Critical Reflection

I recall coming into the Effective Communication module not knowing what to expect. I was thinking to myself what more can this module offer? How will this module benefit me and fit me nicely into the engineering industry. Wouldn’t this be just another going-through-the-motion module where we just do the bare minimum to get by?

Low and behold, I was so surprised that this module is one of the modules which kept us busy and on our toes all the time. I managed to impress myself that within such a short period of about less than 3 months my team (Team Javelin) and I managed to churned a complete technical report with proper sources cited and in-depth research done. We sat down for hours in discussion, met through our busy schedule and even managed to have group discussion kilometers away from each other. By some ‘force of nature”, we all have the intention to produce the best presentation we could. We all wanted to give our best and did our best. My team and I even managed to emerge the best team by popularity votes.

This module actually pushed me further and got me out of my comfort zone. We all learned a lot from this module, from proper writing to a complete proper technical report. These skills picked up will come to use in our careers.

With all these new skills acquired, there is definitely a need for constantly practice and improvement. We surely had benefitted a lot and gained valuable knowledge. I’m glad overall I managed to improve my writing and presentation abilities.

Mapletree Reflection

Attending the Mapletree Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum 2019 gives me better knowledge on the required mindset of entrepreneurs. It provides valuable insights of critical and successful thinking of entrepreneurs.

Mr. Eugene Wong and Mr. Zach Wilson were insightful. However Ms. Nancy Ling’s and Mr. Shamir Rahim’s sharing got my attention and had lasting impression on me.

Being the only female in the group, Ms. Nancy Ling impressed me as I can only think how she overcomes gender inequality, emerged prominent in the male dominated playing field and let alone, being in the biodegradable business. It’s noble and admirable wanting to make a difference and create environmental friend products. However, being the co-founder of Eco U, I’m more intrigued by her boldness entering the biodegradable product business. More so as she harness motivation from the her competitors.

Mr. Shamir Rahim’s innovation propelled the family’s logistic business to another level. What got me thinking was how he bring about convincing the staff and the family to adopt new technology and start getting use to the new “norm”. I understand making changes to comfortable norms are tall orders which i had experience in. It’s one of the burning question I would like to ask in the forum but I thought I’ll just enjoy the rest of the forum from my seat.

To conclude, the forum is enriching and insightful. What could go wrong with the somewhat “flawless” business plan, likely will go wrong. Knowing that even successful entrepreneurs, met with constant failures and setbacks. And that education can prepare us for the imminent hiccups in our careers and businesses, is very much a great confidence booster and good motivation.

Summary Annotation

Wells, M (2018). Hot-in-Place Asphalt Recycling Yields Benefits for Road Rehabilitation. Informed Infrastructure.

This article focuses on the benefits of Hot-In-Place Asphalt Recycling (HIR). It looks at both the key features of HIR process, and the criteria required for HIR to be suitable for any project. It focused on HIR’s ability to save energy, time and material, and careful evaluation of the project is required to ensure the repaved road will not deteriorate prematurely. The article is written in January 2018 with reference to the American civil engineering industry. The author aims to raise awareness of the benefits of HIR process and how it can be implemented successfully given the right considerations.

(112 words)

Reader Respond Draft 3

In the article, “Boy Genius Boyan Slat’s Giant Ocean Machine Is Real”, Schiller (2017) explores the potential of a huge ocean cleaning initiative envisioned by Slat. According to the article, the discovery of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch by Charles Moore in 1997 led to Slat starting the development of the Ocean Cleanup machine in 2011. The article states that Slat’s design functions as colossal floating booms that will entrap and gather waste which will allow for convenient disposal. He also made significant improvements to the design in hopes of increasing efficiency, reducing cost, saving time and effort. The article also reported a prototype testing which will be done later in the year and how the project is funded by various companies and individuals. A former failed prototype provided insights on how Slat can improve on his design. Slat claims to have done extensive research on the Patch and estimated tons of waste to be cleaned annually. Schiller learns about Slat’s long term plans during a conversation in which Slate hopes to recycle the plastic waste into useful products and for more companies to invest in the project. While I do agree the Ocean Cleanup initiative is an exceptional method to clean the ocean, there are inefficiency in the machine.

