(Part 3, NTUST, 5908701)

Part 3, Advanced Civil Construction, 台科大高等土木施工學教材(2023) 

MT KAO (Blog: http://mtkaoforum31.blogspot.tw/)

(mtkaoforum31@gmail.com) 

(3)   Architects.

a. Architects are respected all over the world, for the dual roles they played as artists and engineers. In Taiwan, the laws and regulations are favored for their solo performance with the support of a powerful guild:

-        The law now accepts joint venture of the architects, but it's still the cooperation between the individuals. For building design, various disciplines of professional engineers such as structure, mechanic or electric, and certain specialty companies have to be the second-tier performers of architects of the relatively small size. It’s an arrangement sometimes may not be working and cause troubles contractually or technically.

-        As a response to the trend that modern buildings need to provide various services to meet people’s extensive demand, architects have to be organized to include more disciplines of engineers facing new design challenges. And in today’s Taiwan they have to behave more like a firm than individuals.

-        Internally, the architect boss needs to stay peace with his employees because the ever-complicated proposals offered to the client requires persisting and respectful performance of a stable team. And it’s the same as what happens to consulting firms, the boss shall place attention on the follow architects and individual engineers for their vision, responsiveness, work attitudes, remuneration, and entitlement.

Because people always deem their own performances are impeccable especially those who link their career future with fame and credential. Partnership, profit sharing, publication and fame are used as the elements to retain the talents or contrarily to become the driving force to accelerate the division.

 

b.      Like always happened in small engineering companies, senior architect usually grumbles for their follows’ impatience to demand profit and fame sharing before showing their contribution; but the hired will also complain their performance is never recognized:

-        In reality, it’s not a big market and the established architects are not easy to come to terms with employees and will choose to recruit new staff when they fail to hold royalty from the old guys. And when the number of licenses granted to the new comers are high and many of them not appreciated by the employers will start own business the competition will be harsh.

c. Recently, architects continue to plead the government for: 

- The fees allowed for public building design are calculated as fix percentage of construction price, and it is low compared to what adopted in other countries. The percentage must be adjusted. 

- The construction cost per unit area of building is low in the government budget and there must be an improvement, so the basis for design and supervision fee will be fair.

- That the cooperation with reputable international architects shouldn't be necessary as local architects are artfully good and technically competent. Should any officer look for fantastic building outline and avant-garde design, he could ask local architect to provide. Current practice inviting foreign architects playing protagonist and forcing their local partner shoulder contractual obligation are not acceptable. Though, many private developers still court international architects because the "names" will boost the sale. 

- Architects consider the responsibility of supervision during construction shall be rectified with clearer definition in the laws. There’re cases the developers and architects indicted and criminalized for putative wrong design and lax supervision years after buildings completed but damaged when incidents such as earthquakes causing troubles.   

 

(4)   Workers, Labor Gangs and Subcontractors.

a. In Taiwan and many countries, General Contractors do not own equipment and hire technicians and labors for construction. They sub-let the laboring work to gangs or subcontractors to save efforts and troubles in recruitment, efficiency upholding and advance skill learning. But commercial consideration not directly to deal with labor will lead to a situation that many General Contractors may lose ability for and access to the construction reality:

-        The commercial and contractual consideration for the frontage II players to observe the labor laws, accounting rules, safety regulation, etc., will cause change and impact for project implementation and industry.

-        There may and must be craftsmanship existed among the labors to guarantee work efficiency and quality; but the labor gangs or the subcontractors receive the payment according to rates and quantity entered in their contract with upper tier contractors, which in most cases, are under so called back to back terms.

-        The gang leaders are left with the responsibility to call in and pay the workers at fix wages disregard of what they’d have received according to the actual performance. It means that general contractors intend to transfer the risk to the labor gangs and subcontractors for anything reducing the efficiency. But there could be argument between the parties as the project is fickle and the market fluctuate vibrantly. Formal and legal intervention cannot solve the problems, and only settlement based on parties’ vital interest and concerns will stay.

b.      Originally main contractor may allocate the works to different gangs such as rebar, form work and concrete pouring, but still take care of coordination and supervision works required; and now they might ask one sub-contractor to undertake whole works with expectation that the enlarged contract value will add more cushion for sub-tier contractors to absorb shock when the situation goes wild:

-        Though engineers will draw plans, pen proposal, and check mistakes; construction work has to be carried out by labors with hands, and it's them to materialize white collar's ideas for all difficult, dirty and dangerous work environs. There was historical background when labors were in over supply, that their salaries suppressed and work condition miserable. At then, management of main contractors were able to leave the drudgery to social class distant from them.

-        There should be interfaces to be coordinated between trades of workers, and it would have been done by the site agents from main contractors. And now a major sub-contractor would take care and the assistance from the main contractors would be unnecessary. People finally would agree those supervisory staff is duplicated and cost better saved. The process continued and main contractor’s access to technical data and know how gradually diminished, so as their capability and experience of construction works.

-        Work division in Taiwanese construction industry become more vertical like fault line, i.e. a sub-tier contractor will do in situ construction while the main contractor may offer the name, provide guarantees, and take care of documentary works. The balance between upper and lower tiers contractors is broken in dire expectation to save limited amount of money while increasing risk short of coordination and supervision. A tendency inadvertently favors the parties like the gamblers rather than the professionals. 

c. Right now, the contractors undertaken the construction contracts can't find enough gangs and workers for their projects and cause delays or tender abortion in both government and private projects:

- Year by year, the demography change and economy growth start to curtail labor supply in Taiwanese construction industry. Crew number shrinks and members aged, they demand safety, reject toil, fall short in dexterity, easily to elude work commitment.

- 3years epidemic further deteriorate the situation, the authority has to change the regulation to admit more TCN (third country national) into the industry. Before, TCN were only permitted to work in public works, and now it extends to private work as all the classes of constructors are free to hire them. The amendment will be made at the second half of 2023.

- The work conditions at construction sites, compared to factories and service sector are worse, but the wage difference is not big now. 

(5)   Specialty Contractor.

a.      First the specialty contractors were envied because of the leading technology it embraced. They also enjoyed the prices and rates nearer or even better than the international average.

-        The construction history in Taiwan was recorded with people of spirit de entrepreneur scrambled to imitate, or simply request authorization of foreign technology: the construction method; equipment and machine; material engineered and manufactured.

-        The ideas to respect patent right were weak before millennium, giving time for people to learn, to make and to try, short for perfection but still enough for imitation.

-        The second stage came quickly, many of the international specialty contractors had to withdraw from Taiwan as natives took over, though maybe many of them looked weak and small.

The stories happened to work items such as diaphragm wall, grouting, travelling wagons, system formworks, and cable and tendons, all taking places within very few years.

b.      To certain degree the locals created wonders; many of them endured failures and finally smack technical Okays.

