Western Countries Invest in Asia

For its diversity in culture, religion and beliefs, Asia has been a melting pot of different ethnicities and individual personalities. The languages, likes and traditions are all different in every country. This may be the reason why western nations tend to invest in the different potentials the continent exudes.

According to the Asia Construction Outlook 2014 survey, the prospect for both the size and the growth of Asian Construction market remains positive with 92% respondents in agreement. It is expected that the market will continue growing healthier for 50% for the remainder of the year.

The survey results in AECOM 2014 indicates that Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan and Thailand stand out as countries which respondents expect to become increasingly attractive to foreign suppliers of construction service. However, comparing to the 2014 survey results with those from the 2013 survey indicate that respondent’s views have become more pessimistic regarding long-term market attractiveness in Singapore and India.

Indonesia’s construction industry has performed well during the review period, driven by strong economic activity and high levels of investment. The country, along with Malaysia is said to be the forefront of market growth in the region for the next 12 months.  Its neighboring countries have felt the pressure and are now expanding their ventures as well in lieu of the title.

Multinationals have been increasing their footprint in Asia for years as they have moved from selling into the region to also investing. Asian companies are also being competitive threats outside the region as well, as they set their site on the global dominance.

It is never easy to set foot into a developing nation. Aside from the competition that may arise against local businesses, there are also competitors among fellow foreigners. Singapore, tagged as the most expensive city in the world has plans to further expand their capability. The government even allotted S$450 million dollars to construction alone.

Exploring other potentials and competing with western countries, Singapore has also established their brand to other Asian countries. Many companies like Cedar Capital Group which sells and rents capital equipment, employed agents to Tokyo, Japan and Seoul South Korea to study their strategies and learn their business.

Training for New Hires

Asia is hoem of developing nations, with lots of countries in their best efforts to keep up with technology. One of the indiustries that is booming at the turn of the decade is construction and infrastructures. A demand for growth and expansion has been gaining tons of buildings and projects that boost each business.

Cedar Capital Group is one of the companies that thrive with the fast growth of the industry. We sell and rent capital equipment to the world’s most expesive city, Singapore and to its neighboring developing countries with our agents in Tokyo, Japan and Seoul, South Korea. Through these demands, new operators are needed, jobs are opened for thousands of hopeful citizens who need work. However, though with new employees comes a learning curve that can negatively affect your productivity and uptime. These tips may help you in training your eager new hires for the job to come.

Train new operators on Walkaround inspections.

Walkaround inspections are designed to reveal a variety of small issues that can be fixed before they turn into bigger, more expensive complaints. Plus, they help familiarize new operators with your equipment and work tools before they get inside the cab. Concerned about time? Standardized checklists or inspection apps help speed up the process.

Encourage all operators to read the manual.

While the idea of “reading the instructions” is likely to make many operators smile, the fact is equipment manuals include vital information about routine maintenance, operating procedures and safety. Better to spend time reading upfront than waste time addressing problems down the road.

Use your best operators to train new operators.

Experience is the best teacher. If inexperienced operators learn the best operating techniques the first time, they won’t have to unlearn bad habits later. Let your experienced operators do the training on your equipment. It’s a great way for new employees to learn about the company and build camaraderie among coworkers.

Make operator training part of your culture.

Training doesn’t have to take a lot of time to be effective—and it’s not just for new employees, either. Take a few minutes at the beginning of a job or shift to highlight new machine features, maintenance information, safety issues or the best techniques for the task at hand. Job sites are complex. You can help simplify and clarify by reminding workers about important.

Tokyo Olympics Jumpstart Japan’s Construction Industry

Olympics is one of the world’s most awaited events every four years. Since its beginning in Greece, the biggest event for sports enthusiasts is being visited by nobles, royals and peasants alike. In the modern times, the event is not any less appreciated but instead, it is celebrated in all parts of the world. It would truly be an honour for a country to host the said event.

The 1964 Olympics was one of the most remarkable events in modern history. The staging of the games marked Japan’s re-entry into the world community after two decades of shame and struggle caused by defeat in war and put the cap on what is regarded as the most explosive urban transformation in history. In 2020, much is expected from the country as well.

When the country has fought off competition from Madrid and Istanbul, Japan has thrown off a large preparation to host the 2020 Olympic Games even when the 2016 is still a year away to be celebrated in Rio de Janeiro. Because of this, construction in Japan has also flourished and thrived when all establishments are pursuing to better their buildings for the upcoming sports event. Its capital, Japan particularly spurs the moment of excitement and preparations.  Because of the fast increasing demand, chronic labour shortage in the construction industry and inflated material prices threaten the country’s compact games.

In response, Cedar Capital Group, a company which sells and rents capital construction equipment in Singapore has sent more agents in the country to assist in whatever is needed. Asian pride is at stake and it is inevitable that every agency, institution or organization, private or non-profit, in every corner of Asia should be involved. A lot of construction companies also promised to help.