Firstly, the machine is performing rather far from expectation. According to Forebs, three months after its launch and the machine is not trapping plastic as expected. The engineering teams are still finding out cause of the problems and the respective solutions (Kart (2018). Part of the reason could be the design itself. According to KECT, about 98% of the ocean plastic waste consist of small sized plastic which is smaller than the intended machine design of capturing 2cm sized plastic waste (Clarke, 2015). This shows that the machine will not work for majority of the floating plastic wastes which is smaller than what the device was designed to capture, rendering the machine useless.

Secondly, the system requires frequent manual labour and human intervention, which also puts the machine in risk of human errors. According to The Ocean Cleanup, research has been ongoing since 2015 and according to National Geographic, the machine had been assembled for a year and tests were done as well (Parker, 2019). However the machine still fell apart less than a year since launch despite it was assembled but engineers. This shows that despite the tests and checks, human error inevitably still sneaked into the system and played a part in the failure of the device.

Lastly, the device’s durability was not mentioned in the article. According to National Geographic, the machine was towed back to San Francisco in January after a huge chunk of the machine fell apart due to wear-and-tear (metal fatigue) Parker (2019). According to KECT, the pictures of the machine is mainly taken on calm seas and questioned if it can withstand 30-foot waves and ocean storm conditions (Clarke, 2015). It had just barely begun last quarter last year (2018) and a huge piece of the device already dislodged. This shows that the device is not as seaworthy as expected.

In conclusion, I applaud Slat for coming up with this idea and agree that it will successfully clean up the ocean to a certain extent. However, for it to work, there are more factors to consider and efficiency to improve on. By improving the system and increasing the number of deployment to its optimum efficiency, we might finally be able to look back and be proud that our generation managed to return cleaner seas to nature.

References

Chirs Clarke. (2015). 6 Reasons That Floating Ocean Plastic Cleanup Gizmo is a Horrible Idea. Retrieved from https://www.kcet.org/redefine/6-reasons-that-floating-ocean-plastic-cleanup-gizmo-is-a-horrible-idea

Jeff Kart. (2015). The Ocean Cleanup Isn’t Capturing Plastic, But Organizers Are Testing A Solution. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffkart/2018/12/05/the-ocean-cleanup-isnt-capturing-plastic-but-organizers-are-testing-a-solution/#373fedb11749

Laura Parker. (2019). Floating trash collector has setback in Pacific Garbage Patch. Retrieved from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2018/09/ocean-cleanup-plastic-pacific-garbage-patch-news/

The Ocean Cleanup (n.d.) The Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Retrieved from http://www.theoceancleanup.com/great-pacific-garbage-patch/

(657 words)

Reader Respond Draft 2

In the article, “Boy Genius Boyan Slat’s Giant Ocean Machine Is Real”, Schiller (2017) explores the potential of a huge ocean cleaning initiative envisioned by Slat. According to the article, the discovery of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch by Charles Moore in 1997 led to Slat starting the development of the Ocean Cleanup machine in 2011. The article states that Slat’s design functions as colossal floating booms that will entrap and gather waste which will allow for convenient disposal. He also made significant improvements to the design in hopes of increasing efficiency, reducing cost, saving time and effort. The article also reported a prototype testing which will be done later in the year and how the project is funded by various companies and individuals. A former failed prototype provided insights on how Slat can improve on his design. Slat claims to have done extensive research on the Patch and estimated tons of waste to be cleaned annually. Schiller learns about Slat’s long term plans during a conversation in which Slate hopes to recycle the plastic waste into useful products and for more companies to invest in the project.

