Speech for Mr Heng Chee How, Senior Minister of State for Defence, at Digital Innovation Day

Chief of Defence Force, Lieutenant-General Melvyn Ong,

Chief Executive, Defence Science and Technology Agency, Mr Tan Peng Yam,

Chief of Navy, Rear-Admiral Lew Chuen Hong,

Chief of Army, Major-General Goh Si Hou,

Chief of Air Force, Brigadier-General Kelvin Khong,

Deputy Secretary (Administration), Mr Adrian Chua,

Colleagues,

Introduction

Very good morning. It is such a pleasure to be able to be with you. I remember that when I joined MINDEF last year, it was around about this time and the first event I undertook as a Senior Minister of State for Defence was also Innovation Day so it has been a year. Time flies and I think MINDEF/SAF has moved further forward.

Today we are faced with challenges of a population that is not growing. We wished we have many many more babies for all these years, but we do not seem to be quite getting them so what that translates into are multifaceted challenges but one of the challenges would be that – where are we going to get our future cohorts of soldiers? We will continue to get but what numbers? So that is one demographic challenge. At the same time, there is also a need to prepare our Armed Forces to fight against both conventional and hybrid security threats. And talking about hybrid security threats, it is not something that only affects the military. I think those of us who may have paid some attention, yesterday and in fact for the last three days since Monday, Parliament has been hard at work debating various bills and voting on them to make them into laws. And on Tuesday and Wednesday in fact we spent marathon sessions, last night ending at 10:30pm, to debate the, what is commonly known as the fake news law or the Prevention of Online Falsehood and Manipulation Act now. So that is something that affects society, and the Singapore Armed Forces, drawing people from amongst our population and having to attend to threats coming from outside, will have to be prepared for that. So in other words, the sort of attacks that we have to plan against and exercise against and build capabilities against is not just something that we lob things at each other; we still need those, those are very important, but at the same time, the action on the minds and the hearts of the population and on the soldiers of the Singapore Armed Forces. The morale, the spirit, that will come much much more into the forefront because of technology.

Yet, with the turn of the 4^th Industrial Revolution (4^th IR), notwithstanding the negative use of technology that I have just described to you one dimension of, the same technologies can also enable us to do more and better with fewer resources. Singapore's Smart Nation vision, coupled with the numerous breakthroughs we have seen in Artificial Intelligence (AI), robotics, the Internet of Things and other technological fields, have created a very very strong and good environment for us to enhance our defence capabilities through such means as digital innovation.

So that then brings us to today's theme and event which is  ‘Enhancing NS Experience and Training Safety through Digital Innovations', and that is about using technology to enhance the NS journey, to prepare, to better prepare servicemen to defend Singapore. In support of this and a digitalised society, therefore we need to do the following: First, to acclimatise to a “digital-Everything” world; second, to build a culture of Everyday innovation; and third, to recognise that Everybody must be involved in innovation.

Acclimatising to a “digital-Everything” world

Media and information company Thomson Reuters predicts a “digital-Everything” world by the year 2025, where gadgets will be programmed to be responsive to users and to meet specific needs. Actually that world is already with us, or at least in some parts of the world, in some parts of our lives but it will become pervasive. Certainly in the advanced societies, ours included, sooner than later. Today, the notion of a “digital-Everything” world is fast becoming a reality, and it is in our best interests to embrace this. We can do this by being open to proactively digitalising current processes, such as those involving NS training and administration. So allow me to share some of the initiatives that MINDEF/SAF has in store.

Firstly, at the start of their NS journey, pre-enlistees will be able to chat with NS Buddy on their mobile phones via a weblink or an app. This friendly and personable chatbot will answer NS-related questions, deliver personalised responses and perform guided transactions. So for instance, try asking the NS Buddy “how to pass the Standard Obstacle Course (SOC)” and it will reply with interactive content such as gifs and videos. So it will show you how, one thing it will not do is to do it for you. You still have to do it but it will show you how. A preliminary version of NS Buddy has been released for trial, and the full version will be implemented next year.

