There should be more multidisciplinary firms… 1

DEPARTMENT OF QUANTITY SURVEYING

KULLIYYAH OF ARCHITECTURE AND ENVIRONMENTAL
DESIGN

LE 4000
ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC PURPOSES

“THERE SHOULD BE MORE MULTIDISCIPLINARY

FIRMS IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY IN
MALAYSIA”

Prepared by:
SULAIMAN BIN WAHAB
0536797

Prepared for:
MR. MOHD. ADNAN HOLDEN ABDULLAH
 There should be more multidisciplinary firms… 2

Abstract

The problem of late delivery and abandonment in construction projects leads

to other major negative effects on other industries too. This paper will discuss the

benefits that arise when there are more multidisciplinary firms in the construction

industry in Malaysia. The paper will also talk about the problems in implementing this

practice and the solutions for those problems. The Islamic point of view regarding to

this practice is highlighted in this paper. By means of library research, this paper will

discuss the reasons why there should be more multidisciplinary firms in the

construction industry in Malaysia. Finally, this paper will arrive at the conclusion that,

indeed, there is a need for more multidisciplinary firms in Malaysia’s construction

sector.
 There should be more multidisciplinary firms… 3

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PAGE

Abstract 2

1.0 Introduction 4

2.0 Case against more multidisciplinary firms

2.1 Expensive Fees 6

3.0 Case for more multidisciplinary firms

3.1 Time Saving 9

3.2 Dispute Reduction 11

4.0 Conclusion 14

5.0 References 16
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1.0 Introduction

Most construction procurement processes in Malaysia use the traditional

method during the design phase which is, firstly, the client needs to hire the designers,

for example, architects, landscape architects or applied artists to design the project

and then he needs to ask his quantity surveyors to calculate the cost of the project and

then only the client can tender the project to call the contractors to bid for the work

(Khairuddin, 2002). Via this method, sometimes, the construction project period

becomes longer and it may lead to project delays or abandonment.

The problems above occur because of various reasons that arise among the

practitioners, for example, too little information, lack of trust, fraud in determining the

agreement, distance and location of professionals, inconsistency in delivering the

information, poor coordination and, last but not least, because of humble technology

(Amalina, 2006). Nowadays, Malaysia needs a rapid growth in the economy to

achieve Vision 2020. However, to facilitate the economy or business activities, we

need buildings. So, the need for buildings is more or less the same as the increasing

economic development. Therefore, to overcome the problem of late delivery in

construction projects, we can implement the multidisciplinary firms in the

construction industry.

Multidisciplinary firms or integrated practices firms or whatever they call this

type of practice, are actually where all professionals such as architects, engineers and
 There should be more multidisciplinary firms… 5

quantity surveyors or other professionals from different fields of expertise are

employed by a sole firm. The major function of these kinds of firms is giving advice

to the client from various points of view by sitting in one place or it can be considered

as ‘one stop shop’. In addition, Talha A. Zobair (1999) in his article simply described

multidisciplinary firms as “firms that provide a variety of professional services

through association or alliance of professionals”. Unfortunately, there are only a few

multidisciplinary firms in the construction industry in Malaysia. Therefore, it is a

clever move to establish more multidisciplinary firms in the construction industry in

Malaysia at this moment to overcome the problems that become malignant diseases to

the construction industry that will impede and slow down the nation’s economic

growth.

However, there are some people who are afraid to make changes who claim

that it is irrelevant to have such firms because they need good financial capability,

good research and development facilities and good management specialty. They also

argue that each and every professional cannot focus on his or her expertise when they

sit under one roof because they need to follow the company’s objectives. Again, they

maintain that disputes will not be eliminated because they are crucial to have the

impact and high competency of the work. Regardless of the ideas of the opposing

camp, I vehemently believe that there should be more multidisciplinary firms in the

construction industry in Malaysia because they speed up the construction procurement

process, they reduce the disputes between professionals and they save costs.
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2.0 Case against more multidisciplinary firms

This section will discuss the case against having more multidisciplinary firms

in the construction industry in Malaysia, for example, they are costly to build and hire

and the rebuttal to this point of view. The points that have been discussed here are

supported with relevant resources from library research as well as electronic research.

