Critical Reflection

Assalamualaikum my dear friends. This would be my last blog post for this module. In this blog post, I would briefly reflect how I felt for this module.

I have been a student at Singapore Institute of Technology for almost 3 months, and over the course of my stay I took was given the opportunity to take up a module named Effective Communication. I can proudly say that I have grown and learned more than I thought possible. Though I have taken similar modules previously, this module has taught something which other English modules did not teach me, communication. Communication is an important life skill that enables us to better understand and connect with the people around us. This module was made interesting and interactive through blogging and Q&A sessions.

Firstly, I would like to thank my tutor, Brad, who made this module interesting. I have always hated English subject/modules; however, my tutor would add some interesting ingredients in the module and make I interesting and fun. It was not some ordinary mundane English module where the students would need to listen to the lecturer talk about assignments and projects. I still remember on my first day of this module, where I had to walk to every student and answer few questions that I ask. See, in this way you are already improving your communication skills when you do not even realise it.

Back to the module, this module has given me a great opportunity to develop my oral communication skills. I have learnt how to write numerous essays, reflection and most importantly, reports. It has taught me how to find the right answers at the right place. Most importantly, I have learned how important literature and language is. Best example would be the summary and reader response assignment. The first 2 drafts were merely a summary of brief reader responses. Whereas the third and fourth drafts required more effort and research. In this way, it helped me to write a brief summary, thesis and a reader response. I am confident this would definitely help me in the future when writing summaries for reports or articles.

From the comments I receive from my peers and my tutor on my blog post, I realised that I have poor language and verbs skills. I tend to have long and unnecessary sentences which tend to have many verbs and grammar faults. I have also learnt how to write various styles of papers in different forms and fields. I aim to improve on these problems and refrain myself from committing the same mistakes again.

I was given the opportunity present in front of the whole module cohort. At first, I was very nervous as I have never presented in front of a big group of people. However, after reading online tips such as Garr Reynolds presentation tipsMonre persuasive speech. However, after reading it online, it boosted my confidence. After the presentation, I gained confidence in presenting in front of a big group of people. Though it was my first, I hope this experience would boost my confidence for my future presentations.

Lastly, as this module comes to an end, I would like to take this opportunity to thank my fellow classmates and my dear tutor, Brad, for making this Effective Communication module journey an enjoyable and fruitful journey. I look forward to putting these skills to use soon.

______________________________________________________________________________

Commented on Derrick, Ruzaini and Akmal blog post on 09 December 2016

Letter of Transmitter

From: Ike Domenden

To: Town Council

Cc: Brad Blackstone, Chris Kwa, Abiali

Subject: Proposal to Eliminate Water Disruptions in Public Housing Flats

Dear Town Council Management,

I am Ike Domenden, a first-year student from the Sustainable Infrastructure Engineering programme at the Singapore Institute of Technology. Our lecturer, Mr. Brad Blackstone, recently tasked us to identify, analyse and solve a specific problem chosen from an approved range of industries including housing, building construction, rail engineering, energy, water resources and the environment. To that end, I was assigned to a project group with two others, and we decided to research the issue of water disruptions in public housing flats with the purpose of finding a solution to this problem.

Attached is our proposal to achieve the abovementioned objective. This report includes the background of the water storage and supply situation in Singapore, our analysis of the problem of water disruption and its possible causes, as well as our proposed solutions to the problem, complete with technical details and comparison. Should you require any further information with regards to the proposal, kindly let us know and we will gladly furnish any requested documents.

We would like to acknowledge your assistance in providing us with statistics relating to water disruption frequency and downtime.

Thank you very much for your consideration.

Best regards,

Ike Domenden

Sustainable Infrastructure Engineering (Building Services)

Singapore Institute of Technology

Analytical Reflection

Related to the presentation my team led recently, I thought each of the team members were very well prepared. We rehearse for the presentation numerous times to keep it up to standard. Now, I'm going to write a bit more on my part of the presentation, by highlighting the strengths and weaknesses.

For my strength, I think I was well prepared for the presentation. I knew my contents well which allowed me to go straight to the main point on my part of the presentation. The design of the presentation was clear and brief. Since I know my contents perfectly, I didn’t spend much time looking at the screen to see if I was on the correct slide at the right time. The last strength I will enlighten is the clarity of my English. The flow of my presentation was slow. I made pauses in between my presentation to make sure everyone understood what I was trying to present. It is also effective for the audience to analyse and get what I want to present.

My main weakness is giving speeches in front of a big group. However, the Effective Communication module helped me to improve on that. My tone throughout the presentation was rather monotonous. I also felt that there were certain pronunciation problems throughout my presentation. My presentation was missing a sense of humour. Usually, I love making fun and doing some jokes during a presentation. However, this time I was rather serious as it was an issue which was serious. I think I could have smiled more. It’s the essence of a presentation to make the audience comfortable.