-        For one who successfully to become specialty contractor, there must be several crumbled; the speculation cost was so high considering the devotion they paid pent and the risks undertook.

-        The market is small, and the kind of infrastructure projects built is not many; so the R & D cost can hardly be distributed after long.

-        In general, the companies doing the specialty works in Taiwan can't distinguish themselves with general contractors; instead, they’re under pressure to find jobs to support their equipment, plants and crew. So, they're forced to bid the same tender package as the general contractor.

-        Then the borderline between the specialty and general contractors is blurring and the specialty contractors are not respected for their expertise.

-    Events such as labor shortage and de-carbon construction may bring prospects for the specialty contractors: precast or prefabricated element, automatic machines, green construction material such as graphene concrete. There would be sufficient motives and requirement for high minded people to join the specialty contractors.

(6)   Employers.

a. The employers pay for the construction cost and have vest-in interest for the in time and quality completion of the projects: 

- For public projects there will be elected officers and administrative in the government agencies speaking of detailed civil requirement under certain budgetary constraint; but they’ve to listen to the opinions from experts, media, and councilors. 

    A dutiful civil servant will know how and when to make compromise on different opinions, so as to plan and build a facility maximizing its value for price paid.

- For private business, it seems like the investors have tremendous power to look after for their own benefit, but it has to be bound by laws, regulations,

social opinions and various unspoken rules of democracy.

    Scrutiny is unavoidable, and also, it’s the reason that many powerful and wealthy will speak for rent-seekers.

b. The employers in developing their projects must consider rate of return higher than normal. They have to decimate risk and uncertainty that fund and banks won’t accept: 

- Among the employers or the funder’s concerns, quality and in time completion shall be most critical, but that's only fundamental. In the case of real estate, the developers must consider buyers or tenants' requirement for buildings. And for plant owners they must consider product sales and market stability. 

So, it’s a modern-day approach sometimes that the turnkey contractors will appease the owner with guarantees for product sales (in quantity and price) for long time. 

- Because long term investment security is now desired, the frontage investors should pay additional premium to guard their principle so that the ultimate capital holders are assured and pleased.

- It's 21st Century, in order to get a hedged and assurance, cost paid to notaries, law firms, inspectors, laboratories, appraisers, and certifiers can be regarded as more important than expenditures for tangible object such as concrete and steel, despite the cost compared to the additional protection for investment is big; completely different to the days when material was scarce and expensive.

-    Therefore, the competitiveness to vie a contract nowadays will include not only handling material and equipment to be incorporated into the project, but also to obtain the endorsement of the so-called independent parties. And it’s the reason why the contractors from the first world, despite their seeming expensiveness for substantial works, still can get a lot of contracts.

c. Public clients tend to be hard to deal with because they’ll be blamed for any mistake:

- They want everything to be clear and definite from day 1, but not to quantize the risk or uncertainty. Because the construction projects aren’t always the same and there won’t be standard answer. Only the professionals can offer solutions to remove the blocks huddling on the way since construction works start. 

- Theoretically, consensus must be collected before set up project goal, but the political requirement: compromise, prejudice and well wish will impede or distort the implementation. Any correction will have to undergo onerous procedural justification.

- The experts' opinions will start with who will be the experts and end in the deaf ears of bureaucrats and those who think they represent the public opinions. It’s a kind of hubris under which the professionals are frustrated and have to be mute.

- Election and office change will complicate the matters as politicians and voters are not predictable. Sometimes U-turn is necessary; consequently, projects hard to finish is everywhere over the world.

d.      Investors, private and public, are now asking the professional companies to work for them as PCM, a good system but occasionally not functional because the clients don't really delegate powers. The other extremity is the government agencies don't have their own people installed in the high positions of the project to determine how their true demand will be met in concert with financial capability known to insiders.

 (Part 2, NTUST, 5908701)

Part 2, Advanced Civil Construction, 台科大高等土木施工學教材(2023) 

MT KAO (Blog: http://mtkaoforum31.blogspot.tw/)

(mtkaoforum31@gmail.com)

3. Construction Industry and its Significance to Total Economy:

1).  An economy develops quickly if there is good infrastructure, or to lose momentum.

(1).  Quick developing economy really needs good infrastructure to keep bustling, or to lose momentum. Several years ago, in IT-savvy India, the dilapidated roads, ports, and power systems often slash several point GDP off every year while Japan, Asian tigers, and China seem not to be bothered by poorly or untimely construction of infrastructure for their economic success.

Understand the Infrastructure development is important in poverty alleviation and has a multiplier effect to enhance the efficiency and quality of manufacturing, Indian government create plans to build road network, railway, airport, power station and transmission line, to improve the connectivity between the states. The annual high economic growth rate is forecast making India now the 5th largest economy in the world. 

Always the countries begin to build infrastructure works before setting up their light and heavy industry, and service sector; and it means civil engineers will benefit from economy prosperity and then mechanical, electrical and chemical engineers. 

2).  Infrastructure projects construction stimulates demand of building material, machine and tools, furniture, and services; thus, speed up industrious development. And when economy grows, the construction market thrives.

(1).  Construction of infrastructure projects requires not only industrious product and machines but also augmenting services such as engineering, advertisement, house sales, financing transactions creating economic growth and upgrading. 

Construction will become the locomotive of the domestic economy. It’s also the reason that the state will always support the construction in terms of budgeting, resource allocation and nurture of the industry to ensure the development of the country and regions. 

(2).  On the other hand, when social and economic developments come up, the tax revenue and personal income will increase, the public and private work boom will be ensued, as individuals are more affordable to pay the mortgage and government will have more money to improve the environment that people live in.

(3).  When a country encounters an economic downturn, the quickest way to introduce a recovery and to reduce the pressing unemployment rate shall be spending as much as possible in the infrastructure as the transaction will always remain in the region. 

3).  Young countries need civil engineers to draw national development plans for years and decades up to cabinet level. It is the term “technocrats" for people with expertise hard to be replaced under different regimes. 

Possibly the political life for those technocrats will outlive the politicians embracing rival ideology for each other. Usually in a society with political parties hostile against each other, the technocrats, handling public affairs can still be allowed to stay neutral; so the plans, designs, budget and regulations they draw will be respected.

It's particularly true when the government of a state is gripped in the hands of group of conviction politicians that the technocrats may be assigned for the management of big national projects or state run enterprises. Their chance of success is high because always such kind of governments in certain developing economies will designate strategy project or industries as national pride. The means will include money and talents concentration and foreign competition fending off; and it will translate into the career longevity of the engineers. 

4).  Construction people sometimes risked to become accomplices of powerful people stealing public money. The infrastructure contracts usually involve tremendous sums and require different sub tier companies to perform the works; the illicit money is easy to hide and park. The contractors are easily to be blamed.   

