SINGAPORE – The Building and Construction Authority (BCA) will be introducing tighter measures to enhance the safety and reliability of lifts in Singapore.
Each of the 59,000 passenger lifts in Singapore will now require a BCA permit, on top of a permit issued by an Authorised Examiner (AE) before it can be operated. Previously, a lift only required an AE permit to operate.
BCA further added that this permit would have to be renewed annually.
Other measures also include specific outcomes such as ensuring lift brakes are well-maintained at all times. Lift car doors and lift landing doors should also be operational at all times and reopen upon activation of door protective devices.
To ensure that these new stringent measures are followed, BCA said that it would carry out audit checks on lifts to ensure that lift contractors achieve the maintenance outcomes. Penalties will be imposed on the lift contractors who are not compliant.
This move comes on the heels of a recent series of lift accidents here – including the incident at Ang Mo Kio in March this year when an Indonesian domestic helper was trapped in a lift that suddenly shot up 17 floors. The lift was eventually stuck between the 19th and 20th storeys of the HDB block.
Lianhe Wanbao, The New Paper
More recently, an elderly man toppled and injured his head while reversing backwards on his motorised wheelchair over a lift gap at his home in Pasir Ris.
He died from head injuries after he was taken to Changi General Hospital.
Lianhe Wanbao, Shin Min
prabukm@sph.com.sg