All in all, this oral presentation was a valuable experience for me in giving presentation speeches.  I learned many things through the presentation and the whole project in general.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Commented on Iskandar and Frankie blog post on 09/12/2016

Group Meeting Minutes.

Before the group had decided on a Project Proposal, the team held a meeting to discuss whose idea was the most genuine idea. Here's the meeting minutes:

Team C.I.A

Meeting Minutes

September 29, 2016

I.      Call to order

Chris called to order the regular meeting of Team C.I.A at 1400 on September 29, 2016 at AP-S31C.

II.      Roll call

Abiali conducted a roll call. The following persons were present: Chris, Abiali, Ike

III.      Agenda Rising

a) To discuss topics for the next big project.

b) Deadlines to adhere.

IV.      Discussion

Chris – Chris mentioned on the need for more sustainable buildings due to the massive pollution. Thus, we need to reduce the usage of fossil fuels and have a more environmentally approach such as using windmills to produce electricity. He felt that the team could come out with more ways for sustainable solutions for buildings in Singapore such as solar power or even turbines. It would not only benefit us, but for the future generations. However, all these comes at a heavy price.

Abiali – In the north-south-east-west lines, train announcements are not made in a systematic way. The announcements are not in sync to the location of the train. For an example, when the train leaves station A for station B, the timer of the announcement starts. The timer will continue although the train has stopped in between 2 stations due to unknown events. Thus, the announcements are not accurate and may cause confusion among the commuters. He felt that the team could come out with a sensor to be placed on the track and on trains. When only the sensor on the track senses the sensor on train, the announcement will then start. In this way, the announcement will be more accurate and create lesser confusion among the commuters especially the tourist. However, the implementation of the sensor would be expensive and more manpower would be needed for maintenance needs.

Ike – Modern buildings in Singapore, tanks are placed on buildings to provide water for everyday usage. However, when maintenance/inspection is needed to be done, a partition would be placed in the tank. The partition would close half the water tank which would be needed for maintenance. Thus, only the other half of the water tank would provide water for the residence in the building. As this process is being repeated, the partition will start to deteriorate. Thus, causing water contamination. The team came out with an idea such that it will solve the problem of contamination. The water tank will be split into 2. In this way, when maintenance needs to be done, just close 1 of the water tank. The other water tank will provide water for the residence in the building. This will cause no leakage and contamination. However, by splitting into 2 tanks, more space would be needed in this space constrained land.

Conclusion – In conclusion, the team has decided to choose Ike’s idea as it creates an impact on our everyday life. It will not create any water contamination or disruption to our everyday water usage. Chris idea was good, however, the scale of the idea is too big and also there are too many companies solving this major problem. Abiali idea was good. However, it was a minor issue which does not create a massive impact for commuters on the train.

V.      Adjournment

Chris adjourned the meeting at 1500.

Minutes submitted by:  Abiali, Ike
Minutes approved by:  Chris

Summary + Reader Response Draft 4

In the article “Trains on the North-South, East-West lines safe for service”, the Land Transport Authority (LTA, 2016) wrote that despite undergoing rectification works, the trains that have been in the media spotlight are safe for service. According to LTA, all new trains are tested before they are put into service. For the defective trains, immediate action was taken to prevent defects from resurfacing during train operation. Hairline cracks that were discovered during inspection were confirmed to not affect operational safety. Nevertheless, to ensure that there are sufficient trains for commuters, all affected trains were sent back, one at a time, for rectification. Stringent checks would also be performed regularly to ensure operational safety of all trains. However, LTA should have made further investigation, about whether purchasing trains manufactured from CSR Sifang, is the most ideal choice. *

Firstly, the article mentions that ‘these hairline cracks were due to localised impurity in the aluminium car-body material’, however, it fails to mention on the severity of the condition. “As one engineer put it, impurities in aluminium alloy is a catastrophic problem - in any industry. The structure may be sound initially, but its durability will definitely be compromised” (Tan.C, 2016). This proves that the trains may not have been the most ideal choice as the quality standard of the train is lowered due to the impurities in the material found in the train. CSR Sifang trains are the first batch of trains that have experienced this problem. “C151, the predecessor of C151A, has been manufactured by Kawasaki Heavy Industries in Japan since the 1980s. The two models share similar designs, but the C151 has been used by the SMRT since 1987 without experiencing cracks.” (Lai, 2016). Although ‘C151’ trains have been in service for more than 20 years, it has not experienced any cracks. Whereas the ‘C151A’ trains which is manufactured by CSR SIfang has been in service for less than 10 years and has given many problems compared to trains manufactured by Kawasaki. *In this case, CSR Sifang trains are not the ideal choice as the life span of the train is being compromised and the quality of the train is not up to standard.

