High-tech housekeeping

You may have sighted a 1m-tall robot cleaning the floor and collecting garbage at Jewel Changi Airport.

This is an example of how local environmental-services firm Chye Thiam Maintenance (CTM) leverages technology to manage the labour crunch that is plaguing the cleaning services industry.

The use of autonomous cleaning robots allows the company to channel its manpower to provide maintenance and other "spot" touch-ups that the robots cannot do. The robots are also deployed during off-peak hours as it might be difficult to hire staff for those shifts.