Mary Hospital lift report: Four causes for frequent failures, other illegal acts referred for investigation
A government investigation into lift problems at Mary Hospital's new clinical building found four main causes for frequent failures, including shaft wall deviations and poor installation. The Development Bureau has initiated disciplinary actions and referred possible illegal acts to law enforcement.
The Development Bureau submitted a report to the Legislative Council ahead of a special meeting of the development committee, detailing the findings of an investigation into lift engineering problems at the new clinical building of Mary Hospital and subsequent follow-up actions.
According to the bureau, repair work is progressing at full speed. As of Tuesday, 18 of the 28 lifts had been repaired, with seven of those having passed inspection and opened to staff and the public as needed by the hospital. The remaining lifts are expected to be completed within the fourth quarter. The Hospital Authority is working with the Architectural Services Department and the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department to prepare for service relocation and the new building's opening, stressing that all 28 lifts must be fully operational before the new building can begin full services.
The bureau said a detailed investigation found all 28 lifts had problems to varying degrees. The main causes for frequent failures included deviations in the dimensions and verticality of lift shaft walls; deviations in the verticality of lift guide rails across different floors; unbalanced lift carriages causing incomplete verticality; and poor workmanship in lift installation. The bureau noted that under normal operation, lifts experience slight deviations depending on load conditions, but insufficient clearance between the shaft wall and lift carriage can easily trigger safety devices and stop the lift.
The Development Bureau stated that under the current monitoring mechanism, these engineering issues should have been detected and corrected early but were not given due attention or timely follow-up during the construction phase. The contractor, Anbao, had multiple failures, including inaccurate construction, poor workmanship, and lax follow-up; shortcomings in the formulation and approval of the inspection, testing and approval plan; and inadequate supervision and acceptance procedures.
The bureau mentioned that in January last year, the Architectural Services Department project team did not strictly follow internal guidelines in comparing the necessary engineering project checklist. They issued a certificate of completion even though some lifts had not yet received permits for use, criticising the relevant staff for poor performance.
The bureau also considered that the current acceptance mechanism of the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department has some links, particularly those related to stability and smoothness, that rely excessively on non-government professionals for certification without spot checks. The problems with the newly installed lifts at Mary Hospital, as well as the previous incident of missing door frames at Taiping, indicate deficiencies in the department's lift permit issuance system, requiring a comprehensive review of implementation details and reforms.
Based on the investigation results, the Development Bureau will initiate internal procedures to take further punitive action against the contractor, subcontractors, and consultancy firms involved. Depending on the severity of the failures, penalties may include suspension of bidding qualifications, downgrading, or disqualification. As the investigation uncovered potential involvement in other illegal acts, the bureau has referred the matter to relevant law enforcement for further investigation.
