Critical Reflection 2: Presentation Showcase

The most attention catching presentation of the day would be the Team SFLR. Even though the team was the last group to present, they managed to get everyone’s attention by their enthusiastic voice. They spoke with confidence and engaging tone and successfully woke everyone up from a long day. 

The team’s topic was clearly presented and can be easily understood by the audiences with their articulate speech and the use of visual aids on the slides. It was clear that instead of memorizing the contents, they had their contents ingrained in their mind. This showed that they had done an excellent job in project research as most of the slides had only pictures shown. Every member of the team presented their parts verbally with only picture on the slides, this further grabbed the attention of the audience and made the audience curious and focus on what they are going to bring up next. The use of body language was good enough to make their presentation look natural.

Overall,  although their proposed solution still has some weaknesses just like the judge had mentioned, but in terms of presentation, the Team SFLR did an excellent work. I think the most important thing about a good presentation should not be only about comprehensive contents, but also to getting the audiences’ attention. Lastly, the presentation showcase was really a good opportunity for students to step out of their comfort zone and enhance their confident level. 

Critical Reflection 1: Module & Project Learning

At the beginning of the course, my communication and writing skills were poor, for example, I was unable to express the things I want to deliver in a proper sentence, therefore I aimed to improve on these areas.

First of all, the effective communication lessons were fun and entertaining, which made learning interesting. There were many opportunities that allowed us to discuss as a pair or a group, this helped me to enhance my communication skill and to step out of my comfort zone to share my ideas with my classmates effectively. After been through the course, I have made some progress on what I set as my goal. The reader response and summary article assignments have boosted not only my skill in writing, but also improve my reading skill. As of now, I will take an extra step whenever I am writing, which is to check my grammar carefully. Moreover, reading news articles has also become one of my habits now. Even though there is no more effective communication lesson, I will continue to read news or articles as to further improve in my communication skills.

The group project was beneficial to develop our teamwork and communication skills. Working in a team is not easy as we possess different strengths and weaknesses, thus we have to communicate effectively in order to understand one another better. In this way, we can combine forces and work in a more effective way. In addition, I also learnt to respect other’s ideas and contributing my own to work towards a common goal. As there were some disagreement at the start, but we managed to resolve on a topic which all of us agreed.

The team presentation was never been easy for me since polytechnic days, as I always get very nervous, tends to tremble and even lost my words when doing public speaking. In order to overcome these problems, we arranged meet up to do rehearsal presentation in front of our peer teams. In the process, we helped to point out one another’s weaknesses and learnt from them, so as not to make the same mistakes.

Lastly, with our team efforts, both of our technical report and team presentation were successfully completed, and this proved teamwork is the key to succeed. In future when working as a team either in school or work space, we must respect one another’s ideas and cooperate with one another as everyone has different area of expertise.

Tech Report (Draft #2)

Executive Summary

Report on the solution to having cleaner indoor air using electrostatic precipitators to filter out PM2.5 particles from circulation indoors.

Background

Despite being a clean and green country, the carbon emissions in Singapore is relatively high in proportion to its size. This proposal is a response to the poor air quality that we breathe in due to the high carbon emissions.

Singapore is one of the most well-established countries in the world. We have many vehicles roaming our streets along with industrial building constantly releasing harmful particles into the air daily. A research done by the National Climate Change Secretariat of Singapore (2018) stated that “Singapore contributes to 0.11% of the global emissions”. The percentage may seem small, but considering the size of our country, it is a rather large contribution. The article further shows that Singapore ranks 123rd place in terms of CO2 per dollar GDP, ahead of countries like the United Kingdom and France which are many times larger than our country. This shows that Singapore does have an issue with air pollution.

