Report of Activities for Session 2023/2024

The Report of Activities contains President’s report, Chief Executive and Secretary’s report, and reports from various boards, committees, discipline advisory panels and divisions.

To protect the environment by minimising paper use and support the Institution in pursuant of digitalisation, members are encouraged to refer to the electronic version of the Report which will be available on the Institution’s website.

If you prefer a printed copy of the Report, please indicate at the Member Login Area of the HKIE website by Friday, 26 April 2024. Late orders will not be accommodated.

HKIE Diary 2025

The HKIE Diary is a pocket-sized planner featuring information about the Institution and useful telephone numbers. Members may place an order for a complimentary copy of the HKIE Diary 2025 at the Member Login Area of the HKIE website by Friday, 30 August 2024.

Upon successful order, members will receive an acknowledgement email in September 2024, and the HKIE Diary will be sent out in December 2024. Late orders will only be accommodated while stock lasts and an administrative charge of HK$40 will apply.

HKIE Member Login Area

https://www.hkie.org.hk/memberarea/

For enquiries on the access of the HKIE Member Login Area, please contact mlssuport@hkie.org.hk.

Remarks:

• Members are encouraged to update your correspondence address at “My Profile” under “Services” in the Member Login Area.
• Please note that only subscribed members with valid membership will receive the publication(s) ordered.
• Student Members under the Free Student Membership Scheme are not eligible to order the Report of Activities and the HKIE Diary.

To support and help those HKIE members, past members as well as their immediate families who have fallen upon hard times with financial needs, the Institution set up the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers Benevolent Fund in 1993 to provide assistance to them. On the expiry of the term of that Benevolent Fund, a new HKIE Benevolent Fund was set up in September 2014. Ir Dr Alex Chan, Ir Dr Andrew Chan, Ir James Kwan and myself are currently the Trustees of the Fund.

Throughout these years, the Trustees of the Fund considered every application on a case-by-case basis to help those who are in need. As always, we react speedily and with compassion to all applications. With the impact of COVID-19 on the economy, it is anticipated that application for financial assistance from the Fund may increase in the year. To meet the funding needs under this circumstance, we would appeal for your generous donations to the Fund.

For your reference, I would list out the Guidelines for application for the Fund as below.

• The applicant must be a HKIE member, a past member or his/her immediate family. Each application is assessed solely on its own merit and the decision of the Trustees shall be final.
• Applications must be made in writing on the HKIE designated application form and to be accompanied by a declaration listing out the financial situation including details of all assets and liabilities, income and expenditure in the family, with the amount of support requested. An explanation of why public assistance is not adequate is also required. The application form is obtainable via the HKIE website or through the Secretariat at benevolent@hkie.org.hk.
• Where necessary, the applicant may be asked to provide additional information or to attend an interview.
• The Fund can be provided in the following ways:
  - By Grant - No repayment is required. Applicable to those applicants when repayment cannot be reasonably expected in the foreseeable future or otherwise.
  - By Interest Free Loan - Repayment is required, by lump sum or installments. Applicable to those applicants who are experiencing temporary financial difficulties.
• The Trustees will determine the final amount, payment and repayment terms of an application.

It may be worth pointing out that since the Fund is limited in resources, the Trustees would exercise great care in assessing the eligibility of the applications.

If you would like to make donations to the Fund, please do so while making payment of your membership subscription or contact the Secretariat of the Institution for details. On the other hand, if you would like to obtain further information on application for the Fund, please also contact the Secretariat of the Institution.

Ir Chan Chi-chiu
Chairman
The HKIE Benevolent Fund

The Engineering Council (UK) implemented “SARTOR3” system from 1999. Accredited MEng degrees or accredited BEng degrees plus matching sections are required to satisfy the academic requirements for Chartered Engineers in the United Kingdom. The HKIE is a signatory to the Washington Accord and the HKIE recognizes the accredited MEng or accredited BEng degrees plus matching sections of the Engineering Council (UK) from first intake year 1999 as satisfying the academic requirements for Member of the HKIE.

