(NTUST, 5908701)

Part 5, Advanced Civil Construction, 台科大高等土木施工學教材(2022) 

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

(mtkaoforum31@gmail.com)

3) The social factors that interact and influent the industry and professionals

a. The level and timing infrastructure works having been built in relation with stages of economy development in different countries:

Quick developing economy really needs good infrastructure to keep bustling, or to lose momentum. Consider the case 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.

Construction of infrastructure projects for its diverse requirement will stimulate demand of building material, construction machine and tools, furniture, and services like advertisement banking. On the other hand, when social and economic developments come up, the construction industry will be benefited, for example, people are more affordable for new houses.

b. Culture, custom and history as background of construction contracts and their execution.

Civil engineering is always considered as sort of physical science and employees or managers of construction companies require high degree of engineering expertise and mechanical knowledge; this is especially true in developing countries where tradition could be dismissed as a redundancy soon to be given away in the course toward modernization. 

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 with transcending mind must understand that the contracts and the trading system they based on can be functioning and become significant only when they’re known to conform to the concept and behavior of the market which may not be occidental as they learned under western influence.

It's easy for engineer, to accept science and engineering fundamentals in school and be a good expert afterward; but to be a successful construction industrialist one has to secure more humanities attainment when he want to be the company leader and industry visionary later in the career with "construction" is an art rather than a science in his mind.

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.

c. How serious a society is concerned with public affairs and their trust on technical people in terms of national development plans, budget allocation and relevant laws?

Important government posts in young democracies need participation of civil engineers. Often, they hold positions up to the cabinet level drawing national development plans for years and decades. It is the term “technocrats" applicable for those people that their expertise is hardly to be replaced under regimes of different ideologies. Possibly their political life will outlive the politicians promoted them.

d. The stability, clarity and efficiency of political system:

However, construction people sometimes risked to become accomplices of those powerful stealing public money. It is because infrastructure contracts usually involve tremendous sums and require different sub tier companies to perform the works, so that the illicit money is easy to hide and their parking is handy. 

The harm can't be controlled as there are wicket foreign governments eager to provide unrestricted loans and aids in the name of infrastructure development to the unprincipled and unaccountable politicians for bad political intention.

Thus, 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 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/)

Contractors always excuse the need to survive as the reason to be part of the kleptocracy, but the cruel truth is construction contracts can be lucrative, and most of the times flawless, under the coverage of the powerful. Systematic fraud will have devastated the entire economy and the civil engineers can be blamed as conspirators of the scam.

Professionalism should be the only antidote to fight the greedy 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.

e. Power, organization and the leader.

The implementation of construction projects needs a robust industry consist of more than individuals. The organizations in the form of companies and institutes fulfill the requirement; and it means, the exercise of leadership and coordination between the different organizations and individuals are essential to the efficiency and success.

Interestingly, people always refrain from acknowledging the importance of “power” as to administer or lead an organization.   

Man loves power, and its essence is boundless and never are satisfactory to obtain. Sometimes the synonym of power is glory, and the remuneration, fame and promotion of the both can be used as useful and positive incentives within the organization for individuals. And so, we’ve leader and their authority.

Leaders in the construction industry can be exhibited in the form of bosses, managers or doyens; people with different personality will be able to find their places.

2. Preparation and Choices by Engineers for their Career

1) Keep curiosity and sensitivity for things around:

a. Identify the model figures in the related academy, companies or business; either for their achievement or failures. Through the following up of the individuals and their career, young men will know more about the industry and the business.

It’s important to learn from your rivals; the competition, envy or simple disdainfulness could serve as strong motives for people serious to obtain progress. 

Man needs enemy but he also needs to know ow to make reconciliation.

b. Make certain for what you really want, and set up your career goal as early as possible. 

Whether or not the goal is achievable or reasonable must and can be checked with rationality.

As an engineer, the efforts to realize career goal must be passionate and sustainable; a state of complacency will stop one’s learning process and is the major reason that an engineer cease to advance. 

So, when people find they’re not so curious about many things in daily life as before, it will be alarming for losing a critical tool in developing their wisdom.
Sometimes, commercial success can confuse the career goal that people set for their original intention, either people can go contented or even wilder. It has to be balanced.

 

c. Try to be an intellectual not to bend to the public opinion easily.

During the proceeding of public works construction, many people that may include politicians, end users, stake holders, contracting parties, and work crews, will try to exercise their influence for their benefit. 

The means can be persuasion, violence, contractual imperatives, overwhelming public opinions, or anything that may cause much pressures to bend the professionals.

And only the Engineers are intellectuals, sorts of brainy persons who engages in intensive reasoning and deep thinking, they shall be responsible for the works completed in common good; he shall defy the illogic and fight against near sight of the ordinary people though knows they are holding power. 

