President's Blog
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24 Jun 2009: AGM Week
I said in my interview for the June edition of Construction Manager (http://www.construction-manager.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=691&storyCode=3141350)that one of the key focuses for my year as CIOB President would be about communication; in particular using communication to link members across the globe, share information and expertise, and increase the international scope of the Institute.
In many ways this week has been about me preparing myself for this task. As we now reach the day of the AGM, where I will officially become President, I have been taking the opportunity to develop the skills I need to create platforms and channels for communicating the right messages. Fortunately becoming President of the CIOB - a body with 175 years of heritage, setting standards and innovation means some high-level and multi-national coverage which gives us an excellent foundation to build on.
Last Thursday we hosted the media day at County Hall, London. Journalists from key UK and Chinese press were present, including the Daily Telegraph, Sunday Express, China-Britain Business Council and Metro. It was a busy day, and for me, another opportunity to learn and increase my experience with the British media and use my English! (see the video at http://www.ciob.org.uk/about/president)
This week, again, has been about getting out and communicating messages, raising profile, and exploring further opportunities to learn. On Tuesday I went with Michael Brown (CIOB Deputy Chief Executive) to visit the Poundbury development in Dorset. Poundbury is the urban development managed by the Duchy of Cornwall, which uses the plans created by The Prince of Wales in his book, ‘A Vision of Britain’. There was a lot to learn here, particularly in terms of their development of sustainable housing.(see the video at http://www.ciob.org.uk/about/president)
Tonight, at the 175 Anniversary Dinner I will give a speech highlighting the areas I want to concentrate on over the year. With regard to communication, I am thinking about ways in which culturally and technologically we can link members together so they can share ideas and learn from each other. With the current financial crisis we must look at every opportunity available and look at working collaboratively and internationally. I also want to focus on redefining the role of the construction manager, a term that I feel is currently too narrow and needs looking at from a broader perspective. In addition, the key areas of sustainable development, conservation, and maintenance and refurbishment will be a top priority.
Tomorrow I am visiting the site of the 2012 Olympic Games in Stratford. I will be accompanying a group of Chinese members who worked on the construction of the Beijing Games, to speak and share experiences with UK members working on the construction for 2012. It will be a great opportunity to learn from each other and establish new links. In the evening I am giving a speech at the International Building Press (IBP) summer dinner, where I will also be reinforcing my key messages from the AGM and talking about opportunities for businesses who want to work in China.
29 Jul 2009: Celebration in Chonqing
Returned to China from the UK for a celebratory event with members and delegates in Chongqing. I was delighted that representatives from all of the CIOB’s China offices were able to attend. In all there were over 80 guests, including many senior government officials, industry leaders and students.
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I was honoured that both the British Consul General and the President of the Chongqing Municipal Women’s Federation were able to attend and give speeches. The Chair of the Women’s Commission congratulated me and spoke of how my presidency of the CIOB represented a landmark for women in China. |
I was able to give a speech highlighting some of the new directions for the CIOB and was able to reinforce my message around the importance of communication and providing facilities for members to share and learn from their experiences.
The evening was certainly a memorable one, for me to celebrate my presidency in my home town. To see all the members and the pride and commitment they demonstrate to the CIOB and the industry as a whole fills me with pride, and I take a great deal of encouragement from their efforts.
01 Aug 2009: Hong Kong visit
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Because of a diversion to my scheduled flight, I finally made it to Hong Kong by 3.00pm the day after the Chongqing reception - via plane, boat and car - for the start of my Hong Kong visit. First on the agenda was a meeting at the Consulate with several senior representatives of government departments and Universities in Hong Kong. I am keen on these visits that we take the opportunity to raise the profile of the CIOB at government level, to let them know what is happening at the CIOB, and explore ways that they can support. |
On the 31st we attended a wonderful evening – the CIOB Hong Kong Annual Cocktail Reception and Awards presentation. It was fantastic to see so much support for CIOB Hong Kong from some very senior figures in the industry. There seemed to be a clear idea of people viewing the CIOB as their professional home here. Once again I took a lot of encouragement from the kind words of many there on my presidency.
