TECHNICAL REPORT DRAFT 1: INTRODUCTION + BACKGROUND INFORMATION + PROBLEM STATEMENT + PURPOSE STATEMENT

 

1. Introduction

This report has been developed to propose a collaboration with TeamBuild Construction Group Pte Ltd on combating the existing miscommunication between supervisors and construction workers due to language barriers to produce efficiency within the worksite.

1.1 Background information

Singapore is heavily reliant on migrant labour in the construction industry due to its high economic development. Its increased economic growth rate resulted in an increase in average wages for the resident population. With the amount of high risks, jobs are difficult to fill with just the local labour force as hard labour is not the most desirable occupation. In order to increase productivity and keep labour costs affordable, cheaper labour from other Asian countries are employed. Therefore, migrant workers are required in the construction industry to fill up jobs that Singaporeans are not willing to pursue due to its high-income economy.

Foreign workers are essential as they are the bread and butter of the Singapore construction industry. They constitute 90% of the industry that conducts groundworks at the construction site while the other 10% are Singaporeans that usually take up the position of supervisory roles. According to the Ministry of Manpower (Ministry of Manpower, 2020), as of June 2020, there are about 351,800 foreign workers with work permits in Construction, Marine Shipyard and Process (CMP) sectors. The foreign worker demographic consists of Bangladeshis, Burmese, Chinese, Indians and more, with a small percent of them being proficient in English which is Singapore's main communication language. In such conditions, communication problems will arise as the foreign workers are unable to speak or understand the english language. As a result, this causes miscommunication between the supervisor and the foreign workers.

Confusion caused by language barriers could lead to foreign workers producing incomplete, unclear and delayed work, causing project delay and cost overrun in the work site. There are instances where the supervisor instructs a worker to remove the muddy water in the trench before the cement truck pours the cement to lay the foundations of the building. However, not being able to understand the supervisor’s instructions, the worker makes an assumption to pour the cement into the trench. Consequently, the worker is required to remove the whole cement mix and create a new batch of cement along with a new truck to deliver it. Hence incurring an overrun in cost as they need to procure more resources while delaying the project because time is needed to get the cement mixed and delivered to the site. 

Miscommunication contributes to safety issues as the construction industry is one of the highest risk work environments due to the amount of heavy lifting and high elements in it. Any mistakes occurring will be a catastrophe for the workers and the company. For example, a misunderstanding during a safety briefing may mislead workers thus, jeopardising their safety and even causing death. Such accidents may cause a huge amount of money loss for construction companies due to medical bills compensation and fines.

Aiming towards a fast paced and efficient environment, a walkie talkie app can be introduced to detect and translate the messages between various parties of the construction site. There have been recent advancements in Artificial Technology (AI) to decode a given data while providing an output with relevance similar to a human brain. In terms of translation technology, the incorporation of AI in machine translation is efficient in suggesting a translation which serves as a base to detect and learn a certain language whilst replicating it into another language (Trustpoint.One, 2019). This AI technology can be combined with the properties of a walkie talkie to generate the translating application.

Walkie talkies have been utilised and developed since the 1930s. It functions as a communication tool to interact with one another within a set range by sharing the same channel. The walkie talkie generally serves for fast communication which is the primary function that will be incorporated into the walkie talkie translator application. Its loudspeaker properties also contribute to the likes of workers being able to listen to the instructions given by their supervisors. This produces a swift and seamless communication that could lead to a better workflow in the site.

By combining the AI technology from Google’s translatotron, “An End-to-End Speech-to-Speech Translation Model'' with the primary functions of a walkie talkie, it could possibly eliminate the miscommunication due to language barriers at worksites. It functions to translate the messages between supervisors and construction workers with respect to their native language. With messages being conveyed, this could lead to a better grasp of the project’s procedures which allows a better workflow and thus generating efficiency.

1.2 Problem Statement

At construction sites, there is ineffective communication between employees and supervisors due to language barriers. The incorporation of a walkie talkie translator app into mobile phones could reduce the existing language barriers and thus increasing efficiency within the work site.

1.3 Purpose Statement

 The purpose of this report is to propose a walkie talkie translator app to combat language barriers within a work site for Teambuild Land Pte Ltd.