On March 1, the URMI held an opening ceremony for the subject, Study on Risk Points in Shanghai Urban Construction and Operation, and Early Warning Prevention and Control Measures, which it undertook from the Development Research Center of the Shanghai Municipal People’s Government (SMPGDRC). Experts in the field of municipal engineering, transportation, construction engineering, information technology, public safety, gas supply were invited to attend the ceremony. Mr. Zhang Yanping, Deputy Dean of the URMI, presided over the meeting. Mr. Sun Jianping, Dean of the URMI, also attended and delivered a speech.
 

The research group proposed to establish a directory of risk points in Shanghai urban construction and operation, and suggested a research target at the risk early warning, prevention and control mechanism for Shanghai urban construction and operation.
Research focuses are as follow:

(1) Based on the analysis of the current situation in Shanghai urban construction and operation, the risk points are identified and classified in respect to the engineering technology, management system, natural conditions and social environment. The risk points are graded according to the analysis of risk impact.

(2) Based on classified risk points and the analysis of the roles of government, industry and society, the tasks for all parties in respect to the risk early warning, prevention and control in Shanghai urban construction and operation are studied.

(3) Measures for risks early warning, prevention and control should be studied in respect to the technical means, management system and operation mechanism for risk points of different sorts and at different levels.

(4) It will become the main innovative ideas of this subject to classify risk points in urban operation based on the scientific theory of risk management, and to create risk pre-control mechanism for urban construction and operation by integrating the theory with the practice.

Dean Sun Jianping emphasized on the meeting that a series of research on Shanghai urban risk management should be carried out based on this subject, which attracted the attention of experts at the meeting.

Expert Wang Yizhong, Inspector of Shanghai Municipal Construction Committee, stressed that the results of the subject should be noticed by the government, industry and society to establish a sense of risk management. The risk management should be perfectly implemented through informatization, localization, socialization and professionalism. The city management system should be improved with financial and market means. He also put forward the management philosophy of “big frame, but little implementation”. Expert Gu Guolin (Liaison Group Leader of Shanghai Municipal Political Consultative Conference, former Deputy Secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection, Director General of Supervision Bureau and Director General of Corruption Prevention Bureau) expressed that since the municipal government had proposed to improve the urban risk management system, it should be recommended that a report be submitted to the municipal government and the mayor. The events, such as Jing’an fire disaster and the Bund stampede, must not happen again. New subjects should be established through the extension of this subject. Expert Zuo Tianfu, former Deputy Captain of Traffic Police Corps of Shanghai Municipal Public Security Bureau, stated that urban operation was unpredictable, but urban construction was predictable. Expert Zhou Hongbo, Deputy General Manager and Chief Engineer of Shanghai Jianke Engineering Consulting Co., Ltd., believed that the subject of study should be further clarified, and risk assessment for social stability should be implemented within the range of the Urban and Rural Construction and Traffic Committee, so as to make a good planning for the city.

After listening to the reports, the expert group made relevant discussions, and unanimously agreed to launch a research topic. The expert group made following conclusions: First, the subject of research on Shanghai urban construction and operation is of great significance, and the project was set up wiht sufficient reason. Second, the subject of research target is clear. The establishment of a directory of risk points and classification is innovative. Third, as the research team for the subject has long been engaged in urban construction, urban traffic, urban management and other research and practical work, it has the ability to complete the study of subject.

Experts suggest that the scope and the focus of risk research on urban construction and operation should be further defined. Summaries and cases of international advanced experience should be studied further. Problems and accidents should be intensively studied, and specific countermeasures and suggestions should be put forward. Participating experts suggested that the risks of urban construction, urban traffic, and infrastructure operation would likely be converted into social risks, which would be critical to the development of the city. The classification of urban risk should be combined with the update of urban construction and operation. Problems and accidents should be taken as the starting point and orientation, so as to establish a directory of risk points. Countermeasures and suggestions on risk management should be put forward for the typical risk points, and study should go further and be realistic.