Summary Reader Response Draft 4

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, para 4). Organisations are to teach their cleaners on operating the robots and using data from the robots to optimise the cleaning operations. According to GERMii, the National Environment Agency also provided cleaning companies grants to incorporate technology to their services (GERMii, 2021, para 3). Also due to the Pandemic, the emphasis on cleanliness also led to over-cleaning and excessive usage of chemicals, which potentially causes 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. Based on GERMii’s article, I feel that with the prominence of sanitation being in the spotlight, cleaning robots will become the future of the cleaning industry, making cleaning efficient, reliable, and solve the manpower crunch issue in Singapore.

Cleaning robots are efficient and reliable. The article “How Local Companies Are Shaking Up Traditional Industries With Artificial Intelligence” (MyCareersFuture, n.d.) discusses how robots increase productivity by accomplishing repetitive tasks and reducing the workload of cleaning operators. The same article also quoted about LeoBot, a cleaning robot from LionsBot, stating that it can “do different tasks such as scrubbing, mopping and vacuuming the floor” (MyCareersFuture, n.d. , para 1). This 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.

Cleaning robots can also solve the manpower crunch issue in Singapore, as they can help reduce the number of cleaners needed. With cleaning being a low wage profession, not many Singaporeans with education are willing to take on cleaning jobs, resulting a shortage in manpower. Hence, majority of Singapore’s cleaners are made up of the 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 (2007, para 4). With Singapore’s aging population on the rise, 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 than younger foreign cleaners, who are hired to take on more physically demanding cleaning task and to supplement the elderly cleaners, but Singapore cannot be over reliant on them. Lim  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” (2022, para 1). A reason cited for the lack of manpower was that some Malaysian cleaners quit their jobs to return home as they had not seen their families for two years (Lim, 2022). Hence, cleaning robots can assist the elderly cleaners in their cleaning task, by making cleaning less physical demanding for the elderly cleaners.

With technology on the rise and the way that cleaning robot reduces the need for cleaners, it is inevitable that cleaning robots will take over cleaning jobs and phase out human 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 as 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 granted by the government to subsidise their employees’ training, preparing them to work with robots (Infocom Media Development Authority, n.d.). 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 work less tedious for the cleaners by assisting them. 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, which helps Singapore to progress as a society.

References 

Devdiscourse. (2023, February 04). 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

GERMii. (2021, June 01). 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

Infocom Media Development Authority. (n.d.). Productivity Solutions Grant (SkillsFuture Training Subsidy). https://www.imda.gov.sg/disg/Programmes/2019/08/productivity-solutions-grant---skillsfuture-training-subsidy

Lim, J. (2022, April 18). 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

Ministry of Manpower. (2007, February 22). A Statistical Profile of Older Workers. https://www.mom.gov.sg/newsroom/press-releases/2007/a-statistical-profile-of-older-workers

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, March 10). Job hunt much tougher for older workers. The Straits Times. https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/job-hunt-much-tougher-for-older-workers