2) Understand your own: 

a. Personality decided over 50% of what and how people will take their jobs -

Introvert or extrovert, competitive or pacific, simple or sophisticated, work in solo or in group, daring or scrupulous, acute or slow, commanding or compliant, polemics or quiet, etc.

b. Capability 

Knowledge, expertise, proficiency, logic, skill, common sense, morality quotient, etc., though are difficult to be evaluated objectively, but all can be learned through endeavors, and therefore measured by the people themselves.

c. Background and experience 

While it’s a fact that people are much influenced by their back-ground, family, friends, teachers, seniors, neighbors, etc., for their interest, intention and future; many fail to distinguish it’s a “gift” or a” must”.

3) Education and training

a. Expertise according to mechanics and disciplines: 

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

b. Disciplines according to the necessity to implement the projects: 

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. Young engineers shall Identify their own roles in an uncertain future and prepare skill and proficiency according to individual's aptitude for adaptation:

However, in a real world they should not be too sentimental and bound by degrees of the objectivism; so, in most of the cases he has to obtain as many as possible licenses, certificates, and academic degrees in line with many countries' system: diploma, licenses, certificates, verdicts of on job training, etc. 

d. Professional " skill" to be nurtured: 

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.

e. The professionals shall make a choice as early as possible according to their own awareness and capability: 

consultant or contractor, technical or managerial, in-house or at site, official or private, domestic or international, employed or boss; before coming to age, say 30s. The reasons are in two: 1). there won’t be employers permit you to work many different jobs and make final choice. 2). your brain power won’t allow you to swift between jobs of opposite nature passing the peak.

 

f. Among all, attitude will decide everything:

Young engineers modest in their approach at workplace will allow them to develop the required leadership, and accumulate the knowledge regarding professionalism and humanity; all are indispensable to their maturity. The kind of gracious start will grant them a prominent position in the industry and help to grip the trend of market change.

 

In other words, people when contact with complicated real world, habitual vision will probably prejudice them for long before back to a more rational and pragmatical track. 

Defiance to the establishment, either the organizations or the powerful is usual for young men. However, if the distant uncertainty of one’s future can be conceptualized into a firm belief that the norms of the competing world will be built on rules and discipline, the struggles that every man is enemy to every man won’t last long.

Open mind shall be most important to young hearts; though it’s difficult!

 (NTUST, 5908701)

Part 4, Advanced Civil Construction, 台科大高等土木施工學教材(2022) 
MT KAO (Blog: http://mtkaoforum31.blogspot.tw/)

(mtkaoforum31@gmail.com)

2)      Supporting Entities:

(1). Banks

Banks offer credit lines, grant loans, and acting as agents to collect or pay bills, draft, and cheques to companies or individuals doing business of construction and engineering.

Banks issue guarantee letters or cheques to the clients for bid bond, performance bond, advance payment bond, and warranty bond at the request of construction entities such as construction companies, design consultants, professional engineers, and architects.

In many cases, banks will issue letter of credit for contractors to buy equipment, material and service required to complete the project. There will be overdraft facilities for companies to pay outstanding amount reasonably required in performing contracts with ultimate owners, the main contractors or upper tier contractors.

Banks will evaluate the profitability, sizes, collateral, and reputation of the company, and grant them amount of credit and quote the premium and interest rates; over time there will be fluctuation.

There is possibility that the banks agreeing to offer loans for BT, BOT, or BOO projects, based mainly on feasibility, completion guarantee, and the ultimate owner of the projects (and in the case of overseas projects, the government and the owner). Usually commercial banks need backups of fund, investment companies or even state.

When construction related entities wouldn't obtain the credit lines as required or the existing credit amount sharply reduced, they could be pushed toward insolvency. The consequence usually is very serious and could probably invoke chain reactions for subcontractors and sub vendors for several times the amount main contractors indebted.

If the state won't go for rescue, banks, subcontractors, vendors, their employees will be induced for damages like the case happened to the second biggest contractor, Carillion of UK. But normally in a democracy, no sane politicians will vote continuing to finance the troublemaker, that's why banks are cautious in Taiwan.

(2).  Insurance Company

All the construction contracts need insurance company to provide coverage for damages to property and persons related to the projects unless it happens due to excepted risks.

The employers wish themselves and the follow contractors to be compensated for maximum and paying minimal fee. The public work owners are big customers so they will prescribe what they want in the contract document, and supposed insurance companies and the contractors usually will comply the stipulation.

However, in many occasions the crooked contracting parties seek to reduce, even very few percent, insurance premium, will ask acquiescent insurers to provide conforming policies with internal agreement deleting the critical clauses demanded by the employers. Though the insurance companies can be more law abiding but there are brokers sticking to the old way doing business; it is a headache for employers and honest contractors.

