Steps taken to address malfunctioning lifts
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Steps taken to address malfunctioning lifts in Punggol: MP Sun Xueling
SINGAPORE: Cleaning contractors have been hired to clear out debris from renovation work, that is believed to be the cause of malfunctioning lifts in Punggol West.Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a community event on Sunday (Oct 23), Pasir Ris-Punggol Member of Parliament Sun Xueling said she is also in talks with lift manufacturers to understand the technical reasons and other factors that might be causing the breakdowns.Earlier this month, residents of Waterway Cascadia, a new Build-to-Order project, told Channel NewsAsia they had to put up with constant lift malfunctions ever since they began moving in this year.Some had complained that the lift doors would not close. At times, they would even have to manually hold the doors shut.Residents had also raised concerns that the glitches could pose a safety hazard, with more than 80 signing a petition for the lifts to be replaced.Ms Sun said that the incidences were spread out across the Punggol West estate, but it is mostly at the newer blocks that lift malfunctions were seen to be caused by renovation debris. She was, however, not able to say how many lifts were affected.“For a few months now, we have been maintaining a record of the chronic lifts that break down most frequently because we want to make sure that the rectification works are very swift to boost particular chronic lifts that require the most immediate attention,” said Ms Sun. “Actually, it's a moving list. So given the number of new housing units coming up in Punggol west, there will be a new batch that comes in.”Ms Sun added that the cleaning contractors hired will not just be doing surficial wiping, but will also use vacuum cleaners to clean deep between the doors and tracks to make sure that all dirt is cleaned out.Town council officials have also been routinely patrolling the new BTO blocks to monitor renovation contractors. More could also be deployed to do this in the future. Cameras could be installed where appropriate to monitor movements.CHALLENGES INVOLVED IN MONITORING RENOVATION WORKBut Ms Sun pointed out there are challenges involved.“As you can understand, it's not just about installing them on the ground floor, it can happen on any floor. So it's actually not a very straightforward task,” she said.“So right now I am discussing with the town council, as to what's the best way to monitor these renovation contractors because as you can imagine, a lot of the workers come and go and sometimes it's quite difficult even with cameras to identify which specific worker causes which specific problem, so all these are works in progress."Ms Sun also noted that there are technical factors involved and is the reason why there are delays sometimes.“Some lifts, sometimes residents may feel it takes a longer time to resolve. But it's not because we're not looking at it, but the technical reason behind why it has malfunctioned requires a longer time to investigate and understand,” said Ms Sun, who added this includes having to find specific lift spare parts, which the manufacturer may not have readily available.“It's a very unfortunate thing to inconvenience our residents while they wait for that spare part to be delivered. But when that happens, the town council comes down quite hard on the lift manufacturer to say: 'You should make those spare parts available.'"- CNA/lc -
Lift firm Sigma banned from tendering new HDB projects since October 2015 over poor performance, installation delays http://str.sg/4Wfx
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All 4 lifts at 2 Punggol HDB flats break down for about 4 hours, leaving residents stranded http://str.sg/4Wfj
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"debris from renovation work, that is believed to be the cause of malfunctioning lifts in Punggol"
How can a Member of Parliament so chiak sai ?
Pehaps MRT beakdowns r due to dirts on track/components and not poor maintainance
