History

History of HKIUS

 

On 23rd July, 1994, the kwun Lung Lau Event happened at the western side of the Hong Kong Island. The  disaster killed 3, injured some and damaged the retaining wall outside the Kwun  Lung Lau Estate and a Temporary market underneath the retaining wall.

In late 1995, soon after the Kwun Lung Lau Event, Housing Department awarded a contract for the inspection of Buried Water Carrying Services which was completed under the supervision of King Wong.

In 1999, King Wong steered to setup a meeting to discuss the issues in utility survey industry including setting up of standard requirements, training, specifications, report formats, etc.
In 2000, a training course was introduced to Hong Kong by UtilityINFO Institute, UTI, for standard coding of Conduit Condition Evaluation (CCE-CCTV & ME) by using man entry and non-man entry methods.
In 2001, an additional training course (i.e. CCTV ) of CCE-CCTV&ME discipline was introduced by UTI. The theory and practice were adopted from Australia and was widely used in Australia in the industry which is compatible to that using in the United Kingdom and has been adopted by Singapore.
In 2002, HKIUS was established by the Steering Committee of 100 members from 8 companies chaired by Ir Dr. King Wong and this formed the core and ascertained the establishment of the Institute. It was first named as “ Hong Kong Institution Sub-Surface Surveying & Surveyor (HKISSS)” and in the early 2003, it had registered with the Hong Kong Police Force as a society formally as “ Hong Kong Institution of Utility Surveyors” (香港地下管綫測量師學會) and the directions of the institute were set at the same time.
At the same year, King Wong completed the study on “the Strategy Planning Changes for Companies Working on Leakage Detection Contracts Affecting Slopes” which confirmed the need of the institute. UTI invited the Hong KongPolytechnicUniversity, PolyU, to jointly organize some training course for utility surveys including MHICS, CCE-CCTV & ME, WLD, US. The courses have received wide acceptance from government and private parties and graduates has no problem in finding a job in the industry.
On 1 April, 2003, the first Executive Committee was formed and Mr. Mike Arden was elected as the President of HKIUS during the time from 1 April, 2003 to March, 2004. Mr. Zico Kwok became the acting President during 1 April, 2004 and March, 2005 for healthy issue of Mr. Mike Arden. During the time, Mr. King Wong was the 1st Vice President.
In November, 2003, UTI and HKIUS jointly organized an Open Forum “The Public Interest in Reducing Road Opening, Safer Excavation and Better Slope Maintenance by using GIS based Utility Information Centre” chaired by Ir H.S. Kwong, GBS, JP. The forum was attended by over 500 including seniors from government departments, academics, consultants, contractors and supplies.
In 2004, in view to improve the professionalism of HKIUS members, HKIUS requested members to attend CPD courses and to be trained with at least the Mandatory Safety Training Certificate (Green Card) and Confined Space Work Certificate. Meanwhile, the chinese name of HKIUS had been renamed as “香港管線測量師學會”
On 1 April, 2005, the second Executive Committee was formed and Ir S.M. Foo was elected the President of HKIUS with Ir Damien Ku and Mr. Zico Kwok as the 1st Vice President and Vice President respectively.
On 9 June, 2005, before the Inauguration Dinner of the Second Executive Committee of HKIUS, Ir Thomas H.C. Wong, Assistant Director of Highways presented in a seminar for Utility Management in Hong Kong which attracted over 200 to attend.
On 10 September, 2005, a technical seminar was organized by HKIUS and UTI named “Contemporary Legal Issues in the Utility Industry of Hong Kong” which attracted over 300 to attend.

Commenced in September, 2005 to October 2007, with an aim to arouse the awareness of consultants, contractors, practitioners, students and the general public on safety of slope and roadwork, especially for the best protection of Underground Utilities (Gas, Water, Power, Telecom, Drains, etc), and to promote the professional standard in the utility industry, an open competition is jointly organized by Hong Kong Institute of Utility Specialists (HKIUS), The Safety Specialist Committee of The Hong Kong Institution of Engineers (HKIE-SSC), The Hong Kong Association for the Advancement of Science and Technology (HKAAST), and UtilityINFO Institute (UTI).
The competition is titled
Utilities Protection, Slope Maintenance and Work Safety in Excavation- Drawing, Slogan, Creative Writing and Practical Competitions,
The competition is aimed:

  • To encourage the application of advanced science & engineering products in daily operation, so as to enhance the public awareness on the safety of roadwork and the maintenance of slope.
  • To promote good utility survey practices to prevent any damages on underground utilities from road excavation, so as to safeguard the interest of the public.
  • To provide a platform for experience sharing in utility industry, so as to boost the effective use of utility survey in planning, design and implementation of road digging works.
  • To uplift the living standard by minimizing and eliminating the incidents related to underground utilities.
  • To arouse the awareness of public in utility protection and management.

In April 2007, the Hong Kong Institution of Utility Surveyors had formally changed its name to “Hong Kong Institute of Utility Specialists”(香港管綫專業學會) while its objectives, vision and mission remains unchanged.

In July 2007, as requested by the specification users, Manager Membership(MHKIUS) is added into one of the qualifications so that companies of individuals who would like to submit a tender should possess Manager Membership. It reveals the contributed effort of HKIUS in assessing the professional standard was gradually recognized by the public.

In September 2007, approved by the Education Bureau, Applied Learning Course on which “Utility Profession & Applications” was jointly organized by Department of Civil Engineering of The University of Hong Kong (HKU-Civil), Utility Training Institute (UTI) and supported by The Hon Ir Dr. Raymond C.T. Ho, SBS, JP, Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics (PolyU), HKIUS and HKURC. With the Objectives of equipping all Form 4 full-time secondary students to be professionals in the future for engineering, surveying and utility practitioners; providing students with fundamental knowledge about the utility industry, skills and utility management; increasing the safety awareness and collaboration of the teenagers; and enhancing the social living standard through education.

In April 2008, a dinner was organized in celebrating HKIUS 5th Anniversary and HKURC Inauguration. The evening gathered government officials, representatives from utility related associations and academic institutes and was successfully held with the witnesses of 12 guests of honor.

In February 2009, HKIUS was given the Caring Organization Award. With the development we have had in the last few years, we are confident that HKIUS will maintain its professionalism at the same time will contribute to the society as much as we can.

In March 2009, the First International Conference on Utility Management and Safety (ICUMAS 2009) was held from 1st to 4th March and was jointly organized by HKIUS and HKURC, while co-organized with Construction Industry Council and Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics of Polyu. The 4 days conference was divided into 4 parts, namely a soccer match, on-site conference, HKIUS 6th Anniversary and ICUMAS Opening Banquet and a technical and sightseeing visit. The overall conferences had attracted 500 participants and succeed in facilitating a platform for utility knowledge and technological exchange; meanwhile, it provided a golden opportunity for networking among the participants.