(1).  Contractors always excuse the need to survive as the reason to be part of the kleptocracy, but the truth is construction contracts can be lucrative, and most of the times doesn’t show flaws. Therefore, contractors always believe the politicians are  powerful enough, and  able to protect the business man until the last moment. 

In the final reckoning, the politicians will sacrifice the contractors without hesitation, and only then the contractors will know the protection they really have is ephemeral.

 The Politicians always collaborate with the riches, so that power and wealth begat more power and wealth to allow ruling class stay forever; at least they hope so. History will tell that the exploitation of the ruled and the squander of the natural resource will finally have an end. 

(2).  There will be limit that the Powerful and the riches can spoil the nation in theory, as the economy in a country has its size. But in reality, the harm can't be controlled as there are wicket foreign governments eager to provide unstringed loans and aids in the name of infrastructure development to the irresponsible regime who may surrender everything to cash in for the cost required for ruling.  

Therefore, many developing countries with abundant resources can be end up in debt and poverty, the so-called resource curses; because the politicians and their cronies will take every advantage of the countries' limited fortune. Under the circumstance the money spent will never buy worthy and required infrastructure and civil work contractors are highly blamed.  

The bad story of construction conglomerate, Odebrecht of Brazil demonstrates the farce/tragedy in the past few years: presidents, premiers, ministers, parliamentarian, businessman and people of significant suicided, imprisoned, indicted in more than 10 countries. (http://mtkaoforum31.blogspot.com/2019/04/).

In some countries, the resources are poor but the politicians still ravenous, even will use their control of the access to the market and the people to make money. It’s so called gate keeping country.

(3).  Professionalism should be the only antidote to fight the avarice and impunity behind the organized corruption. Ethic education has to be enforced since the early days of engineers training. Of course, it needs time and patience to take effect especially in a society of obscurity.

4.  Young Engineers Must Determine the Earlier the Better in their Career, based on Personality, Talent or Linkage, to Work as:

1).    Consultant or Contractor.

2) Technical or Managerial cadet. 

3) Domestic or International figure. 

4) Employed or boss.

Before to make certain for what you really want to be, people have to understand your own:

a. Personality - introvert or extrovert, competitive or temperate, simple or sophisticated, like to work in solo or in group, daring or scrupulous, acute or blunt, commanding or compliant, polemics or suave, etc.

b. Capability - knowledge, expertise, proficiency, logic, skill, common sense, morality quotient, etc.

c. Background and experience – family, friends, teachers, seniors, neighbors, etc.

Objectively, one’s education and training are also essential for the choices, and the followings shall be considered:

a. Expertise: geotechnics, structure, architecture, hydrology and irrigation, roadwork, coastal and marine, mechanic, electric, HVAC, etc.

b. Disciplines: planning, design, construction methodology, survey and set out, supervision, drafting, progress, quality assurance and control, cost control, quantity survey, machine and plant control, contract administration, litigation, inventory, first aid, financial management, accounting, information, administration, etc.

c. Diploma, licenses, certificates, on job training, etc.

d. Professional " skill": complex problem solving, critical thinking, creativity, people management, coordinating with others, emotional intelligence, judgement and decision making, service orientation, negotiation, and cognitive flexibility, though not to be stringently followed but meaningful in the practice.

Subjectively, Young engineers with appropriate attitude, inspiring leadership, sensitive to the humanity, knowing the industry trend and market change, are the winners among the professionals.

5.  The Modern Construction Industry and its Major Players:

    

1).  Frontage Players:

(1) General Contractors:

a. In most countries (markets), general contractors are leaders of construction industry commanding critical portion of resource and exercising vast influence in democratic government and authoritative regimes alike. Wherever their interests go, the construction tycoons can decide how infrastructure projects are done, and affect politic at different levels.

Given the imagination that big construction company always have the clout to maneuver for what they want, young talents flock to them before they know the industry. The stories of power and money associated with construction projects are tellingly true from country to country as the industry get momentum to grow and prosper before any other business have chances to evolve.

b. However, in countries like Taiwan, the wary authority and public are too eager to see the competition flared among the contractors and always think it's a good way to save government expenditure. So, every contracting procedure related to public works from budget allocation till their completion is mired with details presumed to plague constructors so public interest can be safeguarded. There it develops a mentality that the consultants responsible for design and supervision can be more trust-able to protect public interest in the ceaseless feuding with pigheaded contractors.

As a result, the bureaucrats and public prefer to ask the contractors to do the works according to what had been specified on the drawings, i.e. pure construction; they believe they would be able to prevent collusion by squeezing the space normally granted to designer and contractor for settling the ensuing conflict.

c. The purposed regulation as explained above existed so long has weaken the contractors; besides, in a society much influenced by Confucian culture, the traditional teaching that the scholars are superior to any other social classes further reinforce the prejudice that the employees of constructors working outdoors under all-weather would be secondary to pedants shouting instructions in the air conditioned rooms.

Finally, the employees of general contractors have to do the grinding part of the works to ensure punctual completion and well-functioning of the projects, which is nerve raking throughout entire contract period. And in return construction engineers only received diminishing amount of pay under constant annoyance that the threshold for tenderer to cross is lowered time after time allowing more people to contend.

d. It's true that general contractors in Taiwan were not so privileged compared to the coddled consulting firms because of some historical and cultural reasons. However, constructor of the 21st century should not only be able to deliver timely and quality completion of the projects, he needs also to give the clients solutions for challenges and risks brought by exceptional design, complicated operation and maintenance systems, special environmental protection requirement, unique financial arrangement; and it means, the imbalance between the images of general contractors and consulting firms now tilts a little bit toward the former.

It's also good for general contractors in Taiwan that the procurement laws and regulations overhauled in recent years: design and build contracts are welcome; division of business lines now blurred; BOT or BT style of contracting are taken and design consultants can be put under sovereignty of general contractors; projects become more sizable and fit for companies with bigger assets; labor law is more sensible thus favorable the contractors' employees who used to work in onerous long hours.

The trend compels owners, governmental or private, to accept more reasonable and liberal form of contracting, so that the constructors can pursue expertise and efficiency they need for true competition. Obviously, general contractors burdened with less red tape and enjoyed elevated status, are the biggest winners in the change

(綜合承商簽約金額龐大，掌握資源，對基礎工程是否、或如何施作有影響力，甚至介入政治。在許多國家，工程先於其他產業發展，為錢與權力結合之最明顯例證。

台灣之工程業，自早期因公眾將成本經費置於優位，政府主其事者亦鼓勵競爭，故設計監造者必站在施工者對立面，土木營造必與機電設備承商分業。因此於初期，綜合承商受眾多限制，只能按圖施工，再加上儒家思想認不動手設計者需有高學歷，較為尊重，顧問公司工作者相對有優越感。

目前新形勢，統包盛行，工程漸趨複雜化，綜合承商空間較前為大，其經理人與工程師需付較重責任，相對權力、薪酬與社會地位也將提高，此發展應為正面。)

(2) Consulting Engineers:

a. The difference between the professionals and occupational regarding business ethics and attitude is that the former's must be dutiful, intelligent and conscientious for their clients and the latter do their works following the orders. To honor and guard the professionalism, the professional decisions in no way should be compromised, twisted and altered by particular one's interest, thronged opinions, or any form of punishment.