The Islamic points of views are also highlighted in this section.

2.1 Expensive Fees

There are those who argue very strongly that there is no need to implement

multidisciplinary firms in the construction industry in Malaysia and their point is that

it is irrelevant to establish such firms because they are expensive. For example, they

need to rent or buy a big office to have many professionals, they need to pay wages to

many staff and because of less competition they can charge higher for their services.

According to Abdul Karim (2004), in his paper, these integrated practices firms

charge higher for their services because they are well equipped with the following

factors, such as, massive financial strength, access to the latest technology, a large

pool of highly skilled manpower resources, worldwide network, sophisticated

information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure, research and

development (R & D) facilities, and marketing and management capability. He also

claim that this problem can be overcome by hiring single practice firm. A single

practice firm can be easily set up because its only needs a small office as big as a
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shophouse. The firm only requires hiring only one professional and it can easily focus

to develop its service in its own field of work. In addition, even though it will put the

client in awkward situation where the client needs to hire all professionals separately,

the client can reduce the professional fees because there are lots of single practice

firms in the industry and the client has the flexibility to choose the best service that

will suit with his or her budget and at the end give him or her value for money

(VFM).

Whilst this position has its own supporters, I find their argument is untenable

for a number of strong reasons. Firstly, there should be more multidisciplinary firms

in the construction industry in Malaysia because they save costs. Moreover, we can

say that multidisciplinary firms reduce time and disputes, these will discuss further in

the next chapter, so, we can conclude that by saving more time we can save more

money as by spending more time we actually spend more money. Sometimes, disputes

are also costly. This is because disputes sometimes delay the work and they also

sometimes need to hire an arbitrator or mediator to solve the disputes or else it may

lead to court action (Amalina, 2006). Moreover, integrated practice firms can reduce

the cost of administration, for example, they can eliminate the need to hire more

workers to process the information delivered because through multidisciplinary firms

information is delivered directly among the professionals. They also save on overhead

costs such as, paper, stationery, electricity and telephone bills (Talha, (1999).

Furthermore, even though these kinds of firms are very few in the construction

industry in Malaysia and they can be considered as ‘new kids on the block’, there are

some examples of successful multidisciplinary firms in the construction field outside

Malaysia. One of them is the Building Design Partnership in United Kingdom. This
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company’s annual income fee tops more than £60 million (Building Design Partnering

Homepage, 2008). Another example is the Atkins Group, which is in expert in many

fields including building design, highways, rail, aviation, water, oil and gas, power,

nuclear, defence and the environment. Moreover, with a turnover of £1.18bn and

employment of around 25,000 people in 2006/7, Atkins was awarded the largest

multidisciplinary consultancy in Europe as cited from the Atkins website (W. S.

Atkins Group Homepage, 2008).

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3.0 Arguments for more multidisciplinary firms

This chapter will discuss the cases in favor of more multidisciplinary firms in

the construction industry in Malaysia, for example, saving time and reducing disputes

and their possible counterarguments. The points that have been discussed here are

supported with relevant resources from library research as well as electronic research.

The Islamic points of views are also highlighted in this section.

3.1 Time Saving

First and foremost, there should be more multidisciplinary firms in the

construction industry in Malaysia because they speed up the construction procurement

process. In the traditional method, each process comes after another process has been

completed, for example, after the designers for example architects, applied artists and

engineers finish designing the project and then only the quantity surveyors can come

in to calculate the cost of the project (Khairuddin, 2002). In contrast, by using

multidisciplinary services, we can overlap each and every process, for example, in the

middle of designing the project the quantity surveyors can still come in to calculate

the cost of the project. As a result, the designers can reduce the overall designing

problem thus we can eliminate the tendency of redesigning the project that will

require extension of time (Abdul Karim, 2004). This can only happen when the

designers understand and realize that their design must be suitable for the client’s

budget. In addition, the only expert in controlling the client’s money is the quantity
 There should be more multidisciplinary firms… 10

surveyor, so, the involvement of this individual should be at the beginning or in the

middle of the design process not at the end or after the design has been completed.