Compensation to the contracting parties when perils occur spelled another trouble for contractors, too. The appraisers' proffer can be wide ranged and unpredictable. On the other hand, some of the contractors in Taiwan didn't invest sufficient in construction facilities to avoid risk but come up with plumped figures for compensation and made money with obvious and intentional negligence of the insurers.

There were stories that the re-insurer like Lloyd's of London rejected to reinsure tunnel work construction of Taiwan in 90's as many "Names" losing so much money. We don't know the root reasons of tunnel failure are the result that they're too hard to drill or the peril mostly caused by insured, appraisers and insurers yet.

In the United States, the project surety is issued mainly by insurance company or bondsman for the full contract amount or its double. It's under different philosophy that in US, the employers want to be guaranteed for in-time and quality project completion so the insurer or bondsman needs to provide greater than or equal amount of project value to convince the employers that they've ability to finish the works.

And in place like Taiwan, the employers demand pays immediately an amount no less than their loss in the project with reservation that they can claim the difference of their loss later. Once people in Taiwan advocated that the insurance company can issue policies to serve as performance bond or for other purpose but find it difficult to implement, so the alternative only remains on the law.

The insurance companies provide so much in the construction projects, they're indispensable, but many in the industry including high ranking persons have wrong concept toward the insurance. The biggest problem is they can't distinguish the difference between contingency cost and insurance premium paid, the mistakes come from that they considered everything can be covered by insurance.

They may recognize there should be price escalation and it has been covered by inflation formula, and they continue to think that any other risk shall be identified and priced in the work items and a risk that can't be named shouldn’t be a risk. However, an experienced constructor will perceive that it is a cost attached to the project only in a way that nobody will know how and for what magnitude it will happen.

Finally, people responsible to establish the project budget will consider the contingency provision shouldn’t be entered for unnamed items lest it should become the additional profit of the tenderer. A total wrong but widely accepted by the people here.

(3). Investment Company or Fund

The international investment company or fund strolled around the globe seeking opportunity for investment in infrastructure projects as they felt revenue should be stable and return lucrative. But they were meticulous in Taiwan as they cared about the risks in design, construction and operation of those projects may not be in a way they’re familiar with. 

The tedious regulations imposed by the government and "not in my backyard" populism would be detrimental to the budget and progress issues which are most critical to the infrastructure projects: returns are slower and lower, financial overburden heavier, and the market changes cancelling the necessity of the projects. And in the extreme case, the franchise company can be bankrupted.

So, the international investment company or fund including Japanese trading houses have to wait until now, start to buy shares of solar power plants, wind mills and sewage system when they feel the government, industry and the related player are more matured with regards to PPP initiative.

The international investment company or fund do bring in another risk mitigation concept: placing more emphasize on unanticipated and disadvantageous market changes in demand or supply, and the long-term interest rates and the underlying asset value; subject to variation in the so-called risky macro environment.

There can be two types of investment in infrastructure projects: one is to secure the opportunity for investment when everything is still blank considering that the profitability is proportionate; the other is to take over the project when everything is known and the return fixed shunning of risks.

In Taiwan the real estate business elicits capital and talent for its high growth and profitability. Developers are busy to hunt lands, deal with building codes, handle design and construction, and sell house and mansions, that they're not so interested in PPP initiatives. They could be tomorrow’s investors for ppp initiatives. 

(4). Operator

After completing the public facilities, the government agencies or the private plants or building owners need people to do operation, functional checks, servicing, repairing or replacing of necessary devices, equipment, and machinery; and sometimes for system adjustment and expansion. The requirement hastens the delivery of the new facilities while many of the owners don't have the experience to do O&M especially the government agencies under recruitment, financial and efficiency restraint.

They're O&M companies, which should be an inseparable part of construction industry, always working under the poor financial conditions as politicians and capitalists over the world are good at dispense money for new fund buildings and facilities but less generous for their operation and maintenance. But now it is different.

Technicality will also be favorable to the O&M companies. The Engineers and the Contractors alike need the Operators' feedback to get sufficient knowledge for new facilities. And it's a tendency that the government prefer to using public–private partnership for O&M of the facilities to solve problems of lacking of flexibility in financial support and employee’s recruitment.

Over the years, the owners, government or private will ask the contractors to offer engineering, construction, plus O&M; there will be different models, and more sophisticated management contract will include improvements in efficiency and performance, which only is possible to include as much scope of service in one hand.

As it evolved, the Operator may be required to collect bills on behalf of the utility company, and may accept some collection risk, especially the clients are governmental, and the customers will be general public.

Engineers of next generation must think about whatever he will  be, it tells of tomorrow’s engineers to realize the profession is service oriented, and to follow money's lead.

