Hongkou Inspects, Repairs Overhead Facilities

The staff from the District Housing Administration Bureau checks the scaffolds at the housing repair site upon inspection. Photo by Qi Chuanbin

By Qi Chuanbin

It blows hard and rains constantly in Shanghai since the flood period, so it is key to guarantee the citizens’ safety overhead.

In response, the District Flood Control Office has recently organized all the member units to inspect and repair outdoor billboards, signboards, scaffolds at house repair sites, window-walls and other overhead facilities, in a bid to eliminate hidden dangers and to ensure the flood control solidly.

In order to reduce the risk of falling objects caused by typhoon and rainstorm, the District Greening and Urban Appearance Bureau and all sub-districts have issued more than 10,000 copies of the "Notice on Independent Duty and Safety Management of Outdoor Billboards and Signboards" to businessmen and firms in Hongkou since April, thus popularizing safety regulations and safety matters. Moreover, a third-party professional safety inspection company is commissioned to take a thorough inspection to all the outdoor billboards, signboards and landscape lighting, and it should report the safety inspection and other situations to the Bureau on the same day.

If there are damages, loose screws and other risks, the Bureau will order the leading cadres to rectify it within a time limit, and require the setup party to propel the security measures in the process of rectification and demolition; if the businessmen do not carry out rectification and reform, the Bureau will cooperate with the safety supervision department and local sub-districts to promote and implement the rectification in a safe manner.

Regarding demolition as the only target of law enforcement, the District Urban Management and Law Enforcement Bureau and the urban management squadron of each sub-district take a rectification to trunk roads and key commercial circles and other unauthorized outdoor facilities. So far, a total of 363 unauthorized outdoor billboards have been dismantled.

The house repair site under construction is prone to falling objects during the typhoon. Since the flood period, the District Housing Administration Bureau requires the leading unit of each housing repair project to inspect and implement the control measures according to the work requirements of flood control and typhoon prevention, and takes necessary reinforcement measures for scaffolds at the construction site. After receiving the warning information about typhoon or rainstorm, the Administration Bureau will implement the measures at the first time, and cut off the power supply at the construction site.

Currently, Hongkou is critically in a new round of development and construction, thus having a lot of construction sites. Due to the outbreak, some of projects originally planned to be completed before the flood period have been delayed to varying degrees, and the projects to be completed after the flood period has increased.

In response, the District Construction and Management Committee and the District Construction and Management Center set up an inspection team to strengthen the existing construction facilities, such as tower cranes and scaffolds at the construction sites. In addition, the existing buildings with window-walls are inspected one by one through self-inspection or supervision and inspection by the government, in a bid to find out hidden risks.

Moreover, each sub-district will strengthen the daily inspection and safety supervision, eliminate all kinds of hidden dangers in time upon detection, make full use of columns, e-screens and other laws and regulations to enhance the publicity, strengthen case-based education, and effectively maintain the safety overhead.