| 4. In which ways is the initiative creative and innovative?
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In 2011, senior Government officials were in discussions to streamline and integrate public cleaning works for better service quality and efficiency by taking a WOG approach through the formation of a new entity that will manage and be accountable for all public cleaning services in Singapore.
The Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources (MEWR), together with NEA, took the immediate step towards the formation of this new entity. An Inter-Agency Public Cleanliness Steering Committee, chaired by CEO (NEA) was convened in December 2011 to agree on the work scope to be taken over by NEA and the approach in taking over of the cleaning works that were under each agency. A working committee, chaired by Director of the new entity and comprising of representatives from various agencies (NEA, PUB, NParks, SLA, LTA, URA, HDB, JTC, BCA, MEWR, MOF, PSD) was also formed to see through the implementation issues of integrated public cleaning at the working level.
In March 2012, the Senior Minister of State for the Environment and Water Resources in Singapore’s Committee of Supply 2012 announced that a new department under the NEA called the Department of Public Cleanliness (DPC) would be set up within NEA.
- Formation of Integrated Approach in Resolving Public Feedback on Cleanliness
With the formation of DPC, a One-Stop Contact Centre was also set up to front public cleanliness feedback from 8 government agencies involved in the integration. To report cleanliness related issues, the public could call a dedicated hotline or contact DPC via a dedicated email. This is above the other public feedback channels which include NEA’s main hotline and mobile applications platforms.
- High Cleaning Standards and Service Quality in Public Areas
DPC worked with the relevant agencies to discuss on the integration timelines and also the budget and resources to be transferred over. Considerations such as current cleaning contracts’ expiry dates were factored in during discussion. As an interim measure, the cleaning functions of the various agencies would be taken over progressively by the way of novation of agencies’ contracts to NEA, inclusion of agencies’ cleaning scopes into NEA contracts or management of the cleaning of agencies’ assets as managing agent.
By 2016, the cleaning of public areas under each of these agencies would be subsumed under the integrated cleaning contracts called by DPC. With the rising public expectations on public cleanliness, DPC would continue to tighten cleaning standards, enhance cleaning regimes and improve existing infrastructures. These will be achieved by improving service delivery through progressively incorporating higher performance standards and aligning the frequencies of cleaning services.
As DPC took on additional cleaning functions and required better audit and monitoring capabilities, DPC developed a Technology Masterplan which detailed the various initiatives to be implemented progressively. The plan included the implementation timeline, budgetary requirements and training plans as DPC moved towards a risk-based approach as its auditing strategy for public cleaning works. DPC is progressively incorporating applicable technological initiatives in staggered phases to supplement the existing system of auditing, monitoring and reporting.
- Uplifting Overall Standards and Professionalism of the Cleaning Industry
To uplift cleaning standards, the Enhanced Clean Mark Accreditation Scheme (EAS) was introduced as a pilot voluntary scheme, to recognize companies that deliver high standards of cleaning through the training of workers, use of equipment to improve work processes, and fair employment practices. Till date, close to 100 companies have been accredited.
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| 5. Who implemented the initiative and what is the size of the population affected by this initiative?
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Various stakeholders had contributed to the design and implementation of the initiative. For a start, public expectations for improved public cleanliness and service delivery had shaped the call for the initiative. Following the Singapore Government’s decision to form a new entity that would manage and be accountable for all public cleaning issues, the Senior Minister for State for the Environment & Water Resources and the Head of Civil Service paved the way for DPC’s formation, while the Ministry of Finance, Public Service Division and the Ministry for the Environment and Water Resources provided the necessary support and resources needed for DPC to be operational.
An Inter-Agency Public Cleanliness Steering Committee, chaired by CEO (NEA) was formed to provide high level oversight and guidance for the integration, which include agreeing on the work scope to be taken over by NEA and the approach in taking over of the cleaning works under each agency. Through the collaborative efforts of the various government agencies, a new integrated cleaning regime with the aim to deliver higher standards of cleanliness in public areas and to allow greater integration of cleaning works for better service quality and efficiency was established.
DPC actively engaged IT vendors on various initiatives that could possibly enhance productivity and standards of cleaning. DPC also worked with interested partners from the private sector to implement initiatives like the crowd-sourcing iOS and Android app which was created by a third-party mobile app developer.
