modus asia edition q4 2014

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IN THIS ISSUE

GENDER POSITIVEFour women forge ahead in the profession / 28

CLEAN UP Bribery and corruption confronted / 32

HARSH TREATMENT How to combat labour exploitation / 38

Q4 2014

ricsasia.org/modusasia

MAKE THE CONNECTIONOpportunities in global infrastructure / 16

44-45 CAREERSHow to deal with a diffi cult boss, and Mott MacDonald’s Alasdair Thompson FRICS

46 BUSINESSSupport your interns properly, and the results will be rewarding for both parties

47 LEGAL 101Stephen Lee Kalun FRICS discusses Hong Kong’s standard working hours legislation

50 MIND MAPRICS’ Maarten Vermeulen FRICS on issues and opportunities in European real estate

PLUS48 Events

16 COVER STORYInfrastructure’s wonderful world of opportunity

24 A UNIVERSAL LANGUAGERunning the rule over International Property Measurement Standards

28 THE XX FACTORFour female RICS members from across Greater China share their experiences of breaking through industry barriers

32 WHAT WAS I SUPPOSED TO DO …Bribery, corruption and the built environment

38 AN UNCOMFORTABLE TRUTHForced labour on construction sites is not just a problem for the rest of the world

42 GHOST IN THE MACHINESmart buildings do battle with cyber stalkers

06 DIFFERENCE OF OPINIONShould public money be used to preserve Hong Kong’s heritage buildings? We hear two points of view

07-15 NEWS IN BRIEFEssential industry news, advice and information for RICS members

08 THINKING: BENJAMIN HENRY TOWELLInterest in Singapore’s green lease finally gaining momentum

13 PRESIDENT’S COLUMNLouise Brooke-Smith FRICS ponders the pluses of RICS’ status as a professional organisation

“There’s probably never been a better time to be a surveyorworking in this sector. Even places that are not well populated

are going in for massive investment in infrastructure”KEITH RUDD FRICS, ARUP

COVER STORY, P16

Views expressed in Modus are those of the named author and are not necessarily those of RICS or the publisher. The contents of this magazine are fully protected by copyright and may not be reproduced in any form without the prior permission of the publisher. All information correct at time of going to press. All rights reserved. The publisher cannot accept liability for errors or omissions. RICS does not accept responsibility for loss, injury or damage or costs that result from, or are connected in any way to, the use of products or services advertised. All editions of Modus are printed on paper sourced from sustainable, properly managed forests. This magazine can be recycled for use in newspapers and packaging. Please dispose of it at your local collection point. The polywrap is made from biodegradable material and can be recycled.

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OUTSIDE REGULATION PLAYSir, By coincidence, I opened my latest demand from RICS Regulation while reading Modus. I was annoyed by the tone of the letter and the fact that it appears to apply a criminal record to someone who has not submitted their annual return well in advance.

I can sympathise with the need to get returns, but perhaps a bit of tailoring of the style of the demands might achieve better results. Many of the small members of the RICS annually face the cost-benefi t decision about whether to stay a member. Impersonal, strident demands can only have a negative impact on this decision.

I do not have a large staff to delegate this to and to complete an annual return I have to fi nd time out of the ever-present demands of the day job. I am not asking for sympathy, just understanding that it is not always easy to fi nd this time. Maybe a more sympathetic approach could be adopted that would encourage rather than threaten? It might help members resist the temptation to write letters to journals in preference to completing their annual return. Simon Thorp MRICS

Many thanks for your letter. You are certainly not alone in believing that we can improve the tone of our regulatory communications. I completely agree that this is an area we need to tackle. A project is already under way to solve the issue and I hope you will soon see clear change. We will be seeking members’ views in a few months’ time to fi nd out whether we’re making progress.Gillian CharlesworthDirector of Regulatory and Corporate Aff airs

FOR SUNDAY Editor Oliver Parsons / Art Director Christie Ferdinando / Contributing Editor Brendon Hooper / Production Editor Andy Plowman / Junior Designer / sednanreF allebasICreative Director Matt Beaven / Account Director Karen Jenner / Account Manager Wesley Kirschner / Advertising Sales Director Charlotte Turner / Asia Advertising ROF Media, Bryan Chan, +852 3150 8912, [email protected] / Production Manager Michael Wood / Managing Director Toby Smeeton / Repro F1 Colour / Printers ROF Media / Cover illustration LaTigre / Published by Sunday, 207 Union Street, London SE1 0LN sundaypublishing.com / FOR RICS Kate Symons, Mark Goodwin and James Murphy [UK] / Roy Ying and Jeanie Chan [Asia] [email protected]

Join the

debateREACTIONS AND RESPONSES

FROM PREVIOUS ISSUESDo you have an editorial comment about

this issue of Modus? Please email [email protected].

RECRUITMENT SLEAZE Sir, Since passing my APC this May, I have been inundated with emails from recruiters trying to poach me for new jobs. Most got my details from RICS-published results or found me on LinkedIn. While I appreciate that becoming chartered is a huge achievement and puts me into a new professional standing, I question how ethical it is that 110 recruiters have contacted me in three months. Should they be able to access my information without being an RICS member and should there be more awareness for people about to sit their APC that this will happen?Jessica Wortelhock MRICS, London

WORDS OF A FEATHERSir, Your article on the use of glass focused on new techniques to improve energy performance of buildings and so reduce their environmental impact (Modus, global edition, July/August 2014). But it omitted to refer to the risk that ever larger areas of glass pose to bird life. The RICS rightly places great importance on green issues, but our profession needs to be aware of how hazardous glass structures are to birds and we should be pioneering the use of bird-safe design elements in buildings.Tim Knowlman FRICS, Amboise, France

Feedback

@Daz_Midgley Interesting article in this month’s @modusmag providing an insight into the Crossrail project. #transport #investment #worldclasscity #LDN

@Steven_Ramage Forget NYT, Huff Post etc. I’m mentioned in this month’s edition of @modusmag! #fameatlast

@VerticeDM Crowd funding reality for development funding is it’s too slow and presents diffi cult reward structure for investors

@kathf48 Great #FACMAN feature in @modusmag – so gd to read 12k RICS members on the FM pathway #professionalisation

@mrgkirk Cold glass of something grape-based and latest @modusmag is a very pleasant way to spend an hour sat in the garden.

@stuart_pannell @modusmag Another great edition, but where have all the cool news snippets gone?

@NickLeaney Good countryside mind map in @modusmag & need for support of local communities but crucially they fi rst have to accept need for change

@RICSnews // @RICSAsia

USEFUL RICS NUMBERS CONTACT CENTRE+852 2537 7117 Enquiries / APC guidance / Subscriptions / Events / Training / Bookshop REGULATION HELPLINE +852 2116 9713 CONFIDENTIAL HELPLINE +44 (0)20 7334 3867 DISPUTE RESOLUTION SERVICES +44 (0)20 7334 3806 UK SWITCHBOARD +44 (0)20 7222 7000


MODUS ONLINERead the latest and all previous issues of Modus Asia edition at ricsasia.org/modusasia. To reduce your carbon footprint, unsubscribe your hard copy and receive a digital edition only by emailing your name and/or membership number to [email protected] with the subject line ‘Unsubscribe Modus Asia’.

The RICS International Heritage Conservation Conference takes place in Hong Kong on 9 January 2015. For more information, and to book your place, go to ricsasia-conference.org

06 RICSASIA .ORG

BOB DICKENSHEETS VICE-PRESIDENT, SCAD HONG KONG

C ONSIDERING THE PRESSURE TO PROVIDE THE BASIC NEEDS of homes for Hong Kong residents, one would think this subject would require little discussion. The immediate answer would be housing. The bottom line says

that new construction is more cost effi cient than preserving, and vertical growth creates more usable space in a sustainable manner. The act of preserving heritage architecture consumes precious public money and rarely does an old building fi nd a suitable new use.

The need for housing and the response of government to provide this service has a record of improvements that stretch back more than 60 years and today, most residents receive housing assistance of some sort. Supporting the primacy of housing in this debate is the political pressure placed on districts and planners to meet the needs of constituents and developers, and with the growing increase in the number of elderly residents, the need is compounded. Immigration further adds to the story. How else could a city maintain its international ranking if it cannot provide the basic service of shelter for the many members of the community needed to support its corporate and service industries?

Public safety also plays into the debate, as many of the ageing shophouses that are so prevalent in urban south-east Asia and early public housing units are now past their lifespan and may be hazardous environments for both residents and pedestrians.

Heritage buildings might provide diversity in style, richness of environment and cultural enjoyment, but who will receive the greatest benefi t of these efforts – working residents or tourists?

Should public money be used to preserve Hong Kong’s heritage buildings? Discuss.

DR ESTER VAN STEEKELENBURG FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR, URBAN DISCOVERY HONG KONG

H ERITAGE HAS AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN CREATING and maintaining a vibrant and viable urban future. City planners and developers are slowly realising that historic

buildings and neighbourhoods have indisputable intrinsic value as places where people want to spend time and will spend money. Historic buildings have unique architectural features, while historic neighbourhoods have a human dimension where residents, businesses and shops co-exist. There’s a vibrancy that is diffi cult to replicate and so often lost in skyscraper cities.

Preserving heritage and injecting it with new life also has an important socio-economic function: to ensure the character of a city and its collective memory stays alive. This was the reason the Singaporean government abandoned its urban renewal policy in the 1990s – it recognised that residents felt a loss of cultural identity living in high-rise fl ats and business travellers complained that the city looked just like any other. The government invested in regenerating some of the older districts and the city centre again became an attractive place to live, work and play. People started spending money, and soon after the tourism dollars returned.

Preserving heritage buildings is often perceived as fi nancially unfeasible. This may be true if one looks at the short-term viability of renovating an old building versus demolition and new construction, especially in Hong Kong’s competitive real estate market. However, if one looks at the variety of long-term benefi ts of revitalising historic neighbourhoods, rather than individual real estate assets, the economics of heritage start to make sense.

STEPPING INTO DIFFERENT SHOESIn an exercise to better understand the subject, heritage preservation specialist Bob Dickensheets argues for a side he does not fully support

DIFFERENCE OF OPINION

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Intelligence News / Reviews / Opinions / Reactions

What is it?As concerns rise in the UK over the eff ects of a potentially damaging housing bubble, some of the blame – particularly in London – has focused on overseas buyers, whose transactions push up demand and house prices where supply is constrained. Savills estimates overseas buyers are behind around 85% of new-build property purchases in central London and more than two-thirds of re-sales. Thinktank the Smith Institute argues that a property speculation tax (PST), which is a well-established policy in countries such as Germany and Malaysia, should be considered as part of a comprehensive housing action plan to tackle the UK’s housing crisis. It could go some way to changing the speculative behaviour of investors and help cool the feverish market.

What could it actually achieve?It is thought a UK version – a one-off and tapered tax – would focus on curbing speculation, while excluding ordinary homeowners and longer-term investors. It would incentivise holding on to assets and discourage buying and selling for speculative gain. Furthermore, if the PST could be collected by Revenue & Customs, which already monitors most property transactions, it would make tax avoidance more diffi cult. Signifi cantly, it is argued a PST could also raise up to £1bn ($1.6bn) of vital funds for new, aff ordable homes at a time of fi nancial austerity in the public fi nances.

Find out more: smith-institute.org.ukShould PST be introduced into the UK market? Email [email protected] or tweet using #RICSmodus

Property speculation tax: a proposed solution to cool down the UK’s rapidly overheating housing market

POWER SHIFTAfter receiving negative press

for targeting overseas

buyers, fl ats in next phase of

Battersea Power Station were launched in London-only

sale in May


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Members rally round

RICS members are on the ground helping with the rebuilding and recovery eff ort in China’s Yunnan Province, following a devastating earthquake that hit the region in the summer. The magnitude 6.5 quake on 4 August killed at least 615 people, injured more than 3,000, and destroyed around 220,000 houses.

Soon after the disaster, RICS President Louise Brooke-Smith emailed all members in Yunnan to check if they were safe, and if RICS could off er assistance in restoration work. All members are well and some were already working in the disaster zone to assist in the rescue. Xu Ji Song MRICS described how his organisation had sent four investigation teams specialising in earthquake hazards to the region, to identify on-going issues and prevent further risk to life.

RICS accredits Singapore built environment courses

Two built environment undergraduate programmes at SIM University (UniSIM) in Singapore have been accredited by RICS, following a panel review by RICS Education professionals.

The accreditation panel scrutinised course materials, assessment papers and feedback from students, alumni and employers on the Bachelor of Science in Facilities and Events Management, and Bachelor of Building and Project Management courses, and found that both met RICS standards.

For more information, visit unisim.edu.sg/programmes.

THE BIG IDEA

THE DATA

Intelligence

NEWS IN BRIEF

ricasia.org/modusasia

GLOBAL HOUSE PRICESWhich countries reported the greatest rises and falls in house prices during 2013?Source: Knight Frank

Dubai Estonia

Croatia Cyprus Greece Hungary Italy

Turkey Brazil(asking prices)

China(Beijing andShanghai)

Sub-Saharan Africa

10M1992

173

223

10M2013

East Asia South-east Asia South Asia

Los AngelesWashington DC

Atlanta

Barcelona

Latin AmericaWorld

167

279

64

140

295314

40

842

1015

57

2%

44%15%

28%

18% 16%14%

12%

-10% -9% -8% -8%-5%

1%

1%

1%

4%3%

1%

1%

London

Paris

Milan

Düsseldorf

Berlin

Lyon

China

20

58

29

1

India

Reactorsoperable today

Under construction

Planned

21

France

57

1

100

US

6 22

Japan

48

3 9Russia

33

3110

UK

16

40

5 5

856m1991

1.04bn2001

1.15bn2008

1.47bn2030

Urbanisation rate

Storagefacilities/4 millionpopulation

/1 million

Poland

Americas Europe Asia

Germany Spain France Ireland Sweden UK Denmark Netherlands Finland European average

29.21,006

11.6350

26%28%

30%

40%

23.1303

$123K

HONG

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$115K

LOND

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$112K

NEW

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$107K

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$76K

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TOKY

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$72K

DUBA

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$70K

MOS

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$60K

SYDN

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$44K

SHAN

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$30K

RIO

DEJA

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$28K

MUM

BAI

Population of India

Gross lettable area (m m )2 / Number of new centres

LIVE/WORK COST PER EMPLOYEE PER YEAR IN 12 GLOBAL CITIES

Source: Savills World Research

08 RICSASIA .ORG

In Singapore, the government is the biggest champion in pushing the property and construction industries

to reduce their environmental impact. Unlike many other countries, it is the government’s Building and Construction Authority (BCA) that writes, administers and certifi es buildings under the national green building rating system – known as the BCA Green Mark. It’s an approach that has allowed policies and road maps to be successfully built around this platform.