With effect from 1 March 2004, the “SARTOR3” system has been replaced by the “UK-SPEC”. The Engineering Council (UK) has revised UK-SPEC and has implemented it from 31 December 2021. The academic requirements for Chartered Engineers (CEng) Registration are:

1. An accredited Bachelors degree with honours in engineering or technology, plus either an appropriate Masters degree or engineering doctorate accredited by a Licensee*, or appropriate further learning to Masters leve
2. An accredited integrated MEng degree
3. An accredited Bachelors degree with honours in engineering or technology started before September 1999
4. Equivalent qualifications or apprenticeships accredited or approved by a Licensee*, or at an equivalent level in a relevant national or international qualifications framework

* Licensee is the engineering institutions that have been licensed by the Engineering Council (UK) to assess individuals for professional registration.

The HKIE shall accept graduates from the UK as satisfying the academic requirements for Member of the Institution if they could provide document proof from the Engineering Council (UK) that they have satisfied the academic requirements (i) to (iii) above for Chartered Engineers (CEng) Registration.

The online CPD logbook service is now in operation to provide solely for members of the HKIE to record their personal CPD activities. Members are invited to enter the Member Login area of our website to access to this online free-of-charge CPD logbook for keeping a systemic record of their CPD participation.

For trainees who are under the formal training schemes of the HKIE, they will remain to be required to record their CPD activities in the Record of CPD with endorsement by their Engineering Supervisors.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the Member Login Service Support at mlssupport@hkie.org.hk.

Starting from Financial Year 2024-2025, Corporate Members (Fellows, Members) and Associate Members can access their e-membership card in the Member Login Area under “Services” > “My Membership Card” five working days after the settlement of membership subscription for that financial year.

In addition to the issue of e-membership card, Corporate and Associate Members in need will be offered a choice of receiving a physical membership card for use upon entering construction sites. The statement “This member of The Hong Kong Institution of Engineers has satisfied the Commissioner for Labour in respect of Section 6BA(4), Cap. 59” will be included in the physical membership card only.

Commencing 1 January 2019, competence-based approach to CPD activities will be fully implemented as part of CPD requirements for Corporate Members. Corporate Members are required to undertake, out of the 30 hours per year, at least 5 hours each for two areas of CPD activities, namely “Discipline-Specific Technical Matters” (DSTM) and “Broader Areas of Studies” (BAS) or “General Professional Matters” (GPM). In 2021, the HKIE further updated the CPD requirements for its members. Corporate Members are required to attend at least 3 hours per year of CPD activities related to “Health and Safety” (H&S) effective for CPD declaration from 2022 onwards.

Corporate Members are required to complete and return an annual CPD Declaration Form together with the membership subscription advice to the Institution. A random checking, usually 1% sampling, on all Corporate Members, will be conducted on an annual basis. Members who are selected for checking will be asked to submit their evidences of CPD.

The following actions shall be taken in case of non-compliance:

1. Corporate Members will receive a warning letter if they fail to comply with the CPD requirement for the first year that they were selected for sampling, and will be asked to submit their CPD attainment again for the following year; Warning letters will be issued to Corporate Members who fail to comply in two consecutive years. The HKIE Continuing Professional Development Committee (CPDC) will also follow up with those Corporate Members on the reasons of non-compliance;
2. Corporate Members who fail to comply with the CPD requirement again in the second year may be asked to submit their CPD attainment for the following year and be invited to an interview with CPD Committee Representative(s) or to attend specific HKIE CPD activities proposed by the CPDCSP; and
3. Corporate Members who fail to attend interview or the specific HKIE CPD activities in the third year may have their names published in the HKIE website and the HKIE journal; the frequency of which shall be determined by the CPDC.

For details, please refer to the “Guidance Notes for Mandatory Continuing Professional Development (CPD) for Corporate Members” which is available on the HKIE website at https://www.hkie.org.hk.

Corporate Membership has satisfied the Commissioner for Labour in respect of section 6BA(4), Cap 59 since 1998 on the understanding that Corporate Members have undertaken a minimum units in the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programmes, which include updates on occupational health and safety legislation. On the basis that Corporate Members will continuously update their knowledge in occupational safety and health through CPD, Corporate Members of the HKIE do not need to take mandatory basic safety training before entering construction sites.

Please note that the HKIE is required to provide such CPD records concerning the recognition of the Corporate Members’ training for the purpose of section 6BA, Cap 59 upon the request of the Labour Department.

