Hotel guests may not bump into the engineering staff very often, but these busy yet low-profile employees are the unsung heroes who help keep facilities in tip-top form.
David Au (left), director of engineering at InterContinental Grand Stanford Hong Kong, leads a 30-member team that maintains the hotel's facilities day and night.
'Air conditioning, lights, water supply and fire safety are the areas that we need to handle. The most common complaint I get from guests is that the air-conditioning is too cold or too warm,' Au says.
'Sometimes it is really not easy to satisfy fully guests' demands, but we always need to try our best and have the heart to serve. Hotels are a guest-oriented industry, so I tell my staff to always smile and listen patiently to requests,' he adds.
To be a hotel technician, one only needs a higher certificate in engineering. However, a technician can move up to be an engineer if he or she is willing to study further.
'The Institute of Vocational Education offers engineering-related higher certificate courses, and we employ graduates as technicians,' says Au. 'Dedicated individuals usually continue to study to get a higher diploma and then an engineering degree. They can then move up to be duty engineer, senior duty engineer, assistant chief engineer and director.'