Upon transition to full-time NS, the NSFs will be able to train more effectively with digital enhancements. With the new initiative to use AI to enhance Armour Simulator Training, NSFs will get to fight a “thinking” enemy that uses machine learning to adapt its responses to their tactics and this will challenge the NSFs to think on their feet and respond to the realistic pressures of battle.

Besides training smarter, we will also enhance safety with the SafeGuardian app that the Navy is currently testing with the support from the Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA). The app will allow servicemen to photograph and share workplace hazards in Green Zone areas within camps, with their mobile phones, to raise awareness and to allow the hazards to be removed quickly. SafeGuardian will also provide mobile access to safety checklists, so that servicemen can access the required safety checks and information more easily before commencing an activity. And this app facilitates the conduct of safe and efficient operations. So I know we have heard this for the umpteenth time but allow me to also further reinforce this once again – safe and efficient. The two can, and must go together. It is not one or the other and we are aiming to trial this across the SAF by this year.

The day-to-day lives of NSFs will also be enhanced by an envisaged Smart Camp, which comprises five different initiatives, with digitalised processes to ensure greater efficiency, and access to a range of information and services for greater convenience. One of the initiatives, the Camp Companion App, presents information on something very important, the cookhouse menu, and not only for a day but a week in advance, just allowing NSFs to indicate their meal preferences via the app. So you customise these things to make the journey a little easier, more engaging so that the soldiers can do away with any worries or concerns with all these things and concentrate on their training. Other initiatives, like the Smart Armskote and Smart Store, allow NSFs to return their stores and arms by scanning them at a kiosk, instead of filling up hardcopy records. This transaction system, together with computer visioning sensors, provides real-time accounting of equipment. These Smart Camp initiatives have been developed and refined to better suit the needs of servicemen. They are now being trialled, and will be rolled out on a wider scale when found suitable.

For Operationally-Ready NSmen, they can look forward to the introduction of PayNow for the immediate payment of their IPPT incentive awards. We received positive feedback from NSmen on the speed at which transactions were processed when we first trialled this April 7 this year. This means that NSmen can now clear their IPPT and take their families out for a good meal on the same day. So, run harder.

Apart from the digital initiatives that I have mentioned, there are many others that you will learn about in the upcoming experiential tour, as part of this event. And we will help everyone experience first-hand how the NS journey will be enhanced through digital transformation.

Building a culture of Everyday innovation

The journey towards embracing a “digital-Everything” world needs to be supported by a culture of Everyday innovation. Often, people associate innovation with advanced gadgets, such as the latest technology, latest phone (or) latest cryptocurrency. Things get invented but really, in everyday life, (there are) so many things you can innovate. “Innovate” is a big word, but you can improve whatever it might be: an arrangement; a process; a way of doing things. Things have changed. There are better methods of doing it. Maybe it makes more sense to make it simpler. So many different ways, not necessarily high tech. It is a mindset that we can will ourselves into choosing. The best forms of innovation can be applied to daily routines and work processes, to simplify our lives and maximise the impact of our efforts.

 In a large organisation like the SAF, there is always a need to make our operations simpler, smarter safer. With this in mind, ME4 Timothy Soh from the 9th Singapore Division HQ Infantry, came up with the idea of using 3D printing to create a magazine spacer to eliminate an additional step during the SAR21 technical handling drills. Besides simplifying the process, the magazine spacer also enhances training realism by making the rifle function as if there were rounds in the magazine. 500 units of this are currently under trial, and we again, if it works, we will scale (it).

This focus on everyday innovation is not new, whether in MINDEF or the SAF. We strive to build a culture of innovation by recognising significant contributions to each year at our Productivity and Innovation in Daily Efforts (PRIDE) Symposium. Over the years, we have seen many useful initiatives that have improved the way we work and enabled us to meet a variety of new needs. These initiatives also led to real cost savings. For example in the year 2017, cost savings of up to $158 million which exceeded our target of trying to save 12%.

