VR technology nurtures lift technicians

Hong Kong is a built-up area that abounds with skyscrapers, in which the lifts carry people up and down every day. Proper periodic examination and maintenance are important to ensure the safe operation of lifts. The Government has earlier launched the Lift Modernisation Subsidy Scheme (LIMSS) to subsidise building owners in need to enhance lift safety. Meanwhile, the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) has also collaborated with the Vocational Training Council (VTC) and the Lift & Escalator Contractors Association (LECA) to strengthen the training of talents. Here we have invited a colleague of the EMSD and the representatives of the VTC and the industry to introduce how innovation and technology can be used to support training and attract more young people to join the industry.The LIMSSAt present, there are about 68 000 lifts in Hong Kong. With rapid technological advancement, modern lifts are equipped with more comprehensive safety devices than the aged ones. Government launched the LIMSS to offer financial incentive with appropriate professional support to building owners in need to encourage them to carry out lift modernisation works by installing specified safety devices or carrying out complete replacement of lifts which have not been equipped with these safety devices.According to Senior Engineer of the EMSD, Mr LAI Chun-fai, the first round of applications for the scheme has been closed and about 1 200 applications involving about 5 000 lifts have been received. The response is overwhelming. Lift training with VR technologyQuality maintenance is crucial to lift safety. However, the lift industry has been facing the problem of persistent manpower shortage, and so the Government has been playing the role of facilitator to co-operate with the industry and the VTC to enhance training for technical personnel. The three partners have worked together to develop a virtual reality (VR) system to train the both trainees and practicing technicians. The VR system allows users to complete tasks of different scenarios so that they can reinforce their understanding of the points to note in each procedure. The VR system can also facilitate the introduction of lift profession to young people and attract more new blood to join the industry.More realistic experience for traineesThe Principal Instructor of the Pro-Act Training and Development Centre (Electrical) of the VTC, Mr WONG Kai-hon, Charles, says that trainees in general need to learn how to install or maintain lifts in a realistic environment. However, it involves substantial fees and spaces to build a realistic environment. VTC has specifically introduced this brand new VR system to its lift courses together with practical training, allowing trainees to have a deeper understanding of different tasks as if they are working in real-world situations. Besides, if trainees do not follow instructions during training, they will be susceptible to danger. The VR system can simulate emergency or accident scenarios for them to learn how to solve problems in a physically safe environment. The lift trade’s keen demand for talentsThe Lift and Escalator programme offered by the VTC is very practical. The skills that trainees can learn are exactly what the trade requires, resulting in a significant increase in the intake of new trainees in recent years. The vice president of the LECA, Mr LAI Wah-hing, says that as the trade has a keen demand for talents, practicing technicians may enhance their skills and qualifications through continuous learning. Besides, a number of technicians will take examinations to obtain professional engineer qualifications, and develop a career in engineering management. Mr LAI Wah-hing believes that VR technology can strengthen professional training in the trade and deepen employees’ understanding of the importance of following safe work procedures. In addition, lift contractors will buy VR equipment to train their own employees.The work of repair and maintenance comes with great responsibilityThe trainees participating in the Lift and Escalator programme all said that VR technology adds to the authenticity of the training experience, making it easier for them to have a good grasp of their future job. The technology also helps to enhance their safety awareness and reduce the anxiety that might come during their internship. The trainees said that they want to equip themselves with a set of specialised skills through training. They also understand the level of responsibilities associated with the repair and maintenance of lifts, which are closely related to people’s daily lives. We use lifts every day. The Government will continue to strengthen cooperation with the industry and training institutions to improve the learning environment using innovative technology. In addition, we will promote safe practices for lift works and attract more young talents to join the lift and escalator trade. Regarding the way forward, given the overwhelming response to the LIMSS, the Government is actively looking at possible ways to inject new resources into the scheme for the benefit of more owners in need. (The video is broadcasted in Cantonese) (The video is provided by Development Bureau)

