Both Regulatory Services and Trading Services performed well in 2019/20 despite unforeseen challenges. Regulatory Services not only kept E&M incident numbers on a declining trend, but also made substantial progress in promoting energy efficiency and renewable energy. Trading Services, otherwise known as the Electrical and Mechanical Services Trading Fund (EMSTF), achieved return on revenue at 6.2% while adhering to our operating principle.
Regulatory Services and the EMSTF both garnered numerous awards and strong support from the E&M trade and client departments. However, we can claim success only when the public understands and supports the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) as a department they can trust. Our performance last year suggests we are well on the way to achieving this target.
ONE CHALLENGE AFTER ANOTHER
It is often said that emergencies are the best test of an organization’s strength and resilience. The year 2019/20 presented us all with some very strenuous time. The public order events and the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic both shook Hong Kong to the core, but thanks to our colleagues’ experience and dedication, the EMSD rose to the challenge.
In both instances, the priority of Regulatory Services was to ensure the continuity of safe and reliable services to the public by our regulatees, such as the power utilities, gas companies and railway operators, and to help minimise disruption to the operations of E&M trade practitioners. Apart from requesting regulatees to put in place business continuity plans and virus-control measures, we also made use of tools like drop boxes, online platforms and mobile channels to ensure that various applications, public enquiries and registration renewals, along with related continuing professional development and training for E&M workers, could operate as normal.
Meanwhile, Trading Services did its utmost round-the-clock to help clients repair countless public facilities damaged during the public order events. Most notable were the repairing of thousands of damaged traffic lights at hundreds of road junctions and the restoration of the damaged Cross-Harbour Tunnel for re-opening within 100 hours of site clearance. Numerous damaged government buildings, venues, facilities and vehicles were repaired with the aim of restoring normal lives for members of the public as soon as possible.
When the COVID-19 epidemic broke out in Hong Kong in January 2020, the EMSTF team had to again swing into action promptly by implementing various anti-epidemic projects for clients at hospitals and clinics, boundary control points, quarantine centres, ambulance services and government buildings, to name just a few.
Our range of work during the epidemic was diverse: from reactivating negative pressure wards to designing and installing Mobile Modular High Efficiency Particulate Arrestance Filter Units in hospitals; from converting premises into quarantine centres to providing technical advice in identifying venues to be used as temporary testing centres; from installing fever screening systems at boundary control points and government offices to installing and calibrating additional mask-making machines at correctional institutions; and from disinfecting air-conditioning units to supporting the investigation of cruise ships and residential units with confirmed cases. Numerous EMSTF colleagues were mobilised to complete these tasks with a fearless can-do spirit. Some Regulatory Services colleagues also stepped forward to join them in this department-wide effort.
We were also mindful of the economic impact of the epidemic on the trade, an issue we helped raise with the policy bureaux. The Government’s Anti-epidemic Fund was subsequently extended to provide one-off subsidies to E&M workers registered with the EMSD, registered electrical/gas/lift/escalator installation contractors and all vehicle maintenance workshops to help them cope with these difficult times.
Our colleagues’ commitment to serving our clients and the public was the overriding success factor in handling the two challenges. Excellent leadership skills were exercised at all levels, from line management to frontline staff, along with good teamwork with other government departments. Going forward, we are optimistic about our resilience and the public’s trust in our department in case of similar emergencies.
PRESSING AHEAD IN INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY
The EMSD made good progress in innovation and technology (I&T) during the year. With our large pool of frontline staff, the key to adopting I&T is cultural change rather than technology training alone. Thanks to our early start some years ago, most colleagues are now happy to take up I&T solutions, following the lead of early-adopter colleagues. Many initiatives kicked off in recent years have begun to deliver results.
For example, the Inno@E&M Challenge internal competition attracted an even more enthusiastic response, with nearly 25% more submissions in its second year in 2019/20. Our first Regional Digital Control Centre (RDCC) was commissioned too, enabling not only real-time monitoring and data collection for more effective predictive maintenance and repair of E&M systems in government buildings, but also optimisation of plant operation through data analytics to save energy. It serves as a template for colleagues to build other RDCCs tailored to different client needs. These initiatives helped create an innovation-oriented culture where all levels of staff are exposed to I&T, new ideas and collaboration in their daily experience.
In recognition of our I&T efforts, we were invited to present our green I&T work and the E&M InnoPortal at the Legislative Council Panels on Environmental Affairs and Development respectively. A presentation on our I&T work was also made at a heads-of-departments meeting within the Government.
