Quality Control for Lift Installation and Maintenance

Ms Sun Xueling asked the Minister for National Development where the Town Council has done its duty to require lift contractors to conduct maintenance works, engaged specialised cleaners to clean lifts of debris and enforced policing of errant renovation contractors and yet lifts still break down in new estates like Punggol (a) what enforcement action can HDB take against lift manufacturers to protect residents affected by lift malfunctions; and (b) whether HDB requires lift manufacturers to replace lifts that have shown a systemic record of malfunctioning.

Ms Sun Xueling asked the Minister for National Development where a lift contractor has systematically shown an inability to rectify lift faults and the Town Council is stuck with the lift contractor as the sole proprietor of its technology and cannot go to other maintenance contractors, what recourse is available in the procurement contract between HDB and the lift contractor that can be relied upon to protect the interests of residents.

Ms Sun Xueling asked the Minister for National Development whether HDB will consider (i) making a change in the design and use of lifts to stipulate that only one lift in a HDB block can be used for renovation and moving purposes so that the other lift in the HDB block can be dedicated to resident's daily use; and (ii) pre-installing CCTV cameras in lifts so as to monitor the behaviour of HDB licensed contractors and ensure the safety of residents during the renovation and moving-in period.

Lifts are an integral part of our urbanised, high-rise living environment. With some 24,000 lifts located in public housing estates, all of which are used on a high-frequency and daily basis, the Housing and Development Board (HDB) takes a serious view of lift safety and reliability. This starts from the beginning at the lift procurement and commissioning stages, where HDB has in place a system of stringent quality control measures.

First, HDB has a two-stage lift procurement process which takes into account the quality and reliability of lift contractors. At the first stage, lift contractors must meet a minimum criteria set by HDB, including the performance and track record of their proposed brand of lift. At the second stage, proposals are evaluated further with the Price-Quality Method (PQM), in which attributes, such as the lift contractor's performance, safety performance, and again, lift performance are taken into consideration.

Second, before a lift is commissioned and turned on for operation, it is put under a series of checks and tests that are supervised by a third party Authorised Examiner. This is a regulatory requirement. To better ascertain the quality of lift installation and performance, HDB also conducts (a) an independent audit of key safety features; and (b) a stress test of 1,000 start-stop operations. These additional tests are over and above existing regulatory requirements.

Third, after the lift is commissioned, HDB's term contracts provide for a one-year Defects Liability Period (DLP), during which HDB imposes a requirement of not more than one lift breakdown per 10 lifts per month. Lift contractors that fail to meet this will be restricted from tendering for future HDB tenders unless they show improvements. Other penalties include imposing liquidated damages on the contractor or debarment from all public sector works.

These are the quality control measures in place from procurement up to the one-year DLP. Beyond the DLP, Town Councils enter into a separate maintenance agreement with their chosen lift contractors, be it the Original Equipment Manufacturer or a third-party lift contractor. Town Councils will have to specify their desired lift performance standards in their maintenance agreements.

On Ms Sun Xueling's concern about proprietary lift parts, I agree that it is important to ensure that third-party lift maintenance contractors have access to essential lift spare parts. This is so that Town Councils can choose the best contractor to do the job. The Competition Commission of Singapore has been investigating potentially anti-competitive behaviour in the lift industry.

Ms Tin Pei Ling and Ms Sun have asked whether HDB requires lift companies responsible for lift installation to replace lifts which are persistently faulty. In addressing lift faults, HDB takes a targeted approach to address the root causes of the issue. In the case of Block 17B Circuit Road, the high number of door-related faults in its new lifts abated after the lift company made adjustments such that the door is less susceptible to misalignment caused by lift users.

Typically, lifts in new blocks experience such problems due to damage caused by renovation contractors and furniture movers who use objects to jam doors or leave debris on door sills. A replacement of the lift would not have addressed the issue. It may also incur more lift downtime and inconvenience to residents.

Ms Sun has also suggested for HDB to consider designating one lift in each HDB block for renovation or moving purposes. HDB had previously conducted a pilot by designating a passenger lift in HDB blocks as a "service lift". However, due to unbalanced usage patterns, the average waiting time for lift users increased significantly. This may bring about more frustration and inconvenience for residents.

On Ms Sun's other suggestion to pre-install closed-circuit television cameras in lifts, HDB has started installing a Lift Surveillance System in all new HDB blocks from 1 July this year.

To sum up, HDB has in place a set of comprehensive quality control measures for the procurement of lifts. Nonetheless, all of us – the HDB, residents and also the Town Councils for lift maintenance – will have to work together to ensure that lifts remain well-functioning and safe for everyday use. We will continue to see how we can tighten our processes and standards to ensure that our lifts are reliable and perform as intended.