Regulation of amusement ride safety

Many people love to visit theme parks to go on the exciting and thrilling amusement rides for the sheer sensation of speed and centrifugal forces. In the carnival held along the Central Harbourfront in 2018, there were different kinds of amusement rides available for the public to “have the fullest fun”. You may wish to know that, five months before the opening of the carnival, the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) had in fact started the vetting process of the amusement rides applications to ensure a fun and safe experience for visitors. This time, we have invited two colleagues from the EMSD to introduce how the department oversees the inspection and maintenance of the rides to ensure public safety.The 5th Great European Carnival, launched in Hong Kong in December 2018, came to a close in February 2019. There were about 30 amusement rides on-site. Apart from the rides that were on offer before, including the Flying Swing, Compact Spinning Coaster and Mach 5 (of which the vertical arms and seats can spin 360 degrees in the air), five new rides were also introduced into Hong Kong for the first time.Requiring “Permit to Use and Operate”As early as two months before the launch, a team of the General Legislation Division of the EMSD had kick-started its regulatory work on the amusement rides. According to Engineer of the EMSD, Mr. CHAN Chi-pui, all amusement rides that are open for public use, including those in theme parks and other sites, must be granted with the “Permit to Use and Operate”. The department will first assess the design of each amusement ride. Passing the design approval is just the first step for the operators. With the design approved, they must then install the amusement rides in accordance to the approved designs, arrange an independent surveyor to conduct a thorough test and employ a qualified competent person to be responsible for the subsequent operation and maintenance of the rides.Among those important tasks for EMSD, one of them is to oversee the non-destructive tests of amusement rides by monitoring the surveyors on conducting non-destructive tests on critical welds in order to ensure that the rides can bear the stress and loading. Other items to be examined include electricity safety test, full or half loaded operation test, emergency drills, etc. The EMSD will issue the “Permit to Use and Operate” to the operators only when all testing results are satisfactory. Colleagues need to be “bold and cautious”The General Legislation Division of the EMSD has a total of six engineers and inspectors in charge of the regulatory duty of amusement rides safety. As Mr CHAN Chi-pui describes it, they need to be “bold and cautious”, and have extensive professional knowledge of electricity, machinery and different operating systems. When supervising the testing of amusement rides, they must make bold assumptions and raise different possible scenarios to surveyors. They have to stand firm in requiring that the designs of the machines are in line with international standards. Stringent tests were conducted to ensure that the amusement rides are safe to public use.Regarding the difficulties they face, Mr CHAN Chi-pui says that all operators want to commence business as soon as possible after taking over the venue. However, based on his past experience, such venues are often not available to operators until two weeks or so before a carnival opens. Because of the tight schedule, his colleagues need to work overtime to have all the licensing work completed. Carrying out surprise inspectionsThe regulatory work by the EMSD will continue after the amusement rides are in operation. For example, inspection work will be carried out to ensure the operators fully comply with the procedures in carrying out daily maintenance and checking on the rides. Inspector of the EMSD, Mr LEE Yuk-tung, says that the department will also conduct surprise inspections on the amusement rides in the venue. And upon receipt of a complaint, or in the event of occurrence of reportable incidents on the rides, they will immediately go to the venue for investigation for follow-up actions to safeguard the safe operation of all amusement rides.Each year, there are brand new amusement rides for the EMSD to handle. Mr LEE Yuk-tung says that the department will ask the operators to submit additional design review reports to highlight aspects which we need to pay more attention on. As the operators of the carnival came from different countries, they have different styles of operation and our colleagues have opportunities not only to communicate with different people, but also to come into contact with and get to know various operating methodology of the electrical and mechanical devices. These are all valuable working experiences which cannot be found elsewhere.The EMSD is the guardian in charge of the safeguarding on electrical and mechanical safety. The dedicated team responsible for amusement rides need to be on standby duty even at weekends and on holidays. Needless to say, operators of amusement rides also have the responsibility to ensure proper maintenance and safe operation of the rides. On top of that, members of the public must also be aware of their own health and abilities, before taking part to ride on the amusement rides. By that, fun and safety can be assured at the same time. (The video is broadcasted in Cantonese) (The video is provided by Development Bureau)

