5.03
The Buildings Ordinance Office was the last of the P.W.D. Offices to "go metric". From the 1st January 1977 until the 31st March 1977 the submission of building proposals to the Building Authority in either metric or Imperial units was accepted, but after the 31st March 1977, all new submissions to the Building Authority must be in metric units.
5.04
A centralized checking system for processing submissions of building plans was introduced on the 8th October 1976. Under this system, Authorised Persons are required to submit sufficient sets of building plans to the Building Authority for him to obtain comments from other interested P.W.D. Offices and Government Departments. Apart from inevitable teething troubles, which are being remedied as they become evident, the system appears to be working to the benefit of all concerned.
5.05
The scheme which was begun in 1974 by which private development proposals meeting various criteria are awarded priority status has continued and in the year under review 44 development proposals were accorded priority status. This figure is approximately 5% of all new building submissions received during the year.
5.06 The P.W.D./Authorised Persons and Registered Structural Engineers Liaison Group, comprising representatives from the Buildings Ordinance Office, the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers, the Institute of Structural Engineers (Hong Kong Branch), the Hong Kong Institute of Architects and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Hong Kong Branch) serves as a useful link between Government and Authorised Persons and Registered Structural Engineers in private practice.
5.07
The Office maintained, in conjunction with the Royal Hong Kong Police Force, two separate but related organisations to provide a service to the public in the event of emergencies arising from building collapses, fire, landslips etc. One organisation provides professional staff on an around-the-clock basis whereby the duty officer can be called to an emergency at short notice, usually in response to a radio paging device. The second organisation is set up during typhoons, or when there are excessive rains, whereby professional officers are available on a shift basis to attend to reports of damage or danger to private buildings.
5.08
During the year, one Authorised Person was prosecuted for an offence under the Buildings Ordinance, followed by disciplinary action under Section 7 of that Ordinance.
5.09
Building owners were prosecuted in five separate cases under Section 40 of the Buildings Ordinance for carrying out building alterations and additions without the approval of the Building Authority.
HEAD OFFICE
5.10
This Office is under the direction of the Principal Government Building Surveyor, who is mainly concerned with the administration of policy
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