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| Message from the Director |
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We are also pleased to report that, after several years of hard work to boost the transparency and effectiveness of our regulatory services, we have established a positive working relationship with the media and rebuilt public confidence. |
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Relationship building was key to our work in 2011. Among several
milestones, the smooth legislative progress of the Lifts and Escalators
Ordinance (LEO) stands out. The new legislation will reinforce shared
responsibilities among lift owners, property management companies,
contractors, engineers and workers, with a new regulatory framework
and provisions that are more in sync with current technologies and social
expectations. In-depth discussions with the trade during the drafting and
consultation stages helped build up mutual trust and understanding,
providing a good foundation for going forward. |
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Building Trust |
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Similarly, close liaison with the trade during 2011 to prepare for the
implementation of the core provisions of the Buildings Energy Efficiency
Ordinance (BEEO) later this year has reinforced positive working relationships
with Registered Energy Assessors, property management companies
and other members of the trade. This will be important for the smooth
enforcement of the law when implementation begins in September 2012.
We are also pleased to report that, after several years of hard work to
boost the transparency and effectiveness of our regulatory services, we
have established a positive working relationship with the media and
rebuilt public confidence. As a symbolic re-launch of our work, we invited
key Hong Kong media to join us in August 2011 at a gathering at our
headquarters where we shared highlights of our work and future direction
with more than 20 editors and journalists. |
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Value and Impact |
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There must be value and impact in everything we do, be it E&M safety,
energy efficiency education and enforcement, or other work supporting
Government’s initiatives. Thus we ask ourselves what we can do to make
a difference from the very first day of implementing a new law such as
the LEO. Part of the answer is that we begin our work well before the
implementation date.
For example, on day one of the implementation of both phases of the
Mandatory Energy Efficiency Labelling Scheme (MEELS), the vast majority
of the trade were already compliant with the law. This was made possible
through a combination of measures, including a pre-enactment audit and
effective communication with the trade. We expect no less from the first
day of implementation of the LEO and of the BEEO, and are working hard
towards it. As the saying goes, a good start is half the battle. It is much
better to work hard early on to ensure a good beginning than to spend our
efforts later on fixing loopholes. |
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Administrative Measures and Market Resources |
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For the past few years we have been encouraging our colleagues to use
administrative measures to help the trade comply with the law, such as the
requirement for documentary evidence of power suspension before WR2
inspections can be carried out. As long as the administrative measures are
within the ambit of the relevant ordinance, there is every reason to make
good use of them.
In recent years we have been using more market resources to perform
support activities, so that staff may focus on their core regulatory tasks.
Most of our school outreach activities, for example, are already outsourced,
but we are constantly looking for innovative new programmes. We might
consider a train-the-trainer initiative that would empower teachers to
educate their students, or even train students to teach their peers, using
materials from the Liberal Studies Kit on E&M Safety and Energy Efficiency
we published in 2011. The possibilities are many, and the key is that we
ought to be constantly reviewing existing programmes for improvement. |
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Managing Aging Infrastructure |
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A challenge for Hong Kong in the next decade is the need to step up
maintenance and replacement works for the city’s aging infrastructure.
Lifts, cables and pipes are obvious examples. The LEO, along with some
of our public utilities’ mains replacement programmes, are solutions to
address this challenge. The maintenance culture is reasonably good in
Hong Kong; but the Government ought to play a role in advocating proper
management of our infrastructural assets to ensure tip-top performance. |
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Regulator with a Passion |
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Being an effective regulator is more than enforcing the law. We must also
be aware of the need to create public value in all our actions, and have
the passion to motivate the regulated trades to comply with the law. Take
conducting meetings with the trade for example. It is one thing to hold a
consultation meeting that follows the right procedures and ticks off all the
agenda items, but quite another to listen, interact and communicate with
one’s heart in order to find the best possible solution for all. Engagement
skills will make a difference, so too will the attitude and passion to engage
the trades and other stakeholders. |
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There must be value and impact in everything we do, be it E&M safety, energy efficiency
education and enforcement, or other work supporting Government’s initiatives. |
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2012 and Beyond |
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This year will see both the LEO and BEEO come into operation. Hence
we are gearing up for full-fledged publicity and enforcement work to
make sure there is impact from day one of implementation. It is important
that these pieces of legislation make a difference in people’s everyday life
through our enforcement.
We would also like to see more innovation in the way we work. We must
not be afraid to take ourselves out of our comfort zone to find new ways
of doing things. We can also be more aggressive, for example in setting
higher standards and requirements when we review MEELS grading
definitions. We can be even more forthcoming and pro-active when we
deal with the media. More market resources ought to be used and creative
ways of outsourcing further explored. Knowledge transfer, by way of better
documentation and knowledge management, should be enhanced to
make up for the loss of experience due to staff re-posting and retirement.
We should also continue to encourage a culture of reflection and critical
thinking, as well as decision making based on objective evidence and
sound understanding of the regulatory objectives. |
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Gratitude to Stakeholders |
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Support from the trades and the public has been particularly important
in the past year, without which the respective enactment and preparatory
work for the LEO and BEEO would not have been so smooth. We wish to
convey our appreciation and gratitude.
A note of thanks also goes to our colleagues who have demonstrated
exceptional diligence, professionalism and agility as they were called upon
to tackle one challenge after another. We are happy to see them unfailingly
rise to the occasion.
Our gratitude also goes to the various policy bureaux for their guidance
and to the media and other stakeholders, including members of the public,
for their support.
We look forward to fostering the can-do spirit of continuous improvement
in all aspects of our work in the years to come. |
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Chan Fan
Director of Electrical and Mechanical Services |
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