Tan Song Beng, Deputy Director CDPMC, explaining the SCDF Frontliner Super App to SCDF Commissioner COMR Eric Yap and AC Leow Chew Hong, Director Transformation and Future Technology Department (TFTD). (Photo: HTX/CDPMC)
The hard work that HTX’s Civil Defence Programme Management Centre (CDPMC) has put into digitalising the operational processes of the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) was duly rewarded when it won a Silver medal in the 2025 Home Team Innovation Awards (InnovA).
What did the CDPMC team do to deserve this accolade?
It developed a whopping eight Minimum Viable Product (MVP) apps which enhanced the productivity of 6,000 SCDF officers across 25 fire stations and frontline units, SCDF HQ, and the Civil Defence Academy (CDA) in 2023 – in just six months.
What’s more, the team spent less than S$50,000 building these apps!
These apps are:
- Automated Duty Assignment (ADA): Automates the assignment of fire rescue specialists to SCDF appliances based on their appointments and skillsets.
- Duty Officer Rostering App (DORA): Automates regimental duty rostering for non-frontline officers and allows these officers to view their assigned regimental duties and swap their duties with one another.
- Interactive Troubleshooting App (ITA): Provides officers guided troubleshooting steps for vehicle maintenance tasks.
- Food Indentation and Consumption App (FICA): Provides real-time tracking of food indentation and consumption for the CDA and National Service Training Centre (NSTC) cookhouse.
- Responders Functional Fitness Test (RFFT): Allows SCDF officers conducting RFFT training to record the participants’ results for data presentation, retention, and analytics.
- Building Inspection Appointment Booking (BIAB): Allows building owners and Fire Safety Officers to arrange building inspections more effectively.
- Basic Task Manual (BTM): One-stop portal for frontline officers to check functional operational procedures.
- Automatic Check on Product Listing Scheme: Automates audit checks on installed product lists submitted for by Qualified Personnel for the Temporary Fire Permit (TFP) or the Fire Safety Certificate (FSC).
By developing these apps in-house and through co-sourcing thanks to the low-code Microsoft Power Platform, CDPMC managed to achieve massive savings in time and money spent – such an effort would have otherwise taken up to four years and cost millions.
DORA was one of CDPMC’s first eight MVPs. (Photo: HTX/CDPMC)
“The mobile app provides users with an easy-to-use, step-by-step troubleshooting guide when faced with any technical issues involving our emergency vehicles. If this still does not resolve the issue, then the maintenance contractor can be dispatched via the app to promptly assist with the rectification works. An e-mail that details the vehicle issues as well as the steps that the user had taken will also be concurrently sent to the contractor. This significantly reduces the turnaround time to resolve any issues with our emergency vehicles and minimises impact on our operational readiness,” said LTC Hairi Nur' Suffian Bin Zainal, Deputy Commander, Corporate Services Hub (East), SCDF.
MAJ Fung Ka Kin, Ex-Commander Paya Lebar Fire Station, also shared, “The ADA app reduces the steps required for the team planner to assign work schedules to our firefighters, ensuring that our personnel are assigned to the right roles based on their skillsets.”
LTC Ivan Kwok, Senior Asst Director TFTD (Robotics & Platforms), was similarly happy with the DORA app, noting that officers no longer have to wait for the current system opening to book their slots. Instead, they can now use their phones to view their duty slots and to perform mutual exchanges if required.
The SCDF AI Assistant is one of the new apps built by the SCDF Digital Factory. (Photo: HTX/CDPMC)
A dedicated app developer
Following the development of these eight MVPs, CDPMC set up a Digital Factory for the SCDF to further ramp up its digital transformation. According to Deputy Director Tan Song Beng, SCDF no longer needs to go through the traditional procurement process to start applications development and delivery as the Digital Factory has a dedicated team called the Agile Squad that can develop software applications.
Tan Song Beng, Deputy Director CDPMC, and Natalie Chew, Engineer, Ops Readiness & Case Management, CDPMC, at a workshop with SCDF DC Daniel Seet, DC Ling Young Ern and SAC Alan Chow. (Photo: HTX/CDPMC)
Daniel Seet, Deputy Commissioner for Future Technology and Public Safety, SCDF, shared: “I am very proud of what we have achieved through the SCDF-HTX Digital Factory team. It has, since its inception in April 2024, added tremendous capability and value to the SCDF by bringing in innovation, agility, and efficiency to accelerate our digital transformation and strengthen our culture of continuous improvement.”
“I also greatly appreciate how much time the team has spent to engage the frontliners to understand their needs and requirements, before rapidly prototyping, coding, and delivering user-friendly apps with consistent UX/UI, and doing all this cost-effectively,” he added.
The Global Engagement Management System (GEMS). (Photo: HTX/CDPMC)
The first app developed by the Digital Factory was the Global Engagement Management System (GEMS), which grew from concept to realisation in just six months.
Tai Kin Jiong, Head, Frontline Mobility and Smart Workplace, OR&CM, CDPMC, sharing the ADA and REDCON applications with SCDF frontliners. (Photo: HTX/CDPMC)
Since then, the Digital Factory has built applications powered by artificial intelligence (AI) and data analytics, including:
- SCDF AI Assistant: An AI chatbot exclusively designed for SCDF's workforce. It provides seamless access to intranet wiki files and official documents across HQ departments, enabling Fire Rescue Specialists, Emergency Medical Services personnel, and other SCDF officers to instantly retrieve critical information through natural language queries on their mobile devices.
- HT Buddy: An AI chatbot that provides seamless information access across Home Team Department (HTD) websites, empowering users with instant, natural language-driven access to HTD resources, streamlining information retrieval and enhancing workplace productivity.
- REDCON: By leveraging data analytics from the Automated Duty Assignment (ADA) app, readiness condition (REDCON) status can be dynamically calculated for SCDF units and forces, providing commanders with automated, real-time operational readiness updates. This data-driven approach ensures timely and accurate monitoring of force readiness condition levels.
"As we progress towards being a data-driven and digital-first organisation, we plan to expand our Digital Factory footprint by growing our teams to meet the increasing demand from the ground for digital solutions and the need for robust data governance. This will enhance SCDF’s capability to scale and develop more applications and AI solutions, ensuring that SCDF stays at the forefront of digital transformation in public safety and emergency services,” shared Daniel.
Tai Kin Jiong, Head, Frontline Mobility & Smart Workplace, OR&CM, CDPMC, and Mavis Chng, Head, Hazmat and Early Warning Systems, CDPMC, conducting a design thinking workshop with SCDF officers. (Photo: HTX/CDPMC)
What new apps can the SCDF expect from the Digital Factory? Its current slate of projects in the pipeline include the Frontliner AI Assistant & Super App, an AI-powered application that integrates all SCDF frontliner mobile apps developed by the Digital Factory into one intelligent solution.
This unified platform enhances operational efficiency by giving officers a single digital workspace, eliminating the need to manage multiple applications while providing smart, intuitive features.
Other projects include a Holistic Stakeholder Management app that offers a 360-degree view of local and international partners and their interactions, as well as the SCDF Mobile Workplace app, which provides officers with seamless, single-point access to essential tools and resources.
In recognition of his efforts in leading the SCDF Digital Factory project, Song Beng received the IDEAL Leader award at the HTX Awards 2025.
