Unused technology draining productivity

In response to the report “S’pore ‘must push to be manpower-lean economy’” (April 28), I wish to make a few observations.

First, I sometimes see workers raking up the leaves at East Coast Park, which is great because it makes the park look nicer and cleaner.

However, I do not understand why they do not use more modern tools. The job would be done faster and with fewer people.

The second example is about the waste collection system.

The trucks are designed to pick up the bins and empty them using a mechanical arm. If that were done, the work would be cleaner, less heavy for the workers and the frequency could be reduced, as in the rest of the developed world.

Instead, the workers are doing the work manually, when it could be done with fewer people and trucks. The reply, when I asked Sembcorp why machinery is not being used, is that it must collect the rubbish every day.

There are many examples of technology that is available but not used. We need not reinvent the wheel; innovation is often not about new inventions but about using available technology.

If there would be more appreciation for that, including from the Government, productivity could improve drastically.