The quantity surveyor can also advise the client that his or her requirements need

extra cost that will help the designers to design the project to give the client value for

money (VFM).

It might be argued that the integrated practice services system will slow down

the process and create more problems. They claim that the traditional method is the

best method that has been practiced over many years and different types of

construction projects such as buildings, civil works and facilities and it should not be

changed to another method because it has been successfully implemented such as the

sacred beautiful Kuala Lumpur International Airport Mosque that used the traditional

method. They strongly hold to their views and one of their supporting points is that

each professional can focus on their expertise for example, architects can develop

their design concept simply without the interference of the engineers and quantity

surveyors that will put them in a claustrophobic situation where they need to meet

their designs with the sound and realistic structure which is not over budget (Amalina,

2006). However, unfortunately, there will be a situation just like a goalkeeper needs to

save the ball from entering the goal where the last man needs to absorb all the burdens

that arise from his teammates. In the construction project, the last person who will

face this kind of state is usually the quantity surveyor. Sometimes, to meet the client’s

budget with the design that has been provided the unfortunate quantity surveyor has to

change the quality of the materials and workmanship for the project. This will

contribute to other major problems in the future such as leakage and fungus problems
 There should be more multidisciplinary firms… 11

that are hazardous especially for hospital buildings based on the Ampang Hospital

case that was left abandoned because of fungus problems.

It is clear that more multidisciplinary firms in the construction industry will

give a major reimbursement to the country from one of their advantages which is that

they can speed up the construction procurement process. Allah stated in the Quran

(103:1-3), “Because of time, human are in deep loss, accept those who are pious and

do righteous deeds and those who always advice others to truthfulness and tolerant”.

We can conclude from these ayah that time is important, if there is a possible way to

reduce the time spent and it gives us returns we should rely on it. Some successful

scholars are implementing the principle of these ayah in their lives and it is really a

benefit to them. Some people claim that time is money and they simply quote that

“waste more time, waste more money and save more time, save more money”. It is

been proven in the construction industry when the contractor delays work, he or she

actually will bear the extra cost arriving from the wages that need to be paid to his or

her employees that work overtime.

3.2 Dispute Reduction

Secondly, there should be more multidisciplinary firms in the construction

industry in Malaysia because they reduce disputes among professionals. When we

work together as a team we actually reduce the possibility of disputes. As mentioned

before, all professionals are employed by one firm, therefore, information between

practitioners can be delivered clearly. As a result, each and every professional can

understand the others’ problems and difficulties. Through multidisciplinary firms,

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changes of design and cost can be made easily. It also helps the industry to reduce

corruption such as bribery and fraud (Abdul Karim, 2004).

It might be argued that the integrated practice services system will cause

quarrels among practitioners and again they claim that in the traditional method all

professionals are worked independently because they work for different firms.

Therefore, work will be carried out in a professional manner. They maintain their idea

by giving the opinion that when people work together work will be influenced by

personal problems that might arise among them. If they have a good relationship

between themselves, work will be carried out thoroughly however, when it happens

otherwise they will discard their professionalism (Amalina, 2006). Nevertheless, to

build such firms that give the services of integrated practices, they acquire a very

good management. This means that all work s done according to the rules and

regulations of the company. Decisions are made professionally and must be clearly

delivered to all parties in the firms. Sometimes, a multidisciplinary firm will organize

an event such as a workshop and counseling to strengthen their relationship. This is

hard to achieve by the traditional method where all practitioners come from different

firms and have different objectives. Next only a firm who has good financial backing

can easily make such programmes happen. In the traditional method, it is hard to get

everybody who comes from different firms with different objectives in one place to

discuss their problems.

