About INCUBATE Programme
Established since 11 December 2017, the INnovating and CUrating Better Automation and Technologies for Environmental Services (INCUBATE) Programme is a partnership between the National Environment Agency (NEA) and progressive premises owners to support the transformation of the Environmental Services (ES) industry. In this context, NEA and the INCUBATE partners are collaborating in the following areas:
- Identify common areas of interest among the INCUBATE partners and the ES industry
- Co-create innovative solutions together with technology providers and other intermediaries
- Conduct trials at INCUBATE partners’ premises and evaluate the feasibility of scaled-up implementations across their premises
- Explore opportunities to adopt feasible technologies, solutions and innovations in their premises
- Share information, expertise, learnings and experiences with each other
To date, NEA has 21 partners comprising both premises owners and technology providers, onboard the INCUBATE programme.
Programme activities
Regular updates of ES solutions and facilitation from NEA to trial and implement productive solutions
We regularly engage and introduce suitable equipment and solutions for partners’ considerations to trial or implement in their premises. Since the commencement of the programme, our INCUBATE partners have implemented over 60 equipment and digital solutions in their premises. Many of those solutions, supported under NEA’s Productivity Solutions Grant, helped our partners to improve the time productivity of their ES operations by at least 30%.
Knowledge sharing among Partners
We organise sessions for INCUBATE partners and other premises owners to share best practices on in transforming the ES providers. These sessions provide partners with a platform to could glean best practices and solutions from their peers, raise partners’ awareness and knowledge of emerging industry trends and available technology offerings, as well as explore opportunities for collaborations. Some of the sessions that we have organised are:
26 February 2019
In the inaugural INCUBATE sharing, speakers from Changi Airport Group, Republic Polytechnic, Esplanade and City Developments Limited shared their success stories and benefits reaped, when they trialled and implemented ES equipment solutions in their premises and the background of their needs that led to their involvement in INCUBATE. NEA also took this opportunity to share with the partners information about the Productivity Solutions Grant (PSG) scheme.
3 December 2020
Themed “Emerging Stronger in the New Normal”, our INCUBATE partners discussed the challenges they faced during COVID-19 restrictions at their premises, the lessons learnt and mitigation measures taken. Through this sharing, attendees gained knowledge on the challenges their peers have faced and measures taken to mitigate those challenges, raised their awareness and understanding on the efficacy of disinfection measures in NEA’s advisory.
In addition, we also invited Industrial & Commercial Facilities Management Pte Ltd, an ES company, to share why:
- Operational ES processes cannot be business as usual, as service buyers need to adapt to meet the changing needs and expectations of their stakeholders
- Technologies and contracting models could be an impactful means to influence the way service buyers procure ES services while meeting the needs and expectations of their stakeholders.
Sharing Session Materials:
16 December 2021In 2021, NEA expanded the INCUBATE programme to include technology providers in the ecosystem of premises partners so as to spur innovation and foster collaborations. Following the expansion and at the sharing session in 2021,
premises partners gleaned insights from new INCUBATE technology partner - Gaussian Robotics’s journey in developing robots for the Environmental Services industry. The sharing session also raised awareness of robotic automations available to the pest management industry through Moto Robotics’s introduction, as well as created a greater mindshare on environmental sustainability from our INCUBATE premises owner partner – NUS’s sharing of their motivations and achievements towards a zero waste campus
Sharing Session Materials: