Meet the President - Keith Pickavance Q&A

Name:
Keith Pickavance

Company:
Hill International (Hong Kong) limited

Job Title:
Senior Vice President and Managing Director of the Hong Kong office 

What's it like to live in Hong Kong?

I now live in the Central area of Hong Kong in a tower block about 10 minutes walk from the office. Unfortunately I don't have a harbour view, at least not directly, but I do have a rather striking view of the Mid-Levels area of Hong Kong. 

Central is remarkable for having its buildings linked together by pedestrian routes at first floor level and, to some extent, below ground. There are also covered walkways over the roads linking the buildings on both sides and Hong Kong is famous for the unusual experience of being able to walk from an apartment block, through offices, through shopping malls, hotels, banks, railway stations and so on to get around in the central area.

I have a pretty remarkable passage from my apartment in London to my apartment in Hong Kong: the last time I see open air between the two is in getting out of the taxi at Paddington station!

How will you balance working in Hong Kong with your presidential duties?

Although our head office is in the UK, the CIOB is an international organisation with offices in many countries around the world. Recently I represented the CIOB at a signing of a joint venture between the Chongqing government and the UK government. That was a three hour flight for me. I will fly in for the trustee’s quarterly board meetings and I’ll try to get my appointments in the UK and Ireland for those times as well.  Otherwise, I am well placed to promote the CIOB in Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, China and of course Hong Kong.

What is your carbon footprint like and does it matter?

It is a big issue for all of us. We should be more aware of how we live our lives; whether we buy bottled water or use plastic bags. These things are important. If everybody reduced their carbon use by 5% it would make a phenomenal difference to the way the world works. But you cannot get rid of international travel you cannot go back to the dark ages.  

Why did you go into construction?

At the age of six, my father took over, as the resident architect, the development of what is now the University of Keele.  In those days they used to work on Saturday mornings and he would take me with him to his office. When going around the construction sites, he would introduce me to the contractors, architects, engineers and others working there and show me what they did. It was a very busy time in those days and there was much to see. I guess the excitement of the time caught my imagination.

What training/qualifications do you have?

I obtained a Diploma in Architecture from the Brighton College of Art and Crafts in 1968.  After that I obtained an Honours degree of Bachelor of Law as an external student of the University of London.  I have also been awarded a Diploma in International Commercial Arbitration.
Apart from being a CIOB Fellow I am also a Member of the Project Management Institute and RIBA, a Fellow of the British Academy of Experts, a Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Arbitrators and an international associate of the American Bar Association.

As President, what will your objectives be?

My term will include the familiar themes of sustainability, health and safety, ethics and education which will no doubt continue to be familiar issues for future President’s of the CIOB.
There are other topics that we as an industry are facing. Some grab more headlines in the media than others for obvious reasons. But two that I think need more awareness are population ageing and the management of time on construction projects.

We know that population ageing is pervasive, in fact it’s a global phenomenon affecting everyone - but countries are at various stages of the process of dealing with it, and the pace of change differs greatly. Those that have started the process later will have less time to adjust. For the built environment that has an impact on the use, lifecycle and design of our buildings.

Time related risk and the analysis of delay and disruption are parts of my everyday job as a specialist so its no coincidence that I am interested in how the industry manages it’s time. The research that we recently launched at the House of Commons shows that on the whole complex construction projects in the UK are likely to be finished more than six months late, due to poor time control. The results indicate that the growth in training, education and skill levels within the industry in the use of time-management techniques has not kept pace with the technology available.

There is a role for the CIOB to play here and we will provide standards in effective time control by facilitating education and accreditation. On top of that there is a need for us to promote an increased awareness of the importance of project planning and scheduling in the industry.

What advice would you offer to people thinking about going into construction?

When I was at school I was very good at maths, physics and chemistry. Unfortunately, when I advised the careers master at school that I wanted to be an architect, his advice was to take up art and history.  Whilst they were useful, because of curriculum conflicts taking up those options meant that I could not continue with physics and chemistry. 

I now know that this was a big mistake because modern construction is a scientific process and the better the understanding of the sciences, the easier it is to understand the complexities of structures, services, building management systems, logistics and so on. So, the first thing I would advise is to concentrate on sciences at school.

The second thing I would advise is perhaps more controversial. Throughout the 19th and 20th century the industry has tried to grapple with cost control in various ways but it has always been impossible to control cost without also controlling time.  On the other hand, it is only recently that, because of advances in computer technology, it has been possible to contemplate competent time control and it is only now in the 21st century that people are beginning to turn their minds to what is needed in training, accreditation and standards in planning and programming; things that in cost control have been standard for nearly a century.

So, my second piece of advice would be to become a competent planner and programmer as I think that, in the same way that cost control and project management were the management disciplines of the 20th century, time-risk management is going to be the management discipline of the 21st.

For people in the industry who are considering becoming a member of CIOB, what are the advantages?

Unlike other professional bodies that focus on a particular skill, the CIOB represents the full diversity that exists within the industry. Our community of professionals and managers places the CIOB in a unique position in the construction industry. And of course the CIOB qualification is respected throughout the construction industry and its clients.

But unlike an academic qualification which says something about what you achieved at some point in the past; a professional qualification says something about you now, which is why we make CPD a requirement of membership.  

We all recognise that sustainability and the environment are vital issues for the industry. For members that can demonstrate suitable ability and knowledge in sustainable environmental management and development then the CIOB also awards Chartered Environmentalist status.

Members gain access to a vast array of leading construction intelligence, through our library and book services; as well career and legal advice products and services.

It would be fair to say that the impact of CIOB members, past and present, can be seen and felt throughout society. From Buckingham Palace to the Beijing Olympics our members have been creating projects that change people’s lives for the better; and while their projects stand the test of time so do their names. Leaders in industry like Arup, Costain, Shepherd, Laing and Lutyens have all been members of the CIOB. Not to mention Winston Churchill, so if you join us you’re joining that elite.