Secretary for Transport and Public Works Raimundo do Rosário said yesterday that if a lift maintenance contract is not renewed or terminated, the relevant property management company or condominium owners’ management committee must hire another company to provide maintenance services for the respective building’s lifts within 30 days, otherwise the lift operation will be stopped by the Lands, Public Works and Transport Bureau (DSSOPT).
Talking to reporters on the sidelines of yesterday’s meeting of the legislature’s 1st Standing Committee reviewing a government-initiated bill regulating the operation and safety of lifts, escalators, travellators and similar devices, Rosário said that it was the responsibility of the respective property management company or condominium owners’ management committee to ensure the safety of lift equipment through regular maintenance and repairs by the maintenance firm.
The bill proposes that if a lift or similar device is in operation for more than 30 days without a maintenance contract, the lift equipment’s inspection certificate will be invalidated by the bureau so that the respective lift will be barred from operating.
Rosário added the government proposes that another maintenance and repair company should be hired as soon as possible, i.e., within 30 days at the longest, to ensure the lift’s safety by providing maintenance of the building’s lift equipment.
Directly-elected lawmaker-cum-unionist Ella Lei Cheng I, who heads the Legislative Assembly’s (AL) 1st Standing Committee, chaired yesterday’s closed-door meeting to review the bill which lasted for two hours, and was also attended by Rosário.
The bill proposes that a lift or similar device serviced by a repair and maintenance company is deemed to have no maintenance contract when the maintenance company’s registration has been cancelled by the bureau, while lift inspection companies are exempted from this provision, Lei explained, quoting the government officials who attended yesterday’s meeting.
Unlike the lift inspection work that is carried out annually, regular maintenance and the necessary repair work such as cleaning, checking the stability and proper functioning of equipment components are to be done on a regular monthly basis, according to the bill, Lei pointed out, adding that the monthly maintenance was considered to be more important than the annual inspection as far as lift safety is concerned.
According to the bill, a company’s registration can be cancelled if it does not fulfil the bureau’s requirement of having qualified technicians or does not have ISO/IEC 17 020 accreditation for carrying out lift inspections.
According to the bill, lift repair and maintenance companies and their personnel cannot be hired by the lift inspection companies. Lei quoted government officials as explaining that the separation of maintenance and inspection aims to safeguard the impartiality of the lift inspections, and that the technical director of a maintenance company cannot work for another one simultaneously.
Lei also quoted the government officials as saying they hoped that technical directors of repair and maintenance companies would be more focused on their work. Lei added that only the position of technical director would be barred from holding positions in another repair and maintenance company, while the other positions aren’t covered by the restriction.
Meanwhile, Rosário pointed out that there are about 40 lift repair and maintenance companies in Macau so that it shouldn’t be difficult to hire a new company within 30 days to replace the former one.
According to previous local media reports, there are about 10,000 lifts, escalators, travellators and similar devices in Macau.
Secretary for Transport and Public Works Raimundo do Rosário (front) talks to reporters on the sidelines of yesterday’s meeting of the legislature’s 1st Standing Committee, as Lands, Public Works and Transport Bureau (DSSOPT) Deputy Director Lai Weng Leong looks on. Photos: Ginnie Liang
Lawmaker-cum-unionist Ella Lei Cheng I (right), who chairs the legislature’s 1st Standing Committee, talks to reporters after yesterday’s closed-door meeting of the committee reviewing the government’s lift maintenance bill, as the committee’s secretary Becky Song Pek Kei looks on.
