was done by "a site manage- ment group" in 1962. This survey was carried out using questionnaires which were sent to various firms. Firms were selected on a sampling basis. The findings supported the view that in building one of the biggest stumbl- ing blocks to be overcome was the shortage of suitably qualified site managers, In Hong Kong the need would appear to be just as acute.
Labour
England is lucky in that it has a fairly good record, as far as strikes go, compared to other countries. So too in Hong Kong records show that very few days have been lost due to in- dustrial disputes, as compared to many other more advanced countries. Nevertheless the shortage of labour and various other problem connected with it are causing difficulties at the present time.
When one finds semi-skilled men in Hong Kong getting more money than highly skilled craftsmen it is easy to see the ramifications that may develop (Continued on page 101)
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