Regulatory Services commenced projects on adopting I&T on three fronts. Firstly, it started using technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and big data analytics to enable risk-based inspections, as well as other technologies, such as chatbots, to handle day-to-day public enquiries with greater efficiency. At the same time, new solutions, such as e-submission, e-tracking, e-processing, e-payment and e-licence, for registered electrical/gas/lift/escalator workers and contractors were being implemented. An e-platform was also established to receive various documentary submissions, so as to be in line with the “Smart Government” initiative to streamline work processes and raise productivity.
The third front was to take the initiative to encourage our regulatees to adopt I&T solutions, so as to improve their public services via trials of new projects in collaboration with the trade, such as the small-object detection system for MTR escalators to enhance safety, while also taking up new trial projects ourselves. For the latter, we made good use of the Government’s TechConnect (Block Vote) funding to initiate our own projects, such as applying optical fibre monitoring and AI technologies to enhance lift and escalator safety. Regulatory Services plans to share these I&T solutions with the trade upon successful proof of concept.
A key task of the EMSTF was to help clients digitise their E&M systems to enhance operational efficiency and energy saving. Our E&M InnoPortal plays an important role in this regard, not only because it helps match our clients and other organisations including Regulatory Services regulatees with local start-ups, universities and research institutions that can offer the appropriate I&T solutions, but also because it has been connected to Guangdong cities in the Guangdong- Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) after we signed memoranda of cooperation (MoC) in 2019 to promote I&T co-operation. The MoC partners include the Guangdong Provincial Association for Science and Technology, the Guangdong Academy of Sciences and the Guangdong Productivity Centre. They can now access the “I&T wishes” listed by our clients and other public organisations in Hong Kong on our E&M InnoPortal, and put forward solutions accordingly, expediting our clients’ digital transformation.
The positive outcome of such collaboration was seen shortly after the COVID-19 outbreak when the EMSTF set up an anti-epidemic page on the E&M InnoPortal that attracted over 240 anti-epidemic solutions, including those provided by entities in other GBA cities, in response to the eight “I&T wishes” from our clients. This enabled clients to access, try out and procure solutions, such as innovative robots and coating materials for disinfection and other infection-control purposes, much faster than before, which is vital in a pandemic when time is of the essence.
Among the many awards the EMSTF received in 2019/20 for its I&T work was a Meritorious Award in the Civil Service Outstanding Service Award Scheme 2019. We jointly won this award with the Correctional Services Department for the series of digital E&M solutions on Smart Prison, which help the client enhance operational efficiency, reduce pressure on correctional officers and improve the well-being of those in custody. Successful stories like this motivate us to strive further in our I&T work for clients. Other I&T related accolades included several awards for our achievements in Building Information Modelling — Asset Management (BIM-AM) technology, and a Learning Organisation Honorary Award from the Professional Validation Council of Hong Kong Industries for our use of I&T in training.
COLLABORATION WITHOUT BORDERS
Our focused efforts in forging national, regional and international co-operation in recent years are yielding fruitful results. Our co-operation agreements and partnerships, formed for diverse purposes such as the promotion of I&T, E&M safety, energy efficiency and retro-commissioning as well as joint E&M talent development, have begun to bring positive impacts to our work. A good example in Regulatory Services was the new MoC signed with the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China in October 2019 to set up a Cross-border E-commerce Working Group that will identify and stop at source non-compliant electrical or gas appliances from being supplied to Hong Kong via e-commerce platforms, tackling a problem that has become prevalent with the rise of e-commerce.
Apart from I&T, training is another area where the EMSD has benefited from cross-border co-operation. Under our MoC with the Guangzhou Municipal Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, and the Guangzhou Industry and Trade Technician College, we set up two new training bases at our headquarters building as part of a joint initiative to establish a total of six training bases in Guangzhou and Hong Kong for collaborative technical training on major E&M systems and vehicle maintenance. As a result, two EMSTF technicians who benefited from the joint training won Medallions for Excellence in the 45th WorldSkills Competition in Kazan, Russia, in August 2019.
Our approach to training is based on a complementary principle, which is to arrange for our colleagues to be trained in cities with unique strengths and technical expertise. The depth, level and variety of training are our key considerations for joint training. We believe a readiness to learn from the unique strengths of other cities is vital to the continued enhancement of our technical skills in a fast-changing world.
OUTLOOK FOR NEXT YEAR
The coming year will see us continue to pursue client asset digitisation and I&T facilitation work. The Government’s Smart City Blueprint for Hong Kong has also given us the framework to proactively propose new ideas, such as leveraging the Government-Wide Internet of Things Network (GWIN) for government facility management and to implement a more intelligent parking meter system with smart mobile application for the public. These efforts will generate new opportunities for the EMSTF and expedite smart city development.
