The Lighthouse Q1 2023

THE

OF M i C

Lighthouse Club Annual Ball 2023

A Silver Soiree

Book your seats HK$950 per person or tables of 10 or 12 pax

24 June 2023

7pm Reception Drinks

Dinner, dancing & entertainment from 8pm to 11pm

Dress code: Shimmering silver suits and gowns or black tie

Chairman’s Message

A warm welcome to all Lighthouse Club members, and all others in our construction industry reading this magazine, wherever you may be. From the UK to the Middle East, from Asia to Australia, and beyond, our wonderful Lighthouse Clubs around the world exist, because of you.

If you’re not yet a member, it’s simple to join via our website, www.lighthouseclubintl.com, or via your local Lighthouse Club.

Our work in Lighthouse Club International is ongoing and the development of the New Zealand branch continues. In Hong Kong, the last of the covid-related restrictions have been lifted and normality is returning, which includes arrangements for more events for our members.

The theme for this edition of the magazine is MiC, Modular Integrated Construction. MiC has largely been used for hotels, hostels, transitional housing, some private housing and public housing, so should be of interest for many of our readers. In Hong Kong, MiC has been mandated in certain public sector projects and opportunities for innovation exist at all stages of the project lifecycle. The advantages of MiC are numerous, including improvements in quality of the finished works, safety, reductions in the workforce and temporary works needed at the construction site, speed of construction and critical path reduction. Whilst MiC has its advantages, there are drawbacks too, which may explain why it has not been widely adopted internationally, with more traditional methods of construction remaining the norm – and herein lies the challenge for innovation.

The Lighthouse Club continues to support multiple causes for construction industry employees and their families. This includes financial aid to victims of construction industry accidents and their families, educational assistance, and assistance with medical and hospitalisation costs for those without adequate medical insurance. Further assistance is also provided in the form of sponsored days out for the affected families. The work of the charities and the additional support in the form of events and sponsorships is only achievable through the generosity of our members and income generated from the addition of new members. Please contact Lighthouse Club International or your local Lighthouse Club branch to find out more about how you can help.

Construction industry fellowship and networking remains the focus of our Lighthouse Clubs, with charitable activities undertaken where permitted by local jurisdictions. Please enjoy reading this magazine, share it with your industry colleagues, and check out the events advertised on your local branch website and/or our official international website.

Enjoy reading this magazine, and a big thank you to all our supporters and contributors.

Robert Gordon Chairman, Lighthouse Club International

Official website : www.lighthouseclubintl.com

The Lighthouse is online at www.issuu.com/rofmedia

About The Lighthouse Club

“The Lighthouse” is the magazine of Lighthouse Club International, originally established in 1998 as Lighthouse Club Asia Pacific Region and superseded in November 2017 by Lighthouse Club International. With its roots in England in 1956, the Hong Kong Branch was formed in 1986.

The aims of the Lighthouse Club are to promote good fellowship amongst its members who work in or are associated with the construction industry and to provide charitable assistance to those in need within the construction industry and to their dependents in qualifying cases.

In addition to the charitable works of the individual branches of the Lighthouse Club, Lighthouse Club International supports two related Hong Kong based charities which provide charitable assistance internationally. The James Battersby Lighthouse Club Educational Trust which provides assistance for education and training to qualifying young persons in the Asia Pacific Region; The Lighthouse Club International Benevolent Trust which provides assistance to relieving poverty and financial support to persons currently or previously employed in the building and civil engineering and allied trades.

The Lighthouse Q1 2023

Lighthouse Club International Suite 1901-2, Hopewell Centre 183 Queen’s Road East, Wan Chai, Hong Kong info@lighthouseclubintl.com

Administrator:

Elaine Man

E: info@lighthouseclubhk.com, T: +852 2736 9885

Editorial Committee:

Elaine Man / Elizabeth Dooley (Consulting Editor)

Janey Rogers / Keith Buckley / Mike Staley

Steve Tennant

Publisher:

Mike Staley

E: publisher@rofmedia.com , T: +852 3150 8988

Advertising: Bryan Chan

E: bryan@rofmedia.com, T: +852 3150 8912

Howard Tsang

E: howard@rofmedia.com, T: +852 3150 8988

Graphic Designer: Michelle Morkel

Designed & Published by ROF Media

Lighthouse Club International

Executive Committee:

Chairman

Robert Gordon, robert.gordon@burohappold.com

Immediate Past Chairman

Glenn Haley, glenn.haley@bclplaw.com

Chairman Elect

Jim Chessell, jchessell@bkasiapacific.com

Deputy Chairman

Keith Buckley, keith.buckley@lighthouseclubmacau.com

Secretary Position Vacant

Treasurer

Neil Roberts, neilr.lighthouseclub@gmail.com

Membership Secretary Neil O’Meara, neil.omeara@mcdgroup.com

Elected Branch Representative:

Australia David Gibson david.gibson@dga-group.com Nick Longley nick.longley@hfw.com Yazeed Abdelhadi yazeed_abdelhadi@yahoo.com

Cambodia Kerr Thomson kerr.thomson@covathinking.com

Hong Kong Neil Roberts neilr.lighthouseclub@gmail.com Steve Tennant stevetennanthongkong@gmail.com

Macau Keith Buckley keith.buckley@lighthouseclubmacau.com

Malaysia Pui Mun Teoh teoh@speedbrick.com

Myanmar John Anderson johna@meinhardt.net

Philippines Bert de Munck bdmunck@gmail.com

Singapore Jim Chessell jchessell@bkasiapacific.com

Thailand Gareth Hughes Gareth.hughes@rsmthailand.com

Vietnam Colin Johnston cjohnston@bkasiapacific.com

Honorary President and Honorary Life Chairman

John Battersby

Honorary Life Members

Keith Buckley - Macau

Phil Clarke - Macau

Willie Kay - Singapore

Les Leslie - Hong Kong & UK

Nick Longley - Hong Kong & Australia

Bert de Munck - Malaysia & Philippines

Steve Tennant - Hong Kong

Phil Thoburn - Philippines

7TH ANNUAL LAP DOG CHALLENGE

Raises a Colossal HK$2.5 million

The Lapdog Challenge is an endurance event like no other and the following companies are applauded for entering teams and giving their time and effort to do the training necessary and raise the funds they did. Let’s be honest, these “Olympians” have often put themselves through gruelling and punishing training regimes lasting anywhere from 5 months to 5 mins?!

