PERFORMANCE
Insite Magazine
12
PROJECT EXCELLENCE
The winners in Asia’s aggressive construction markets are those players with
the upper hand on commercial acuity. Coaching Leighton’s young professionals
on the importance of cost-efficiency is therefore crucial to maintaining our
leadership position in Asia’s competitive markets.
By
Yvonne Lo
HK Corporate Communications Officer
So says Matthew Voon, Leighton Hong
Kong’s Senior Commercial Manager,
who delivered a compelling Commercial
Awareness workshop for our Young
Professionals Club (YPC) members
on 6 February at our Strive for L.I.F.E
Knowledge and Skills Training Centre in
Kwai Fong.
No fewer than forty-two young
engineers and members of our
commercial teams from Leighton
project sites and offices across Hong
Kong gathered to hear Matthew’s hot
tips in the hope of soaking up some of
his commercial acumen.
Put simply, commercial awareness is
“keeping your eyes and ears open,
identifying and mitigating risks and
tirelessly seeking out opportunities to
minimise cost and making sure we get
paid for what we do”.
Matthew suggested that a good place
to start and a quick tip is to understand
what it is we are meant to be delivering
to our clients, understand what our
supply chain is delivering to us and
keeping good records of important
information in writing.
Keeping good records
Information such as verbal instructions,
agreements or discussions regarding
items such as manpower status; weather
conditions; delays in progress, or access
constraints; non-delivery, or late delivery
of materials; abortive works, should all
be documented contemporaneously
and accurately. Documenting this kind
of information not only helps to monitor
and keep track of the project from day
one, but also helps to identify potential
problems at an early stage.
Financially it also helps to deliver more
accurate cost forecasting and serves as
supporting evidence in the event that
we need to make claims for extra or
changed works that we have done. It
is not hard to imagine how this practice
can lead to better financial performance
and healthier cash flow for the company
in the long run.
Paying attention to
detail and mitigating
risks
Another key element is to cultivate a
culture where employees’ treat what
they do as ‘My job, my profit’. Often
employees have the misconception
that their actions will not have a direct
impact on the company. The truth is we
all work as a team and it is essential to
highlight and tackle potential problems
early before they escalate into bigger
issues and have a significant impact on
the project.
We are all responsible for identifying
issues and contributing to the successful
financial outcome of our projects. This
leads to a sustainable business. Ignoring
the problems does not make them go
away.
So speak up and be proactive today!
WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TODAY
TO SAVE COST?
“Managing our
money… It’s the
bottom line”
