This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Electrical and Mechanical Services Trading Fund (EMSTF). Since its establishment, we have overcome numerous challenges and remained proactive and innovative while staying true to our aspiration in putting service quality as the top priority. As a professional electrical and mechanical (E&M) service provider, we strive to stay committed and work in concert with our clients to ride out the difficult times and provide quality public services to the community. Thanks to the continuous efforts of the EMSTF team, as well as the trust and support of our clients, the business of the EMSTF has been on a steady rise throughout the years, earning high recognition from the trade and the public alike.
Officiated by the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr. John Lee, and the Director of Electrical and Mechanical Services, Mr. Pang Yiu-hung, the 25th Anniversary Commemorative Ceremony of the EMSTF was held successfully at the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) Headquarters on 11 August 2021. Speaking at the ceremony, Mr. Lee said that the EMSTF had always been committed to providing quality E&M services, keeping abreast of the development of innovation and technology (I&T), enhancing the quality of life for the public, and setting a good example for the E&M trade. In delivering his speech, Mr. Pang pointed out that having transformed from a traditional government department into an E&M service provider facing open market competition, the EMSTF had been operating its business with agility and creativity. It also proactively supported various smart city initiatives, bringing benefits and convenience to the public.
Also attending the ceremony were the Deputy Director-General of the Department of Educational, Scientific and Technological Affairs of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), Mr. Ye Shuiqiu; the Secretary for the Environment, Mr. Wong Kam-sing; the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Mr. Frank Chan; the Secretary for Innovation and Technology, Mr. Alfred Sit; the Permanent Secretary for Development (Works), Mr. Lam Sai-hung; the Under Secretary for Development, Mr. Liu Chun-san, and heads and representatives of various government departments and public bodies as well as trade representatives.
“Co-innovate and Co-create Our Future”, the anniversary theme, represents Collaboration, Innovation, Passing on Legacies and Looking Forward. “Collaboration” indicates that the EMSTF will always stand by Hong Kong and its clients, even in the face of adverse condition and the epidemic, with full dedication to provide E&M support. As the Innovation Facilitator for the Government, the EMSTF will continue to promote “Innovation” and technology and serve as the strategic partner in I&T promotion with signed memoranda of co-operation with local universities and research institutions. On “Passing on Legacies”, the EMSD has trained for the trade over 6 000 E&M practitioners and encouraged them to participate in international competitions so as to enhance the standard of E&M services in Hong Kong and strengthen technical exchange with our counterparts. “Looking Forward”, the EMSTF will continue to forge ahead with agility and creativity, and adhere to the customer-oriented approach. It will also proactively introduce innovative technologies into the E&M services, upgrade the equipment and system, and collaborate with partners to create public values. The EMSTF will strive ahead together with its staff, clients, members of the trade and other stakeholders, passing on its wisdom and culture while unlocking unlimited possibilities for the future, thereby scaling new heights.
At the ceremony, we also launched the Global AI Challenge for Building E&M Facilities, an event jointly organised by the EMSD and the Guangdong Provincial Association for Science and Technology for the first time, with the support of the Innovation and Technology Bureau and the Office of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan Affairs of the China Association for Science and Technology. This event aims to encourage the E&M trade to adopt more artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, inspire participants to develop more AI solutions and promote the application of semantic AI in the E&M systems of existing buildings through a series of activities such as AI competition, global conferences and workshops.
Participating teams of the AI competition are required to develop an AI model to predict the cooling demand of buildings. We hope to foster communication between the participants, members of the trade and researchers through this event.
The AI competition is open for application from 16 September 2021. AI enthusiasts across the globe are welcome to participate in the event. For details of the Global AI Challenge for Building E&M Facilities, please visit http://www.globalaichallenge.com
On the same day, our guests also witnessed the opening of the E&M InnoFoyer. Established at the lobby on the ground floor of the EMSD Headquarters, the E&M InnoFoyer showcases to the public a series of E&M-related I&T projects, including the Internet of Things (IoT)-Enabled Smart Toilet Bowl Cleaning System, the Artificial Intelligent Nylon Optical Fibre Sensing Escalator Combs, the Building Semantic Artificial Intelligence, the Cloud-based Predictive Maintenance System for Real-Time Lift Monitoring, smart glasses, IoT clocks, etc. It enables our clients, the trade and the public to gain a better understanding of the EMSD’s work in promoting I&T applications, and shares with them the results of the EMSD’s ongoing efforts in this respect. Moreover, the E&M InnoFoyer displays the I&T awards and recognitions that the EMSD obtained in recent years.