3)      Third-Party Participants: notaries, law firms, inspectors, laboratories, certifiers, appraisers, unions, arbitrators

The modern construction contract bring in piles of paper plus those un-printed storing in the computer, most of them presented as letters, reports, records, sketches, lists, certificates, diagrams, affidavits, pamphlets, photos, books, all of them filled with words, lines, symbol, sound, totem enough to decide the success or failure of the projects, though nobody is able to read through.

It's more than computer technology that the frontage players, supporting entities and participants of construction contracts all are the accomplice to ask for more document. For example, when contractors want to get loans, the banks may ask them to get reports from law firms to examine the contract conditions and to ensure the applicants are accepting everything. Or, the clients may demand the records of successful operation in completed facilities, certain laboratories may be asked to do the inspection works and submit the reports accordingly.

When the required documents bearing the names of the supposed independent party and showing the subject party has met the requests are received by the enquirer, it will be deemed as true and authentic. And as it evolves, there will be development such as:

* The party which demands information only trust prints from certain parties. Because the former now depend on the latter to identify the authentication of submissions from strangers or aliens.

* Though that the verifying party shall be independent and only responded to the requesting party, but the demanding party will have a big say to recommend the "right" verifying party; and in most of the cases, the requesting party will comply.

* If the verifying party has long working relationship with the requesting party, he would have more confidence to verify what he needs to verify within sort time frame, though they are independent and neutral. It happens to law firms, inspectors, laboratories, certifiers, appraisers, and arbitrators.

The industry reward regular customers, so big companies that always have more chances to contact third party participants will find it's easier and more swiftly to work out required document demanded by their clients. It's the same that the independent parties or organizations who are reputable in their domain also receive more recommendation from establishment.

Languages and culture should be the problem but not the only, the reality of the world is that the westerners will go to international arena using contracts, codes, standards, specification and practice the same as what are used in their homeland. The advantage is more apparent when the third-party participants with fame are confident to endorse them; actually, sort pf fortification.

Asian contractors go out to compete international giant, would have encountered invisible barricades, sometimes can be fatal to the projects. The story can be simple just because he wouldn't be familiar to and get supported by the established third-party participants who historically are not accustomed to working with oriental minnows. Right now, they’re real third-party participants. 

Despite its laissez-faire appearance, 21st century capitalism is complicated in its work division, allocation of added values and borderless monopoly to collect rents. 

In construction industry, the conventional added value attached to exercise of craftsmanship and dexterity to maneuver the machines now become relatively small as competition is harsh between the same contractors of developing economies. The new added value is created even to surpass what can be obtained from the exercise of the substantial works. The people familiar with "norm", "standard", and "proof" usually can avoid to do the risky and competitive tangible works and usually are done by the firms and organizations in the developed economies.

4) Stakeholders: Public, Authority, Neighborhood and Locals

(1). Public

The public are the users of infrastructure and facilities, but they are volatile and can be convinced for opposite proposals. And it seems only the politicians claim they’re their representatives are knowing everything and the engineers have little to say for the true benefit of the public. 

The professionals in Taiwan aren’t prestigious and dignified facing the public, instead, the media, councilors and TV host will be louder in all technical aspects than the engineers. Because the public demand 100% perfect over construction projects: budget, progress, durability, aesthetic, and functional for at all time, which are not possible in engineering, but they are spoiled because they’ve votes.

The politicians will take chance at the expense of the professionals, who will be depicted as pedant never knowing the true requirement of the people and the progressiveness of the society. Of course, there will be sometime that the public will be awakened learning politicians won't fulfill their commitment but the professionals has been tainted during the process. It’s easy in Taiwan the professionals including those from academic will be the scapegoat but their credit will never be recovered.

Infrastructure construction sometimes is associated with corruption and scandal, and some professionals may be involved, giving the impression that the engineers are not cleaner than the officials and councilors. So the public is skeptical to the construction contracts and insist to have stringent supervision and they may feel comfortable when there will be supervision on top of supervision.

So, most of the government agencies in charge of public works construction in Taiwan openly claim that they will accept the citizens to supervise the construction works, a political approach, but a hurt to the professionals. 

(2). Authority

The Authority referred here means the government agencies responsible to award permits, edit regulations, or decide the applicable codes so that the owner and the contractors shall observed for planning, design, construction, occupation and operation from initiation, completion until operation.

Land acquisition for public works shall be local government's responsibility, and usually it’s a procrastination process; maybe 5% of recalcitrant landowner will stop 100% of the works for commencement; and you’d see every day in Taiwan.

Safety measures are the critical issues that the government will demand the owners and their contractors to follow though. If incident to happen, the law and regulation will allow the authority (under Labor Ministry and their local branches) to exert draconian punishment. It’s also possible that the public attorney can indict the representatives of the companies or institutions for crime charges. It’s also part of the reasons that the man contractors would sub-let the works to smaller companies with the ideas that the subcontractors will shoulder the responsibility.

