Over 20,000 equipment-related safety risks avoided last year: regulator

A total of 20,355 safety risks related to elevators, large amusement equipment and boilers were eliminated last year by inspectors, the Shanghai Administration for Market Regulation revealed in a report issued on Tuesday.

Last year, the city reported five accidents involving such equipment, none identified as large safety accidents, the administration declared, without specifying which incidents it was referring to.

Shanghai registered 540,248 elevators, large amusement facilities and boilers by the end of 2019, an increase of 3 percent from a year earlier, according to the report.

Among these items, 263,913 were elevators and 302 were large amusement facilities.

Zero breakdowns or accidents regarding such equipment happened during large events in the city, according to the administration.

Remote-monitoring devices were installed on 12,589 elevators citywide last year, and 12,000 were posted with QR codes which allow passengers to track the maintenance records of these elevators, the administration said.

Seven local standards related to such equipment were released last year, the administration said.

Shanghai's market watchdogs received 1,500 complaints and inquiries concerning such equipment last year.

Safety evaluations were conducted on 3,131 old elevators in residential complexes, and 3,851 large boilers in the city underwent renovation last year, according to the administration.