| Doc Type | BC |
| Paper No | 13/98 |
| Title | Maintenance and Improvement Programmes
(Situation Report as at December 1997) |
| CONTENTS | BC 13/98
RHC 6/98 THE HONG KONG HOUSING AUTHORITY Memorandum for the Building Committee and Rental Housing Committee Maintenance and Improvement Programmes (Situation Report as at December
1997)
PURPOSE The purpose of this Paper is to review the progress of some of the major
maintenance and improvement programmes currently being undertaken by Management
Division (3).
BACKGROUND 2. By means of Maintenance Funds principle, the 5 year domestic operating account budget/forecast (1997/98 - 2001/02) for maintenance and improvement is $23.38 billion. The revised 1997/98 and proposed 1998/99 budget are $4,157M and $ 4,322M respectively. 3. In line with the Business Plan for Rental Housing (Domestic) Business, action has been taken to trim the budget forecast by about 10% in the coming five years to alleviate the deficit situation on the domestic operating account. 4. Major programmes approved for 1997/98 and the revised budget are
as follows -
Maintenance Programmes Revised 1997/98 Budget
$M
%
Improvement Programmes Revised 1997/98 Budget
$M
%
Grand Total :
4,157.0
100.0
Enhancement of Maintenance Services 5. In line with the Department's Management Enhancement Programmes (MEP), the management transformation in the Management (3) Division has made noticeable achievements to enhance the quality and operational efficiency of its maintenance service with more focus on customers satisfaction. Progress made over the last year is summarised below - (a) A new strategy for procurement of building maintenance work with greater emphasis on lump sum and dedicated remeasurement contracts has been implemented. Major maintenance projects, e.g. CARE and Replumbing, are now let out as lump sum contracts. (b) The Division has successfully re-organised in April 1997. Changes included alignment of Regional/ District Maintenance Office boundaries and restructuring of various Sections to improve communication and foster team work. Under the Management and Maintenance Merger Pilot Scheme in June 1997, further re-alignment of boundaries with estate management offices has been undertaken in Kwai Tsing, Tsuen Wan, Tuen Mun and Yuen Long areas to enhance communication and operations. (c) Re-engineering of 12 business processes including day-to-day repairs, emergency service and vetting of tenants?submissions has been completed and new processes are now under trial run or full implementation. These re-engineering studies are targeted to enhance customer satisfaction and streamline working procedures. Apart from these 12 processes, 21 more maintenance processes are now under study. (d) Standardisation and development of survey methodology, specification, repair methods and contract documentation for the CARE programme have been completed and put into operation. This will enhance effectiveness and efficient use of resources. (e) Various ways to secure contractors' commitment, encourage partnership and boost up performance in the delivery of services were identified through a series of focal group discussions. New ideas will be put into practice in 1998. (f) The Division's Maintenance Information System, Drawing Management System and MISIS frontline system have been developed and rolled out in stages. 6. On the cultural side of the transformation exercise, new initiatives
were introduced. These include the review of the roles and responsibilities
of various grades, project team building, core competencies development
for professional grades, new performance management and development system
and design of incentive schemes for good performance.
Enhanced CARE Programme 7. Since the introduction of the CARE (Condition, Appraisal, Repair, and Examination) Programme in mid-1993, a total of 116 estates has commenced the first CARE cycle. Currently, seven estates are in the Condition Stage, 16 estates are in the Appraisal Stage, 57 estates are in the Repair Stage and 36 estates are in the Examination Stage. 8. The programme managed by the five Building Surveying Consultants
is progressing smoothly. The Consultants have completed Condition Survey
and Tenants Survey to 25 estates and 19 lump sum contracts have been let.
The enhanced customer-oriented approach has now become our standard for
managing CARE projects.
Vacant Flat Refurbishment 9. Four new vacant flat refurbishment contracts based on new streamlined work processes were awarded in July 1997 to deal with some 16,000 vacant flats per year. In the new process, work orders are directly issued from the Estate Office to the contractors to speed up the process. 10. At the moment, majority of the refurbishment works are completed
within 2-3 months and it is expected that the turn around time could be
further reduced when the contractors are acquainted with the work procedures
after the initial learning period.
Replumbing Programme 11. Our Replumbing Programme has been in satisfactory progress and well
received by our tenants. 418 rental blocks in 68 estates are to be replumbed
by non-ferrous pipes by the year 2000. So far 27 blocks in seven estates
have been completed and 178 blocks in 28 estates are in progress.
Day-to-day Minor Maintenance 12. The computerised front line system for minor building maintenance has been fully implemented in all rental estates since April 1997. 13. As at December 1997, about 1,300,000 building work requests and 670,000 works orders (not including artisans' works orders) have been processed by nine minor maintenance contractors in these estates, the average performance being 500 works requests and 240 works orders per estate per month. Besides, some 520,000 building works orders are executed by in-house artisans. Electrical Rewiring and Reinforcement Programme 14. Electrical rewiring and reinforcement projects have been progressing smoothly. 148 blocks are expected to complete in 1997/98 with an estimated expenditure of $483M. As at December 1997, 44 blocks have been completed on schedule. 15. Two more packages of rewiring projects covering 12 estates have
been entrusted to two Building Services Consultants. They are now at the
tender stage and progress is satisfactory.