Traffic diversion plans around the site in congested towns and area can be critical which the foreign companies coming to Taiwan will have difficulty to think about; but the commuters are sacrosanct. One of the impact to urban construction, for instance, can be the use of more tower cranes in lieu of the mobile cranes. 

Disposal for wasted and surplus material shall be subject to the grand soil reuse and disposal plan by local government; in general, the cost of excavated soil dumping is “managed” by people close to mafia and hardly the outcome is rational.

Utilities authority poses another problem for the developers and the contractors; outstanding drawings and missing locations cause the digs delaying and costly. Sometimes dangers would emerge. 

License for buildings and plants shall go through the utility authority to ensure links with existing system. In Taiwan, utility company is called company, but people would think it's a kind of authority, not least they are run by government.

The fishing, agriculture and irrigation cooperative surely are the juridical association membered by ordinary people, but they are offered with the rights for fishing, planting and irrigation in their premises, to which any encroachment shall be bought with exorbitant price through hard negotiation.

In rural area down to the village level, public or private project investors shall work amicably with the authority.

(3). Neighborhood and Locals

The mentality of Nimby (Not in my back yard) affected construction very much; nuclear power plants and its refusal treatment can't be solved, for instance, as well as substations and transmission lines. 

Roads, parks and sewers can't be built in many places as people don't want to be disturbed even for short time. The stories may be dated back to the old days that the authority abuse the power conscript land and put the people against construction down.

And now it goes for another extremity, for example, people don't want to accept any deflection or slight damages in their house when the excavation nearby have influence even within the tolerable value. Some of the people exercise extra judicial means to stop the works. It happens in chemical and power plants the neighborhood always cemented together to bar or interrupt construction and operation.

The governments of all level are relatively weak because the officers and councilors need votes; temples and churches for their grass root nature always sided with neighborhood defying the legitimate development. It's devastating but foreign and sometimes people from big city not well aware they are standing in lower ground if Buda and God aren’t stand beside them.

Many business people might miss the days when construction wouldn't have any problem to deal with ordinary people decades ago. But it's the democracy that people have chosen the system to defend their property and will; and as it flourishes the developers and the contractors must have patience in communication with the neighborhood and locals to move the project

 (NTUST, 5908701)

Part 3, Advanced Civil Construction, 台科大高等土木施工學教材(2022) 

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, the 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, the architects continue to plead the government for: 

- The fees allowed for public building design are calculated as fix percentage of construction price, and it’s 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. 

- The 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 players to cope with 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 will only receive the payment according to rates and quantity entered in their contract with top tier contractors, which in most of the cases, are the replica of the main contract. 

- The gang leaders are left with the responsibility to call for 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 of income fluctuation to the labor gangs and subcontractors; which is not feasible when the project deviates or the market shudders. There could be argument between disputing parties. But former and legal intervention sometimes cannot solve the problems, and people with engineer or manager sense won’t be easy to find a proper position in the disputes.

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 for the said structure; and now main contractor 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 is different: 

- Though engineers will draw plans, pen proposal, and check mistakes; construction work has to be carried out by labors, technicians and foremen with hands, and it's them to materialize white collar's ideas for all difficult, dirty and dangerous work environs. The practice had historical background dated back from the days that labors were in over supply and 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 have taken care and the assistance from the main contractors would have become unnecessary. People involved finally would agree the cost of those supervisory staff is duplicated and better to be 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 Taiwan construction industry become more vertically like fault line in many cases, i.e. a sub-tier contractor will do in situ construction; the other maybe the main contractor offering the name, provide guarantees, and take care of documentary works. It allows certain type and numbers of people venturing to obtain profit while the other parts have to struggle for mere survival all the way. A tendency more favorable to the speculators than the engineers. 

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 exert influence on construction labor supply in Taiwan. Crew number shrinks and members aged, they demand safety, reject toil, fall short in dexterity, hesitated to commit in works as their forerunner.

- The epidemic situation doesn’t help to improve the situation, those TCN (third country national) qualified to join the public work construction are delayed in visa application. 

- The work conditions at construction sites, compared to factories and service sector are bad, and there’s no longer tremendous wage difference. The parallel was like coal mines of Taiwan in 60's: unsafe, hard, rough and low pay. The workers were aged and disappearing. Contrary to what officials thought of that it was the exploitative owner-labor relationship hurting the industry, the mine owner didn’t close the operation until the final moment because old men didn’t know how to make a living in other industry.

(5). Specialty Contractor

a. First the specialty works was honored because the leading technology it contained and the high prices and rates the users having to pay close to the international level. 