Moreover, the hairline cracks were not only the major issue caused by C151A trains. “On 17 December 2011, seven SMRT trains stalled on the North South Line causing the worst disruption in the entire SMRT history. The disruption across 12 stations from Marina Bay to Ang Mo Kio station lasted for at least seven hours, affecting at least 94,000 commuters” (Chew, 2015). The main cause of this massive disruption was due to the stalling of the trains which had theCurrent Collector Device (CCD) damaged. As one of the engineer mentions, “the immediate cause of the stalling of the trains was damage to their Current Collector Device (CCD) 'shoes' due to sagging of the 'third rail' which supplies electrical power to the trains”. In this case, due to the poor quality of the CCD, it was not able to send the electricity signal to the train. As the report mentions “During both incidents, sections of the third rail sagged after multiple “claws” which hold up the third rail above the track bed were dislodged”. This has caused a massive disruption that proves that CSR Sifang trains are not the ideal choice of trains for service.

In conclusion, LTA should do their best to stop these incidents from occurring and ensuring a safe journey for its commuters. Although Singapore has ten of the best city train (Gwyn, 2014) network in the world, these are some of the minor/major issues that may lower the standard of quality.

References

Chew Hui Min (2015, July 8). Power shutdown at North-South, East-West lines: Past major train disruptions. The Straits Times. Retrieved from http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/transport/power-shutdown-at-north-south-east-west-lines-past-major-train-disruptions

Gwyn Topham (2014, February 18).  Ten of the best city train networks – in pictures. The Guardian. Retrieved from

https://www.theguardian.com/cities/gallery/2014/feb/18/ten-best-city-train-networks-in-pictures

Ministry of transport (2012). Report of the committee of inquiry into the disruption of MRT train services on 15 and 17 December 2011(Research Report). Retrieved fromhttp://www.mot.gov.sg/news/COI%20report%20-%20Executive%20Summary.pdf

Land Transport Authority (2016, July 06). Trains on the North-South and East-West Lines Safe for Service. Land Transport Authority Press Room. Retrieved from

https://www.lta.gov.sg/apps/news/page.aspx?c=2&id=0f8b1220-0289-4bef-99c9-b2455f17a66c#_ftn1

Lai, M. H. S. (2016, July 05). Secret Recalls: China manufacturer for MTR secretly recalls 25 SMRT subway trains after cracks found.  Factwire. Retrieved from https://www.factwire.news/en/MTR-securetly-recall.html

Tan, C. (2016, July 14). Nothing routine about MRT cracks. The Straits Times.  Retrieved from

http://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/nothing-routine-about-mrt-cracks


____________________________________________________________

Commented on Jerry and Chris blog post on 09/12/2016

Reply from Tanjong Pagar Town Council.

Dear Ike,

Sincere apology for the delay and our reply as follows:

1. Do most HDB flats have only one water tank on its rooftop to supply drinking water to residents? If so, do these water tanks have several internal compartments to provide against water supply interruptions?
   Ans: There are 2 or more water storage tanks on roof level in HDB apartment blocks. There is no internal compartment within the tank.
2. Are there any HDB flats which supply drinking water using more than one tank?
   Ans: Under normal circumstances, drinking water to flats is supplied by all tanks at the block because the storage tanks are interlinked with the control valves.
3. How often do water disruptions occur annually?
   (Due to shutting off tanks for inspection, cleaning, maintenance etc.)
   Ans: All water storage tanks (lower and upper levels) shall be washed, cleaned and sterilised annually. The Licensed Water Service Plumber shall submit water sample to a approved laboratory by PUB for testing and certification. 
4. What is the average time taken for each of these water disruptions to be resolved?
   (Restoration of water supply to HDB residents)
   Ans: There is no disruption at all to water supply to residents. To avoid any misunderstanding, it is our practice to notify residents of the work by putting up notice on noticeboard in advance. 
5. What is the Town Council’s view on expenditure towards water tank upgrading works?
   (Priority level compared to other Town Council projects)

Ans: Town Council is responsible for the routine and cyclical maintenance works of the water storage tanks. Any upgrading work to storage tank will come under the purview of HDB and the relevant authorities.

We hope the information will help your students in the study.

Best regards

     

Regards

Loy Sai Sai

Senior Property Manager

Tanjong Pagar Town Council

Email sent to Tanjong Pagar / Aljunied - Hougang Town Council Regarding Project Proposal.

Dear Town Council,

I am Ike, a first-year student at the Singapore Institute of Technology, and I am part of a project group that is looking into improving water supply in HDB flats by proposing methods to reduce, if not eliminate, water disruptions affecting residents. As such, we are currently conducting research on the rooftop water storage tanks. As your team is in charge of estate improvement works in the district, we thought it would be best to achieve a better understanding of the water storage and supply situation in HDB flats by drawing upon your team's many years of experience.

Our enquiries are as follows:

1. Do most HDB flats have only one water tank on its rooftop to supply drinking water to residents? If so, do these water tanks have several internal compartments to provide against water supply interruptions?
2. Are there any HDB flats which supply drinking water using more than one tank?
3. How often do water disruptions occur annually?
   (Due to shutting off tanks for inspection, cleaning, maintenance etc.)
4. What is the average time taken for each of these water disruptions to be resolved?
   (Restoration of water supply to HDB residents)
5. What is the Town Council’s view on expenditure towards water tank upgrading works?
   (Priority level compared to other Town Council projects)

We would be grateful if you could assist us to answer some of these questions, as this will greatly aid our research. Many thanks and have a great week ahead!