The response to the call for sponsorship was incredible and this year was by far the largest total raised in the history of the event. The result of the massive efforts from the teams and the Lapdog organsers, the Lapdog Challenge 2022 raised a colossal HK$2,557,758!!

This cheque was presented by the Lapdog organisers to the senior Lighthouse Club Committee members who joined us for the evening!

Teams in the running:

BKAsiaPacific

Dragages

Gammon 1, Gammon 2

Hip Hing 1, Hip Hing 2

Leighton Asia

The Lighthouse Club HK Secretariat

Sygna

TCG Construction 1, TCG Construction 2

WT Partnership

Winning team with 622 laps - Hip Hing 1

Female solo category - Candice Lin - 130 laps

Male solo category - Chris Lui - 141 laps

Best team for fund raising - Gammon 1 - HK$1,505,788

BEHIND THE SCENES –ORGANISING A UNIQUE ENDURANCE EVENT

Pounding the streets, trails and the running tracks, this is the time to leave the stress of work behind and help those in need by raising awareness, lots of funds and have some fun too!

In 2015, whilst running laps at Tsing Yi Sports Ground, Mark Van Beers, WT Partnership’s Managing Director (HK & Macau) had one of his famous Lightbulb moments to create a charity running event to raise funds for any worthy cause simply by enlisting the assistance of various firms in the construction industry to provide runners to complete laps of a running track and raise money while “enjoying” the run!!

With a little cajoling and arm twisting he managed to sign up 4 major construction companies being Dragages, Gammon, TCG and Leighton as well as WT. Each company nominated 5 runners to run as many laps of an athletic track as possible with the Lighthouse Club Benevolent Fund being targeted as the charity to raise money for and so the Lap Dog Challenge was born.

In that first year the Challenge raised over HK$1m and has been run annually ever since and has raised over HK$8m in total so far. Those 5 “founder” firms have remained major contributors of the Challenge each year and have been joined by Hip Hing as the sixth permanent member. Other firms within the industry have joined from year to year.

Whilst the results of the Challenge are celebrated each year, there is a whole world of work and effort which goes on behind the scenes to make this extravaganza a reality.

The initial event in 2016 was essentially organized by Mark, Yvonne Lo (Leighton), Tim Threlkeld (TCG), Michelle Poulter (Lighthouse Club) and Alan Donnet (Dragages).

Following on from the success of the inaugural year, the core team members of Mark, Yvonne and Tim have been joined by Richard Poulter (Lighthouse Club) and Neil Roberts (Hip Hing).

These five people, with assistance from colleagues spend countless evening and weekend hours arranging the event each year.

• Named sponsors must be sought to kick start the sponsorship drive.

• Once the event date is finalized, the track is booked and the race timing providers are brought on board.

• Each team must finalize their 5 runners and the collection of personal data plus singlet sizing has to be completed by a deadline.

• Waivers must be completed by each runner.

• The sponsorship forms are then created allowing each team to begin the task of searching for their sponsors.

• Singlets, banners and other marketing materials are designed and procured.

• Magazine articles for the LHC winter and summer editions are drafted.

• First aid teams are arranged, as too are supplies for the day of the event.

• The trophies are procured.

• Several emails are issued to runners providing event details.

• Teams need to be constantly reminded to improve their sponsorship drives.

The actual running of the event is a relatively simple task. Once completed, the task of collection all the sponsorship pledges begin and usually lasts until Q2 the following year.

The celebratory dinner arranged by LHC takes place in Q1 the following year where the engraved trophies are presented to the winning runners and team. In Q2, next event organisation kickoff meetings commence, and the entire cycle starts once again!

There are many, many people in each firm providing assistance to the core individuals. It is a combined effort that results in the event being a tremendous success each year.

THE CELEBRATION DINNER

“Surely we can’t raise more money than last year?”

Well, we did!!.........

And to celebrate in true Lapdog style, a buffet dinner and awards ceremony was arranged on 7 Feb at our favourite venue, now named Woodstock, in Kennedy Town, Hong Kong. Suman and his team at Woodstock did not disappoint with amazing food and service throughout the evening.

Richard Poulter officiated throughout the evening and despite a technical glitch rendering the sound system inoperative, he managed to bellow out to the audience and announce the incredibly worthy award recipients to much cheering and applause!

This year as last, 10% of monies raised were donated by the Lapdog Challenge team to the Hong Kong Breast Cancer Foundation and we were honoured to have senior representatives from the HKBCF join us for part of the evening to help spread the message of support this incredible foundation provides.

A cheque for a whopping HK$284,195 was presented to the HKBCF.

David Lawrence Precious Memories

David Lawrence, who passed away at the end of last year, was a Life Member of the Lighthouse Club Hong Kong Branch and regularly donated to the James Battersby Lighthouse Club Educational Trust. Why did he support a construction industry charity, you may ask? “Because of you, Batto” he would say. The below is an extract of “Batto’s”, aka John Battersby’s, eulogy which he delivered at David’s funeral in January:

“David was a very kind and nice man”

“A true old-style gentleman”

“… one of the kindest, most generous, most open and patient people you could ever hope to meet”

“A kind, generous spirit with sense of humour”

“David was a very honest and sincere person and believed very much in doing the correct thing in his work rather than pursuing the fees and profit element of the job”

These are just some of the many tributes that I have heard about our dear friend from those who knew him.

