Building Safety Week 2025 Launches with Open Day and Safety Activities for Public Engagement

Building Safety Week 2025 promotes building safety

The Buildings Department (BD) will launch Building Safety Week 2025 this Saturday (November 8), with a view to promoting building safety messages to the public through a series of activities, as well as working continuously with the public and the building industry to create a safe and sustainable living environment for the community.

Building Safety Week is a major event of the BD's public education and publicity efforts, featuring an Open Day at the BD Headquarters, West Kowloon Government Offices, this Saturday from 10am to 5.30pm.

The Open Day will offer a wide range of programmes, including several thematic talks on building safety covering the Mandatory Window Inspection Scheme (MWIS), fire safety in buildings, water seepage in buildings, and points to note on interior alteration and addition works in premises. The talks will be conducted in Cantonese in both physical and online modes and are free of charge. Interested persons can visit the BD's thematic website for more details and registration.

In addition to the themed talks, the Open Day will have exhibition booths showcasing the MWIS and the "WIN SAFE" mobile app, water seepage tests, maintenance of private slopes, and digital rebound hammer tests for concrete. There will be game booths designed and run by student winners of the Building Safety Pioneer Programme 2025 to let members of the public learn more about building safety in a fun and engaging way. Members of the public will also have the opportunity to experience operating drones and learn how BD staff use them with AI to inspect the external walls of buildings, thus deepening their understanding of building safety.

Admission to the Open Day is free, and members of the public are welcome.

The BD will also host an experience-sharing session for industry practitioners in the afternoon on November 12, sharing the key points in the approval of building and structural plans and common issues in the preparation of plans, with a view to enhancing building professionals' understanding of the important matters to pay attention to when submitting plans for approval, thus facilitating the approval process.

In addition, the BD will hold the Building Safety Symposium on November 14 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre as the closing event of Building Safety Week 2025. The theme of this year's symposium is "Digital Transformation for Safer Building Design, Construction and Maintenance". Representatives from the building industry, the property management sector, academia and the Government will delve into the application of innovative technologies in optimising building design, building repair and maintenance, and construction site safety management. Together, they will explore innovative solutions to enhance building safety and advance the future development of the industry.

For the latest information regarding Building Safety Week 2025, please visit the BD's website (www.bd.gov.hk/en/whats-new/events-and-publicity/index.html).

Source: AI-found images

DSD deeply saddened by passing of contractor staff member

The Director of Drainage Services, Mr Ringo Mok, was deeply saddened by the passing of a staff member of its contractor in an accident that occurred at a construction site for upgrading works of existing sewerage system at Yen Chow Street in Sham Shui Po yesterday (May 27). He expressed his deepest condolences to the family of the deceased and requested the contractor to provide them with appropriate assistance.

At about 8.30am yesterday, the worker was injured during a lifting operation at the construction site. He was sent to Princess Margaret Hospital for treatment and was certified dead at about 11.30pm.

The Drainage Services Department (DSD) has requested the contractor to suspend the related works and conduct a safety check. The contractor was also instructed to carry out a thorough investigation into the cause of the accident. The DSD will also render full assistance to relevant departments in their investigations.

Source: AI-found images