When engineers' re trusted and confided with responsibilities for safety, functioning, aesthetic, durability, budgeting and sturdy completion of construction projects, their judgement, opinions, and integrity must be respected, and most important, their service must be remunerated fairly as it's the backbone to support the idea that the professionals are the brains of their client.

b. The professionalism allotted to engineers usually include investigation, feasibility study, planning, design, supervision, project management and other services related to civil and building works, both public and private. In Taiwan, how the engineering service is practiced is sanctioned in "Professional Engineer Act":

    Article 7 A professional engineer shall practice the profession in any of  

      the following manners:

      1. Establish an engineering office organized as a sole proprietorship or                            partnership. 

      2. Establish a professional engineering consulting firm or be hired by one.

      3. Hired by a profit-seeking enterprise or entity, other than those mentioned   in            the preceding      

      subparagraph, which is required by law to hire a licensed professional engineer.

c. If we trace the history, we will know that professional engineering service was originally taken by individual engineers or the partnership they formed. In modern-days, projects for all complex nature not only require advanced technology; but also need proposals with exceptional commercial skill to augment chances of as-planned completion or to seek ways of meaningful mitigation. So, it takes kind of "omniscient "corporation consisting of bright people who are able to offer inclusive solutions at all times.

Apparently, the professionals can well exercise their knowledge and skill disregard what their choice to sign the contracts in "proprietorship", "partnership" or "corporation", but the industrial reality is that a corporation big enough may be better to accumulate experience, possess data, search for information, and churn out proposals.

Yes, only they are big they can have lots of talents adhered to share office equipment and software cost and are more affordable to meet the client's fastidious demands. Besides, financing, accounting, and administration rendered by big corporation will support the engineer for activities now needed to be more expeditious but intact, which can hardly be found in partnership and small company.

It's understandable when the clients want to make award the engineering jobs of multi-discipline nature, they feel more comfortable to engage with organizations of size and reputation. But such an observation shall not be over interpreted as that the big corporation doesn't have any problem in performance and cost.

d. So, a lot of clients today when want to make award of the engineering jobs of multi-discipline nature, they feel more comfortable to engage with organizations of size and reputation. But such an observation shall not be over interpreted as that the big corporation doesn't have any problem in performance and cost.

But it’s just a trend and shall not be over interpreted as that the big corporations may have their own problem in performance and cost.

e. We all know the professionalism stems from individualism and entails characteristics unique to each professional: vision, responsibility, work attitudes, which shall be prerequisite to shape a concerted team undertaking sophisticated engineering works in competition with individual or more coherent partnership for efficiency and responsiveness.

Remuneration to the professionals remains a big problem in managing engineering companies as people always view their own performance impeccable and believes they are entitled for more than regular salary and bonus. The arguments often focused in profit sharing, and stays at every junction where company elite flaunt their eminence. People may imagine there could be a terminal arbiter in big engineering company busy to dole out verdicts to assure everybody's material and vanity reward will be met, but that's not realistic. 

For small engineering companies, the bosses usually grumble for the employees’ impatience to demand profit sharing before showing their contribution; but the hired will also complain their performance is never recognized.

The wish wise men may be there for positive intervention is a pipe dream in the real world; instead, egocentric human nature will prevail. Discords and disputes always happen between the quarreling parties, and the burst out usually take the form that people arguing over things abstract and philosophic like vision, responsibility, work attitudes, but money is behind, if contradiction not solved the result will be exodus of high minded people, or the cooling down of remaining people's motives to learn new skill and knowledge.

Modern professionals’ firms will use options such as extended partnership or stock warrant awarding to employees to keep their loyalty. It's important because many people consider the company's gain is only possible with their affectionate engagement and they're deserved to share profit as partners. The idea is different with the bonus and prizes scheme applied for companies to sell material, product, or simple services; requiring employees clinging to positions and to do more or less countable works.

The idea is different with the bonus and prizes scheme applied for companies to sell material, product, or simple services; which only ask employees sticking to positions and to do works countable and not unique for individuals. It may not be suitable for sizable and sophisticated consultancy; but a practice in Taiwan for national enterprises.

f. In Taiwan, the government handled the importation of construction technology closely during the days that the resources were scarce, and many of the engineers were trained on jobs like dam, petrochemical complex, expressway and military installations. To counter balance the more advanced international companies, the government then sponsored big consulting and construction firms with the view that they could be reliable and competitive to carry out public work for the future.

Years after, the government was forced to withdraw from the construction companies sponsored as private contractors won over contention. However, the public consulting firms still remain and dominant in the engineering market, as they still receive the trust and patronage of government agencies anxious to launch infrastructure projects.

The arrangement can solve remuneration problem in many professionals’ firms, however, it's not elixir for small engineering companies, the bosses of which always grumbled that the employees are impatient to demand profit sharing before showing contribution; but the hired complained their performance not recognized all the time.

g. The government funded consultants pay their engineers of salary, bonus and dividends similar to what has been arrayed in other public enterprises of much less professionalism content. The practice omit that the services originally are individual-oriented and in the case of corporation the people must fetch not much less than their colleagues under sole proprietorship or partnership. Over time the side effect not pay enough to professionals will appear: efficiency discounted, talent lost to other industries, projects other than routinely implemented need to be done by international consultants.

The government funded consultants are more obedient to follow contract terms arbitrarily interpreted by public servants short of flexibility in forecasting project requirement and rectifying them later. So, the government agencies prefer to award sizable engineering works to government funded consultants and thus strengthen their dominant position in the industry despite private design firms always crying foul saying that the state shouldn't interfere the market.  

It's nothing wrong in a society actually embraces egalitarianism and hates to pay some of professions high price to continue the practice contracting with government funded consultants for low cost and in time delivery of engineering works as a safety play of the officials..

But when technology bred domestically may not be sufficiently advanced as the result of individual's lacking of incentives because there’s only one buyer for the public works-the government. The foreign consultants or architects will be eager to fill technical gap but only at dear prices. 

And any attempt that the government agencies to ask affiliated firms to bridge the difference in terms of price and contractual obligation will only to bring further procrastination and induce secondary damages as the one who really have to deliver the works will have leeway to dodge their responsibility.