I have known David for 38 years and we have been very close for the last 25 years or so. He became my best friend and has been like a brother to me. Hardly a day went by without us speaking to one another on the telephone.

I will miss his early morning greeting “How’re you doing, Batto Old Boy?”

I will miss ringing him up, when on my way to the Mass Transit Railway for a meeting, and teasing him and hear him say: “What do you want Batto Old Boy? … to annoy me again I suppose!”

I first met him in the High Court in Hong Kong on a construction payment issue when he was representing his client as a partner of Deacons who were on the opposite side to my client who employed me as its advisor on commercial management issues. David’s former client also said, when I contacted him about David’s passing, “… he was a kind man”.

Indeed, David was a real gentleman and one of the kindest people I have known. This was reflected in the pro bono legal assistance he gave to people with problems, including his work for Help for Domestic Workers, an organization founded by our old friend James Collins.

Perhaps one of David’s greatest gifts was being able to listen to the other person’s point of view which was different to his own. He was a great listener and would often say: “Those are all good points, Batto, and I will have to think about them”.

We had so many lively debates at his favourite bar at the Foreign Correspondents Club “FCC” about so many things we disagreed on, but, at the same time, there was so much we had in common and did agree on.

David loved Hong Kong and the FCC in particular. He made me promise to celebrate the extension of the FCC lease with a bottle of champagne which he purchased for that purpose.

I am so fortunate to have had David as a friend and will miss him so much as I know others will do too.’

Born in what was then Malaya, in 1949, David Lawrence was educated at Hereford Cathedral School and University College London, where he studied law. He came to Hong Kong in 1976 and remained living here, whilst visiting the UK every summer and the home he bought next door to his sister, in Streatley, Berkshire.

He married late in life, on his 60th birthday, to Sakhon Mansing (Sa) and they had a happy life both sharing a passion for golf. Sa, his brother Michael and sister Sarah, as well as many friends and acquaintances in Hong Kong will miss David and the cheery, twinkle-in-the-eye demeanour that he displayed.

Room 505, 5/F., 299QRC, 287-299 Queen’s Road Central, Hong Kong

The Future of Construction

When you think of modular construction, what comes to mind? Tiny houses? Tiny apartments? A tiny home that's also a hotel room?

When Alistair Sawer founded TLC Modular Constructions twenty-five years ago, he had a different idea: modular construction on a grand scale. Sawer believes that the future of construction is modular. And he's riding that wave.

TLC Modular is an expert modular construction firm that specialises in delivering end-to-end design and engineering services for residential developments to large multi-level hotels. They have offices in Singapore, Australia and New Zealand. Their modern manufacturing facilities are located in Southern Vietnam.

The term “modular” simply refers to structures that are built or assembled off-site away from the building site. "Modular construction is about getting more done faster," says Sawer, founder and CEO of TLC Modular. "It's about having less waste, more control over costs and quality, and more flexibility."

Developers face plenty of challenges today. It’s difficult to find experienced labour. Material costs keep rising, and supply chain

disruptions mean that it can be difficult to get everything from insulation to concrete and steel to construction sites on time. Sawer says the industry is slowly changing its ways as it realises these challenges aren’t going away anytime soon:

“Everyone’s trying to figure out how they’re going to deal with these challenges and how they’re going build their next project more efficiently,” he said. Sawer and his team at TLC Modular are focused on updating modular construction quality and techniques for building residential and hotel developments.

One of the primary advantages of modular construction is its efficiency. The construction process is streamlined and standardised, reducing the potential for delays and mistakes. This results in faster project completion times, reduced labour and material waste, and cost savings.

The factory setting allows for better control of waste and emissions, and the prefabricated nature of the modules means less raw materials are needed on-site, resulting in a significantly smaller environmental impact compared to traditional construction methods. With sustainability and efficient building becoming a priority in today’s increasingly climate-conscious world, modular is one form of construction that seems to be on the up-and-up.

Modular Construction is a high quality, affordable solution for public and residential buildings that offers far better sustainability outcomes.

A key advantage of modular construction is speed: the speed and precision of the technique is what makes it so affordable. According to Alistair Sawer, compared to traditional building construction methods, modular structures can be completed in 3050% less time.

Text by: Terry Gordon, Business Development Manager, TLC Modular

That timesaving is going to be a critical factor, specifically regarding cost of finance, construction overheads and project management. This gives the ability to property developers to hand over a finished project sooner and that early completion brings forward the returns on equity considerably.

There are also wider benefits for the industry. For example, by moving more of the construction process into a factory environment, we can improve health and safety as work takes place in a very controlled and safe environment where working at height and manual handling are significantly reduced.

Modular construction is also being touted to increase gender equity in the construction industry. By reducing the number of hours spent on-site by workers and increasing efficiency, modular construction could lead to more women working in this maledominated field.

Contrary to popular belief, modular buildings are now increasingly flexible, with varying design options and combinations available. With digital technology ever-evolving, volumetric offsite manufacturing will continue to be better, smarter and more efficient—transforming the way we design and create.

In 2023, modular construction is poised to play a significant role in shaping the future of the construction industry. Although it is not a one-size-fits-all solution, modular construction is an integral part of the solution to the challenges facing the building industry, helping to create a more efficient, sustainable, and innovative future for all.

tlcmodular.com

Hong Kong’s first modular elevator solution reaches new heights

THE NEXT STEP IN THE EVOLUTION OF THE MiLift®

Driven by increasing demand for barrier-free access to facilities, an overhead bridge in the Western New Territories district of Tuen Mun marked the first commercialised application of modular elevator in Hong Kong in April, 2022.

