Appendix 18/Attachment B

MAINTENANCE OF NON-ESTATE AIDED SCHOOLS
A GUIDE TO THE SERVICES PROVIDED
BY ARCHITECTURAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT (ASD)
AS FROM 1 APRIL 1990

Generally
1. The Architectural Services Department (Property Services Branch) is responsible for providing a maintenance service to non-estate aided schools as from 1 April 1990.

2. Once the schools have identified the major repair works which they require in their annual application for funding in response to Education Department's call-circular, ASD will undertake all the subsequent detailed work of processing the application and, once approved for funding by the Education Department (ED), will arrange for the work to be undertaken on-site at the earliest possible time convenient to the schools.

ASD Services to School Supervisors' New Applications for Major Repairs/Alterations
3. As briefly touched upon earlier, the ASD service in respect of applications for funding of major repairs for inclusion in the following year's ED Draft Estimates will be as follows :
  (a) On receipt of ED's consolidated list of requested works from all schools, ASD's district staff will contact each school to arrange site inspections and discussions with school Supervisors/Principals to establish the full details of the work requested.
  (b) During the joint inspections and discussions, the ASD staff will give any professional or technical advice on the work requested and ensure that the best course of action is adopted to meet the school's particular needs. The advice will identify any requested work which ASD considers to be "essential", "desirable, but not essential" or "not necessary" in the context of keeping the premises in a good state of repair for its intended purposes as well as items of improvement. The discussions with the school will provide the opportunity for requests which fall into "not necessary" category to be reconsidered and modified by the school in the light of ASD's advice on other more essential work at the school which may be identified as a result of the inspection.
  (c) Having agreed with the school the extent and details of the requested or "modified" requested work, ASD will prepare the necessary estimated costing of the school's work for ED's information for budgetary and funding purposes.
  (d) When requested works include work which will involve non-school portions, this should be clearly identified on the application form and ASD will endeavour to undertake such work, when the main repair works are approved, if clearly it is best dealt with within the main major repairs project. (As indicated at Appendix 18, a 20% overhead cost will require to be charged in respect of such non-school portions if undertaken by ASD). However, if ASD considers that the non-school portion works are not necessarily related to the major repairs as requested and are capable of implementation by the school's own arrangement, the school will be so notified as soon as possible after the initial inspection, to avoid any delay to the school's private arrangement.

Approved Major Repairs Works
4. For those works which ED has approved to be funded in a certain financial year, ASD will contact the relevant schools during the month of April/May of that financial year to proceed with the following :
  (a) ASD will establish the extent of the approved works and arrange with the appropriate school Supervisors for the most convenient time for the works to be undertaken.
  (b) For straight forward repair works, it would be ASD's aim to undertake the work as soon as possible, consistent with the need not to interfere with or disrupt the school's teaching programme. However, for some projects, it will clearly be necessary for works to be undertaken during school holidays and also for some works, e.g. re-roofing, renewal of windows, etc., to be undertaken in the dry season when the risk of typhoons, rainstorms, etc. is lower. The school Supervisors will be fully consulted on the works programme.
  (c) When the works programme has been agreed, ASD will place orders with the appropriate term contractors and arrange for the works to be undertaken. Generally, works shall be carried out to ASD's standards and specifications but the schools are the CLIENTS and colour schemes, choice of materials and design details (where relevant) will be matters for the school Supervisors to decide, and advise ASD.
  (d) ASD staff will pay regular visits to schools during the course of the works to supervise the contractors and ensure the works are being undertaken correctly and to programme, and to the satisfaction of the school Supervisor.
  (e) As clients, the schools are requested to contact ASD staff on all aspects of the work being undertaken on their premises and NOT to give instructions direct to the contractors. The contractors will not respond to requests for extra work or alterations to the approved work unless instructed by ASD staff. Equally, any complaints on the contractors' performance or criticism of workmanship etc. should be made to ASD to obtain correction.
  (f) When the works for individual schools are considered to be satisfactorily completed by ASD, a "hand-over' meeting will be arranged (if warranted by the nature of the work) and a completion date agreed with the school Supervisor. The date will be the basis of the 6 month "maintenance period" for the works during which time the ASD contractors will be responsible for making good defects arising from bad workmanship or materials.
  (g) ASD will be responsible for valuing the contractors' works for the purposes of stage payments and final accounts, all in accordance with the ASD's computerised accounting procedures and school Supervisors will have no need to be involved in this aspect (except to be satisfied with work undertaken to non-school portions).

Advisory/Consultant Service
5. ASD can be contacted by any individual school - irrespective of the fact that major repair works may or may not be due in the school - to seek advice on any matter of concern to the school in relation to the condition of its buildings or services. The advice will be free of charge subject to no costs being incurred by ASD in undertaking extensive testing or investigative work operations to provide the advisory service.
  When the request for advice relates to serious defects or dangerous conditions arising in the buildings, the matter will be dealt with as emergency repairs. ASD will decide on the most appropriate action by
  (a) (in consultation with ED) arranging for the necessary corrective work to be undertaken by the contractors as a temporary or permanent repair;
or


 
  (b) advising the school Supervisor to appoint a consultant to investigate and arrange the necessary works.
The latter advice will generally apply to very specialist types of problems only, e.g. in respect of geotechnical works requiring extensive and detailed investigations beyond the staff resource of ASD, or requiring civil engineering work expertise beyond the capability of the ASD term contractors.