Robert Walton
I've been around the block but am not worn out! Former Chartered QS/PM, mainly in buildings but also in engineering.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/waltonbob/
https://twitter.com/WaltonBob
Location England
Activity
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ME = Middle East. SME = Small & Medium Enterprizes.
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Robert Walton replied to Robert Walton
@AliceBarker Thank you Alice! We are now connected on LinkedIn and I'm also to be found on Twitter @waltonbob where I have building surveying chums who might be relevant to your work interests.
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Robert Walton replied to Robert Walton
@AppolosGombandoOsaro Very kind of you Appolos. Unfortunately I don't do WhatApp, but you can connect with me on LinkedIn.
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Robert Walton made a comment
It has been a thought-provoking course and I am grateful for the opportunity to update my skills. I've enjoyed being with others that have contributed their own experiences and insights. Good luck everyone in your workplaces and 'thank you'.
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Robert Walton made a comment
I think it's a good thing if management cascades the idea of capturing moments when ethics can be discusses. Team meetings, away-days, catch-up meetings, performance reviews, toolbox talks, project close-out / lessons learned meetings, etc. Lots of opportunities to capture feedback and thoughts about ethics, to enable debate and continuous improvements. The...
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Robert Walton made a comment
Impressive stuff about Bechtel, but they are a massive business ... https://www.bechtel.com/services/procurement/
Nothing wrong in transferring skills from big firms though. Use Bechtel as a positive influence in our own smaller businesses. -
Robert Walton made a comment
One contractor I had on a large project organised a residential get-together of the whole project team before work started on site. Purpose was to get to know people and to understand their personalities - at work and play. A form of bonding exercise. Got the project off to a good start, and I certainly knew my fellow workers quicker than I would have done...
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Robert Walton replied to John Daniels
I've heard about safety moments in meetings, but not ethics moments. No reason why not, good idea.
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Robert Walton made a comment
Ethical companies make more money? Evidence is available from the performance ethical stocks in the market. I have investments in a trust fund of shares in ethical companies, and they have performed well. I'm quite content to keep invested in these.
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Robert Walton made a comment
In an ideal environment perhaps we would not have the need for written down contracts? Parties will know what is required of them by intuition, so there is no need to revert to legally written agreements. Will the world be better without lawyers? How much time is wasted by parties arguing over terms and conditions? The ultimate situation will be in having...
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Robert Walton made a comment
The course is giving me more confidence in my abilities to challenge bad practice and to uphold high standards in ethics. Confidence stems from knowledge and this course is providing that knowledge.
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Robert Walton made a comment
I think firms should have regular review sessions with staff to revise and update ethics processes. This helps keep them fresh in peoples minds and opens up debate about gaps in them.
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Robert Walton made a comment
It's important that you know what the standards of behaviour are that your clients / customer expect. Your standards must match or exceed theirs.
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Some firms put all gifts at Christmas into a draw, so some lucky winners to the gifts - but they are not told who from. Works well in my experience.
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Robert Walton made a comment
An incident on a project of mine: I was a site QS on a military base. One day the military police (armed) entered the site office and asked to see the site's hospitality book. Everyone said 'what book!' Panic stricken they called on me (as a QS they though money was all my business), so quick-mindedly I reached for a blank exercise book from the stationery...
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Robert Walton made a comment
Be very careful of this client. If this is an indication of the way they do business, do you want to get into a formal contract with them for a build project. There's going to be lots of hurdles along the way - can this client to trusted to play fair. Perhaps it's best to decline to tender before wasting time on the bid. The whole project could descend into a...
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Robert Walton made a comment
It will help your defense in any disciplinary hearing (should you be called to account for your actions) if you can answer positively to the checklist. Perhaps we must defend ourselves from accusations of wrongdoing in our workplaces, whether or not the employer has hard and fast rules? Adopt a defense mechanism for yourself at least!
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Robert Walton made a comment
I had a project once where I was concerned about the manner that taxation was being calculated and being paid by the client. I told my employer about my concerns and legal advice was obtained. It was confirmed that the way tax was being calculated was in fact legal, but to me it still seemed morally wrong. However, taxation law is an area that is not...
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Robert Walton made a comment
C: Because John is offended by the jibes, and he has shown that they are unwanted. They should discontinue, otherwise it is bullying and John (and his colleagues) have grounds to complain.
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Robert Walton made a comment
B: return the challenge by saying if everyone else flexes their muscles I'll flex mine. I would also suggest that the calendar is possibly offensive to others that might see it, especially visitors - ask what they might think of the place? If a debate ensues, I'll just have to challenge them to take it down.
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Robert Walton made a comment
A: I would offer an apology on behalf of the guy for embarrassing the lady. Inject a bit of humour and it will pass as an unfortunate misunderstanding. No offence intended.