Shortages are acute in the construction sector, where the task of upgrading ageing public infrastructure has fallen on a labour force already strained by the rebuilding of tsunami-afflicted areas in northeast Japan.

At the same time, costs for steel beams and other materials have risen as a result of the drop in the yen’s value. Even with the pared-down plans for the 2020 games, the metropolitan government’s Y153.9bn ($1.5bn) budget is likely to climb much higher, said Yoji Otani, an analyst at Deutsche Bank, as contractors turn up their noses at the low rates on offer.

Demolition work ahead of the Y163bn rebuilding of the Tokyo National Stadium in the city centre – due to host the opening and closing ceremony – has already been pushed back twice, with the latest round of bids in mid-July failing to reach the price offered, according to Japan Sport Council, which owns the venue. Despite these, many people still hope that within 5 years before the 2020 Olympic Games, Japan can reach and achieve its goals.

Safety from Heavy Equipment

Before starting your business, of course, you have to make sure you are into the safety department before and during the process. For the construction of your business office to the later years of your business, there will always be risks involved. In such times, you have to learn how to insure your own investment.

 

Actually, most of the accidents happen in the construction sites so, it is very essential to take serious steps and maintain the safety with the site. We, at Cedar Capital Group have known this, being in the industry for years. As we have been renting and selling capital equipment across Singapore and with our agents in Tokyo, Japan and Seoul, South Korea, we have been witnessing a lot of accounts related to our own products. As you have to work with heavy equipment, so it is really important that you should give your full attention to the safety and security. If you fail to concentrate on the site, then it you may find yourself in some unexpected danger.

But what do you do to prevent these accidents?

1.       Equipment Adjustment

You should not use a piece of equipment because it can cause accidents. So, before using equipment, you have to check out and review whether it can be adjusted or not. Equipment has different parts and it is very important to give full attention to every part of the machine. You should try to give special attention to the rotating and moving parts of the machine. As those parts are the most important so they can cause huge accidents, therefore, it is good to take special care on the moving parts.

2.       It is not with the cost.

As the equipment is very expensive, so you should also verify it before buying. If there is any kind of damage then try to fix it. With damaged parts you cannot work in the construction site. It can increase the chances of risks. Damaged parts are always very risky as it can bring unexpected danger in the site. As you are running a construction site with a number of workers so you have to take their responsibility also.

3.       Maintainance

It is very important to maintain the machine properly. Without a proper maintenance equipment can be damaged and cause huge accidents. Thereby, it is best to maintain your machine every day to avoid such accidents.

Issues and Conflicts in a Construction Site

Construction companies, like any other companies in the world, always have existing disputes. Sometimes, the disputes just gets serious enough for the construction industry even released a construction industry guide to dispute avoidance and resolution last October 1, 2009.

Cedar Capital Group, a company which sells and leases capital equipment in Singapore and has agents in Tokyo, Japan and Seoul, South Korea has been in support with this resolution since many of the disputes involve risks of our own equipment and company.

1.       Mediation: Mediation uses a third party mediator to resolve any disputes. The mediator helps both disputing parties to come to a mutual agreement. This process ensures that no attorneys become involved in the dispute and is less time-consuming.

2.       Minitrial: A minitrial takes more time and money than mediation. Unlike the mediator, a minitrial involves advisor or attorney that must be paid. The minitrial takes place in an informal setting. In the minitrial, the advisor or the legit third party would review the details of the conflict and bear only facts regarding the conflict. The disputing parties may come to an agreement or the third party advisor may offer their advice. The agreement is nonbinding and can be broken.

3.       Arbitration: Arbitration is the most costly and time-consuming way to resolve a dispute. Each party is represented by an attorney while witnesses and evidence are presented. It is mostly done in disputes which are already on the grave misunderstanding and complaints and involves physical, moral and illegitimate issues. Once all information is provided on the issue, the arbitrator makes a ruling which provides the final decision. The arbitrator provides the final decision on what must be done and it is a binding agreement between each of the disputing parties.

The understanding of disputes in construction gained during the research led to conclusions. These may be summarized as follows:

·         The industry must change. Conflict and litigation in the construction industry must be reduced by adopting a comprehensive and systematic approach to the prevention and resolution of disputes.

·         Project personnel must remain directly involved. Disputes are best resolved on-site with the project managers playing a major role. This insures that those directly involved in the dispute remain involved with the resolution. This helps in avoiding litigation and returns construction back to the engineer and construction professional.

·         Owners hold the key to implementing the system. Owners hold the key to starting right, staying right and providing for resolution. This does not diminish the contractor’s role in dispute prevention and resolution. Implementing the system may, primarily, be the owner’s responsibility; successful operation is shared by owner and contractor.