- The construction history in Taiwan was recorded with people with spirit de entrepreneur scrambled to imitate, create or simply request authorization for the imported technology: the construction method seldom seen before were eagerly studied by engineers, foremen and fellow labors engaged in the works; equipment copied and made in local; the construction material engineered and manufactured in Taiwan to replace the imported; all in high efficiency.

- The ideas to respect patent right were weak before millennium, giving time for people to learn, to make and to try.

- The second stage came quickly, many of the international specialty contractors had to withdraw from Taiwan as natives learnt swiftly and took over; 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. But their financial success didn’t match devotion and risks they had paid:

- For one who successfully to become specialty contractor, there must be several crumbled; the speculation cost was so high considering the huge cost they spent for development and sales’

- The market is small, and kind of infrastructure projects built is only prevailing over limited period. Taiwanese specialty contractors are not big enough to pioneer overseas market and at in the long run only received limited overhead and profit.

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

- Then the borderline between the specialty and general contractors is blurring and it’s hen and egg problem that the specialty contractors are not respected for their expertise. The industry will cease to progress technically because the people exhausted fighting international colleagues only attained mere survival in the event they could win. So, they wouldn't have motives and strength to go for another round of invention.

When the specialty contractors have little prospect to grow and go for international, it's not advisable for the freshman to develop their career in such companies.

(6). Employers

a. The employers play key roles in construction projects as they have vest-in interest for success of investment. 

- For public projects there will be elected officers and administrative in the government agencies speaking of detailed civil requirement but it has to be confined by opinions from experts, media, and councilors. 

- For private business, it seems like the investors have tremendous power searching for maximal benefit, but they have to be bound by laws, regulations and the same-public opinions, the hidden rule of democracy.

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

- Among the employers and 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 not joke that sometimes the turnkey contractors will appease the employers with guarantees for product sales (in quantity and price) in long period. 

- 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 hedged and assured, 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.

c. Public clients tend to be more difficult for they’re not allowed 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 that the routine won’t be routine. Only the professionals can offer solutions to remove the blocks huddling the launch of construction works. 

- 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.

 (NTUST, 5908701)

Part 2, Advanced Civil Construction, 台科大高等土木施工學教材(2022) 

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

(mtkaoforum31@gmail.com) 

1. History, Present and Future of Professionalism and Construction Industry

1) The income distribution change in the economy last few hundred years; and its implication to the earning and social status of professionals:

a. Prior to the industrial revolution, in Europe and US the ratio between the wealth generated from investment and bequeath was high compared to the income from laboring (through personal capability and efforts). The figure then fell until World War I cutting it by half until it surged again in 1970s. Now it reaches the same level as it was in 1790. The same u curve could also be obtained for the ratio between capital and labor income:

- Proper income in 19 Century means at least you have to obtain 20 to 30 times of average national income, and only top1% people would achieve it and they’re 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”.

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

- 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.

- Before industrialization, farmland was main source of wealth and income in Europe and US, and government bonds issued in countries able to manage fiscal. 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.)

- 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 trust the trend would not revert. But what happened between 1980 and now proving that it was just a transitory deviation.

- 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.

- 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 married 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)

b. Persisting technology improvement makes economy flourish and life better; still some people in each social class need to struggle for livelihood and survival. Will engineers defined today can find places for performance tomorrow? 

-  Labor and Capital income: the former includes salary, remuneration, bonus,

prize; and the latter will include profit, dividend, interest, rent and royalty.

- The computer/digital revolution is a major driver of inequality: It favors more skilled over less skilled; it increases the return to capital owners over labor; it enables or turbo-charge globalization, reducing employment and constraining wage-able services; it increase the income advantages of superstars and the super-lucky; it generates rents in highly imperfect markets. The top riches no more need so many people to attend them. 

-  So, the inequality aggravated after years 2000, and the people like Luddites during the first industrial revolution fear that the skills of their craft would go dumb during this Second Machine Age, and their commotion justifiable? Or really the smart machine and AI would create more jobs and enhance life quality?

-  As we understand now, progress in sensor technology allows machines to detect and respond to their environment; additive manufacturing displaces labor while reducing waste in materials, lowering the costs of customization and allowing for producing on demand(opposed to forecasted demand); the most surprising is in artificial intelligence (AI), machines uses learning algorithms and high speed network access to massive databases to perform complex tasks without the benefit of algorithms that tell them precisely what to do.

-   In the fundamental feature of market systems, most people including engineers gain their income by selling their labor, if they’re rendered technologically redundant or no longer command an income adequate to provide a socially acceptable standard of living.

c. What will a young civil engineer choose to be? Occupational, professionals or super managers considering their restrained income compared to capitalist and renter (or rent seekers)? Is it correct to borrow “meritocratic extremism” to justify the tremendous pay difference among the individuals?

