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

www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/dubbed-the-best-in-class-6-things-about-hong-kongs-mtr-rail-system.

Mass Transit Railway (2016). Sustainability Report 2016, retrieved from

http://www.mtr.com.hk/en/corporate/sustainability/2016rpt/pdf/Customers.pdf

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

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.

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)