Air is essential to every human being, however, the air that we are breathing in could be affecting our health in the long run. Such harmful particles are known as ‘particulate matter 2.5’, PM2.5. It refers to tiny particles that are 2.5 micrometers (µm) or less in diameter, often called fine PM. PM2.5 causes by men are more severe than natural sources, the particles are directly emitted into the air from motor vehicles, forest burnings, and industrial gases. As they are so small and light, they stay longer in the air causing the air to be polluted and increases the chances of people inhaling it. Due to their tiny size, the particles can enter our lungs and circulatory system. This could cause health hazards both in the short and long run. An article published on the US National Library of Medicine National Institute of Health (NCBI, 2002) stated that “Long-term exposure to combustion-related fine particulate air pollution is an important environmental risk factor for cardiopulmonary and lung cancer mortality.” Based on a guideline by the World Health Organisation (WHO, 2018), the PM2.5 levels should be at 10µgc annual mean and 25µgc for 24 hours mean. According to the psi index by The National Environment Agency (2018), the psi levels in Singapore currently falls within the range of 50μg/m3 to 60μg/m3 daily, which are beyond the levels listed by WHO.

The factors which have contributed to PM 2.5 in Singapore are mainly from vehicles and industrial factories. These PM 2.5 can also be the product formed by chemical reactions in the atmosphere. An article by The Straits Times stated that “due to the concentration of particle vapour and local emissions - from cars and factories”. These small-sized particles are not entirely from the neighbouring country that carries out deforestation which in the later part of the article stated, “experts point to culprits closer to home: factories and cars”.  

During the haze period, one of the strategies that Singaporeans use to counter haze problem is to stay indoors and use air-conditioners, as is it advisable to limit outdoor activities when the PSI level is high. While all doors and windows are closed, it can limit the particles in the haze from entering the houses. However, conventional air-conditioners are unable to filter the tiny particles like PM2.5, so there are still chances of breathing them in.

When indoors, the air condition will always be on. A building grade air conditioning uses Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning system, known as HVAC. The main purpose of a HVAC system is to provide thermal comfort and acceptable indoor air quality. The most common HVAC system used in buildings are called packaged rooftop units. Unlike the split system which is used in residential air conditioning units, it has everything stored in one unit, therefore the name packaged. The packaged rooftop units include an evaporator coil, fan, compressor, condenser and are situated on the roof.

Problem Statement

An ideal innovative campus should adopt an advanced approach which can circulate clean indoor air and provide a conducive environment to study without being affected by the air quality. Due to the location of the SIT@Dover, the air quality is affected by the carbon emission of cars along the highway and the industrial buildings near the coast, resulting in a build-up of air pollution around the school which would be harmful to students. Inserting electrostatic precipitators to the air cons, it will filter out PM2.5 particles from the indoor air and circulate back clean air around the room.

Purpose Statement

The purpose of this report is to propose to the facility manager of SIT@Dover to install electrostatic precipitators into the current campus and, to emphasise to the facility manager that this advance approach can provide a clean and conducive learning space for the students and staff alike.

Proposed Solution

Our proposed solution to removing PM2.5 particles from circulation is to introduce electrostatic precipitators in our air conditioning filters. Electrostatic Precipitator is a highly effective device that removes suspended dust particles that are smaller than PM 10 by applying a high-voltage electrostatic charge and collecting the particles on charged plates. Clean air would then be distributed back out for circulation.


Figure 1. PowerClean™ Electrostatic Precipitator with Automatic Cleaning

Benefits of Electrostatic Precipitator

The are many benefits that Electrostatic Precipitator provides which are: able to remove tiny dust particles which are as small as PM 0.01 and ease of operation. This shows that this precipitator is definitely a great investment which SIT@Dover can consider as the location of the school is situated beside the expressway. Thus, it is beneficial for the students as the students are able to study comfortably without any difficulties in concentrating due to the dust.  ...                                                                                                                                                 
Summary of benefits of using electrostatic precipitator filter.

Clean air

The electrostatic precipitator would be able to circulate clean air around the room by removing small dust particles from the air. It would improve the respiratory health of students and staff.

