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President's View
END OF THE YEAR REFLECTIONS
As we approach the end of the calendar year, the half way point in the Board's year, it always seems timely to review where we are as a Chapter and where we are headed in the remaining 6 months.
We have a Board full of ideas and energy and supplemented by enthusiastic volunteers on the Committees that support the Directors in carrying out their objectives under the strategic plan. We finish the year in a healthy condition, having been recognized by IFMA through 2 Awards of Excellence, and a host of ambitious plans for 2007.
Our conference in November made a profit and keeps the Chapter in a healthy financial position. We have also restored our membership numbers after a drop in the middle of the year and now stand at 185 members. A membership drive is to be embarked upon in the New Year to further boost this number. This will also include incentives to encourage students to join the Chapter.
Next year will be our 15th anniversary, a significant landmark for us.
We are in an advance stage of planning for our anniversary conference to be held in June and also looking at holding a significant asset management conference in April that will bring to Hong Kong a leading international authority in maintenance management.
The Chapter also hopes to soon bring Members greater convenience through secure on-line payment for our events - something you have asked us for in your feedback - proof we are listening! A bit more work needs to be done on this in terms of how we structure our website and we will keep you posted on this.
I am also pleased to report that IFMA have advised me that they are looking at providing increased focus on the Asia Pacific region and this will be seen in forthcoming editions of Facility Management Journal.
Finally, I would like to remind you of our final event of the year - our Christmas party - which will be held at the Unicorn Restaurant in Lee Theatre, Causeway Bay, on Friday 15th December. Steve Gladwin from Australia, former Chair of the FMA, will be speaking at the banquet dinner. Those of you who have heard Steve speak at our conference two years ago know that Steve is an informed, passionate and entertaining speaker, so make sure you don't miss the chance to catch Steve again and enjoy the Friday night party!
I hope to see as many as possible of you there but for those of you who can not attend, I wish you and your family a very happy Christmas.
What IFMA are doing in China - a report from IFMA USA
In February 2006 the Asian Working Group was appointed by IFMA Chair Teena Shouse, CFM. It was charged with establishing an economically feasible approach for the delivery of the Association's products and services through both IFMA's internal channels as well as those external to the organization. They were also charged with defining a services delivery template which could be amended for different market conditions and situations. Similar to the work done by the European Working Group the AWG surveyed the members participating in Chapter activity in Asia as well as those who were not doing so. The findings from the working group were presented to the IFMA Board of Directors in August 2006.
Beginning in 2004 IFMA began conducting a needs assessment related to the delivery of professional development courses and credentialing in the Peoples Republic of China. The Association participated in, and delivered content during, a facility management conference held at the University of Peking in June 2004 and in a similar event in Shanghai in July 2005. During this same time period members of IFMA's Executive Committee and the President/CEO began evaluating educational delivery resources in the PRC. This research included private and public sector organizations, educational institutions, and for-profit entities.
IFMA's first meeting with our eventual partner, Ying Biao Human Resources Ltd. of Beijing occurred during the June 2004 conference. YB was introduced to the Association by Dr. Oscar Chan, CFM, an IFMA member based in Hong Kong and doing business in the Peoples Republic of China. Following a series of additional meetings and teleconferences IFMA selected YB as its partner in the PRC for the delivery of facility management course content. Prior to launching these courses YB has been engaged in the translation and localization of course content as well as seeking the endorsement and approval of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security Occupational Skill Testing Authority (OSTA). YB's mandate also includes promoting an awareness of facility management and IFMA's professional development courses throughout the PRC. A formal signing ceremony naming YB as the Association's agent, attended by IFMA's Chair and the President/CEO, occurred in Beijing on July 10 2006. Following the contract execution a first meeting between IFMA and a representative of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security was held to discuss the endorsement process and timetable for final approval.
It should be noted that Association Counsel in Shanghai (Sun L Law Firm & Company) reviewed the IFMA/YB document in its entirety and made several amendments which were required to better protect IFMA's ownership of its professional development intellectual property. This was of particular importance as Chinese law allows for the transfer of intellectual property rights from the original developer (in this case IFMA) to the translator of materials (in this case Ying Biao) unless this is specifically forbidden in the text of the Agreement.