It is clear that more multidisciplinary firms in the construction industry in

Malaysia will bring happiness in a teamwork environment. A story found in Ibn

Ishaq's Sirah Rasul Allah (as reconstructed and translated by Guillaume, 1955, pp 85-

87.) stated that,

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Muhammad s.a.w is said to have played a key part in the history of the

Black Stone. In 602, before the first of his prophetic revelations, he

was present in Mecca during the rebuilding of the Kaaba. Hajaral

Aswad (The Black Stone) had been temporarily removed while a new

structure was being constructed. Ibn Ishaq again showed that the

Prophet Muhammad s.a.w settling a quarrel between Meccan clans as

to which clan should set Hajaral Aswad (The Black Stone) in place.

His solution was to have all the clan elders raise the cornerstone on a

cloak, and then Muhammad set the Stone into its final place with his

own hands.
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4.0 Conclusion

In conclusion, the fact that there should be more multidisciplinary firms in the

construction industry in Malaysia is strongly supported. The issue has been discussed

so far to enable us to identify some of the advantages of multidisciplinary firms. One

example of positive values that can emerge from this practice is that it accelerates the

construction process. It helps the government to accelerate the nation’s economic

growth when there is enough facilities and adequate technology. Furthermore, these

firms reduce disputes among consultants yet they bring a healthy work environment

when we can eliminate corruption in the industry. Furthermore, multidisciplinary

firms save expenses, so, they will bring value for money to the client that is

mentioned persistently in this paper.

When we go through this paper we will find that there is lack of

encouragement and awareness of this practice on the part of the public as well as

among the professionals themselves. As a result, I recommend that, first, there should

be a new institution that governs this kind of practice instead of existing bodies such

as, the ISM, PAM and IEM that each govern quantity surveyors, architects and

engineers respectively. Secondly, there should be more discussion through seminars

and workshops that will enlighten people as to the benefits of this practice. Next, the

professionals also need to realize their boundaries and differences, so, they can

understand and improve their relationships; here the best word for this point is co-

operation and dedication.

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Nowadays the situation is becoming critical when there is an increasing

amount of information technology, communication technology and transporting

systems. Everything in this world has been globalized and liberalized. Together in

these pressures, the client demands better services for his or her project and it leads to

calls for a change in the way of consultancy to suit his or her wants. I again

vehemently believe that multidisciplinary firms should be the new kids on the block

to answer the calls for change. Unfortunately, globalization has made it easy for the

client to hire big foreign firms that are better established than existing local firms, so,

they will lose out.

Therefore, the change towards multidisciplinary practices has come at the

right time to save the Malaysian professionals from the pressures coming from all

angles and will give birth to new stronger firms in order not to be left in competing in

this increasingly competitive world.

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5.0 References

Abdul Karim, J. (2004). Malaysian Professional Services Industry: Meeting

Challenges of Globalization in 2005 and Beyond. A paper presented at the

Building Professional Services Capacity for Exports. Kuala Lumpur : 6th-7th

December 2004.

Al-Qur’an, Surah Al-Asr: 1-3

Amalina Md. Iskandar. (2006). A study on the communication problems between

design team during precontract phase.Kuala Lumpur. Research Centre IIUM.

Building Design Partnership (BDP) Homepage. (2008). (online).

Available: http://www.bdp.co.uk

Guillaume, A. 1955. Ibn Ishaq’s Story of Rasul Allah. Oxford. Oxford Press. pp 85-

87.

Khairuddin Abdul Rashid. (2002). Construction procurement in Malaysia. Process

and systems, Constraints and strategies.Kuala Lumpur. Research Center

IIUM.
 There should be more multidisciplinary firms… 17

Talha A, Zobair. (1999). (online). The Unaothorized Practice of Law in the New

Millenium.

Michigan Bar Journal, 79.

Available: http://www.michbar.org/journal/article.cfm

W. S. Atkins Group Homepage. (2008). (online). Available: http://atkinsglobal.com