While I do agree the Ocean Cleanup initiative is an exceptional method to clean the ocean, there are still certain limitations to the machine itself. Firstly the machine is unable to pick up trash lying at the seabed, secondly heavier trash like machinery parts waste cannot be picked up, and lastly it seems like the rate the Great Pacific Garbage Patch growth is ahead and faster than the rate the machine can clean up. Although I agree that the the Ocean Cleanup initiative is an exceptional method to clean the ocean, there are still inefficiency in the system.

Firstly, the machine not working. According to http://www.forbes.com, “Three months in, an ambitious project to clean up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch isn’t capturing tons of plastic as planned.” Kart (2018). According to the article above, the engineering and technology team are still finding out why it’s not working and the solution to the cause of the problem, Kart (2018). According to http://www.kect.rg, “if 98 percent of the problem plastics in our oceans are the size of grains of rice or smaller, building a plastic collector that takes only pieces larger than 2 centimeters from the top three meters of the ocean would seem a fairly useless exercise.” Clarke (2015). Clarke points out that the system will not work especially for majority of the floating plastic wastes which is smaller than what the device was designed to capture.

Secondly, the system requires frequent manual labour and human intervention, which also puts the machine in risk of human errors. Fatigue and various other human factors are mostly considered undesirable in sustainable systems. Human intervention tends to have fluctuating outcomes which lacks consistency. Research had been on-going since 2015 (from http://www.theoceanclaenup.com), the engineering team of The Ocean Cleanup had been assembling the device for a year and tests were done, Parker (2019) from http://www.nationalgeographic.com. However the machine still disintegrate less than a year since launch despite it was assembled but engineers. The point above shows that human factor plays a part in the failure of the device.

Lastly, the device’s durability was not mentioned in the article. According to Parker (2019) “The ocean cleanup contraption developed to collect plastic trash from the Pacific Garbage Patch is being towed back to San Francisco during the first week of January 2019 for repairs, after losing a 60-foot end piece. The break was discovered during a routine inspection and is believed to be caused by metal fatigue, though analysis is still underway.” from http://www.nationalgeographic.com. It had just barely begun last quarter last year (2018) and a huge piece of the device already start to disintegrate. Measures and considerations for rough seas and extreme weather conditions should have been factored in the design to provide maximum efficiency, however it seems like the device is not as seaworthy as expected.

In conclusion, I applauded Slat for coming up with this idea and agree that it will successfully clean up the ocean to a certain extent. However, for it to work, there are more factors to consider and efficiency to improve on. By improving the system and increasing the number of deployment to its optimum efficiency, we might finally be able to look back and be proud that our generation managed to return cleaner seas to nature.

References

Jeff Kart. (December 2015). The Ocean Cleanup Isn’t Capturing Plastic, But Organizers Are Testing A Solution. Retrieve from https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffkart/2018/12/05/the-ocean-cleanup-isnt-capturing-plastic-but-organizers-are-testing-a-solution/#373fedb11749

Chirs Clarke. (June 2015). 6 Reasons That Floating Ocean Plastic Cleanup Gizmo is a Horrible Idea. Retrieve from https://www.kcet.org/redefine/6-reasons-that-floating-ocean-plastic-cleanup-gizmo-is-a-horrible-idea

http://www.theoceancleanup.com/great-pacific-garbage-patch/

Laura Parker. (January 2019). Floating trash collector has setback in Pacific Garbage Patch. Retrieve from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2018/09/ocean-cleanup-plastic-pacific-garbage-patch-news/

Reader Response 1

In the article, “Boy Genius Boyan Slat’s Giant Ocean Machine Is Real”, Schiller (2017) explores the potential of a huge ocean cleaning initiative envisioned by Slat. According to the article, the discovery of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch by Charles Moore in 1997 led to Slat starting the development of the Ocean Cleanup machine in 2011. The article states that Slat’s design functions as colossal floating booms that will entrap and gather waste which will allow for convenient disposal. He also made significant improvements to the design in hopes of increasing efficiency, reducing cost, saving time and effort. The article also reported a prototype testing which will be done later in the year and how the project is funded by various companies and individuals. A former failed prototype provided insights on how Slat can improve on his design. Slat claims to have done extensive research on the Patch and estimated tons of waste to be cleaned annually. Schiller learns about Slat’s long term plans during a conversation in which Slate hopes to recycle the plastic waste into useful products and for more companies to invest in the project.

