Armed with coconut-stick-brooms, general cleaner Mr Mohamed Abu Bakar Salih, 42, and his supervisor Mr Liam Yeh Tiam, 48, used to have their own strategies on keeping East Town Council tidy.
But with the Nilfisk Park Ranger 2150, they learned that there’s an Easier, Smarter and Safer (ESS) way to fulfill their tasks.
Both men mastered the operation of the machine in only five days.
Their employer, Clean Solutions Private Limited, a company unionised by the Building Construction and Timber Industries Employees’ Union (BATU), has purchased the machine at $90,000 with the help of the Inclusive Growth Programme administered by NTUC’s e2i (Employment and Employability Institute).
So efficient was this new machine that sweeping 30 blocks can now be completed in the span of an hour, as compared to 15 hours, when done manually.
Aside from improving productivity, both men also enjoyed wage increases after their employer adopted the Progressive Wage Model (PWM).
Now, Mr Mohamed earns $1,400 and Mr Liam earns $1,600 after picking up a new skill in operating the machine.
Clean Solutions' Sales Director Sunny Khoo believes that the new equipment can adopt a multi-tasking approach.
“This also reduces the manual actions, enabling mature workers to do the job with ease too. Before the equipment, they had to do a lot of walking and pushing of bulky traditional tools. After adopting this technology, we can even explore offering flexible, part-time work for our mature locals,” added Mr Khoo.
National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) Secretary-General Lim Swee Say and NTUC Assistant Secretary General Yeo Guat Kwang who interacted with Mr Mohammed and Mr Liam on a learning journey event on 24 January highlighted some of the benefits of using technology that complements with manpower.
“Such labour-saving devices will enable us to reduce our dependency on unskilled foreign workers,” said SG Lim.
SG Lim also wants to make jobs as age-friendly as possible by training more older workers to operate this machine.
“This is the way to go for Singapore. Given our tight labour market and our objectives to uplift low-wage workers and help mature workers to work longer, we should position ourselves as early adopters of these labour-saving equipments,” said SG Lim.
The Nilfisk Park Ranger 2150 came into the market six months ago and Singapore is the first in Asia to adopt this technology.
Original article written by Naseema Banu Maideen, and can be found in NTUC This Week (9 February 2014)
