Monday, 4 December 2017

Critical Reflection

Refer to the goals you set yourself at the start of the course (Blogpost 1). Critically reflect on the extent to which you have achieved (or not) the said objectives. You might also reflect on what you have done, as well as what you would do, to further improve your communication skills.

Coming to an end of our Effective Communication module journey, I have learnt a lot more about communication, about myself and many more opportunities to grow. During the first blog post, I have mentioned that my goal in the module is to learn how to slow down and start to listen actively before trying to speak.

In this module, all thanks to all the chances to work in different teams, I am able to learn more about communicating in teams and with different people. Even though I am constantly trying to be conscious about listening actively first, I feel that I am improving slowly towards my goal. I hope that this can be something that I can do subconsciously and as a habit. During the team project, it was very important that we have to meet up together, discuss on various aspects and communicate. As much as I want to enjoy the process, I wished for my teammates to enjoy it as well. Hence I hoped that even if we have different opinions, we would agree to disagree, we have to be able to listen to each other and state our own opinions without hostility at the same time. This really made great practice for me and my dearest teammates were very patient with me as well, which I am very grateful for.  


I feel that with the support from my teammates, it boosted my confidence greatly, knowing that they are here for me and I am here for them. Even though the project timeline was quite hectic with our tests and other assignments, I am thankful for everyone’s efforts to contribute and help one another. I have really learnt a lot from this module and my fellow peers, I will take all of these experiences with me gratefully and will strive to further improve myself. Thank you for the learning opportunities and priceless experiences.

Monday, 20 November 2017

Proposal Draft 3 - Current Implementation

1.2 Current Implementations
Efforts have been invested by both the authorities and respective bike-sharing operators,
including Mobike, to minimize indiscriminate parking.

1.2.1 Penalty Fee by Land Transport Authority (LTA) to Bike-Sharing Firms
For any indiscriminately parked Mobikes found by The Land Transport Authority (LTA),
Mobike will have to pay a total of S$100 and a fine to retrieve the impounded bike.

1.2.2 Yellow Boxes Used as Designated Parking Areas
Yellow boxes have been marked out islandwide to encourage riders to orderly park the
bikes at designated locations in public spaces. However, there are still many public-sharing
bike users that irresponsibly park the bikes.
1.2.3 Credit System
Every Mobike user is entitled to 100 credits. Poor parking practices or irresponsible usage
of the bikes will result in the loss of credits thus imposing higher charges for the usage of a
Mobike. However, this credit system is ineffective as inconsiderate users can easily switch
to another public-sharing bike operator when he or she has to pay a higher fare.

1.2.4 Geostations
Geostations is the most recent solution agreed to be implemented by Mobike and four
other public bike-sharing operators to control indiscriminate parking. Although
Geostations is an effective solution to the indiscriminate parking of Mobikes, the problem
of overcrowding and high cost of implementing Geostations is of concern. Furthermore,
reaching a consensus among all public bike-sharing operators on a common geofencing
system to be installed on all the bikes and designated parking areas will be a challenge.

Tuesday, 7 November 2017

Analytical Reflection

It is always better to prepare ahead for any presentation, but I was not prepared for the mock oral presentation. Our slides were incomplete as we spent a lot of time amending our proposal draft and I was too unprepared for it. I did not manage to rehearse my slides and straight went into the mock presentation in which right in the beginning of my part, I blanked out for quite a long time because I could not recall what RFID stood for. And because I was unprepared, I became too nervous and ended up pacing too fast. This is the first time and will be the last time that this will happen as I hope to be able to step up confidently and speak even more fluently to catch the attention of the audience. I will make sure that I prepare ahead of time and rehearse more to familiarise myself with the content I will be presenting on.

During the presentation, I also realised that I need to have more eye contact with my audience as I noticed my eye contact drifted off in the midst of the presentation. Moreover, I feel that I can do even better in articulating my words and points, portray more enthusiasm and passion by varying my tone, control facial expressions and gestures. For me, it is a very natural thing to vary my tone to emphasize on certain points but I believe that I can do even better. I also think that when something goes wrong during my presentation, my facial expression shows it all, which is definitely not a good thing. I want to be able to appear calm no matter what questions or issues are thrown at me. I also think that I can be more conscious about the gestures I make as well, because all of my gestures were made naturally, but I think that I should be more conscious of my actions and know when to exaggerate them.