We are delighted to see that the Government will soon roll out a City I&T Grand Challenge, which invites the public to suggest I&T solutions that improve daily life in Hong Kong or benefit specific communities. This shares the same spirit that underlies many of our current initiatives, and we hope to help inspire more novel ideas in future.
The issue of aged E&M facilities and an ageing workforce in Hong Kong is increasingly pressing. To ensure public safety, Regulatory Services must continue to step up risk-based inspections and special audits and tighten the monitoring of regulatees’ maintenance regimes. We will continue to support the implementation of the Lift Modernisation Subsidy Scheme, and encourage and facilitate replacement of aged E&M systems by owners/regulatees. The EMSTF’s duties in this respect include expediting the replacement of clients’ aged assets and applying AI and data analytics to their E&M systems, so as to enable more effective predictive maintenance and save manpower, as well as continuing to take the lead to attract new blood to the E&M trade.
We take sustainability seriously as it permeates everything we do as a regulator, an E&M service provider and the Government’s Innovation Facilitator. Among our latest highlights are the implementation of the Solar Harvest and Green Schools 2.0 programmes and the annual Energy Saving for All campaign, by which we hope will inspire stakeholders and the public to contribute to building a low-carbon society. Meanwhile, our EMSTF team will continue to perform “health checks” at hundreds of government buildings by retro-commissioning to identify opportunities for energy saving and optimisation of the performance of E&M systems. We have already prepared a set of retro-commissioning guidelines for use in the GBA, in consultation with our partners in the Mainland China.
Our award-winning District Cooling System (DCS) at Kai Tak Development will see a third plant completed soon, with the aim to start supplying chilled water to users by 2022. Other DCSs in the pipeline, including those for the Kwu Tung North, Tung Chung New Town Extension and Hung Shui Kiu/Ha Tsuen New Development Area, are making good progress at the planning stage.
Looking ahead, we anticipate that Regulatory Services will deepen its existing role, such as further examining the introduction of a mandatory registration scheme for vehicle mechanics and vehicle maintenance workshops. The EMSTF will continue to see steady business growth while leading the E&M sector as a trade model. In fact, we have been compiling two sets of comprehensive publications, namely the Best Practices for Operation and Maintenance of E&M Assets and The Regulatory Regime Handbook, scheduled to be released by end of 2020. The publications aim to capture and share our knowledge and experience in E&M installation maintenance and regulatory practices. At the same time, I&T, sustainability and smart city development will be the priorities for our areas of work.
SINCERE GRATITUDE
The past year was exceptionally demanding for our staff at all levels as they had to deal with the aftermath of the public order events and an ongoing epidemic while attending to their normal duties. Our clients went through challenging times, too, as they strived to maintain normal public services to the extent possible, with the EMSTF at their side through all the ups and downs. We must thank all our colleagues for their commitment, courage and excellent work, and our clients for their trust and partnership.
Our sincere gratitude goes to various policy bureaux and government departments for their support, and to the professional bodies, academics, training and research institutions, public organisations, non-governmental organisations, the E&M trade and other stakeholders in Hong Kong and other cities who have supported our work.
Feedback and vigilance are important for us to stay on course. For this, we thank members of the public, the media, Legislative Councillors and other opinion leaders for their valuable input and suggestions.
The coming year may again be challenging, but with the support from our staff, clients and stakeholders, we will spare no effort in serving Hong Kong.
Pang Yiu-hung
Director of Electrical and Mechanical Services
General Manager, Electrical and Mechanical Services Trading Fund
The Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) is a government department that provides electrical and mechanical (E&M) services via two functional arms, namely, Regulatory Services (RS) and Trading Services, of which the latter is also known as the Electrical and Mechanical Services Trading Fund (EMSTF). The EMSD plays a dual role of regulating E&M safe operations by means of law enforcement and public education, while providing professional, comprehensive and cost-effective E&M engineering services for government departments and public bodies to continuously enhance our citizens’ quality of life.
Acting as a regulatory body and law enforcement department, the RS team is responsible for safeguarding E&M safety and enhancing energy efficiency. The RS team comprises a number of divisions specialising in different regulatory and public education areas, including E&M safety, gas safety and railway safety. The team also monitors the technical performance and development plans of power companies based on the Scheme of Control Agreements. In addition, the team provides the Government with professional advice and promotes energy efficiency within the community.
The EMSTF plays an important role of providing quality E&M engineering services to other government departments and public bodies, in order to enhance the quality of life for the public. The EMSTF offers comprehensive engineering services, such as operation, maintenance, project management and consultancy services, on E&M, building services and electronic systems and equipment to more than 80 client departments. Client venues and facilities include but not limited to hospitals, schools, disciplined services facilities, transport facilities and highways, port and harbour, airport, government offices and law court buildings as well as public recreational and leisure facilities.