Developed by German mobility solutions and engineering expert TK Elevator, the MiLift® combines the company’s Machine Roomless (MRL) elevator solutions with Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (DfMA) and Modular Integrated Construction (MiC) concepts.

As such, it offers unprecedented advantages over conventional elevator installation methods for installation and retrofits to overhead bridges, low-rise buildings and other applications that require external lift towers.

With a methodology consisting of an integrated design featuring offsite factory fabrication and assembly, transportation to site and onsite installation, testing and commissioning, the MiLift® 1.0 solidified TK Elevator’s position as a first mover in the use of MiC applications in the elevator industry.

The first MiLift® proceeded with the majority of the lift parts and components including guiderail brackets and fixings, guide rail, car cage, counterweight, machine, controller and electrical works assembled at the fabrication venue located in Zhuhai, Guangdong.

By Elizabeth Dooley

After the plumb line setting, the components and parts are sequentially assembled onto their designated position in the shaft steel structure, ready for transportation to site.

In the case of the overhead bridge in Tuen Mun, onsite work consisted of hoisting the MiLift® and the structural shaft to its vertical position and fixing it onto the foundation overnight.

The final phase involved adding the roof and façade to the superstructure prior to final testing and commissioning.

MiLift® 2.0

Fast forward a year, and we are now witnessing the second stage in the evolution of the MiLift® concept, where TK Elevator is looking into assembling the MiLift® 2.0, designed to cater for higher rise construction, in Hong Kong.

“The MiLift® is an exciting opportunity and fits many market needs.

"Its suitability for Light Public Housing in Hong Kong is highly applicable and ground-breaking for the lift industry. It also helps us in reaching our ESG (environmental, social and governance) objectives in terms of sustainability, causing less disturbance on site, protecting the environment and improving site safety,” says David Ng, who took on the role of Managing Director of TK Elevator Hong Kong in January this year.

For Gorman Cheng, TK Elevator’s Head of International Technical Services, Southeast Asia, the benefits are similar to that of the MiLift® 1.0, but with added safety features to further minimise the need to work from height.

“Improved safety, and the short offsite fabrication time have resulted in a shorter throughput time, minimal wastage, and reduced manpower. Modules are stacked on top of each other so higher rise application can be achieved,” he explains.

The possible application of the MiLift® in Hong Kong for light public housing is a godsend, where prefabricated modular flats, which will be manufactured using MiC technology, are stacked on top of and adjacent to each other that are manufactured.

When light public housing is used for several years and then relocated to another site, the MiLift® has the flexibility to be detached and relocated and restacked.

“Light public housing is a strong initiative from the HKSAR government to help solve the current substandard living conditions of many people and we are pleased to endeavour our best to support. Our technology really aligns with the objectives, and the plug and play technology we have developed is also very costefficient in terms of the lifecycle of light public housing,” he adds.

The MiLift® is an exciting opportunity

and fits many market needs. Its suitability for Light Public Housing in Hong Kong is highly applicable and ground-breaking for the lift industry.

DAVID NG- MANAGING DIRECTOR , TKE HONG KONG

SO, WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE MiLift® 1.0 AND VERSION 2.0?

Technically, of course, there is little difference between the two versions, but where version 1.0 uses one module, version 2.0 has adopted a multiple modules application and is a real development in terms of modular building and is more suitable for high rise buildings.

In short, where version 1.0 could be placed on a container truck of up to 40 feet and transported to site, version 2.0 allows modules to be transported one by one and to be placed directly on top of each other at site to form the total structure. And while TK Elevator is now working with architects and consultants across the region interested in this solution, Cheng notes that the technology also provides a much more efficient solution for barrier free access. He also says it’s becoming a popular retrofitting option for existing developments, including schools, recreational facilities and other infrastructure projects, where perhaps there was no original lift installed.

“Our ‘plug-and-play’ concept allows us to deliver and install more efficiently within a shorter time period within the school holidays, causing less disturbance than the installation of a traditional elevator, so the MiLift® provides a unique winning solution for everybody,” he says.

Indeed, with onsite installation completed in as little as four weeks for a six-storey building, compared to 75 days, or within a third of the time it might take for a traditional elevator, the MiLift® is a viable option for the construction industry, not just in terms of standard housing, but also where clients are looking for more customised options.

Supported by the two major elevator and escalator manufacturing facilities already on the mainland, a planned new prefabrication plant located in Hong Kong could help MiLift® achieve further benefits on time and costs for transportation and smoothen the administration of custom clearance.

And while MiLift® satisfies the increasing demand in Hong Kong, it is also a model which Cheng believes can be replicated in other countries across Southeast Asia over the longer term.

In addition, the company’s other modular solutions such as the IMOD (a modernised escalator which retains the original escalator truss) and iwalk (a modular moving walkway requiring only 400mm pit or installed flat with ramps at both ends) are already being used in shopping malls, airports, and other transportation hubs across the city in the form of new installation and mordernisation projects.

“Our main focus is to develop mobility solutions and technologies that integrate with users’ needs and provide them with the most efficient and safe movement around the premises. Our solutions also provide the efficiency and effectiveness required by the builders and main contractors, and for our clients to provide the most effective solutions to support their people movement needs,” concludes Ng.

IDLBIM Modular Design and Construction BIM Solutions

Integrated Design offers innovative modular BIM solutions that cater to your project coordination, quantity takeoff, and fabrication requirements.

W e p r o v i d e o u r c l i e n t s w i t h a c o m p l e t e s e t o f d i g i t a l c o n s t r u c t i o n c o n s u l t i n g s e r v i c e s t h a t a r e i n t e g r a t e d , c o s t - e f f e c t i v e , a n d b a c k e d b y t h e l a t e s t t e c h n o l o g y a n d p r a c t i c e .

