An elevator-safety adviser has urged improvements to the city's three-tier inspection process after 720 lifts were found to be missing fire-resistant door frame components.

Maxine Yao, a member of the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department’s lifts and escalators safety advisory committee, made the call after Taizoom Elevator was ordered to complete remedial works by the middle of November for two public housing estates and within two to three months for the private buildings.

The department's order followed the discovery that about 90 percent of lifts installed by Taizoom lacked the required door frame parts.

Speaking on an RTHK radio programme on Tuesday, Yao called the number of lifts involved shocking and said the current process for issuing use or resumption permits could be improved in light of the findings.

Under the existing three-tier system, a registered lift contractor carries out a self-inspection, a registered engineer performs an independent thorough examination and the department's engineers then conduct an on-site re-inspection and functional testing.

The city has long relied on an integrity-based system, Yao said, arguing that the mechanism could be strengthened with an additional step.

"This system has indeed been effective all along, except that in the whole industry this time two engineers of Taizoom had problems. If you ask whether we need to do better, I agree," she said.

"I have said I hope the department can introduce independent third-party inspection to add one more step in the middle tier to ensure public safety."

Yao also welcomed the department’s proposal to expand the digital video and photographic log-book system – currently used to record work details for lifts and escalators – to cover lift upgrades and replacements.

"The department has found that since we already have such a good system and platform, why not update it to include upgrading and replacing lifts too in response to public demand," she said.

"I think that is a very proactive plan."

Yao noted the system was still awaiting updates and said she hoped the department would complete the upgrade before the end of the year to prevent similar incidents from happening again.





Edited by Tony Sabine