-
Chan Siu Fan
Chan Siu Fan
Project Manager, Chan's Building Contractors Ltd.
Sex: Male Birthyear: 1964 Age at Interview: 46 Education: Upper Secondary Occupation: Scaffolding worker| Owner of a scaffolding company Theme: Industry When Chan Siu Fan founded his own company, he followed his former boss' work philosophy, which is, do not care about losses and be accountable for one's work. With this in mind, he gradually expanded his business contacts and earned reputation in the trade, which contributed to his career success.
Title The key to success: Don't care about losses and be accountable for your work Date 10/11/2010 Subject Industry Duration 2m13s Language Cantonese Material Type Audio Collection Oral History Archives Repository Hong Kong Memory Project Note to Copyright Copyright owned by Hong Kong Memory Project Accession No. TW-CSF-HLT-001 Tips for apprentices: observe well, work hard, get along well with your master, learn the craft, ...Being an apprentice, one needs to observe the work styles and skills of his master. Chan found it particularly useful to have learnt the skills of setting up bamboo poles and selecting bamboo strips from his master. It requires hard work, keen observation, and positive relationship with the master to make one a good apprentice.
Title Tips for apprentices: observe well, work hard, get along well with your master, learn the craft, pick the best materials Date 10/11/2010 Subject Industry Duration 2m1s Language Cantonese Material Type Audio Collection Oral History Archives Repository Hong Kong Memory Project Note to Copyright Copyright owned by Hong Kong Memory Project Accession No. TW-CSF-HLT-002 Chan observed that his company had to bear higher operation costs while the project charges remained the same. He coped with this difficulty by getting more project orders at lower charges while improving the operational efficiency with the aid of modern equipment.
Title Business strategies: taking up more projects at a lower price and improving productivity Date 10/11/2010 Subject Industry Duration 1m40s Language Cantonese Material Type Audio Collection Oral History Archives Repository Hong Kong Memory Project Note to Copyright Copyright owned by Hong Kong Memory Project Accession No. TW-CSF-HLT-004 During peak season, there is often a severe drain of scaffolding workers as they tend to take up subcontracting projects from different companies. They could earn more money from working for subcontracting projects than being a permanent worker receiving monthly salary. In order to retain his staff during peak season, Chan contracted out his projects to his workers and sometimes even supplied materials and trucks to them so that they would work for him.
Title To retain workers during peak season, contracted out projects to raise his staff’s income Date 10/11/2010 Subject Industry Duration 1m43s Language Cantonese Material Type Audio Collection Oral History Archives Repository Hong Kong Memory Project Note to Copyright Copyright owned by Hong Kong Memory Project Accession No. TW-CSF-HLT-005 Chan required his staff not only to observe the safety but also the appearance and pattern of each scaffolding work. Masters with traditional training always said that scaffolding is an art of work. Chan thought that workers should respect their own craftsmanship and produce scaffolds that they themselves feel satisfactory.
Title The craftsmanship of bamboo scaffolding: pay attention to safety, appearance and pattern Date 10/11/2010 Subject Industry Duration 2m53s Language Cantonese Material Type Audio Collection Oral History Archives Repository Hong Kong Memory Project Note to Copyright Copyright owned by Hong Kong Memory Project Accession No. TW-CSF-HLT-006 Bamboo scaffolding works provide great flexibility to construction projects at a low cost. It is an important aid for construction and maintenance projects in densely populated Hong Kong. Scaffolding fits well with the situations here and has been adopted widely in Hong Kong. On the contrary, this traditional skill originated from China has faded out there.
Title Bamboo scaffolding fits well with the congested environment in Hong Kong Date 10/11/2010 Subject Industry Duration 43s Language Cantonese Material Type Audio Collection Oral History Archives Repository Hong Kong Memory Project Note to Copyright Copyright owned by Hong Kong Memory Project Accession No. TW-CSF-HLT-007 Scaffolding workers are more concerned about the autonomy of individuals than pay rate. If they find a working environment pleasant and can get along well with the other workers, they do not mind changing to a job with lower pay. Scaffolding work requires team spirit. Workers will enjoy greater efficiency and more synergy if they can cooperate with each other.
Title Scaffolding workers prefer more autonomy and a pleasant team work environment than pay rates Date 10/11/2010 Subject Industry Duration 1m31s Language Cantonese Material Type Audio Collection Oral History Archives Repository Hong Kong Memory Project Note to Copyright Copyright owned by Hong Kong Memory Project Accession No. TW-CSF-HLT-011 Looking back, Chan felt satisfied as he had built his own business from scratch. Along the way, he had the support from his fellow apprentices and the performance of the company was not bad. Whenever he shared with his children his experiences in scaffolding work, or saw the scaffolds made by the company, he felt contented. He is proud to have contributed to the construction work for Hong Kong.
Title In retrospect, Chan felt satisfied with building a company from scratch Date 10/11/2010 Duration 1m54s Language Cantonese Material Type Audio Collection Oral History Archives Repository Hong Kong Memory Project Note to Copyright Copyright owned by Hong Kong Memory Project Accession No. TW-CSF-HLT-012