Tampines Town Council’s new monitoring system tracks cleaners as they work

[invis]

SINGAPORE — After gripes from residents over the cleanliness of their estate — such as their corridors not being swept — the Tampines Town Council has rolled out a monitoring system that offers more detailed insights into a cleaner’s routes, down to the floors that they have covered in a day’s work.

The system, which uses vertical positioning technology, tracks the completion of the work carried out by the estate’s cleaners more effectively. While a cleaner whom TODAY interviewed expressed reservations about the surveillance and his company wanting to “control” him, the town council said the system will protect them when disputes with residents arise over whether certain areas had been cleaned.

“By looking at the system, we know that the cleaners were at the corridor, at their block,” said Tampines Town Council chairman Cheng Li Hui.

Introduced in August and launched on Sunday (Dec 2) at an event to pay tribute to the estate’s cleaners, the system could also help the town council better plan cleaning activities, said Ms Cheng, who is also a Member of Parliament for the Tampines Group Representation Constituency.

For instance, based on the data collected, more cleaners could be deployed to take care of blocks which take a longer time to cover, such as those with more staircases.

Cleaners who find it difficult to climb staircases, or who take some time reaching certain areas due to medical conditions such as arthritis, could be deployed on the ground floor to clean the void deck and carpark.

“These are ways we can optimise their work and help them,” said Mr Frank Ngoh, general manager of the Tampines Town Council.

The system could eventually be rolled out to other town councils and some of them have expressed interest, said Ms Cheng. “We are piloting it (in Tampines) first, and if it runs well, we’ll recommend it to the other town councils,” she said.

HOW THE SYSTEM WORKS

The system’s application is downloaded into a cleaner’s mobile phone, or a phone provided by the cleaning company.

Cleaners log onto their accounts on the app when they report for work. Their locations are tracked and updated every minute.

Using vertical positioning technology, the system taps various Wi-Fi access points throughout the block to determine which floor the cleaner is on, and what time he or she is there.

It generates a report of the cleaner’s progress, which also serves as proof of attendance.

Checks by supervisors can be done via the system's dashboard.

It is being used in four of five divisions in Tampines (except Tampines North), covering 520 to 530 blocks. It will be introduced in Tampines North after the cleaning contract expires next year and goes up for tender.

Plans are underway for cleaners to take photos of the corridors before and after they have cleaned them via a separate mobile app.

CONCERNS OVER SURVEILLANCE

Cleaners whom TODAY spoke to said the upside of the system was that it showed that they had covered the different floors in a block.

However, cleaner Leo Kim Leng, 62, also felt that his company wanted “to control” him and his movements.

When asked about the cleaner’s concern, Ms Cheng said that the system is meant to protect cleaners, “rather than have residents say that ‘I did not see you’ and being angry about it sometimes”.

She added: “If they carry out their job and this is… their duty in terms of their job scope, then they shouldn’t be worried about it.”

Cleaning supervisor Sally Lim, 58, from Clean Solutions, one of the estate’s cleaning contractors, said that the system has helped her save at least half a day otherwise used for inspections of the cleaners’ duties. She uses the time saved to sort out paperwork.

Since August, she has also received fewer calls — a 70 per cent drop — from residents giving feedback about the cleanliness of their blocks.

Figures from the town council also showed a dip in feedback from residents that their corridors were not swept. From September to November after the system was implemented, there were 156 such cases, down from 254 cases from June to August.

Madam Linda Ng, 55, who has lived in Tampines for about six years, said she has noticed that certain areas of her block — such as the lifts and corridors — have become cleaner since the system was introduced.

“Now, at least I see (the cleaners around),” said Mdm Ng.

[Onglai]

Honestly speaking, the cleaners are not doing a good job.

Lots of time noticed trashes lying aroun, the same trash that was dumped onto the corridors for days.

They only clean the lower floor area, whereas the upper level they slack..

[ODACHEK]