Building Safety Symposium Explores Innovative Technologies for Enhanced Construction Safety and Sustainability

Building Safety Symposium 2024 held

More than 400 building professionals, property management practitioners, government officials and academics attended the Building Safety Symposium organised by the Buildings Department (BD) at the Y-Theatre, Youth Square, Chai Wan today (November 1) to exchange views on the application of innovative technologies to enhance building safety as well as the safety of construction works.

Speaking at the symposium, the Secretary for Development, Ms Bernadette Linn, said as a regulator, the Government must provide a legal framework that meets the needs of the society. The Government is conducting a comprehensive review of the Buildings Ordinance in three major areas, including encouraging owners to expedite building repairs; rationalising the enforcement policy on unauthorised building works (UBWs); and regulating more effectively the quality and safety of building works. The main approach of the review is to increase penalties while lowering prosecution threshold and rationalising enforcement priorities. A public consultation on specific proposals is expected to be launched by the end of this year, with relevant legislative amendment proposals to be submitted in the first half of 2026. In addition, the Government has actively adopted innovative technologies to enhance enforcement and work efficiency, including using new technologies such as drones and artificial intelligence to speed up building inspections, strengthening enforcement against UBWs and defective signboards, and enhancing site safety. The Government will also soon put forward elderly-friendly building design proposals to tie in with the aging in place policy. To promote Building Information Modelling technology, the Government has announced a roadmap for the preparation and submission of building plans, which is generally supported by the industry, with a view to making it mandatory for the private sector to adopt the technology in 2029. The Government will continue to work with the industry to make preparations.

In her welcoming speech, the Director of Buildings, Ms Clarice Yu, said that regarding the adoption of innovative technologies, the BD will continue to implement and enhance the Electronic Submission Hub and commence the consultancy study and consult stakeholders on the full adoption of Building Information Modeling by the private sector for preparation and submission of plans for the BD's approval. The BD has introduced mandatory measures since July this year requiring the adoption of two alert systems of the Smart Site Safety System for superstructure works with an estimated construction cost over $30 million, and is exploring the feasibility of extending the systems to other types of works; and to use drones and artificial intelligence for regularly conducting special inspections on the external walls of higher-risk buildings. All these measures are the BD's efforts to leverage smart technologies to facilitate building design and construction, enhance site safety, and promote preventive maintenance of existing buildings.

Ms Yu said that the BD will continue to apply its professional expertise and innovative approach and work together with the industry to create a safer and sustainable built and living environment.

The Building Safety Symposium is a highlight event of Building Safety Weeks 2024. The theme of this year's symposium is "Building for Our Future: Smart Technologies for Building Safety and Sustainability". In the symposium, a number of local experts spoke on the following topics:

• Extreme Weather in Hong Kong - the Past and the Future;

• The 2°C Impact on Building Safety;

• Smart Management for Safe Construction;

• The Role of Modern Technologies in Construction Safety;

• Promoting Elderly-friendly Building Design;

• Application of New Quality Productive Forces in Enhancing Safety and Sustainability in Building Management;

• Transforming Public Housing Management with Smart Technologies; and

• Enhancing Building Safety in Hong Kong: Challenges and Effective Strategies.

In addition to the above speeches, the symposium also featured two panel discussion sessions. An innovative technology booth was set up in the venue's foyer to demonstrate how the BD utilises drones and artificial intelligence to assist in inspecting the external walls of old buildings.

An award ceremony for the Exploring Livable Communities - Short Video Competition under the Building Safety Pioneer Programme and the Building Facade Design Competition was also held today at the same venue. The two competitions aimed to encourage students and members of the public to participate in building a more liveable city and to understand that building maintenance and repair are closely related to daily life.

In addition, the BD will hold the Building Safety Carnival on November 9 and 10; and November 16 and 17, at Tuen Mun Town Plaza and Olympic City 2, respectively. This carnival will serve as the finale of this year's Building Safety Weeks, allowing the public to acquire proper building safety knowledge in a fun and engaging way through game booths.

Building Safety Symposium 2024 held Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Building Safety Symposium 2024 held Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

S for S meets with critical infrastructure stakeholders

The Secretary for Security, Mr Tang Ping-keung, today (November 1) hosted a briefing at the Central Government Offices on the consultation report on the proposed legislative framework to enhance protection of the computer systems of critical infrastructures. He briefed the stakeholders on the outcomes of the consultation conducted months earlier and the way forward of the legislative exercise, and responded to the major concerns from the submissions received during the consultation period. He stressed that the Government will continue to organise working meetings with the stakeholders from different sectors to maintain communication and listen to their views.

Over 200 stakeholders attended the briefing session, including local and foreign chambers of commerce, potential organisations to be designated as critical infrastructure operators (CIOs), cybersecurity service providers, cybersecurity audit firms, proposed designated authorities under the proposed legislation, sectoral professional bodies and statutory bodies.

Mr Tang reiterated to the participants that the proposed legislation on the protection of the computer systems of critical infrastructures aims to enhance the security of computer systems of Hong Kong as a whole by reducing the likelihood of disruption or damage due to cyber attacks and facilitating the smooth operation of essential services through stipulating three types of obligations, namely organisational, preventive, as well as incident reporting and response, to be fulfilled by the CIOs.

He said that 53 submissions were received during the consultation in July this year, of which 52 (including 47 from the industry) supported the legislation or raised positive suggestions. He responded to some major concerns from the submissions, including actively considering to relax the incident reporting time, reiterating that the legislation has no extraterritorial effect nor does it target personal data and commercial secrets.

Mr Tang and other officials from the Security Bureau (SB) answered questions on various areas by the participants at the briefing. He said that the SB is actively considering some of the suggestions received during the consultation period, and ten working meetings for stakeholders will also be held starting this month to refine the relevant provisions, striving to finalise the bill for introduction to the Legislative Council this year.

S for S meets with critical infrastructure stakeholders Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

S for S meets with critical infrastructure stakeholders Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases