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Board
Meetings
The Provisional Construction Industry Co-ordination
Board (PCICB) has met once during this period. Apart from
reviewing the progress made by its seven working groups, the
Board touched upon a number of other topics –
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- Further trial of “construction design and
management (CDM)” system in public works contracts.
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- Outcome of a research project on construction
standards commissioned by the Construction Industry
Institute – Hong Kong (CII-HK).
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- Measures to monitor wage payments for workers
and subcontracting arrangements.
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Members noted that the Environment, Transport and Works
Bureau (ETWB) has incorporated in 13 trial contracts the
CDM system with documentation procedures streamlined and
integrated into the project delivery framework. Whilst recognizing
the positive feedback on site supervision and risk management
based on a preliminary assessment, they suggested some refinements
to the trial features and requested for a cost-benefit analysis
on the final outcome.
On construction standards, Members received a presentation
on objectives and major findings of a research project commissioned
by CII-HK to explore the strategic directions in local context.
The Board agreed to remain open on this issue and defer
it to the Construction Industry Council (CIC) for in-depth
examination.
Finally, Members were briefed that a package of measures
aimed to control and monitor wage payments as well as to
tackle problems arising from multi-layer subcontracting
has been launched in one civil engineering and one building
project under the public works programme on a trial basis.
An additional building contract was being identified by
ETWB for trying out these new measures in a broader scope
of construction activities.
Construction
Industry Council
The CIC (No.2) Bill is still under
scrutiny by the Legislative Council. With the consensus
already achieved on a number of key issues, the
Bills Committee has focused its attention on clause-by-clause
examination.
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Construction
Cost and Performance Indicators
After taking stock of the experience on private
certification in Australia, Singapore and UK, the
Task Force to Review the Construction Stage of the
Development Process will look into the merits and
limitations of adopting similar practices in Hong
Kong based on findings of a consultancy study scheduled
for completion in mid-2006. Furthermore, the reviews
on possible alignment of definitions for key development
parameters and enhancements in the regulatory regime
for the construction stage are making smooth progress.
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Manpower
Training and Development
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The Working Group on Manpower Training and Development
has been collaborating with ETWB as well as relevant
professional bodies to expedite the recognition
of associated memberships acquired by mid-stream
personnel. In parallel, the working group will keep
a close watch on the need to revamp the organization
and programme structure of construction training
courses given the changing aspirations of industry
stakeholders. |
Building
Environmental performance Assessment
Schemes
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Working Group on Building Environmental Performance
Assessment Schemes endorsed a work plan spanning
across wider application of relevant schemes in
general, development of an integrated model under
appropriate circumstances, and a specific option
catering for infrastructure projects. To begin
with, the working group has received a presentation
by the Hong Kong Building Environmental Performance
Assessment Method (HK-BEAM) and the Comprehensive
Environmental Performance Assessment Scheme (CEPAS)
conceived by the industry and the Buildings Department
respectively.
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Construction
Site Safety and
Employee’s Compensation Insurance
| In
recognition of the growing share of serious accidents
in minor repair and maintenance projects, the Working
Group on Construction Site Safety and Employees’
Compensation Insurance is assisting in several studies
on improved equipment and tendering advice to a finance
scheme available for small/medium contractors to procure
proper safety device. Moreover, the Hong Kong Federation
of Insurers has earmarked a pool of funding to strengthen
the promotion of voluntary mediation in handling claims.
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Management
of Subcontracting
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The Voluntary Subcontractors Registration Scheme (VSRS)
has continued to attract an encouraging response from
the industry, with 3,061 applications received and
2,772 approved as at the end of March. Apart from
looking into the Premier Register boasting more stringent
entry requirements and individual capability grading,
the Working Group on Management of Subcontracting
is seeking to enhance the professionalism of the practitioners
by providing them with suitable training opportunities.
To this end, a questionnaire is in hand to gauge the
aspirations and needs of registered subcontractors. |
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Task Force on Waste Management Measures has accorded
priority to promoting waste management training
for site personnel and rolling out selected measures
with proven effectiveness in public works projects.
Leveraging on their successful experience in the
Safety Partnering Programme, the Real Estate Developers
Association of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Construction
Association will formulate proposals to devise support
tools such as sample contracts on training requirements
as well as specifications for introducing the trip
ticketing system to private sector projects. |
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Events
and Activities
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total of 176 staff from 131 subcontracting firms
registered under VSRS attended the briefing sessions
on the Construction Workers Registration System
hosted by the Construction Workers Registration
Authority on 17 and 22 March 2006. This is the latest
round of training courses aimed to provide stakeholders
with better knowledge on statutory requirements
related to the industry. |
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Further information about the PCICB
may be obtained from our website at http://www.pcicb.gov.hk.
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Please direct your enquiries to the PCICB Secretariat at
–
Address : Room 2100, Murray Building, Garden Road, Central,
Hong Kong·
Tel. no. : 2848 2294
Fax no. : 2189 7990
E-mail : enquiry@pcicb.gov.hk
May 2006
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