1. Introduction to
Construction Industry
--
An Interview with a
Quantity Surveyor
MR. SIA
CHENG SENG
FNBE AUG 14| Issue 13

2. SIA CHENG SENG
47 YEARS OLD
GRADUATED AT UNIVERSITY OF
GREENWICH
DEGREE IN QUANTITY SURVEYING @ UK
20 YEARS OF WORKING EXPERIENCES
IN THREE DIFFERENT COMPANIES
BIODATA

3. Why did youchoose QS as your career? Are youhappy
with being an QS?
My father is a builder and I’m often exposed to
constructionssince youngand then I eventually grew
interested in QS. Well, yes, I enjoy and feel rather
satisfied when I get to see the end productof my efforts.
How long have youbeenworking in this line?
After my diplomain BuildingSurveying, Iworked asan
assistant QS at my dad’scompany for about a year plus
before furtheringmy studiesat UK taking degree in QS
for a year. After graduating from UK, I worked asa
consultantQS for 10 years and then joined a Design and
BuiltContractor company whichis also the company I’m
workingwith for 12 yearsnow. I obtained the qualified
and registered QS of ISM and RICSin my early thirties,
with that, I formed two of my own companies.
Who do youusually workwith?
I usually go for site meetings and meet clients,
subcontractor and architect. ButI work mostly with
contractors as I need to make surethe work meet the
budget and expectations of clients.
Is it hard to cope as a QS?
Not really, I enjoy calculations and most of the things
are back to the basics, like how to foresee and estimate
materials used as wellas dealingwith clients.

4. Tell us more about your company.
I have two companies, I was a
consultantin a developer company
belong to my father and then decided
to form another contract company with
my elder brother to make projects a lot
moreconvenient. My brother has now
taken over that developer company and
I am taking care of this four-year-old
contracts company, WeiSheng Builders
Sdn. Bhd.
Wei Sheng Builders Sdn. Bhd
(905863-K)

5. 905863-K
No. 1, Ground Floor
Jalan Perwira1,
Taman Perwira, BukitBakri,
84200 Muar, Johor
Date of registration: 25th June2010
Certified by: NoorlidaHanim Binti Ahmad
(Assistant Registrar of Companies, Malaysia)
Authorized capital: RM 500,000.00
Paid-up capital: RM250,000.00
Natureof Business: Construction Project

6. “We plan to achieve mutual satisfaction and
to reach bigger goals in the construction
industry, we are fully committed to complete all
construction project undertaken on time, within
reasonable price and with the excellence
quality.”
Organizational chart

7. Projects
Slightly brief us about two projectsyouwould like to
share with us and tell us why.
1) Two projects?
Hmm, a 10 unitsof
semi-d and 2 units
of bungalow
project in Ampang
Jaya, Selangor
which is not yet
awarded so we
cannot proceed. I
chose to share the
AmpangJaya
project with you is because I am really looking
forward to work with the contractors involved in
this particular project because I have never worked
with them before.

8. “I was actually invited by a client to tender the
Ampang project, which meansI have to arrangethe
tender documentssuchas drawings, plansetc. and if the
drawingsare lump sum (notstated specific), this is
where I become important. I have to estimate, foresee
and to also visit the site so the estimations are more
accurate. Choosing typesof cement and tiles such as the
marble ones, china onesand so on are also part of my
responsibilities as well. Once everything is settled, I’ll
check the drawingsonelast time and then summitthem
to the contractors (yes, the oneI’m looking forward to
work with) duringmeetingand procurementquestions
concerningmy documents, supplier or anythingrelated.
Now, we’re justwaiting for our tender to be awarded so
that we can proceed.”

9. 2) The second one is 15 units of double storey in
Muar, Johor, that cost about 3 million, which is
already completed
for about half a
year now. While
for Muar, I am
proud and satisfied
with my work and
achievement as
both my company
and my brother’s
company worked
hard together.

10. “I took over this Muar project from my brother’s
company so I had lesser responsibilities here. I only
have to take photos, measurementsand to also
calculate the amountand total cost of materials
needed to be used.

11. MR SIA’S ADVICE
FOR STUDENTS
“Makesure to brush up
your generalknowledge
because as a QS, we learn
things dependingon our
surroundings and also
about IT and technology
because the world now
can solve mostly anything
with a computer.
AutoCAD isone of the
most importantsoftware
used as it shows every
single detail of the
interior housesuch as the
water pipesand
windows.”

12. Jalan Taylors,
Subang Jaya,
47500 Subang Jaya,
Selangor
Author:
Cynthia Fong
Interviewed by:
Hau Hui Yee
Cynthia Fong
Ee Yun Shan
Lim Zia Huei
Gabriel Chin
Lim Zia Huei