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.

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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