OneMaker Group Prototyping Lab

When created, OMG prototyping lab had set up a monthly membership system for every new user. Within 3 years of activity, more than 225 members had subscribed to monthly or annual passes. However, over time, the team realized that, by paying, members wanted to be as efficient as possible to develop their project, which stifled creativity.

They decided then to let the space open to all. In total, more than 6 000 users stepped in the prototyping lab. In 2016, 20% of them are students, 50% individuals and 30% corporates.

Thanks to the makerspace, 12 products were commercialized.

Most of the makers hear about OMG through events, social medias and walk-ins when there are exhibitions in the NDC.

Few makers come recurrently (10 to 20%) as most of them are from corporates and education organisations.

Students usually use the lab for OMG’s prototyping services and facilities, companies for team building programs, workshops and makerspace consultancy and the general public participate to manual workshops and events.

Only 5% of the users are involved in the community life. They usually have the desire to volunteer. That’s why OMG created “freelance makers” and “freelance trainers”. Currently 20, those volunteers can participate to the lab’s life and develop their skills.

Funded at 70% by the Government, OMG started as a private company with 5 team members.

Interestingly, its business model strongly evolved over the years. Year 1, as they were focused on bringing awareness, 20% of the revenue came from membership, 50% from workshops, 20% from learning journeys provided to students and 10% from hackathons. The operational costs were already covered within 1 year of activity.

Year 3, memberships were deleted, craft classes and tech workshops represented 10% of the revenue, student innovation and product development programs 30%, corporate innovation and team building 20%, prototyping as a service 30% and makerspace consultancy 10%.

Their main costs are salaries (35%), utilities (30%), rental (25%) and refurbishment of consumer goods (10%).

OMG has just kickstarted in June the 3-month-“Coastal innovators” program in order to develop innovative maritime solutions on a fish farm in Pulao.

Moreover, in October 2017, a “Maker retail space” will open its doors in a shopping mall to sell the makers’ projects of OMG prototyping lab.

OMG needs to report yearly KPIs to the government. Their key targets are the following:

• 5 learning journeys per week,

• 10 to 15 projects per month (prototyping as a service),

• 1 event per month,

• 8 workshops per month.

At OMG, 10 people work full time:

• 1 makerspace manager,

• 1 maker pilot captain that provides prototyping services,

• 1 event manager,

• 1 workshop / program developer,

• And 6 interns.

In parallel, according to the needs of workshops, 50 external instructors are engaged all over the year. Moreover, OMG launched its 4th maker apprenticeship program this year. During this 3-month program, apprentices develop a project in the lab and spend 1 day per week learning a new skill and 2 days a week on duties.

Over the last 3 years, 35 workshops were organized gathering more than 300 participants for schools (learning journeys in the makerspace, …), corporates (mainly team-building activities), and general public (handicraft).

If makers need advice on their project, they can participate to the weekly “maker clinic sessions” where “maker doctors” from OMG will coach them and make connections among the manufacturing and funding ecosystem of Singapore.

OMG is used to organizing hackathons (more than 20 over the 3 last years) for agencies such as the Singapore design week or Designathon 2016.

To expand the maker movement in Singapore, OMG’s just created a Maker Villa: a hostel for overseas makers to stay and keeps on organizing maker events throughout South-East Asia via the SEAMNET.

OMG set up a new partnership this year with Google Singapore’s makerspace, created in April 2017. Once Google’s makerspace has new machines, OMG helps them to handle it and accompany them in hardware product development.

Most of what happens in the lab is communicated on their social networks. However, none of it is documented and posted in opensource.

Majors programs such as workshops, hackathons or prototypes are internally documented and shared on Google Drive. After each workshop or hackathon session, a debriefing is organized to gather feedbacks and improve the model.

Makers are usually asked to document their innovation process: pictures, technologies used and designs. However, this is not compulsory.