Cheryl, a property and facility officer from Imperial Cullinan, has strived to learn sign language in order to communicate more effectively with hearing-impaired residents. Although her sign language is only at the introductory level, the sincere hospitality can definitely be felt by the residents.

Decoding sign language used by the deaf-mute community

It is reported that there are over 100,000 visually and hearing-impaired people in Hong Kong. Some of them may visit SHKP malls, or are even our residents. To provide appropriate service to customers with special needs at all times, SHKP's property management company, Hong Yip, and its People Development Academy hold regular training workshops related to diversity inclusion, where the participants learn sign language and sighted guide techniques, and to review what they have learnt. Cheryl signs up for every class and always sits at the front to avoid missing any learning opportunities.

Cheryl recalls that her colleague once needed to greet a deaf-mute visitor, who asked for help using sign language. The colleague was unable to help the visitor, so she asked Cheryl for help. Although Cheryl's level of sign language was only at the introductory level, she still strived to communicate with the visitor. The visitor’s grateful smile after Cheryl's successful help further motivated her to pursue her sign language learning.

Willingness to communicate more important than mastering sign language 

Language is best learnt through interactive communication, but due to limited opportunities to apply in daily life, Cheryl sometimes forgets the signs, leading to miscommunication. Also, in sign language, different hand movements can be used to express the same meaning. However, she believes that learning sign language is actually much easier than playing Taboo, as in addition to gestures and facial expressions, writing and other ways can be used to facilitate communication, as her teacher explained. Sign language is only a tool for communication;  having a heartfelt willingness to interact is more important. All in all, as long as people are willing to communicate with the deaf-mute community, it is not as difficult as it seems, says Cheryl.

Not only does coffee taste good, but exquisite latte art is like paintings that can be drunk. Since many of the SHKP colleagues like coffee, the company recently organized a latte art skills enhancement workshop especially for colleagues who love drinking coffee. Under the guidance of professional baristas, everyone had fun learning to create various latte art patterns. Since it was an in-person workshop, to ensure the colleagues could participate at ease in a safe environment, the company implemented a series of pandemic prevention measures.

The Community Chest Dress Casual Day has become popular and well received by the public every year since its introduction to Hong Kong from the United States in 1993. Over 20 departments and nearly 350 colleagues from the head office participated in The Community Chest Dress Casual Day this year. On the day of the event, all colleagues were in their comfortable outfits, feeling very relaxed, even though they were still busy at work.

In developing properties, SHKP also pays attention to environmental and ecological conservation, such as restoring abandoned farmland adjacent to PARK YOHO in Yuen Long into a wetland Fairyland. While the residents of PARK YOHO are taken care of by a professional property management team, the important task of caring for Fairyland falls on Sunny Chan, Conservation Officer of PARK YOHO Fairyland.

Professional Conservation Officer—Taking Care of Fairyland with Heart

Fairyland, an artificial brackish water wetland, is the habitat of many rare species in Hong Kong. Since Sunny's key role is to manage the nature conservation areas in PARK YOHO, he knows all the species there thoroughly. It was interesting to learn from him, for example, that the hotter dragonflies are, the higher they lift their tails.

Sunny remarked that the principle is to maintain the ecological balance in a natural way with minimal human interference: "For example, when pests appear, instead of eradicating them immediately, we observe them first because the pheromones released by plants can help deal with many harmful species." As nature emphasizes balance, each species will find its own ecological balance as long as an ideal environment is created.

Ensuring Fairyland Becomes an Ecological Green Area for Various Species 

Sunny explained that the busiest season is the dry season in fall and winter. As some migratory birds choose to winter in Fairyland, he has to keep a close eye on the water level in the wetland to ensure they have a suitable habitat. "As the operation of the sluice has to match the rise and fall of the tide, I am used to working late at night or early in the morning," he said, indicating his dedication to his work.

The fierce heat did not stop Sunny from working. Whenever there was a slightest movement in the grass or water, he would take photos to keep abreast of the ecological situation in Fairyland. His greatest joy comes from discovering new species in the wetland. 

Helping Residents Learn to Appreciate their 'Insect Neighbours'

The ecological value of the entire PARK YOHO is greatly enhanced by Fairyland. Various bird species can be seen nesting everywhere in the cluster, so the residents can get an up-close view of rare wildlife in the urban area. To help the residents learn about the wildlife in an interesting way, Sunny organizes various ecological educational activities: "By observing the seemingly unpleasant but actually environmentally friendly insects, many residents have greater tolerance for the insects, and even become interested in them."

Sunny is glad that he can get closer to the residents by admiring nature together. Recalling that a little boy once enthusiastically shared with him fun facts about grasshoppers and an 'Insect Tasting Report' he had done, Sunny noted that this coincidentally echoes with the recent advice by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations to replace traditional meat with insects to help alleviate climate change. "I was impressed that this young boy had such vision to do things that even adults would not try. Learning can indeed be two-way when interacting with interesting residents," he smiled.