(專業工程師掌握工程成敗、經費、品質良劣，業主賴之。早期設計、監造，係由具自信與自尊之個人技師、工匠或專家個人名義或形態擔任，現大工程須為擁百、千人之顧問公司承擔，惟台灣之技師法，仍要求專業人員在其能力、判斷、與倫理對業主負責，由字句語義，可看出立法原意，然在實務上，工程變成大而複雜，如何讓團隊發揮效率，又不出錯，是顧問公司經營挑戰。

但台灣工程發展壯大經過，可看出從早期技術須由國外引進時，都由政府統一辦理，以圖利用及掌控有限之資源；或因社會變遷，民間實力增強，故政府力量就由施工方面撤退，但因信心關係，在設計顧問業仍為其掌握。故台灣在工程產業仍有廻異於先進國家之處，此可由公共工程費率、合約條件、乃至顧問公司經理與資深工程師薪酬等看得出來。)

 (Part 1, NTUST, 5908701)

Part 1, Advanced Civil Construction, 台科大高等土木施工學教材(2023) 

MT KAO (Blog: http://mtkaoforum31.blogspot.tw/)

(mtkaoforum31@gmail.com)

1. The Change in Professional’s Earning and Social Status since Industrial Revolution; the Tendency the Young Engineers Drifting to the Unpredictable World Need to Know:

1). Comparison between the income through personal capability and efforts and that from investment and bequests. It changes since the industrial revolution and has influenced the allocation of talent.

(1). Prior to the industrial revolution in Europe, the ratio between the wealth generated from investment and bequeath was high compared to that generated from laboring (through personal capability and efforts). The ratio dropped significantly during the world war I and reached its lowest in 1970s symbolizing technology improvement was on the way and general public including professional had shared the benefit. But the figure raised up slightly in the years around 2010 - a possibility that it might be caused by affection of digital technology and globalization.

(2).  Proper income in 19 Century means at least you have to obtain 20 to 30 times of average national income, and only top 1% people would achieve it so as to be considered as riches. Professions like lawyer, accountant and engineer would get at best 10 times of average national income and considered as slightly better than the “poor”.

(3).  Lines from “Capital in the Twenty-First Century” by Thomas Piketty, “Le Pere Goriot” by H Balzac, to tell how the excellent brains were paid by ruling class historically:

“Your annual income will be 1,200 Franc when you’re in 30’s without giving up rob of blending. You can get married with daughter from gristmill collecting rent 6,000 livre annually. If you’re lucky you can have 5,000 Franc annual incomes as a public attorney, and you can marry with mayor’s daughter. If you don’t mind to do something under table, you could become general attorney at your 40s. But allow me to remind you, there’re only 20 general attorneys in entire France, and the number of the people thirst for the jobs maybe more than 20,000, among them many clowns ready to sell out their relatives and friends. If you don’t do this; you can be a lawyer, spend 1,000 franc every month to borrow a small office; for 10 years you must keep relationship with the people, kiss any solicitor you knows rob and beg him to reward you some cases, in addition, you need to bow to every people you meet in the court as a lawyer. Tell me can you tell the names of 5 lawyers younger than 50 in Paris who have had annual income more than 50,000 Franc?”  (Vautrin said to Rastignac)

2). How the excellent brains were paid by ruling class who dominate the economy and the industries historically? 

(1).  Bonaparte Napoleon first noticed the problem and agreed to give high pay to reward his ministers so that they might match the aristocrats for respectable living, which means an income no less than 50 to 100 times of average national income.

(2).  Before industrialization, farmland was main source of wealth and income in Europe and US, and government bonds issued in countries able to manage fiscally. There’s no means that personal talent or professional skill would earn a decent income for individuals. (The only way people to remain in or ascend to high society had to go through inheritance or marriage.)

(3).  After World War I the professionals continued to increase their income and wealth by their own merit, people started to herald it as the beginning of a new era of more inclusive capitalism and trusted the trend would not revert. But what happened between 1980 and now proving that it was just a transitory deviation.

(4).  Globalization facilitates the fluidity of the commodity/service in the international market and set the cap in every economy for wages. One of the reasons the said ratio continues to go down after 1980s.

3). What will a young civil engineer choose to be? Occupational, professionals or super managers. Is it correct to borrow “meritocratic extremism” to justify the tremendous pay difference between capitalist/ rent seekers and hard-workers?

(1).   Will it be practical for engineers to follow code of engineering ethic in terms of faith, integrity, law abiding, and conduct of secrecy at the era when digital economy and artificial intelligence is about to dominate.

(2).   Engineering ethic request the engineers to take responsibility toward society, environment and the colleagues. As FIDIC maintains: To be fully effective not only must engineers constantly improve their knowledge and skills, but also society must respect the integrity and trust the judgement of members of the profession and remunerate them fairly. And it’s the brief requirement.

4). Technology improvement makes economy flourish and life better, still some people in each social class has to struggle for livelihood and survival as distribution inequality persist. Will the engineers whose expertise and knowledges be replaced by digital software and artificial intelligence fall in the category in their life time?

(1).  As technology improves, the mid income people can enjoy comfortable life far better than many of their forbearers in higher centile of income.

(2).  The engineering services need to obtain their clients’ trust and confidence, distinguishing them with the manufactured products and/or services by ordinary people. Compared with workers, clerks and other occupational, the professionals place much attention to guarantee the quality of their output and refrained from remuneration based on quantity completed especially within specific time. He thinks and acts on behalf of his client and always consider himself is unique in delivery of art, crafts and services committed to the client. 

(3).   But now that significant share of the income shaped by skill-biased and capital augmenting technical change; the professionals of conventional definition may not be in a steering position, that software, tradable programs and even AI will do much of the engineers’ job diminishing their clout in retaining work opportunities and sharing income.     

(4).   Is actually income generated by digital capital shared with certain kinds of complementary human capital, including innovators, entrepreneurs, and top executives? Among them, the super managers with winner take all mentality popular in US deserve our attention because they may pride themselves with “meritocratic extremism”, nose in the air.

(5).   The “information technology intensity of a company”-as measured by the ratio of its IT capital stock to its total stock –rises in modern engineering company demanding more return than from human capitals previously formed by employed engineers.

6). When the income generated by digital capital becomes more significant, at the same time corporate governance practices and social norms will also change allowing more rent-seeking behavior because there will be less humanity control by smart machine and AI. Will it be the same easy to and simple for professionals to follow code of engineering ethic when their sharing in total company income much less than before

5)  The professional tomorrow: Let AGI (Artificial General Intelligent) to take over and accept “Le Droit à la Paresse” (“The Right to be Lazy”) while living on Universal Basic Income dispensed by the government; or become 21st century Luddites against automatic machine? ) 

(1).  Artificial General Intelligence; Strong AI, weak AI, Open AI, generative AI, ChatGPT, Bard.

(2).   Speed over Safety: 

-   For example, Deepfakes can defame, impersonate, and spread disinformation to harass or cheat the people and things can be corrupted faster as technology advance.