During the month of January 2006 Dr. Oscar Chan was appoint as IFMA's representative in China. His responsibilities include assisting YB in the translation and localization of professional development content as well as quality control, participation in obtaining the endorsement of OSTA by providing FM expertise, development of Train the Trainers programs, creation of policies and procedures for student enrollment and programs delivery, coordination of effective marketing and promotional efforts in conjunction with YB, and serving as the primary communication link between the Association and YB.
As of the date of this report multiple meetings between Chan, YB, and OSTA have been held to ensure that Ministry officials understand the scope of facility management and to expedite the approval process. In September 2006 a Pre-Qualification Meeting was held in Beijing in the OSTA offices at the Ministry of Labor and Social Security. The agenda for this meeting included an in-depth description of facility management and its importance in the effective management of buildings and other workplaces. IFMA's background, Vision, Mission, global experience, and expertise in facility management were also detailed in the meeting. This Pre-Qualification exercise was successfully completed.
A recent communication from Chan indicated that the final approval of OSTA is expected in early December and that the Ministry of Labor and Social Security will complete its processing activity and provide official endorsement of our programs by calendar year end. Translation and localization of professional development content is progressing satisfactorily and is expected to be completed in March 2007. Efforts are also currently underway to identify qualified instructors and a Train the Trainers program is planned for March 2007. We are also informed that Ying Biao is in the midst of conversations with the Beijing Technical Supervision Bureau regarding a contract to provide facility management training of civil servants responsible for the operation and management of state-owned properties. This training is expected to launch during the second quarter of the 2007 calendar year. Additional interest in utilizing IFMA's professional development course content has been expressed by Johnson Controls, Inc. in Shanghai and by the 2008 Summer Olympic Committee. At the same time YB is talking with OSTA regarding the use of their training facilities in at least twelve provinces in the PRC.
Contributed by Barbara J. Zlatnik
Associate Director, Member Resources
International Facility Management Association
HKU Space - Master of Science in Facilities Management
We are always pleased to be able to tell readers of educational opportunities available to them in Hong Kong. In this case HKU Space have teamed with the University of Greenwich in the UK to provide a Masters degree which covering 3 areas of interest to facility managers - construction project management, real estate and of course facilities management.
This is a two year course operated by distance learning and is aimed at developing professional abilities to manage a facility in the way that allows people and organisations to operate effectively in the physical workplace.
To obtain the master degree award, a student must complete a total of 6 taught courses which comprise 5 core courses and 1 elective course, together with a course known as Personal Learning Portfolio plus a MSc. dissertation. Each course is self-contained and receives its own credits. They are conducted by both visiting staff from Greenwich and local tutors, over two study weekends. The courses covered are set out in the table below.
Core Course
Year 1: Management Principles for Construction and Property Development
Year 1: Research Methods
Year 1: Facilities Management
Year 2: Project Management
Year 2: Property Development and Finance
Year 2: Dissertation (2 courses)
Year 1 and 2: Personal Learning Portfolio
Option Course
Year 1: Construction Economics
Year 1: Property Appraisal
The intake for next year starts on 19 th January 2007, with a second intake in July 2007. Detailed course information and application forms can be obtained by downloading from http://hkuspace.hku.hk/se; or in person from HKU SPACE Enrolment Centres ; or by sending email to miggi@hkuspace.hku.hk
We continue our series of interviews with people within the FM industry by interviewing Tom Leung is a Vice President of Goldman Sachs in charge of facilities operations and project management for the Asia region.
The people covered by this section of the newsletter will vary, from senior and well-known members of the industry to graduates just starting in the industry. The intention is to provide information on a cross-section of the industry covering how they first became involved in the industry, what they do, how they relax etc. The interviews are conducted and reported by Santa Raymond for the Hong Kong Chapter of IFMA.
Q.
What do you consider describes the job you do?
A.
My remit stretches from most countries west of Tokyo to most of those east of India, and I manage my portfolio out of my office from Tokyo.
Since returning to Hong Kong from North America during the early 90's, my career has swung between real estate development and facilities management - which some consider quite a strange hybrid. I always enjoy - and gain a lot from - whatever I do, and I see my current position with Goldman Sachs as a perfect opportunity to bring all my previous skills and beliefs together and realise a fully integrated service.
