Where2Clean
Digital innovation for cleaning and safety during the COVID-19 pandemic
at Changi Airport, Singapore
Intro
Amidst the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Where2Clean (W2C) was released at Changi Airport in Singapore.
This app consolidated flight info to inform cleaning staff which gate holding rooms to disinfect between arriving and departing flights.
In 2021, airport ops wanted W2C to scale up; more datasets, areas and processes, while unaware of how end-users were using this new tool.
This is the story of W2C MVP2.
Problems
No empathy
MVP1 was made by an external agency which did not consider what cleaners go through in a day, nor predict new protocols and stress due to COVID-19.
No awareness
W2C was never user-tested, and the product team lacked awareness about UX research and exposure to testing with real users.
No time to lose
Management wanted W2C to scale up quick to include more areas such as toilets, baby care rooms, lounges, etc. to mitigate viral spread.
Was MVP1 really a “success”?
Simply said, no.
User Research
Before jumping into designs, I encouraged
the team to better understand how cleaners
were actually using W2C.
Previously, feedback came from managers,
not end-users.
I ran user research and invited stakeholders
to accompany me for translation and observation of real end-users interacting with W2C.
Explore key research insights
Insights tied back into the following themes:
How might W2C help track
and report work done by
each cleaner seamlessly?
How might W2C prioritise and
organise tasks for cleaners while addressing dynamic changes over the workday?
How might W2C be a single
platform of communication
between cleaners, contractors
and managers?
Reporting
Communication
Deployment
Heuristic Study of MVP1
Cognitive Overload
- Noisy top navigation
- Excess columns — Which info is most important to cleaners versus supervisors / managers?
- 3 status drop downs — which ones do users actually use?
- Is Beta # below Gate # needed if gates are filtered by Beta #?
- What do cleaners use search function for?
Language
- If most cleaners come from non-English speaking backgrounds, how much of W2C’s vocab is understood?
- Do users know that clicking “Information” opens a glossary?
- Do cleaners across all terminals share the same sizing terminology — by S, M, L?
- Are abbreviations understood? (ie. DEP, ARR, UNAVAIL.)
Colour & Symbolism
- Unintuitive blue and orange for cleaning statuses
- Blues used for different reasons incl. cleaning status button, flight icon, dialog, etc.
- Why does COMPLETE button UI differ from other buttons?
- Low contrast of yellow-on-white
- Light grey used with different intents — T3 is disabled vs Quick Search is active
Overall Accessibility
- MVP1 designed for a tablet, unaware that cleaners use a RugGear (360px wide)
- Most text (6–10pt) is illegible, squeezed into a small screen
- No option to zoom in
- Why is Log Out centred?!
Inconsistency
- Some fields have headers
- Some headers have icons
- Multiple fields share a header
- Clicking Status re-filters data, resulting in varied interpretations of ‘urgent’ and ‘priority’
Final designs
Main Dashboard
Task Summary
To Do
Return to Dashboard
Review & Confirm
Appreciation
Receipt
Top 5 Changes
All tasks start with a summary, which converts into an itemised receipt when cleaning is marked as DONE to support cleaners’ reports and managers’ tracking.
Observed Impact
For Cleaners
- 95.5% of supervisors say W2C 2.0 positively impacts work:
- → 78% value notifications
- → 72% value dashboard info
- → 65% value confirmations
- 30% less repetition and double-cleaning
- Calculations about time windows done for users
- → Less human error
- Clearer shared priorities
- No more walking circles
- → Multiple datasets available in your pocket!
- Accountability for ad hoc tasks
- Recognition & rewards
- → Motivation & morale boost
- Fuss-free reporting
For Supervisors
- 90% less (mis)communications and redundancies
- No more fact-checking between WhatsApp, W2C, and other platforms
- Transparency about work distribution
- → data-driven performance reviews
- Exportable cleaning reports for management
For Managers
- Weekly, monthly and annual performances driven by data, such as:
- → cleaner response time
- → duration per area
- → tasks per individual / team
- Increased awareness for teams’ wellbeing, staff rotation and shortages
- Ability to compare processes and efficiency across all 4 Terminals
For Changi Airport Group
Where2Clean continues to be referred to as
a shining example of user-centric research and design.
It is one of our favourite stories to tell
about innovation within Changi Airport Group.
– Esther Wong
Service Design Lead, Quality Service Management
Changi Airport Group
W2C in the news
The ‘Where2Clean’ application developed within this airport helps cleaning staff to see […] a list of gates available for cleaning based on flight information, and how long these gates are available between flights. This helps supervisors better plan manpower to meet demand and cleaning needs.
The first priority was safety […] Where2Clean, a sophisticated internal app that uses IoT and real-time architectures to intelligently map out to the cleaning team which areas of the airport to prioritize for cleaning based on real-time flight data and passenger traffic.
Before this app, supervisors took note of flight arrival and departure times at the start of their shifts, to plan their cleaning schedule and manpower allocation. […] it does not take into account any flight timing changes. With W2C, cleaning supervisors are now able to utilise real-time information to better plan and adjust their manpower accordingly and move towards on-demand cleaning.
Sustainable innovation centers in the aviation industry — Changi Airport established DIVA (Digital, Innovation, Ventures & Analytics) to implement the innovative approaches of its employees and encourage them to think innovatively. In addition, the ‘Where2Clean’ application developed within this airport helps cleaning staff…
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