Professionalism in Project Management
It was really encouraging to have Prof (Dr) Adam Boddison OBE visit Hong Kong this week, delivering a positive message about the Association for Project Management (finally) pursuing an ambition to be truly global. Since its establishment as a branch in 1991, the GBA Network has been active in promoting professionalism in project management in the region. With a renewed impetus, we look forward to making greater progress towards the recognition that the project profession truly deserves.
Technology versus Behaviour in site safety
We spend a lot of time and resource these days on the promotion of technology on HK’s construction sites. Much of this is geared towards productivity, but increasingly it is focussed on worker safety.
Modular construction
There are many parallels with this NYT article as HK pushes to increase the adoption of MiC, from regulation, through designing beautiful modular homes, to production-at-scale.
West Kowloon Terminus topside
Having been a PM at MTR for the design and construction of the West Kowloon Terminus, the topside development above was at the time somewhat undefined. I was at WKT a couple of weeks ago, and it is great to see the topside development now taking shape. Looking forward to exploring it on completion.
Can designers really influence construction productivity?
Can designers really influence construction productivity?
WKCD Integrated Basement Progress
Having been a PM at MTR for the design and construction of the West Kowloon Terminus basements, it is exciting to see that WKCDA are making progress on the enhanced design for the IB & UR across the undeveloped phases of the site.
Why is 2D CAD to BIM still a thing?
We are discussing the cost of construction in Hong Kong a lot these days and one frequently proposed solution / contribution is to fully embrace the use of BIM. “We are using BIM” I hear you cry, but are we utilising it fully?
Avoid high costs by using professional project management
We have recently been delving deeper into the factors that contribute to high costs in Hong Kong's construction sector. Our findings highlight the significant benefits of enhancing project management, refining planning processes, optimising scheduling, improving coordination, and effectively managing change to improve the certainty of outcomes and the cost-effectiveness of projects. These factors each represent controllable levers, offering clients a profound opportunity to steer project outcomes towards success.
Getting professional project management advice at the start of a project, and through the project definition and inception stages, will increase your likelihood of delivering the intended benefits of your project. This not only mitigates risk but also maximises your return on investment, ensuring that every decision aligns with your overarching project objectives.
Gowan Projects can help you set your project up for success. Contact us to find out how you can improve your projects.
Regenerative Design
I just finished reading The Regenerative Structural Engineer, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Whilst we might not have all the biodiversity opportunities when building in HK, the systems thinking and transition approach can be applied anywhere. Worth a read, or attend the IStructE lecture, or both!
Data quality
I had a very interesting discussion over the CNY holiday, with a friend who is not in the construction industry, about data quality and how this is fundamental as we all hurtle towards our AI-enabled futures.
I started to wonder what we could do to change our ways of working to enable easier data capture and collation on construction projects, which seems a long way off for many in our industry, before we can even begin to assure our data quality. That's why we need to make data and data management a key component of our project planning. Now.
Gowan Projects can help you achieve this on your projects. Get in touch and let's discuss how.
O&M Planning
So many companies and clients that we speak to don’t have the option to mobilise in-house FM expertise to help them plan and procure future projects with operability and maintainability in mind.
Designs and planning for construction projects are then focussed on time, cost, quality, increasingly on safety (and hopefully sustainability) and quite often functionality and buildability. But not operability or maintainability.
So how can you as a client plan for handover, occupation and operation of a new asset as part of the design process and get those requirements built-in? How can you facilitate future maintenance strategies, look for commonality and efficiency, and reduce your operating costs?
Gowan Projects can help you fill that planning gap. Contact us to find out how.
PMI Infinity
It has been interesting to take part in the testing of PMIs' Infinity and comparing against ChatGPT in the structured trial. Currently non-PMI members can use PMI Infinity, give it a try at https://infinity.pmi.org/
Professional Project Management
There were some great discussions at and around the ULI Seminar and the Lighthouse Club Conference in January 2024, highlighting the many challenges and opportunities we have ahead. There were also lots of mentions of the need for professionalism in project management, and yet we still have a long way to go to make this a reality in Hong Kong’s construction sector. Without improving our management of projects, the huge volumes of work from the upcoming Government and MTR portfolios, amongst others, will not be delivered as well as they might.
It is encouraging to talk to various heads of government departments and understand their commitment through visits to and training with the UK’s MPA and other organisations. However, as of today, there appear to be only 2 PM’s in Hong Kong holding APM’s ChPP Chartered designation. Can that be right? How can we improve the take up of this outstanding professional standard?
If you would like to know more about how a professional project manager could help improve your project outcomes, contact Gowan Projects to arrange for a chat.
Decarbonise 2024!
As an industry we can and should all contribute to decarbonisation in 2024 and beyond …
Risk Management
I just finished delivering a series of lectures on Risk Management to the MSc students at Hong Kong University …
