| Initiative,
innovation and IT - it was the potent combination
of these three I’s that gave birth to JTC
Corporation’s (JTC) Express Lane Application
Programme, or ELAP for short. In fact, the programme
was so successful that it won the Best WITs Award
in the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
ELAP
is JTC’s newest Web-based process innovation
for the application for and allocation of flatted
factory space. With ELAP, applicants have real-time
online access to information on their applications
24 hours a day. You can check it out at www1.jtc.gov.sg/elap.
The new system works like this: After selecting
their desired factory units, applicants can apply
online and receive immediate approval for cases
with standard requirements, which comprise 60%
of all flatted factory applications. Due to the
need for customisation of non-standard applications,
the remaining applications will have to be processed
manually.
“Since its launch in late May, ELAP has
processed about 140 applications, which is roughly
70% of the total number of flatted factory applications
that JTC has received. For the team, this is an
encouraging statistic that is testament to ELAP’s
capabilities as well as our efforts,” said
Ms Sharon Wong, a member of the ELAP project team.
Application made
easy
The new system makes application a breeze. While
previously, applicants for flatted factory space
had to submit 13 pages of application form and
supporting documents, with ELAP, applicants only
need to fill in a two-page online form and submit
a Registry of Companies and Businesses (ROCB)
certificate. The new form contains a simple checklist
for applicants to declare compliance with pollution
control and water usage requirements. The entire
process is self-service, transparent and based
on trust as the information submitted is not questioned
by JTC.
Since the implementation of ELAP, the time taken
to process standard applications has been radically
reduced from 14 working days to no more than 20
minutes.
Rewarding innovation
journey
Recalling the process of developing and implementing
ELAP, Mr Aw Wei Been, leader of the project team,
said, “It has been a tumultuous journey.
When we first started the project, we had no idea
what to expect because there was no precedent
to learn from. In a way, we were making history
by coming up with the first of such a process
innovation for JTC. The benefits for our customers
are immense, which was what spurred us on. Bagging
the award is really a bonus for us."
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