Low operating costs

With the installation of electrostatic precipitators, it has a long service life and requires little maintenance as well as low operating costs unless used at high efficiencies. This would prove to be a good investment in the long run with its low operating costs.


Evaluation

Electrostatic Precipitators have a high capital cost which is a big factor to consider before installing it on the campus. This will most likely be the biggest factor as campuses are funded by the government and may not have the budget to install these filters on a large scale. On top of that, the electrostatic precipitators are not flexible. Once installed, it is hard to move it.

However, with all this limitation in place, the advantages outweigh them all. As most HVAC systems are located on the roof, the space that an electrostatic precipitator needs is not a big issue. The installation of these precipitators will most likely be permanent which means that flexibility will not be an issue either. 

Limitations of Electrostatic Precipitator

However, nothing is perfect. There are also some disadvantages of Electrostatic Precipitators, for example, the system is difficult to change working conditions once it is installed for the air-conditioner and it is bulky.

The electrostatic precipitator can only be used to collect dry and wet pollutants. It cannot collect gaseous pollutants.

In addition, it requires a high initial cost to install, not practical for small industry or household use.

Moreover, the equipment itself is quite expensive and periodically maintenance cost is high and taking extra space.


References

Ambient (Outdoor) Air Quality and Health. (2018). Retrieved October 31, 2018, http://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/ambient-(outdoor)-air-quality-and-health

Pope CA 3rd, Burnett RT, Thun MJ, Calle EE, Krewski D, Ito K, Thurston GD. (2002). Lung cancer, cardiopulmonary mortality, and long-term exposure to fine particulate air pollution. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11879110

https://www.haze.gov.sg/home

PowerClean™ Electrostatic Precipitator with Automatic Cleaning [Image]. Retrieved from http://www.airscrubbersinc.com/products/kitchen-exhaust-electrostatic-powerclean.htm

Singapore’s Emissions Profile. (2018). Retrieved October 31, 2018, https://www.nccs.gov.sg/climate-change-and-singapore/national-circumstances/singapore's-emissions-profile

Aggarwal, N. (2013). Working of electrostatic precipitators with its advantages and disadvantages. Retrieved from https://www.indiastudychannel.com/resources/140937-Working-of-electrostatic-precipitators-with-its-advantages-and-disadvantages.aspx

Tech Report (Draft #1)

Despite being a clean and green country, the carbon emissions in Singapore is relatively high in proportion to its size. This proposal is a response to the poor air quality that we breathe in due to the high carbon emissions.

Singapore is one of the most well-established countries in the world. We have many vehicles roaming our streets along with industrial building constantly releasing harmful particles into the air on a daily basis. In fact, a research by the National Climate Change Secretariat of Singapore stated that “Singapore contributes to 0.11% of the global emissions”. The percentage may seem small, but considering the size of our country, it is a rather large contribution. The article further shows that Singapore ranks 123rd place in terms of CO2 per dollar GDP, ahead of countries like the United Kingdom and France which are many times larger than our country. This shows that Singapore does have an issue with air pollution. 

Air is essential to every human being, however, the air that we are breathing in could be affecting our health in the long run. Such harmful particles are known as ‘particulate matter 2.5’, PM2.5. It refers to tiny particles that are 2.5 micrometers (µm) or less in diameter, often called fine PM. PM2.5 causes by men are more severe than natural sources, the particles are directly emitted into the air from motor vehicles, forest burnings, and industrial gases. As they are so small and light, they stay longer in the air causing the air to be polluted and increases the chances of people inhaling it. Due to their tiny size, the particles are able to enter our lungs and circulatory system. This could cause health hazards both in the short and long run. An article published on the US National Library of Medicine National Institute of Health (NCBI, 2002) stated that “Long-term exposure to combustion-related fine particulate air pollution is an important environmental risk factor for cardiopulmonary and lung cancer mortality.”Based on a guideline by WHO, the PM2.5 levels should be at 10µgc annual mean and 25µgc for 24 hours mean. According to the psi index by NEA, the psi levels in Singapore currently falls within the range of 50 to 60µgc which are beyond the the levels listed in the WHO guidelines