While I do agree the Ocean Cleanup initiative is an exceptional method to clean the ocean, there are still certain limitations to the machine itself. Firstly the machine is unable to pick up trash lying at the seabed, secondly heavier trash like machinery parts waste cannot be picked up, and lastly it seems like the rate the Great Pacific Garbage Patch growth is ahead and faster than the rate the machine can clean up. Although I agree that the the Ocean Cleanup initiative is an exceptional method to clean the ocean, there are still inefficiency in the system.

Firstly, the machine not working. According to http://www.forbes.com, “Three months in, an ambitious project to clean up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch isn’t capturing tons of plastic as planned.” Kart (2018). According to the article above, the engineering and technology team are still finding out why it’s not working and the solution to the cause of the problem, Kart (2018). According to http://www.kect.rg, “if 98 percent of the problem plastics in our oceans are the size of grains of rice or smaller, building a plastic collector that takes only pieces larger than 2 centimeters from the top three meters of the ocean would seem a fairly useless exercise.” Clarke (2015). Clarke points out that the system will not work especially for majority of the floating plastic wastes which is smaller than what the device was designed to capture.

Secondly, the system requires frequent manual labour and human intervention, which also puts the machine in risk of human errors. Fatigue and various other human factors are mostly considered undesirable in sustainable systems. Human intervention tends to have fluctuating outcomes which lacks consistency. Research had been on-going since 2015 (from http://www.theoceanclaenup.com), the engineering team of The Ocean Cleanup had been assembling the device for a year and tests were done, Parker (2019) from http://www.nationalgeographic.com. However the machine still disintegrate less than a year since launch despite it was assembled but engineers. The point above shows that human factor plays a part in the failure of the device.

Lastly, the device’s durability was not mentioned in the article. According to Parker (2019) “The ocean cleanup contraption developed to collect plastic trash from the Pacific Garbage Patch is being towed back to San Francisco during the first week of January 2019 for repairs, after losing a 60-foot end piece. The break was discovered during a routine inspection and is believed to be caused by metal fatigue, though analysis is still underway.” from http://www.nationalgeographic.com. It had just barely begun last quarter last year (2018) and a huge piece of the device already start to disintegrate. Measures and considerations for rough seas and extreme weather conditions should have been factored in the design to provide maximum efficiency, however it seems like the device is not as seaworthy as expected.

In conclusion, I applauded Slat for coming up with this idea and agree that it will successfully clean up the ocean to a certain extent. However, for it to work, there are more factors to consider and efficiency to improve on. By improving the system and increasing the number of deployment to its optimum efficiency, we might finally be able to look back and be proud that our generation managed to return cleaner seas to nature.

References

Jeff Kart. (December 2015). The Ocean Cleanup Isn’t Capturing Plastic, But Organizers Are Testing A Solution. Retrieve from https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffkart/2018/12/05/the-ocean-cleanup-isnt-capturing-plastic-but-organizers-are-testing-a-solution/#373fedb11749

Chirs Clarke. (June 2015). 6 Reasons That Floating Ocean Plastic Cleanup Gizmo is a Horrible Idea. Retrieve from https://www.kcet.org/redefine/6-reasons-that-floating-ocean-plastic-cleanup-gizmo-is-a-horrible-idea

http://www.theoceancleanup.com/great-pacific-garbage-patch/

Laura Parker. (January 2019). Floating trash collector has setback in Pacific Garbage Patch. Retrieve from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2018/09/ocean-cleanup-plastic-pacific-garbage-patch-news/

