Legislation, regulations and codes of practice
This domain tests the statutory framework around builder's lifts (construction hoists) in Hong Kong and the operator's legal position. Questions often ask which duty sits with the owner, employer, competent examiner or operator, and whether a document or interval satisfies the law.
Statutory layers
- The Factories and Industrial Undertakings Ordinance (Cap. 59) creates general duties for workplaces and lifting operations.
- The Lifting Appliances and Lifting Gear Regulations (LALGR) deal with lifting appliances, including examination, testing, marking, safe use and reports. A builder's lift used as a lifting appliance falls within this framework.
- The Construction Sites (Safety) Regulations impose site-level duties such as safe places of work, guarding, and protection from falling objects.
- Codes of practice give practical guidance. They are not a substitute for the regulations, but following them helps demonstrate that duties have been met.
Duties that matter to an operator
- Operate only if trained, competent and authorised for that type of builder's lift.
- Do not operate a hoist that is visibly defective, uncertified, out of service, or outside its rated load.
- Stop, report and record defects. Never bypass an interlock, limit switch or safety device.
- The owner or employer must arrange statutory thorough examination by a competent examiner and keep certificates/reports available. Under LALGR, lifting appliances generally require thorough examination at intervals not exceeding 6 months and testing at intervals not exceeding 12 months, as well as after erection, alteration or substantial repair.
Worked example
An operator is asked to use a builder's lift whose last thorough examination report is dated 7 months ago. The daily checklist is clean and the hoist ran yesterday. Decision: do not operate. A daily check is not a statutory thorough examination. Report the gap to the supervisor and keep the hoist out of service until a competent examiner has examined it and the report is available. The clean checklist does not cure an expired statutory examination.
Traps that cost marks
- Treating a daily inspection as equal to a competent examiner's thorough examination.
- Assuming the operator has no legal duty because the employer owns the hoist. The operator still must not use unsafe equipment.
- Thinking a certificate remains valid after the hoist is relocated, altered or substantially repaired.
- Believing a code of practice is optional paperwork with no relevance to legal duties.