Best Wishes for the Year of the Dragon: Safety First Led by Innovation

The Year of the Dragon is approaching, and I would like to extend my best wishes to you all on behalf of the Construction Industry Council (CIC), wishing you a happy new year with good health, peace and prosperity, and hope that all can enjoy the family time over the holiday! New year brings a new start. On 7 January, the Construction Industry Sports & Volunteering Programme held the “Construction Industry Happy Run 2024”, which attracted more than 1,200 registrations by construction practitioners, who “started off” the new year of new challenges and opportunities together. Thank you for your support and participation, and hope that the event can bring encouragement to all to stay positive in the new year and contribute to the development of the construction industry.

In 2024, the CIC will continue to promote the transformation and improvement of various aspects of the construction industry and contribute to the social and economic development of Hong Kong. We have formulated the work plan for 2024 and will focus on the follow areas:

Construction Safety is Everyone’s Responsibility

Safety is the foundation and top priority of the construction industry. The safety culture of the construction industry needs an uplift urgently, hence the CIC has designated 2024 as the “Year of Safety”. Through extensive consultation, we have consolidated the opinions of different stakeholders, and garnered the support of the industry. In the coming year, we will focus on promoting “Construction Safety is Everyone’s Responsibility” by establishing a clear reward system for good safety behavior and performance, among which the safety performance recording platform is expected to be launched by the second quarter. The CIC is also actively promoting the “Design for Safety - Pilot Run” to encourage construction projects to put safety into consideration from the design stage. I am also pleased to see that many construction companies have already or are planning to enhance “Construction Safety Assembly Culture” with the introducing of “Safety Harness Simulation Training” and “Dynamic Risk Assessment” activities in their daily site morning meetings, and I believe that we will soon see the results.

The CIC encourages contractors to actively adopt smart site safety systems to improve the site’s safety management and supervision capabilities, hence reducing risks and accidents to protect the workers’ lives and health. We hope that the industry will join hands to build up a safety culture, so that every construction practitioner can work safely and return home safely.

Technology Innovation Brings Improved Efficiency

At the CIC-See What I See event in January, Ir Prof. Frank CHAN, Hong Kong Deputy to the National People's Congress, encouraged the construction industry to adopt innovative construction technologies to improve safety performance. In fact, I also found in my exchanges with various industry leaders that the Hong Kong construction industry has empirical evidence to prove that technology can effectively improve construction safety. Technology is the key to the transformation of the construction industry, as well as an important means to improve construction efficiency and quality. The CIC is keen to promote construction digitalisation and application of construction robotics, and through different channels and platforms, to showcase and promote the latest technology applications and innovative solutions to the industry.

This year, the CIC will hold two signature events to promote technological exchange and development. The first is the “CIC Construction Digitalisation Award 2024”, which is the second time for this award to be organised by the CIC, aiming to recognise the outstanding contributions of local projects and organisations in promoting and applying digital tools and workflows, and to encourage the industry to share and learn best practices, and improve the digitalisation standard and application. In addition, following the unprecedented success of Hong Kong’s first Construction Robotics Workshop last year, the CIC will hold the global construction robotic day in the middle of 2024, showcasing the most advanced construction robot technologies from around the world. Industry practitioners and the public are invited to visit and experience the power of robotics, to induce their awareness and interest in construction robotics. Eventually further enhance the public’s understanding of the latest developments in the construction industry.

We hope that through these two events, we can stimulate the creativity and enthusiasm of the industry, accelerate the process of digitalisation and automation of the construction industry, and lay a solid foundation for the transformation and improvement of the construction industry.

Talent Cultivation and Improve Construction Quality

Talent is a vital asset of the construction industry, the future of the construction industry depend on it. The CIC has always been committed to cultivating a new generation of construction professionals, and supplying the construction industry with a batch of professional, competitive, and innovative technology-savvy talents.

This year, the CIC will continue to enhance the supply of technical talents in the industry from two major directions. First, we will continue to provide continuous training for existing construction professionals, including the “CIC Master Classes” such as: Design for Safety Master Class, Artificial Intelligence Master Class (which will include large language model content) and the newly established Digital Twin Master Class, etc. These are training courses for current construction industry practitioners, taught by experts and leaders in the industry to share the latest information and trends, covering different topics and areas, such as safety, environmental protection, contracts, management, etc. The CIC will also launch promotions and training that targets students, in order to attract more students to join the construction industry in the future, including the annual CIC BIM Competition which aims to cultivate the interest and ability of higher education students in BIM, and provide a performance platform for their creativity and their ability to use BIM technology to solve problems and challenges. In addition, the construction industry promotion campaign - “Design for Future Build for Life” will also continue to launch a number of promotional activities targeting primary and secondary school students, allowing students to experience the modern side of the construction industry from an early age.

We hope that through these two aspects of activities, we can cultivate a new generation of construction professionals, and improve the quality, efficiency and safety level of the industry, and prepare for the development and transformation of the construction industry.

Building Up Industry Image by Recognising Outstanding Performance

The construction industry is a pillar industry of Hong Kong, bringing pride to the people. Through organising awards regularly to recognise and promote the outstanding performance of the construction industry, the CIC hopes that the public will recognise and respect the contribution of the construction industry to the community, and enhance the image of the construction industry.

This year, the “CIC Outstanding Contractor Award” is set to return, to recognise the contractors who have outstanding performance in safety, innovation, professionalism, revitalisation, environmental, social and governance and comprehensive performance. They are encouraged to continue to maintain and improve their level and standards, and set an example for the development and transformation of the construction industry. We hope that through this award, we can increase the cohesion of the industry, and promote the professional image of the construction industry, and let our industry shine and be a model industry of Hong Kong.

The CIC is planning a global construction digitalisation forum and exhibition at the end of the year. While details will be announced later, please get ready to support us and seize the opportunity to communicate with the international industry to bring the Hong Kong construction industry to the next level. Once again, I wish all a good start in the Year of Dragon with happiness. We look forward to working with you in the new year to improve construction safety!