The BCA launched Singapore’s first Green Building Masterplan in 2006 to place the concept of sustainable development at the forefront of industry and consumer awareness. The plan brought together financial incentives, legislation, industry training programmes and a public outreach campaign to drive this effort. A second masterplan, launched in 2009, placed greater emphasis on the performance of existing buildings, which led to environmental legislation for the retrofi t of existing commercial buildings.

Building on the relative success of these plans, the third masterplan was launched in September, which for the fi rst time acknowledged the fact that buildings exist to serve human activity and therefore their stakeholders need to play a collective role in creating a “live, work and play” environment that conserves resources. A key aim is to foster greater collaboration, engagement and to incentivise occupants, as their activities contribute signifi cantly to a building’s energy and water usage.

To help, the BCA has rolled out a suite of occupant-centric Green Mark schemes and has been promoting the concept of an environmentally-friendly leasing

arrangement. The green lease concept, in short, is an agreement between landlord and tenant, which sets out objectives on how the building is to be improved, managed and occupied in a sustainable manner. This yields cost savings in energy and water, and provides a better indoor environment for improved occupant health and wellbeing.

The green lease acknowledges the possible synergies in cooperation between landlords, tenants and service providers and contractors. It addresses traditional barriers to implementation, such as split incentives and interests between owners and occupiers, by ensuring that the parties with influence over key aspects of environmental performance obtain some benefi t from implementing the

improvements. For example, by installing energy-effi cient lighting that generates less heat, a landlord benefi ts from a reduced overall air-conditioning energy consumption, while a tenant can benefi t from the reduced energy bill.

A green lease toolkit has been produced by BCA to fi ll the gap in the market. It provides a list of standard clauses that contain provisions for monitoring and improving energy effi ciency, water effi ciency, air quality, sustainable materials and waste management, through a target-based approach applicable to commercial buildings’ landlords and tenants, and are fully editable to suit the building or individual tenant’s context. Developed over several years, the toolkit was partly inspired by the RICS paper Doing Well by Doing Good. Indeed, RICS had some involvement with the toolkit creation through providing a peer review of the draft Green Lease via the Singapore offi ce, and arranged a well-attended CPD session as a platform to share the approaches, considerations and diffi culties behind the concept of green leasing.

Green leasing is a new approach to real estate in Singapore and there are many challenges in its implementation, but I’ve noticed a surge in demand for more information on the approach and its commercial applicatiom. As such, I have happily become increasingly busy fielding questions on how to incorporate green leasing principles into a greater number of projects. So the quest for the holy grail of greater environmental mediation of buildings and occupants continues, but there’s no doubt we are moving in the right direction.

“I have happily become increasingly busy fielding questions on how to incorporate green

leasing principles into a greater number of projects”

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BENJAMIN HENRY TOWELL MRICS SENIOR MANAGER, BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION AUTHORITY, SINGAPORE

What’s that? A lot has been written about 3D printing and its potential use in everything from making better architectural models to even entire houses, but engineers at Arup are thinking about its application at the “nuts and bolts” level in construction. In what way? Using a 3D-printing technique called “additive manufacturing”. Arup has been working with UK-based 3D-printing agency CDRM to produce a prototype for bespoke structural steel elements used in complex projects, which could revolutionise how materials are made for certain structures. At present, their focus has been on the humble steel node – the team completely redesigned its complex geometry to be lighter, stronger and more effi cient for use in a street lighting project. While this particular project is on hold, the fi rm hopes to continue its research on a small-scale live project.

The excitement lies in the technique’s huge potential to reduce costs, waste and the carbon footprint of projects when used on a large scale, says Salomé Galjaard, the project’s team leader at Arup. “By using additive manufacturing, we can create lots of complex, individually designed pieces far more effi ciently. But most importantly, this approach potentially enables a very sophisticated design, without the need to simplify the design in a later stage to lower costs.” arup.com

3D-printed construction materials

CONTAINS ADDITIVES

Arup and 3D printer CDRM

have been working on

a building material

prototype using additive

manufacturing technique


Hong Kong Chairman

Andrew Lee FRICS has been elected Chairman of RICS Hong Kong for a one-year term of offi ce, eff ective from 1 September. Lee is managing director of Sunbase International Properties Management and has extensive experience in the fi eld of facilities and property management.

“It is my honour to be elected as the new Chairman of RICS Hong Kong,” commented Lee. “This coming year is a challenging one and we will be focusing on the government’s housing policies, including the operational details of the Pilot Scheme for Arbitration on Land Premium [News in brief, overleaf].

“We will also be looking to further develop the property management licensing system, to further address future urban development and conservation policies, and we are concerned about rising construction costs.

“We are also keen to promote the RICS Valuer Registration Scheme, and to promote and contribute to the career development of surveyors.”

Members’ input sought for Surveying the Future project

RICS’ Surveying the Future careers campaign is quickly galvanising industry support, but needs more members to contribute their expertise and thoughts about how best to develop professional talent in the property, land and construction industries.

If you would like to be involved, email Rebecca Hunt: [email protected], or Kate Owen: [email protected]; visit rics.org/surveyingthefuture or tweet using #surveyingthefuture.

WE LIKE

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GLOBAL LEVELS OF UNDERNOURISHMENTChange since 1992 in the number of the world’s population who are undernourishedSource: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Sub-Saharan Africa

10M1992

173

223

10M2013

East Asia South-east Asia South Asia Latin AmericaWorld

167

279

64

140

295314

40

842

1015

57

China

20

58

29

1

India


Under construction

Planned

21

France

57

1

100

US

6 22

Japan

48

3 9Russia

33

3110

UK

16

40

5 5

Western Cape CBD Western Cape non-CBD

2011 2012 2013

4,000M, RAND

2,000M, RAND

6,000M, RAND

8,000M, RAND

10,000M, RAND

Gauteng CBD Rest of Souh AfricaGauteng non-CBD

“BIM is not just a fad, it is here to stay”

Mac Muzvimwe MRICS managing surveyor at Faithful + Gould BIM, BIM, BIM ... and no, it is not just another fad. I have been “BIMing” for nearly fi ve years, and I know that it is here to stay. Our social lives are

now dominated by technology, and building information modelling (BIM) introduces that technology to our industry, be it making a 3D laser scan of an existing building, extracting quantities from a model within a matter of minutes, or showing a 3D walkthrough video

to a group of primary school students and getting instant feedback. It is not all about technology, but collaboration, too. Sectors such as car manufacturing and aerospace already collaborate frequently, and BIM fosters that same collaborative attitude within our industry.


Once I used to be an ordinary building surveyor, working in

a private practice carrying out ordinary building surveying work. Then I took a job working for a charity that helps disabled people adapt their homes. I thought I knew something about disabled access, but all my years of education and training could not equip me for meeting human frailty this closely.

The most shocking realisation was how alike many of my clients and I were. They didn’t think it would happen to them either.

If we live to be old, most of us will probably, sooner or later, suffer from a chronic degenerative disease, as this is now the most prevalent cause of death at advanced age. It is increasingly common in later life to have a prolonged period of deteriorating health and if we live to be old, we are likely to be disabled for our last years.

Not many of my clients planned ahead for this, and fi nd themselves living in totally

unsuitable properties. Those who did plan ahead often bought a bungalow and installed a shower, only to fi nd that they can no longer manage the step or stand for long enough to wash.

The most stubbornly diffi cult properties to adapt are the oldest and the newest.

Victorian terraces, built when people did well to live past 50, have precipitous stairs, narrow doorways and whimsical changes of level, but are at least relatively spacious and built of solid materials.

Not so houses built within the last 20 years, in which circulation space is a luxury and internal walls usually cannot support wall-hung fi ttings.

So far, two of my clients have been former chartered surveyors – identifi ed by copies of Modus in the house. I’m not sure if it is signifi cant, but both were living in Victorian terraced houses.

Are you interested in writing a future Secret Surveyor column? Email [email protected]

Arbitration on Land Premium surveyors’ shortlist imminent

RICS will soon release a list of chartered surveyors who have met the requirements of the pilot scheme for Arbitration on Land Premium, launched in August by the Hong Kong government. The scheme aims to resolve disputes between landowners and the Lands Department by speeding up land premium agreements on land lease modifications or land premium disputes.

Listed RICS members must have at least 10 years’ experience in local land matters. Impartiality is crucial to arbitration and valuation, and all chartered surveyors providing valuation services using RICS valuation standards are required to register under RICS Valuer Registration, which regulates members through annual audits and reviews.

Dr Albert So FRICS, Chairman of the Valuation and Planning & Development Professional Group committee, said: “The government’s pilot scheme for Arbitration on Land Premium will expedite dispute resolution of land premiums, therefore speeding up land supply, especially through the release of land from developer reserves. RICS’ list of qualified chartered surveyors for the scheme will herald an impartial arbitration process that complies with international standards.”

For more details, email [email protected].

RICS Vietnam Advisory Group launces with CPD events

A new RICS Vietnam Advisory Group is setting up a series of CPD events in the coming months, among them a December valuation workshop to be attended by the local heads of valuation in global firms such as CBRE, JLL, Colliers, Cushman & Wakefield and Savills. University students will also be invited to the workshop to gain an insight from the experiences of RICS members.

SECRET SURVEYOR“I thought I knew about disabled access, but all my training could not equip me for meeting frailty this closely”

PROPERTY SAFE BET FOR ASIAN INSURERSLess restrictive investment regulations could encourage Asian insurance companies to increase their real estate assets by $75bn over the next fi ve years, predicts CBRE.

Regulations that dictate how and where insurers can invest have historically been tight in Asia, limiting the capital deployed into real estate assets. However, several countries in the region have started to allow overseas direct investments, and increased investment allocations to property.

Two years ago, China allowed insurance companies to invest abroad, and earlier this year increased the maximum allocation

allowed in real estate from 20% to 30% of total assets.

Last year Asian insurers completed $2.4bn of property deals. CBRE predicts that the combined eff ect of an increase in insurers’ asset sizes and further liberalisation will result in Asian insurers’ real estate investment assets growing from $130bn in 2013 to $205bn in 2018.

Download CBRE’s report at bit.ly/cbre_asia_insurance

NEWS IN BRIEF

Intelligence

INVESTMENT


PING STRIKESChinese

insurance group Ping An bought Lloyds

building last July for £260m

Hong Kong Awards 2015

ricshkawards.com

The RICS Hong Kong Awards showcase outstanding achievements and developments in Hong Kong’s land, property and construction industries and across the built environment. The awards are open to everyone working within the property profession.

Nominations are now open!Nominations close: Friday 12 December 2014

Award presentation ceremonyDate: Friday 13 March 2015Time: 6:30pm till lateVenue: Grand Hyatt Hong Kong

REAL ESTATE HOTSPOTS FOR MIDDLE EASTERN INVESTORSLondon’s reputation as a safe haven means it is in a class of its own for Gulf-based moneySource: CBRE

Sub-Saharan Africa

10M1992

173

223

10M2013

East Asia South-east Asia South Asia

Los AngelesWashington DC

Atlanta

Barcelona

Latin AmericaWorld

167

279

64

140

295314

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842

1015

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2%

44%15%

1%

1%

1%

4%3%

1%

1%

London

Paris

Milan

Düsseldorf

Berlin

Lyon

China

20

58

29

1

India


Under construction

Planned

21

France

57

1

100

US

6 22

Japan

48

3 9Russia

33

3110

UK

16

40

5 5

Western Cape CBD Western Cape non-CBD

2011 2012 2013

4,000M, RAND

2,000M, RAND

6,000M, RAND

8,000M, RAND

10,000M, RAND

Gauteng CBD Rest of Souh AfricaGauteng non-CBD


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US-based clothing brands are expanding into Asia faster than any other, research from JLL shows. Around 21% of retailers expanding into Asia are from the US, followed by Italy and the UK, and the region’s speedy growth and rising purchasing power of its emerging middle-class consumer base is expected to attract even greater interest from international retailers.

In the coming decade, JLL notes, urbanisation will drive wealth creation and change consumer buying habits in the Asia-Pacifi c region. Established US mid-tier brands such as American Eagle and Michael Kors are expected to grow in peripheral Asian markets, while luxury retailers are likely to continue focusing on core markets such as Hong Kong, as many brands view the city as a stepping stone to mainland China. Shanghai and Beijing will also remain top targets.

At the same time, mid-tier brands are increasingly targeting the region’s growing middle-class population, which is predicted to reach 1.32 billion by 2020. Currently China has the largest middle-class population in Asia-Pacifi c at 250 million, followed by Japan with 120 million. By 2020, China’s middle-class population is expected to more than double to 590 million.

“Rising income levels in Asia mean that an all-new consumer base can now aff ord to purchase fashion and luxury items,” said Michael Hirschfeld, senior vice-president of JLL’s national retail tenant services. “Middle-class buyers are rapidly turning to the urban core, creating dense areas with top-shelf demographics – a perfect entry point for international retailers.”

US LABELS TO TARGET ASIA’S MIDDLE CLASS

KORS MARKETMichael Kors opened his fi rst Chinese fl agship store at Shanghai’s Jing’An Kerry Centre in May this year

SOME THINGS NEVER CHANGE . O UR CORE PURPOSE IS ONE EXAMPLE : since 1881 our Royal Charter has required us to act in the public interest. This is what separates RICS from a trade association, although life is rarely so clear-cut.

