Ombudsman Jack Chan said on Wednesday the government should step up inspections to ensure the construction sector carries out safety checks thoroughly.

The call came after the Office of the Ombudsman completed a direct investigation operation into the enforcement of government regulations on occupational safety in the construction sector.

It made 40 recommendations to the Labour Department, the Buildings Department and the Development Bureau.

Chan said some examiners had not carried out any inspections before certifying the safety of equipment, such as lifting appliances and bamboo scaffolds.

He said the government should formulate an inspection checklist and set up an electronic platform for the sector to upload inspection records to facilitate monitoring.

“We recommend the Labour Department require these examiners or certified persons to fill in a checklist… when they're checking the safety of these operations or appliances,” he said.

“We propose to have a platform for these examiners to [upload] the examination records so that [they] could be easily checked by the Labour Department, and also make sure that they cannot fill in the form in advance because it's a real-time electronic platform.“

Chan said authorities should review the operational guidelines to select high-risk construction sites more precisely for in-depth surprise inspections.

He also urged the Buildings Department to set up a mechanism to ensure timely follow-ups on cases referred to it by the Labour Department involving contractors who had been convicted of occupational safety and health offences.