Page 12 - ICE 2023 Ebook file

ICE Breaker 2023 Knowledge – Hong Kong Association

Group discussion forums

By David Mak
To effectively enhance awareness and gather opinions from the ICE members on hot topics concerning
the construction industry or civil engineering, ICE HKA Public Voice Sub-committee organised two
discussion forums in 2022 on the topics around innovation and climate crisis, which are the two most
discussed topics among construction professionals nowadays.

Held on 23 July 2022, the first discussion forum was titled ‘How to accelerate and mainstream
innovation to uplift construction productivity?’. Adopting and integrating new technologies as
well as the pursuit of innovation would have a positive impact on the Industry’s productivity levels.
This breakfast forum attracted 33 participants on the importance of adopting innovations to enhance
construction productivity and brainstorm the way forward.

It was honoured to have Mr Joseph Lo, Principal
Assistant Secretary of the Project Strategy and
Governance Office of the Development Bureau
to deliver an opening speech. Mr Lo outlined the
4-2 current situation of the Hong Kong construction
industry, in the aspects of the forthcoming boost
in persistent demand for construction services,
the challenges arose from high construction costs
and ageing labour force, the need of uplifting
construction productivity, and the readiness of
adoption of innovations in Hong Kong. After
the opening speech, an in-depth group and floor
discussions session were conducted on four major
aspects to uplift construction productivity in the
industry:

Topic 1 – Key obstacles and barriers encountered in practice for extensive application of innovative
solutions or ground - breaking ideas in uplifting construction productivity and project performance.
Topic 2 – Pain points in productivities for consultants and contractors.
Topic 3 – Lessons learnt from pilot trials in moving the Industry forward to accelerate and
mainstream innovation at scale, in either a revolutionary / disruptive manner or in an evolutionary
manner.
Topic 4 – Key areas that require re-engineering and restructuring for uplifting productivity apart
from innovative technologies and new materials / equipment.

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