To some observers, professions can appear self-serving. They might appear to delimit practices, control entry into the profession and seek to rig markets. And yet, defi ning practices, developing knowledge and maintaining entry standards are surely necessary measures that ultimately benefi t society. Without them, how could we credibly claim to protect the public from incompetence and unscrupulous or illegal acts at the individual level?

A professional body also has the responsibility to step back and look at the bigger picture. What is in the long-term public interest, even if involves diffi cult choices in the short term? What are the global trends that will affect us locally and how do we adapt to them? These questions require us to re-examine long-standing assumptions, and to think imaginatively about how the world may change, reshaping professional responsibilities and accountabilities. Our Futures project is doing just that.

It will be important to relate the Futures fi ndings not only to our public interest remit but also to the value they bring to members. These include our status in the eyes of clients; recognition of RICS by governments, fi nancial and commercial organisations, creating a market for members services; market advantage through a superior qualifi cation; knowledge in the form of practice standards and CPD (continuing professional development), and a growing membership as a source of business opportunities and good-practice sharing. This package can be summarised as a sense of identity common to all members, across borders and irrespective of specialism. I see an opportunity for us to adapt to a changing world in ways that reinforce our sense of professional identity. Moreover, we can use this to our advantage in building collaborative relationships with other professional bodies.

Operating as a professional body gives us our clarity of purpose and a licence to infl uence public policy, and to set and regulate standards. The real benefi ts to members lie in this public interest remit – the more our profession benefi ts society, the better for our members. Follow Louise on Twitter @LBSLouise

STANDARD BEARER

Real value SCIR fo

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LOUISE BROOKE-SMITH FRICS RICS PRESIDENT

“Our public interest remit is what lifts us above being a trade body”

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NEWS IN BRIEF

Raising industry standards in Sichuan Province

RICS and the Sichuan Provincial Construction Engineering Project Management Association have signed a memorandum of understanding to support the growth of built environment professionals and to raise industry standards in the Sichuan region.

The agreement will help the development of project management professionals in particular, through personnel training, the exchange of information such as sharing project and academic research, and greater project cooperation.

“This will be a giant leap for the growth and recognition of RICS in south-west China,” said Tony Ho, Deputy Director of RICS North Asia. “It will not only raise the standard of project managers of Sichuan to an international level, but it will also speed up the development and transformation of the industry in the province.”

RICS applies carbon rating to buildings’ whole life-cycle

RICS has published a methodology to calculate the total carbon emitted for a building – its “embodied carbon” – from its construction to demolition.

The measurement is a crucial development in the world of carbon accounting, as embodied carbon becomes a more signifi cant part of a property’s overall carbon burden.

Often embodied carbon levels reach up to 70% of the total carbon in standard buildings. If embodied carbon is not considered, even energy-effi cient properties may not become carbon positive for at least 40 years.

The methodology provides a fuller explanation of the impacts of decisions made at the design and construction stage of a building.

To download a copy of RICS Methodology to Calculate Embodied Carbon Global Guidance, visit rics.org.

International hotel chains have ambitions to expand throughout China, despite a slight dip in the number of visitor arrivals in the country, reports Knight Frank. The firm analysed six cities – Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Macau and Taipei – and of these, Macau was the most active in 2013, adding more than 1,700 five-star hotel rooms, followed by Beijing and Guangzhou. In the first half of this year, Beijing was the most active, adding at least 1,300 rooms.

“In recent years, China’s hotel market has faced increasing challenges, such as competition

among local and international hotel brands, slower local economic growth, increasing operating costs and the government’s policies to curb the consumption of luxury goods and services,” said David Ji, director and head of research and consultancy, Greater China, at Knight Frank. “Despite this, international brands have continued to put their confidence in China’s hospitality market by launching aggressive expansion plans.”

The report found Hong Kong’s hotel industry remained stable in the first half of 2014, backed by strong visitor numbers. Furthermore, Knight Frank expects the Hong Kong government’s proposal to control the number of visitors from mainland China by adjusting the Individual Visit Scheme to have a limited impact, and the local hotel market should not be notably affected.

Meanwhile, Taiwan has recorded an increase in the number of international visitors since it opened its tourism market to mainland tourist groups in 2008 and individual tourists in 2011. The outlook for the region’s hotel industry now looks positive for the long term.

DOWNLOAD Knight Frank’s Greater China Hotel Report 2014 at bit.ly/kf_chinahotels2014

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Intelligence

MORE INTERNATIONAL CHAINS BOOKING THEIR STAY IN CHINA

HOTELS

PAGETURNER

global property


What are the principles and techniques you need to successfully manage a large, technical project? Following a typical process – from planning and scheduling to budgeting and control – this book focuses on the needs and challenges of project

managers across the construction, engineering and manufacturing sectors. Chartered engineer Lester’s guidance is closely aligned to the Association of Project Management and the Project Management Institute, and this sixth edition includes

new chapters on “agile” project management and project governance, as well as helpful real-life examples. It is also ideal for those studying for professional examinations.

What are you reading? Email [email protected] or tweet using #RICSmodus

PROJECT MANAGEMENT, PLANNING AND CONTROL ALBERT LESTER

IMAG

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PLANES,TRAINS,

Infrastructure

Around the world, there is vast investment taking place in the transport, energy, water and communications networks that underpin

every aspect of modern life. In developed countries, the emphasis is on upgrading crumbling facilities after decades of under-investment. In the rapidly growing economies of the Middle East, Asia and Latin America, it is about building new networks from scratch, even entire new cities, as the global population grows to a predicted 9.5bn by 2050 and mass urbanisation continues. A 2013 report from the McKinsey Global Institute estimated that it would take $57tn of investment by 2030 just to provide the infrastructure to meet projected GDP growth – 60% more than had been spent in the previous 18 years. This encompasses so many subsectors in so many countries that the biggest challenge for many is working out where to start.

“Infrastructure is booming everywhere,” says Keith Rudd FRICS, director at Arup.

Illustrations La Tigre

Fancy a job for life? Infrastructure is the world’s biggest growth market, with opportunities for the next 20 years and beyond, writes Katie Puckett

“There’s probably never been a better time to be a surveyor or an engineer working in this sector. Growing cities need infrastructure in its widest sense, but even places that are not well populated are going in for massive investment in infrastructure. Across the Middle East, for instance, they’re realising that car-based travel is not the right answer in cities and are building metros to move people quickly.”

How to pay for all of this is a key challenge for the world’s governments. There is a considerable gap between available funds and actual needs, which is leading many to explore the public-private partnership model (box, page 23) – and creating an opportunity for professional services firms, suggests John Kjorstad, infrastructure hub leader at KPMG. “That opens up the conversation. They’re no longer looking for the lowest cost but the best service, and it becomes much more competitive.”

Investors also demand international best practice, quality and assurance standards – exactly what chartered surveyors can offer. Patrick Bruce FRICS, commercial director »

ANDAUTOMOBILES

AND SEA PORTS, METRO STATIONS, MONORAILS, MAGLEV LINES AND MOBILE PHONE


18 RICSASIA .ORG

at Costain, has worked on transport and energy projects in the Far East and India, among them Hong Kong International Airport, which was funded by the World Bank. He sees the greatest demand for quantity surveyors on complex, multi-billion-dollar “megaprojects” with outside investors: “If a project is funded by an organisation such as the World Bank, it would insist that everything is above board and set up in a responsible way with a commercial quantity surveying team making sure that money is properly apportioned.”

With so many opportunities out there, the most pertinent question to ask is, where to go? KPMG has just changed the way it classifies infrastructure markets, identifying the greatest opportunity in two key groups. “Mature growth markets” include the UK and most of western Europe, Canada, Australia, Singapore and Japan – open, transparent markets where private investment in infrastructure is well established. “High-growth markets”, meanwhile, are the economic powerhouses of the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) and, interestingly, the US.

The US hasn’t really used private investment in infrastructure as much as Europe,” says Kjorstad.

“It’s relatively behind, along with BRIC- type countries with large GDPs that have allowed them to develop their own public funding systems for developing infrastructure. We’re now starting to see some real progress in these markets, with private investment in energy, transport and even social infrastructure.”

The government body charged with doubling the UK’s exports of goods and services by 2020, UK Trade & Investment (UKTI), has identified 100 “High Value Opportunities” on infrastructure projects around the world. “These are very substantial projects, which are either exclusively

ROB JACKSON, DIRECTOR, RICS MIDDLE EAST & NORTH AFRICA“Across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, there is $2.54tn of projects at design, bid or construction stage. The bulk of that investment is taking place in Saudi Arabia, UAE and Qatar, on roads, rail and airports, as well as the power and water networks to support them. Apart from Dubai, no city has a metro system, so networks are now being built in Doha, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, Mecca and Jeddah among others. Rail is also attracting huge investment with the aim to develop national and GCC-wide networks – there are no rail networks in the region with the exception of Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, cities are seeking to establish themselves as aerospace hubs, emulating Dubai with large airport expansions.

All this means that there is a skills shortage, and demand for chartered surveyors of all kinds. Clients are looking for professional qualifications and RICS membership is recognised across the region.”

The $2.5tn projectspipeline

MIDDLE EAST

infrastructure or where infrastructure is a significant part of it, and where there could be £250m [$410m] of contracts for UK companies to bid for,” explains international trade adviser Raphael Channer.

These projects are indeed scattered around the world, from port expansion and deepwater drilling in Mexico, to the A$26bn ($24.4bn) the Australian government plans to spend on road upgrades over the next five years. But by far the densest cluster of investment is in the Middle East.

UKTI recently hosted a tour of the UK for representatives of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and the UAE. “We asked each of them to name their four or five priority sectors for investment and infrastructure came top each time,” says Channer. Qatar, for example, plans to spend $220bn on infrastructure by 2022, while Kuwait is building three cities from scratch, investing $75bn in airports, metro systems, ports and hospitals. “There’s nothing in the US or Europe on the scale of what’s going on in the Middle East,” adds Channer.

Across the Red Sea in Africa there is an enormous need for infrastructure of every kind, but the real hotspot is oil and gas. “There are so many resources there and so many opportunities to move in and develop people,” says Norman McLennan FRICS, vice-president – supply chain global

NETWORKS, HELIPORTS AND HIGH-SPEED RAIL, NOT FORGETTING NUCLEAR, COAL, GAS POWER,

Infrastructure

upstream oil and gas, at Sasol Petroleum International, which is developing Mozambique’s significant gas fields. “The challenge is that the supply chain is quite embryonic so it takes a lot of investment in supplier development to bring local firms up to the standard where they can compete in the global arena.”

McLennan sees plenty of opportunities for surveyors in the upstream oil and gas industry – upstream means extraction, downstream covers refining and distribution – adding that the professionalism and commercial awareness they bring is much in demand. McLennan himself moved from traditional construction during the 1980s recession and has since worked all over the world: “The skills that surveyors develop are very portable to the oil and gas sector, and it’s a tremendous sector to be in.” Although there are many surveyors already working in the industry, the age profile is quite high and he fears an imminent skills shortage.

Martin Darley FRICS is another convert to upstream oil and gas who has never looked back. He started out in the chemical engineering heartland of Stockton-on-Tees in north-east England, but now works in the US as a cost engineering and project services manager for multinational oil company Chevron. Darley agrees that chartered surveyors are uniquely qualified to deliver »

UK infrastructure pipeline

JASON HO, MANAGING DIRECTOR, RICS NORTH ASIAThe world will be more urbanised in 20 years’ time as more people choose to live in cities. By then, China will have over 10 megalopolises, each with a population of more than 10 million. The need for better planned national transport and urban infrastructure to service a burgeoning urban population has never been greater.

Studies also show that long-term, coordinated planning could save the world substantial costs in infrastructure development. Physical infrastructure needs to be efficient, smart, green and creatively weaved into the urban fabric. There also needs to be a step-by-step improvement in “soft” infrastructure, such as social and community facilities, parks and open spaces to ensure better environmental quality and liveability.

Technology will play an intrinsic part in transport and infrastructure design, especially for global smart cities of the future.

E�cient, smart and green: cities of the future

ASIA


SOLAR PANELS AND WIND FARMS (PLUS ALL OTHER RENEWABLES) TO FUEL IT ALL. THEN THERE’S

£383BN

Infrastructure projects can be extraordinarily complex, so we need people like chartered surveyors who can understand complexity

Increase in global infrastructure investment required to meet projected GDP growth to 2030

THE THOUSANDS OF KILOMETRES OF MOTORWAY AND OTHER ROADS TO GET PEOPLE FROM A TO B.

60%

MARTIN DARLEY FRICS Chevron

company five years ago, head of commercial services Jonathan Harries MRICS has seen a five-fold increase in the number of chartered surveyors on his 120-strong team, and hopes 50% of them will be chartered within the next two years. “Clients are looking for something different, something better, and having those commercial skills at the centre of our offering certainly helps,” he suggests. “More often than not, they’re looking for chartered surveyors.”

Infrastructure is increasingly regarded as not just the result of economic development, but a vital contributing

factor – while inadequate infrastructure is seen as a significant stumbling block. For example, the Civil Engineering Contractors Association estimated that the UK’s GDP could have been 5% higher each year from 2000 to 2010 if its infrastructure had matched that of other leading economies.

Supporting the UK’s economic competitiveness was the avowed intention

tsrif ,nalP erutcurtsarfnI lanoitaN eht fopublished in 2010 and updated yearly. This

the size and complexity of projects in this sector: “Infrastructure projects often mean building things where no one has been before, and they can be extraordinarily complex, so we need people like chartered surveyors who can understand complexity. It’s that ability to have a very broad perspective. A lot of qualifications tend to deep-dive too soon, but RICS surveyors remain as generalists for much longer. That’s what you need for senior management.”

Oil and gas is likely to be the scene of significant investment for some time to come. The International Energy Agency (IEA) forecasts that the world will need to invest $40tn in energy supply and $8tn in energy efficiency by 2035 to compensate for declining sources of energy and to meet rising demand. The IEA expects gas to account for most of this increased investment, with more than $700bn invested in the liquified natural gas (LNG) sector alone.