Q.
What is your background?
A.
I trained as an architect at Cornell University, and in business administration at York University, and am a registered architect both in Hong Kong and USA.
After leaving Cornell, I worked for Tigerman McCurry Architects, a high profile boutique style architecture firm in Chicago. Chicago has always been the cradle of main stream American architecture, and people like Stanley Tigerman's work because he takes away the esotericism of architecture and makes it enjoyable for everyone. The most important thing I learned by working with Stanley is that whatever you do, it has to be fun for yourself, your colleagues, your clients and the public at large.
Although I very much enjoyed working as an architect in North America, I returned to Hong Kong in the early 90's. I worked for a real estate developer in charge of several large scale development projects in China and Hong Kong. We were one of the very first developers who invested in large scale real estate developments in China. In those days, we were challenged by all sorts of problems - culture, workmanship, legal, and so on. I was also involved in the development of a prime commercial project in Hong Kong. It was dumb-founding that one of our anchor tenants spent millions of dollars to alter the basic shell / core of the building before they even started the interior fit out of tenant space. It's not sustainable development practice, and not focused marketing strategy - however you look at it. However according to knowledgeable people in the industry, this is just life-cycle management.
A few years ago I drifted the into the facilities management industry almost by accident, and was delighted to find that people who practice facilities management are serious about life cycle management. I'm glad to see that now facilities management is getting a lot of buy-in from developers and end users. Just before joining Goldman Sachs, I was a development manager with Disney for the Penny's Bay site, and people there live and breathe life-cycle management. With the looming issue of sustainability, life-cycle management is something that no serous FM practitioners can afford to neglect.
Q.
What is the future of FM?
A.
Teaching is an essential part of a successful FM industry. A few years ago, I started teaching facilities management upon invitations from friends from universities and other institutions. I was lucky to be one of the earlier practitioners in the facilities management industry in Asia, and I believe it is part of our responsibility to train up people and share our experience. Teaching facilities management is not so much in the training of technical skills, but more a change of attitude and mindset, and - in general - is just management best practices. My favourite is to start with a class of students who have never heard of facilities management (or if they have, they do not understand). All through the entire course, you see the enthusiasm in the students learning this new set of management tools - they question and they struggle. Nothing is more rewarding than to see that most people finish the course with a fresh perspective of how they should manage - not only their facilities - but their careers.
Q.
What do you do to relax?
A.
Before I joined Goldman Sachs, I had the luxury of popping to the market place in Mongkok once in a while, and totally immersing myself in the sight and sound. In that general area, we witness the symbiosis of contemporary city planning and high style architecture by John Jerdi, and the organic market place that grows from the grass root society. I would spend hours looking at the tropical fish stores, grab an oven hot bun and a shot of yin-yeung from a local bakery.
However, since joining GS, I find myself spending almost half the time travelling. While some people find travelling stressful, I use travelling time to relax by reading, listening to my MP3, and catching up with my Japanese lessons. I did not know any Japanese before my relocation, and I want to know Japanese as well as I can. Everybody at my Tokyo office speaks perfect English, but I told myself that if I really want to enjoy being in a new environment - the culture and the people - knowing the local language is the most important thing.
The last book I read was on palaeontology. It is truly amazing to see how scientists rebuild the world hundreds of million years ago just by looking at a piece of fossil. The basic premise of palaeontology is that nature is a most efficient selector to determine whether an organism can adapt to its environment. The secret of why some species last longer than others lies in their flexibility, and their adaptability to change. This gives me a lot of insight into how I run my life and my career.
I enjoy most outdoor sports, and go jogging and swimming regularly. These are the moments when my body totally goes mechanical and is able to set my mind to rest. I like listening to all kinds of music from pop to folk songs to classical. The classical composer I enjoy most is Bela Bartok - you can actually visualize his music.
Q.
If you didn't work with facilities what would you like to do?
A.
I don't have an answer for you, but I might want to be a farmer. It's hard work, and is a humbling experience when you have to get your hands dirty - literally - in order to satisfy some pretty basic personal needs. Also, being removed from the hustle and bustle, you appreciate how simple life can be. I am definitely interested in natural history, or history in general. Perhaps one day I will invent something that merges all my interests.
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