Both ends of the spectrum
The entry for this week will focused on the changes of one’s own perception and understanding by experiencing things from a different point of view. Things change once you ‘crossed over’ from one side to the other.
I started my career in the construction industry as an engineering consultant. My main job scope can be categorised into three major aspects, namely design administration, contract management and project supervision.
Design administration is basically the process of designing related building facilities and systems as requested by the client and at the same time complying with the relevant acts and regulations. Along the way, discussions and meetings were held to integrate the designs of all the consultants involved in the project.
The contract management aspect generally deals with the preparation of important documents such as the tender and contract management, appointment of contractors and as the project is undertaken, the changes and variations to be made until the project is fully completed.
Finally, project supervision involves the monitoring and supervision of the project once it gets off the ground. This part of the job also involves the liasing with the relevant authorities such as the local authority, the utilities companies and other related government bodies.
After working as a consultant for about three years (and feeling mighty good about it), I decided to change ‘sides’ and accepted the job that involves maintenance work. The use of terms such as ‘cross over’ and ‘sides’ may be a bit confusing but for anyone who is involves in the construction and property industry what it means is quite clear.
Generally, for every physical development it will of course start with the construction of the building/complex. This usually is considered to be the project phase. Once the phase has been completed it will then be handed over to the owner/client and the operation and management of the building will then commence. To simply put it, project and O&M are at the two extremes of the spectrum. By the way, the ‘sides’ are not in the form of rivalry, even though sometimes it can lead to heated arguments, but it is more in the nature of the work of both party.
The project phase usually involves the project managers, the consultants (like myself) and the contractors. The O&M generally is made up of the maintenance & management people and their contractors. Usually it is the project phase that is more glamorous while the O&M deals with the nitty-gritty things. In a way it is the epitome of the saying ‘it’s a dirty job but somebody has got to do it’. The idea is further extended by the fact that the project contracts are high and is completed in a relatively short time while the O&M contract is usually much lesser but longer.
So how come I decided to have a change in my career? And what are the things about me that have change personally following the ‘jump’ from one end to the other?
The answer to the first question is easy. It is for the money. The company that I decided to work for offered better pay and job security. I guess that is a change in itself albeit an easy one.
For the second question, it does not take long for me to realise what a big change it made on the way I view things as opposed to the previous three years. It may still involve buildings but it almost felt like I was changing my religion. Almost everything is different. It is not much the technical part but it is the way a certain issue is viewed and considered that differs greatly.
First and foremost, I found that most designs done by the consultants (like myself previously) are not perfect. I have to say a smack in the head is an understatement as previously I always feel my designs are the best that money can buy. I realised by now that most consultants, comes up with their design from their own point of view and not what the client really wanted or whether it is suitable for the project. Looking back, I now realised that quite a number of the design made by myself and my other consultant’s friends are based on how we like the building to look like and also operated. In other words, we are the designers and we design as what we feel it should be. Not much thought and consideration were given to those poor guys that have to operate and maintain the building. This is one thing that needs major change.
The second major thing that needs to change is the way that a project is handled to be as cost effective as possible without giving considerations to future problems that may arises. Cuts were made to avoid project overruns and to comply with the delivery date. Worse still, these cuts were made under the pretension of Value Engineering. What this does is two things, from a design point of view an initially comprehensive system became ‘semi-comprehensive’ while from a construction point of view a ‘lesser’ material or a cheaper method of work is being implemented. Most of the time it is a way of solving the issue partly and hoping that it will be resolved in the future by someone else with someone else’s money.
Another major grouse that I have, looking at things from my current viewpoint, is that not many owner/client/project team listens to what the O&M people have to say. It may be something major like the decision to install an additional air con system to something minor like identifying the location of the pipes for the domestic water system. I have experienced undertaking jobs that requires replacement of machineries that involved major structural modifications due to the inaccessibility of the said machineries. Sometimes the modifications to the surrounding walls and floors are more expensive than the cost of replacing the machinery.
There are many other things that I have experienced that have changed my views on how the construction industry needs to be managed and hopefully it will be in the future. What I am certain of, is the decision to make a career change a few years ago have certainly open up my mind and hopefully make me better equip to do my job.