Best regards,

Ike Domenden

Sustainable Infrastructure Engineering (Building Services)

Singapore Institute of Technology

Email sent to PUB regarding The Team Project Proposal.

Dear Mr. Toh,

I am Ike, a first-year student from the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT). Having been tasked by our lecturer to find a solution for an engineering problem, my project group decided to conduct research on the water storage tanks found on the rooftops of buildings, and we thought it would be best to consult PUB and get a professional opinion.

As some of our questions are technical in nature and others revolve around the current water supply and storage situation in Singapore, we would be grateful if a PUB representative could answer a few of our questions via interview or writing and in doing so help us achieve a better understanding with regards to this subject.

Hence, we seek your kind assistance to redirect our request to the relevant persons, so that we can contact and follow up with them as soon as possible. Thank you very much and have a great week ahead!

Best regards,

Ike Domenden

Sustainable Infrastructure Engineering (Building Services)

Singapore Institute of Technology

Problem and Purpose Statement.

Problem Statement:

According to CP 48 (2005), high level water storage tanks in high-rise Housing & Development Board (HDB) flats store at least one day’s worth of water to cater to residents staying at the upper floors during periods of water supply disruption (see Figure 1). However, residents staying at lower floors continue to be affected by the disruption as their water supply comes directly from the main inflow pipe (see Figure 2).

Need therefore arises for the implementation of low level water storage tanks with a storage capacity of at least one day’s water usage requirement, in order for the residents staying at lower floors to be able to draw water reliably even during temporary water disruptions.

Purpose Statement:

The aim of this report is to propose to the Town Council the construction of two water storage systems, which will be located at low level. These twin tanks will have a combined storage capacity equivalent to one day’s water usage requirement for the residential block, and will be connected in parallel to supply water in a similar fashion to the existing high level water storage tanks, so as to maintain redundancy within the water storage system. This implementation will reduce the occurrence of water disruptions and improve the reliability of water supply for residents.

____________________________________________________________________

Commented on Adam and Calvin blog post on 09/12/2016

Email sent to Prof for Consultation

Dear Dr. Moshood,

I am Ike Domenden, a first-year SIE (Building Services) student. As I am currently in Brad Blackstone's Effective Communication class, I have been assigned to a group of three including myself and tasked to identify an engineering problem and propose a solution. Following a discussion with Brad, I was told to seek your advice as you hold a great deal of knowledge with regards to Building Services matters.

The engineering problem that our group has come up with is the issue of water disruption in buildings due to cleaning and maintenance works being performed on their respective rooftop water storage tank.

From what we know, water storage tanks have internal partitions to ensure water output is not disrupted when one side is undergoing maintenance works. However, the partition warps over time, losing its watertight integrity. As a result, isolation becomes difficult to perform, and the tanks often have to be completely shut off in order to proceed with cleaning and maintenance works, leading to water disruptions.

To solve this problem, we are currently planning to propose the replacement of said tank into two individual physical tanks to ensure that isolation can be done effectively, so that any works being done on one of the tanks will not affect the overall water output.

Our group would like to consult you and obtain some background information on water storage tanks, so that we can have a better understanding before we prepare our proposal. The main items that we require clarification for are as follows:

1. Does every building have only one domestic water storage tank that serves water to the entire building?

2. Are different materials being used for water tanks? What are the pros and cons of each?

3. Is it better for us to focus on a specific type of building (HDB Flats, Shopping Malls etc.) when working on our proposal?

4. We plan to record an interview with experienced professionals or any relevant authorities, which we have identified as HDB, PUB, BCA and the local Town Councils. Which of these should we request an interview from in order to get a professional opinion on this matter?

We would really appreciate it if you could share your expertise with us regarding domestic water storage tanks. Alternatively, if needed, kindly assist us to direct these questions to the relevant people. Many thanks!

Best regards,
Ike Domenden
Sustainable Infrastructure Engineering
(Building Services)

Summary + Reader Response (Draft 3)

In the article “Trains on the North-South, East-West lines safe for service”, the Land Transport Authority (LTA, 2016) wrote that despite undergoing rectification works, the trains that have been in the media spotlight are safe for service. According to LTA, all new trains are tested before they are put into service. For defective trains, immediate action was taken to prevent defects from resurfacing during train operation. Hairline cracks that were discovered during inspection were confirmed to not affect operational safety. Nevertheless, to ensure that there are sufficient trains for commuters, all affected trains were sent back, one at a time, for rectification. Stringent checks would also be performed regularly to ensure operational safety of all trains. However, LTA should have made further investigation, if purchasing trains manufactured from CSR Sifang, is the most ideal choice.

