MACAU BUSINESS
Long Yuen, ensuring the equipment had met the standards laid out in the guidelines, had expired end-February, prior to the accident. The guidelines spell out that an elevator
must be inspected annually by a third party on a voluntary basis, who will issue a safety certificate for the equipment that has to be registered with the Land, Public Works and Transport Bureau. The government will then examine five per cent of the certified lifts but it will not sample any uncertified equipment. Data from the local think tank and engineers groups reveal that nearly 90 per cent of some 5,800 lifts and escalators in the city were examined and certified in the first year of the implementation of the guidelines. The figure went down to only 20 per cent of some 7,000 in 2016 in the territory and slightly rebounded to about 30 per cent of some 8,000 elevators and escalators last year. Synergy of Macau additionally found that only one of the seven certified lifts it visited across the Macau Peninsula, Taipa and Coloane was registered with the authorities in accordance with the guidelines.
Lack of budget The lack of annual examination of elevators might be due to the cost – about MOP2,000 (US$250) – according to Chui Ming Man, president of the Property Management Business Association of Macau. “The owners’ committees [of buildings] might not have the budget to afford the inspection [without additional property management fees],” he explained. “So only 2,500 out of 8,000 elevators [and escalators] have been examined as of late…The [property management] industry has actively advocated a mandatory annual inspection of lifts [and escalators], similar to the practices of nearby regions, ensuring the safety of users.” In Hong Kong, the Lifts and Escalators
Ordinance mandates owners of lifts have their equipment thoroughly examined and certified
What does Hong Kong do? T
he Lifts and Escalators Ordinance of the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) in nearby Hong
Kong has introduced a series of measures to ensure the safety of equipment from a registration regime to regular examination to penalties for offences.
• Equipment compliance: Equipment and its safety components have to be of a type
approved by EMSD
• Registration scheme: A registration regime for companies, engineers and workers
engaging in the working of lifts and escalators, and the registration of contractors and engineers have to be renewed every five years
20 MAY 2018
• Works: All installation, maintenance, repair, alteration and demolition of lifts and
escalators have to be conducted by registered contractors
• Safety Examination: A lift should be examined and certified in safe working order
by a registered lift engineer before being put into use periodically at intervals of not over one year, with six months for escalators
• Monitoring: Owners must report any incident with regard to their equipment to
EMSD within 24 hours of such incident
• Penalty: The maximum penalty for violating the ordinance includes a fine of up to
HK$200,000 (US$25,508) and imprisonment of 12 months
advocated a mandatory annual inspection of lifts [and escalators], similar to the practices of nearby regions, ensuring the safety of users,
“
SAY S CHUI MING MAN, PRESIDENT OF THE PROPERT Y MANAGEMENT BUSINESS ASSOCIATION OF MACAU
”
in safe working order by registered engineers before being put into use every year, while the duration for escalators is every six months. Besides the mandatory inspection, Mr. Chui
noted that the government should enhance public awareness of the significance of maintenance and examination of electrical and mechanical equipment. Legislator and engineer Joe Eddie Wu Chou
Kit attaches great importance to the establishment of legislation on elevators and
escalators, as the current guidelines are non-legally-binding: “The maintenance and examination costs for equipment like elevators are not low, and the property management fees in many residential projects might not be able to cover the cost,” he said.
Delays “Different components in the lifts may wear due to high usage rate…leading to accidents,” the legislator noted, adding that there should also be the set-up of a new government department in charge of electrical and mechanical services in both the public and private sector. The government claimed as long ago as 2002 that legislation was forthcoming on the safety standards and certification of elevators and escalators – which has yet to materialise more than a decade and a half later. In the wake of
The [property management] industry has actively
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