Today we had a seminar and site visit, which I was able to organise with Mr Ye Haowen, Vice-Chair of the Guangdong Centre in Hong Kong. The focus for the seminar was Health and Safety in construction, and similar to the Olympic visit we held in the UK, members from China and Hong Kong were able to share there experiences from current projects they are working on. Our site visit took place at the International Commerce Centre – an inspiring project that several Hong Kong members are involved with and project managing. When it is completed next year it will be Hong Kong’s tallest building!
17 Aug 2009: Australia
My first trip to Australia was a big learning experience. One thing that really struck me was that culturally there is much less of the traditional east-meets-west notion that may exist between, say, China and the UK. Australia really integrates the western and Asia-Pacific ways of working. A common thing I am continually touched by however is the emotional attachment that members have for the Institute across the globe. They are so committed to improving the industry and everybody I speak to has such a positive feeling about the CIOB and the impact that we can make.
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Once again we met with many government departments, professional bodies and universities, with the aim of establishing links, looking at ways of working together and further enhancing the reputation of the CIOB. We met with several universities seeking accreditation for their courses, who are really keen for possibilities to expand beyond traditional routes – in particular looking at project management – crucial, I feel, for expanding the role of the construction manager. |
On the 13th I was fortunate to attend the PMOz conference in Canberra, which focuses on senior project management. I gave a keynote speech in the morning where, using Chongqing as a case study, I was able to talk about Government actions in Sustainable Developments.
One of the key messages I’ve been talking about when meeting members is the idea of thinking internationally, actioning locally. By this I mean drawing CIOB members across the globe to share their knowledge and experience – using modern technology to communicate our ideas and applying this knowledge appropriately, in a sustainable way, on a local level.
21 Aug 2009: New training course in China
This week I attended the opening of a new training course in Chongqing. Brian He, Country Manager of CIOB China was there as well as the Deputy Consul. This is the second training course for Management of the Built Environment to open in CIOB China (the first one opened in March).
One of the most pleasing things to see was the diverse range of backgrounds of the individuals signed up to the course. They ranged from contractors to clients – all the way to designers. Their commitment to professional development was clear – having spoken to many of the students they expressed their desire to travel to the UK to gain further experience and also to become members of the CIOB!
01 Sep 2009: Africa visit
This week we had a visit from a group of delegates and CIOB members from South Africa. Accompanied by former CIOB President, Professor Roger Flanagan, the purpose of the meeting was to set up and explore opportunities for members in South Africa and China to work together.
There does seem to exist a certain lack of confidence between professionals in South Africa and China making steps to work together. It is clear to both sides that there are opportunities to work together and learn from each other - but that it is often not easy to establish that first level of contact. I was hoping that this week would go some steps towards improving that situation.
Fortunately the meetings went beyond my expectation – I was surprised and delighted at the level of excitement from both parties to grasp the opportunity to meet and share their experiences. There are both a great deal of similarities and differences in the way that China and South Africa work culturally and their differing levels of expertise. It was fantastic to share some local knowledge from each other and explore the opportunities available.
Members in South Africa and China definitely have a chance to work together to overcome each other’s weaknesses. On one hand China can provide expertise in design, and on the other hand South Africa can provide management experience and local knowledge.
I particularly enjoyed Roger’s speech at the CIOB West China ‘Chinese Industry Association Evening Reception’, where he talked about gaining an understanding of international environments, looking at where there are opportunities world-wide and where we can go.
The great thing about the CIOB is that it can speed up this process. By linking members world-wide there is already an element of trust between each other – we know we are on a level playing field. The CIOB is our professional home and can rely on the expertise of our members when we collaborate across international boundaries.
With the current economic crisis this gives us a great chance to find new ways of working and expand our horizons. Communication is crucial and the more we can hold discussions like this, particularly meeting face-to-face, the closer we can bring our international community together.
08 Sep 2009: ARCOM conference
Arrived in the UK on the 6th ready for the ARCOM (Association of Researchers in Construction Management) conference in London yesterday. The conference brought together around 200 people from a research/education background in construction, where papers are presented and we share ideas and explore current industry thinking.
I gave one of the keynote speeches, ‘Rethinking Construction Management’. This area is really one of my key focuses. My feeling is that the view of construction management just as the role of site manager is too narrow and we need to be considering other roles involved in the management process.
