Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4
Following is a question by the Hon Lam Chun-sing and a reply by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun, in the Legislative Council today (April 1):
Question:
It has been reported that so far this year, there have been three fatal industrial accidents relating to lifting operations in the construction industry, including the collapse of a tower crane (commonly known as a sky crane) at a construction site in Kwai Chung on the 19th of last month, which resulted in the death of a worker. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of prosecutions instituted by the Government in each of the past two years and so far this year against owners of lifting appliances or lifting gear for contravening the Factories and Industrial Undertakings (Lifting Appliances and Lifting Gear) Regulations, and the number of successful convictions among such cases and the average amount of fines imposed;
(2) as Hong Kong has recorded two serious fatal incidents involving the collapse of sky cranes at construction sites in less than four years, whether the Government will comprehensively review and enhance the inspection and regulatory mechanisms to ensure the structural and operational safety of sky cranes, so as to prevent the recurrence of similar incidents; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(3) whether it will consider requiring that personnel engaged as “slingers” and “signallers” in lifting appliances operations must undergo professional training and possess recognised qualifications; if so, of the details and the implementation timetable; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
The Government is highly concerned about an accident that happened at a construction site in Kwai Chung on March 19 this year, in which a tower crane collapsed suddenly during its operation. The Government is saddened by the death of the crane operator and expresses its deepest sympathy to his family.
The Labour Department (LD) is conducting the investigation at full speed to identify the cause of the accident, ascertain the liability of the duty holders and recommend improvement measures. The LD will take strict actions pursuant to the law if any breach of legislation is identified during the investigation.
Our reply to the question raised by the Hon Lam Chun-sing is as follows:
(1) The LD initiated 388 and 281 prosecutions against owners of lifting appliances or lifting gear for breaches of the Factories and Industrial Undertakings (Lifting Appliances and Lifting Gear) Regulations in 2024 and 2025 respectively. As at February this year, a total of 28 prosecutions have been initiated. The numbers of convicted summonses and the average fines for the same period are set out in Annex.
(2) The Government attaches great importance to workers’ occupational safety and health (OSH). The construction industry has the highest number of fatal industrial accidents and the highest accident rate per 1 000 workers. The LD pays particular attention to the safety level of the construction industry and the changes in the OSH risk of construction workers. Pursuant to the risk-based principle, the LD formulates and adjusts relevant strategies on the inspection and enforcement, education and training as well as technology application, etc, to enhance the effectiveness.
As far as inspection and enforcement are concerned, territory-wide special inspection exercises have been launched from March 30 (Monday), targeting construction sites involving tower crane lifting operations. The LD is also making use of technologies to enhance the enforcement efficiency of frontline officers, including the use of small unmanned aircraft for aerial photography and videography to remotely monitor tower crane operations, and assist frontline officers in inspecting the high‑up positions of tower cranes that are normally difficult to reach, thereby curbing unsafe lifting operations and strengthening the monitoring of the structural safety of tower cranes.
Besides, the LD will continue to conduct special enforcement operations on the construction sites using lifting appliances, including the erection, inspection, and lifting operations of tower cranes, and will also carry out comprehensive and in‑depth surprise inspections on the construction sites involving unsafe lifting operation or poor safety performance. If breaches of the requirements under the OSH legislation, including the use of unsafe machinery in workplace, are identified during inspection, actions will be taken pursuant to the law.
The “Code of Practice for Safe Use of Tower Cranes” (CoP) has been issued by the LD on the safe and correct use of tower cranes, providing practical guidance on the safe use and operation of tower cranes to ensure the safety of personnel working on and near the cranes. The LD is revising the said CoP, the main revisions of which include enhancing the requirements and inspections for tower crane installation, welding processes, anchorages and foundations safety. The industry will also be required to install video devices and install and use the Tower Crane Alert System. Inspection checklist templates for inspection, testing and thorough examination of tower cranes will also be included in the CoP for reference by relevant inspection personnel so as to further enhance the safety level of tower crane operations.
On the other hand, the LD is working with the Development Bureau and the Building Technology Research Institute to provide advice on the relevant OSH legislation for the newly developed Remote-Control Tower Crane System. This remote-control system enables tower crane operators to operate the crane in a cabin on the ground, and identify safety risks with the use of artificial intelligence technology, thereby enhancing lifting safety and improving the working environment for crane operators.
(3) The existing CoP of the LD provides practical guidance on the safe and correct use of tower cranes, specifying the requirements for riggers and signallers as well as the knowledge required for their duties.
The LD, in revising the CoP, will consider enhancing the safety training requirements for riggers and signallers, e.g. requiring them to hold a valid certificate of the Safety Training Course for Construction Workers (Silver Card Course) – Rigger and Signaller issued by the Hong Kong Institute of Construction before they are allowed to perform the related work.
The LD strives to publish the newly revised CoP within this year to further enhance the safety level of tower cranes. In the subsequent inspections at the construction sites equipped with tower cranes, the LD will pay particular attention to whether the relevant riggers and signallers meet the training and technical requirements set out in the new CoP.