Media

The First Building Index to Assess Building Health and Safety Unveiled by HKU

01 Sep 2005

 

For the first time in Hong Kong, researchers from the University of Hong Kong came up with performance indicator known as Building r>Quality Index (BQI) to assess the safety and health standards of multi-storey residential buildings.

To avoid long-term urban decay and to make the building improvement cycle work, HKU researchers suggest that the Government should implement a building classification system as soon as possible. Once the building classification is publicized, it becomes a reference of potential property price and urban renewal priority, thus providing incentives for property developers and building owners to improve building performance, which will help implement the mandatory building inspection which is now being considered by the Government.

Building Quality Index (BQI) is a simple, objective and balanced assessment that serves as an initial screening of building quality using limited resources within the shortest possible time. It consists of two performance indexes: the Building Health and Hygiene Index (BHHI) and Building Safety and Conditions Index (BSCI). Each building is assessed & assigned a BHHI grade and a BSCI grade with one of four ratings, "A" being Very Good, "B" being Average/Good, "C" being Fair or "U" being Unsatisfactory or Unclassified. Assessment is based on a hierarchy of building design and management factors. Data is collected from site inspection, desk search and information provided by property management agents or building owners.

BHHI indicates the level of safeguard against physical and mental health risks, the assessment criteria include aspects such as quality of building services such as water supply, drainage facilities and refuse disposal, as well as quality of building operation such as pest control, cleaning and building maintenance.

BSCI demonstrates the level of safeguard against risks of physical injury and death, the assessment criteria include aspects such as quality of building services such as fire services, electrical supply and fuel supply, as well as quality of building operation such as structural maintenance and exit routes.

In developing the indexes, expert inputs were obtained from various Government departments, statutory bodies, academic institutions and over 10 professional organizations. In particular, Buildings Department and Home Affairs Department have provided valuable data for the BQI assessment.

Employing these indexes the study was carried out by HKU's Prof. KW Chau, Dean of the Faculty of Architecture and Chair Professor of Real Estate & Construction and Dr. Daniel Ho, Associate Professor of the Department and Real Estate and Construction. The pilot scheme of the study was first carried out and completed in 2003. Started in June 2004, the second stage of the study surveyed 140 residential buildings in Yau Ma-tei, Tsim Sha-tsui and Mong-kok districts. These buildings consist of 3 to 28 storeys, range from 3 years to 50 years old and most of them are single-block buildings.

The assessment results are that over 70% of the buildings surveyed are rated grade C (ie. Fair) in terms of Building Health and Hygiene while 50% of the buildings are rated grade B (ie Average/Good) in terms of Building Safety and Conditions. For a breakdown of assessment results from the 140 residential buildings in Yau Ma-tei, Tsim Sha-tsui and Mong-kok districts, please click here.

Analysis was conducted to test whether buildings' health and safety performance is associated with building age and management structures. It was found that for buildings over 30 years old, those that are managed by property management agents or have set up Owners' Corporations generally achieve higher BHHI and BSCI grades when compared with those without. In other words, most of the variations in building health and safety performance are attributed to differences in building management rather than building design.

"While building owners cannot stop a building from aging, they can improve the health and safety performance by enhancing the management structures, such as forming Owners' Corporations or engaging property management agents" said HKU Professor KW Chau, Dean of Faculty of Architecture and Chair Professor of Real Estate & Construction Department.

Looking ahead, Dr. Daniel Ho, Associate Professor of HKU's Department of Real Estate & Construction said "to avoid long-term urban decay and to make the building improvement cycle work, all residential buildings in Hong Kong should be assessed and classified within a reasonable timeframe. To help make this happen, we are planning to set up a non-profit making centre within the University to act as an impartial agency to administer the BQI, this institute aims to establish a building performance database, to train assessors and to develop benchmarking tools for the assessment of all residential buildings in Hong Kong. In the meantime we are assessing about 200 buildings in the Eastern District on the Island and we expect results to be available in a few months."

Media contact:
Professor KW Chau, Dean of Faculty of Architecture and Chair Professor of Real Estate & Construction (Tel: 2859 2146 Email hrrbckw@hkucc.hku.hk)

Dr. Daniel CW Ho, Associate Professor, Department of Real Estate & Construction (Tel: 2859 2146 Mobile 9224 8413 Email danielho@hkucc.hku.hk)

Miss Cherry Cheung, Senior Press Officer, External Relations Office, HKU, (Tel: 2859 2606 Email cherry.cheung@hku.hk)

September 01, 2005