The factors which have contributed to PM 2.5 in Singapore are mainly from vehicles and industrial factories. These PM 2.5 can also be the product formed by chemical reactions in the atmosphere. An article by The Straits Times stated that “due to the concentration of particle vapour and local emissions - from cars and factories”. These small-sized particles are not entirely from the neighbouring country that carries out deforestation which in the later part of the article stated “experts point to culprits closer to home: factories and cars”.  

During the haze period, one of the strategies that Singaporean use to counter haze problem is to stay indoors and use air-conditioners, as is it advisable to limit outdoor activities when the PSI level is high. While all doors and windows are closed, it can limit the particles in the haze from entering the houses. However, conventional air-conditioners are unable to filter the tiny particles like PM2.5, so there are still chances of breathing them in. 

When indoors, the air conditional will always be on. A building grade air conditioning uses Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning system, known as HVAC. The main purpose of a HVAC system is to provide thermal comfort and acceptable indoor air quality. The most common HVAC system used in buildings are called packaged rooftop units. As the name goes, it is located on the rooftops.

An ideal innovative campus should adopt an advanced approach which can circulate clean indoor air and provide a conducive environment to study without being affected by the air quality. Due to the location of the SIT@Dover, the air quality is affected by the carbon emission of cars along the highway and the industrial buildings near the coast. This results in a build-up of air pollution around the school which would be harmful to students. Inserting electrostatic precipitators to the air cons, it will filter out PM2.5 particles from the indoor air and circulate back clean air around the room. The purpose of this report is to propose to the facility manager of SIT@Dover to install electrostatic precipitators into the current campus and, to emphasise to the facility manager that this advance approach can provide a conducive learning space for the students.

Reader Response (Final Draft)

In the article “4 Ways to Demolish a Building”, Rodriguez (2018) states that there are many considerations to take before resolving the way to demolish a building, and the method used must be safe for the demolition crew and surroundings. He mentions 4 ways to demolish buildings. The author mentions the first technique, implosion, uses explosives to demolish large structures in urban area and it requires comprehensive planning by the blaster crews before carrying out. The second one is the high reach arm method ,which is used to tear down tall buildings from the top by operating machine arm. The third one is wrecking ball method, which demolishes buildings by swinging a heavy ball into the structure. The building size is limited by using this method. Moreover, it requires professional crane operator and will cause pollutions. Lastly, selective demolition is an environmentally friendly and cost saving method as it allows the demolition crew to recycle materials. However, it requires manpower and it is not efficient for light-framed buildings.

While Rodriguez mentions that large structures are commonly demolished by using implosion technique in the urban areas, bringing down a building by explosives is not applicable when the buildings are close together. Moreover, it will cause danger to the surroundings and demolition becomes even harder. Under these circumstances, implosion is not suitable to be implemented in urban areas.

First of all, the use of implosion technique is not always effective and safe in urban areas. In the news article, Mahmud (2017) reported that it is not a good idea to implement implosion method in Singapore. As Singapore is a city with buildings closely built with one another, the explosion will affect the neighboring structures. The worst scenario can be the demolition crews do not plan the explosives precisely enough, the explosion might not be able to bring down the building completely at once. Then, it will become very dangerous for the demolition workers to deal with afterwards, because the structure of the building is already damaged and may collapses on itself in any second. In addition, based on the article Dave (2017) mentions: “The detonations went off as planned, but nothing fell and the implosion was a failure.” Based on these points, implosion method is not recommended to be use in the urban area, as this method might create danger for the demolition crew.