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This had been a problem in UK, but government introduced a Construction Act that made prompt payment the law.
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Robert Walton made a comment
I had an instance of a contractor falsifying invoices and using these to claim more money that entitled to. An astute quantity surveyor thought the costs too high and investigated, to find that a supplier's invoice had been tampered with. It was a case of fraud ... and the end payer was a government body, so a serious matter because it involved public money....
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Does your organization offer remedial training after bad behavior is found? It is normal to have a disciplinary code that sets out how bad behavior is managed - typically by re-training. I have know staff to be called in for anger management training, after they have been found losing their temper!
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Robert Walton made a comment
I am retired after a lifetime career as a Chartered Surveyor. I had to obey the standards of my membership and when I became a fellow of that institution I was a peer to the members. I became an examiner of the RICS Test of Professional Competence, at which I was on a panel of assessors of new surveyor's skills & competence to practice. That assessment...
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Robert Walton made a comment
I have experiences of bad clients not wanting to pay their consultants. It is often the case that if a project gets delayed before it starts on site (in the planning stages), clients will not want to pay because they don't have access to their funds from funders until the site starts. Design teams can wait long times to be paid. Also, clients often expect...
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Larger companies have whistleblowing processes, typically a main board director will be the head of the process and deal personally with issues raised. Companies know that such matters must be dealt with, or their reputations can be harmed. Boards recognise this and do treat whistleblowers with respect and afford them confidentiality. I've know of very swift...
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Robert Walton made a comment
SMEs that are in developed supply chains will have to demonstrate they are on top of the training that the supply chain is required to do. Main contractors will only place sub-contracts with those SMEs that are 'doing as they are told'. Checks are made in regular reviews of supply chain partner performance, set against a scorecard of deliverables.
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Very good examples Shah. If standards are not set by our peers, there is less hope that things will improve.
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Robert Walton made a comment
I am not seeing much benefits from the Social Value Act 2013. Public sector clients are required to insist on things like local employment on sites. I see main contractors from outside my community being given contracts and sub-contractors are also from outside the community. I doubt just how much benefit there is for local workforce when the firms are from...
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Robert Walton replied to Alice Barker
Interesting. I doubt we will need them. Didn't have them before we went into EU, of course. Life was much easier and straightforward, so it might be again.
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Robert Walton made a comment
It's amazing to think that all the legislation that has been introduced since I started out in my career in 1970. You might reasonably consider that things must have been bad back then, but they weren't. Granted, unethical practices did take place but my profession (QS) was on top of matters to protect our clients. We had an important job to do as the arbiters...
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It's a good question Chris. I chose to be a QS principally because the career was concerned with delivery of cost. Since, it has developed into a profession that delivers 'value', but an element in that is still cost. I suppose I'm a kind of individual that is driven by cost ... so I play that part in the bigger picture of delivering a project. There are...
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Robert Walton made a comment
All very interesting. Particularly enjoyed learning about Maslow's philosophies.
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Robert Walton made a comment
Conflict of interest has always concerned me. In construction there are traditionally two camps - the client side and the constructors side. Professionals now often work in both camps, working for constructors as well as clients. There is clearly conflict of interest when working for both camps in a single project, but if say an architect is doing a lot of...
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Robert Walton made a comment
Of course, being a member of a professional body is not mandatory, so not everyone is a member. They still get jobs as not all firms seek staff who are qualified in such a way. I have known surveyors who I have had to work opposite (typically the contractors surveyors when I was the client-side surveyor) and there has not been the synergy between us like there...
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Robert Walton made a comment
My American client taught me a lot about work ethics and high standards. There was a higher expectation than I was used to in UK. Project delivery was tireless. Our meetings lasted all day and into the evenings sometimes. It was good humored, but tiring. I never arranged any personal activity after work on the days of client meetings. It was what the project...
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Robert Walton made a comment
In principle information sharing is commendable but it must be remembered that 'information is power'. In an adversarial situation - say in a claims situation, the information you hold can be to your advantage, so sharing it would be wrong. The construction industry is trying to get away from adversarial positioning, but at times it is unavoidable and...
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Robert Walton made a comment
In the context of a construction project there can be many parties. A design team can be as many as five participant firms (architect, surveyor, engineers etc), there are the constructor firms (many of those also) and the client-side participants (the client + representatives, lawyers etc). All can have different cultures and behaviours. It would be impossible...
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I'm all for values-driven organisations, but there is an undercurrent that demands least cost as well. In a competitive culture there is a need to find ways of adding value bot without cost. As a QS my life has been delivering client satisfaction, and that has largely been based on cost ... even when delivering projects at a government level. At a personal...
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Seems to me that you have a balanced life Shah.
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Robert Walton made a comment
I was once a director in a professional practice of surveyors and I was expected to work all hours. In business you have to do that to support the business. The staff relied on me for their employment - I was their breadwinner. Of course, socialising with business colleagues is all part of out-of-hours work, so it was not all bad. I admit that when my father...
