Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun said on Wednesday that officials are revising the code of practice for cranes.

His comments followed the collapse of a tower crane at a building site in Kwai Chung last month, killing the operator, as well as calls by unionist lawmaker Lam Chun-sing for tighter inspection rules.

Lam, who chairs the Federation of Hong Kong and Kowloon Labour Unions, noted that cranes are due for a check-up once a week at the moment.

They are also subject to a thorough inspection once a year, along with a full examination – such as loading tests – once every four years.

He said changes can be made so the inspections are more stringent.

"For example, can there be a checking list for the weekly inspector, such that a problem must be reported for professionals to look into?" Lam said on RTHK's In the Chamber programme.

"Qualified inspectors are engineers, but are all of those who conduct the checks very familiar with cranes? Do they need some training?"

He also proposed having a thorough inspection every six months, instead of annually.

The unionist noted that some guidelines covering other construction machines have not been reviewed for a decade or two, and it's high time to look into them.

For example, he said some construction sites currently deploy general labourers as riggers and signallers because there are no specific requirements under labour laws and regulations.

Lam said workers who help operate heavy machines should go through more training to strengthen safety awareness.

He also made the proposals during an oral question in Legco relating to the fatal Kwai Chung case.

The labour chief said the target is to finish revising the code of practice for cranes, such as installing video devices and censors to enhance safety, by the end of the year.

"The main revisions include enhancing the requirements and inspections for tower crane installation, welding processes, anchorages and foundations safety," Sun told the legislature during a council session.

"Inspection checklist templates for inspection, testing and thorough examination of tower cranes will also be included in the [code] for reference by relevant inspection personnel, so as to further enhance the safety level of tower crane operations."

The minister went on to say that labour officials will consider enhancing the safety training requirements for riggers and signallers, such as requiring them to take a course to obtain a certificate.
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Last updated: 2026-04-01 HKT 13:22



Edited by Edmond Fong