I think that thinking in the shoes of the audience will help me learn to be more audience-centred when I am presenting. I feel that, despite the rushed work and shortcomings, I am really glad to have learnt more about myself and even more from my peers as we stand against obstacles together. 

Sunday, 29 October 2017

Project Proposal Report (2nd draft)


An existing solution implemented by SG Bike to control “indiscriminate parking” is the use of Geostations. According to SG Bike (n.d.), this system utilizes a yellow box which will be drawn out as the virtual docking station. They stated that a small device will be located near the yellow box emitting a fixed range of signal that communicates  with the bikes. This system ensures that bikes are parked within the yellow box as not doing so will result in five continuous beeps from the bikes. Users will then be notified through mobile phone reminding them to park within the yellow box. SG Bike mentioned that the users must re-park the bicycle correctly within fifteen minutes to avoid the fine of a dollar that will be deducted from the user’s E-Wallet account. They also added that repeated offenders may face an increase in the penalty charges.

Wednesday, 25 October 2017

Project Proposal Report (1st draft)

Background
In year 2017, public bike-sharing platforms such as oBike, Ofobike and Mobike started to make its way to our lion city. Locals were considerably receptive to these newly introduced platforms as it enabled some to exercise on their way to work or to school and head anywhere they desire when public transport operators are closed. However, soon after the platforms were introduced, several problems arose. One of the problems included bad parking practices exhibited by users of the bikes, known as “indiscriminate parking”. Lim stated that indiscriminate parking had led to the bicycles becoming a public nuisance as it had obstructed the path of wheelchair and mobility aid users and often posed as an obstruction to pedestrians and drivers (Lim,2017). Channel News Asia published an article stating that even the Land Transport Authority (LTA) had to step in to resolve the problem of “indiscriminate parking” (Lim, 2017). He also stated a new framework had been introduced to push public-bike operators in ensuring their users park their bikes properly and at areas which pose no obstruction or danger to others.

Despite the efforts made by the authorities and bike-operators, measures that had been implemented have failed given that there are still cases of public-sharing bicycles not being parked at its designated parking areas which in turn makes it difficult for prospective users to locate the bike when he or she wishes to use it. Furthermore, based on our personal experiences, some of us face the problem of not being able to find the bicycle even though we have arrived at the location stated on the application’s GPS which indicates an available bike. This problem occurs when users bring the bicycle up to the level of their houses and lock it. Hence, the GPS may state an available bicycle at the block, however prospective users may not be able to find it as the bicycle is at an unknown level in the block.

We aim to resolve this bugging issue with a low cost yet feasible solution. We are proposing an add-on to every bike-sharing application whereby users would have to scan a unique QR code at the designated public parking area before locking their bike and ending their trip. There would be a window of 30 seconds for the user to scan the code located next to the designated public parking area and proceed to lock the bike. To ensure that users do not manipulate this function, the unique QR code is only valid if its location matches the exact location of the bike. This ensures that the user parks his or her bike in the marked out yellow parking boxes or at least near the designated parking areas. As a result, users would not be able to abuse their right to park anywhere causing obstruction and prevents inconsiderate users who would bring the bike up to their homes in HDB flats, claiming it for their own personal use. This would then allow prospective users to be able to locate the bikes easier as they would know where the usual designated parking areas are at and resolves the issue of “indiscriminate parking” providing peace and convenience for the community.

In conclusion, “indiscriminate parking” is a severe issue that needs to be resolved quickly for the safety and convenience of the public as well as to reduce losses of public-bike sharing operators. Thus, the additional QR code scanning function for parking proposed would be a quick and low-cost solution that builds on the existing features of the application resolving the pending issue.