If you think about how broad our membership is at the CIOB alone, that signifies that we should be looking at construction management from a wider viewpoint. With members approaching the industry from all angles; design, project management, conservation, academics/education, and so on, management of the total construction process occurs within all of these specialist areas.
I was pleased that our stance on construction management as a discipline was mirrored generally by the tone of the conference overall and there was a lot of discussion on this issue. I think that benefit could be gained, particularly in areas of education and research, by further collaboration between the CIOB and ARCOM in the future.
I was able to meet Professor John Bale who I have asked to take forwarded this work on my behalf. We have written a joint paper that will be published in CIQ, and will be discussing our ideas at the CIOB Board of Trustees at the end of October. All ideas and contributions welcome.
12 Sep 2009: CEM seminar, Kent Dinner, CEM Awards
A quick opportunity to talk about the last three very busy days (and nights!): On the 9th I met with the President of FIDIC (International Federation of Consulting Engineers) to talk about activities in China – particularly in how we train and the education we provide for construction careers – as well as the opportunities for work and collaboration.
I also spoke of the developments we’ve had in terms of management and sustainable development – such a big area for us in terms of providing opportunities to work.
This was followed by an excellent day firstly attending a seminar hosted by the College of Estate Management (CEM). The seminar, which was part of CEM’s 90th Anniversary celebrations, focused on Sustainable Regeneration, talking about the refurbishment of the site of the former Marks & Spencer headquarters, 55 Baker St.
This was a fascinating project and a really good example of modern urban regeneration. Originally due to be demolished, the designers instead looked at ways in which the existing structure could be maintained. Using a variety of innovative methods (such as glass structures) they were able to redesign the interior to increase the amount of space – which now provides offices, leisure space, residential and retail. It was a very creative project and by choosing to keep the external structure they were able to reduce waste, meet climate targets and keep the same cost.
In the evening I was delighted to attend the Kent Construction Professionals’ Dinner at another fabulous building, Leeds Castle. It really felt like ‘conservation day’ with the Baker St. project in the morning and the dinner at Leeds Castle – a building I remember visiting 14 years ago as a tourist. It just goes to show the value that can be gained from buildings like this as we explore ways to evolve and extend their life-cycle.
Yesterday was another special memory for me as I was honoured with an award at the CEM Property Awards. It was made extra special as the honour was also received by Ray O’Rourke, which was the first time it had been given to two people in one year since 1987. I was also the first person from China to receive the award.
I felt particularly proud to receive this award in a year of so many celebrations; the 175 Anniversary of the CIOB, 90 years of the College of Estate Management and 60 years of the People’s Republic of China.
I always feel a big sense of responsibility at times like this, and as I said in my speech, will use these opportunities to do as much as I can to find ways to improve the industry.
13 Sep 2009: Honorary Fellowships
A good CIOB day! – Chris Blythe and I were presented with honorary fellowships of the College of Estate Management at a ceremony in Reading
16 Sep 2009: FIDIC Conference
The FIDIC conference started on Monday (14th Sept). I attended the opening ceremony and had the opportunity to meet Princess Anne. She showed considerable knowledge of China but had not been to west China, which is my home. She had been involved with charitable support for the earthquake victims in Szechuan. I invited her to visit!
Lunchtime I met with John Prescott, who had returned from China where he had just received a professorship from a Chinese University. He had also been promoting sustainable development and collaborations between Yorkshire and Chongqing. John has done so much to build relationships between the UK and China, as well as strongly promoting environmental sustainability.
I presented him with our two CIOB books, ‘Building Visionaries’ and ‘Building Modern China’ to thank him for his support. In return he gave me a copy of his book, signed “to the wonderful First Lady”!
Yesterday I gave my keynote speech to approximately 600 people about sustainable development in China. I had some really good feedback on my speech, particularly looking at the way in which countries are different - and whilst their aim can be the same, their focus can be quite different. In China for instance, because of our economic growth we are increasingly focusing on new sustainable developments and are in a position to achieve great things and provide many opportunities. In other areas of the world where the economy is struggling, the same environmental targets are being sought using different methods – by focusing on conservation and refurbishment.
18 Sep 2009: Chinese Embassy
Finished my UK trip off nicely by being invited by the Minister from the Chinese Embassy to have lunch – the first Chinese meal I’ve since arriving in the UK! I’ve also invited the Minister to attend the CMYA dinner on 27 October.