Firstly, the article mentions that ‘these hairline cracks were due to localised impurity in the aluminium car-body material’, however, it fails to mention on the severity of the condition. “As one engineer put it, impurities in aluminium alloy is a catastrophic problem - in any industry. The structure may be sound initially, but its durability will definitely be compromised” (Tan.C, 2016). This proves that the trains may not have been the most ideal choice as the quality standard of the train is lowered due to the impurities in the material found in the train. CSR Sifang trains are the first batch of trains that have experienced this problem. “C151, the predecessor of C151A, has been manufactured by Kawasaki Heavy Industries in Japan since the 1980s. The two models share similar designs, but the C151 has been used by the SMRT since 1987 without experiencing cracks.” (Lai, M. H. S. 2016). Although ‘C151’ trains have been in service for more than 20 years, it has not experienced any cracks. Whereas the ‘C151A’ trains which has been in service for less than 10 years, has given so many problems till date.  In this case, CSR Sifang is not the ideal choice as the life span of the train is being compromised and the quality is not up to standard.

Moreover, the hairline cracks were not only the major issue caused by C151A trains. “On 17 December 2011, seven SMRT trains stalled on the North South Line causing the worst disruption in the entire SMRT history. The disruption across 12 stations from Marina Bay to Ang Mo Kio station lasted for at least seven hours, affecting at least 94,000 commuters” (Chew Hui Min, 2015). The main cause of this massive disruption is due to the stalling of the trains which had Current Collector Device (CCD) damaged. As the one of the engineer mentions that “the immediate cause of the stalling of the trains was damage to their Current Collector Device (CCD) “shoes” due to sagging of the “third rail” which supplies electrical power to the trains”. In this case, due to the poor quality of the CCD, it was not able to send the electricity signal to the train. As the report mentions “During both incidents, sections of the third rail sagged after multiple “claws” which hold up the third rail above the track bed, were dislodged”. This has caused a massive disruption that and proves that CSR Sifang trains are not the ideal choice of trains for service.

In conclusion, LTA should do their best to avoid these incidents from occurring and having a safe journey for its commuters. Although Singapore has ten of the best city train network in the world, these are some of the minor/major issues that may lower the standard of quality.

Chew Hui Min (2015, July 8) Power shutdown at North-South, East-West lines: Past major train disruptions. The Straits Times. Retrieved from http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/transport/power-shutdown-at-north-south-east-west-lines-past-major-train-disruptions

Gwyn Topham. (2014, Febuary 18) Ten of the best city train networks – in pictures. The Guardian. Retrieved from 

https://www.theguardian.com/cities/gallery/2014/feb/18/ten-best-city-train-networks-in-pictures

Ministry of transport (2012). Report of the committee of inquiry into the disruption of MRT train services on 15 and 17 December 2011(Research Report). Retrieved from http://www.mot.gov.sg/news/COI%20report%20-%20Executive%20Summary.pdf

Land Transport Authority (2016, July 06). Trains on the North-South and East-West Lines Safe for Service. Land Transport Authority Press Room. Retrieved from

https://www.lta.gov.sg/apps/news/page.aspx?c=2&id=0f8b1220-0289-4bef-99c9-b2455f17a66c#_ftn1

Lai, M. H. S. (2016, July 05). Secret Recalls: China manufacturer for MTR secretly recalls 25 SMRT subway trains after cracks found. FactWire News Agency. Retrieved from https://www.factwire.news/en/MTR-securetly-recall.html

Tan, C. (2016). Nothing routine about MRT cracks. Retrieved from

http://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/nothing-routine-about-mrt-cracks

Summary + Reader response Draft 2

In the article “Trains on the North-South, East-West lines safe for service”, the Land Transport Authority (LTA, 2016) wrote that despite undergoing rectification works, the trains that have been in the media spotlight are safe for service. According to LTA, all new trains are tested before they are put into service. For defective trains, immediate action was taken to prevent defects from resurfacing during train operation. Hairline cracks that were discovered during inspection were confirmed to not affect operational safety. Nevertheless, to ensure that there are sufficient trains for commuters, all affected trains were sent back, one at a time, for rectification. Stringent checks would also be performed regularly to ensure operational safety of all trains. However, LTA should have made further investigation, if purchasing trains manufactured from CSR Sifang, is the most ideal choice.

Firstly, the article mentions that ‘these hairline cracks were due to localised impurity in the aluminium car-body material’ but the article fails to mention who is responsible for these hairline cracks. When the hairline cracks were discovered, LTA had an immediate response and had the entire exterior body changed of each affected trains as it was still under warranty. As sending back all 26 trains in one shot would cause a massive shortage of trains, LTA decided to send the trains one at a time. Though the trains had defects, it was still safe for commuters to travel.

Moreover, the hairline cracks were not only the major issue caused by C151A trains. On 17 December 2011, seven SMRT trains stalled on the North South Line causing the worst disruption in the entire SMRT history. The disruption across 12 stations from Marina Bay to Ang Mo Kio station lasted for at least seven hours, affecting at least 94,000 commuters. The main cause of the stalling of the trains was damage to their Current Collector Device (CCD) ‘shoes’ due to sagging of the ‘third rail’ which supplies electrical power to the trains.

