The performance of Regulatory Services and Trading Services was impressive in 2020/21 despite the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Both successfully turned the crisis into an opportunity and created great public value for client departments, the E&M trade and the public. Regulatory Services continued to keep E&M incidents on a declining trend while pressing ahead with energy efficiency initiatives.
The financial situation of Trading Services, also known as the Electrical and Mechanical Services Trading Fund (EMSTF), was healthy and in line with our operating principles. Total revenue rose to HK$8,578 million and return on revenue (ROR) was reduced to 2.3%. The increased revenue was attributable to sustained business growth, while the drop in ROR was a result of the provision of value-added anti-epidemic services for clients and our hiring of about 1500 temporary staff to help create jobs amid the epidemic. The drop in ROR is also in line with our operational policy of lowering the financial return so that clients can retain funding for their services to the public.
MAKING A DIFFERENCE WITH SYSTEM INNOVATION
Our colleagues performed well in leveraging the EMSD's "system innovation" in the three aspects of experience, technology and finance.
Our experience and knowledge of client venues have proved particularly valuable in transforming existing facilities for anti-epidemic work, such as promptly converting numerous general wards into second-tier negative pressure wards at public hospitals, helping set up the Community Treatment Facilities at AsiaWorld-Expo and the North Lantau Hospital Hong Kong Infection Control Centre (NLHHKICC), and assessing the ventilation systems of over 200 potential venues for the Universal Community Testing Programme in only three days.
Taking on the challenges of the epidemic and turning them into opportunities required not only an innovative mindset but also technological innovation, i.e., the support and facilitation of innovation and technology (I&T). We are fortunate in having made an early start some years ago in promoting and facilitating the I&T solutions to enhance our own operations and digitise clients' E&M systems for greater efficiency and energy saving.
The I&T experience accumulated in our staff members, coupled with their working relation with the E&M trade, have enabled them to satisfy client needs at very short notice. These included setting up for the Community Vaccination Centres (CVCs) an integrated Fridge Monitoring System (iFMS) using Internet of Things (IoT) technology. Our Regional Digital Control Centre (RDCC) which monitors the iFMS and other real-time E&M data from the CVCs has enabled "five-star" facility management services for the COVID-19 Vaccination Programme.
Another example was setting up crowd control systems using IoT and other technologies at the sale event of the Chinese New Year flowers in early 2021 within only two weeks, mobilising over 160 colleagues and many contractors to satisfy the highly dynamic needs of the clients and relevant departments. This and other anti-epidemic projects would not have been possible without the necessary mindset and organisational innovation, together with our strong I&T foundation and connections with suppliers built up over the years.
These advantages also apply to Regulatory Services which leveraged its experience and understanding of the regulatees to help them maintain essential services to the public. We made sure that power utilities, oil/gas companies, lift and escalator contractors and railway operators put in place sound Business Continuity Plans and anti-virus measures; and we promptly rolled out tools like drop boxes and online platforms for E&M workers for registration renewals, bookings, applications as well as continuing professional development and training. We also ensured that vehicle maintenance workshops, registered contractors/workers/competent persons for electrical/gas/lift and escalator sectors were covered by the Anti-epidemic Fund for one-off cash subsidies to ease their financial pressure under the epidemic.
For the EMSTF, the epidemic has underscored the importance of its healthy financial situation and organisation agility, which enabled us to take on urgent and technically challenging tasks for clients. The work done for the Chinese New Year flower sale points, for example, illustrated our belief that we must leverage our financial resources and flexibility to support clients when necessary.
Indeed, the drop in the EMSTF's ROR should be also seen in this positive light. To support the Job Creation Scheme under the Civil Service Bureau, we hired about 1500 temporary staff to enhance publicity, support E&M asset digitisation and step up environmental hygiene work in support of the Government's initiative to create more jobs in the epidemic. We were glad to help in these small ways and create public value for community betterment in a crisis.
I&T FOR SMART GOVERNMENT AND SMART CITY
Much has been written about the EMSD's I&T work and our role as the Government's Innovation Facilitator. Now that the epidemic has triggered enormous demand for I&T solutions in all walks of life, we hope this new normal will kick-start a snowball effect of further I&T development in Hong Kong.
The new normal is also an excellent opportunity for the Government to use I&T to streamline its work processes to meet rising expectations from businesses and the public, and to lead by example so that the private sector will expedite its own I&T efforts. The positioning of our I&T smart initiatives is that they must enhance the performance of our Regulatory Services and Trading Services and create value for the public.
In line with the Chief Executive's 2020 Policy Address initiative to promote Smart Government including the Be the Smart Regulator Programme, and the Streamlining of Government Services Programme which aims to use I&T to raise efficiency, Regulatory Services have been working on new solutions such as e-submission, e-payment and e-licence for all 45 licences under our purview. The aim is to make these tools user-friendly but highly secure. Regulatory Services also initiated its own I&T projects with the Government's TechConnect (Block Vote) funding, such as using optical fibre monitoring and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to boost lift and escalator safety, for sharing with the trade in due course.
Indeed, the EMSD has taken up several initiatives put forward in the Smart City Blueprint for Hong Kong 2.0 (Blueprint 2.0), namely hiker safety, smart toilet, rodent control management, Building Information Modelling-Asset Management (BIM-AM), the Government-Wide Internet of Things Network (GWIN), the E&M InnoPortal, real-time parking vacancy information for non-metered car parks, etc. These are our direct contribution to Hong Kong's moves towards becoming a smart city with a smart government.
Take the smart toilet as an example. The trial toilets first set up in the EMSD Headquarters caught the attention of many developers. Smart toilets are now in use in some shopping centres to monitor consumables and other environmental parameters like indoor air quality, in addition to toilet occupancy. This example shows that once our trial has triggered interest from the trade and the public, it can evolve quickly into an intelligent facility management solution in the hands of the property management sector. Some of our other projects launched for the Blueprint 2.0 also stand a good chance of being adopted by the private sector on a major scale in the future.
Another route is for us to help clients tailor their unique I&T solutions. A notable example is the award-winning Smart Prison solutions which we jointly developed with the Correctional Services Department. The initiative will achieve a milestone when Hong Kong's first Smart Prison, Tai Tam Gap Correctional Institution, is officially launched later in 2021.
We are also delighted to report that the I&T projects of the EMSD won four gold and four silver medals at the International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva 2021. The fact that all our eight entries were submitted by colleagues on a voluntary basis is all the more heartening as we strive to deepen our I&T culture. In this regard, we have set up a Steering Committee on I&T, which uses both bottom-up and top-down approaches to promote I&T within the EMSD.
DEEPENING REGIONAL CO-OPERATION
Exchanges with counterparts of the Mainland of China (Mainland) and overseas have continued online during the epidemic, ranging from joint training programmes with entities such as the Guangzhou Technician College in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) to I&T collaboration via our E&M InnoPortal. Our aim is to further deepen the co-operation with existing partners, such as the Guangzhou Municipal Human Resources and Social Security Bureau with which we signed a new Memorandum of Understanding in December 2020, and to identify new partners in the GBA to extend the depth and breadth of our co-operation network.
Our work with the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) reached new heights in 2021 when the EMSD's representative was re-elected to serve another term as the Chairman of the Expert Group on Energy Efficiency and Conservation (EGEE&C). In late 2020, we also organised the first-ever joint EGEE&C and Expert Group on Energy Data and Analysis (EGEDA) meeting and workshops amidst the COVID-19 epidemic. Our effort in the APEC highlights Hong Kong's role as a "promoter" and "facilitator" to strengthen regional co-operation in achieving the energy intensity reduction goal in the APEC region.
It is worth mentioning that we have completed a study on the outstanding performance of energy intensity reduction in seven APEC member cities, which is also Hong Kong's first-ever APEC-funded project. We were honoured to host the related online workshop titled "Energy Intensity Reduction in the APEC Regions' Urbanised Cities" in March 2021. This would be followed by our second APEC-funded project on capacity building for retro-commissioning.
The EMSD signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Energy Market Authority of Singapore in October 2020 to collaborate on energy safety issues. Another new development was the organisation of a cross-regional international AI competition which will be kicked off later in 2021, riding on the momentum and success of our I&T projects in the International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva. Jointly organised by the Guangdong Provincial Association for Science and Technology and the EMSD, with the Office of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan Affairs of the China Association for Science and Technology and the Innovation and Technology Bureau of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government as advisors, the competition will focus on AI development and applications in the building services industry.
Apart from conferences and workshops, there will be an online AI Competition where participants will develop an AI model to predict the cooling demand of a commercial building. We are delighted to be jointly organising this global competition with the Mainland.
ORGANISATIONAL GROWTH
As the EMSTF continued its steady performance, the Regulatory Services has also grown to take on an expanding portfolio such as aged lift safety and District Cooling Systems (DCSs). Indeed, our colleagues have shown good judgment and skills in deploying resources to new initiatives that pose the greatest potential for enhancing E&M safety and energy efficiency.
Take, for instance, aged lift safety where we took the first steps some years ago to publish and promote a set of Guidelines for Modernising Existing Lifts. Our proactive effort encouraged some owners to take action, and the results gradually gained momentum and public support which in turn attracted new resources from the Government. The initiative eventually became the Government's Lift Modernisation Subsidy Scheme (LIMSS), which is much welcomed by lift owners. We have set up a new Division to work with the Urban Renewal Authority on the implementation of the LIMSS.
By the same token, our pioneering work on the DCSs ever since the 2000s has yielded results as the DCS in Kai Tak Development – which we designed, built and operate – gradually took shape and proved its value in energy saving and sustainability. Indeed, the DCSs will be part of the infrastructure in new development areas such as Hung Shui Kiu/Ha Tsuen, Kwu Tung North and Tung Chung New Town Extension (East), and we have set up a new Division dedicated to DCS work.
