THE Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) will roll out two airport-wide initiatives in collaboration with its partners to boost Changi Airport's productivity.

A key thrust of this productivity drive is to accelerate the adoption of technology to transform airport processes and reduce reliance on manpower, it said on Friday.

CAAS and Changi Airport Group (CAG) will invest more than S$20 million to drive the Smart Apron initiative over the next six years, where CAG will install an airport-wide wireless (WiFi) communication network in the apron area, covering all aircraft stands at Terminals 1 to 4, as well as remote and cargo aircraft stands.

This 190 hectare coverage area will be nearly twice the size of Gardens by the Bay and will provide a new platform for airport companies to innovate and drive productivity and transformation in airside operations.

dnata, SATS and SIAEC will be the first adopters of the new network.

Plans to develop and roll out new applications to boost productivity include a wider deployment of mobile devices to staff from less than 1,000, to over 3,500 eventually.

Ground staff will have access to real-time data and work instructions, reducing information search time and allowing them to respond quickly to operational changes.

The network will also enable wider adoption of track and trace technology, which will give ground staff real-time visibility over the location of resources such as vehicles and equipment.

About 5,000 employees working on the apron would benefit from the initiative.

CAAS will also invest S$15 million over the next four years to further encourage airlines' adoption of self-service passenger processes at Changi Airport.

The Fast and Seamless Travel (FAST) Fund is triple the amount of the previous Passenger Self Service Adoption Programme. It will award grants, valued from S$400,000 to S$2.5 million, to airlines to offset costs involved in implementing self-service initiatives such as check-in kiosks, bag drop systems and self-boarding gates.

About 2,000 Passenger Service Agents (PSAs) will benefit from job redesign and enlargement efforts arising from the implementation of FAST Travel.

Lee Seow Hiang, CEO of CAG, said: "The funding support CAAS has committed for the two programmes will augment CAG's ongoing efforts at enhancing operational efficiencies and passenger convenience at Changi Airport. CAG has been consulting closely with our partners to map out their needs based on a broader WiFi scope at the airside. This will realise greater efficiencies in existing areas such as aircraft servicing, while enabling new capabilities like location tracking and video streaming."