Inspection Consultants

(1)    Technical Competence

• At least one of the Key Personnel¹ or Designated Employees² holds the qualification of a Registered Inspector (RI) under the Buildings Ordinance
• Past project experience must meet one of the following requirements:
  1. The company has completed at least three prescribed inspection projects involving the common areas of a building under the “Mandatory Building Inspection Scheme” (MBIS) within the past five years³; or
  2. A Key Personnel¹ or a Designated Employee² of the company has completed at least three prescribed inspection projects involving the common areas of a building under MBIS within the past five years³; or
  3. The company is listed under the Architectural / Building Services / Building Surveying / Structural Engineering category on the Architectural Services Department’s “Lists of Consultants of the Architectural and Associated Consultants Selection Board (AACSB)”

• The company has obtained (or has committed to obtaining within 12 months after submitting the application) ISO 9001 quality management system certification⁴

   

(2)    Integrity

• The company and its Key Personnel⁵, Designated Employees² and Significant Controllers⁶ must meet the integrity requirements, including but not limited to the following:
  1. The company and the related personnel have not been convicted of integrity-related offences⁷ in the past three years;
  2. The company and the related personnel are not currently being prosecuted⁸ for integrity-related offences;
  3. Have passed background checks conducted by the Police and the Independent Commission Against Corruption; and
  4. The company has joined (or has committed to joining within 12 months after submitting the application) the Construction Industry Integrity Charter 2.0⁹.

(3)    Financial Capacity

• The company is not currently in bankruptcy or liquidation, nor facing bankruptcy or liquidation proceedings

(4)    Past Performance

• Within the past year, the company and its Key Personnel¹ and Designated Employees² must not have the following situations:
  1. Have had their professional or contractor registration, or relevant statutory qualification suspended or revoked;
  2. Have been convicted four or more¹⁰ offences related to site safety¹¹;
  3. Have been convicted three or more¹⁰ employment-related offences¹²;
  4. Have been convicted three or more¹⁰ offences related to the employment of illegal workers¹³;
  5. Have been convicted of violating relevant regulations¹⁴ of the Buildings Department, Fire Services Department, or Electrical and Mechanical Services Department; or
  6. Have been subject to disciplinary action by the Buildings Department, Electrical and Mechanical Services Department, the registration authorities for architects / surveyors / engineers, and / or the relevant professional institutes
• In future, periodic ratings from the project performance assessment for consultants and contractors, as well as owners’ feedback will also be taken into account under this criterion
   

¹Key Personnel refer to the company’s sole proprietor, partner or director who personally discharges the statutory duties under the Buildings Ordinance with respect to the building maintenance projects under the new support service.

²Designated Employees refer to (i) full-time employees who have entered into an employment contract with the company for a minimum term of one year and work at least 40 hours per week as specified in the contract; and (ii) individuals who personally discharge the statutory duties under the Buildings Ordinance with respect to the building maintenance projects under the new support service.

³The experience of other non-MBIS inspection projects involving the common areas of a building will also be recognised, such as projects under the “Voluntary Building Assessment Scheme” of the Hong Kong Housing Society.

⁴The company will not be allowed to participate in project tendering under the new support service before obtaining the ISO 9001 quality management system certification.

⁵Key Personnel refer to the company’s sole proprietor, all partners, or all directors.

⁶The person holds directly or indirectly more than 25% of the issued shares of the company. Alternatively, if the company has no share capital, the person holds directly or indirectly the right to a share of more than 25% of the company’s capital or profits.

⁷Integrity-related offences include, but not limited to, those prescribed under the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance (Cap. 201), the Independent Commission Against Corruption Ordinance (Cap. 204), the Competition Ordinance (Cap. 619) and provisions of the Crimes Ordinance (Cap. 200) concerning false instrument and forgery.

⁸Prosecution refers to cases in which charges have been laid by law enforcement agencies or a court summons has been issued.

⁹The company will not be allowed to participate in project tendering under the new support service before joining the Construction Industry Integrity Charter 2.0.

¹⁰The number of relevant convictions will be counted in accordance with the method set out in the “Contractor Management Handbook” as promulgated by the Development Bureau.

¹¹Offences related to site safety refer to the offences specified in the following ordinances and their subsidiary legislation: 
(i) Factories and Industrial Undertakings Ordinance (Cap. 59); and
(ii) Occupational Safety and Health Ordinance (Cap 509).
¹²Employment-related offences refer to offences specified under the Employment Ordinance (Cap. 57).

¹³Offences relating to the employment of illegal workers refer to offences specified under sections 17I, 38A(4) and 41 of the Immigration Ordinance (Cap. 115).

¹⁴This refers to violation of sections 40(2A), 40(2AD), 40(2AE), 40(2AF) and 40(2B) of the Buildings Ordinance (Cap. 123), section 9(3)(b) of the Fire Service (Installations and Equipment) Regulations (Cap. 95B) or offences specified under the Lifts and Escalators Ordinance (Cap. 618), for which the maximum fine is set at Level 5 or above.