Singapore pushes tech to remain spotless

The city-state’s new funding tranche will help SMEs upgrade their cleaning equipment.

Singapore’s endless pursuit of cleanliness is getting a boost from technology as the government pushes automation to improve efficiency, cut costs, and overcome manpower challenges in the sanitation sector.

The city-state is giving out another tranche of grants to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that wish to invest in digital solutions and equipment for their sanitary needs. SMEs can get a 50% funding assistance to improve their cleaning, waste, and pest management, capped at $200,000 per company.

“Digitalisation in data management will be vital in ensuring that information and data are properly managed, stored, and utilised to allow for lapses in a company's protocols and methodology to be identified early,” Shi Zhou Tan, an outreach leader at the Asian Environmental Youth Network (AEYN), told Singapore Business Review.

Singapore is known for its litter-free streets, perfectly paved roads, and manicured parks, and the government has worked hard to promote its clean reputation. The New York Times once described the city-state as a place “so clean that bubble gum is a controlled substance.”

The island nation’s focus on being spotless helped it deal with the COVID-19 pandemic when good public hygiene became a matter of life and death.

The Environmental Services Productivity Solutions Grant from NEA aims to help businesses adopt technology and equipment to enhance productivity and operational efficiency in cleaning, waste management and pest management operations.

One solution covered by the NEA funding initiative is EcoSpace Pest Management’s Konnect Digital Software, a platform that digitalises pest control jobs.

Previously, operational teams needed to manually issue the job order form onsite, and return the forms back to the office for records and filing. With Konnect Digital, office schedulers can manage and allocate tasks online efficiently, resulting in productivity gains.

The latest funding tranche became available in December 2024, and companies that tapped the first tranche may apply again.

Among those that have applied for funding are LS 2 Services for its “Combi Truck,” “Imop Floor Scrubber,” and “Ride-on Floor Scrubber,” which all enhance drain and floor cleaning efficiency.

Plaspulp Union is also leveraging technology to minimise manual labour with its “Ride-on Sweeper,” which can clean large areas, and its “Rotator Forklift,”  which can move loads of scrap. Both machines can be operated by one person.

“An increase in productivity in the public hygiene and cleanliness sector will reduce the reliance on manpower to support the sector,” Tan said.

“With more than 60,000 cleaners islandwide, a portion of the manpower in the sanitation sector can be reskilled and rechannelled into adjacent sectors that might benefit from the increase in manpower, therefore increasing the overall productivity of various sectors,” he added.

Other innovations funded by NEA include Ecospace’s “Termite Detector (T3i Detector)” which shortens inspection time by as much as 50%. With increased accuracy, it reduces any guesswork, giving  clients greater assurance of the pest control services provided.

Digitalisation is also expected to help the corporate sector reduce its carbon footprint, Tan said. “This starts from knowing where the private company's emissions stem from.”

“Other ways a company can achieve sustainability is the adoption of renewable energy, or to establish a supplier code of conduct to ensure that their supply chain remains sustainable environmentally and socially,” he added.