Father's Day Series: Assistant Electrical Inspector Mr CHUI Chi-kit of the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department

Here we have another frontline colleague, Mr CHUI Chi-kit, also a good father, who works behind the scenes in our bustling airport. Mr CHUI is an Assistant Electrical Inspector of the Airfield Facilities Section of the Airport and Vehicle Engineering Division (AVED) under the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD), who is responsible for the maintenance and repair of landing and runway lights at the Hong Kong International Airport. He performs shift duty around the clock to ensure the proper functioning of the lighting systems, which are extremely important to aircrafts during takeoff and landing. Racing against time to complete the mission Starting out as a technician apprentice of EMSD, Mr CHUI Chi-kit graduated in 1999. He has rich E&M knowledge and skills and has worked at the airport for more than ten years. He said that there are currently 13,000 landing and runway lights on the airport runways, taxiways and aprons, which provide visual aid critical for pilots to take off and land with a clear vision of the runways at night and during periods of low visibility and inclement weather conditions. He and his colleagues work shifts around the clock to ensure the facilities are functioning properly. Their prompt action is needed to fix the problems immediately and they will lose no time in handling emergency situations, even in the small hours of the morning or in rainstorms. Given the very frequent flight movements, they have to race against time to complete their work on the runways in a very short time. While they quickly carry out inspections and repairs, they also need to pay attention to the radio instructions given by the control tower to ensure that the on-site environment is safe to work in. It is all about personal experience, concentration and co-operation among colleagues. Mr CHUI recalled that when Typhoon Hato hit Hong Kong last year bringing strong winds and heavy rains, outdoor facilities were more likely to break down than usual. Under the circumstances, he and his colleagues, along with staff of the AA, had to carry out their work dutifully and be ready to handle all kinds of emergency incidents anytime. They are also aware of the importance of safety at work in times of inclement weather. Mr CHUI said that the department has provided them with guidelines on work safety. They will receive thunderstorm and lightning alerts and there are safe areas at the aprons for the maintenance personnel to take temporary shelter to ensure the safety of frontline staff. Saying "No" to being a "helicopter parent" As a young father, Mr CHUI admitted that he is still at the learning stage. As he works irregular hours, he treasures every moment he spends with his son on his days off. His son is only four years old, but Mr CHUI hopes that he will, as a grown-up, understand some basic moral principles, such as having a sense of responsibility towards self and others, as well as working hard at school and at work. He said that he has no intention of becoming a "helicopter parent" and does not want to put his son under too much pressure. Having said that, he sets a high standard for his son’s character, hoping to teach him good virtues and politeness at an early age. He would like to be his son's "close friend" and solve problems together with him on his life journey. The E&M industry offers myriad career choices. As fate has put him to work in the airport, Mr CHUI particularly feels the great responsibility of his work as it is related to aviation safety. Whenever he travels with his family by air, he especially tells his son about his work at the airport and hopes that he will develop a keen interest in aeroplanes and airports unconsciously. Keen demand for E&M talent E&M facilities are found throughout Hong Kong and are closely related to our daily lives. In addition, the development of large-scale infrastructure as well as housing and railway projects also helps the E&M industry grow steadily with a keen demand for E&M talent. Since the launch of the "Apprentice Training Scheme" (now named "Technician Training Scheme") in 1955, EMSD has successfully nurtured more than 6,000 professional technicians. Among them, many have become professionals or been promoted to the management level through continuous education and accumulation of work experience. Mr CHUI is one of the examples. (The video is broadcasted in Cantonese) . (The video is provided by Development Bureau)

Mechanical Inspector

Assistant Mechanical Inspectors are mainly deployed on inspection, operation and maintenance and repair of mechanical plant and equipment including motor vehicles in a wide range of Government utilities and workshops; design, procurement, project management and technical consultancy services; law enforcement, regulatory services and advisory services; and supervision of junior staff. Organisation chart

