Workers at Gardens by the Bay may soon be equipped with additional skills to take on multiple job-roles and use advanced technology.
To achieve this, Gardens by the Bay announced its partnership with the Attractions, Resorts and Entertainment Union (AREU) on 16 November 2020 to implement an Operation and Technology Roadmap (OTR).
The roadmap aims to strengthen the company’s workforce and build resilience in its business strategies.
The partnership will see AREU facilitate the OTR by providing resources such as workshops and trainers to support Gardens by the Bay in redesigning jobs and upskilling staff for new roles, as well as identifying technologies that can be implemented.
“The deepest concern of our workers in the tourism sector during COVID-19 has been the sustaining of their livelihoods amid the decline in visitors to Singapore’s places of interest.
“NTUC and our union, AREU, are excited to partner Gardens by the Bay to kickstart their Operation and Technology Roadmap as it will help them further their business goals and growth strategies for long-term recovery with the aid of technology enablers, which in turn will create higher-value roles for the workers. At the end of the day, when a company transforms and succeeds, our workers will also benefit,” said NTUC Secretary-General Ng Chee Meng.
Complementing the OTR will be Gardens by the Bay’s Central Pool Scheme for cross-training and upskilling of staff and the Smart Garden vision initiative to adopt technological innovations.
Gardens by the Bay will roll out a training initiative called ACE (Agility Competence Excellence) to cross-train workers to take on a variety of responsibilities across different departments.
After completing their training to take on cross-functional duties, the workers will be able to be redeployed anywhere in the attraction in times of need.
“This means that instead of a specific skillset, which turned out to be limiting during the pandemic, for example when retail shops were closed due to a drop in tourists arrivals, each individual will now have a variety of skills across the spectrum of guest relations management, security operations compliance and customer experience,” said the company.
Since the beginning of April 2020, Gardens by the Bay has been cross-deploying staff from the attractions operations, visitor services, retail and security departments.
From January 2021, structured training under the ACE training scheme will begin for 120 staff from these departments. The workers are expected to complete their training by the first quarter.
Gardens by the Bay also appointed GovTech to help develop an Internet of Things (IoT) platform to enable the deployment of digital technologies in the areas of plant monitoring and irrigation, lake management, integrated security, lighting, and facilities management.
The two signed an agreement on 16 November 2020.
According to the company, the point of investing in technology is to drive business, enhance efficiencies in operations, and create higher-value roles for staff.
The Smart Garden vision will focus on streamlining processes, enabling the smarter deployment of manpower with the help of data, and improving service quality by leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning.
“As the iconic face of Singapore, Gardens by the Bay is excited to play our part in showcasing Singapore’s Smart Nation vision through the use of technology and automation to our visitors.
Gardens by the Bay’s Smart Garden vision will also equip our Singaporean core workforce with new skills to better respond in the post-COVID world. We are grateful for the invaluable expertise of our partner NTUC in helping us chart an Operation and Technology Roadmap, and to GovTech for supporting us in this game-changing journey,” Gardens by the Bay CEO Felix Loh.
One example would be the use of autonomous drones to inspect irrigation pipes of the 18 Supertrees. The drone is expected to cut the three-person job down to a single person.
The drones can also be applied to other inaccessible areas such as the 3,800 sqm plant-clad mountain in Cloud Forest.
Other technologies include an automated people counting sensors at the entrances, smart waste bins to reduce the size of cleaning crew and a centralised command and control centre to aid in security.
Gardens by the Bay expects cost savings of $2.3 million a year when the first phase of the Smart Garden vision is implemented in 2022. In terms of productivity, the company will save about 14,700 man-days.
