Efficient and Delightful Staff Transport After a Long Day’s Work

Location:

Singapore

BACKGROUND

As a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, Singapore Airlines Engineering Company (SIA-EC) provides maintenance, repair and overhaul services for aircrafts. The ground-handling staff deployed at Changi Airport require employee transport to be provided during midnight hours.

“Our staff has full control through the (SWATBiz) app and full visibility on their transport schedule which allows them to better plan their time… giving them peace of mind and making the whole transport experience better.”

_{- Grace Tan, HR Manager, Line Maintenance & Cabin Services, SIA Engineering Company Ltd}

‍THE CHALLENGE

Due to the nature of the industry and services provided, the staff of SIA-EC have to work round the clock. Efficient employee transport is key in ensuring timely arrivals to their shifts, and getting them home safely. However, the company faced several challenges with traditional employee transport.

Manually arranging staff transportation was tedious and inefficient
Expensive to transport one employee per taxi without pooling
Heavy administrative paperwork (processing reimbursements & claims)
Time consuming to coordinate staff across segregated departments
Lack of a system capturing data increased difficulty of managing services and its efficiency

For staff on the ground, booking of transportation was a hassle and often unpredictable. Previously, staff had to contact the taxi operator directly to book a ride. They were often met with unresponsive operators or a jammed hotline due to the influx of calls. The lack of visibility on their rides also made it difficult for them to estimate their time of arrivals to the airport, resulting in lateness at times.

THE SOLUTION

Since 2019, the company has worked with SWAT Mobility to implement smart mobility solutions to solve the above challenges faced with manual transport arrangement. SIA-EC adopted a taxi pooling model using our Just In Time system which pools employees living in the same area in the same taxi, while preventing cross-department interaction during commute. Up to 2 employees of the same department can share a taxi (*due to tightened restrictions), which helps the company reduce the expenditure on staff transportation. Our system adjusts the capacity based on safe distancing requirements while maximising occupancy rates.

The staff books the taxis on the SWATBiz app, which enables them to book a ride up to 15 minutes before set departure times that are tied to their shift timings. Using the app gives the staff greater visibility on the status of their rides and estimated time of arrival. This allows them to better plan their time, know exactly when to leave home and which vehicle to lookout for, which results in a pleasant commuting experience and punctual arrival for staff, enhancing staff satisfaction.

For SIA-EC, switching to a digital system to manage transport has allowed the company to:

Greatly reduce the amount of time spent on manual planning and administrative paperwork
Manage service easily with access to ridership statistics on our dashboards
Remain accountable and better communicate their needs to the operators
Continuously adjust the service based on data analytics to better meet the needs of the staff
Manage costs despite COVID-19 workforce changes with taxi-pooling

This demonstrates the value of smart mobility solutions in bridging gaps in staff experience, simplifying transport management while keeping it cost-effective.

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