Consultant Rhead Group is working on two LNG megaprojects in Australia, together worth more than $70bn. Since joining the


Infrastructure

year, it set out a pipeline worth £383bn ($628bn), with greatest investment in energy and transport, but also covering flood defences, communications, water and waste.

A primary focus for the UK is improving the creaking rail network. Although London’s Crossrail project is not due to complete until 2018, a second phase is already in consultation, running between the city’s southern and north-eastern suburbs. Meanwhile, as the £43bn ($70.5bn) High Speed 2 project crawls its way through parliament, chancellor George Osborne started courting northern voters in June by calling for a “High Speed 3” line to link Manchester and Leeds.

“Infrastructure is the backbone of economic growth, and I can only see even more huge projects,” predicts Andrew Stevenson, director of transportation for EMEA at Aecom. “The challenge for the industry is resource availability – finding enough people to meet the requirements.”

He believes that surveyors have an important role to play in justifying such a level of investment: “Effective commercial management will be increasingly key. Certainty of outcomes is highly persuasive in attracting investment, as well as demonstrating the pivotal role infrastructure plays in economic development.”

Also crucial to the UK’s economic development is a rather more 21st-century form of connection. David MacDonald MRICS is head of estates and property at communications infrastructure company Arqiva, which is linking isolated rural areas to mobile-phone networks; installing the infrastructure to support energy “smart meters”; and rolling out a machine-to-machine network in 10 UK cities to create an “internet of things” – devices that communicate with each other to automate daily tasks. Globally, analyst Gartner predicts the number of connected devices will increase 30-fold between 2009 and 2020. »

GRAHAM MATTHEWS FRICS, CHAIRMAN, RICS OCEANIA“The development of Auckland airport is probably the largest infrastructure project in New Zealand and will demand the services of a wide range of surveyors, from land measurement to cost control. New Zealand is a fairly small country, but if you extrapolate that demand across the Asia-Pacific region, the opportunities are almost limitless.

Countries such as China, India, Indonesia and Vietnam are developing infrastructure and utilities at a prodigious rate – ports, airports, water, roads, rail, energy and sewerage. In India, for example, the population has already passed one billion, but the infrastructure base is still very low. Over the coming decades, that will increase substantially.

In China we are seeing similar growth, thanks to its incredible economic evolution pushing development to levels that are difficult to imagine. For chartered surveyors interested in infrastructure, there cannot be a better time or a wider range of opportunities.

Creating a new world

OCEANIA

AIRPORTS ARE EXPANDING AND ARE KEY TO ECONOMIC GROWTH, SO THE OPPORTUNITIES TO

MacDonald began his career at a “very traditional” surveying company in Glasgow, before consulting for Vodafone on the rollout of the 2G network in the 1990s. His current job is a world away from where he started, but that’s why he enjoys it. “The interesting thing is the juxtaposition between the UK’s very mature property market and this extraordinarily fast-moving industry. From a technical point of view, a radio planner will want to put a mast in a prominent position, while the local community want it hidden away. The landowner wants to maximise the rent for a particular site, while the operator wants to pay as little as possible. What the chartered surveyor offers is an ability to bring competing interests together and come up with a solution that everyone can buy into.”

MacDonald echoes the concerns of his peers regarding a skills shortage – his main challenge is finding enough surveyors to keep pace with demand. In the past year, he has taken on 14 surveyors, and although Arqiva has launched a graduate recruitment programme for 2014, it will continue to recruit general practice surveyors as well. He cannot resist a sales pitch: “It’s an incredibly exciting industry to work in, and it’s great to think that the work you are doing is contributing in some way to society itself.”

The trouble for MacDonald is that, right now, the sector is full of other potential recruiters making exactly the same case.

For more information, go to rics.org/infrastructure. For RICS’ Infrastructure Information Service, which provides a single point of access to costs, trends and benchmark data, go to rics.org/iis

Infrastructure

22 RICSASIA .ORG

PLAN AND BUILD THEM KEEP ON COMING. FINALLY, THERE’S THE CHALLENGE OF FINANCING IT ALL,

Predicted increase in the number of connected devices 2009-2020

Public-private partnerships will be key for the global infrastructure revolution, but not all markets are taking advantage

Plugging the world’s infrastructure gap is coming to be recognised as two challenges in one: accessing new sources of project finance, while improving value for money so that constrained funding goes further. The public-private partnership (PPP) model is increasingly regarded as a potential solution to both, as discussed in a report commissioned by RICS from Ulster University, entitled The Global Infrastructure Challenge: the role of PPP in a new financial and economic paradigm.

Will PPP pay for our brave new world?FINANCE

The report considers the prospects for PPP in five key markets – the US, Canada, UK, India and Australia – but the Americas region is particularly interesting. It contains one of the world’s most successful and prolific PPP markets, as well as some markets with the greatest potential.

Paul Hughes FRICS, senior director, cost consulting and project management at Altus Group, was one of the speakers at the Americas launch of the report, held in Washington DC in June. Hughes moved to Toronto in 2005 to work on some of Canada’s fledgling PPP projects in the healthcare sector, and has had a front-row seat for its successful adoption throughout the

country. “Social infrastructure was the primary focus of PPP, but now it is increasingly used for roads, rail and bridges, and the numbers are getting bigger.”

Canada’s approach is in stark contrast to that of the US, where the pipeline of PPP projects is a trickle, even though many states have PPP legislation in place. “The US could be the world’s biggest market for PPPs, but it’s going to take some time to get there,” says Chris Guthkelch FRICS, project director at Skanska Infrastructure Development, one of several European firms pursuing PPP opportunities there.

So far, the model has been held back by fragmented, fractious local politics, combined with the ability of municipalities to access cheap funding by issuing bonds. “But even though municipalities have cheap money, they still have all the risk of designing and delivering the project themselves,” says Guthkelch. “PPP is really about the transfer of risk from the public to the private sector, and about getting better value for money. There’s a lot of work still required to spread the word about the benefits.”

Latin American governments have proved much quicker to seize on PPP to deliver all kinds of infrastructure. Colombia, Latin America’s third-largest economy, has a project pipeline worth $47bn. The country has a long history of private-sector involvement in transport infrastructure, and, in 2012, a new PPP law extended the model to more sectors. Consultant McBains Cooper has been advising the government on PPP deals for roads, hospitals, schools, airports and public buildings. The country is in a unique position, says international director Santiago Klein, thanks to the long- term fiscal policies of its government: “There is high economic growth and financial stability, but a lack of infrastructure. The opportunities are enormous.”

Download the report at bit.ly/global-infrastructure-challenge


THAT IS WHERE THE EXPERTISE OF PROPERTY PROFESSIONALS WILL BE UTTERLY INDISPENSABLE.

X30

There is measure in all things, goes the RICS motto Est modus in rebus – apart from, it appears, how you actually carry out that measurement. At present, measurement standards for property

assets can vary dramatically from one global region to the next, making it diffi cult for investors, occupiers and advisers to accurately compare space.

Although codes of measurement ensure that professionals, wherever they practice, are clear about what is included in a survey and what is not, without a common global standard, the property world is not as transparent as it could be. Imagine you are a corporate occupier who needs to fi nd an offi ce for 2,000 people in new territory. You think you have found the right 50,000ft2 (4,645m2) property for your needs. Naturally, you assume that this is all usable space. But what if it is actually 35,000ft2 (3,250m2) of usable space and 15,000ft2 (1,400m2) of stairwells, toilets and car parks? Should this not have been made clearer?

It is a huge problem that is fi nally being addressed. Next month, a consistent set of international property measurement standards (IPMS) will be launched to help reduce risk and bring greater transparency to the industry, with the fi rst standard covering offi ce buildings. Created by a coalition of worldwide property organisations, IPMS is a long-anticipated solution to problems in comparing properties across different markets. It will have implications for the property profession, clients and other built environment organisations.

International property measurement standards (IPMS) are on the way and their use could revolutionise the industry. Hooper

24 RICSASIA .ORG

LANGUAGE FOR A GLOBAL

PROFESSION

A UNIVERSAL

International property measurement standards (IPMS) are on the way and their use could revolutionise the industry. Brendon Hooper reports

LANGUAGE FOR A GLOBAL

PROFESSION

A UNIVERSALA UNIVERSAL

PROFESSION

A UNIVERSAL


IPMS

GEORGE HONGCHOY FRICS, CEO, THE LINK MANAGEMENT LIMITED A globally recognised property measurement standard is important to the whole industry. In Hong Kong, there are diff erent standards for commercial space. This has caused many discrepancies in how properties are measured, requiring additional communications and eff orts to avoid misunderstandings and political challenges. IPMS would help clear up misconceptions in the minds of regulators, investors, tenants, the media and the public.

CHRIS FOSSICK FRICS, MANAGING DIRECTOR, SINGAPORE AND SOUTH EAST ASIA, JLLThe introduction of a global benchmark will help signifi cantly in standardising the way valuation is conducted around the world, and is a move in the right direction. The adoption of a more structured approach to measuring buildings will help to address the current lack of transparency in the market, thus boosting confi dence and attracting more investment into the real estate market in Asia.

“With the property world becoming increasingly global, differing local and regional standards are inefficient, regardless of their quality,” says Sander Scheurwater, Head of External Affairs & EU Liaison for RICS Europe. Research by JLL discovered that, depending on the measurement method used, the fl oor area of a building can differ by as much as 24%. In Spain, for instance, fl oor areas have been found to include outdoor swimming pools, while in parts of the Middle East, the measurement can include the hypothetica l maximum number of floors that could be built on the existing foundations. In India, clients are regularly confused by terms such as “built-up area”, and “super built-up area”, so the actual area that they get can end up much lower than what is shown on paper.

Inconsistent measuring codes lead to confusion and can affect both investors and occupiers, explains Max Crofts FRICS, chairman of the IPMS coalition (IPMSC) Standards Setting Committee. “Corporate occupiers working globally can even experience deals having to be dropped at a late stage because of them,” he says. “For example, a local measurement code might include WCs in the ‘carpet area’ [the actual usable area]. The occupier, having found a suitable site, then has to start a fresh search to obtain the desired ‘net lettable’. At the root of the issue is the lack of a universal language.”

Set up in Washington DC in May 2013, IPMSC is one of the largest coalitions the industry »

VOX POPS

Asia heads give their backing to standards project

26 RICSASIA .ORG

has ever seen. With RICS a leading member, it involves 44 global professional and not-for-profit organisations working together to produce a set of standards that will ensure property assets are measured in a consistent way. The level of research involved has been staggering – the IPMSC’s standards setting committee ran a consultation between January and April that elicited more than 100 responses. A second consultation concluded last month, the draft of which is available to read on the IPMSC website. The coalition now plans to launch IPMS in November.

Richard Stokes, RICS Head of Global Corporate Affairs, has been involved from the start. “Within less than a year the coalition has gone from conceiving an idea to publishing a first draft of an international standard. We now have a new ethos of working in collaboration to develop a high-level global standard, while making sure chartered surveyors are the best recognised professionals to deliver that standard.”

But the problem is not just about data consistency. It is also about professional ethics and a need to improve transparency in the most fundamental aspect of the profession, refl ecting RICS’ Royal Charter mandate to look after the interests of the public. “Having

fragmented measurement standards means that, fundamentally, all property users are affected and potentially losing out,” adds Stokes.

The situation in Dubai illustrates the current fragmented approach. Although RICS’ measurement standard is commonly used, different developers have different standards. “Dubai’s diverse range of property professionals have all brought their own standards of measurement from their home countries and applied them into one city,” explains Rob Jackson, Director of RICS Middle East & North Africa. “While the rest of the world may struggle with comparing standards in one country with those in another, in Dubai we have the same problem between individual developments and even between adjacent buildings.”

This is primarily why the Dubai government last year became the fi rst in the world to endorse and embrace IPMS publicly. It hopes they will provide greater transparency and instil confi dence in prospective investors.

Furthermore, the RICS team in Dubai recently signed up JLL as the fi rst IPMS Partner organisation in the region (box, above). All IPMSC organisations are now approaching prospective partners, who will create the market for IPMS and for RICS measurement guidance.

Sign up to theSign up to theglobal movementglobal movement

IPMS PARTNERSHIP

The IPMS Coalition is seeking IPMS Partners. These are commercial fi rms that wish to signal their support for the initiative by announcing their commitment to adopting and using the standards. The designation is free, and Partner fi rms will be listed on the IPMS website and recognised as leading the way in adopting the new international best practice. Find out more at ipmsc.org/partners.

YB DETAERC NEEB SAH SMPI SNOITASINAGRO LABOLG 44

REHTEGOT GNIKROW


IPMS

For Alan Robertson FRICS, chief executive of Middle East and North Africa at JLL, the benefi ts were clear: “By introducing a single recognised methodology, the IPMS will bring consistency and reliability that has not been available to date, and it will lead to greater professionalism in the real estate market.”

This sentiment is echoed in China, where outbound investment has been hitting new highs. “Besides occupiers, we have seen more and more investors and developers struggling to defi ne the spaces they own, and the true value of properties they have invested in or developed because of inconsistent measurement standards,” says Will Chen MRICS, managing director of GoHigh Capital and CDB Commercial Development Fund, China’s biggest commercial real estate fund. “I have no doubt about that China will welcome IPMS, which provides the right solution, for both outbound and inbound investment.”

And it is clear that the confi dence IPMS will bring works both ways. “When we’ve talked to investors in Asia, it was evident that when they were looking to move money west, some of the challenges they had to overcome were as basic as understanding exactly what they were investing in,” adds Stokes.

With consultation on IPMS for offi ces now launched, the 44 coalition organisations must ensure that it is integrated into their own guidance. Consultation for residential IPMS will

RICS’ guidance on how to implement IPMS for members will launch in early 2015, with training and tools available for members on how to implement the new standards. Once published, RICS members will be encouraged to use the new guidance when measuring offi ces, while measurements of other property types will continue to be undertaken in line with the existing Code of Measuring Practice. RICS Valuers will also need to refl ect IPMS in their valuation reports. Find out more at rics.org/training-events.