Growth in other energy efficiency work was also expected, such as the recent second upgrading of energy efficiency standards for single package type room air-conditioners, dehumidifiers and compact fluorescent lamps (commencement in December 2020), and Green Schools 2.0 with its Solar Harvest scheme which were highly popular with schools and students. The Mandatory Energy Efficiency Labelling Scheme (MEELS) is another growth area. The proposed fourth phase of the MEELS, which covers Light Emitting Diode lamps, gas cookers and gas water heaters, would bring an additional annual energy saving of about 158 million kWh, which is equivalent to a reduction of 75000 tonnes of carbon emissions. When the fourth phase is launched, tentatively scheduled for 2023, a total of 11 products under the MEELS will account for about 80% of the total energy consumption in the residential sector, up from the current about 50%. This will also be the first time that the MEELS covers domestic gas appliances, marking another milestone.
AWARDS AND ACCOLADES
The list of awards and recognition our colleagues received during the year was impressive. These included the Ombudsman's Awards 2020, the Chief Executive's Commendation for Government/Public Service in 2021, the Secretary for Civil Service's Commendation Award 2020 and awards under the 26th Considerate Contractors Site Award Scheme. Over 2000 colleagues also received commendations from the Chief Secretary for Administration for their contribution in fighting COVID-19.
On the technology front, apart from the eight medals won at the International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva for our I&T projects, our teams also won multiple BIM awards as well as the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers Innovation Award 2021 for their innovative projects.
The submission we made to the Association of Energy Engineers (AEE) in February 2021 on how our Solar Harvest scheme cultivated renewable energy awareness in the new generation won the AEE's Asia Pacific Rim Region Innovative Energy Project of the Year Award 2021. This is our third AEE award in recent years, a major recognition of our work on the international stage.
Patents are another form of recognition of our I&T work. As pioneers in the application of new technologies such as BIM, we have obtained patents to help clients enhance their public services. Working jointly with many organisations, we have since 2013 successfully obtained around 20 patents, which will be shared with the trade and the public for the community's benefits.
PROSPECTS NEXT YEAR
As the Government strives to achieve carbon neutrality before 2050, decarbonisation will be our focus in 2021/22. This is not new to the EMSD, as we have been helping clients implement energy-saving and renewable energy projects while promoting energy efficiency and conservation in Hong Kong for years. We stand ready to further support the Government's decarbonisation work.
Human capital is our greatest asset and we attach much importance to recruitment and training. The EMSTF's two Technician Training Schemes are shortened by one year, with effect from the 2021 summer intake, to help attract young talent. For existing staff, life-long learning and broadening of the horizons are important in a fast-changing world. We shall continue to provide continuous learning opportunities and leverage our GBA and international collaboration network to give colleagues broad exposure.
During the year, our staff showed great courage and resilience in assisting in clients' anti-epidemic work and the joint tasks with various government departments, such as manning the CVC at Lung Sum Avenue Sports Centre, assisting in the compulsory COVID-19 testing in "restricted areas" like Yau Ma Tei and providing technical support in the construction of the NLHHKICC. Our staff also conducted inspections of designated quarantine hotels, residential care homes for the elderly, fitness centres, restaurants, etc. within a tight schedule to ensure the ventilation design and facilities fulfil the infection control requirements. Not only do we serve as a regulator and provide E&M services, but we also cater to community needs.
Our I&T work will continue too. Regulatory Services will further its work to develop a blockchain-based Digital Log-book System for Lifts and Escalators, and roll out various e-licensing procedures by mid-2022. The Railways Branch will continue to oversee railway safety matters related to construction of the Shatin to Central Link, in particular the new section from Hung Hom station to Admiralty station. We shall keep up the momentum of our Comprehensive and Direct Assessments on the Asset Management Systems and Safety Management Systems for the MTR Corporation Limited's railway lines and help the railway operator cultivate a stronger safety culture for enhancing railway safety.
We shall continue to lead the E&M trade and promote best practices, further to our recent publication of eight operation and maintenance best practices booklets and handbooks on different categories of E&M assets. To encourage the trade to share their best practices, we are developing a website for practitioners to share their materials and videos, subject to prior vetting. The EMSD has also obtained the ISO 37001 Anti-bribery Management Systems Certification, making us the first government department to attain this certification. Integrity is one of our core values, and we shall provide all necessary support and training to maintain a corruption-free environment.
GRATITUDE AND APPRECIATION
The pandemic has transformed the world and given us insights into how to manage the challenges ahead. We sincerely thank all EMSTF clients for their trust and partnership in the past year, and our colleagues for their commitment and excellent services. We also owe the various policy bureaux and government departments a big thank-you for their support in our regulatory work.
We are grateful to the professional bodies, trade associations and partners, academics, training and research institutions, non-governmental organisations, and our Mainland and overseas partners for their enthusiasm and support. We also thank members of the public, the media, Legislative Councillors and other opinion leaders for their vigilance and input. With the support from our staff, clients and stakeholders, we are confident that the EMSD will continue to deliver great values to the community.
Pang Yiu-hung
Director of Electrical and Mechanical Services
General Manager, Electrical and Mechanical Services Trading Fund