-   The way tech companies monetized connectedness: by slowly warping our news feeds to optimize for engagement

-   AI-oriented Bing search engine will drive more traffic and revenue, to publishers and the advertisers.

(3).  The right to be Lazy and Universal Basic Income.

(4).  Luddites.

  

6).   Can “Engineering as a Vocation” be honored in Taiwan when material reward is meager compared with devotion paid? Can the passion, inspiration and rationality as a professional be kept as the vocation is life time choice?

2. How will Young man Start his Professional Career

1) To learn how the government operates and the economy function in the real world and the existence of political institutions, social establishment, and commercial interest groups:

(1).  Young professionals must learn the way that political institutions, social elites, and interest groups interact and influence with each other and make the government operational and the economy functioning through compromise. 

In a democracy or open society, still the elite instead of general people, will settle and conclude for government agenda, economic plans and procedural norms. And the engineers are those who command and not commanded. They will and have to contribute their intelligence during the course. 

As professionals, it's essential for the engineers to know who are the ultimate stakeholders, their feeling or wishes for something to or not to happen, and choose for the public for the most sensible and efficient way to meet their expectation according to the custom, market rules, and not the least, regulations and laws.

 

Never mind the possibility that bad side of humanity always have chances to get through in an open society and free market; and trust that the corruption and rent seeking will be decimated under long practice of liberalism and democracy. 

(2).  A young beginner has to think bigger than what he will have learnt from the textbook which present to him maybe a serene technological realm; rather, he has to learn reasoning, contention and compromise that always happening in a bustling world from the outset. 

We trust that a candid engineer with sufficient secularity knowledge will be able to save the industry and the world one day.

2) Construction business is attached to history, culture and custom of the country and society. A successful engineer has to know humanity, social behaviors, tradition and conventional wisdom; not dismiss them as redundancy soon to be discarded in the process of modernization. 

(1).  Civil engineering is always considered as sort of physical science. The employees or managers of construction companies usually need to have engineering expertise; this is especially true in developing countries where the non-mechanical knowledge could be underwhelmed in the academy and the work place.

Unlike manufacturing or IT industries, construction has its origin and background in history, culture, custom, geography, and even memory, it links to human affairs, conventional, reflective but also transformative and thus require both rational approach and sentimental interpretation. 

So, even people proselytized by modern engineering teachings must understand that the contracts and the trading system for construction can be functioning only when they conform to the traditional market behavior as it’s a collective mindset of the society. 

(2).  The professional knowledge isn't the same as common sense and experience derived in daily life by any person. It's of professionals' the pride made them distinguished from ordinary people, however, the exercise of them so as to apply the concept, principle and information learnt correctly, need professional " skill", the ability leading to success.  

World Economic Forum (WEF) in 2020 consider the most important professional " skill" consist of the ability for: complex problem solving, critical thinking, creativity, people management, coordinating with others, emotional intelligence, judgement and decision making, service orientation, negotiation, and cognitive flexibility, though not to be stringently followed but are meaningful. 

(3).  An engineer sometimes may feel frustrated when he encountered resistance trying to promote top notch infrastructure projects but fails to convince the general public. However, he should realize the implementation of public works should always be kind of choices rather than direct conviction that pure scientific matter will rule.

The civil engineers should realize the efforts he rendered explaining the new idea or criticize the existing unreasonable things will not be in vain, because each time he gives reasoning, persuasion and novel idea, he can shake, crumble, and change public perception incrementally and it finally will be crystalized in his favor, the process further demonstrate the construction industry is not a yes or no scientific verdict.

On the other hand, the civil engineer should also know all the information give to public will only be considered as brute data instead of precise evidence, which can be refine or redefined as environment and situation will change from time to time.

3) Engineering is an art rather than a science: approaches to the clients, colleagues or even competitors should be more civic and in tight link with humanity and common sense.

It's easy for an engineer, to accept science and engineering fundamental in school and become a good expert afterward; but one has to grow to lead his company and industry for a successful career. In doing so, he needs to widen his visions and secure more humanities concern because the "construction" is an art rather than a science in nature.

Only because the "construction" is to serve with the human needs and its realistic business nature, the communication between the involving parties is critical. Client, colleagues, and even competitors must be linked and coordinated in a civilize way or the said cold science will result in wasted money and time.

 

However, people living in a real world should not be too sentimental and a civil engineer also should be logic and scientific for all the adaptation.

4) The corruption and rent seeking will be hard to diminish in the construction business, however, it will be reduced in an open society and free market. An engineer will only be prosperous to learn reasoning, contention and compromise in a bustling democracy. 

(1).  Definition: “Rent-seeking” is the act of growing one's existing wealth by manipulating the social or political environment without creating new wealth (Wikipedia).

(2).  An engineering decision shall not be bent or twisted facing force, power, or unjustified persuasion made by public, prestigious, client or third parties. 

 

5) The professionals don't produce, manufacture or build, they offer design solutions based on knowledge accrued through education and training. Plus, it requires good "judgement" based on experience, analysis and creativity, distinguishing them from ordinary people.

So, the professional has to exercise good "judgement" based on experience, analysis and endeavors to accomplish missions assigned to him by the project. It's the most difficult parts for the professionals because only a humble and experienced engineer believes this's an uncertain world that only through endless efforts the probability of success will possibly rise up.

6) Right altitude shall be most important for freshmen: steadfast when offered elementary skill and details, passionate with curiosity breeding innovation and creativeness leading to maturity, and trust the systems and accept the lead of the higher-up with patience.

(1).  Always the new starters don't appreciate the facts that technology advances only going through repetitive working on simple topics in the boring assignment at the beginning of their career. 

People dream about the prospect to be doyens in the field but lack the passion to learn expertise through the hard work. Sometimes they’re excusable for being exploited by the lackluster leaders in the early stage of their career. For this, they’ve to see if the passion of their colleagues, alumni and people surrounded still there, and decide whether or not themselves to stay. 

Though the defiance to the establishment, either the organizations or the higher-up usually happens, young engineers modest in their approach at workplace will be able to develop the leadership, and attain the knowledge required for professionalism and humanity. 

And it means the kind of gracious start will grant them prominent positions in the industry and help to grip the trend of market change.

(2).  Because people always want to judge the other people in simplest and quickest; engineers must try to obtain as many as possible licenses, certificates, and academic degrees in their young days.

Though success in passing examination and enduring the training may not guarantee the achievement in the career, the tendency is that the diplomat and certificates will help people a lot in a busy business world.  

7) Young engineers must understand the modern construction industry essentially is governed with human distrust: terms of contracts, laws, certificates, checks, guarantees, tests, investigations and reports, are used to instigate the antagonism between, the parties with confronting interests.

(1).  There is tendency, especially in the developed countries that the added value allocated in the name to protect the interest of ultimate owner/investor has outweighed the expense spent for the engineering and construction of the projects. 

