Shirley Hong
Overview
Name:Shiow Lee Hong
Position: Senior Quantity Surveyor
University: Sheffield Hallam University
Degree and qualification: BSc (Hons) Quantity Surveying, 2:1
Year Graduated: 1998
My Background
I had been working in the construction industry both in Malaysia and Brunei before l pursued further study in the UK with a degree in Quantity Surveying. After graduating l worked for Laing Limited and then I joined Balfour Beatty Civil Engineering Limited four years ago as Quantity Surveyor. My first project with Balfour Beatty was Battersea Park Restoration – Festival Gardens and Riverside for Wandsworth Borough Council.
My Job
As a Quantity Surveyor I have worked in a number of diverse projects for Balfour Beatty. Much of my role involves the preparation of contractual notices, valuations, management of sub-contract packages from inception to completion, preparation and negotiation of final accounts, cost and value reconciliation together with analysing results to monitor construction performance.
My daily job has taught me the importance of teamwork to achieve our ultimate goals. This has been achieved by regular attendance of site progress meetings and through regular dialogue. The commercial awareness of the site team and good communication is particularly beneficial to aid the cost recovery process.
I have worked on numerous projects and experienced disputes that are a common occurrence within the construction industry. My role and involvement within these projects was to try to avoid any conflict with subcontractors and Clients alike by introducing better communication protocols and financial control mechanisms from an early stage. Any technical issues that were not clear in drawings and specifications would be recorded and sent to the Client’s representative on a “Request for Information” (RFI); upon obtaining any information we would then check, clarify and pass it on to any relevant subcontractors. The constant reviews and communicating through weekly and monthly progress meetings is a vital process to prevent any delay of information, which will delay the programme and subsequently have time and cost implications to the project.
Furthermore customer care, client’s needs and requirements need to be handled carefully to ensure good relationships are maintained. This provides long-term advantages of continuity of business.
What I really enjoy about my job is that there isn’t a typical day. It really is different every day. The projects l have been involved in are all different and really challenging. This variety is what makes the job so interesting to me.
The future
The role of the QS is changing, it is no longer regarded purely as ‘bean counter’. More importantly QS nowadays provide a more sophisticated role where they possess very good technical skills, business acumen and client facing skills. The opportunities in the market are vast, with the landing of Olympics, the supply and demand levels put QS’s in a very favourable position.
In my work, I want to continue to help grow the QS division alongside with my colleagues and encourage more female surveyors participate in the construction industry. I also aim to become a Chartered Surveyor and progress towards a management role within Balfour Beatty.
The best advice I can give to anyone who wishes to pursue their career in quantity surveying is to give it a go, and l guarantee you that one day when you look back you will be very proud to say to any of your family and friends that you have helped to build that structure or building within budget and programme. The best thing is that in construction industry we help to build something that will stay up for a very long time for people to use or enjoy for many years to come.
Unforgettable moment
An unforgettable moment was the successful opening of Battersea Park project by The Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip and The Mayor of Wandsworth Borough Council. Together with that I also received a letter from the company where they praised and recognised the hard work and appreciation of my contribution to the project.
