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Airport Authority Hong Kong: Rethink Technologies for Each Facility

MACAO, China - (BUSINESS WIRE) -

Facilities Management Asia Summit 2011
Macao, China, 28 - 30 March

Interview with: Ricky Leung, General Manager - Technical Services, Airport Authority Hong Kong

Facility managers need to think of the applicability of new technologies when building or redesigning facilities, advises Ricky Leung, General Manager - Technical Services, Airport Authority Hong Kong. They should not blindly apply state-of-the-art technologies which can prove to be immature and unfit for their facility.

A speaker at the marcus evans Facilities Management Asia Summit 2011 in Macao, China, 28 - 30 March, Leung discusses facility management best practices and what led up to the Hong Kong International Airport's bronze award for Environmental Excellence in 2009.

How did the Hong Kong Award for Environmental Excellence come about?

Ricky Leung: "The organisers looked at our green leadership, programme performance and partner synergies. Whether our senior management and staff were committed to the pursuit of environmental objectives, what our programme included and our work with our partners. We try to use resources efficiently, recycle and reuse wherever possible and minimise pollution to the environment.

Many different measurements of our achievements led up to this award. We take our social responsibilities very seriously and are very much tuned in to ensuring that all our activities are green and environmentally friendly - our work was able to demonstrate this."

Can you give examples of little steps that can be taken to improve facilities?

Ricky Leung: "An example would be LED lights and other energy efficient devices. It is important to remember that energy efficiency also means maintenance cost savings. LED lights last longer and are 80 per cent more efficient than halogen lights. Since the ceiling at the airport is high, we have to put in scaffolding to change light bulbs. Having to do this less often reduces maintenance costs and the disruption to the public."

What long-term strategies would you recommend to facility managers?

Ricky Leung: "Different facilities have different needs, depending on many factors including how old the building is. AA has pledged with 40 business partners to reduce the carbon footprint of the airport by 25 per cent per workload unit by 2015. Although we share a number of carbon reduction programmes, the way in which each organisation is approaching this initiative is different. We have set our targets on a year-by-year basis, monitoring our achievements annually and revising strategies to make sure we reach our targets by 2015.

We will need to construct new facilities to cater to traffic growth. I would advise facility managers who are facing a similar situation to ensure that when building or redesigning a facility they keep abreast of new technologies but think of how they could be applied to their building. They should not blindly apply state-of-the-art technologies which can prove to be immature and unfit for their facility. Technologies change how we do things, but some are successful and others not. Facility managers need to be aware of new technologies and evaluate their applicability to their own facility."

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Sarin Kouyoumdjian-Gurunlian
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