Secondly, the outcome of using implosion method to ground a building cannot really be predicted. Ramaswamy (2015) states: “The building does what it wants to do in the end.” The demolition of Red Road flats in Glasgow has failed, not because the demolition crew make the mistakes. The reason is that, even though everything is prepared very well, the result cannot always be predicted. As the final stage of implosion cannot be one hundred percent guaranteed. "You can't really test explosives," She elaborated. Although everything goes smoothly, the explosives cannot be really tested before the second they are detonated. Thus, there is a chance of malfunctioning of the explosives. Due to these uncertainties, implosion should not be practiced in urban areas.

Lastly, implosion creates a risk of collision of the structure to the surrounding buildings. This can be supported by the news article “22-Floor Residential Tower in China Demolished, Partially” (2010), where the demolition of a 22-floor building in LiZhou almost cause a disaster. Instead of going all the way down to the ground, the building broke into two parts with one side smash sideways while the other remain standing unstably. This report proved that it is not sure what will actually be happened after detonation. In this case, implementing implosion method to demolish a building in urban area is not wise as it may result in catastrophe such as endanger the surrounding buildings and even the residents.

References

Aqil Haziq Mahmud. (2017). No explosives or swinging balls: How high-rise demolitions go down in Singapore. Channelnewsasia. Retrieved from https://www.channelnewsasia.com

Dave Bartkowiak Jr. (2017). Pontiac Silverdome implosion fail: What went wrong and what happens now. Clickondetroit. Retrieved from https://www.clickondetroit.com

IndiaTVnews. (2010). 22-Floor Residential Tower In China Demolished, Partially. Retrieved from https://www.indiatvnews.com

Ramaswamy.C. (2015). You can’t really test explosives – why demolitions go wrong. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com

Reader Response (Draft #2)

In the article “4 Ways to Demolish a Building”, Rodriguez (2018) states that there are many considerations to take before resolving the way to demolish a building, and the method used must be safe for the demolition crew and surroundings. He mentions 4 ways to demolish buildings. The author mentions the first technique implosion uses explosives to demolish large structures in urban area and it requires comprehensive planning by the blaster crews before carrying out. The second one is the high reach arm method which is used to tear down tall buildings from the top by operating machine arm. The third one is wrecking ball method which demolishes buildings by swinging a heavy ball into the structure. The building size is limited by using this method. Moreover, it requires professional crane operator and will cause pollutions. Lastly, selective demolition is an environmentally friendly and cost saving method as it allows the demolition crew to recycle materials. However, it requires manpower and it is not efficient for light-framed buildings.

Rodriguez mentions that large structures are commonly demolished by using implosion technique in the urban areas. However, bringing down a building by explosives is not applicable when the buildings are close together. Moreover, it will cause danger to the surroundings and demolition becomes even harder. Under these circumstances, implosion is not suitable to be implemented in urban area.

First of all, the use of implosion technique is not always effective and safe in urban areas. In the news article “No explosives or swinging balls: How high-rise demolitions go down in Singapore” (2017) reported by Aqil Haziq, a local award-winning demolition contractor, Mr Lim states that it is not a good idea to implement implosion method in Singapore. As Singapore is a city with buildings closely built with one another, thus the explosion will affect the neighboring structures. What can be the worst scenario? It can be when the demolition crews did not plan the explosives precise enough, the explosion might not be strong enough to bring down the building completely at once. Then, it will become very troublesome and dangerous for the demolition workers to deal with afterwards, because the structure of the building is already damaged and may collapses itself in any second. In addition, based on the article “Pontiac Silverdome implosion fail: What went wrong and what happens now” (2017), Dave Bartkowiak stated: “The detonations went off as planned, but nothing fell and the implosion was a failure.” Based on these points, implosion method is not recommended to be use in the urban area, as this method might create danger for the demolition crew.