Shift Charge Engineer

A Shift Charge Engineer is mainly deployed on assisting a Chief Engineer/Senior Engineer in supervising the operation and maintenance of engineering plants in hospital, workshops, sewage treatment facilities or other engineering plants in the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department or in other departments. Organisation chart

Training beyond innovation (Electrical and Mechanical Services Department)

To support the implementation of this policy by various divisions, the Training Unit of the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) has taken the lead to apply I&T in its core training and enhanced the Technician Training Scheme to cultivate young professional teams with international vision, thereby injecting new blood into the E&M trade so as to tie in with the Government’s policy objective of building a smart city and developing I&T. IMPROVING TRAINING EFFECTIVENESS WITH I&T EMSD has converted a workshop in its headquarters building into a new digitalised Interactive Learning Centre in four months. Holographic images and three-dimensional projection technology are used to present to trainees the E&M equipment in buildings in great detail, which facilitates their clear understanding of the equipment’s structure and improves training efficiency. Moreover, the Department has tailor-designed various virtual reality training facilities, which not only enhance the flexibility, safety and coverage of training activities, but also significantly reduce the consumption of physical materials to achieve environmental benefits. JOINT TALENT TRAINING WITH THE TRADE To address the problem of an ageing workforce and manpower shortage in the E&M trade, EMSD enhanced its Technician Training Scheme, under which 100 places are added every year to nurture more young trainees so as to meet the needs arising from the digitalisation development. The Department has also collaborated with the trade and arranged for trainees to undergo internship in private organisations. Their performance has won recognition from the trade. Not only does this arrangement enrich the work experience of trainees, but it also helps solve the problem of manpower shortage in those organisations, a win-win for all. BROADENING INTERNATIONAL HORIZONS THROUGH TRAINING In order to enhance the skills of trainees and promote learning and exchange between young people in Hong Kong and Guangzhou, EMSD has signed the Memorandum of Co-operation on E&M Talent Development with the Guangzhou Municipal Human Resources and Social Security Bureau to train E&M talents for both cities and upgrade their skills as a whole. To broaden the international horizons of trainees, the Department encouraged them to participate in the biennial WorldSkills Competition. Two EMSD trainees who took part in the “Electrical Installations” and “Refrigeration and Air-conditioning” trades won in the WorldSkills Hong Kong and went on to represent Hong Kong in the WorldSkills Competition held in Kazan, Russia in August 2019. Coached by expert trainers, both trainees won Medallions for Excellence in the Competition, bringing glory to Hong Kong while proving that the technical skills of Hong Kong’s E&M personnel have attained international standards. (The video is conducted in Cantonese) (For more details, please visit Sevice Excellence Website)

Mother's Day Series: Senior Engineer Ms LAM Sze-mei, Janet, of the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department