Furthermore, When LTA sent out its tender for the next generation of C151 trains, there were 4 companies interested in this tender with Mitsubishi Corporation being the most expensive and Hyundai Rotem being the cheapest tender. LTA offered the tender to KHI-CSR despite not being the cheapest company. In my opinion, if finance was not the main priority, LTA should have over looked at other factors such as safety or quality of the trains in which KHI-CSR failed to perform well. As according to Asiaone, CSR Sifang made a bid for subway train contract for Boston in 2014. However, it was later eliminated when Massachusetts transport official ruled that the technical, manufacturing and quality assurance components of its bid were 'unacceptable' (Christopher Tan, 2016).

Although the C151A, from CSR Sifang, trains have caused many problems, LTA has still persisted on buying more trains from KHI-CSR. LTA purchased 57 new trains from the company. The contract names are C151B and C151C which would enter service from 2016 onwards. Moreover, the Thomson Line trains (Contract T251) are also ordered from KHI-CSR as well. LTA purchased 91 trains at the price of $749 million. In my opinion, LTA should have looked at other alternative companies such as Bombardier or Alstom to purchase better and more reliable trains.

In conclusion, LTA should do their best to avoid these incidents from occurring and having a safe journey for its commuters. Although Singapore has ten of the best city train network in the world, these are some of the minor/major issues that may lower the standard of quality.

Chew Hui Min (2015, July 8) Power shutdown at North-South, East-West lines: Past major train disruptions. The Straits Times. Retrieved from http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/transport/power-shutdown-at-north-south-east-west-lines-past-major-train-disruptions

Christopher Tan (2016, July 14) Nothing routine about MRT cracks. Asia One. Retrieved from: http://news.asiaone.com/news/transport/nothing-routine-about-mrt-cracks

Gwyn Topham. (2014, Febuary 18) Ten of the best city train networks – in pictures. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/cities/gallery/2014/feb/18/ten-best-city-train-networks-in-pictures

KAWASAKI HEAVY INDUSTRIES, LTD/CSR QINGDAO SIFANG CO. LTD/KAWASAKI HEAVY INDUSTRIES (SINGAPORE) PTE. LTD. CONSORTIUM AWARDED PRESTIGIOUS CONTRACT WORTH $749 MILLION (2014, MAY 28). In LTA news page. Retrieved from https://www.lta.gov.sg/apps/news/page.aspx?c=2&id=f0b205a6-69ab-49b0-b94d-65384ee5e5c0

Mass Rapid Transit (Singapore). (2016), from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_Rapid_Transit_(Singapore)

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE OF INQUIRY INTO THE DISRUPTION OF MRT TRAIN SERVICES ON 15 AND 17 DECEMBER 2011. (2012). Retrieved July 3 2012, from 

http://www.mot.gov.sg/news/COI%20report%20-%20Executive%20Summary.pdf

TRAINS ON THE NORTH-SOUTH AND EAST-WEST LINES SAFE FOR SERVICE (2016, July 6). In LTA news page. Retrieved from https://www.lta.gov.sg/apps/news/page.aspx?c=2&id=0f8b1220-0289-4bef-99c9b2455f17a66c#_ftn1

Summary draft 1B

In the article “TRAINS ON THE NORTH-SOUTH AND EAST-WEST LINES SAFE FOR SERVICE”, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) (2016) wrote that the trains that have been in the media spotlight are safe for service. According to LTA, all new trains are tested before they are put into service. For defective trains, immediate action was taken to prevent defects from resurfacing during train operation. Hairline cracks that were discovered during inspection were confirmed to not affect operational safety. Nevertheless, to ensure that there are sufficient trains for commuters, all affected trains were sent back, one at a time, for rectification. Stringent checks would also be performed regularly to ensure operational safety of all trains.

LTA should have further investigated if purchasing trains which are manufactured by CSR Sifang could have been the most affordable and ideal choice.

Singaporeans rely highly on public transport to travel around. To meet its growing demand, LTA had to order new trains for the North-South-East-West line (NSEWL).  Before the purchase of the C151A trains, there were 106 trains in operation mainly from Japan contract named C151, C751B and Germany contract named C651. The trains were fully manufactured and designed in their country of origin.

The article mentions that ‘these hairline cracks were due to localised impurity in the aluminium car-body material’ but the article fails to mention who is responsible for these hairline cracks. When the hairline cracks were discovered, LTA took immediate response and had the entire body changed of each affected trains as it was still under warranty. As sending back all 26 trains in one shot would cause a massive shortage of trains, LTA decided to send the trains one at a time. Though the trains had defects, it was still safe for commuters to travel.

