Summary Reader Response Draft 1
The article “How tech can ease the cleaning industry’s manpower crunch” (GERMii, 2021), stated that the pandemic made a significant impact on changing the world’s attention to cleaning and sterilising. As the requirement for cleanliness is increasing, robots complement the cleaners by accomplishing monotonous roles, while the cleaners can prioritise sterilising “high-touch, high-risk or difficult-to-clean areas” (GERMii, 2021, Robots can complement cleaning staff, para 4). Organisations are to teach their cleaners on operating the robots and using data from the robots to optimise the cleaning operations. The National Environment Agency also provided cleaning companies grants to incorporate technology to their services. Emphasis on cleanliness also leads to over-cleaning and excessive usage of chemicals, potentially causing an impact on health, cost, and the environment. Organisations need to inform and instruct their cleaners on mitigating these risks. Alternatively, SoftBank Robotics’ floorcare cleaning robot, Whiz, uses Ultraviolet-C (UV-C) to disinfect surfaces, reducing the use of hazardous chemicals. Especially with the prominence of sanitation being in the spotlight, cleaning robots will become the future of the cleaning industry, making cleaning efficient, reliable, and less tedious for cleaners.
Cleaning robots can help solve the manpower crunch in Singapore, as they reduce
the number of cleaners needed. With cleaning being a low wage profession, it
causes a shortage in manpower as not many Singaporeans with education are
willing to take on cleaning jobs, hence majority of Singapore’s cleaners are elderly
and foreigners. Many of the elderly work as cleaners due to their lower
education level, making them only eligible for lower skilled jobs. The Ministry
of Manpower Singapore reported in 2007 that more than 53% of “cleaners, labourers
and related workers” were aged 50 and over (Ministry of Manpower, 2007, A statistical
profile of older workers, para 4). With Singapore’s aging population rising,
more elderly will continue to end up working in such industries. Often, elderly
cleaners have physical limitations due to their old age and they tend to be weaker
and slower. On the other hand, younger foreign cleaners are hired to take on
more physically demanding cleaning task and to supplement the elderly cleaners,
but Singapore cannot be over reliant on them. An article from The Straits Times
stated that Covid-19 led to manpower shortages in some cleaning firms, causing
these firms to “turn down new jobs or give up on existing contracts” (Lim,
2022, para 1). A reason cited in the article for the lack of manpower was that
some Malaysian cleaners quit their jobs to return home as they have not seen
their families for two years (Lim, 2022).
Cleaning robots are also efficient and reliable. The article “How Local
Companies Are Shaking Up Traditional Industries With Artificial Intelligence” (MyCareersFuture,
n.d.) talks about how robots increase productivity by accomplishing repetitive task
and reducing the workload of cleaning operators. The same article also quoted
the LeoBot, a cleaning robot from LionsBot, can “do different tasks such as
scrubbing, mopping and vacuuming the floor” (MyCareersFuture, n.d., Helping
companies to increase productivity, para 1). It shows how versatile and
efficient cleaning robots can be. Cleaning robots are much more reliable compared
to humans as they can work long hours without taking breaks. Preventive maintenance
conducted on cleaning robots also reduces the likelihood of the robot breaking
down. Cleaners on the other hand are susceptible to falling sick, causing them
to miss work, especially with the ongoing pandemic.
With technology on the rise, it is inevitable that cleaning robots will take over cleaning jobs and phasing out cleaners over time. If the transition of replacing cleaners with robots is not managed well, cleaners may lose their jobs and become unemployed, particularly the elderly as they often face age discrimination when looking for jobs (Tan, 2013). But this will unlikely be the case in Singapore, the cleaners can be trained to become operators of the cleaning robots, potentially allowing them to earn more through job restructuring. Cleaning companies can make use of the productivity solutions grant (Digital Industry Singapore, n.d.) by the government to subsidise their employees’ training, preparing them to work with robots. With more cleaning robots being used in the cleaning industry, more jobs will also be created in maintenance, repair, programming, and data analysis (Devdiscourse, 2023).
In conclusion, cleaning robots will certainly be the future of the cleaning industry. With the industry moving towards robotisation, manpower issues will be solved, and cleaning will also become much more reliable. The cleaning robots are also more efficient, making cleaning less tedious for the cleaners. At the same time, more jobs with better wages will be created for the younger generations and the existing cleaners, reducing the income inequality of Singaporeans. Therefore, helping Singapore to progress as a society.
References:
GERMii. (2021). How tech can ease the cleaning industry’s manpower crunch. Govinsider. https://govinsider.asia/intl-en/article/how-tech-can-ease-the-cleaning-industrys-manpower-crunch-robots-germii
Ministry of Manpower. (2007). A Statistical Profile of Older Workers. https://www.mom.gov.sg/newsroom/press-releases/2007/a-statistical-profile-of-older-workers
Lim, J. (2022). S'pore cleaning firms lose staff after Malaysia border fully reopens. The Straits Times. https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/jobs/shortage-of-cleaners-in-spore-worsens-after-malaysia-border-fully-reopens?token=f095e3d5d8ed479a54b468061f7da35f-79a8194b8f08d5f5aaf3adf0362d22e5ec645c9a3740cec24b33fc3b0505355327cc893c52fe14adae8adea5391bb5c7ceee329bc571874fbe85ba60fe3616cb
MyCareersFuture. (n.d.). How Local Companies Are Shaking Up Traditional Industries With Artificial Intelligence. https://content.mycareersfuture.gov.sg/how-local-companies-shaking-traditional-industries-artificial-intelligence/
Tan, A. (2013). Job hunt much tougher for older workers. The Straits Times. https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/job-hunt-much-tougher-for-older-workers
Digital Industry Singapore. (n.d.). Productivity Solutions Grant (SkillsFuture Training Subsidy). Infocom Media Development Authority. https://www.imda.gov.sg/disg/Programmes/2019/08/productivity-solutions-grant---skillsfuture-training-subsidy
Devdiscourse. (2023). The Rise of the Machines: Understanding the Benefits and Risks of AI and Robotics. https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/technology/2342939-the-rise-of-the-machines-understanding-the-benefits-and-risks-of-ai-and-robotics
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