In view of the drastic drop in the number of blood donors at Red Cross centres amid the pandemic, a blood donation day was recently held at SHKP, in which about 70 of our caring colleagues participated. The more, the better! We look forward to even more colleagues participating in the next blood donation day. 

Many of our SHKP colleagues are passionate about sports and have been winning matches. In a five-month tournament, Sanfield successfully battled against 20 teams in 60 fierce matches. Of great individual skills and team cohesion, they won the final 44-35!

According to information from the Environmental Protection Department, kitchen waste is one of the main sources of municipal solid waste. Therefore, reducing leftovers or turning them into organic fertilizer can reduce the burden on landfills. Organic fertilizers are not only environmentally friendly, but also improve the soil quality for plants to grow healthily. After showing our colleagues how to use food waste to make environmentally friendly enzymes, the company recently invited a professional instructor to show staff how to convert food waste into organic fertilizer. Many colleagues who are gardening enthusiasts seized the opportunity to participate in this online green workshop.

Many people might have a hard time figuring out what to get their dad on Father's Day. How about a cup of handmade, pour-over coffee to show your appreciation and love to your father? Recently, the company held a pour-over coffee workshop, in which a professional barista was invited to demonstrate the technique of making pour-over coffee and share how to choose coffee beans and taste coffee. All the participants received a set of coffee-making tools and drip bag coffee, allowing them to brew a perfect cup of coffee to honour their parents.

Building services engineering encompasses four major areas: air-conditioning and ventilation, fire protection, plumbing and drainage, and mechanical and electrical services. Superpower Pumping Engineering Co. Ltd (Superpower), a subsidiary of SHKP, is engaged in the repair and maintenance of water supply systems. In this issue, SHKPNews visits Superpower to learn more about the company, which provides services for over 1,000 properties in Hong Kong.

One-stop plumbing service

Superpower is one of the largest local water pump suppliers, and manufactures and supplies various types of pumps under its brand name to SHKP and many other types of properties in Hong Kong. It is also a plumbing equipment agency, sourcing high-quality plumbing equipment from Europe, the US, Japan, the mainland, Taiwan and other places around the world to sell in Hong Kong. Superpower also installs water pumping systems, and provides repair and maintenance services as a contractor, offering all-round water supply system support for projects of various scale in the city.

In recent years, the company developed and launched new products on the market as a creative force. To help address Hong Kong's perennial problems with flooding and typhoons during the typhoon season, Superpower introduced flood panels and developed anti-wind support to reduce the risk of flooding and damage from typhoons. The solution earned the company the gold award in SHKP's Work Safety Suggestion Scheme last year and has been well received by the market. Many SHKP residential estates have been equipped with the facilities; and local oil depots, hospitals and major theme parks have adopted the company's flood panels.

Making the impossible possible

Thanks to great teamwork, Superpower has completed ‘impossible’ missions time and again. One of the most unforgettable experiences for the team was a service it provided some years ago involving the replacement of an electrical pillar box in the main water pumping room in a grade-A commercial building. The customer asked the team to work only during the night, and to ensure that the water supply was returned to normal as soon as the work was completed. To meet this stringent requirement, Superpower arranged dedicated staff to monitor the water supply of the stratified water tanks and to manually operate the pumping system throughout the night to ensure continuous water supply. Another challenge the team faced during the replacement work was the extremely large electrical pillar box. To solve the problem, the team acted immediately and decisively to disassemble the new pillar box and reassemble the parts in the pump room. Through the collective efforts of Superpower's experienced team, they were able to complete the replacement work before 6am. All the team members were hugely satisfied when the water and electricity supply was returned to normal.

Servicing over 1,000 projects through smart management

With about 100 staff, Superpower has provided service for more than 1,000 projects, including large housing estates, shopping malls, industrial and commercial buildings, hotels and schools. In recent years, the team has leveraged smart management to improve work efficiency. For example, it introduced an intelligent water pump maintenance system to allow engineers to conduct inspections and maintenance using tablet computers, facilitating data integration and analysis and helping to provide customers with professional advice. In addition, the team installed smart GPS trackers in all works vehicles. When an urgent customer request is received, the team can arrange the works vehicle closest to the customer to follow up. Moreover, it set up an intelligent warehouse management system in its 10,000-square-foot-plus warehouse, allowing staff to manage warehouse inventory by scanning a QR code, substantially enhancing work efficiency and minimizing data errors.

As society rapidly develops, Superpower will continue to utilize advanced technology and smart management to improve work efficiency and quality while meeting the increasing needs of its customers, thus contributing to building a quality, smart community.