Make it Visible Taskforce Tackles Wellbeing

in Construction

More than 150 people from across the construction industry in the UK have volunteered to help a national drive to stop suicide and improve the welfare and wellbeing of the workforce. The Make It Visible initiative was officially launched earlier this year and has seen contractors, clients, professional bodies come together to try to tackle the industry’s poor record on mental health.

Office of National Statistics data shows that people working in construction are three times more likely to take their own lives than those in other industries. Every working day two construction workers are lost to suicide in the UK and Ireland.

Coordinated by the heads of Lighthouse Construction Industry Charity and Mates In Mind, the initiative aims to set a deliverable and measurable plan of action for wellbeing that can reach the boots on the ground.

It is also designed to bring together the many different mental health schemes already in existence in construction to make a more coherent cross-company approach.Among the issues the initiative will be prioritising are: drawing up an industry-wide wellbeing code of practice, issuing industry-wide advice, supporting the on site wellbeing champions already in place and helping to develop people skills training for supervisors and managers.

Obtaining government funding for wellbeing training and initiatives and ensuring mental health provision forms part of procurement are also among its priority issues. The 150 volunteers, part of the Make It Visible taskforce, will help develop the plans from their initial outlines.

Bill Hill, CEO of the Lighthouse Construction Industry Charity, said: “There are a lot of wellbeing strategies and there is some fantastic best practice, but it can be very difficult getting the industry to work together. “We have a moral responsibility to improve the welfare of our workforce and it’s great to see that with so many people on board the industry really does want to get behind this.

“We want to leave egos, brands and intellectual property aside so that we can work together and change this moment into a movement to make wellbeing support visible in sight, on every site!”

Members of the Make It Visible taskforce recently heard from Jon Davies, the chief executive officer of the Australian Constructors Association, which has already developed a draft Culture Standard – designed to improve welfare for construction workers in the country.

Davies, originally from Northumberland, believes there are many similarities between the workplace cultures in the two country’s construction industries.

“Historically what we’ve been doing too much on is treating the symptoms. We’ve been picking up the pieces but not addressing the root cause,” he said. “If we look at the commercial models we’ve had in Australia, very similar to the UK, they’ve driven historically very adversarial culture and that is impacting on our people.

Reducing the long hours that our workers work and providing flexible work options so they can take the time off that they need will have a big impact on the workplace culture too.”

Davies added that he thinks governments in both countries need to ensure that procurement mandates an improvement in construction culture”.

Ladies in Cambodia forging ahead with first

Women in Construction Group outside Hong Kong

On Friday 9 December 2022, COVA sponsored the first “Women in Construction” event hosted by Lighthouse Club Cambodia (LHCC) at Tribe Hotel, where 8 ladies from COVA Cambodia office met with fellow construction industry professionals ranging from architects, engineers, developers, real estate property managers and contractors.

Annabella Thomson, of the LHC committee, depicted the guiding principles of LHC as well as the remarkable work and latest achievements to provide financial and emotional support to young Cambodians in the construction community through vocational studies.

We extend our gratitude to the guest speaker, H.E Sopheap Khvay, for her insightful perspective as first lady to join the Board of Engineers in Cambodia as Deputy General Secretary and also a lecturer at the Institute of Technology of Cambodia (ITC).

In addition, Wiktoria Piotrowska and Danita Buth from COVA shared their experience working in the building industry and the challenges faced by women in construction.

On 7 March 2023, the Club held our first International Women’s Day event with the focus on gender equity. With around 100 guests attending, this was our largest networking event to date.

The success of our first event encouraged us to plan for more regular Lighthouse Women in Construction events and became the stimulus to host the International Women’s Day evening. The event attracted several high-profile sponsors from the Cambodian construction industry, as well as other sectors, and we were able to raise a significant amount of funds to continuously support the construction industry in Cambodia.

As a developing country facing rapid transformation of Cambodia’s cities, accidents due to poor site safety are ranked by industry professionals as the main challenges requiring imperative measures to improve occupational health and safety standards in the notoriously underregulated construction industry.

LHCC recently received a referral for a construction worker who was involved in a terrible on-site accident from which he is still requiring intensive medical treatment. He has already had two amputations and numerous other operations, including skin grafts and needs continual high-level care. His employer paid him a paltry amount of compensation and the family have little means to pursue this legally. With financial support provided by the Lighthouse Club International Benevolent Trust, they LHCC has been working closely with the family to assist them both financially and provide them with longer term support.

Such cases make us see the importance of what the Lighthouse Club does within the construction industry here in Cambodia, both in assisting those who need it most, as well as creating awareness through networking events such as the IWD evening.

Lighthouse Club Manila – Update

In the first three months of 2023, The Lighthouse Club Manila (LHCM) has organised three social events including the Annual General Meeting. The LHCM has currently nineteen (19) corporate members and forty six (46) individual members. Our total of voting members in our club is 122.

AGM

On Thursday 16 February 2023, the LHCM held its AGM in the Manila Elks Club in Makati. Besides the reporting our financial position and our achievements in 2022 to our members, it is also the occasion where our Board of Trustees (BOT) is elected by our members.

Social Events

Besides the AGM, we had organised two social evenings this year. Our January event took place in Mesclun Restaurant at the Ascott Makati, while our March was held in Apartment 1B in Makati City. Our next Social Night will be held on 20 April at the German Club in Makati.

Charitable Assistance

In Manila, the BOT members are elected for a two year term. Since we had various trustee members stepping down in 2022, we are delighted that we can announce that the following members are forming the Board of Trustees in Manila in this year:

Phil Thoburn (Chairman), Bert de Munck (Vice-Chairman), Arlene Elliott (President), Olivier Guilluy (Treasurer), Maria Cecilia De Castro, Raymond Crane, Joan Joy Falcutela, Stephen Free, Michael McKenzie, Stephen Pollock, Richard Stewart and James Chant. In addition, Maria Donna Fernandez will take up the position as our Corporate Secretary.