Secondly, the outcome of using implosion method to ground a building cannot really be predicted. Based on the news article “‘You can’t really test explosives’ – why demolitions go wrong.” (2015), Thompson, a safety officer at DSR Demolition in South Yorkshire, stated: “The building does what it wants to do in the end.” The demolition of Red Road flats in Glasgow has failed, not because the demolition crew make the mistakes. The reason is, even though everything is prepared very well, the result cannot always be according to what has been planned. As the final stage of implosion cannot be one hundred percent guaranteed. "You can't really test explosives" Thompson elaborated. Although everything goes smoothly, the explosives cannot be really tested before the second they are detonated. Thus, there is a chance of malfunctioning of the explosives. Due to these uncertainties, implosion should not be practiced in urban area.

Lastly, implosion creates a risk of collision of the structure to the surrounding buildings. This can be supported by the news article “22-Floor Residential Tower in China Demolished, Partially” (2010), where the demolition of a 22-floor building in LiZhou has almost cause a disaster. Instead of going all the way down to the ground, the building broke into two parts with one side smash sideways while the other remain standing unstably. Through this report, it’s proved that it is not sure what will actually be happened after detonation. In this case, implementing implosion method to demolish a building in urban area is not wise as it may result in catastrophe such as endanger the surrounding buildings and even the residents.

References

Aqil Haziq Mahmud. (2017). No explosives or swinging balls: How high-rise demolitions go down in Singapore. Channelnewsasia. Retrieved from https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/no-explosives-or-swinging-balls-how-high-rise-demolitions-go-9425362

Dave Bartkowiak Jr. (2017). Pontiac Silverdome implosion fail: What went wrong and what happens now. Clickondetroit. Retrieved from https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/pontiac-silverdome-implosion-fail-what-went-wrong-and-what-happens-now-

IndiaTVnews. (2010). 22-Floor Residential Tower In China Demolished, Partially. Retrieved, September 30, 2018, from https://www.indiatvnews.com/entertainment/masala/22-floor-residential-tower-in-china-demolished-partially-210.html

Ramaswamy.C . (2015). ‘You can’t really test explosives’ – why demolitions go wrong. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/business/shortcuts/2015/oct/12/explosives-demolitions-go-wrong-red-road-flats-glasgow-controlled

Reader Response (Draft #1)

In the article “4 Ways to Demolish a Building”, Rodriguez (2018) states that there are many considerations to take before resolving the way to demolish a building, and the method used must be safe for the demolition crew and surroundings. He mentions 4 ways to demolish buildings. The author mentions the first technique implosion uses explosives to demolish large structures in urban area and it requires comprehensive planning by the blaster crews before carrying out. The second one is the high reach arm method which is used to tear down tall buildings from the top by operating machine arm. The third one is wrecking ball method which demolishes buildings by swinging a heavy ball into the structure. The building size is limited by using this method. Moreover, it requires professional crane operator and will cause pollutions. Lastly, selective demolition is an environmentally friendly and cost saving method as it allows to recycle materials. However, it requires manpower and not efficient for light-framed buildings.

Rodriguez mentions that large structures are commonly demolished by using implosion technique in the urban areas. However, bringing down a building by explosives is not applicable when the buildings are close together. Moreover, it will cause danger to the surroundings and make it even harder to be demolished. Under these circumstances, high reach arm method is more suitable to be implemented in urban area.

First of all, the use of implosion technique is not always as effective and safe in urban areas. In the news article “No explosives or swinging balls: How high-rise demolitions go down in Singapore” (2017) reported by Aqil Haziq, a local award-winning demolition contractor, Mr Lim states that implosion method is not a good idea to be implemented in Singapore. As Singapore is a city with buildings closely built with one another, thus the explosion will affect the neighboring structures. What can be the worst scenario? It can be when the demolition crews did not plan the explosives precise enough, the explosion might not be strong enough to bring down the building completely at once. It will become very troublesome and dangerous for the demolition workers to deal with afterwards, because the structure of the building is already damaged and may collapses on itself anytime. In addition, based on the article “Pontiac Silverdome implosion fail: What went wrong and what happens now” (2017), Dave Bartkowiak stated: “The detonations went off as planned, but nothing fell and the implosion was a failure.” Based on these points, implosion method is not recommended to be use in the urban area, as this method might endanger the surrounding buildings.