MEMBERS’ ADVICE

the new standard

commence shortly, and industrial and retai l consultations will follow next year. RICS guidance on the use of IPMS will replace the existing Code of Measurement over time, so professionals should take note: some areas of measurement will change as a result. “All surveyors dealing with offices will need to understand IPMS and be able to use its ‘universal language’ to share consistent information with other surveyors,” says Crofts. RICS will be helping members understand what the changes are (box, above).

IPMS is a massive step change for the property world. And with up to 70% of global wealth wrapped up in property, consistent and transparent global standards could also affect financial markets and even whole economies. “In the past, some property organisations have thought this issue too big to tackle,” says Stokes. “RICS has galvanised the international community to lead this project and RICS members can be proud of the positive change IPMS will make.”ipmsc.org, @ipmsc

RESEARCH FOUND THAT SOME MEASUREMENTS CAN

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THE XX FACTOR测量半边天

28 RICSASIA .ORG


巾帼访谈录：测量界男权当道，女测量师力闯一片天

Modus meets four women shaking up the industry’s reputation for

being a male-dominated closed shopInterviews

采访人：殷晖，皇家特许测量师学会 (RICS)北亚区传播及对外事务总监

Careers

As more female professionals than ever forge careers in the surveying industry, the modern workplace in China is changing rapidly.

But how far do the perceived “traditional” roles of women affect their careers, and are companies doing enough to support equal opportunities? Four distinguished RICS members from four top-tier cities in different regions of Greater China relate their experiences of balancing family life with high-pressure careers in the quantity surveying, commercial property and building services sectors.

1 IRIS LEE MRICS DIRECTOR, RIDER LEVETT BUCKNALL, SHANGHAI

It was my childhood ambition to work in the built environment. I used to watch on television as landslides and fl oods destroyed people’s homes. Living in Hong Kong, I was grateful to the people who built sturdy housing for us, so I wanted to become one of them. Surveying caught my eye at university, and it became my career – I’m proud to be a consultant as I can be bold and keep my integrity in giving professional advice.

As a director of the company, my typical day at work involves both external and internal matters. Apart from meeting with clients, there are a lot of internal matters to deal with as RLB has grown signifi cantly in recent years to more than 1,800 staff. As a quantity surveying

consultant with a global presence, we serve international businesses as well as local Chinese clients. The biggest challenge working in China is integrating our scope of service with what local clients expect us to provide. The demarcation of work among consultants of various disciplines is blurring, and clients have a tendency to let the most “cooperative” party do all the coordination work. There is always a question of balance between providing outstanding services and keeping the costs of doing business under control.

Sadly, I’ve seen some female staff quit due to the pressure of long working hours. My husband is also a quantity surveyor so he understands what my work is like. I believe support from a spouse is very important to overcome the traditional thinking that women should only take care of family matters.

The most acute problem for working Chinese women is staying at work while pregnant. Also, because of China’s single-child policy, family members – soon-to-be grandparents in particular – get very anxious about the health of the pregnant woman. Companies have to be sympathetic and flexible and instigate measures to help pregnant staff. For example, by allowing for flexible working hours, or reducing the amount of business trips or site visits. »

随着越来越多的职业女性投身测量行业，中国现代职场正在迅速变化。「传统」女性角色观念究竟对女性的职业生涯有多大影响，而企业又是否提供了足够的平等就业机会？今期我们特意邀请了四位来自大中华区四个一线城市的皇家特许测量师学会（RICS）杰出会员，细诉她们平衡家庭生活与工料测量、商业地产以及建筑服务行业的高压职业的心路历程。

李佩华 MRICS 利比有限公司董事（上海）

我自小有志投身建筑行业，犹记得在电视上目睹山泥倾泻及水浸摧毁家园的画面，在香港土生土长的我，对为我们建造了坚固房屋的人心怀感激，因此渴望加入他们的行列。大学期间我对测量学情有独钟，及后终于投身测量界。能够从事测量顾问令我深感自豪，因为

可以勇敢直言，提供不偏不倚的专业建议。身为公司董事，内外事务都要亲力亲为。近年来，利比 (RLB) 取得了长足发展，职员人数已超过 1,800 名。因此，除了要会见客户之外，我还要处理大量内部事务。作为国际级的工料测量顾问，我们为国际企业及中国本地客户提供服务。在中国工作的最大挑战是兼顾公司的服务范围和本地客户的期望。不同界别顾问的服务界线渐趋模糊，而客户则倾向于让最「合作」的一方承办所有协调工作。要在卓越服务及业务成本控制之间取得平衡从来不易。遗憾的是，我曾目睹不少女职员因长时间工作的压力而辞职。我先生也是一名工料测量师，因此他对我的工作性质深有体会。我相信在克服「女主内」这一传统观念上，另一半的支持非常重要。对中国职业女性而言，怀孕期间工作是最大的难题。此外，由于中国的一孩政策，家庭成员，特别是准（外）祖父母，非常担心孕妇的身体健康。公司必须发挥同情心、灵活处事并采取措施帮助怀孕职员，例如，允许灵活的工作时间或减少出差或工地考察。

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TOWERING ACHIEVEMENT Iris Lee works for Rider Levett Bucknall in Shanghai, where it is quantity surveyor on the Shanghai Tower (left)

峥嵘成就

李佩华目前任职上海利比有限

公司，该公司为上海中心大厦

的工料测量顾问（左图）

30 RICSASIA .ORG

Careers

It is fundamental that companies offer equal working opportunities for women, including, but not restricted to, job interviews, treatment and promotion opportunities. Unfortunately, it’s not unusual for women to experience a glass ceiling in this industry. I try to gain an advantage by putting an emphasis on accuracy and details in my work, being more creative and proactive, and setting myself higher standards.

I’m proud of my role here – it’s professional, highly technical and, I think, irreplaceable. It’s wonderful to not only witness this industry growing, but also to join the process to help it become stronger.

3 CAMILLE LO MRICS MANAGER (MAINTENANCE-BUILDING), HONG KONG HOUSING SOCIETY

It was Lego that kindled my interest in buildings. When I was a child, my parents bought the building blocks for my brother and I to play with. Later, I started to look at courses where I could turn my interest into a profession, so I studied surveying at university.

In my career I’ve worked for a main contractor, a building consultancy and a client-side organisation. In my present role, my daily challenges involve planning and monitoring the improvement programme for Hong Kong’s public rental

张平 MRICS盈石集团研究中心总经理（北京）

2002 年，我在高纬环球 (Cushman & Wakefi eld) 实习并有幸为商业地产行业效力。相对于成熟市场，当年的中国地产行业规模相对较小。我在盈石集团的工作，主要进行市场研究，也撰写可行性研究、市场尽职调查、投资顾问报告、选址报告、住户策略方案及评估等咨询报告。公司近日推出的专业报告——中国商业地产信心指数 (CCRECI) 取得的成功令我特别振奋，毕竟这是中国首个系统化商业地产信心指数体系。在亚洲，传统观念认为女性应主内持家，而男性则应出外拼搏。我认为这个观念在日、韩两国更为常见，而中国则自 1949 年起便开始鼓励女性出外工作。尽管如此，普遍的观念仍然要求女性以家庭为重，因此在努力寻求工作与生活的平衡时，得到家人的支持变得尤为重要。我的孩子在 9 月出生，我的家人，尤其是我的先生，给予了很多支持。我非常重视周末的天伦乐，每逢放假都会尽情放松。公司为女性提供平等工作机会（包括但不限于工作面试、工作待遇以及晋升机会）非常重要。无奈业内女性时常会遭遇「玻璃天花板」（无形晋升障碍）。于是，我在工作上更力求比他人更注重准确性及细节、锐意创新、积极主动，以及设立更高的自我要求。我对自己的工作深感自豪，因

为这职位既专业而且技术含量高，绝对无可替代。有幸见证这个行业的兴起并能为行业的壮大出一分力，这种感觉实在妙不可言。

卢静儿 MRICS 香港房屋协会经理（保养－建筑）（香港）

正是Lego积木引发了我对建筑的兴趣。自小时候我就十分喜欢与弟弟一起迭砌由父母买给我们的Lego积木，我从此就不知不觉对构建物件产生了兴趣。其后，我一直寻找能将此兴趣成为专业职系的课程，因此在大学时我便攻读了建筑测量系课程。在我的职业生涯中，我曾先后在总承建商、建筑顾问公司以及客户方机构从事测量专业的工作。目前作为一非牟利机构的物业保养经理，除了日常规划及管理公共屋苑和旧楼的改善工程计划外，我还不时为机构提供技术指引、专业建议以及建筑设计方案。为非牟利机构从事专业职系工作，我认最大的挑战是在讲求成本效益的同时，亦必须供优质及可持续方案。实质工作环境是建筑业内女性的一大挑战。建筑工地一般环境恶劣、肮脏、危险。女性有时会需要十足的力气和耐力才能胜任。此外，为免被人感觉软弱，女性还要抵受展现坚强个性及喜怒不形于色的压力。但女性拥有出色的软实力，例如高效的沟通及问题管理的能力，这些都是建筑项目成功与

2 SUNNY ZHANG MRICS GENERAL MANAGER, INSITE CORPORATE RESEARCH CENTER, BEIJING

My big opportunity to work in the commercial real estate industry came from getting an internship at Cushman & Wakefield in 2002, when the industry in China was relatively small compared with developed markets. At INSITE I focus on market research, but I also work on advisory reports such as feasibility studies, market due diligence, investment advisory, site selection, occupier strategic solutions and valuations. I’m

sseccus eht htiw desaelp yllaerof our recent project, the China Commercial Real Estate Confidence Index (CCRECI) Report. It’s the first time a confidence index system for commercial real estate has been established in China.

In Asia, it’s traditional to think women should be at home caring for the family while men work. I think this attitude is more common in Korea and Japan, as in China women have been encouraged to work since 1949. Still, it’s generally felt that family should come fi rst for a woman, so it’s essential for us to have support from families when trying to balance life and work. My baby was born in September and my family, especially my husband, is very supportive. It’s important to be with them at weekends and to take the time to relax during holidays.

3

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否的关键。每当遇到困难时，我都会想方设法调整自己。正是因为热爱这个行业，所以才能坚持下去。所幸的是，香港能够吸纳来自不同背景的人才。毫无疑问，建筑行业仍被视为男性主导的职业，但随着近年越来越多女性入行，我深信男性主导这行业的观念将在今后逐渐改变。现时的新基建项目对专业人士求才若渴，私营企业及专业团体应强调地产及建筑界需要不同性别、不同技能的人才。

陈奕安 MRICS 国泰人寿保险股份有限公司专员（台湾）

过去我曾在银行界任职，工作内容单调重复。我厌倦了千篇一律的日常工作，于是决定转行至测量行业。因为我知道地产行业充满活力，每天都有意义非凡的变化发生。目前，我就职于一间保险公司的不动产投资部门，主要负责寻找潜在商用不动产标以及进行项目适用性评估。此外，我还会代表公司收购或开发地产项目。相较于其他行业，不动产业有时可能有安全顾虑。例如，你可能要深入人烟罕至地区进行探

勘或探访施工工地，不动产业的工作环境亦因此被视为宜男不宜女的职业。但这种想法实在有点不合时宜，因为事实上，工作型态已经转变，对女性不便或不安全的工作内容只占少数。实际上，职业女性与男性同行所作的贡献可谓不相伯仲。社会观念正在转变。现代职场中有不少杰出的女性管理者、主管及专业人士。有见及此，主管或执业者应根据实际执业者表现进行客观评估，并鼓励职员积极进取，在工作岗位上提升。我相信，只要公司愿意鼓励职员全力以赴，并给予机会，女性便能在这个行业中脱颖而出。不动产业的工作时间确实很长，但其他行业也不例外。较长工时无论对男性或女性工作者的私人生活都有同样的影响。我会尽力在上班时间完成工作。换言之，我必须尽量保持高效工作。下班后，慢跑能帮我缓解焦虑情绪、放松心情。这一年间我已完成了两场半马，目前以参加海外女子马拉松为目标努力中。

您是测量界的职业女性吗？请将您的心路历程电邮至 [email protected]

estates and old buildings. I also provide technical guidance, advice and building design. As a not-for-profi t organisation, the biggest challenge is to manage costs while delivering high-quality, sustainable solutions.

A big part of the challenge for a woman in the industry can be the physical environment. A construction site can be harsh, dirty and unsafe, and at times they require a great deal of strength and stamina to navigate around. There is also pressure to uphold a tougher persona and not convey emotions too readily, for fear of being seen as weak. But women can have excellent soft skills, such as effective communication and problem management, which are crucial in determining the success of projects. Whenever I encounter difficulties, I explore all the possibilities to reposition myself. My passion for this industry keeps me going.

We are fortunate that Hong Kong is able to attract talent from diverse backgrounds. The construction industry is undeniably still perceived as a male profession, yet, in the years I have been working, I’ve seen an increasing number of women joining our fi eld. I believe that the male-dominated perception will gradually change over time.

There is a particularly high demand for professionals on new infrastructure projects right now, and the private sector and professional bodies should do more to emphasise that property and construction requires a range of skills, irrespective of a person’s gender.

4 ANNIE CHEN MRICS SPECIALIST, CATHAY LIFE INSURANCE CO. LTD, TAIWAN

I used to work in the banking sector, dealing mainly with repetitive tasks. Tired of the same daily routine, I decided to change jobs to surveying, as I knew real estate was a dynamic industry in which interesting changes are taking place every

day. I now work in the real estate investment department of an insurance company, and my responsibilities include looking for potential investment properties and assessing their suitability. I also act on the company’s behalf in purchasing or developing real estate.

Compared with other professions, working in real estate can sometimes be hazardous. For example, you may need to go to remote locations to conduct a survey or carry out a construction site inspection. Therefore, it’s seen as a profession more suitable for men than women. But this is really only a stereotype. The truth is, as modern work style changes, only a small proportion of tasks could be considered inconvenient or unsafe for women. In fact, female professionals contribute just as much as their male counterparts.

Society’s perceptions are changing. In a modern business, we can now find many outstanding female managers, supervisors and professionals. In light of this, supervisors or property owners should appraise employees objectively based on their actual performance, and encourage them to excel in their position. I believe that women can stand out in the sector if a company is willing to encourage its employees to put in the effort, and give them the opportunity to do so.

Working hours are indeed long in real estate, but this could be said of many industries. It impacts on the private lives of both male and female employees. I try my best to finish within normal hours, which means I must work as effi ciently as possible. After a day in the office, a good jog reduces my anxieties and relaxes my mind. I completed two half-marathons this year, and I’m preparing for a full marathon overseas soon.

ARE YOU a woman that works in the industry? Email your experiences to [email protected]

4

SUNNY ZHANG MRICS INSITE Corporate Research Center

公司为女性提供平等工作机会非常重要。业内存在「玻璃天花板」

张平 MRICS 盈石集团研究中心

It is fundamental that companies

There is a glass ceiling in this industry


Corruption

Back in July, the consultancy Sweett Group published its preliminary results for the last financial year. Within the report were details of “exceptional administrative

expenses” that relate to a June 2013 story in the Wall Street Journal, which accused the company of paying a bribe to secure a role on a hospital construction project in Morocco. No charges have been brought by the UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) or the US Department of Justice, and Sweett says that no “conclusive evidence” has been found to support the original accusation. However, in investigating the claim, the company says that evidence shows “material instances of deception may have been perpetrated” by company employees between 2009 and 2011.

While RICS has noble and comprehensive ethical guidelines, and chartered surveyors such

How do property and construction professionals protect themselves from bribery and corruption, and stay on the right side of rigorous regulation? Adam Branson reports

“WHAT WAS I SUPPOSED TO DO WITH THE CASH?

PUT IT IN MY SOCKS AND GET

ON THE PLANE?”Illustrations Tom Haugomat

as Sweett Group have a worldwide reputation for probity, the case highlights how even firms that work within the most rigorous regulatory frameworks can be exposed to the risk of bribery and corruption – especially since recent legislation means that British firms no longer have to commit crimes in the UK to be liable for prosecution in a British court.

It is tempting to assume that companies’ exposure to such risks is largely confined to developing or emerging markets, where so-called “facilitation payments” are regarded as a cultural, if not legal, norm. However, such a view would seem dangerously complacent if we consider a recent survey by the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB). Conducted towards the end of last year, the survey found that 49% of the 700 construction professionals interviewed believed that corruption is commonplace within the »

3 4 RICSASIA .ORG

Corruption

UK construction industry. Laurence Cobb, partner and head of construction and engineering at law firm Taylor Wessing, says: “Construction has always been seen as an area of greater risk, but I think that view is outdated. There is a lot of money moving around and of course there is a risk, but I think it can be overstated – the industry gets a bad press.”

Nevertheless, as a result of the CIOB’s research, RICS received a knock on the door from the UK’s National Crime

Agency (NCA). In turn, the institution asked Tony Burton FRICS, senior partner at Gardiner & Theobald and deputy chairman of the Construction Industry Council, to attend a meeting at the NCA’s headquarters in London. However, far from being heavy handed, Burton reports, the NCA was solicitous in its attitude.

“It became apparent after about two hours that they weren’t pointing the finger at our industry and saying that it was corrupt,” says Burton. “It was the opposite. They were saying ‘organised crime is coming in your direction [due to the large transactions involved], we know absolutely nothing about the construction industry and we need to work together so that everybody is protected’.” RICS’ work with the NCA is ongoing.

On the international front, the occurrence of corrupt practices in construction and property is less ambiguous. Every year, Transparency International produces a list of countries ranked according to the level of corruption involved in doing business there. The countries that come out on top (New Zealand, Denmark) and bottom (Somalia, North Korea, Afghanistan) come as no great surprise. However, what is truly troubling for surveyors working abroad is that the listing consistently cites the

construction and property industries as among the most corrupt in the world.

“I would say that construction is the highest-risk industry when it comes to corrupt practices,” says Peter Van Veen, director of business integrity at Transparency International UK. “Public works construction especially comes out bottom pretty consistently. And it’s not a small gap – they are in a league of their own. It seems to be common practice in large parts of the industry internationally.”

So bribery and corruption remain a serious problem for surveyors working in the construction and property industries. Furthermore, recent legislation has served to

sharpen firms’ focus on the prevention of corrupt practices. The UK’s Bribery Act 2010, which came into force in 2011, now provides the legal framework for what is probably the strictest anti-bribery regime in the world.

The Act repealed all previous laws relating to bribery and in their place created four specific crimes: bribery; being bribed; the bribery of foreign public officials; and the failure of a

commercial organisation to prevent bribery on its behalf. When penalties include unlimited fines and up to 10 years in jail, it is worth paying attention to the details.

What makes the Act a more worrying prospect for surveyors than previous legislation is that it has near universal jurisdiction, which means that any British citizen or company found to be breaking any of the four laws anywhere in the world is liable for prosecution. What is more, under the fourth of the crimes, a British worker or company need not have committed a crime to be liable, only failed to prevent somebody working for them from committing a crime. That is of particular concern in the construction »

LIANG SHI YI FRICS, CHAIRMAN, RICS CHINACorruption has existed in China’s property and construction industry for a long time, especially in some state-owned companies, and by governmental officials who

have authority over approvals. In this atmosphere, RICS professionals face a serious test when dealing with ethical affairs.

The situation has improved since November 2012. More than 45 provincial-level officials have

been investigated in a sweeping anti-corruption campaign. Even the former national chief security official Zhou Yongkang is now being charged for suspected “serious disciplinary violations”. He is the highest-ranking official

to have been investigated for corruption since the Chinese republic was founded in 1949.

This month, China is expected to pass some of the most rigorous anti-corruption legislation in its history.

New legislation brings hope of rigorous anti-corruption eraVIEW FROM CHINA

PETER VAN VEEN Transparency International

Construction is the highest-risk industry when

it comes to corrupt practices. Public works

comes out bottom pretty consistently – they are in

a league of their own

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36 RICSASIA .ORG

industry, where a contractor will often employ multiple fi rms in its supply chain.

Of course, it was possible before the introduction of the 2010 Act to prosecute somebody for a bribe made on their behalf under laws relating to conspiracy. Previously, however, a prosecutor had to demonstrate that a company board actively knew that a bribe was being paid. Under the Act, a prosecutor only has to prove that the bribe has been paid, after which a company becomes liable for failing to prevent the payment. “The Act lowers the bar in terms of prosecuting corporates,” says Barry Vitou, a partner at City of London law fi rm Pinsent Masons. “There is no need to prove intent on the part of the board.”

Taking responsibility for the behaviour of another company’s employees is worrying even when working domestically and with well-known fi rms, but when working overseas it can be seriously scary. With good reason, governments in emerging markets often require foreign contractors and their consultants to employ local firms further down the supply chain. However, the risks involved in employing unknown quantities and taking responsibility for

their behaviour are obvious. And that is especially true in countries where facilitation payments – a euphemism for low-level bribes – are a cultural norm, let alone in states where government offi cials often have outside interests that are, to put it mildly, dubious in terms of their transparency and fi nancial probity.

The scope of the Act inevitably led to a backlash from the industry, with senior commentators

arguing that it put British fi rms at a disadvantage compared with their foreign competitors. If companies are working in markets where facilitation payments are regarded as normal and yet they cannot pay them, the argument went, all that will happen is that they will lose contracts to companies headquartered in territories with less stringent regimes.

The argument obviously gets short shrift from Transparency International, but Vitou is equally contemptuous. “There was a great hullabaloo about the Act as if it changed the game,” he says. “But actually the law didn’t change: facilitation payments were illegal before and they remain illegal.” Van Veen adds that a distinction has to be made between cultural and legal norms

LAURENCE COBB Taylor Wessing

If something looks strange then make sure

you’re careful about how you set up payment

processes and know who your client is and where money is coming from


Corruption

Even with the best will in the world, it’s easy to get tangled up in dubious transactions when working in unfamiliar territory. Ken Creighton, Director of Professional Standards at RICS, recalls an uncomfortable transaction in Turkmenistan and shows how even the most prestigious organisations can easily find themselves in somewhat ambiguous situations.

“In my previous job I was working on a project funded by the World Bank in Turkmenistan. At the end of my trip, the nice people from the World Bank asked me for the receipts for my plane and my meals and so on. The next day they asked to meet me in my hotel lobby and they gave me cash in US dollars.

“There I was in a country where I had to get a letter from the

president even to be allowed in – it’s on the border of Iran and Afghanistan. I said that I was hugely uncomfortable. What was I supposed to do with the cash? Put it in my socks and get on the plane?

“The country had no means of electronic money transfer. It was the only way they could do it. They said that when people fly out on a mission they bring

out cash in their hand luggage in order to pay for such things.

“On CCTV, it could have looked like I was being given a backhander, but it was the best that we could do. If I’d walked out of that hotel and been stopped by the police and asked what all that money was about, they wouldn’t have believed me. I don’t think I would’ve believed someone who said ‘oh, the World Bank gave it to me’.”

“It could have looked like I was being given a backhander” REAL-LIFE EXPERIENCE

– while facilitation payments may be a cultural norm in some countries, he has never come across a jurisdiction where they are actually legal.

Vitou agrees and adds that it is perfectly possible to do business in most jurisdictions without paying bribes. “There are a lot of companies in the US that have been punished for paying bribes and have had to put in place platinum-plated anti-bribery policies,” he says. “And they continue to trade in most of the world as they always have, quite successfully and without paying bribes. It’s harder, but it’s far from impossible.”

At this stage, it has to be said, no serious case concerning British companies working abroad has been taken to court

under the Bribery Act 2010, leading some commentators to argue that the legislation is not being enforced rigorously enough. “They’re very complex cases, so it takes a long time,” says Philippa Foster Back, director of the Institute of Business Ethics. “But I also think that the SFO is under-resourced. It is an ongoing issue.”

For its part, the SFO points to the fact that it brought its first charges under the 2010 Act in August last year – a domestic case concerning four men connected to Sustainable AgroEnergy PLC. A spokeswoman adds: “We have a number of others under investigation or development. The Bribery Act is not retrospective. Therefore it is to be expected that it will take time for cases under the Act to be prosecuted.”

Most of the construction industry has recognised the risk and both RICS and individual companies have taken the Act as their lead and put in place robust anti-bribery policies. “We worked with law firm Fieldfisher when the Bribery Act was coming in and between us put in place guidance for our members,” says David Pilling, Global Head of Regulation, Policy and

Ethics at RICS. “What we tried to do was look at it from an individual’s point of view and a firm’s point of view to make sure they are compliant.”

Certainly, the area is something that is an increasing focus for companies in both the property and construction industries. Chris Card, partner for best practice and risk at Knight Frank, says he has global policies that conform with the Act, but also that regional offices have policies which, in addition, take account of local law. “People are increasingly coming to talk to me about something if it makes them feel uncomfortable,” he says. “So much of it is common sense. We ask people to consider how they would feel if a situation was made public.”

The use of common sense is a recurring theme, but Taylor Wessing’s Cobb perhaps puts it best. “Make sure your radar is on full,” he advises. “If something looks strange then make sure you’re careful about how you set up payment processes and know who your client is and where money is actually coming from. And if something doesn’t feel right, then it probably isn’t.”

Not content with producing ethical guidelines and specific advice on the Bribery Act 2010, RICS is taking things a step further. Although the work is still very much in its infancy, the Institution is working with a range of organisations globally to look at over-arching ethical standards for property, land and construction. Between 20 and 30 have already signed up to the project and Ken Creighton, RICS’ Director of Professional Standards (box, below), was due to meet with the UN in New York in October. He believes that the initiative could prove decisive in the battle against bribery and corruption. “We’re going to change the world – I mean that seriously,” he says. “We’re going to have an international ethics standard for this profession.” Visit rics.org/ethics, or rics.org/bribery, for more. What’s your view? Email [email protected].


W illiam and Mary Connors were wealthy Irish travellers who owned a string of profitable paving businesses. The real source of that wealth was revealed in December 2012,

when the Connors and three of their children were convicted of servitude, forced labour and assault. For more than two decades, they had travelled around Britain picking up vulnerable men from the streets, starving them, beating them and keeping them in squalor. While the Connors enjoyed a lavish lifestyle, the men were forced to work long, back-breaking days for as little as £5 ($8).

The case of the Connors is one of the worst examples of forced labour to come to light in the UK in recent years but, shockingly, it is not an isolated case. Last August, home secretary Theresa May launched a draft modern slavery bill to crack down on the “harsh reality” of many workers “forced to exist in appalling conditions, often against their will” .

The construction industry has repeatedly been linked with forced labour – a consequence of the demand for casual unskilled workers and opaque, complex supply chains providing plenty of opportunity for unscrupulous gangmasters. There has been a string of damning reports on conditions in the booming Gulf states, most recently concerning World Cup 2022 sites in Qatar. But there is also ample, if largely anecdotal, evidence that forced labour is present in the UK. Speaking on BBC Radio 4 in May this year, Kevin Hyland, the head of the Metropolitan Police’s human trafficking unit, said it was investigating the cases of “dozens” of men working in the construction industry, kept in appalling conditions and forced to work 16-hour days for less than £1 an hour – some of them on major sites in central London.

The International Labour Organisation’s widely accepted definition of forced labour is work extracted under threat of a penalty and for which the worker has not offered themselves voluntarily. It takes many forms, from those who are tricked by gangmasters, to those who join a seemingly legitimate company only to find their wages are lower than promised or never arrive, leaving them unable to feed or house themselves. Forced labour is linked to human trafficking, but many victims are entitled to live and work here or are UK nationals.

“Forced labour occurs all over Britain and throughout the labour market,” says Professor Gary Craig, an expert in modern slavery at Durham University. “In construction, there are extended supply chains and somewhere down the line there are people just assembling gangs of labour. Forced labour is not at the top end of construction, it’s in the casual, small-scale stuff. But every building company relies on unskilled labour at some point in a project. Big companies can’t say forced labour is nothing to do with them, because it contributes to the lowering of costs and, eventually, to their profitability.”