With almost this new elected Board of Trustees, we are confident to continue to grow the club in 2023 and planning to expand our charitable assistance objectives as well organise different type of events. We also want to express our thanks to our departing Board of Trustees Members, namely: Sally Clark, Luke Scanlan, Adam Nelson and Andrew Holgate.

Besides our education programme, in which we support twenty seven scholars, we have recently received a request from one of our corporate members to provide some emergency financial assistance to an Injured Person and his family following an accident on site. The Injured Person hand was severely crushed and made him partially disabled. Recently he was discharged from the hospital. The LHCM has provided some emergency funds to support the family in these difficult times. While the construction industry in Manila will be booming following the many large infrastructure and railway projects that are ongoing and planned, it shows that Safety at Site remains a major concern and accident prevention programmes should be prioritised by contractors.

While, the LHCM has been and is still very much committed to support our scholars with our Education Programme, we are actively looking into the safety challenges on construction sites in the Philippines and what type of support we can provide either as an emergency support or in the long run. We expect to provide more information on this topic in the next magazine.

FOLLOW THE LHC MANILA

For the latest information on our events and our charitable assistance: Facebook at www.facebook.com/LighthouseClubManila LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/lighthouseclubmanila

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Macau back in action (supported by Hong Kong!)

Since the 2022 Q4 magazine, life in Macau has been transformed. In early December we were still living in our isolated bubble unable to travel outside of the SAR without doing quarantine upon return, undergoing mass covid testing regimes and buildings being locked down. We all thought life would continue like this well into 2023.

But then suddenly restrictions were lifted, and quarantine travel became possible. 80% of the Macau population caught Covid in the next month but on 7 March 2023 the requirement to wear masks was finally abandoned.

The LHC Macau Christmas event was held on 14 December at the Ritz Carlton Bar, sponsored by our long time, loyal Lighthouse Club supporters, Top Builders Group Ltd (TBG) represented by our LCM secretary, Carlos Tang, together with TBG’s subsidiary company, Big Pie Coworking. Big Pie Coworking gave a presentation about their coworking facilities and business. Father Christmas was present and thanks go to TBG for all of the Lucky Draw prizes.

Due to the sudden increase in Covid cases no event was held in January, but in February all matters Covid had settled down and Lighthouse Club Macau was back in action.

The February monthly event was held on Wednesday, 8 February, again in the Ritz Carlton Bar, sponsored by another of our long term loyal supporters, Min Da Engineering & Construction Ltd. We had some Hong Kong members attending for the first time in more than 3 years and we will welcome them to future events.

On 8 March we held our Annual General Meeting (AGM), at which the Annual Report for 2022 and the Report and Financial Statements for the year ending 31 December 2022 were presented and members of the Management Committee and other supervisory bodies, as required by Macau law, were elected for the 2023/24 term.

The following members were elected to the Management Committee: Keith Buckley, Chairman; Carlos Tang , General Secretary; Irene Lei , Treasurer; Gloria Liu , Membership Secretary.

Following the standing down of Chris Chang after 14 years on the Management Committee, Jason Li was newly elected as a committee member. We thank Chris for his contributions and giving up his own time to serve Lighthouse Club Macau

The AGM was followed by the March monthly function, again in the Ritz Carlton Bar, sponsored by Top Builders Group Ltd (TBG). CEO Forest Tang introduced the company and many of the prestigious projects that the company has been and is involved in. TBG also donated twelve bottles of Sake for the lucky draw.

Singapore update

What a year! Lighthouse Club Singapore (LHCSG) wrapped up an energetic and dynamic 2022 with the successful completion of various initiatives. This included Healthserve’s Outreach and Engagement (Health Screening), the launch of the Lighthouse Club Book Prizes (“LHCSG Book Prize”), the Singapore Construction Industry Charity Fund, and the Gala dinner.

On 29 October 2022, LHCSG partnered with Healthserve on its Outreach and Engagement (Health Screening) for more than 500 migrant workers at the North Coast Lodge as part of the Deepavali festives. The workers received full health screening by Healthserve and goodie bag chock full of yummy snacks from LHCSG. LHCSG also ran a book collection drive and helped set up a library for the migrant workers at their dormitory. It warms our hearts to be able to support them in ways that they believe could help improve themselves.

LHCSG also launched the Lighthouse Club (Singapore) Book Prize in Engineering Mathematics 1, which recognises academic excellence among students pursuing the BSc Civil Engineering programme at the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT). The inaugural winners of the Book Prize are Tay Qin Yue and Nuo Xu.

As part of our continued efforts to support the growth of young construction leaders, we have also sponsored book prizes to Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS), conducted seminars and provided mentorship to the students in the Built Environment courses in SIT. This year, we are looking forward to growing our student community by providing more learning

and networking opportunities for the young people. Students can gain enriching experiences from our industrial networks, knowledge sharing and growth opportunities from our educational events such as seminars, site visits, work attachment programs and mentorship opportunities.

In 2023, LHCSG plans to contribute actively to helping our local communities. The first of such events is the “Let’s Hit the Beach Clean Up” with Litter Club at East Coast Park on 1 April 2023. Finally, the 2023 AGM saw the election of a new Executive Committee, comprising the following:

POSITION NOMINEE

President Khanh Nguyen

Vice President Karthini Mahendranathan

Secretary Thomas Goh

Treasurer Harvin Ganesh

Membership Secretary Junior Leong

D. Membership Secretary Jim Chessell

Event Officer Sinyee Ong

D. Event Officer Suraj Sajnani

Education Officer Mei Ting Teoh

Welfare Officer Billy Desmoulins

Outreach Officer Brian Lim

Publicity Officer Ellen Wong

D. Publicity Officer Tyler Sun

The committee includes a diverse group of industry professionals, representing a cross section of the industry and experience. The committee also discussed plans for the coming year, which include more charity and industry events, enhancing the club’s online presence, and expanding its membership base. The 2023-2025 Council looks forward to serving!