Insouciantly, the engineers have lost their importance playing their roles and the professionalism rooted at trust and confidence between the clients and engineers dissipated while legal and financial people stepping in.

(2).  Young professionals with less confrontational mentality have to strive to turn the tide so that “non engineer’s” encroachment and domination on the industry should be reduced so as to prove that the technical world still belongs to the engineers.

(Curriculum, NTUST, 5908701) Advanced Civil Construction

MT KAO (Blog: http://mtkaoforum31.blogspot.tw/)

(mtkaoforum31@gmail.com)

 台科大高等土木施工學教材(2022)

Brief for Semester Start from Feb. 2023

1. The Change in Professional’s Earning and Social Status since Industrial Revolution; the Tendency the Young Engineers Drifting to the Unpredictable World Need to Know:

(工業革命以來，專業人才相對於其他階層，其收入與社會地位的變化；將以工程做為終生志業，奉獻一切的年輕工程師應該了解:)

1) Comparison between the income through personal capability and efforts and that from investment and bequests. It changes since the industrial revolution and has influenced the allocation of talent.

(收入係因個人能力與努力而來，與由投資或遺贈而來，兩者消長之比較，自工業革命以來變化很大，影響到人才之歸依。)

2) How the excellent brains were paid by ruling class who dominate the economy and the industries historically? 

(歷史上經濟與產業宰制階級，如何報償第一流頭腦？)

3) What will a young civil engineer choose to be? Occupational, professionals or super managers. Is it correct to borrow “meritocratic extremism” to justify the tremendous pay difference between capitalist/ rent seekers and hard-workers?

(年輕土木工程師要選擇：一般職業、特殊專業，或超級經理人？既得利益者是否可以極端的菁英優越感，來合理化資本家/尋租者，與辛勤工作者龐大的報酬差距？)

4) Technology improvement makes economy flourish and life better, still some people in each social class has to struggle for livelihood and survival as distribution inequality persist. Will the engineers whose expertise and knowledges be replaced by digital software and artificial intelligence fall in the category in their life time?

(技術的進步讓經濟發展，生活舒適，但所得分配不能平均，讓任何時候，任何階級，都有人為生活掙扎，為生存擔心；同樣的如果今天的工程師，他的專業、知識，那天為數位軟體與人工智慧取代，是不是也要成為無所依靠者？)

5)  The professional tomorrow: Let AGI (Artificial General Intelligent) to take over and accept  “Le Droit à la Paresse” (“The Right to be Lazy”) while living on Universal Basic Income dispensed by the government; or become 21st century Luddites against automatic machine?  )

(專業工程師的明天：讓強大的AGI接手一切，然後同意法國名言「人們有權變懶惰」，靠政府發給的基本生活補助過活；或成為21世紀，搗毀一切自動化機器的盧德派抗議派工人？ )

6) Can “Engineering as a Vocation” be honored in Taiwan when material reward is meager compared with devotion paid? Can the passion, inspiration and rationality as a professional be kept as the vocation is life time choice?

(「工程成為一種志業」的想法，在台灣收入相對付出不多的情況下，能持續為大家尊重？專業工程師賴以保持動力，所必要的熱情、靈感與理性能夠維持下去嗎？)

2. How will Young men Start his Professional Career?

(年輕人如何學習去做一個優秀工程師?)

1) To learn how the government operates and the economy function in the real world and the existence of political institutions, social establishment, and commercial interest groups.

(要了解現實世界中，政府如何運行，經濟是如何作用；以及政治組織、社會階級和商業利益團體的存在。) 

2) Construction business is attached to history, culture and custom of the country and society. A successful engineer has to know humanity, social behaviors, tradition and conventional wisdom; not dismiss them as redundancy soon to be discarded in the process of modernization. 

(工程事業植基於歷史、文化與社會習慣。成功的工程師必須知道人性、社會行為、傳統，與常識；不能認為在現代化過程這些都是累贅。)

3) Engineering is an art rather than a science: approaches to the clients, colleagues or even competitors should be more civic and in tight link with humanity and common sense.

(工程學很大的成分是藝術，而非科學：與業主、同事甚至競爭者溝通，應該是文明，且與人性與常識有更大的關係。)

4) The corruption and rent seeking will be hard to diminish in the construction business, however, it will be reduced in an open society and free market. An engineer will only be prosperous to learn reasoning, contention and compromise a bustling democracy. 

在工程產業中，貪污與尋租，現實上無法根絕，但在開放社會與自由市場中，卻會輕緩。工程師只有在活潑的民主制度中，藉反覆的說理、競爭，與妥協中獲得成功。)

5) The professionals don't produce, manufacture or build, they offer design solutions based on knowledge accrued through education and training. Plus, it requires good "judgement" based on experience, analysis and creativity, distinguishing them from ordinary people.

(專業工程師並不親自生產或建造，他們係以由教育與訓練累積的知識，提出設計方案。與一般人不一樣的地方，就是能基於經驗、分析，與創意，而提出好的判斷。)

6) Right altitude shall be most important for freshmen: steadfast when offered elementary skill and details, passionate with curiosity breeding innovation and creativeness leading to maturity, and trust the systems and accept the lead of the higher-up with patience.

(對新進工程人員而言，正確的態度，包括學習基本功夫、深入細節時的沉穩；由好奇心孕育出改革、創新進化到成熟時的長保熱情；以及相信制度、接受先進前輩指導的耐心。)

7) Young engineers must understand the modern construction industry essentially is governed with human distrust: terms of contracts, laws, certificates, checks, guarantees, tests, investigations and reports, are used to instigate the antagonism between, the parties with confronting interests.

(另一方面，現代工程產業的複雜，很多是建立在人與人間的互不信任，契約條件、法律、證明、檢查、測試、保證、調查，報告等需求，更不用說挑起利益衝突者間爭議，再去協調解決的機制。)

3. Construction Industry and its Significance to Total Economy:

(基礎工程與總體經濟發展的關係：)

1).  An economy develops quickly if there is good infrastructure, or to lose momentum.

(有好的基礎建設，經濟發展可以快速。)

2).  Infrastructure projects construction stimulates demand of building material, machine and tools, furniture, and services; thus, speed up industrious development. And when economy grows, the construction market thrives. 

(進行基礎建設會刺激建材、機具與工具、家具與各項服務的需求。當經濟發展快速，營建市場繁榮。)

3).  Young countries need civil engineers to draw national development plans for years and decades up to cabinet level. It is the term “technocrats" for people with expertise hard to be replaced under different regimes. 

年輕國家需土木工程師擬定多年國家發展計畫，直至內閣層級，故不同，甚至是敵對的政權會用同樣的技術官僚。)

4).  Construction people sometimes risked to become accomplices of powerful people stealing public money. The infrastructure contracts usually involve tremendous sums and require different sub tier companies to perform the works; the illicit money is easy to hide and park. The contractors are easily to be blamed.   