Here we would like to introduce another colleague from the government and also a good mother, Ms LAM Sze-mei, Janet. As a Senior Electrical and Mechanical Engineer of the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD), she is responsible for leading more than 200 colleagues of Hong Kong Island to carry out maintenance and repair of electrical and mechanical (E&M) facilities in government buildings. She also performs standby duty around the clock to handle emergency incidents. She is going to share with us her daily work and her own feelings as a working mum. Maintenance for “Ventilation, Fire, Water and Electricity” Janet joined the EMSD as an Engineering Graduate in 1997 and has served the department for more than 20 years. Currently, she is responsible for leading her colleagues to maintain and repair the E&M facilities that are commonly known as facilities of “Ventilation, Fire, Water and Electricity”, i.e. the air-conditioning system, fire service installations, water supply system and electrical systems, inside government buildings on Hong Kong Island. For example, they provide routine repair services, carry out periodic inspection and testing, follow up on malfunction and complaint cases, and implement improvement and enhancement works. The buildings under their purview include the Central Government Offices at Tamar, the Justice Place in Central, the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal and the three buildings at the Wan Chai Government Offices Compound, etc. Operation of real-time remote monitoring system Janet says that in recent years, the EMSD has strived to introduce advanced technology to optimise the performance of E&M systems in government buildings so as to enhance the efficiency of repair and maintenance works. One example is the implementation of a pilot project by installing the integrated Building Management System for E&M facilities of different government departments, which enables the integration of electrical, mechanical, air-conditioning and building services systems into a single platform. This allows colleagues of the EMSD to be able to remotely monitor the operation of E&M facilities in real time anywhere through an online platform. In case if any deviation from the design parameters and particular circumstances is identified, staff will be immediately deployed to follow up so as to ensure predictive maintenance is accomplished at an early stage to prevent potential failure. Enhancing energy efficiency Besides, Janet says that the above system can also work with the Building Energy Management System to collect and store building energy data, such as the efficiency, electricity consumption and carbon emission of E&M facilities. In this manner, colleagues can analyse and assist various departments to formulate the most appropriate energy optimisation strategies to save energy costs and attain the targets of energy saving and emission reduction. Recently, the department has undertaken related work at the North Point Government Offices, resulting in reduction of the electricity consumption of the building by 3 to 5%. To further enhance energy efficiency, the EMSD plans to install relevant systems to the E&M facilities of more than 400 major government buildings under the Electrical and Mechanical Services Trading Fund – The 2nd 5-year Strategic Plan (i.e., from 2018/19 to 2022/23). Unforgettable experience: Typhoon Mangkhut hitting Hong Kong Talking about unforgettable experiences in her career, Janet recalls what happened when Typhoon Mangkhut hit Hong Kong. Although her team had taken proper precautionary measures for E&M facilities in government buildings beforehand, the typhoon was so fierce that her mobile phone became inundated with group chat messages from frontline staff deployed at different locations, all reporting emergency situations to her during the typhoon. Janet describes that she felt like fighting a battle of one versus one hundred when dealing with those phone messages. While worrying about the safety of her workmates, she had to make immediate decisions to handle unexpected incidents. According to Janet, strong waves flooded the switch room in the Government Logistics Centre near Heng Fa Chuen at that time. With the series of contingency measures, such as pre-checking of circuit diagram information for emergency repairs, emergency preparations made with the power company, and backup power arrangement, having been drawn up by her team beforehand, the building was able to resume 90% of its operations immediately after the typhoon had passed. After Mangkhut, the department, in collaboration with the Architectural Services Department, identified another location as the entrance/exit of the switch room to prevent similar flooding incidents in the future. Besides, a remote monitoring system for the switch room and a remote switch control system for the emergency generator are in the pipeline. Teaching daughter to pursue dreams Janet feels the pressure of being a working mother because of her hectic work life. She also feels sorry for her daughter who has just entered secondary school. Therefore, she tries her best to spend the weekends with her daughter and travels with her family during long holidays so that they can enjoy family life together. She smilingly says that she has certain expectations for her daughter, but luckily she is not much of a “tiger mom” in her daughter’s eyes. As her daughter has had many dreams ever since an early age, Janet hopes to focus her parenting on teaching her daughter about the pursuit of dreams, so that she can find her path to happiness, enjoy learning and foster good character. Janet says that her daughter had always wanted to learn horse riding, so she arranged a riding course for her two years ago. Sometimes she is heartbroken to see her daughter fall off from the horseback, but she is pleased that her daughter is able to get up after a fall and ride back on, knowing that she can overcome difficulties and pain all by herself. No matter what her daughter does in the future, Janet hopes that she will have the courage to overcome any obstacles, look afar and jump even further. (The video is broadcasted in Cantonese) (The video is provided by Development Bureau)

Technician Trainee

The Engineering Technician Training Scheme offered by the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department covers various disciplines including the electrical, mechanical, air-conditioning, building service, electronics and vehicle disciplines. After choosing your major discipline, you will be assigned to different places for practicum and will accumulate expertise under various masters. You can also attend weekly lessons to balance your learning of theory and practice. Furthermore, you may have a better chance of getting promoted, which will allow you to realize your ambition and talent here in our department. Now, let our Technician Trainee Ka Hin tell you more! Organisation chart