Everyone should be involved in innovation

Everyone should be involved. I would say, everyone must be involved in innovation so that we can move ahead together to embrace a digital society. And I say “must” instead of “should” because it is a choice that we have. We are all involved in different parts of the organisation, doing specifically (but) not exactly the same thing. But because of this, each of us are in touch with one part of the elephant and we know it best. So not only can we make that difference, big or small, it is our responsibility rather than to adopt some kind of outsourcing mentality to say that it is somebody else or some expert organisation out there, or it is the upstairs who should do it. Or we just wait for somebody to improve it, but in the meantime if something does not quite make sense, then perhaps we can just live with it or gripe about it. Then that is not right because it is an improvement to our own work lives that we can make happen. So that is our individual and joint responsibility. And we do it for the common good because very few of us work in the one job where there is only one person. Chances are that we are working in vocation or occupation where there are many of us, and therefore, when we can make an improvement in one part of it, it benefits so many others who are doing the same thing, and up and down that chain and in that eco-system. So everyone must be involved in innovation so we can move together to embrace a digital society better. Fostering a sense of collective ownership is key in empowering individuals to play a unique role in Innovation, and sharing their ideas and imagination to make the world, the workplace especially, a better place.

In the SAF, it is heartening to see our servicemen coming up with innovative solutions to improve their work situations. One example is the mixed reality software application developed by NSFs 3SG Duncan Leo and 3SG Ho Kiam Teck from the Air Engineering Training Institute. The software uses mixed-reality glasses to project a holographic image that allows wearers to perceive virtual objects in the real-world environment, and interact with the holograms using hand gestures. So I suppose it is something like Pokemon Go. While we laugh, but frankly, if we can make things like that more fun, more akin to what people do outside of their uniform and so on, something that they know how to use and love it, and make that thing part of their work, it improves their effectiveness. And you can use it in serious matters; you can use it for fun. It is how you use it. The glasses can also project virtual pop-ups to guide trainees on how to respond to an incident, and are also useful in training trainees through emergency scenarios that are difficult to replicate, such as responding to equipment on fire. This software provides realistic training for emergency procedures, and would not have been developed if our NSFs had not taken the initiative to improve training effectiveness. Again, drawing from their education, drawing on their interest, drawing on their passion. 

Enabling innovation

For everyone to get involved in innovation, we must be equipped. And with effort and willingness to learn, we can all, regardless of our age, contribute to innovation. Working towards this, we need to upgrade our digital competencies to keep pace with the rate at which technology is changing.

In MINDEF/SAF, there are many resources to help individuals upgrade their digital competencies. The Digital Innovation Day, for example, is a key platform to showcase digital innovation and transformation achievements, encouraging a culture of continuous digital upskilling and innovation. Our Interest Groups, made up of like-minded and skilled practitioners from MINDEF/SAF, also support innovators with resources such as analytics lab facilities, educational industry visits, talks, and workshops. They will be giving talks on technology and conducting experiential workshops as part of today's event, where participants will get to try their hands at new things, like 3D-printing programming, constructing dashboards for data visualisation, building basic mobile apps, and writing code for robots. I would like to encourage all of us to participate in these activities put up specially for all of us, to learn a new skill and to refine what we already may know.

Conclusion

Existing efforts to improve and digitalise the NS experience show that there is much we can capitalise on to enhance daily life and streamline operations to maximise efficiency, convenience (and) impact. In the future, digitalisation might even extend to the entire suite of SAF operations. And we could just try to imagine the progress and capability we will then have. When it comes to harnessing technology, the possibilities are endless, and I have every confidence that the SAF will rise to this challenge and seize the day. Thank you.

More Resources

Enhancing NS Experience and Training Safety through Digital Innovation

Fact Sheet: Enhancing NS Experience and Training Safety through Digital Innovation