We are glad to share with you that our recent conference paper “Innovative Applications in Drainage Safety Plan and Monitoring” has been accepted in 2025 Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Conference on Building Operation and Maintenance:
- Andy Chi-Ho Chan, Eric Siu-Wing Wong, and Harris Sik-Ho Tsang, “Innovative Applications in Drainage Safety Plan and Monitoring,” Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Conference on Building Operation and Maintenance, Guangzhou, China, December, 2025.
Paper Abstract
In Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area, many high-density buildings have drainage systems that can cause problems like virus spread through bathroom ventilation stacks, flooding due to poor drainage design, and unpleasant smells from sewer issues. These problems often stem from design flaws such as bad pipe connections, pressure changes in tall buildings, or blockages.
To address this, the Drainage Safety Plan for Building (DSPB) combines traditional inspections with smart monitoring using IoT sensors and AI technologies. These sensors collect data on air pressure and other indicators for AI model training. After training, our model, particularly Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) model, detect issues early, helping prevent flooding, smells, and even disease spread like COVID-19. This modern, data-driven approach is important for public health and building safety.
We will keep advancing our collaboration with different institutions to develop cutting-edge technologies!
The research team members
Hong Kong Chu Hai College
- Dr. Harris Sik-Ho Tsang, Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science
Hong Kong Institute of Water and Sanitation Safety (HKIWSS), and Wins Evolution Limited
- Ir Dr. Eric Siu-Wing Wong, Vice President
Hong Kong Institute of Water and Sanitation Safety (HKIWSS)
- Mr. Andy Chi-Ho Chan, Member
Some photos from the authors and papers
Common drainage problems in Hong Kong: (Left) An open-end vent pipe found at a soil discharge pipe, and (Right) a broken uPVC elbow on the external wall of a building, which was damaged by falling objects.
Air pressure measurement on the 6th (Left), and 12th (Right) floors of Li Ka Shing Building in The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