Friday, 13 October 2017

Reader Response

In the article, “Dubbed 'the best in class': 6 things about Hong Kong's MTR rail system.”, Lee (2015) states that Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan thinks highly of Hong Kong’s Mass Transit Railway (MTR) and suggested that local transportation sectors should use MTRC as a guideline for its “reliability standards”. According to MTRC and SMRT’s annual reports, as compared to Singapore, New York and London, Hong Kong’s subway system yields the highest “system’s farebox recover ratio”. The length of MTR’s railway surpasses SMRT’s by 59km and even though both faces the same amount of significant hold ups, the punctuality of SMRT trains is 3.9% lesser than MTR. MTRC invested a larger amount of their earnings on enhancing train systems and ensures that commuters enjoy a smooth ride by having a much higher inspection frequency than SMRT while being meticulous in examining the railway lines. MTRC aims to rectify any issues or faults that arises under two minutes with the introduction of the “Super Operations Control Centre” which oversees the entire railway system, resolving emergencies with their fast reaction.

Looking at the comparisons between Hong Kong’s MTRC and Singapore’s SMRT, there are many aspects which SMRT can learn from MTR and improve on. In particularly, SMRT should form a rapid response team, implement crowd control plans and training to improve efficiency during breakdowns.

In order for SMRT to swiftly solve breakdown faults and redirect commuters to travelling alternatives, staff need to be deployed as soon as possible to affected areas and carry out their assigned duties promptly. Although SMRT makes use of various real time monitoring systems, they have to recall staff from various departments and other stations to provide support at the affect stations through the command centre (Lee, 2017; see also SMRT, 2015). This takes time for their staff to assemble and relay instructions, hence delaying service recovery. According to the MTR Sustainability Report 2016, MTR formed multiple rapid response units with different specialisations such as the Infrastructure Maintenance Rapid Response Unit, Rolling Stock Rapid Response Unit and the Customer Service Support Team (CSST). Teams are deployed immediately when there are issues and perform their duties simultaneously so that train services can be resumed (MTR, 2016). Training and forming specialized teams will help prepare for future problems, respond faster to break downs and also build up an extensive chain of command to improve communication and efficiency.

Secondly, being able to redirect commuters to the shuttle bus services in an orderly manner to avoid confusion is also crucial in handling train disruptions so that commuters can continue on their journey and allow technical staff to conduct the necessary checks. Lee (2015) noted that MTR provides shuttle bus for commuters when needed. According to MTRC (n.d.), MTR has various crowd control measures which they execute correspondingly to the situation. They also make use of queue barriers and staff carrying sign boards to indicate shuttle bus queue lines so that commuters know where to queue for buses. In a recent news article, Ong (2017) stated that during the train delay, the SMRT shuttle bus services were lacking signage which caused confusion when queuing. From this, it is clear that SMRT needs to improve further on crowd controlling.

I believe that forming specialized teams will help SMRT prepare for future problems, respond faster to breakdowns and also build up an extensive chain of command to improve communication and efficiency, improving customer satisfaction.

Reference
Lee, Min Kok (2015, October 29). Dubbed 'the Best in Class': 6 Things about Hong Kong's MTR Rail System. Retrieved from

Mass Transit Railway (2016). Sustainability Report 2016. Retrieved from

Singapore Mass Rapid Transit (2015, November 12). SMRT Maintenance Operation Centre Improving Rail Reliability. Retrieved from

Lee, Ling Wee (2017, April 7). All-of-SMRT Approach to keeping MRT Train Services Moving. Retrieved from

Mass Transit Railway (n.d.). Understanding Our Crowd Management Measures. Retrieved from

Ong, Justin (2017, August 19). 'Can't you use GPS?': A train delay, a bus ride gone south and a day to remember, retrieved from
 

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/can-t-you-use-gps-a-train-delay-a-bus-ride-gone-south-and-a-day-9134672

Sunday, 1 October 2017

Reader Response Draft 2

In the article, “Dubbed 'the best in class': 6 things about Hong Kong's MTR rail system.”, Lee (2015) has stated that Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan, thought highly of Hong Kong’s Mass Transit Railway (MTR) and suggested that local transportation sectors should use MTRC as a guideline for its “reliability standards”. Based on MTR’s and SMRT’s  annual reports, comparing Hong Kong to Singapore, New York and London, Hong Kong’s subway system yields the highest “system’s farebox recovery ratio”. Looking at both the MTR and SMRT’s railway systems, the length of MTR’s railway surpasses SMRT’s by 59km. The punctuality of SMRT trains is 3.9% lesser than MTR even though both countries face the same amount of significant hold ups. Looking at the expenditure of profits on enhancing train systems, MTR invested a larger amount of their earnings compared to SMRT. MTR also ensures that their passengers enjoy a safe and smooth ride by having much higher inspection frequency compared to SMRT and being meticulous in examining the railway lines. MTRC aims to rectify any issues or faults that arises under two minutes with the introduction of the “Super Operations Control Centre” which oversees the entire railway system, resolving emergencies with their fast reaction.

