One incident resulting in death or injury is already one too many. Earlier this month, a lift accident in which all the suspension ropes were broken happened at King’s Road, North Point, injuring seven passengers. I feel really upset about the accident and I wish the injured a speedy recovery.
I am deeply concerned about the lift incident, after which the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) promptly initiated an investigation. The EMSD also inspected all the 248 lifts maintained by the same contractor within three days. Eight of the lifts which failed to comply with the requirements of the Code of Practice for Lift Works and Escalator Works were suspended from service in order to assure the safety of the community.
The EMSD’s preliminary investigation revealed that the lift’s suspension ropes were all broken and the safety protection system was defective. Although it is the first incident of its kind in Hong Kong, it is absolutely unacceptable. Hong Kong’s urban development model is mainly made up of high-density and multi-storey buildings - there are 8,000 buildings between 35 metres and 100 metres high and 1,300 buildings above 100 metres high. There are more than 57,500 lifts in Hong Kong, and it is estimated that each person takes a lift or escalator not less than 4 times a day, which means that 28 million rides are taken by lift and escalator in Hong Kong every day. It is almost five times that of passengers taking the MTR, which totals 4.9 million rides per day. Therefore the safety of lifts and escalators is extremely important.
According to the Lifts and Escalators Ordinance, which took effect at the end of last year, the Administration may impose different penalties on parties who violate the regulations, including cancellation or suspension of registration, prosecution, setting up a Disciplinary Board Panel to conduct disciplinary hearings, etc. Based on the information gathered about the recent accident, the Administration is considering taking action against the contractor and the related persons according to the Ordinance.
After the lift incident in Fu Shin Estate in 2008, in which nobody was injured, the Administration promptly reviewed related regulations. During the transitional period before enhancement measures were formally introduced, the Registered Lift/ Escalator Contractors' Performance Rating scheme (CPR scheme) was implemented. Performance ratings of the contractors were announced quarterly for the reference of property owners and their building management agents (“responsible persons of the property”) in their selection of appropriate contractors. In the meantime, the Administration has also enhanced the inspection of lifts and escalators by increasing the inspection rate from 1-out-of-10 to 1-out-of-7.
The Ordinance was proposed in 2011 to enhance the safety of lifts and escalators. A series of measures have been introduced, including: (a) strengthening the registration regime for lift and escalator engineering workers; (b) increasing the penalty level for offences to a maximum fine of $200,000 and a maximum imprisonment period of 12 months; (c) extending the coverage of the legislation to lifts and escalators managed by the Government, the Housing Authority and embassies; and (d) enhancing operational efficiency and enforcement effectiveness by requiring contractors and property management agents to keep proper management records to facilitate investigation in case of accidents.
In response to a report by the Office of the Ombudsman earlier, the Administration stated in the Ordinance the mutual responsibility of five parties, namely contractors, lift and escalator engineers, workers, responsible persons of the property and the Government, in maintaining the safety of lifts and escalators. Since the full implementation of the Ordinance at the end of 2012, the Administration has issued guidelines and organised seminars to educate the responsible persons of properties on their various responsibilities and to enhance their knowledge of the CPR scheme. In choosing contractors, the responsible persons are reminded that they should not only consider maintenance cost, but also other factors such as the manpower and track record of contractors, so that safety is assured. After the recent lift incident in North Point, the Administration will step up education and publicity in the community, especially about the CPR scheme and responsibilities and rights of the responsible person of the property.
Apart from increasing the inspection frequency from 1-out-of-10 to 1-out-of-7, the Administration has given high priority to monitoring contractors with unsatisfactory performance, old lifts and lifts of models with a high frequency of malfunctions. The Administration will consider adjusting the rate of inspection to focus inspections on lifts that warrant greater attention.
On top of reviewing the existing Ordinance and fine-tuning the regulation system, the Administration will work on improvement in the inspection regime, such as refining the CPR scheme. The scheme comprises two parts, namely the Maintenance Index and the Safety Index, with each carrying a maximum mark of 50. At present, if a contractor scores very low in one index but high or a full mark in another, it may still score more than 50 marks. The Administration will set up a Lifts and Escalators Safety Committee, whose membership will include not only industry representatives, but also representatives from property management agents, consumers and others, with a view to gathering views from different sectors and to assuring the safety of passengers taking lifts and escalators.
17 March, 2013
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