The special equipment safety law of the people's Republic of China was deliberated and adopted by the third meeting of the Standing Committee of the Twelfth National People's Congress and will be formally implemented on January 1 next year. This is the first law in the history of China that makes unified and comprehensive regulations on the safety management of various special equipment. Its introduction marks that since the establishment of the mandatory safety supervision system for special equipment in 1955, the safety supervision of special equipment has taken a new step on the track of rule of law. At the same time, this is also an important step in promoting the construction of a safe China.

The so-called special equipment mainly refers to the equipment and facilities that involve the safety of people's lives and property and have great danger and potential harm. At present, boilers, pressure vessels, pressure pipes, elevators, lifting machinery, passenger cableways, large amusement facilities, and special motor vehicles in the field (plant) are included in the safety supervision scope of special equipment in China.

It sounds strange, but in fact, special equipment is not far from people's lives. The liquefied gas tank used for cooking at home is a kind of special equipment, and the standard name is "mobile pressure vessel"; There are also elevators in buildings, Ferris wheels in amusement parks, tower cranes on construction sites... All of them are special equipment.

Special equipment is closely related to the safety of people's lives and property. Statistics from the General Administration of quality supervision, inspection and Quarantine of the people's Republic of China show that in June this year, there were 8 accidents involving various types of special equipment and 8 people died. Compared with the same period last year, the total number of accidents decreased by 33.33%, and the number of deaths was the same. Among the eight categories of special equipment, there was 1 pressure vessel accident, 3 elevator accidents, 1 lifting machinery accident, 1 motor vehicle accident in the site (plant), 1 large amusement facility accident, and 1 lifting machinery accident at the building construction site.

"The main causes of the above-mentioned special equipment accidents are the illegal operation of special equipment, weak safety awareness, and failure to implement safety management responsibilities." Chen Xitong, deputy director of the Information Office of the General Administration of quality supervision, inspection and quarantine, said through analysis.

This situation is expected to improve. The special equipment safety law of the people's Republic of China, which was deliberated and adopted by the third meeting of the Standing Committee of the Twelfth National People's Congress, will be formally implemented on January 1 next year. The law further defines the main responsibilities of enterprises, formulates a detailed "ID card" system for special equipment, and comprehensively considers safety issues and energy saving issues. It is expected to improve the safety status of special equipment, and also provide a legal basis for the safety supervision of special equipment in China.

"Trinity" management system

Enterprises as the main body, government supervision and social supervision

"The first urgent need for legislation is to deal with the regulatory problems caused by the surge in the number of special equipment." Liu Zhaobin, director of the laws and Regulations Department of the General Administration of quality supervision, inspection and quarantine, said. Since the reform and opening up, the number of special equipment in China has increased at an average rate of 10% per year. In 2005, the number of special equipment in China was about 3 million, and by 2012, the total number had reached 8.2 million. Take elevators as an example. By the end of 2012, the number of elevators in China had reached more than 2.4 million, ranking first in the world. At the same time, China is also the country with the fastest growth rate of special equipment in use in the world.

In this regard, the law has made clear provisions on the responsibility of every special equipment involved in the production, manufacturing, sales and use of special equipment, especially the main responsibility of enterprises. "The main responsibility is the primary responsibility and the primary responsibility. No matter whether the production enterprise, sales enterprise, business unit or user unit, they should be first responsible for the safety of special equipment." Kan Ke, deputy director of the legal work committee of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, further explained that production enterprises should produce special equipment that conforms to safety technical specifications and relevant standards; The products sold by the sales enterprise shall have the relevant technical data, inspection and test certificates, etc. attached at the time of delivery to ensure that the special equipment sold is qualified; The user shall ensure that the special equipment used meets the requirements and ensure its safety during use.

In Liu Zhaobin's view, the special equipment safety law establishes a "three in one" management system for special equipment, that is, enterprises as the main body, government supervision and social supervision. He said, "the original supervision regulations focus on administrative supervision and government management. The special equipment safety law no longer simply emphasizes government supervision, but makes it a social safety law.".

For example, the law stipulates that the special equipment industry association should strengthen the industry self-discipline, promote the construction of the industry integrity system, and improve the safety management level of special equipment. This is to give full play to the role of social organizations as bonds and bridges. The law also stipulates that the State encourages the insurance of special equipment safety liability. On the one hand, the issue of compensation is considered; on the other hand, the insurance company is allowed to play a certain role in supervising the safety of special equipment of the insured unit. For example, Dongguan elevator insurance will try a new type of insurance, and increase accident insurance for passengers, with a maximum compensation of up to 1 million yuan per person.

