Malaysia
Why Project Controls Expo?
A report by McKinsey states 98% of megaprojects face cost/schedule overruns or delays. The reasons include flawed performance management, insufficient risk management, missed connections (lack of planning) amongst a few others which lead to: loss of control on projects; missed deadlines; delayed phased completions; incurring penalties; incurring payment delays; erosion of stakeholders’ trust and finally, with public projects, poor justification of taxpayer's money. The PWC report makes a similar comment i.e., capital projects that come in under budget are the exception, not the rule.
Another report by PWC, suggests that worldwide infrastructure spending will grow from $4 trillion per year in 2012 to more than $9 trillion per year by 2025. Overall, close to $78 trillion is expected to be spent globally between 2014 and 2025.
The Asean PWC report suggests that in the last five years, there has been a large disparity between the growth rates of infrastructure spending in the six largest economies of ASEAN, which has ranged from 4% to 13%. For all of the selected ASEAN countries, infrastructure spending is growing faster than the overall economy. Additionally, in reference to South East Asia Handbook, Malaysia will see record positive growth again in the construction section in the not-too-distant future following a contraction in 2020 due to COVID.
This calls for more enhanced dialogue between government, industry and professional bodies to come together for sharing lessons learnt, best practices and engage more collaboratively for successful project delivery. Project Controls Expo, started in 2010, offers this platform where a wide range of industry players (Oil & Gas, Aerospace, Pharmaceutical, Infrastructure, Construction, Government, Defence, etc) and professional bodies (APM, ACostE, ICEC, AIPM, PMI, AIQS etc) engage with a range of professionals and technology providers for the development/advancement of the profession.
Innovation in the Industry
In last 10 years, platforms such as Expo and various other initiatives brought a step change in the profession. UK Government, taking on its increased awareness, initiated the efforts to put strong controls on complex infrastructure and major projects which lead to the birth of the IPA (Infrastructure and Projects Authority) which sits at the heart of government, reporting to the Cabinet Office and HM Treasury. The Institution of Civil Engineers formed the dedicated group “The Infrastructure Client Group (ICG)” that brings together the UK’s most progressive economic infrastructure clients in partnership with government and industry. ICG’s key purpose is to lead the acceleration of the improvement and alignment in the delivery and development of UK infrastructure for the benefit of the economy, society and the environment. Additionally, the Department for Education took note of Project Controls as a profession and initiated the Trailblazer apprenticeship program at Level 3 – Project Controls Technician with Level 6 – Project Controls Professional.
On the other side of the world, Australia leads a range of initiatives to improve the project delivery by setting up statutory bodies such as Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Cities and Regional development which put the spotlight on enhanced governance and delivery arrangements – find out more in a talk by Ben du Bois. Infrastructure Australia and regional states set up bodies such as Infrastructure Victoria and Office of Projects Victoria to support these efforts. Additionally, Australia’s professional bodies ACES and RES too led the efforts on professionalism in Project Controls and initiated range of actions supported by Engineers Australia such as considering Chartered status for Project Controls professionals.
With regards to how much % cost of Project Controls/Management on a given project, in reference to PMI report, the combined project Controls/Management costs for all phases of a project total somewhere between 7–15 percent of the project's TIC (Total Installed Cost). The sheer scale of investment that runs in trillions would offer the PC/PM cost with easy maths, demonstrating the vital role played by Project Controls in this thriving and huge sector.
Project Control Expo aims to continue offering support to all ongoing initiatives for effective project delivery globally especially when JV’s are burgeoning in the construction industry. With ambitious infrastructure projects across the world, we would like to continue bringing professionals, apprentices and professional organisations together to benefit the industry and to understand the skillsets that are required for future generations to deliver. Technology now plays a large part in everyday working and we have innovative technology providers showcasing new opportunities with machine learning, AI and extensive use of data for predictive analysis. For this, technology is expected to play critical role in future events.
Why Malaysia ?
Asia being one of the largest market for Project Control activity, and deserves to have its own forum located in its own heartland to support the efforts of the professionals in the region and hence continue the development of the profession.
After much research, we chose to run the event within Kuala Lumpur, recognizing the importance Malaysia plays within the Asian community as a hub for innovation, creativity, and technological advances. It also offers a central positioning within Asia and excellent traffic and hospitality services from all other surrounding counties-crucial elements for a successful Expo. Additionally, the above-mentioned PWC report also suggests that Malaysia is #2 in infrastructure spending, infrastructure score and the global competitiveness index calling for the need for such a platform in the country. So whilst Project Controls Expo will still run in other geographies, the need for an authoritative, informative, and interactive event for this discipline within Asean becomes ever more important. Project Controls Expo is expected to create a business-ready environment for Malaysia by sharing global expertise, creating a dynamic skilled workforce by bringing global knowledge, and making it a future forward-ready economy by sharing the innovations taking place globally – aligning with the objectives of MIDA – Malaysian Investment Development Authority.
Finally, it is important to mention that Project Controls Expo is a “not for profit” event and any remaining proceeds are re-invested into the event for further enhancements. Should there be any deficit, Projcon Group (parent company organising this conference) fills the gaps and we take this opportunity to thank them along with all the volunteers for their continuous support.
