BackThe Ombudsman of Hong Kong, China, Ms Winnie Chiu, held a press conference on 13 May 2021 to announce the results of two own-motion investigations regarding the regulatory regime for lifts and escalators and the management and repair of public toilets by the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department and Architectural Services Department.
In Hong Kong, high-rise buildings are very common and lifts and escalators are frequently used daily live. Components of lifts and escalators are susceptible to wear-and-tear and ageing. For the sake of users’ safety, proper maintenance and periodic examinations are of paramount importance.
There had been a number of serious lift and escalator accidents in Hong Kong in 2017 and 2018, which cast doubt on the adequacy of the Government’s safety regulation of lifts and escalators. Some of those accidents involved aged lifts which did not fully meet the latest safety standards established by the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (“EMSD”). This revealed the problem of ageing and antiquated lifts and escalators in Hong Kong. The Ombudsman's investigation has identified inadequacies in several areas in EMSD’s regulation of safe operation of lifts and escalators.
To remedy these defects, the Ombudsman proposed several recomendations, including:
- an increase in the ratio of surprise inspections for stronger deterrent effect;
- the introduction measures to ensure timely submission of maintenance schedules by registered contractors in order to facilitate EMSD’s inspections;
- a review and and improvement of the existing checklist for site inspections to set out the items and tests to be covered in various inspections; and
- releasing more details about incidents involving lifts and escalators;
For an Executive Summary of the direct investigation report, click here.
Since 2000, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (“FEHD”) has outsourced street cleansing services (which include cleansing services for public toilets) to cleansing service contractors. As at September 2020, there were 808 public toilets under FEHD’s management across the territory. Cleansing services for 610 of the public toilets are provided by contractors. Those for the remaining 198 public toilets located in the New Territories and outlying islands are directly provided by FEHD.
There have been media reports from time to time about the poor hygiene condition, dilapidated facilities and damaged items pending repair in some public toilets, not only causing inconvenience to users, but also affecting tourists’ impression of Hong Kong. Given the importance of public toilet management to people’s daily lives and its possible impact on Hong Kong’s reputation as a metropolitan, the Ombudsman decided to conduct this direct investigation to examine the Government’s mechanism and efforts relating to public toilet management, maintanence and repair, with a view to making recommendations for improvement.
This direct investigation has identified a number of areas for improvement in the Government’s management and maintenance of public toilets in respect of cleansing services, repair and refurbishment, such as an unsatisfactory management system for directly managed toilets, a failure to utilise complaint data for enhancing management effectiveness, and a an inadequate mechanism for monitoring contractor's needs. The Ombudsman also presented a comprehensive set of recommendations for improvement, which cn be accesses on the Ombudsman's website.
Source: Office of the Ombudsman Hong Kong, China