Establish "ID card" system

Provide basis for traceability, recall and scrapping

For special equipment with fixed service life and extremely dangerous, a strict traceability supervision system must be established to ensure safe production, safe operation and safe use. In this regard, the law clearly stipulates that units using special equipment shall establish special equipment safety technology files. This mainly includes the design documents, qualification certificates, installation, use, maintenance and other relevant technical data of special equipment, as well as documents, inspection records, daily use records, maintenance records, operation failure and accident records, etc.

The safety technical archives are like the "ID card" of special equipment. Once a fault occurs and causes an accident, the safety technical archives can find out the link where the problem occurs, so that the safety of special equipment can be "traced according to the map".

The "ID card" system also provides a certain basis for the special equipment recall system and the scrapping obligations of relevant enterprises. In this regard, the law stipulates that if special equipment has identity defects endangering safety due to production reasons, the special equipment production unit shall immediately stop production and take the initiative to recall.

"The recall system of special equipment should be a method of post market management under the conditions of market economy, to clarify the responsibility subject and timely recall." According to Liu Zhaobin's analysis, if the recall conditions of special equipment are met, the enterprise shall take the initiative to recall; If the enterprise fails to take the initiative to recall, the government department has the right to force the recall.

In addition, according to the law, if there is a serious accident potential, there is no transformation or repair value, or other scrapping conditions specified in the safety technical specifications are met, the user of special equipment shall perform the scrapping obligation according to law. "By viewing the safety technical files of special equipment, you can fully understand whether the product should be scrapped." Wang Xiaolei, Secretary General of China special equipment safety and energy conservation promotion association, said.

"Our country sets the service life of steel cylinders at 8 years, which is the only special equipment with the service life specified. If other special equipment is forced to be scrapped, it must be evaluated by a professional institution." For example, some elevators may not be used several times a day, so the degree of wear is small; Some of them are used every day, and the degree of wear and tear is large. "It is also a feature of this law that many technical norms have been transformed into legal norms and are highly operational."

Combination of safety and energy saving

Energy saving cannot be sacrificed for safety, let alone safety

Another outstanding feature of the newly promulgated special equipment safety law is that while regulating the safety of special equipment, energy conservation is also considered. "In fact, the safety and energy conservation of special equipment are organic unity. Generally speaking, the institutions engaged in the safety inspection and testing of special equipment also undertake the function of energy conservation detection." Wang Xiaolei told reporters. Energy saving and environmental protection is one of the principles of special equipment safety work. According to the law, the production, operation and use units of special equipment shall abide by this Law and other relevant laws and regulations, establish and improve the responsibility system for safety and energy conservation of special equipment, strengthen the safety and energy conservation management of special equipment, and ensure that the production, operation and use of special equipment are safe and meet the energy conservation requirements.

In China's energy consumption and use, special equipment consumes a lot of energy. According to statistics, the annual output of coal in China was nearly 3 billion tons in the past few years, and 70% of China's coal consumption was consumed by boilers. At present, the operation efficiency of boilers is low, and the average energy consumption is 5% to 10% higher than that of developed countries. Take the elevator as an example. At present, most of the elevators in China use DC and AC motors, while the internationally adopted permanent magnet synchronous motor is a relatively advanced permanent magnet synchronous motor. This motor saves 30% energy on average compared with the traditional motor, and the annual energy saving potential can reach nearly 10 billion kWh.

"Energy conservation cannot be sacrificed for safety, let alone for energy conservation. The combination of safety supervision and energy conservation is a principle established in this legislation. I think it is also a feature of safety supervision. It not only guarantees safety but also pays attention to ecology and environmental protection. It is a good system design." Liu Zhaobin thinks so.

There are laws to follow for the safety of special equipment, but it is more necessary for the whole society to make concerted efforts and abide by the law. Although the accident rate of special equipment in China is still relatively low, take the elevator as an example, the accident rate of 10000 elevators is 0.15, and the death toll of 10000 elevators is 0.11, which is almost the same as that of other countries in the world. "However, even an accident that killed one person should not happen. I sincerely hope that this law can play its due role in real life and reduce or even prevent accidents." Li Ke expressed the legislative intent of the special equipment safety law.