Installation of Fire Services Wet Riser System to Low Rise Blocks 16. The programme covers 51 domestic blocks (below 30m in height), five factory blocks, 10 staff quarters and three estate schools at a total work cost of $80M. 17. Work for 14 rental blocks, eight staff quarters and five factory
blocks have been completed. The remaining improvement work will be completed
by April 1998.
Structural Appraisal and Strengthening Programme 18. The primary strengthening work in 20 buildings has been substantially completed in 1997. 19. Subsequent to BC approval in May 1997 of the strengthening programme for 37 blocks, further appraisal has been carried out by our Consultant. The review revealed that five out of these 37 blocks could be removed from the list requiring no strengthening. 20. Strengthening work for the remaining 32 blocks will be carried out
in two stages. Tentatively, the first batch of 20 blocks will commence
in October 1998 and the second batch of the remaining 12 blocks will commence
in early 1999. Pending the strengthening of these blocks, structural monitoring
at shortened cycles is carried out to ensure that these blocks are in globally
safe conditions.
Geotechnical Engineering Works 21. Annual geotechnical inspection of slopes (AGI) in 40 estates are now in steady progress. 22. Maintenance works for nine estates recommended by Geotechnic Consultants
have been ordered under the Term Contract for Slope Maintenance and Improvement
Works (1997-1999). In general, all works are progressing smoothly.
Commercial Properties Improvement Programme 23. Under the 5-year rolling programme, 22 improvement projects (including four projects entrusted to consultants) in 18 commercial centres are being implemented while eight commercial centres are now under feasibility study stage. The overall work progress is generally satisfactory. Estate Office Improvement Programme 24. Under the estate office improvement programme, improvement work
to a total of 148 estate offices will be completed by March 1999. Among
them, improvement works to 96 offices are being handled by consultants
while works to the remaining 52 offices are being managed by in-house staff.
So far 67 offices have been renovated and a good corporate image is created.
Pumping System Improvement Programme 25. A total of 203 pump rooms will be renovated from year 1995 to 2002,
So far 72 pump rooms have been completed and the works to 39 pump rooms
are in progress. The structural problem, once affecting the work progress,
has now been resolved and the work is now progressing smoothly.
Security System 26. The security system installations for all the 938 blocks under the
security installation programme have been completed and put into operation
satisfactorily in the last summer, some six months ahead of the original
target.
Lift Modernisation Programme 27. Some 1,006 lifts are to be modernised from year 1995 to 2008. So far 204 lifts have been completed and works to 105 lifts are in progress. 28. For the 1995/96 programme, slippage in progress was reported in Lek Yuen, Lai King and Pak Tin Estates. The work is now under close supervision and every effort is made to catch up with the programme. 29. For the 1996/97 programme, site works for projects at Kwai Shing
West and Hing Wah II Estates have commenced. The first batch of lifts for
these two estates is scheduled to complete by May 1998.
Provision of Cable TV Services 30. Cable TV services have been activated in more than 259 existing
estates/courts. The planning and construction work for the remaining 25
estate/courts is in progress and scheduled for completion by mid 1998.
For the replacement of multi-point microwave distribution system (MMDS)
with optical fibre cables, Cable TV has upgraded 69 estates/courts while
works to 41 estates/courts are in progress. The cable laying programme
is being rolled out in the remaining estates/courts at a pace to suit its
perceived market condition.
Energy Management Programme 31. Two commercial complexes equipped with central air-conditioning plants have been selected to test the viability of energy saving through the installation of Building Automation System. In addition, one rental block has been selected to install a photocell control system for testing the energy saving and improvement to the operation of the lighting system. 32. The revised electricity expenditure budget for 1997/98 amounts to
$579M and careful monitoring has continued to keep the variance within
very fine limits. Electricity accounts are also closely monitored for conversion
to bulk tariff. 584 accounts have been successfully converted with a saving
in the region of $3.6M a month.
Fire Safety (Commercial Premises) Ordinance 33. In December 1997, approval was given by BC to engage two Building Surveying Consultants to carry out studies to the Authority's commercial premises in the Phase I implementation of the Ordinance and to advise on the necessary improvement work. 34. Of the 10 commercial centres and 11 supermarkets at the housing estates or courts in Phase I, four commercial premises will be put on the Pilot Stage such that the Consultants could concentrate their resources onto the establishment of essential technical and procedural requirements with the Buildings Department and Fire Services Department at the outset of the project. 35. The Consultants are required to complete the study of the estates
included in the Pilot Stage within three months and to complete the work
for the remaining estates before mid 1998.
INFORMATION 36. This Paper is for Members' information.
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File Ref. : HD(C)M 5/64/8 Date : 24 January 1998 |