Secondly, the outcome of using implosion method to ground a building cannot really be predicted. Based on the news article “‘You can’t really test explosives’ – why demolitions go wrong.” (2015), Thompson, a safety officer at DSR Demolition in South Yorkshire, stated: “The building does what it wants to do in the end.” The demolition of Red Road flats in Glasgow has failed, not because the demolition crew make the mistakes. The reason is, even though everything is prepared very well, the result cannot always be according to what has been planned. As the final stage of implosion cannot be one hundred percent guaranteed, this creates a risk of collision of the structure to the surrounding buildings. This can be further supported by the news article “22-Floor Residential Tower in China Demolished, Partially”, where the demolition of a 22-floor building in LiZhou has almost cause a disaster. Instead of going all the way down to the ground, the building broke into two parts with one side smash sideways and the other remain standing. Through the points elaborated, it’s proved that it is not certain what will actually be happened after detonation. In this case, implementing implosion method to demolish a building in urban area is not wise as it may result in serious disasters.

Lastly, due to the uncertainty of using implosion technique and the danger it might bring about, high reach arm demolition method is safer and better to be carry out in urban area. There are many advantages by using high reach excavator. Based on the article “High-Reach Excavators Increase Demolition Accuracy”, the author states a few benefits. He mentioned that high reach arm improves accuracy and efficiency. Due to the different building structures that the demolition crews have to deal with, high reach excavator makes it convenient as the head of the arm is changeable. This allows the operator to pick the most suitable machine head to do the job. In this way, the quick swapping of demolition techniques also saves time. Moreover, he also mentioned it enhances the safety of demolition crews, because they can dismantle the building by operating the high reach excavator from a distance, such that the falling fragments will not post danger to workers. Furthermore, the author stated: “More flexible in tight spot”. As I mentioned earlier, high reach arm can overcome the weakness faced by implosion, as it can be operated accurately even in narrow locations. With the above benefits, high reach arm method allows the workers to decide which area to be demolish first rather than using explosive with uncertainty.

References

Aqil Haziq Mahmud. (2017). No explosives or swinging balls: How high-rise demolitions go down in Singapore. Channelnewsasia. Retrieved from https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/no-explosives-or-swinging-balls-how-high-rise-demolitions-go-9425362

Dave Bartkowiak Jr. (2017). Pontiac Silverdome implosion fail: What went wrong and what happens now. Clickondetroit. Retrieved from https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/pontiac-silverdome-implosion-fail-what-went-wrong-and-what-happens-now-

IndiaTVnews. (2010). 22-Floor Residential Tower In China Demolished, Partially. Retrieved, September 30, 2018, from https://www.indiatvnews.com/entertainment/masala/22-floor-residential-tower-in-china-demolished-partially-210.html

Ramaswamy.C . (2015). ‘You can’t really test explosives’ – why demolitions go wrong. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/business/shortcuts/2015/oct/12/explosives-demolitions-go-wrong-red-road-flats-glasgow-controlled

High-Reach Excavators Increase Demolition Accuracy. (2012). Elder Demolition. Retrieved, September 27, 2018 from https://www.elderdemolition.com/commercial-industrial-demolition-high-reach-excavators-benefits-09-2012/

Summary Article (Draft #2)

In the article “4 Ways to Demolish a Building”, Juan Rodriguez (2018) states that there are many considerations to take before resolving the way to demolish a building, and the method used must be safe for the demolition crew and surroundings. He mentions 4 ways to demolish buildings. Firstly, implosion is a technique which uses explosives to demolish large structures in urban area and it requires comprehensive planning by the blaster crews before carrying out. Secondly, high reach arm method is used to tear down tall buildings from the top by operating machine arm. Thirdly, wrecking ball method demolishes buildings by swinging a heavy ball into the structure. The building size is limited by using this method. Moreover, it requires professional crane operator and will cause pollutions. Lastly, selective demolition is an environmentally friendly and cost saving method as it allows to recycle materials. However, it requires manpower and not efficient for light-framed buildings.