-   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. 

-   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.     

-   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.

-   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.

-   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.

-   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.

-  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

-   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).  Frontage Players: general contractors, engineers and consultants, architects, specialty contractors, labor gangs, investors.

(1) General Contractors

a. In most of the 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 most 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 as many public works can be carried out with minimum cost and completed in time desired by the officials and end users.

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 introduce further procrastination and induce secondary damages.

(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)

 

(NTUST, 5908701)
Advanced Civil Construction, 台科大高等土木施工學教材(2022) 

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

Part1, Brief for Semister Start from Feb. 2022

1.         History, Present and Future of Professionalism and Construction Industry.

 

1)     Income and social status of professionals compared with gains from investment, ventures, bequeath or corporate managers; last 200 years and trend in the future.

2)     The Modern Construction Industry and its Major Players

a.     Frontage Players: general contractors, engineers and consultants, architects, specialty contractors, labor gangs, employers.

b.     Supporting Entities: banks, insurance company, bondsman Investment Company or fund, operator.

c.      Third Party Participants: notaries, law firms, inspectors, laboratories, certifiers, appraisers, unions, arbitrators

d.     Stakeholders: public, authority, facility user, neighborhood and locals.

3)     The social factors that interact and influent the industry and professionals

a.     The level and timing infrastructure works having been built in relation with stages of economy development in different countries.

b.     Culture, custom and history as background of construction contracts and their execution.

c.      How serious a society is concerned with public affairs and their trust on technical people in terms of national development plans, budget allocation and relevant laws?

d.     The stability, clarity and efficiency of political system.

e.     Power, organization and the leader.

 

2.         Preparation and Choices by Engineers for their Career

1)     Keep curiosity and sensitivity for things around:

a.     Identify the model figures in the related academy, companies or business; either for their achievement or failures.

b.     Make certain for what you really want and check it with both rationality and passion.

c.      Try to be an intellectual not to bend to the public opinion easily.

2)     Understand your own:

a.     Personality - introvert or extrovert, competitive or pacific, simple or sophisticated, work in solo or in group, daring or scrupulous, acute or slow, commanding or compliant, polemics or quiet, etc.

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

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

3)     Education and training

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

b.     Disciplines according to project implementation: 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" to be nurtured: 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.

e.     Early stage choice according to awareness and capability: consultant or contractor, technical or managerial, domestic or international, employed or boss; before coming to age, say 30s.

f.     Young engineers with good learning attitude and confidence, eager to assume the leadership, sensitive to the humanity, will grip industry trend and market change, are the winners among the professionals.

 

3.         Remuneration, Feeling of Fulfilment, and Chances of Promotion in Different Entities

1)     Academy:

a.     Nationalization and bureaucratization of educational institution.

b.     Fate, connections, and politic may play part in the assignment and promotion of faculty positions.

c.      Inspiration, heart and soul are still required in developing scientific and engineering theories.

d.     Limited monetary remuneration augmented with infrequent plaudits complete full reward scheme of scholars.

2)     Professional entities such as architects and consulting firms:

a.     The professionals don't produce, manufacture or build, they offer design report and solutions based on expertise that can hardly be quantified; so they receive bonus and prize based on subjective review in addition to the fixed salary.

b.     Managers of architects and consulting firms are critical to create a sound work environment for efficiency, recruit people of high talent, take the lead in competition, recognize and reward those who work hard with decent pay, and find the new customers and win their trust; so they deserve high income.

c.      As a trend and also out of necessity, capital gains such as profit, dividend, interest, rent and royalty are offered to the employees in the form of company stock, partnership, or special agreement.

d.     The rates and prices of consultancy contracts are low by international standard, so that the professional’s pay are restrained in Taiwan.

3)     Construction firms

a.     Contractors command more resources than any other players in the industry and the pay difference among their staffs is significant and decided by project profit and loss.

b.     In Taiwan, the owners prefer low cost and hasten progress. So always construction companies are put under extreme pressure to meet contractual requirement, and only staff (leading by a relentless boss) can withstand the grinding work condition will get higher pay and the employment, not much to do with their proficiency, not mentioning feeling of achievement.

c.      Reformation that allow the constructor to do the works in design and build has been introduced to the market, and now that the industry is less fragmented so the construction firms can grow and allow the professionals either technical or managerial developing their skill and climbing the company ladder.

d.     Specialty contactors if have more control on expertise shall be more dominant as the nature of the works now are more than simple concrete pouring and rebar binding when economy evolved and the project more complicated.