Please join us at the C O N T R A C T O R S

D I N N E R

Friday 19 May 2023

City Hall Maxim’s Palace, Central HK$960 per person // HK$11,520 for a table of 12

5 Awards will be presented at the Dinner:

• Safe Foreman Award

• Safe Subcontractor Award

• Safe Project Team Award

• Site Safety Practitioner Award

• Project Leader Award

RSVP to info@lighthouseclubhk.com by 10 May 2023

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News from Australia – and New Zealand!

BRISBANE

Brisbane kicked off their first event of 2023 with a bang, hosting supporters, members and newcomers in Brisbane City. The event was sponsored by Subsea Pty Ltd who is a professional marine company offering a wide range of subsea services in support of environmental and engineering surveys and assessments. They have the latest underwater marine technology and equipment available for all projects and can provide specialist teams for specific jobs.

Some of Subsea’s key services include: ROV, Hydrographic Surveying, Commercial Diving, Vessels, Side-Scan

With the help of our sponsor and supporters we raised over $700 and our very own committee member, Lachlan Drew, drew a lovely prize from City Winery Brisbane. Alan Bellamywells met his matching shirt buddy Ray Pedlar who is a member of Lighthouse Club Macau.

Brisbane’s March event will be in honour of International Women’s Day and will be sponsored by Ranbury who will be talking to us about how they have embraced equity in their organisations.

Brisbane are excited to announce that there will be a Ball this year held in Brisbane city in September 2023- more details to come next edition!

International Women’s Day. Our International member, @ secretariat, hosted a number of Lighthouse Club Australia’s members and supporters including Alex McRoy QLD VP, McCullough Robertson and Costplan Group.

MELBOURNE

The Melbourne branch, led by Yazeed Abdelhadi of CCi, A Rimkus Company, successfully delivered the “Tracing a Construction Case” event during the international arbitration week in November 2022. The LHC raised over $10,000 just from this event, which was generously sponsored by the following:

Platinum Sponsor: Hall & Wilcox;

Gold Sponsors: CCi, A Rimkus Company, DGA Group, HFW, Law In Order Pty Ltd;

Silver Sponsors: FTI Consulting, Accura Consulting, MBB Consulting Pty Ltd

The great panel of speakers included:

Narrator: Sean Brady, Contractor: Peta Krahn, Quantity

Surveyor: David Gibson, Solicitor: Stefan Fenk, Barrister: Stuart Catchpole KC, Adjudicator: Swee Im Tan, Mediator: Sarah Adams , Arbitrator: David Bateson, Judge: the Hon Wayne Martin AC KC

NEW ZEALAND JOINS THE FELLOWSHIP!

We are excited to announce that our friends "across the ditch" are currently looking to form a Lighthouse Club in Auckland! This is fantastic news for the expansion of Lighthouse Club and we would love hear from people who may be keen to get involved. Please reach out to Caspar Coetzee for more information caspar.coetzee@cci-int.com.

SYDNEY

Lighthouse Australia's Sydney branch held their first event of the year on 21 February which was a networking event held at Custom's House Bar. The event was generously sponsored by DGA Group and Clyde & Co. LHC AU President David Gibson was in attendance to welcome members and supporters.

Conservation and Heritage of the Hong Kong Golf Club – Fanling

Conservation and Heritage of the Hong Kong Golf Club –Fanling.by Timothy J. Peirson-Smith, founder and CEO of Executive Counsel Limited, was an informative and pleasant experience to raise awareness for the conservation of the Fanling Golf Course, organised by the Lighthouse Club Hong Kong on 25 February, 2023.

The guided tour was joined by a very receptive and attentive audience. The tour began with a detailed talk from Timothy regarding the historical and cultural context of the Hong Kong Golf Club and the Fanling Golf Course, its storied history and its sporting importance as being the only standardized golf course that allows Hong Kong to hold international golf competitions, such as the famed Hong Kong Open.

Timothy then detailed the report made by the Hong Kong Government in June 2022 in connection with the plans for restructuring and utilising 9 of the 32 acres of land that can be used for construction, with the goal to build as many public housing units as possible within the area, to tackle Hong Kong’s dire housing shortage issues.

Throughout the tour, Timothy was very passionate with regard to the environmental conservation and heritage of the golf course.

Being an environmental scientist by trade and having lived in Hong Kong since 1990, he has accumulated a wealth of experience in advising the government in public affairs and relations, as well as being fully aware of the ecological and environmental importance of the golf course to the surrounding species of various animals and plants.

Moreover, Timothy gave his insights on how he and his team of experts representing the Hong Kong Golf Club are currently working on a report to combat the government’s housing plans.

Timothy was also enthusiastic about raising awareness for the environmental importance of the golf course. The tour mainly revolved around showing members the rare flora and fauna that the golf course holds, and Timothy gave an elaborate description of not only the rarity of the species of plants, such as the Wild Chinese Swamp Cypress Grove but also its ecological significance as these plants serve as the habitat for a diverse group of species of birds and aquatic animals.

Timothy also showed us the heritage that sits within the course, such as the Ancient Ming-Dynasty tombs that descendants come to pay respects to and worship yearly. A highlight of the tour was when we were introduced to the Butterfly Garden, where nearly half of all butterfly species in Hong Kong can be found, and we also learnt that the golf club harbours the rare and protected Golden and Common Birdwing butterfly species.

