A STUDY OF LIFT SAFETY IN RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS IN SINGAPORE

Abstract

In high-rise Singapore, it is considered a necessity to take lifts to reach higher floors. In July 2016, the Building & Construction Authority revised its lift legislation to improve lift safety and reliability. Various stakeholders in the lift industry – namely regulators, lift manufacturers and maintenance companies, town councils and lift users – have since then worked on multiple initiatives to improve the state of lift safety in Singapore. This study aims to determine (i) whether Singapore’s lift legislation is adequate with relation to similar legislation in Hong Kong and South Korea and (ii) whether it has facilitated industry stakeholders to manage lift safety more effectively. Current practices were studied in detail to provide an overview of the standards that were already in place and to identify potential gaps. Questionnaires and interviews were conducted with key industry stakeholders to obtain industrial perspectives on the problems and challenges plaguing the industry which may affect lift safety, such as manpower shortage, unrealistic expectations of lift owners and ineffectiveness of lift user education. Suitable recommendations were proposed based on the idea of promoting ownership of lift safety among the lift industry stakeholders by ensuring higher levels of accountability and responsibility. A software solution is also proposed to facilitate better lift management in town councils. This study concludes that lift legislation in Singapore is barely adequate and has more room for improvement to facilitate lift safety, since it has caused undue pressure on the industry to allocate more resources to comply with stricter requirements.