4)     Government Employees

a.     In Taiwan and many Asian countries, the government employees are prestigious and respected despite its low salary and limited power. The reasons may be the employment is permanent and the work isn’t manual. In the case of civil engineering, the mandarins are responsible to certify the progress in every stage and accept the completed stuff of the project, highly influential to the public works and the contractors. So, can be the top choice of graduates.

b.     But as the economy grows the government enact many laws and regulations, which aren’t flexible in nature for implementation but the civil servants need to follow. In addition, the politicians, media and public frequently overrule the professed opinion; making young engineer uncomfortable and hesitate to go after the government posts.

c.      At the time when resources were scarce, only the government would be affordable to import construction technologies and appeal to the talents to work for big projects. It’s attractive for engineers. Now that working for private companies could get even better access for modern technology under more discerning evaluation. The incentives for young talents to work for government are drastically reduced.

5)     Bosses or self-employed

a.     In a market-oriented economy, the individuals are free to exercise will and power in their own enterprise plus that the sub-let system in Taiwan will allow new comers to deliver the works easy; then the threshold to start construction business looks low. Many young people thus select to become entrepreneurs before they can learn something as other’s employees.  

b.     A contractor needs capital, follow engineers, business connections, access to resources required for execution, and above all a mentality to lead the teammates you want to summon for successful performance; therefore, it requires years of experience. But the rigor and aggressiveness to found an enterprise will only attached to a young brain, then you’ve to determine whether to be boss or self-employed at early stage of your life.

c.      However, construction people often risked to become accomplices of authority, super or sub tier contractors stealing public money. The temptation are overwhelming: providing bad material, not build according to the drawing, faulting the contracts. The bosses always excuse themselves for the need of survival. But actually they like to enjoy lucrative contracts and believe they’re well protected. But in the long run the systematic fraud could be exposed and the professionals forsaking ethic principles would be sacrificed.
Unlike many developing world, 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.

 

4.         Resource Required for Project Implementation

1)     Man

a.     Power to drive Individuals and Organizations to achieve Business Goal: 

-Nature of Power

-Organization

-Leaders

-Power Distance

b.     Managerial cadre:

-Titles

-Recruitment

-Professional and Occupational

c.      Project-based or Department-oriented(functional) Management:

-Company’s Shrived HQ

-Diploma Over-Trump Proficiency

-Matrix Management

d.  Personal and organizational behaviors:

- Company Culture related to Size
- High and Low Context Cultures

e.  Labor laws, quality, incentives, unions

   - Labor and Taxation Laws in Taiwan

  - Taiwan’s Scrupulous Professionals

2)  Machine:

a.  Prototype, Bespoke; Portable, Fixed

b.  Operation, Maintenance and Repair

c.  Rental and Owning

d.  Construction Method and Machine Selected

3)  Material

a.  Local and Conventional Material as Priority

b.  Continuous Evolution of Construction Material

c.  Green Construction

d.  Material and Equipment incorporated into Permanent Project

4)  Money

a.  Payment

b.  Standard International Contracts

c.  Non-technical People to Control Money

 

5)     Market

a.         Contractors of Lemming Mentality

b.        Style of Competition Personality

c.         Elements of Competition

d.        Defying the International Norm

 

5.         Overseas Construction Project

1)     Historical Review (in Stages)

2)     Distribution of Added Value under the New Market Order

3)     Chances for Taiwanese Construction Industry in for Overseas Market

a.     Compete with Locals over Efficiency versus Providing Loan and Capital

b.     Contribution of better Construction Technology under Sublet System

c.      Possibility to undertake Planning and Design Service

4)     Adjustment Imperative for Company System and Policy

a.     allowance, vocation, compensation for tax, care of spouse and education of children

b.     Elite of each Discipline shall be Assigned

c.      Headquarter shall overcome the Difficulties to face Strange Accounting, Taxation, Currency Exchange, Law and Rules Abiding, Standards and Codes, Contractual Administration, Procurement, and Financing Arrangement

d.     The Company shall be ready to offer Money, Know-how, Credited work Experience and Talented People for Short Mobilization Time.

5)     Assignment of Right People to Run Overseas Works

6)     Conceptual Readiness for Construction Companies to undertake Overseas Business

a.     The company management shall be knowledgeable for overseas business

b.     Early Information shall be obtained through Local Agent, Sponsor or Representative. Wrong Contracts not signed for Commissions or Aim to continue the agent ship.

7)     License, Registration, Special Permit for Foreign Contractors

a.     Ownership of Land, Housing and Factory

b.     Permit for Business Operation

c.      Permit to import machine, permanent equipment and material

d.     Free to hire local engineers of required qualification and numbers

8)     Difference and Handicaps Working in Foreign Land

a.     Language

b.     Cultural Perception

c.      Code and Standard

d.     Safety and Environmental Protection Rules

e.     Tax Codes Interpretation and Application

f.       Labor Management