Looking at the comparisons between Hong Kong’s MTR and Singapore’s SMRT, there are many aspects which SMRT can learn from MTR and improve on. One of it is for SMRT to form a rapid response team, implement crowd control plans and training to improve efficiency during breakdowns.

In order for SMRT to swiftly solve breakdown faults and redirect commuters to travelling alternatives, staff need to be deployed as soon as possible to affected areas and carry out their assigned duties promptly. As mentioned in the MTR Sustainability Report 2016, MTR formed multiple rapid response units with different specialisations such as the Infrastructure Maintenance Rapid Response Unit, Rolling Stock Rapid Response Unit and the Customer Service Support Team (CSST). Teams are deployed immediately when there are issues and perform their duties simultaneously so that train services can be resumed. Although SMRT makes use of various real time monitoring systems, they have to recall staff from various departments and other stations to provide support at the affect stations through the command centre. This takes time for their staff to assemble and relay instructions, hence delaying service recovery. Training and forming specialized teams will help prepare for future problems, respond faster and also build up an extensive command tree to improve communication and efficiency.

Secondly, being able to redirect commuters to the shuttle bus services clearly in an orderly manner is also crucial in handling train disruptions so that they can continue on their journey and allow technical staff to conduct the necessary checks. In the article, “Dubbed 'the best in class': 6 things about Hong Kong's MTR rail system.”, Lee (2015) noted that MTR provides shuttle bus for commuters when needed. In the article Understanding Our Crowd Management Measures, MTR stated various crowd control measures which they execute correspondingly to the situation. They also make use of queue barriers and staff carrying sign boards to indicate shuttle bus queue lines so that commuters know where to queue for buses. In the news article 'Can't you use GPS?': A train delay, a bus ride gone south and a day to remember, Ong (2017) stated that during the train delay, the SMRT shuttle bus services were lacking signage which caused confusion when queuing. From this, it is clear that SMRT needs to improve further on crowd controlling.


I believe that by forming specialized teams will help prepare for future problems, respond faster and also build up an extensive command tree to improve communication and efficiency, giving commuters quality service

Reference
Lee, Min Kok (2015, October 29). “Dubbed 'the Best in Class': 6 Things about Hong Kong's MTR Rail System.” The Straits Times, retrieved September 14, 2017, from

Mass Transit Railway (2016). Sustainability Report 2016, retrieved from
Singapore Mass Rapid Transit (2015, November 12). SMRT Maintenance Operation Centre Improving Rail Reliability, retrieved from
http://blog.smrt.com.sg/smrt-maintenance-operation-centre-improving-rail-reliability/

Lee, Ling Wee (2017,April 7). All-of-SMRT Approach to keeping MRT Train Services Moving, retrieved from
http://blog.smrt.com.sg/all-of-smrt-approach-to-keeping-mrt-train-services-moving/

Mass Transit Railway (n.d.). Understanding Our Crowd Management Measures, retrieved September 17, 2017, from
http://www.mtr.com.hk/en/customer/main/crowd_control.html

Ong, Justin (2017, August 19). 'Can't you use GPS?': A train delay, a bus ride gone south and a day to remember, retrieved September 18, 2017 from
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/can-t-you-use-gps-a-train-delay-a-bus-ride-gone-south-and-a-day-9134672