The article mentions that large structures are commonly demolished by using implosion technique in the urban areas. However, bring down a building by explosives is not applicable when the buildings are close together. Moreover, it will result in pollution to the city and may endanger the surroundings. Thus, high reach arm method is more suitable to be implemented in urban area.

References

Aqil Haziq Mahmud. (2017). No explosives or swinging balls: How high-rise demolitions go down in Singapore. Channelnewsasia. Retrieved from https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/no-explosives-or-swinging-balls-how-high-rise-demolitions-go-9425362

Chitra Ramaswamy. (2015). ‘You can’t really test explosives’ – why demolitions go wrong. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/business/shortcuts/2015/oct/12/explosives-demolitions-go-wrong-red-road-flats-glasgow-controlled

High-Reach Excavators Increase Demolition Accuracy. (2012). Elder Demolition. Retrieved, September 27, 2018 from https://www.elderdemolition.com/commercial-industrial-demolition-high-reach-excavators-benefits-09-2012/

Summary Article (Draft #1)

There are many considerations to take before resolving the way to demolish a building, and the method must be safe for the demolition crew and surroundings. Firstly, implosion is a technique which uses explosives to demolish large structures in urban area and it needs comprehensive planning by the blaster crew before carrying out. Secondly, high reach arm method is used to tear down tall buildings from the top to bottom by operating machine arm. Thirdly, wrecking ball is used to break down small size buildings by swinging a heavy ball into the structure. This method requires professional crane operator. Lastly, selective demolition is a safe and cost saving method as it allows to recycle materials. However, it is labor-intensive and not efficient for light-framed buildings (Juan Rodriguez, 2018).

Self Introduction

Subject: Self introduction

Dear Professor,

My name is Hou Yang and I am writing this to you to let you know more about me. I was graduated from Temasek Polytechnic this year with a diploma in Aerospace Electronics. My hobby is to watch Japanese anime and learn about their culture. Although I never been to Japan, I love the culture and environment of the country. Moreover, one of my Cross Disciplinary Subject (CDS) in polytechnic is Japanese Language.

Since I am a foreigner, I do not have to serve national service, thus I considered to further my studies. During the open house, I was attracted by the IWSP which offers by SIT, because I felt that the polytechnic internship was really useful and allow me to apply the knowledge that I learnt from my modules into real life application. Not only that, experience also can be gained from the guiding of my supervisor and colleges. Therefore, I believe the IWSP will enhance the academic studies by putting them into workplace.

My weakness in communication is that English was my weakest subject since primary school. Since my first language is Chinese and my family also communicates in Chinese, these make me harder to pronounce English. Also, I’m not so confident in speaking in English. The Strength I have in communication is that I am willing to interact with people.

My goal for this Effective Communication module is to improve my communication and writing skills, as well as building up confidence. I found that is it very important to communicate and write well especially during work, as I often need to discuss with my supervisor and colleague and send emails to customers and suppliers. I believe this skill will be useful in life.

I hope this module will help me to enhance my skills in communication and writing.

Best regards,

Hou Yang

Reflection on real life (Unit 3 Task 2)

Since secondary school, falling asleep in the classes and lectures have been a problem to me for many years. I just cannot seem to focus throughout the entire lesson. This makes me to miss some information during lectures or classes. Then, I have to do self study at home to learn what was being taught, which resulting in spending more time.

I have tried many ways to prevent myself from dreaming in the class, for examples, drinking a lot of water, sleeping early at night or eating sweets, but this problem still exists sometimes.