New regulations on the design of facilities for protecting against occupational diseases
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Decision of the State Council on the First Batch of Actions to Rationalize 89 Intermediary Services Related to Administrative Approval by State Council Departments, State Council Document [2015] No. 58: To all ministries and commissions of the State Council as well as its directly affiliated agencies: In line with the plans and requirements for advancing the transformation of government functions and deepening reforms in the administrative approval system, the State Council has decided to rationalize 89 intermediary services related to administrative approval by State Council departments, so that these services will no longer be required as conditions for processing administrative approvals. Relevant departments should strengthen organizational leadership, earnestly carry out the work of streamlining and standardizing intermediary services related to administrative approval, accelerate complementary reforms and the establishment of relevant systems, enhance supervision during and after the process, and ensure the quality and efficiency of administrative approval. It is necessary to establish comprehensive norms and standards for intermediary services, guide and supervise intermediary agencies in this industry to set up relevant systems, regulate the professional practices of such agencies and their staff, refine service offerings, optimize service processes, and improve service quality. This will help create a market environment characterized by fair competition, the elimination of monopolies, and the survival of the fittest, thereby promoting the healthy development of the intermediary service market and continuously raising the level of scientific and standardized management. Attachment: List of 89 administrative approval intermediary service items of State Council departments to be streamlined and regulated in the first batch, as decided by the State Council. State Council, October 11, 2015. Among these, items 63 and 64 relate to the design documents for occupational disease prevention facilities; starting from the date of issuance of this document, applicants may prepare such design documents on their own as required, or they may entrust relevant agencies to do so. The approval authorities shall not require applicants to use specific intermediary services in any form ； Retain the existing technical assessment and review by the approval department for the design of occupational disease prevention facilities
Decision of the State Council on the First Batch of Actions to Rationalize and Standardize 89 Intermediary Service Items Related to Administrative Approval by State Council Departments, State Council Document [2015] No. 58: http://www.gov.cn/zhengce/content/2015-10/15/content_10225.htm
In fact, I personally feel that this rule doesn’t bring any significant benefits to companies. A special section on the design of occupational disease prevention facilities is usually prepared by the enterprise as an additional service, for a modest fee. It’s mainly the design drawings that are valuable. One can write a dedicated article, but the drawings still need to be designed by the design firm. So companies don’t write it themselves.
The issuance of this document by the State Council is to give enterprises a choice. Previously, it was mandatory for the design firm to prepare a dedicated section on the design of occupational disease prevention facilities, but now companies can prepare it on their own. Some larger enterprises still possess such capabilities, which allows the design costs for projects to be reduced to some extent. As for the design drawings, generally, when enterprises and design firms enter into a design contract, they request that design blueprints be provided; some also ask for electronic versions of the drawings, so that they can be reused without incurring additional costs. Furthermore, I personally feel that given the current level of the domestic economy, supervision in the area of occupational health is not very strict – it is far less stringent than supervision regarding safety. This could also be one of the reasons behind the issuance of this document.
Thank you, moderator. It’s the first time I’ve seen this news; it’s indeed good news for the companies.