With the acceleration of China's urbanization process and the deepening of government initiatives such as "One Belt And One Road", more and more Chinese enterprises have recognized and adopted RICS’s international standards to accelerate the deployment of globalization.

As the first listed software company in the Chinese informatization industry for AEC (Architecture, Engineering, and Construction) in China, Glodon sets up more than 60 subsidiaries around the world, provide service for customers from over one hundred countries and regions. Till now, Glodon has provided professional applications and digital solutions to hundreds of thousands of enterprise customers and millions of technical and managerial personnel, and will serve as the engine for the transformation and upgrading of the construction industry, enabling "Chinese Construction" to build its core global competitiveness.

RICS standards are beneficial to improve consistency, comparability and transparency in the field of building and natural environment worldwide. Glodon and RICS have reached a strategic cooperation agreement. Glodon is committed to supporting and recognizing International Construction Measurement Standards (ICMS) and International Property Measurement Standard (IPMS) developed by RICS.

This time, RICS interviewed Mr. Zhang Ji, General Manager of International Product Dept., to find out the story behind the strategic cooperation agreement between the two sides.

Mr. Zhang Ji (fourth from the right), General Manager of International Product Dept. attended the signing ceremony of the strategic cooperation agreement between RICS and Glodon

Q1: What positive impacts can ICMS and IPMS have on the market for built environment in mainland China?

Zhang Ji: In the construction industry, business conditions and measurement standards are different around the world, which has become an obstacle for the governments and enterprises of different countries and regions to deepen the industrial communication in the globalization. ICMS is the first construction project cost composition standard in the world. It not only establishes a global standard for the classification and composition of construction project costs, but also unifies the structure and presentation of construction project cost reports.

Both the ICMS and IPMS standards aim to help enterprises to use space more efficiently, reduce construction costs, and collect benchmark data for construction projects and real estate during transnational cooperation and project development for effective international project requirement analysis. By creating and adopting uniform international measurement standards for construction, more and more Chinese-funded enterprises will quickly participate in globalization during their process of going abroad.

Mr. Liu Qian, Senior Vice President, Glodon Company Limited signed the strategic cooperation agreement with Mr. Pierpaolo Franco, Managing Director, RICS Greater China

Q2: How does Glodon view the collaboration with RICS and what are our core advantages that Glodon values?

Zhang Ji: Since the beginning of the internationalization in 2008, Glodon has tried to operate in multiple markets around the world and assisted local governments and enterprises with projects for digitization. We find that RICS provides an excellent experience sharing platform for participants in the international construction industry. Therefore, we have been actively cooperating with RICS and participated in various events held by RICS for the related industry, which helps us to explore more business opportunities and understand the latest trends of the industry.

Glodon attaches great importance to the strategic cooperation with RICS and we believe that in the future cooperation the two sides can jointly promote the development of China's construction industry, accelerate the process of internationalization and export internationally qualified professionals and solutions for pain points in construction to build a world-class digital building platform. By virtue of RICS' rich experience and market advantages in the international construction sector, the two sides will work together in the digital technology field to accelerate the transformation of Chinese enterprises and play a key role for Chinese enterprises to enter the international market.

In addition to professionalism, the RICS recruitment process has also highlighted the importance of ethics for professionals in the field. RICS is the only association in the world that formally assesses the work ethic of its members and continues to pay attention to this principle throughout their careers. RICS continues to promote the revision and improvement of the construction industry codes on a global scale. It cooperates with a number of internationally top ranked institutions to provide training and guidance for professionals in the construction industry. And its standards have been widely recognized around the world.

Mr. Liu Qian, Senior Vice President of Glodon and Mr. Pierpaolo Franco, Managing Director, RICS Greater China in 2017

Q3: At present, life-cycle consulting service has become a new model of engineering consulting advocated by governments. And Glodon’s portfolio of products basically covers the whole process of construction. How does Glodon think of life-cycle management (LCM)?

Zhang Ji: LCM aims to promote the effective resource integration, feasibility analysis and decision-making for investment in the whole life cycle of construction projects, namely design, construction and operation and maintenance, to realize informatization of business in the whole cycle from tendering, construction to O&M. The services and products of Glodon, such as those for construction costs can dynamically show design revisions and cost changes, track and manage project progress, quality and security in real time, and check, send and share info and materials for management in real time. However, we need not only the innovation and development of technologies to achieve the whole cycle digitization, but also the promotion of industrial standards and talent training, so that Chinese enterprises can avoid detours and reduce losses and disputes in international projects.

Glodon participated in and sponsored 2017 RICS World Building Environment Forum. Mr. Yuan Zhenggang, President of Glodon spoke at the forum (second from the left side)

Q4: As a technology firm in the construction field, how does Glodon view the key technological trend in the construction sector? What real problems will be improved or solved by this trend?

Zhang Ji: With the breakthrough and wide application of information technology, we believe that digital transformation is a common challenge and opportunity for all enterprises in the future. Big data, digital modeling, AI and Internet of things (IoT) will help construction companies and professionals optimize resource allocation, improve efficiency of projects and connect all the key processes. The technical means with BIM as the core advantage will reduce construction cost and material consumption, eliminate potential risks to optimize design plans, construction schemes and management systems on the premise of ensuring quality and safety of enterprise projects. To grasp the opportunity, Glodon launches a series of software based on BIM technology, such as the cost management solution Cubicost, to implement quantity takeoff and cost management in the tendering stage and project management in construction stage. Glodon aims to help the sector to upgrade the precision construction to a higher level and facilitate the digital transformation and upgrade.

Q5: What are you expectations for the future cooperation between RICS and Glodon?

Zhang Ji: Due to the social and economic impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, all industries are facing huge challenges and risks. The construction sector in many countries has seen a sharp contraction in business investment and a halt in construction projects, which has seriously affected the sustainability of the industry. Without taking effective measures to jointly fight the epidemic and promote the digital transformation of the industry, the post-epidemic construction industry will suffer the pressures from project delays, soaring costs and staff turnover. As one of the leaders in the digital transformation, Glodon and RICS should make good use of their competitive resources, explore new business opportunities, and guide the practitioners in the construction industry to deal with uncertainties through digital means, so as to promote the recovery of the industry.

In addition, with the upgrade of technologies, such as BIM, IoT and big data, the construction industry is facing the opportunity of transformation. Glodon looks forward to assisting governments and enterprises to promote the digitalization, standardization and intelligentization of the sector. We believe that Glodon and RICS can conduct more in-depth communication and cooperation in related fields for win-win results.

Mr. Pierpaolo Franco, Managing Director, RICS Greater China delivered a speech at China Digital Building Annual Summit (hosted by Glodon)

Mr. Pierpaolo Franco, Managing Director, RICS Greater China expressed full confidence in the win-win cooperation with Glodon to share resources and complement each other's strength. Mr. Pierpaolo said that RICS has been working with various institutions to promote innovation, transparency and internationalization in the field of built environment, which in turn builds confidence in the market and has a positive impact on the society.