Members may refer to the online references of safety training for information:

• Occupational Safety & Health Council (https://www.oshc.org.hk/eng/main/training/)
• Construction Industry Council (https://www.cic.hk/eng/main/safety-corner/)
• HKIE Safety Specialist Committee (http://ssc.hkie.org.hk/)

Corporate Members and Associate Members who have been removed from the membership roll (due to resignation or striking off by Council resolution) for more than seven years will be required to submit fresh applications should they wish to re-join the Institution. All other grades of members who have been removed from the membership roll (due to resignation or striking off by Council resolution) for more than three years will be required to submit fresh applications should they wish to re-join the Institution. Subject to the above, the current payment scale for reinstatement of membership other than for non-resident members, is a reinstatement fee of HK$410 (for administration purpose), plus all arrears in subscription. The arrears in subscription shall be subject to a maximum of three years’ subscriptions prior to the application for reinstatement of membership.

Non-resident members who apply for the reinstatement of membership as non-resident members shall only be required to pay a reinstatement fee of HK$410; all arrears in subscription shall be waived. All other requirements for reinstatement of membership shall remain unchanged.

HKIE Transactions is an international journal that provides a forum for discussing all aspects of engineering from both theoretical and practical perspectives. Full-length papers, technical notes and discussions on any topic of engineering are always welcome. If your expertise is in any aspects of engineering including but not limited to the following areas, we look forward to receiving your paper!

• Aeronautical, aerospace and aviation engineering
• Building science and services engineering
• Chemical, biological and biomedical engineering
• Civil and structural engineering
• Computer science
• Electrical and electronic engineering
• Energy and environmental engineering
• Engineering management
• Industrial and manufacturing systems engineering
• Information engineering
• Materials science and engineering
• Mechanical and automation engineering

Good quality practical papers are as welcome as those of an academic nature.

Submit your manuscript via ScholarOne Manuscripts System (S1M)

Online submission of manuscripts: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/thie.

Before submission, authors are invited to read the submission guidelines at: https://www.hkie.org.hk/hkietransactions/instructions-for-authors for the Instructions for Authors and Referencing Style.

The journal is now paper-free and subscription-free. Published papers are now at http://www.hkie.org.hk/hkietransactions for all you can read!

Enquiries

hkietransactions@hkie.org.hk

This erratum is issued to give notice that, in February 2022, an update was made in the Cover Story titled “When innovation and technology meet geotechnical engineering” published in the December 2021 issue (page 8).

The update was made on the first sentence of the second paragraph under Section 4.2 Engineered cementitious composites. The original sentence reads as: “In the tests and trials, fibres in ECC were discovered to alter the cracking behaviour of the concrete to favour the formation of single wide cracks instead of multiple micro cracks that commonly occur in conventional reinforced concrete or cement grout.” The updated sentence reads as: “In the tests and trials, fibres in ECC were discovered to alter the cracking behaviour of the concrete to favour the formation of multiple micro cracks instead of single wide cracks that commonly occur in conventional reinforced concrete or cement grout.”

By publishing this erratum, we aim to notify readers of the update and uphold the journal's credibility.

“Proud to be Engineers” lapel pin

This golden, square-shaped lapel pin (equipped with a butterfly clutch) features the Simplified Dragon Coat of Arms at its centre and the words “Proud to be Engineers” — the Presidential Theme of Session 2022/2023 — on the sides. This simple but elegant design matches well with a suit and gives the pin’s wearers a sleek appearance that makes them proudly and instantly recognisable as engineers. The pin is available for sale at HK$100 each.

HKIE lady scarf

HKIE ties

With an eye-catching and stylish design, the HKIE Ties are among the most popular souvenirs for our members. Three ties are now available and may be an essential piece to add to your wardrobe. Embroidered with the simplified HKIE Dragon Coat of Arms, either in a single or monogram pattern, the ties are timeless accessories for fellow engineers and suitable for every occasion. The three ties are now available at HK$100 each.

For details of our whole range of souvenirs, please visit: https://hkie.org.hk/en/membership/souvenir/.

For enquiries and ordering, please contact our reception dest at 2895 4446.