Meet the Site Agent: a conversation with Nelson Lai Pui Hung

At Stonewest, our people are the very heart of our business. Celebrating 10 years with Stonewest, we spoke to Site Agent, Nelson Lai Pui Hung. Working on our international projects, Nelson is a highly valued and respected, senior member of the team. Here, he tells us about his long and varied career, as well as the importance of training to professional progress.

Tell us about your current role at Stonewest?

As Site Agent, I am responsible for overall coordination and management of construction activities including progress, quality control and safety requirements. Working with the Project Manager I plan resources, coordinate with Clients and monitor and supervise both direct labour and subcontractors.

My role also includes training our teams to ensuring all health and safety practices are carried out correctly, plus signing off all works including structural repairs. I am T1 Certified and hold the Certificate in Safety and Health for Supervisors, so have key responsibilities across each project we undertake.

Why did you decide to join Stonewest 10 years ago?

A friend of mine told me about the opportunity to join a training scheme with Stonewest. At the time, I was a professional Plasterer, but keen to broaden my skill set. The training scheme was in restoration, I found it all very interesting and it changed the course of my career.  My first major project for Stonewest was restoring the Tai Kwun Central Police Station, which was a fantastic learning experience. From then on, I continued my training in other areas and my expertise and experience has evolved greatly over the years.

You mention training, is this an important area for the business?

Training is absolutely essential and has been very important throughout my career. Without ongoing and regular training with Stonewest, I wouldn’t have been able to broaden and strengthen my skills and experience. Plus, we are constantly learning and training on the job, real life, hands-on experience is both essential and highly valuable for us to progress and advance in our careers. Today, I am also training team members myself, overseeing their works and supporting their progression and learning. All of this ensures we create a strong team of experts, who can deliver the best work for our Clients.

You work for Stonewest internationally, what are the benefits of working across regions?

There are many benefits to working internationally. For example, I’ve had the opportunity to work on projects outside Hong Kong in places such as Myanmar and Vietnam. Firstly, by working on different types of projects, we are gaining new experiences and learning innovative and varied skills. Plus, we can successfully transfer our expertise and share these skills across the regions, applying them to different jobs. This also enhances the training we are able to deliver to our teams.

Earlier you mentioned Health & Safety, how important is this to your role?

Health & Safety is the most important aspect of any project, we must protect our teams, the public, and ensure everything we do follows strict and clear guidelines. All our working areas and practices must be safe at all times, without question. I am ultimately responsible for all our Health and Safety procedures across our projects, and will ensure everything is carried out and implemented correctly. Toolbox Talks are an example of how we maintain high standards of Health & Safety on site. These are short presentations on particular aspects of Health and Safety, which I frequently deliver to the team on-site to ensure we are all well informed.

Finally, what would you say to someone interested a career in the construction industry?

I’d encourage them to try different things and find what interests them most. Get as much training as you can, and be ready for an exciting and varied career. For me, no two projects are the same, and no two days are the same – there is always something new to learn.

For more information about our international projects and services, please read more here.