**************************************************
New measures introduced by the Housing Department over the past few years to improve its services and building quality have scooped eight awards in this year's Civil Service Outstanding Service Award Scheme organised by the Civil Service Bureau (CSB).
The Acting Director of Housing, Ms Annette Lee, said: "The Housing Authority (HA) is providing accommodation for almost one third of the population in Hong Kong. The Housing Department, as the executive arm of the HA, has always strived to improve the service standards of estate management and to set an exemplary example for the construction industry."
"I am glad to see that our staff's concerted efforts to enhance service standards and efficiency was recognised by panel members from different sectors."
Winning the championship in the Internal Service Team Award was the "Mobile Application System for Housing Management" developed by the department. The system, connected to a purpose-designed programme via a hand-held computer, enables outdoor working staff to update or check records of tenancy, penalty marks allotted to households, dog registrations, rent payment records or repair orders instantly.
With this system, the existing 680,000 households are no longer required to fill occupancy position forms on a biennial basis while Housing Department staff are spared the trouble of collecting and printing the copies.
The "Improvement Measures for Payment of Wages to Workers" and "Estate Management Marking Scheme" were awarded first-runner up in the General Public Service Team Award and Regulatory/Enforcement Service Team Award respectively. The former has been effective in protecting workers' interests by stamping out wage arrears by contractors while the latter has greatly enhanced the hygiene environment in public housing estates.
The "HA e-face" and "Twin Water Tank" were selected the second runner-up and for special citation in the General Public Service Team Award respectively. The electronic facial recognition system has been effective in checking malpractice by service providers or workers in housing estates. The twin water tank design allows continuous water supply for tenants and reduces water wastage during tank cleaning.
The department also won three merit awards: the "Service Enhancement Award (large department)"; "Training and Development Centre's Support of the Partnering Process"; and the "Science in the Public Service" project which is a joint campaign by government bureaux and departments to promote awareness of the science and technology applied to public services, among which is the free Wi-Fi service for public housing tenants.
Ends/Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Issued at HKT 18:30
NNNN