Most analyses of labour exploitation overlook the role of project consultants, a vacuum that an initiative between RICS and the UN Global Compact aims to fill. The first sector-specific agreement under the UN’s programme for businesses, it will develop a toolkit to enable RICS members and their clients to pursue sustainable business practices in the areas of labour rights and human rights (box, page 41). »

Illustrations Emiliano Ponzi

Revelations of forced labour and exploitation at World Cup sites in Qatar have scandalised the industry and wider public. But, as Katie Puckett reveals, the problems are much more widespread

AN UNCOMFORTABLE

TRUTH

Exploitation

40 RICSASIA .ORG

Ursula Wynhoven, chief, governance and social sustainability, and general counsel at the UN Global Compact in New York, says: “Issues like forced

labour and trafficking may at first seem distant and remote, and yet businesses in land, construction and real estate are at risk of being implicated in this modern form of slavery. The UN Global Compact values highly our collaboration with RICS to help businesses better understand and meet their corporate sustainability-related responsibilities.”

One answer is to monitor and enforce employment regulations closely. Exploitation of workers is a continuum, but it can also be a spiral of decline, says Claire Falconer, legal director at UK-based campaigner Focus on Labour Exploitation (Flex). “People may start out being exploited at a lower level, and become more vulnerable because of the precarious situation they find themselves in. If a worker is not paid the minimum wage or covered by basic employment rights, they may end up being dependent on their employer or a third party for things like food and accommodation, culminating in a situation where they are not free to leave.”

The Achilles heel of the UK construction industry is the fact that many workers are not directly employed, but hired

as self-employed contractors through agencies and payroll companies. This is not because they are genuinely independent contractors, but because it allows employers to pay less and avoid national insurance contributions. Revenue and Customs estimates that up to 300,000 people are affected, although a 2013 report from construction workers’ union UCATT puts the figure as high as 433,000.

“False self-employment breeds exploitation,” says UCATT general secretary Steve Murphy. “Workers have absolutely no employment rights. They will be paid less than the industry agreed rate, with no overtime pay, no sick pay, no pension, no travel allowance and no security. Management don’t know who’s on their site, what qualifications they have or how skilled they are, or how much they’re being paid.”

Several organisations, among them Flex and UCATT, have called for the remit of the Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA) to be extended to construction. The GLA was established following the 2004 Morecambe Bay disaster, in which 23 Chinese cockle pickers drowned, and regulates employers in the food sector. Craig is not convinced this strategy would actually reduce exploitation:

If a worker is not paid the

minimum wage or covered by employment

rights, they may end up being dependent on their employer for food and

accommodation

CLARE FALCONER Focus on Labour Exploitation


Exploitation

URSULA HARTENBERGER Global Head of Sustainability, RICS

What is the thinking behind the RICS/UN Global Compact best practice toolkit?The land, real estate and construction sector has a substantial impact, not just on the environment but on society, too. Companies tend to focus only on the environmental side of corporate social responsibility. It is for this reason that we

decided to develop a tool that will look at the sector’s impact in a holistic way by also addressing issues that might not yet be on the radar of most stakeholders – for example, human rights, labour rights and corruption.

Why have you chosen to include labour rights? The International Labour Organisation estimates that 20.9 million people are victims of forced labour worldwide

and construction is among the sectors most concerned. Apart from property professionals, the toolkit’s target audiences are decision-makers in the land, construction and real estate sector, in addition to real estate users such as retailers. The last group may not be aware of the labour rights infractions in their supply chain, which can range from actual construction to using forced labour for maintenance and cleaning of assets.

What can RICS members do to improve labour standards? The issue of labour rights is very complex. The first step is to raise awareness within the membership around the issue and around which parts of the life-cycle are particularly prone to labour rights infractions, and then build capacity around this. A lot is about asking the right questions and that is exactly what the best practice toolkit is designed to do.

RICS and UN unite to fight for workers’ rightsQ&A

“embedded” with main contractor Alstom and it promoted a stewards network: “We raised our issues and Alstom acted on them. It proved that we can build major projects in the UK safely, on time, in budget, with no exploitation.”

Alstom’s industrial relations manager, Anthony Wilson, says it has introduced stringent prequalification criteria for its subcontractors, driven by Alstom’s own clients. “In the last four or five years, our clients are becoming more sophisticated on industrial relations. They’re making a massive investment, and they don’t want negative press. Working with trade unions in a transparent manner is the only way we can get results.”

The fear of reputational damage can have a galvanising effect on both companies and governments, especially as the damage is no longer limited by national boundaries. Rob Jackson, RICS Director for Middle East and North Africa, says that the international outcry over the conditions of migrant workers on the 2022 World Cup sites has prompted not only Qatar but a number of other Gulf states to review their labour laws and practices: “Professionals from organisations like RICS should be working with governments to make a positive change, rather than boycotting these countries.”

Simon Light MRICS, partner and head of property UK at EC Harris, believes that pay and welfare conditions need to be enshrined in contracts and driven by clients. Consultants should not only be enforcing the rules, he believes, but they should be helping to set them in the first place. “We have an obligation to advise clients on every aspect of their business,” he explains. “There is increasing recognition that they need to make sure the right things are done from the perspective of the wider workforce. We’re finding that it’s very important to help clients understand the risks and dangers associated with construction – not just wait for them to ask.”

Professionals from such

organisations as RICS should be working with

governments to make a positive

change

“The problem is that if an employer feels the hot breath of the GLA, they simply close the organisation and hop into an unregulated sector.” Government policy is going in the other direction – the GLA’s budget has been slashed and it has been told to cut red tape. »

In the meantime, it is the trade unions that have the best view of what actually happens on site. Phil Whitehurst, national officer for construction at general workers’ union GMB, has uncovered cases of migrant worker exploitation on a string of power station projects. He says a typical tactic is to recruit workers from elsewhere in Europe, offer them inferior rates of pay, then put them up in rented accommodation and claim they are local labour. “This not only deprives a UK worker of the opportunity of the job and undercuts the national wage, but companies aren’t paying the workers the benefits they’re entitled to as foreign employees.”

On projects where terms and conditions are set by the UK National Agreement for the

Engineering Construction Industry, known as NAECI or the “blue book”, regular audits of working conditions are carried out. But the auditors can only work with the information that subcontractors provide. “We’ve found cases where the subcontractor was giving the auditor what they wanted to hear but actually paying the workers a different amount,” says Whitehurst.

He believes that greater transparency between employers and unions can help to prevent exploitation. He speaks very positively of the GMB’s experience on Pembroke power station in south-west Wales, where two senior shop stewards were

ROB JACKSONRICS MENA Director

Security

Is your client’s building safe from attack? Not content with bringing websites down, malicious hackers are finding a new, often all-too-easy way to wreak havoc: through building management systems and controls.

Recent attacks on Google’s Australian office and US retail chain Target are said to have originated in the firms’ building control systems, highlighting the scale of the problem. In the case of Target, hackers went on to compromise credit card details of an estimated 40 million customers.

Closer integration of building management systems with a company’s IT network is leaving companies open to attack. “End users don’t want to manage several separate networks for their building and building controls, they want one, converged IP network [through which all computer systems, data, voice and video, wired and wireless networks run],” says Chris Topham, head of marketing at IT and building controls specialist Abtec Network Systems. “This makes a lot of sense to almost everyone in the building supply chain. With a converged IP network the end user is able to run the corporate system [data, email, voice networks] alongside building controls – lighting, HVAC [heating, ventilation and air-conditioning], security access – on one physical network. This saves on costs, as there are fewer components to purchase, less things to power and it’s easier to manage.”

There are often good reasons why you would need remote access to these networks. The increasing drive for ever-more efficient buildings has led facilities management firms to provide 24/7 health check services and remote monitoring of HVAC units, lighting controls or energy metering devices. Contractors can harvest important data on energy use and peak times of use, for example, without setting foot in the building. These services are going to increase exponentially with the “Internet of Things” – as manufacturers offer more and more in-built IP connectivity in everything from lamps and chillers through to vending machines and door locks.

Cyber attacks can take many forms, including, but not limited to: hacking into the building management system to change temperature settings – this could be critical in a data centre, for example; disabling alarm systems and CCTV cameras to gain access and stop the recording of a theft; gaining access to remote monitoring systems to manipulate data from energy use meters; introducing malware into the network to cause business disruption.

As buildings become smarter, so grows the risk of exposure to such practices. Hugh Boyes is cyber security lead at the UK’s Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) and author of its Resilience and Cyber Security of Technology in the Built Environment briefing (box, opposite). “This

is not yet on the same scale as the hacking of websites, but it has the potential,” he says. “As well as malicious outsiders, you have to be aware of the inside threat, for example a disgruntled ex-contractor who still has access to the system. They could take down a data centre, for example, with loss of business and reputational damage.”

“This affects everyone in the building supply chain – architects, contractors and end users will all have their reputations damaged,” concurs Topham. “What it highlights is that our industry’s attitude to security matters needs to change.”

Boyes argues that whenever upgrades or new investment are planned, a strategic review of emerging or upgraded threats should inform the requirements and design brief: “Assuring the continuity of intent through the construction phase may require investment in competent resources.”

Martin Williams, project engineer at consultant Grontmij, agrees: “You need to specify firewalls between the physical connection that sits between the outside world and internal systems, and the design specification needs to be locked down and followed through tendering to the main contractor and on to specialists. You should ensure that all of the information associated with discrete systems such as CCTV and access control is self-contained, as far as is possible, and only goes out to the internet with the appropriate information and appropriate address.”

Williams believes not enough consultants are capable of making that specification in the first place and that “there are only a select bunch of people available to the marketplace to carry out the installation and configure it appropriately.”

This applies to facilities management as well. “You need to carry out due diligence on your contractors’ IT

security arrangements if you are considering remote access to HVAC systems, for example,” says Stan Mitchell, CEO of Key Facilities Management. “If you are using a supplier who is not overtly aware of the security issues, and you’ve allowed them access to your systems, you’ve just enhanced your risk. You need to bring in the specialists that have the right degree of awareness to come up with appropriate solutions.”

It will only take one or two high-profile cases for clients to sit up and take note of the risks from cyber threats. If the building industry cannot deliver solutions, they will turn to those in the IT sector that can.RICS has revised its guidance on security for property managers. Go to bit.ly/rics-security

As today’s buildings become increasingly smart, are we at greater

threat from malicious hackers? Andrew Brister looks at the risks and

what can be done to combat them

GHOST IN THE

MACHINE

Illustration Noma Bar

42 RICSASIA .ORG

To toughen up your defences, Abtec Group’s Chris Topham suggests the following four tips:

Ensure you have the right expertise when dealing with networks. If in doubt, bring in an IT expert, preferably one that has a good understanding of building projects.

Do not use the web to provide remote access to a building management system or building control devices – it is inherently less secure. Use a private network instead, for example a 3G/4G mobile data router into a private data centre. This builds in several layers of additional security.

If this is not feasible, at least use SSL (secure socket layer) connections. These can provide https access (identified by a padlock in the web address in your browser) and can mitigate attacks.

Host your system on a server, which are more resilient and secure, rather than a standalone PC.

Even with these plans in place, it pays to be vigilant. Hugh Boyes of the Institution of Engineering and Technology suggests firms should keep an eye out for abnormal behaviour on the network. “You might notice activity from a PC but the user hasn’t logged in yet, for example. Hackers like to have a look around to survey the network to see where the crown jewels are. They tend not to go for a smash and grab.”

Protect your systems from cyber stalkers

HACK FILE

FoundationsCareers / Business / Legal / Training

44 RICSASIA .ORG

The petty tyrant, the micro manager, the slave driver – the chances are that you are likely to encounter a difficult boss at some point in your career. A Chartered Management Institute (CMI) survey in 2012 found that 43% of managers considered their bosses ineffective or highly ineffective. Such behaviour may not be as damaging as that of the slave drivers or tyrants, but it can still be a problem for staff.

Michael Norman, a freelance management

trainer who offers courses to RICS members, says: “The subject of the difficult boss comes up quite often on our RICS training courses. People say that their boss has little time to give them, that they are told to do things rather than asked, that they are often unheard or overworked.”

So how do you deal with a difficult boss? First, do not agonise endlessly over whose fault it is. Recognise that it is the relationship that is faulty – and with persistence, you can change it. Dr Sheri Jacobson, clinical director of Harley Therapy, who has written about dealing with a difficult boss, says: “You cannot change the boss as a person, but you can change the way you respond to them, which can alter the way they treat you.”

Jacobson recommends creating a relationship improvement programme. “Choose a single issue and ask yourself if this is something that can be improved by thinking differently, behaving differently, or both. If it is thinking differently, come up with alternative ways you can think about your relationship with your boss. If behaving

differently is the solution, identify what you are doing that fuels the issue and come up with alternative behaviours.”

You may need to be more assertive. Norman says: “When the boss makes unrealistic demands, say ‘no’ occasionally.” Make it clear what the problem is, by saying things like: “You must recognise that the deadline for this is unreasonable.” Suggest solutions such as renegotiating the deadline or getting extra help. Bosses are often just passing on unreasonable demands made on them – your action will force a solution to the problem.

Often bosses do not realise the impact of their behaviour (box, left), so politely outline the problem, explain its effect and how you would prefer to be treated. For instance: “When you shout, I find it harder to take in your requests and am more likely to make mistakes. I’d like to discuss this calmly.”

If that does not work, should you talk to human resources? The CMI advises: “Issues such as a clash of styles or different communications preferences are best dealt with direct with the boss, but if you are having persistent problems consider seeking help from HR, who may offer mediation.”

More serious issues, such as bullying or inappropriate behaviour, should be reported to HR, preferably with a log of incidents, and ideally after asking trusted colleagues to be witnesses.