The cleaning service providers for the various cleaning contracts managed by DPC assisted in the implementation by embracing the concept of the new integrated cleaning regime. Together with DPC, areas where productivity enhancements could be achieved were identified in order to increase the standards of cleaning. Trainings were carried out to familiarise their workers with the new standards of cleanliness.
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| 6. How was the strategy implemented and what resources were mobilized?
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The resources used for the initiative were grouped into the following 3 broad categories:
1) human resources to staff DPC,
2) financial resources to fund DPC’s capital and operating expenses and
3) technical expertise to develop the technological initiatives
DPC was formed with an initial headcount of 11. These officers were existing staff who were transferred from NEA’s Environmental Health Department. The officers worked around the clock to identify the required resources for this initiative which included manpower, budget and possible means of technology as an important enabler in ensuring high standards of public cleanliness, to leverage on.
- Human Resources
DPC worked with the various government agencies to agree on the headcount transfer and the manpower budget to be cut over due to the integration of cleaning works for the 8 agencies involved. It was calculated that the department would require at least 250 staff initially. In the spirit of innovation and doing more with less, DPC leveraged on technology and re-designed work processes to handle the increased work volume and optimise productivity. The headcount figure was thus revised to 150 staff instead. Of which, about 30% was transferred internally within NEA and 10% from various agencies involved in the integration. The remaining posts were filled by recruiting externally.
- Financial Resources
The budget for the 30% of staff that were transferred internally within NEA was already catered for in the agency’s baseline budget while that for the 10% was cut over from the various agencies. For the manpower recruited externally, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) provided 50% of the required funding while the remaining was funded by NEA.
In addition, additional financial provisions had to be factored in as the cost of cleaning contracts was expected to increase with the move to regulate the cleaning industry, provide progressive wages to the cleaners and increase cleaning frequencies so as to deliver higher standards of cleanliness in public areas.
- Technical Expertise
In order to constantly explore new and improved public cleaning methods and technologies for the supervision of public cleaning, a team with passion and interest in technology, consisting of 3 core officers and 5 members, was formed within DPC to spearhead its technology drive. The team was tasked to develop a Technology Master plan to focus on scanning for matured and readily available technologies and lead in the pilot testing of projects as well as sought end-user feedback for the systems subsequently developed. A successful technological initiative was the CPMS which helped DPC to monitor the performance of appointed cleaning service providers by utilising established and widely available matured technology so as to achieve a higher cleaning standard for public areas in Singapore.
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| 7. Who were the stakeholders involved in the design of the initiative and in its implementation?
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The formation of the DPC in 2012 has been effective in many ways.
- Improvements in Service Standards
DPC’s One-Stop Contact Centre serves as the Public Service’s customer touch point in dealing with public cleanliness issues as it removes the need for the public to deal with multiple agencies. DPC field officers also engage the public through face-to-face engagements in order to better understand and address their concerns regarding cleanliness of the areas they lived in. Through increasing the human element in engagement, DPC has managed to obtain more constructive feedback on public cleanliness issues. One of the improvements in service standards includes the removal of animal carcasses and the clearing of overflowing bins within 2 hours regardless of the location of occurrence so as to eliminate potential public health concerns.
- Improved Overall Standards of Public Cleanliness
Cleaning standards of public areas have been improved by the progressive incorporation of higher performance standards and service delivery in DPC’s cleaning contracts As of November 2013, DPC had received a total of 1,675 compliments.
- Uplifting of the Cleaning Industry
The introduction of EAS has driven the whole cleaning industry towards delivering higher standards of cleaning with the gradual adoption of mechanisation and productivity. As EAS-accredited companies are required to pay progressive wages that commensurate with higher productivity, standards and skills of their cleaners, wages and livelihoods of cleaners have increased substantially through better training. As of November 2013, about 100 companies had been accredited with EAS and approximately 5,300 cleaners have benefitted from the programme.