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Robert Walton made a comment
It's a long list, so not easy to select my answers. I'm pleased with my results, as they are a fair reflection of me. I wonder, is this test run on job applicants CVs? I've heard that care is needed in using your words in CVs, so perhaps this is why?
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What struck me most in the interview was the thought that 'doing as little as possible for most gain' is wrong. In construction this is a constant temptation, and it is one I have some sympathy with, when the industry is often fiercely competitive. I have little sympathy, for instance, with say an architect or engineer not doing a thorough specification and...
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Robert Walton made a comment
As a chartered professional my ethics were driven by my institution as well as by my personal values. I had clashes with people who I faced who were not chartered and did not have such high values as those which I had to practice with. I had to stand firm and uphold my values though and not waver to theirs. My institution expected no less of me.
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Robert Walton made a comment
This week I've been considering ethics in my personal life while facing the challenges of Covid-19. Wearing a face covering is ethical because it helps protect others. It would be selfish not to when in proximity of others, as well as dangerous to yourself. Should we put self-protection above the protection of others? I think not. Wear a mask and do both -...
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Robert Walton replied to Hayleigh House
Yes, I agree. It's important that ethics is tested in job interviews. Team dynamics that respect ethical behaviorus can be upset by the wrong person being introduced. Many employers deliberately have 'behaviours' as an integral part of their recruitment & HR processes.
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Robert Walton replied to Sabah Khodabocus
You'll find this interesting Sabah ...
https://www.transparency.org/en/countries/mauritius -
Robert Walton replied to Joseph Maina
You will find the Transparency International index of corruption interesting Joseph.
https://www.transparency.org/en/countries/kenya -
Robert Walton replied to Leigh Till
'Race to the bottom' was never a phrase used in my early career. I started with fee scales for professional services (surveyors, architects & engineers all had them) set by the institutions (RICS, RIBA etc). Everyone had to use them as chartered professionals. There was no competition on price of services and all services were tightly defined. Then in 1980...
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The solution possibly lies with the pre-contract services of a client-appointed quantity surveyor. Full service levels include cost planning and checking of costs throughout the design stages. The architect's Plan of Work includes these services - should the client wish to afford them. Some clients want cheapest cost across everything so they don't appoint a...
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I wonder whether going back to a design-led procurement route is better than a more commercial-led approach. Have we become too concerned about the price and less about the quality? Is the QS profession letting quality slip in favour of price as a key deliverable? Perhaps the balance between price and quality needs to be more equal?
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Robert Walton replied to Oluwaseun Dosumu
I agree. Subconsciously we consider ethics like we subconsciously consider safety when we cross a road. But we only can do these things after we have been influenced by our peers - our elders taught us to cross the road! Perhaps the measure of how good we are at these things is the amount of exposure we've had to good influences.
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Robert Walton made a comment
I suspect I spend most of my time caring for others.
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Robert Walton made a comment
It's interesting that professionalism is not just knowing the laws, rules, codes & social norms of your work, but it's our own moral compass that sets us apart. The laws etc are to tools of the trade but it's our individual behaviors that deliver compliance of these and demonstrate our care for them. Everyone has a moral duty of care - that's our...
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Robert Walton made a comment
In UK I find that the biggest problem is the levels of workload - either feast of famine! Boom or bust has always given the industry dilemmas about its survival. Builders have switched to FM at times of shortage of new build work. Some businesses have become 'masters of everything, but experts in nothing'. It's sad to have seen the demise of so many reputable...
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Robert Walton made a comment
It will be interesting to see how the public enquiry into the Grenfell fire deals with the ethics in the project. There has been criticism voiced by a range of observers about the method of procurement (design & build), choice of materials (least cost), building regulations (too relaxed) etc. The professional body for architects (RIBA) has been active in...
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Robert Walton made a comment
I have always thought that to succeed you need to move in the right company - as I've sought new employers I've always wanted to know their cultures. Interviews are a two-way affair, and I've always wanted to know about them as much as they've wanted to know about me. I'd not think much of them if they'd not be inquisitorial about my character. If they just...
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Robert Walton made a comment
I come from a long line of builders - in 1850 great grandfather was a bricklayer (the Victorians were prolific builders); grandfather was a builder and undertaker (often the two professions went together in those days and he was a lay preacher as well), my father became a carpenter/joiner and I'm a quantity surveyor. I respect all that my ancestors did and how...
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Robert Walton made a comment
I think that ethics fits with self respect and respect for others. Construction is not just a transactional industry it is now very much a reputational industry. Our transactions between the various parties result in us gaining a reputation. Our reputation earns us respect, and it is that which secures our futures.
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Robert Walton made a comment
Happy to be 'on board' for week 1.