Moreover, the hairline cracks were not only the major issue caused by C151A trains. On 17 December 2011, seven SMRT trains stalled on the North South Line causing the worst disruption in the entire SMRT history. The disruption across 12 stations from Marina Bay to Ang Mo Kio station started at 6.50am and lasted for at least seven hours, affecting at least 94,000 commuters. The main cause of the stalling of the trains was damage to their Current Collector Device (CCD) ‘shoes’ due to sagging of the ‘third rail’ which supplies electrical power to the trains.

Although the C151A, from CSR Sifang, trains have caused many problems, LTA has still persisted on buying trains from KHI-CSR. LTA purchased 57 new trains from the company. The contract names are C151B and C151C which would enter service from 2016 onwards. Moreover, the Thomson Line trains (Contract T251) are also ordered from KHI-CSR as well. LTA purchased 91 trains at the price of $749 million.

Although Singapore has one of the best city train network in the world, these are some of the minor/major issues that may lower the standard of quality. LTA should do their best to avoid these incidents from re-occurring again and having a smooth journey for its commuters.

TRAINS ON THE NORTH-SOUTH AND EAST-WEST LINES SAFE FOR SERVICE (2016, July 6). In LTA news page. Retrieved from https://www.lta.gov.sg/apps/news/page.aspx?c=2&id=0f8b1220-0289-4bef-99c9b2455f17a66c#_ftn1

KAWASAKI HEAVY INDUSTRIES, LTD/CSR QINGDAO SIFANG CO. LTD/KAWASAKI HEAVY INDUSTRIES (SINGAPORE) PTE. LTD. CONSORTIUM AWARDED PRESTIGIOUS CONTRACT WORTH $749 MILLION (2014, MAY 28). In LTA news page. Retrieved from https://www.lta.gov.sg/apps/news/page.aspx?c=2&id=f0b205a6-69ab-49b0-b94d-65384ee5e5c0

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE OF INQUIRY INTO THE DISRUPTION OF MRT TRAIN SERVICES ON 15 AND 17 DECEMBER 2011. (2012). Retrieved July 3 2012, from 

http://www.mot.gov.sg/news/COI%20report%20-%20Executive%20Summary.pdf

Gwyn Topham. (2014, Febuary 18) Ten of the best city train networks – in pictures. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/cities/gallery/2014/feb/18/ten-best-city-train-networks-in-pictures

Chew Hui Min (2015, July 8) Power shutdown at North-South, East-West lines: Past major train disruptions. The Straits Times. Retrieved from http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/transport/power-shutdown-at-north-south-east-west-lines-past-major-train-disruptions

Mass Rapid Transit (Singapore). (2016), from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_Rapid_Transit_(Singapore)

Things to work on this trimester.

Hola!!

English has always been an important part of my life. As I am taking the Effective Communication Module in SIT, there are a few things I would love to improve on from this module.

Firstly, I would want to improve on my sentence structure such as the dangling modifier. I also have the habit of adding extra words such as the word 'would'. Secondly, I want to stay on the topic. I realised whenever I am writing long articles or summary, I tend to go out of topic and make errors. Staying on topic is important so that the summary is short and sweet. Lastly, I would love to focus on the tenses of the sentences. For example would be verb tense and past tense.

These are the few things I would love to improve on and use it in the future.
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Commented on Danish and Fazira on 09/12/2016

Post updated on 23/09

Summary of article: LTA - Draft 1.

In the article “TRAINS ON THE NORTH-SOUTH AND EAST-WEST LINES SAFE FOR SERVICE”, the Land Transport Authority (2016) wrote that the North-South and East-West Lines (NSEWL) trains, that have been in the media spotlight, are safe for service.

According to the Land Transport Authority (LTA), testing is conducted on all new trains, including the Kawasaki Heavy Industries and CSR Sifang (KHI-CSR) trains in question, before they are put into service. For these trains, immediate action was taken to prevent issues with battery housing as well as cracks of the draughtscreen from resurfacing during train operation.

Hairline cracks were discovered on the car-body bolster of the train during inspection. These were confirmed by LTA to not affect operational safety. Nevertheless, all the affected trains were gradually being sent back for modification.

To ensure that there are sufficient trains for commuters, only one train was sent back at a time due to “time consuming and labour-intensive” rectification works. These replacements can be completed as early as 2019 as more trains will be sent back concurrently starting next year.

LTA stated that they would perform stringent checks regularly to ensure operational safety of all trains.

LTA could have further investigated if purchasing trains which are manufactured by CSR Sifang could have been the most affordable and ideal choice. There are many other train companies offering better and cheaper trains. Moreover, when LTA sent out the tender, KHI-CSR was the second most expensive company. 

Singaporeans rely highly on public transport to travel around. To meet its growing demand, LTA had to order new trains for the North-South-East-West line (NSEWL).  Before the purchase of the C151A trains, there were 106 trains in operation mainly from Japan (C151, C751B) and Germany (C651). The trains were fully manufactured and designed in their country of origin.

When LTA sent out its tender, there were 4 companies interested in the tender. The companies were Bombarider offering the most expensive cost, Kawaski & CSR Sifang, Mitsubishi Corporation and lastly Hyundai Rotem offering the cheapest manufacturing cost. Though KHI-CSR was not the cheapest tender, there are speculations into why Hyundai Rotem was not given the offer, being the cheapest. Although C151A has got numerous faults and defects, the new trains C151B and C151C are also bought from the same manufacturer. Moreover, the new Thomson Line trains (T251) are also bought from the same manufacturer.

The main cause of the hairline cracks was due to the impurity in the material which CSR Sifang had used for the C151A train body bolster. LTA together with Kawasaki, inspected the situation and had the entire car body changed as it was still under waranty. As the trains are being sent back to China for its bodywork replacement, older trains such as the C651 had to resume its operation. Starting in 2016, the trains were supposed to cease operation and go through refurbishment works. However, due to this incident, all the old trains had to resume operation to meet its demand. When more new trains (C151C) arrive this year, the new trains would replace the old trains and go through refurbishment works.

The hairline cracks were not only the major issue caused by C151A trains. In December 2011, during the evening peak hours, 2 SMRT trains stalled on the North South Line causing the worst disruption in the entire SMRT history. The cause of the stalling of the trains was damage to their Current Collector Device (CCD) “shoes” due to sagging of the “third rail” which supplies electrical power to the trains.

Although Singapore has one of the best city train network in the world, these are some of the minor/major issues that may lower the standard of quality. LTA should do their best to avoid these incidents from occurring again.

TRAINS ON THE NORTH-SOUTH AND EAST-WEST LINES SAFE FOR SERVICE (2016, July 6). In LTA news page. Retrieved from https://www.lta.gov.sg/apps/news/page.aspx?c=2&id=0f8b1220-0289-4bef-99c9b2455f17a66c#_ftn1

KAWASAKI HEAVY INDUSTRIES, LTD/CSR QINGDAO SIFANG CO. LTD/KAWASAKI HEAVY INDUSTRIES (SINGAPORE) PTE. LTD. CONSORTIUM AWARDED PRESTIGIOUS CONTRACT WORTH $749 MILLION (2014, May 28). In LTA news page. Retrieved from https://www.lta.gov.sg/apps/news/page.aspx?c=2&id=f0b205a6-69ab-49b0-b94d-65384ee5e5c0

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE OF INQUIRY INTO THE DISRUPTION OF MRT TRAIN SERVICES ON 15 AND 17 DECEMBER 2011. (2012). Retrieved July 3 2012, from 
http://www.mot.gov.sg/news/COI%20report%20-%20Executive%20Summary.pdf

Gwyn Topham. (2014, Febuary 18) Ten of the best city train networks – in pictures. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/cities/gallery/2014/feb/18/ten-best-city-train-networks-in-pictures

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Commented on Ruzaini blog post on 09/12/2016

Formal Letter

To: Brad Blackstone

From: Abiali

Subject: Introduction Of Myself

Dear Brad,

I am currently studying Sustainable Infrastructure Engineering in SIT. Previously, I had studied diploma in Mechatronics Engineering at Temasek Polytechnic. Personally, my interest would be machines. I would dismantle a broken machine and make it in a good working condition. In this way, I would like to improve our train system in Singapore. Furthermore, my favorite sports is cycling. It helps me to relax my mind from the hectic life. My goals for studying in SIT would be to graduate with a degree that can not only benefit myself but also the people around me. My personal aim for studying in this course would be to work in the transport system line and make it as reliable and efficient as possible.

Thank you for your time and hope to see you soon.

Regards,
Abiali
SIE Student

Post updated on 14/9
Commented on Danish Khairen Post On 17/09

The importance of English

The importance of English 

English is the most commonly used language around the world. It helps us to communicate with people be it in engineering, business or any other aspect. As an engineering student, I use English to help me innovate new products be it in a team or as an individual. For example, writing formal emails improves communication amongst my team members when doing a certain project, thus preventing miscommunication.

English language can also be a barrier when communicating with foreigners. A prime example would be Japan as their forte is engineering. When i visited Japan in 2013, I had difficulty communicating with the people there as they were not exposed to speaking in English since young. Thus, I faced difficulty when communicating with them. As a result, I had to speak in a simpler English language such that its easier for them to understand. Moreover, as an individual who has grown up learning English, I may also face some language barriers as my language is poor and sometimes not correctly used.

However, English can also be used as a tool to teach individuals skills used in their everyday life. A very good example would be math. Math is used in everywhere in our daily life be it to purchase food from the market or calculating your monthly income. Therefore, the English medium would be appropriate to allow students in understanding math easily, aiding them in their daily calculations. Math also helps me understand few of the modules I am studying in SIT such as Mechanics or Engineering Mathematics. It helps me to visualise the problem and thus, solving it.

Since English is the most commonly used language, it can help me to further improve my knowledge with regards to my own personal interest and create more engineering opportunities in the world.

Post updated on 15/9
Post updated on 20/9
Commented on Fazira post on 15/9
Commented on Frankie Savior post on 17/09