Site engineer — CEO Phu Quoc (2016–2019)
Running construction work while preparing payment, final-account and quality files — seeing the file take shape from what actually happens on site.
TEACHING STAFF
Pham Nam Hai
Head of project management and project consultancy at E8 Studio, a civil engineer who went back for a law degree, bringing the legal side into payment files and project management — the two stages where contract disputes usually start.
10years in construction
02degrees: civil engineering and law
11practising and professional certificates
2022teaching on the QS course since
ROLE AT THE INSTITUTE
Teaching QS with the legal side of the paperwork
Most final-account disputes are not about arithmetic on quantities but about contract clauses and the legal basis of the file. That is the part Mr Hai covers.
- Teaches on the quantity surveyor course at the Institute since 2022, covering final accounts and project management.
- A civil engineer with a law degree — civil engineering at Hanoi Architectural University, then law at Hanoi Law University and the bar training programme.
- Holds construction cost appraisal and tendering certificates — the two credentials tied most directly to a quantity surveyor’s work.
- Still working in what he teaches — head of project management and project consultancy, responsible for design and tender files and project coordination.
CAREER
From the site to the paperwork
Three stages, from preparing payment files on site to coordinating a company’s whole project documentation.
Project management and tender consultant — DMT Vietnam (2020–2021)
Responsible for project management, design and tender documentation on client projects.
Head of project management and consultancy — E8 Studio (2022 to date)
Coordinating the company’s project content, controlling the quality of design, project management and supervision files, and leading the design and tender side.
WHAT HE TEACHES
The parts he covers in most depth
- Payment and final-account files — what must be in them, the order they are prepared in, and the legal basis of each document.
- Contract clauses decide how you get paid — reading the contract to know in advance what the file will have to prove.
- Project management through its paperwork — the chain of documents at each project milestone, from preparation to handover.
- Tender files from both sides — the employer and the bidder read the same documents in two different ways.
- Handling variations — building the evidence as the variation happens, rather than hunting for it once there is a dispute.
CREDENTIALS
Practising and professional certificates
- Construction cost appraisal (class III) and tendering — the two tied directly to quantity surveying.
- Project management (class II) and site supervision (class II).
- Structural design (class II).
- Fire safety — design consultancy, supervision consultancy and construction command.
- Conservation and restoration of monuments — design, supervision and construction.
- Valuation, site commander, bar training and teaching methods.
EDUCATION
Education and expertise
Three degrees in three fields that reinforce one another: engineering, law and language.
- Civil engineering degree — Hanoi Architectural University, 2011–2016
- Bachelor of Laws — Hanoi Law University, 2021–2023
- Bachelor of English — Thai Nguyen University, 2023–2025
- Bar training programme — completed 2025
- Teaching methods — completed 2026
Learn QS from someone who reads the contract before counting quantities
A correct figure with no legal basis still does not get paid.