Managing Sustainable Future

MANAGING A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE!

The 51^st Annual General Meeting for The Institution of Engineers Malaysia was successfully convened recently. Congratulations are in order to those who were given the mandate to serve IEM in various ex-officio capacities for the 2010/2011 term. The Presidential Address touched on several matters closed to the heart of all engineers in Malaysia today. The theme of Engineering Mobility, Globalisation and Green Technology for a Sustainable Future was very relevant to the challenges faced by the engineering fraternity and related industries. As the role of engineers and in particular IEM, becomes more prominent in our society, it is imperative that all members are aware of and understand the very existence of IEM and the various mechanisms or strategies put in place to live up to the aspirations of the founding members. It is in this respect that we wish the new office bearers all the best to lead the way for IEM to move forward to the next level of excellence.

Project Management is probably one aspect of engineering practices which is becoming a focal point in today’s nation building. While construction industry is considered one of the drivers for economic growth, project management skill will ensure that driver gets to his or her destination in a timely manner without any unreasonable deviation. The fact that project management has evolved to become a more wholesome profession on its own, is in itself a challenge to all engineers. One wonders, is the skill to become a Project Manager so difficult to acquire that often times a project suffers from poor management? Alternatively, what is the Critical Success Factors (CSF) for a project management team to succeed? Do we need to spell out the Key Result Areas (KRA) hence Key Performance Indicators (KPI) for each project as further guidance, in addition to the Critical Path Methods (CPM) most engineers would have learned especially in relation to Construction or Production Management? Indeed, with the advent of Facilities Management, Asset Lifecycle Management, Value Management and so on the need for engineers to be good managers could not be over emphasised.

It is hoped that the feature articles and reports which highlight the various aspects of project management in this edition of JURUTERA would contribute some ways to a better understanding of project management and value management amongst us. The paper series on Structural Eurocodes continue with an insight on issues affecting the local standards. The usual columns on safety, travel notes and other updates on activities and fund raising for our building should offer continuous supply of adrenalin to last for another day be it in the office or out on the field.