Tighter maintenance schedule ‘may be needed to reduce lift incidents’

SINGAPORE — The “occasional” lift accidents happening in Singapore suggest that town councils may have to replace parts more promptly than what is prescribed by the original equipment manufacturer (OEM), said Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure Khaw Boon Wan yesterday.

Speaking at a forum on infrastructure maintenance, Mr Khaw said: “You just take a look at the occasional lift accidents. It suggests to us that maybe our replacement schedule may have to be more prompt or tighter than what the OEM may have prescribed.”

Such a move, he added, means town councils may need more in their sinking funds, which are used for major cyclical works including lift maintenance. “We’re still not saving enough, maybe,” he said.

Town councils currently need to set aside around a third of the service and conservancy charges they collect for their sinking funds. Over the past seven months, four lift accidents have been reported. The latest involved a 77-year-old man who fell and died two weeks ago, after he reversed his mobility scooter out of a lift that had stopped some 15cm above ground level.

In March, Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong had said in Parliament that town councils may have to “ring-fence” a portion of their sinking fund to replace old lifts as he spoke about impending legislative changes to beef up lift regulations and standards.

VALERIE KOH