Henry Loo's Page

After 3 weeks of traveling - Tokyo & Sydney - I am so glad to return home and smell my wife's home cooking and reflect on the tour. Our host - BCS of Japan - could not be more accommodating and hospitable, even Japan's construction industry and the economy was in steep decline since the credit crunch last year - an unprecedented depression annualized at 15.2%. Our Japanese colleagues are realistic but not fatalistic. They know that revival can only be achieved through export and even greater… Continue

Our first day in Japan.
We visited a UK based consultant this morning and received a general briefing on how the construction business is conducted in Japan. It is refreshing to hear a number of salient points:
1) Almost every project is delivered on time, There is no such thing as late delivery in Japan. Not completing on time is almost tantamount to personal and corporate shame.
2) Lowest price tendering is the norm, where tendering is used to select the contractor. However, the large General… Continue

Well, we arrived.
Alan Mossman and I touch down into a humid, wet and rainy Tokyo yesterday morning after a long and uneventful flight from London. This is the fourth time I have been in Tokyo within the last 2 years and I am getting quite used to the place by now. However, for the first timer, it could be quite bewildering - firstly by the overall sense of orderly and tidiness of Japan. One can sense that everything is in place - from the flatness of the street paving to the practically spotles… Continue

With any luck all 14 delegates will arrive safely in Tokyo by next Sunday evening, 15th May, ready to search for new ideas and inspirations to bring back and improve our respective business operation and construction industry at large. This time, we have delegates from Germany and South Africa as well as from UK. Based on the research and the first study tour in Nov07, We know average construction cost in Japan is approx 28% lower than in UK on a £/m2 comparison - but labour hourly rate in Japan… Continue

I am taking CE's second delegation to Japan between 10th to 16th May to look at productivity and how Lean Thinking is translated and applied in a construction setting. The tour will be operation focus and the visits is target at the technique and the processes in and between design and construction activities.
I would welcome any comments and suggestions from felloe 'be2campers' if there is any area or issue that you may be interested in and you would like me to gain a Japanese perspective on it… Continue