Well known for the collaborative approach it adopts towards problem-solving, New Engineering Contract (NEC) has been used in public works construction projects in Hong Kong for over 14 years. Now, it has been adopted as the default form of contract, yielding evident success on over 500 work contracts.
At the NEC Annual Conference held in London on 13 July 2023, Ir Ricky Lau, Permanent Secretary for Development (Works), took pride in presenting to an international audience from the UK, Australia, South Africa, and Hong Kong the success stories of Hong Kong and how we continued to lead our construction to new heights. “It is amazing that when you look back, you seem to discover much more than you thought you knew when you first embarked on the journey!” remarked Ir Lau. Indeed, everyone should be pleased with their small but significant roles in bringing about a cultural change, resulting in improved efficiency, cost and time savings, and value-for-money.
This international forum provided an opportunity to launch the Hong Kong Edition of NEC, which merges the NEC provisions with local legislation and procurement practice. The publication of NEC HK Edition was timely with its emphasis on the importance of innovation, as it introduces a brand-new Innovation and Technology (I&T) clause, X30, to encourage project teams to proactively adopt innovation in their work, with a particular focus on site supervision, decarbonisation, and safety. The conference concluded with full celebrations as Hong Kong project teams swept 18 prizes across various categories of the Martin Barnes Awards 2023.
This article is contributed by the Development Bureau of the HKSAR Government.
To capture the changes in technologies and updates in international standards as well as to incorporate the experiences of the local LPG Industry over the years, the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) has reviewed the captioned Code of Practice (CoP) together with the industry and released the revised CoP in May 2023.
The CoP provides outline of safety standards, engineering guidelines and best practices for design, installation, testing and commissioning, operation and maintenance of LPG compounds and cylinder stores at consumer premises. The revised CoP provides guidelines to facilitate the owner for design, operation and maintenance, and decommissioning, and promotes the best practice on the application of using flammable gas detectors linked with motor operated valves for emergency response.
Both the English and Chinese version of the CoP are now available at the EMSD’s website. All are welcome to download a copy via the QR code or the website link as shown below.
https://www.emsd.gov.hk/en/gas_safety/publications/codes_of_practice/index.html
This article is contributed by the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department of the HKSAR Government.