Thursday, 28 September 2017

Reader Response Draft 1

In the article, “Dubbed 'the best in class': 6 things about Hong Kong's MTR rail system.”, Lee (2015) has stated that Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan, thought highly of Hong Kong’s Mass Transit Railway (MTR) and suggested that local transportation sectors should use MTRC as a guideline for its “reliability standards”. Based on MTR’s and SMRT’s  annual reports, comparing Hong Kong to Singapore, New York and London, Hong Kong’s subway system yields the highest “system’s farebox recovery ratio”. Looking at both the MTR and SMRT’s railway systems, the length of MTR’s railway surpasses SMRT’s by 59km. The punctuality of SMRT trains is 3.9% lesser than MTR even though both countries face the same amount of significant hold ups. Looking at the expenditure of profits on enhancing train systems, MTR invested a larger amount of their earnings compared to SMRT. MTR also ensures that their passengers enjoy a safe and smooth ride by having much higher inspection frequency compared to SMRT and being meticulous in examining the railway lines. MTRC aims to rectify any issues or faults that arises under two minutes with the introduction of the “Super Operations Control Centre” which oversees the entire railway system, resolving emergencies with their fast reaction. 

Looking at the comparisons between Hong Kong’s MTR and Singapore’s SMRT, there are many aspects which SMRT can learn from MTR and improve on, and one of it is for SMRT to form a rapid response team and implement crowd control plans and training to improve efficiency during breakdowns.

In order for SMRT to swiftly solve breakdown faults and redirect commuters to travelling alternatives, staff need to be deployed as soon as possible to affected areas and carry out their assigned duties promptly. As mentioned in the MTR Sustainability Report 2016, MTR formed multiple rapid response units with different specialisations such as the Infrastructure Maintenance Rapid Response Unit, Rolling Stock Rapid Response Unit and the Customer Service Support Team (CSST). They are deployed immediately when there are issues and perform their duties simultaneously so that train services can resume. Although SMRT makes use of various real time monitoring systems together with the new Maintenance Operation Centre (MOC), they have to recall staff from various departments and other stations to provide support at the affected stations through the command centre which takes time for their staff to assemble and relay instructions, delaying service recovery.

Secondly, being able to redirect commuters to the shuttle bus services clearly in an orderly manner is also crucial in handling train disruptions so that they can continue on their journey and allow technical staff to conduct the necessary checks. In the article Understanding Our Crowd Management Measures, MTR stated various crowd control measures which they execute correspondingly to the situation. They also make use of queue barriers and staff carrying sign boards to indicate shuttle bus queue lines so that commuters know where to find the buses. In the news article 'Can't you use GPS?': A train delay, a bus ride gone south and a day to remember, Ong (2017) actually stated that during the train delay, the SMRT shuttle bus services were lacking of signage which caused confusion when queuing and resulted in overcrowding.

I believe that by forming specialized teams will help prepare for future problems, respond faster and also build up an extensive command tree to improve communication and efficiency, giving commuters quality service.


Reference
Lee, Min Kok (2015, October 29). “Dubbed 'the Best in Class': 6 Things about Hong Kong's MTR Rail System.” The Straits Times, retrieved September 14, 2017, from

Mass Transit Railway (2016). Sustainability Report 2016, retrieved from
Singapore Mass Rapid Transit (2015, November 12). SMRT Maintenance Operation Centre Improving Rail Reliability, retrieved from
http://blog.smrt.com.sg/smrt-maintenance-operation-centre-improving-rail-reliability/

Lee, Ling Wee (2017,April 7). All-of-SMRT Approach to keeping MRT Train Services Moving, retrieved from
http://blog.smrt.com.sg/all-of-smrt-approach-to-keeping-mrt-train-services-moving/

Mass Transit Railway (n.d.). Understanding Our Crowd Management Measures, retrieved September 17, 2017, from
http://www.mtr.com.hk/en/customer/main/crowd_control.html

Ong, Justin (2017, August 19). 'Can't you use GPS?': A train delay, a bus ride gone south and a day to remember, retrieved September 18, 2017 from
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/can-t-you-use-gps-a-train-delay-a-bus-ride-gone-south-and-a-day-9134672