Summary Draft 2

In the article, “Boy Genius Boyan Slat’s Giant Ocean Machine Is Real”, Schiller (2017) explores the potential of a huge ocean cleaning initiative envisioned by Slat. According to the article, the discovery of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch by Charles Moore in 1997 led to Slat starting the development of the Ocean Cleanup machine in 2011. The article states that Slat’s design functions as colossal floating booms that will entrap and gather waste which will allow for convenient disposal. He also made significant improvements to the design in hopes of increasing efficiency, reducing cost, saving time and effort. The article also reported a prototype testing which will be done later in the year and how the project is funded by various companies and individuals. A former failed prototype provided insights on how Slat can improve on his design. Slat claims to have done extensive research on the Patch and estimated tons of waste to be cleaned annually. Schiller learns about Slat’s long term plans during a conversation in which Slate hopes to recycle the plastic waste into useful products and for more companies to invest in the project.

While I do agree the Ocean Cleanup initiative is an exceptional method to clean the ocean, there are still certain limitations to the machine itself. Firstly the machine is unable to pick up trash lying at the seabed, secondly heavier trash like machinery parts waste cannot be picked up, and lastly it seems like the rate the Great Pacific Garbage Patch growth is ahead and faster than the rate the machine can clean up.

(188 words)

 

Summary Draft 1

In the article “Boy Genius Boyan Slat’s Giant Ocean Machine Is Real”, Schiller (2017) explores the potential of a huge ocean cleaning initiative envisioned by young prodigy, Slat. According to the article, in 1997, oceanographer Charles Moore uncovered the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch” which consist of accumulated plastic waste due to human activities. In response to this issue of environmental degradation, 17 years old Slat (2011) imagined a future possibility of a “Ocean Cleanup machine” to clean up the “Patch”. Slat (2017) had made a formal statement to start this endeavour in 2018. The article states that Slat’s design functions as colossal floating “booms” that will entrap and gather waste which will allow for convenient disposal by boat at regular intervals. He also made significant changes to the design in hopes of increasing efficiency, reducing cost, saving time and effort. The article also mentions a prototype testing later in the year and how the project is funded by various companies and individuals. A former failed prototype had also provided insights on how Slat can improve on his design. Slat claims to have done extensive research on the “Patch” and estimated a clean up rate of “tens of thousands of tons” of waste per annum. Schiller learns about Slat’s long term plans during a conversation in which he(Slat) hopes to recycle the plastic waste into useful products and for more companies to invest in the clean up project.

237 words

Self Introductory Letter

From:
Alvin Ong Jun Wei
CVE1281
Group 2
1801471@sit.singaporetech.edu.sg

Date: 11 January 2019

To:
Ms. Gan Sujia
Effective Communication
sujia.gan@singaporetech.edu.sg

Subject: Self introduction, strengths and challenges in communication.

Dear Ms. Gan Sujia,

I’m Alvin from CVE1281 Group2. I have a degree and Marketing and prior to that, I also acquired diploma in Electronic Engineering.

Being in the construction industry for more than half a decade, I felt the importance of in-depth knowledge in Civil Engineering. Therefore, I enrolled myself, with the support of my company, into the Work-Study-Program by SIT for Civil Engineering. I believe after acquiring the knowledge and the proper certifications, I would be able to better contribute to the company and the industry.

I would attribute one of my strengths in communication to be able to find the right words and making intended message, spoken or written, more palatable and agreeable.

One of my many weaknesses would have to be being too detailed and often elaborate messages beyond necessary.

The short-term goal I would hope to achieve in this module is to be able to learn the various methods of communication and the correct formats. Eventually I would like to have the confidence, equipped with strong skillsets, to communicate with any level of the industry hierarchy.

Thank you for your time. Any comments and feedbacks are greatly appreciated.


Best regards,

Alvin Ong
CVE1281
Group 2

(Updated on 21st January 2019)