After the tour, there was a brief walk around the Club House and a presentation was held by Timothy as he detailed the progress that he and his team of experts have made, the importance of preserving the diverse species found in the golf course, as well as many of the Golf Club’s historic and iconic monuments, such as the Halfway House, where golfers refresh themselves halfway through the game.

The members then enjoyed light refreshments after the talk and were given books and leaflets talking about the history of the Hong Kong Golf Club, and the many discussions held afterwards made this Saturday morning all the more enjoyable and unforgettable.

Hong Kong WIC Learning about MiC

As part of our “Women In Construction : Empowering Women” evening seminars we had the privilege of hearing from Michele Lui, Manager, Business Development of Hip Hing Construction Co Ltd and the first female project manager in Hip Hing, who was our guest speaker on 5 December 2022.

Michele started her career in Hip Hing Construction Co Ltd as a Management Trainee in 2012 and has participated in several significant projects, such as electrical power substations, the prestigious Xiqu Centre at West Kowloon Culture District, several Grade A Office Towers and luxurious residental projects. She has also been the Project Manager in charge of a few recent projects that used MiC ( Modular Integrated Construction ) which was the topic of her presentation during the seminar.

She shared her experience and knowledge she gained while working on Innocell, a pilot project that used MiC in Hong Kong. Innocell, a 17 storey building which is located in the Hong Kong Science Park was assembled using 418 modules and provides 5 types of living and co-working spaces for those innovators of technology development.

Other projects that use the same MiC technology that Michele has overseen include the Temporary Quarantine Facilities at Pat Heung and Penny’s Bay Phase 3A for the Hong Kong Government, which had over 1,400 modules. Michele talked about the difficulties the team faced, the positive impact and how MiC can change the way we work in construction.

The seminar was very engaging and insightful and we thank Michele for an informative session and, of course, all our members for attending the event. We look forward to more seminars during 2023.

WIC YMG Happy Hour

The Lighthouse Club Hong Kong Young Members Group and Women in Construction organised a joint Happy Hour gathering on 10 February at Blend and Grind in Kennedy Town.

It was a most enjoyable evening, made more so by the continuing relaxation of rules governing gatherings etc following the Covid pandemic. Members shared news with each other on upcoming as well as memories of previous events and it was a great opportunity to meet friends not only in the industry but academia too.

The YMG and WIC continue to grow and attract the future of the Lighthouse Club Hong Kong branch, in other words, all those young professionals and ladies who work in the construction industry. We hope that in 2023 and beyond these numbers increase and we are always happy to talk to members who are interested in helping to promote the Club.

Thank you to all who were involved in arranging this evening and here’s to many more in the future!

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Members visit Hong Kong’s only Sikh Temple

In Hong Kong there is only one Gurudwara (Sikh Temple). The land on Queen’s Road East, Wan Chai, was allocated to the Sikh community by the British Government, with the first construction of the temple in 1901. Since then, the area in which we are located and the building itself has gone through tremendous changes. In 2013, foundational cracks emerged, the building was examined by professional engineers, who ultimately declared it as un-safe. Stemming from this, and seeing no alternative, the Management Committee of the Khalsa Diwan undertook an extensive feasibility study and tender request for the construction of a new Sikh Temple, at its current location.

The new building is a four-storey block providing 76,000 square feet of useable area including a Car park, Library, Museum, Seminar Halls, Dining (Langar) Hall, Community Kitchen, two Prayer Halls, Washrooms, Kindergarten, Tutorial classrooms, private function rooms and many more facilities. The Sikh Temple was reopened on 6 November 2022 after a five-year redevelopment costing over HK$230 million (US$29 million).

On 3 December 2022, some 40 members from the Lighthouse Club Hong Kong Branch and the Chartered Institution of Civil Engineering Surveyors (Hong Kong Region) visited the new Sikh temple.

The visitors were greeted by Channi Matharu, one of the building committee members, at the entrance. As is customary for every Sikh temple, we removed our shoes which we placed in the shoe rooms and picked up some scarves which were provided by the temple for covering our heads. The project architect, Samuel Tse, led us to the Library which is very spacious and modernly decorated and gave us a presentation on the design and challenges of the building works of the temple.

The visitors were then guided to various parts of the Temple, including the Main Prayer Hall and the Langar Hall. The open plan and high ceiling of the Main Prayer Hall boasts a beautiful chandelier hanging on the centre line of the hall which echoes with a similar chandelier which is installed in the lobby.

The Langar, or community free kitchen, is equipped with some very large-scale cooking and food storage facilities and has the capacity for preparing meals for over 5,000 people per day.

The visit finished with group photographs taken in the backyard of the Temple after some refreshing Masala tea which was served to us by our hosts. Some of the visitors stayed on to enjoy the delicious vegetarian meals served in the Langar Hall. In Sikh temples only vegetarian food is served consisting of Dal (lentils), fresh vegetables cooked in curry, rice, chapatti and other vegetarian dishes. Everyone has to sit on the floor in rows to show equality. There are also tables and benches provided for senior citizens or those who have medical problems.

The Sikh Temple is not only a place for worship for the Sikh community of Hong Kong, it also welcomes other people irrespective of race, religion or ethnicity and free meals are provided every single day to anybody who is in need. The Lighthouse Club extends its gratitude and appreciation to the Temple Committee for allowing this visit to take place and for its gracious hosting.

Lighthouse Club International Corporate

Gold Membership:

Silver Membership:

Bronze Membership:

Members

Membership of Lighthouse Club International is available by contacting the Membership Secretary at info@lighthouseclubintl.com.

Corporate memberships are available at the following levels:

Benefits include:

• Corporate logo feature in “The Lighthouse” quarterly magazine

• Logo displayed at all events organized by Lighthouse Club International and local branch events where nominees are based

• Advertising discounts

Individual membership is also available.

Platinum Diamond Gold Silver Bronze

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