I started my career in the construction industry as an engineering consultant. My main job scope can be categorised into three major aspects, namely design administration, contract management and project supervision.
Design administration is basically the process of designing related building facilities and systems as requested by the client and at the same time complying with the relevant acts and regulations. Along the way, discussions and meetings were held to integrate the designs of all the consultants involved in the project.
The contract management aspect generally deals with the preparation of important documents such as the tender and contract management, appointment of contractors and as the project is undertaken, the changes and variations to be made until the project is fully completed.
Finally, project supervision involves the monitoring and supervision of the project once it gets off the ground. This part of the job also involves the liasing with the relevant authorities such as the local authority, the utilities companies and other related government bodies.
After working as a consultant for about three years (and feeling mighty good about it), I decided to change ‘sides’ and accepted the job that involves maintenance work. The use of terms such as ‘cross over’ and ‘sides’ may be a bit confusing but for anyone who is involves in the construction and property industry what it means is quite clear.
Generally, for every physical development it will of course start with the construction of the building/complex. This usually is considered to be the project phase. Once the phase has been completed it will then be handed over to the owner/client and the operation and management of the building will then commence. To simply put it, project and O&M are at the two extremes of the spectrum. By the way, the ‘sides’ are not in the form of rivalry, even though sometimes it can lead to heated arguments, but it is more in the nature of the work of both party.
The project phase usually involves the project managers, the consultants (like myself) and the contractors. The O&M generally is made up of the maintenance & management people and their contractors. Usually it is the project phase that is more glamorous while the O&M deals with the nitty-gritty things. In a way it is the epitome of the saying ‘it’s a dirty job but somebody has got to do it’. The idea is further extended by the fact that the project contracts are high and is completed in a relatively short time while the O&M contract is usually much lesser but longer.
So how come I decided to have a change in my career? And what are the things about me that have change personally following the ‘jump’ from one end to the other?
The answer to the first question is easy. It is for the money. The company that I decided to work for offered better pay and job security. I guess that is a change in itself albeit an easy one.
For the second question, it does not take long for me to realise what a big change it made on the way I view things as opposed to the previous three years. It may still involve buildings but it almost felt like I was changing my religion. Almost everything is different. It is not much the technical part but it is the way a certain issue is viewed and considered that differs greatly.
First and foremost, I found that most designs done by the consultants (like myself previously) are not perfect. I have to say a smack in the head is an understatement as previously I always feel my designs are the best that money can buy. I realised by now that most consultants, comes up with their design from their own point of view and not what the client really wanted or whether it is suitable for the project. Looking back, I now realised that quite a number of the design made by myself and my other consultant’s friends are based on how we like the building to look like and also operated. In other words, we are the designers and we design as what we feel it should be. Not much thought and consideration were given to those poor guys that have to operate and maintain the building. This is one thing that needs major change.
The second major thing that needs to change is the way that a project is handled to be as cost effective as possible without giving considerations to future problems that may arises. Cuts were made to avoid project overruns and to comply with the delivery date. Worse still, these cuts were made under the pretension of Value Engineering. What this does is two things, from a design point of view an initially comprehensive system became ‘semi-comprehensive’ while from a construction point of view a ‘lesser’ material or a cheaper method of work is being implemented. Most of the time it is a way of solving the issue partly and hoping that it will be resolved in the future by someone else with someone else’s money.
Another major grouse that I have, looking at things from my current viewpoint, is that not many owner/client/project team listens to what the O&M people have to say. It may be something major like the decision to install an additional air con system to something minor like identifying the location of the pipes for the domestic water system. I have experienced undertaking jobs that requires replacement of machineries that involved major structural modifications due to the inaccessibility of the said machineries. Sometimes the modifications to the surrounding walls and floors are more expensive than the cost of replacing the machinery.
There are many other things that I have experienced that have changed my views on how the construction industry needs to be managed and hopefully it will be in the future. What I am certain of, is the decision to make a career change a few years ago have certainly open up my mind and hopefully make me better equip to do my job.
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