- Accelerating the Implementation of Technology
The formation of DPC provided NEA with an opportunity to accelerate the adoption and implementation of technology within the organisation and became a catalyst in NEA’s overall transformation efforts. Through the use of technology, audit and inspection of cleaning works were enhanced and automated, which in turn increased the field officers’ work efficiency. One example is the use of mobile devices (e.g. iPads) by DPC field officers in the monitoring of the cleaning service providers’ work. DPC had used existing software platforms (e.g. iOS platform) and technology to create mobile applications tailored to suit operations which are scalable and implementable across other departments within NEA.
As one of the largest service buyers in Singapore and the regulator of the cleaning industry, DPC has been able to influence cleaning companies to strive for higher productivity through the use of technology in their operations.
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| 8. What were the most successful outputs and why was the initiative effective?
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Multiple systems were put in place to monitor the following 3 key objectives of DPC:
1) To improve the cleaning standards and service quality in public areas maintained by government agencies by progressively incorporating higher performance standards and service delivery in cleaning contracts for public places
2) To ensure an integrated approach in resolving public feedback on cleanliness
3) To uplift overall standards and professionalism of the cleaning industry
Quarterly and yearly updates are provided to senior officers of the Singapore Government for close monitoring of DPC’s progress and to identify potential shortcomings that could have arisen at the different stages of the initiative’s implementation. NEA senior management were also constantly updated of the progress involving contract integration and technology implementation so as to ensure that everything is on track.
Work performance and efficiency of our officers are also monitored closely through technologies that were introduced to enhance the inspection and audit regime. Individual officer’s performance and productivity are monitored on a monthly basis. The officer’s work output is captured via the various technological initiatives used for inspections and audits. Besides internal inspections and audits, public feedback is also monitored to detect any gaps that may arise due to the initial stage of integrating the cleaning contracts.
The electronic feedback system adopted by NEA allows the tracking of public feedback from various available feedback channels. DPC tracks compliments versus complaints to staff ratio regularly to study the effectiveness of a single unified contact centre.
In addition, DPC conducts face-to-face engagements with the public in residential estates to better understand and address their concerns regarding cleanliness of the areas they lived in. The on-going engagements provide DPC with valuable inputs on cleanliness-related matters and give a better sensing of the quality of service delivery and areas for further improvement. A public satisfaction survey will be carried out in 2014 to track satisfaction levels of the public for awareness and improvement of the cleanliness of public areas in Singapore. This will provide DPC with more insights on how to carry out future cleaning operations so as to achieve higher standards of cleanliness in public areas.
DPC field officers also engage the public through face-to-face engagements in order to better understand and address their concerns regarding cleanliness of the areas they lived in. Through increasing the human element in engagement, DPC has managed to obtain more constructive feedback on public cleanliness issues.
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| 9. What were the main obstacles encountered and how were they overcome?
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During DPC’s initial days, one of the biggest obstacles faced was the consolidation and management of the assets under the various government agencies and the scheduling of areas for cleaning and inspection. Due to the huge number of assets that DPC had to take over for cleaning, the technology team quickly embarked on a system to manage the assets. Using the Geographical Information System (GIS) as the foundation for asset data management, the team collated the GIS layers of assets from the respective agencies so as to quickly develop useful applications that can be used for operations and analysis. These layers were loaded into DPC’s Field Asset Management System (FAMS) and attributes (e.g. cleaning frequencies and cleaning service provider in charge) were assigned to each asset. With FAMS as a precursor, the team further developed the Cleanliness Quality Management System (CQMS), an inspection and audit system that enables DPC officers to be mobile and self-sufficient on the ground through the applications on their mobile devices.
As DPC had limited resources to manage the increased cleaning functions, it took a bold move to leverage on technology. Technological initiatives were progressively introduced to replace the manual audits conducted by DPC officers, thus reducing manpower dependency.
During the interim phase before the new integrated cleaning contracts are ready, DPC officers have to oversee and manage different cleaning contracts with different frequencies and standards of cleaning from the various agencies. To ensure that work is still carried out expeditiously, DPC ensured that each agency appointed a Key Coordination Representative (KCR) to oversee their respective contract and liaise with the DPC officer-in-charge. To prevent any confusion that the public may have, DPC will still front all public feedback but the administration and deployment of the cleaning service providers would be done by the respective KCRs.
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