BECOME YOUR OWN BOSS

STAND YOUR GROUNDCAREERS A di�cult boss can make work a living nightmare. Focus on your behaviour, and you will often change the way they respond to you

ARE YOU THAT BOSS?

Harley Therapy advice on coping with a difficult boss: bit.ly/difficult_boss

RICS management training courses: rics.org/uk/training-events

CMI management diagnosis tools:bit.ly/CMIhiddenheroesbit.ly/manager_diagnosis

It is not always easy to determine the effect

that your behaviour is having on your staff. It is possible that you

could be the boss from hell without

realising it. Patrick Woodman, head of

internal affairs at the CMI, suggests it is worth seeking out what he calls 360-

degree feedback: “Ask your staff to email your own manager with their opinions as to what you

should stop doing, what you should start doing and what you should

continue doing in order to be more effective as a manager,” he says. Your manager should then feed the results back to you. “Be sure to listen and act on them positively,” says Woodman.


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EY

Foundations

Many people are inspired to get into surveying by a friend or family member, but I’m not quite sure how I ended up choosing the profession, because no one in my family had a connection to the industry. My career began with a two-year BTEC in surveying in 1996, followed by a degree in quantity surveying at Bristol Polytechnic – now the University of the West of England.

After leaving university, I joined a firm in Cardiff in Wales, where I was thrown in at the deep end working in the utilities sector, which exposed me to a different side of the construction industry. A few years later I joined a start-up firm in Exeter, which was a bit of a risk but one that paid off, as I gained a lot of experience with a flexible and agile new company, working in a variety of sectors. As the firm grew, I became a partner at 29,

DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR, PROGRAMME, PROJECT AND COST MANAGEMENT BUSINESS, MOTT MACDONALD, LONDON

MY WAY

Alasdair Thompson FRICS

“I joined a start-up firm, which was a bit of a risk but one that

paid off, as I gained a lot of experience with a flexible and agile new company, working in a variety of sectors”

and it really taught me how to work hard and juggle clients’ expectations – you have to learn from your mistakes pretty quickly.

The business was bought by Franklin + Andrews in 1999, and suddenly I went from being in a small, local company to a national firm. Mott MacDonald bought Franklin + Andrews in 2002 and I was asked to lead the Exeter office. When the firm was restructured I was given the opportunity to run a newly formed western region covering Exeter, Bristol and Cardiff. In my present role, I oversee the development of Mott MacDonald’s programme, project and cost management business globally.

I was one of the first generation of graduates to take the Assessment of Professional Competence (APC), and became chartered in 1995. I firmly believe this is an important step in an individual’s career development and encourage all our staff to become chartered as soon as possible. I’m an APC assessor and always keen to extoll the benefits of RICS membership. While it may be hard work, it is an international sign of credibility that clients, colleagues and employers all look for.

Think small stepsThe most successful programmes driving environmental performance in companies start with easy and achievable targets. You can then build on these, which will bring a sense of achievement and retain the interest of stakeholders. Connect impacts to objectivesAvoid a scattergun approach when pinning down your company’s environmental objectives. A clear understanding of its impacts should help to shape the objectives to which you commit.Give ownershipBuild a support structure in your firm to help you implement your strategy.Drive the agenda from the top To create a real culture of sustainability within a larger firm, support should come from directors and heads of departments.Communicate progress and rewardIt is key to follow up on how a sustainability initiative or target is progressing regularly enough that the momentum lasts. It helps to reward publicly those teams that do well.

May Yu is public relations manager at Savills. savills.com.hk

IMPLEMENT SUSTAINABLE POLICIES

HOW TO

46 RICSASIA .ORG

T AKING ON IN T ERNS HAS NEVER BEEN SO POPULAR . Employers love them because they’re a “try before you buy” way of reducing the risk of employing young talent, and for those keen to get their foot on the career ladder, an internship is a proven route in. The UK’s Higher Education Statistics Agency found around 22% of 2009 graduates who were employed six months after university had some work experience with their employer – a win-win that explains why there has been a tenfold growth in intern numbers since the 1990s.

But in the last year or so, this growth has also been responsible for internships attracting negative headlines, as the idea of interns being used as cheap and even free labour has become less acceptable. This criticism led to the government to issue guidelines last November designed to make sure employers understand what their legal – and some might say moral – obligations are when taking on interns. Although they are still complicated, they do at least attempt to clarify what best practice is, and what employers need to know when considering taking on an intern.

In a nutshell, it is all about determining exactly what you are going to ask your intern to do and for how long.

This may sound trivial, but not doing this first could land you in hot water because of complex rules governing the definition of a worker. Interns have no

legal status in the UK because if they are a volunteer or on work experience, or doing it as part of their academic studies, they do not count as “workers” in the sense that they must be paid.

This is crucial to understand, because it means that for those companies who can only offer unpaid internships,

any “work” you set an intern has to be restricted to just those activities that, in the eyes of the law, are not deemed to be payable work.

Unhelpfully, these activities have not yet been defined, although clarification is coming. Last year an intern at Sony who was regularly working nine-hour days for three months decided to lodge a legal case when he believed he should be paid. He won a £4,600 ($7,400) settlement before a tribunal reached court, but Jasmine Patel, employment law solicitor at Leigh Day, who represented the intern, says that had the case gone all the way, her client would have won.

“Payable work is starting to be seen as anything that demands outputs from interns that are critical to an employer’s business, or which they engage them in for a long period of time,” she says. “Get interns doing actual work, for long periods, and it’s reasonable they should expect to be paid,” she adds. “If they’re not, then employers should expect to be challenged on this.”

Patel suggests “a two-week stint is unlikely to involve a significant level of work” but if this turns into a month or more, some internships can last up to a year – employers must assume interns are “working”, especially if they are on fixed hours, and budget for it accordingly.

With these basics in place, employers will have a framework around which to develop an intern scheme. For JLL, this is about providing work with real purpose: “Plan intern schemes to reveal people’s talents,” says JLL’s graduate recruitment and training manager Pam Duke. “It’s not beneficial to them or the business if interns are left twiddling their thumbs.”

JLL’s 20-strong intern programme in the UK is planned to coincide with projects it knows will appeal to new people. All its interns are paid and opportunities are deliberately limited to four weeks during the summer, so students still have time to study. The scheme is also restricted to those on degree courses. Because this is done so carefully, Duke says, the business can expect that interns do real work. This is good not only for JLL, but also for the interns, because it improves their chances of subsequent employment – and they are often hired on the back of an internship.

Duke’s tip is to offer the kind of work that new employees would be doing,

EVERYONE’S A WINNER

BUSINESS Support interns properly, and you will get much more than a few cups of tea

HOW TO get the best out of your accountant. To take part in future columns, email [email protected] or tweet us, using #RICSmodus

NEXT EDITION: THE BIG MATHS TEST

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HK starts clock watchingLEGAL 101...


The Hong Kong government is currently consulting on legislating for standard working hours in the construction industry, and one of the biggest concerns for us will be overtime pay. Once the standard working hour law is in place, employees will be entitled to overtime payment if they are required to work extra hours beyond statutory requirement. For contractors, the implementation of standard working hours will initially lead to a rise in costs.

There are several reasons for this. For the on-site workforce, it is expected that additional employees will be needed to accomplish the same project within a designated project timeframe. It is also unavoidable that some construction workers under a subcontractor may not be willing to work overtime after the implementation of the law. Furthermore, there is currently a shortage of labour in the industry, and an increase in demand for construction workers may result in an escalation of the labour rate.

However, if the standard working hours cover the same time period that construction workers are required to work at present, the rise in labour costs should not create too big a problem for companies.

In fact, of more concern is the increase in preliminary costs, which

contractors incur on completion of a project. Since construction workers are employed and paid by subcontractors, this cost is relatively controllable because contractors can negotiate the total fee with the subcontractor. However, we must also directly pay professional fees and other administrative costs – under a new law, this will be one of our largest expenses.

The demand for construction labour in Hong Kong has greatly increased over the past three years, and its scarcity will be exacerbated by a continuous steady-state labour supply. Importing foreign labour can indeed help bring projects in on time, but it is difficult to do so without government support. More importantly, several construction unions object to labour importation, making it difficult to achieve any progress.

Ultimately, we remain positive about the impact of the standard working hours on the Hong Kong property market. Construction costs form only a part of property prices – land prices and supply-and-demand play much more significant roles in the fluctuation of the market. Therefore, any rising costs brought by the change to standard working hours may not have too great an effect on the whole-market price.

Foundations

STEPHEN LEE KA LUN FRICSdirector (commercial) at Chun Wo Construction & Engineering

so that the working environment is not mis-sold. “You should aim to give interns a real flavour of what they could be doing more regularly,” she says. It is vital that employers also provide structure, so JLL supports its interns scheme – at its own cost – with formal learning sessions, including a one-day business skills course.

It is important that firms allow for the time they will need to devote to interns: “To accommodate interns properly, certain employees will need to look after them, and this has to be factored in,” advises Duke. “It should be thought of as an investment, though, because the return could be these people work

for you later.” To assess interns’ work, JLL asks recent recruits to act as interns’ buddies. Not only does this provide good leadership training for them, but they’re closer in age to interns.

JLL works hard to create demand for interns from within the business: “The worst thing you can do is run a scheme that isn’t wanted,” says Duke. “You can’t force people to take on interns; they have to want to. Early each year we announce to the business that we’re taking interns and ask departments to get involved. They get a chance to see CVs, to interview and to select people that they want and see potential in. This makes our programme a success.”

It is still legal to advertise for unpaid interns

If you are going to offer unpaid internships, ensure that the work you offer cannot be construed as being mission critical

Some internships do not lead to a job at the end. But if yours does and it is advertised as such from the start, then your intern is legally required to be paid

Find out more from the UK government’s interns advice document at gov.uk/employment-rights-for-interns.

INTERNAL AFFAIRS

“The best internship schemes can be planned to reveal people’s talents. It’s not beneficial to them or the business if interns are just left on their own twiddling their thumbs”

PAM DUKE JLL

Foundations

EVENTS

HONG KONG››MIPIM Asia2-3 DecemberRICS representatives will speak at MIPIM Asia this year, an event that will gather 800 top-level property leaders to debate the topic “Bridging the East and the West for global real estate”. The event will explore Asia-Pacific inbound and outbound investment flows, regional development opportunities and projects, and retail real estate trends. mipim-asia.com››International Heritage Conference9 January 2015Themed “Toward a sustainable model for adaptive re-use of heritage buildings”, this conference aims to critically review the progress Hong Kong has made to preserve heritage buildings, showcase successful overseas case studies, and to provide a platform for regulators, businesses, operators, end users and professionals to discuss the challenges, brainstorm solutions and agree on a set of recommendations to governments.››RICS Hong Kong Property Awards and Annual Dinner13 March 2015The Academy Awards of the industry, the RICS Hong Kong

Property Awards honour outstanding achievements and reward excellence found in projects, property teams and developments in land, property and construction, and the community. A presentation ceremony will be held at the RICS Hong Kong Annual Dinner. For more details, visit ricsasia.org/hkdinner.››RICS Hong Kong Annual Conference 201518 May 2015Hong Kong is a densely populated, urban metropolis that plays an essential role in the Asia-Pacific regional economy. As the city has continued to develop over the years, one of the key issues of possible concern shared by professionals and academics alike is the city’s lack of capacity in meeting demand for space. The RICS Hong Kong Conference will address the following issues:1. Should cities be building capacity before the demand comes?2. How can Hong Kong continue to grow with limited developable space? 3. What can Hong Kong do to remain attractive to businesses, tourism and investors by 2041? 4. Which segment of

the real estate market does Hong Kong not have the capacity to deal with in the next five to 10 years?ricsasia.org/hkconference

MALAYSIA››RICS ASEAN BIM Conference 201518 March 2015,Kuala LumpurA conference gathering key industry leaders and practitioners of BIM (building information modelling), who will present case

studies of key projects from around the world. Delegates will listen to practical examples and best practices that will provide invaluable and usable knowledge for their own organisations’ BIM projects and plans.

SINGAPORE››Singapore Gala Dinner12 NovemberThe inaugural annual dinner will celebrate the contribution members have made

BOOK RICS EVENTS ONLINE ricsasia.org For enquiries, call +852 2537 7117

MIPIM Japan is the first real estate forum for Japanese and global leaders, joining together property and finance professionals from all asset classes. It is expected to attract a great number of professionals and investors, not only because of MIPIM’s reputation in the industry, but also because of the support and commitment of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT).

“MIPIM Japan will be an outstanding opportunity to promote the Japanese real estate market,” comments MLIT. “We are looking forward to welcoming real estate professionals from around the world willing to invest or source investment in Japan and learn from the innovative solutions Japan has managed to implement in regards to smart cities, sustainable architecture and constructions.” mipimjapan.jp

MIPIM JAPAN

20-21 May 2015, Tokyo

48 RICSASIA .ORG

to the property, land and construction sectors within Singapore and the ASEAN region. The event will also celebrate RICS successes in achieving industry and government recognition, professional development and raising the standards of professionals. The dinner will bring industry leaders and professionals together for a night of fine dining, networking, fun and celebration.

WHAT LIES AHEAD FOR EUROPEAN REAL ESTATE?

Moscow has the potential to

become a truly global fi nancial market. This

offers opportunities, because we can help with regulation and in raising standards. Russia may want to protect its own property

market systems, but IPMS shouldn’t be viewed as a competitive threat

– they can opt for both.

IPMS (International

Property Measurement Standards) could have a huge e�ect on CIS markets, simply

because they have never had any property measurement standards before. And if these markets have a

desire to become more mature, they can facilitate that growth

by working with an organisation such

as RICS.

Each market is very

different in terms of size and maturity, and each has its

own interesting perspective for the property profession.

Therefore we should aim to take a tailored approach

to each market’s needs.

RICS must continue

to establish and maintain sustainable relationships built on

trust and mutual respect.

Across Europe, Russia and

the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS),

there are 48 countries, 730 million people and

multiple languages and currencies.

50 RICSASIA .ORG

Mind map

Maarten Vermeulen FRICS, Regional Managing Director of RICS Europe, Russia & CIS

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