Sunday, 24 September 2017

Summary Draft 2 + Thesis Statement

In the article, “Dubbed 'the best in class': 6 things about Hong Kong's MTR rail system.”, Lee (2015) has stated that Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan, thought highly of Hong Kong’s Mass Transit Railway (MTR) and suggested that local transportation sectors should use MTRC as a guideline for its “reliability standards”. Based on MTR’s and SMRT’s  annual reports, comparing Hong Kong to Singapore, New York and London, Hong Kong’s subway system yields the highest “system’s farebox recovery ratio”. Looking at both the MTR and SMRT’s railway systems, the length of MTR’s railway surpasses SMRT’s by 59km. The punctuality of SMRT trains is 3.9% lesser than MTR even though both countries face the same amount of significant hold ups. Looking at the expenditure of profits on enhancing train systems, MTR invested a larger amount of their earnings compared to SMRT. MTR also ensures that their passengers enjoy a safe and smooth ride by having much higher inspection frequency compared to SMRT and being meticulous in examining the railway lines. MTRC aims to rectify any issues or faults that arises under two minutes with the introduction of the “Super Operations Control Centre” which oversees the entire railway system, resolving emergencies with their fast reaction.

Lee Min Kok (2015, October 29). Dubbed 'the best in class': 6 things about Hong Kong's MTR rail system. The Straits Times. Retrieved from http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/dubbed-the-best-in-class-6-things-about-hong-kongs-mtr-rail-system#xtor=CS1-10


Thesis:
Based on the comparisons between Hong Kong’s MTR and Singapore’s SMRT, there are many aspects which SMRT can improve on. During the train disruption in July 2015, it was mentioned in a news report that it was Land Transport Authority (LTA)'s crisis management team which led the facilitation of responses. SMRT staff from various departments were required to report to the assigned MRT stations to usher and service commuters, Since staff were dispatched from various places, it takes more time for the crew to assemble and assign roles, There were also confusion and overcrowding issues which sparked unhappiness within commuters. Hence, in order for SMRT to be able to compete with MTR, a rapid response team should be formed and implement crowd control plans and training to improve efficiency during breakdowns.

Wednesday, 13 September 2017

Formal Letter

Arabella Tan
Somewhere Ring Road
#12-12
Singapore 123456

13 September 2017

Ms. Lim Lay Hoon
Professor
Singapore Institute of Technology
10 Dover Drive
Singapore 138682

Dear Ms. Lim,

My Strengths and Weaknesses in Communication

My name is Arabella Tan. I am writing this letter to introduce myself and share my communication strengths and weaknesses with you. I graduated from Republic Polytechnic with a Diploma in Industrial and Operations Management in 2016. I resumed my studies this year after a gap year which allowed me to take on various part-time jobs to earn the tuition fees, as well as to explore various industries.

Upon taking up internship at Keppelfels Logistics while pursuing my diploma and accumulating work experiences from different work sectors since younger, I am convinced that communication is essential regardless of profession. I also believe that communication is a life skill that we need in our daily interactions.

Seeing the importance and diversity of communication skills, I personally think that flexibility is a vital component in communication and it is a strength of mine obtained through various encounters. During Secondary school and Polytechnic, I was actively participating in many co-curriculum activities and was nominated by teachers for leadership programmes. Being a leader in school include organising events and attending seminars, requiring communication with the school, students, teachers, sponsors and industrial executives etc. Most of the time I had to converse with different groups of people in the same venue and I would approach each group in a different way. When talking to fellow students would be casual and friendly in order to let them feel at ease while I would be courteous yet engaging with industrial executives so as to give a good first impression and let them feel welcomed. My communication flexibility has allowed me to be able to converse with people of various backgrounds in different situations, which greatly improved my socializing skills and made me better at conveying my thoughts.

However, my activeness in conversations may sometimes become overbearing. As I am constantly trying to convey my thoughts, my assertiveness can be seen as hostility or unwilling to listen and accept other opinions. In discussions, I would usually state my opinions first, and then listen to others in which many times, there would be a competition on who should talk first. If we did not reach consensus, arguments would break out and our efficiency declines.

I learnt that being able to listen actively is also a necessary and vital communication skill, it helps us to understand each other better. During work, most of the job scope includes teamwork and in order for me to be on good terms with my colleagues and improve efficiency, my goal in this module will be learning how to slow down and start listening before trying to speak. I hope that it will become a habit and change it into a strength to boost my confidence while starting to step into my future career.

Yours Sincerely,
Arabella Tan
Student from SIE2016

Sustainable Infrastructure Engineering (Land)