(工程師有時會淪為竊國政客的貪汙共犯，此因工程契約牽涉金錢數額龐大，又需多層包商共同完成工作，故容易藏錢。)

4.  Young Engineers Must Determine the Earlier the Better in their Career, based on Personality, Talent or Linkage, to Work as:

(年輕工程師應依其個人特質、才能與背景儘速決定其職場選項：)

1) Consultant or Contractor. (顧問公司或施工廠商) 

2) Technical or Managerial cadet. (技術或管理專業。)

3) Domestic or International figure. (國內或國際工程。)

4) Employed or boss. (受雇者或老闆。)

5. The Modern Construction Industry and its Major Players:

(現代營建業組成與參與者類：)

1) Frontage Players. 

    (1)    General Contractors

    (2)    Consulting Engineers

    (3)   Architects

    (4)   Workers, Labor Gangs and Subcontractors

    (5)   Specialty Contractor

    (6)   Employers

2) Supporting Entities.

    (1)   Bank

    (2)   Insurance Company

    (3)   Investment Company or Fund

    (4)   Operator

3) Third Party Participants: notaries, lawyers, inspectors, laboratories, certifiers, 

appraisers, unions, arbitrators

4) Stakeholders

    (1)   Public

    (2)   Authority

    (3)   Neighborhood and Locals

6. Remuneration, Feeling of Fulfilment, and Chances of Promotion in Different Entities(在性質不同工程單位，可能遇到的狀況：待遇、滿意感，晉升機會)

1) Academy 

  (1) Nationalization and bureaucratization of educational institution.

  (2) Fate, connections, and politic play significantly in the assignment and promotion

        of faculty positions.         

  (3) Inspiration, heart and soul are still required in developing scientific and   

        engineering theories      

  (4)   Limited monetary remuneration augmented with infrequent plaudits complete 

        full reward scheme of scholars

2) Professional entities such as architects and consulting firms

   (1)  The remuneration for working at architects and consultants is based on  

          expertise not be quantified. 

   (2)  The managers of architects and consulting firms are critical for a work 

          environment for efficiency and competition; deserving high income

   (3)   Gains such as profit, dividend, interest, rent and royalty are offered to the 

          employees in the form of company stock, partnership, or special agreement

   (4)   The rates and prices of consultancy contracts are low by international  

           standard,  their pay expected continue to grow in Taiwan

3) Construction firms

    (1)   Contractors command more resources than any other players in the industry  

          and the pay difference among their staffs is determined by contribution

    (2)   The construction companies are under marginal pressure to meet the 

          requirement

    (3)   EPC will allow the constructor to do the design and build works, and so the 

          construction firms are better to nurture the professionals, technical or 

          managerial 

    (4)   Specialty contractors if have more control on expertise shall be more dominant 

          as the nature of the works when economy evolved and the project sophisticated

4) Government Employees 

     (1)  In many Asian countries, the government employees are prestigious despite its 

           low salary and retrained power. The reasons may be the employment is 

           permanent and accessible by the graduates inexperienced but good at 

           examination

     (2)  But as the economy grows the government enact laws and regulations, much 

          less flexible for civil servants making them not so comfortable and hesitate to go 

          after the government posts

5) Bosses or self-employed

      (1) The rigor and aggressiveness to found an enterprise will only attach to a 

         young brain; so, people have to determine whether to be boss or self-employed at 

         early stage of life

      (2)  Though a contractor needs capital, follow engineers, business connections, 

         access to resources for execution; in Taiwan the sub-let system and high context 

         culture in favor of collaboration between the individuals will allows new comers 

         to become entrepreneurs before they’re matured

       (3) Construction people often risked to become accomplices of authority, super or 

         sub tier contractors stealing public money. The fraud can be exposed and those 

         ones forsaking ethic principles would be sacrificed. 

       (4) Unlike many developing worlds, Taiwan escaped endemic corruption during 

         and after the days massive infrastructure projects are under construction. If you 

        want to be a boss in Taiwan, the risk is smaller

7. Features of Construction Industry explained in 5M:

(以人、機、料、錢，市場說明營建業特質：)

1)  Man

      (1) Power to drive Individuals and Organizations to achieve Business Goal:

       - Nature of Power

       - Organization

       - Leaders

       - Power Distance

      (2) Managerial cadre:

       - Inflated Titles for Professionals

       - Recruitment

       -        Manage self-motivated and highly intelligent workers

       - Professional and Occupational

      (3) Project-based or Department-oriented(functional) Management:

       - Diploma Over-Trump Proficiency

       - Company’s Shrived HQ

     (4) Personal and organizational behaviors:

       -        Company Culture related to Size

       -        High and Low Context Cultures

     (5)  Labor laws, quality, incentives, unions

      -         Labor and Taxation Laws in Taiwan

      -        Taiwan’s Scrupulous Professionals

2)  Machine

     (1)  Prototype, bespoke; portable, fixed

     (2)  Operation, maintenance and repair

     (3)  Rental and owning

     (4)  Construction method and the machine/plant selected

 3)  Material

     (1)   Local and Conventional Material shall be chosen for Construction

     (2)   Green Construction

     (3)   Material and Equipment incorporated into Permanent Project

     (4)   Nominated Subcontractor

4)  Money

     (1)   Payment: cash, in kinds or goods (barter), deferred (BT), franchise revenue  

     (BOT, PFI)

     (2)   Standard international contracts to regulate: FIDIC, NEC3 (New Engineering 

     Contract3), AIA(American Institute of Architects), JCT forms of Contract(Joint  

     Contract Tribunal) ... etc.

     (3)   Non-technical People to Control Money.

5)  Market

     (1)   Contractors of Lemming Mentality

     (2)   Style of Competition: Lowest Bid, Evaluated Lowest Bid, Value for Money

     (3)   Elements of Competition

     (4)   Defying the International Norms

8.  Working Overseas(海外工程):

1)  Evolution of International Construction Projects: 

    (1) Stag 1: Free Movement of Construction Resources across the Borders.

    (2) Stage 2: Work Hard vs Work Smart!

    (3) Stage 3: Investment Security Trump Everything and in Favor of the  

     Establishment.

2)  Distribution of Added Value under the New Construction Market Order:

    (1) "Labor"

    (2) Between technical and commercial professionals

3)  Chances for Taiwanese Construction Industry to go for Overseas Market.

4)  Adjustment Imperative for Company System and Policy.

5)  Assignment of People to Run Overseas Works.  

6)  Mental Readiness for Construction Companies to undertake Overseas Business.

7)  License, Registration, Special Permit for Foreign Contractor.

8)  Acknowledge of difference and handicaps:

9)  Unmanageable Risks: 

10) Manageable Risks (with care and monetary provision):